edemuth

You could mull some cider on the stove, Heather... I would think you could keep the scent going longer than bread or pie. Dave, great idea with the clam juice/chicken stock. I have lots of aseptically-packaged chicken stock so I'll just pick up some clam juice. I never have enough fish trimmings to make stock--that kind of problem is the dark side of being single.

Word. What kind are you buying? I like Imagine brand stocks, but I don't think they make fish stock (or at least Whole Paycheck doesn't carry it).

Heather, is the basic bread recipe you're referring to the one in The Naked Chef Takes Off? If so, then I'm all set!

I am soooooo behind. . . (Yes, Seth, I'm still here; been incredibly busy these past few weeks, and I just got back from IHMRS and the Chocolate Show in NYC. Thanks for asking... and belated congrats on your new addition!) This weekend, I'm looking forward to cooking for myself and would love to participate. I'm up for anything as long as it'll keep for a few days or freeze. . . I have an eGullet dinner on Saturday and our family T'giving on Sunday (I will be soliciting ideas for my dessert contribution in another thread shortly), so whatever I make will end up as next week's lunches. Mussel soup and bread sound great. I have plenty of Julia's bread recipes if we need them.

I'd also love to go to CT and am planning on being in Chi-town for NYE (if I can find that durn thread again!).... hint hint!

I'm sure I can some evening... I'll know more specifically on Thursday.

Just to clarify, Heather, I meant I can go today (as in Tuesday). It was late Monday evening when I last posted (and why I said "today, when all of you who will read this"). My apologies, I should have been more clear.

Tomorrow (or today, when all of you will read this) is the only evening that works for me this week. I've had Delirium Tremens, but not Delirium Nocturnum. Sounds like Delirium Nocturnum is the next stage! Al or Heather, can you elaborate on the differences? Just checked their beer list, and I'll be going straight for the Cantillon. [nostalgia]Man, I wish Brugse Tripel was available here (and Rodenbach Grand Cru easier to find--the 'skeller doesn't always have it).[/nostalgia]

RFD is a great idea, Heather; I've been wanting to try it since your original post awhile back. I'm all about Belgian beer--lambics in particular! I also like the idea of a drink there and burgers at Matchbox.

Next week, Tuesday eve would work for me.

I've never roasted chard before, so this should be fun. Has anyone had it with grapes, as in the recipe? (Thanks Malawry!) I'm looking forward to tasting this combination. I'll check the Penn Quarter farmers' market shortly and pick up some chard there if they have it. (Bright lights, big city...) Seth, I assumed we'd make this on Saturday like last week's menu; at least that's what I'm planning on. I love the fact that library catalogs/databases are online now. This saves you so much time, and you can do the lion's share of research from the comfort of your own home... then just swing by the library to run off copies and check out what you need. (The first time I was in college, they still had card catalogs and the databases were all on CD! )

I vote for swiss chard, which will contrast nicely with the richness of the stew and mashers. Is there a recipe including them in J&J? If nobody's got it to hand, I can look late tonight when I get home. Thanks for the wine info, Matthew!

Me too... although IIRC the beef bourguignon recipe calls for carrots already, so maybe we should do a green veggie instead for contrast/variety?

Looks like a worthy purchase, Seth, especially with your positive review (I think your opinion is the first I've heard either way). I love lemon desserts, mostly thanks to tasting one of Claudia Fleming's at GT. Chad and Heather, I will look for Dessert Circus this weekend at our local secondhand bookstore and will pick it up if I see it at a reasonable price, either before or after my trip to Home Depot for that blowtorch!

Arthur Schwartz's potato, tomato and (caramelized) onion soup, drizzled with some of Jim's excellent EVOO... you could even sneak some greens in there. Borscht? Blintzes?

Heather, there is one in J&J and another in Dessert Circus... I like DC's directions better, but am willing to go with J&J for consistency's sake. Does anyone else feel like messing around with puff pastry sometime soon? I have my eye on the pithiviers recipe in DC (or, as I refer to it, Just Jacques).

Whitlow's on Wilson: charred on the outside, pink on the inside... mmmmm.

Beef bourguignon sounds great, Matthew... what should we have with it? (I'm not near my copy of J&J right now, otherwise I would suggest a complete menu; maybe I should start bringing it with me to work every day! Great posts all round! Malawry's potato recipe calls for adding liquid until halfway up the potatoes, while Jacques' calls for covering the potatoes IIRC. I'll try reducing the amount of stock added when I make it and see what happens to the texture as compared to your experiences. Are we cooking again this weekend or next? I'll be in NYC the weekends of Nov. 8-9 and 15-16 helping Steve Klc and chefette at their demos and I'd love to get to do a menu before then, but I bow to the majority.

Sorry, all... due to a 70-hour workweek last week, I did not get to preparing our menu. However, I'm planning on making it this weekend, unless we have another menu scheduled, in which case I'll jump ahead to that. I look forward to reading your posts on the chicken/potatoes menu in detail!

Matthew, what do you like about it in particular? It grabbed me at the bookstore for the reasons Seth mentioned, but I've yet to make anything from it. Dave, you spelled confit perfectly. Edited to say: nevermind, I found the NWtC thread... should'a searched BEFORE I posted. As we were!

Those sound like good suggestions. For myself, I know a lot of techniques but need to refine them. I'm interested most in succesful execution. Whether we liked the dish is important but secondary, unless it totally sucks, in which case I will know never to try it again. We should evaluate the cookbook's directions and presentation. If anyone thinks of a way to make a dish better I for one want to hear it. And I don't have a problem with saving comments until everyone has cooked the menu. What Heather said. My personal plan of attack when cooking, if I'm not making an old standby, is to think of what I want to make (i.e. coq au vin), then read all the coq au vin recipes in my cookbooks. I'll pick and choose ingredients and techniques to create my own synthesized recipe. I sometimes search online recipe databases to augment my research, if I don't already have a few recipes on hand or I want to try a new approach. When I make a recipe exactly as written, as we will be doing here, I think about what I liked/didn't like about the process and the finished product, then come up with alterations for next time. I will be particularly interested to know from everyone how they would change the dish, if at all, when made again.

Done.

Ditto. Seth, getting to know eGulleteers as individuals, not just the food-obsessed, is a wonderful side benefit to this forum. Veer away! Damn, I thought I'd gotten away spatchcock-free...

Coincidentally Heather, I just got Jacques Torres' Dessert Circus on chefette's recommendation. I think that would be an excellent book to work through, because it gives you traditional French techniques with recipes that build on each other. His instructions are clear and detailed, and there are pictures to illustrate many of the techniques--similar in style to J&J. I also think his recipes will pair well with J&J's food. Thoughts? Seth, I'll PM you the potato recipe later today. Dave, I can't use "poultry-hacking virgin" as a sig line because it will no longer be true after Sunday...

It turns out that Wednesday is best for me next week... anyone else?