Jensen

Marcel, One of my friends/neighbours is from Bavaria and I know from being in her house that she has at least one bread cookbook (auf Deutsch as Ludja says) on her bookshelves. I've asked to borrow it and will peruse it and get back to you. I wouldn't mind such a recipe myself. My favourites are the ones with the seeds and whatnot on top...

It's from All About Braising by Molly Stevens.

A few months ago, I bought a Daniel Boulud braising pan from Amazon; apparently, they are made by Sabatier. No chips, even heat, good seal. I'm very happy with it - so much so that I spent some time yesterday trying to find a smaller roasting pan to buy!

That's exactly what I've done (except I bought 3 peppers instead of 2). It's in the oven right now! ← Well, I came back to report on my first foray into the book and eGullet was undergoing its transformation! So, the bisteces rancheros was really good. I kind of wish now that I hadn't put the extra pepper in; it added heat to the dish but I think I would have preferred just the flavour of the pepper. That being said, I find that peppers (even of the same variety) will vary on their heat index depending on when (or where) I buy them so I might just go ahead and use 3 again next time. During eGullet's re-org, I also made the "World's Best Braised Cabbage" (the balsamic version). Although not "the world's best", it was pretty damn good. I used my regular balsamic vinegar from Bariani for it; next time, I might try it with what we lovingly call "the fig shit"...18-year old fig balsamic vinegar from Spenger's. Tomorrow I'm going to try my own braise, using the reference section at the beginning of the book as a guide. I took a pork shoulder roast out of the freezer this morning. I'll make up a marinade tonight and marinate it overnight so that it will be ready for cooking tomorrow. [Moderator's note: This topic continues here: Cooking with "All About Braising" by Molly Stevens (Part 2)]

It was interesting to read Tom C's blog on the Marcel hate-fest. I think he called them "sixth graders".

Oh yeah! Complete with apple in mouth!

Yeah, I thought that myself after I turned the computer off last night. I too thought the challenges were quite creative. For a self-declared Deadly Sins aficianado, Cliff didn't seem to know that "Greed" is really a poor synonym for "Avarice". It would have been neat to see some sort of dessert involving edible gold leaf for that sin. Sloth? a slow braise, I think. Lust...oyster bisque. Or a pasta with a puttanesca sauce. Gluttony...well, what (edible) animal do most English speakers associated with gluttony if not the pig? Pork, three (or four!) ways. Wrath...I liked the spicy theme of Sam's dish. No brilliant alternatives from me! Envy...again, Michael's idea was brilliant. Pride...something very showy. I'm still thinking about that one.

And not a moment too soon. How fitting that the two who were behaving the most unprofessionally both ended up in the bottom three (along with Marcel). It was really nice to see Michael do so well in both challenges. The Spawn is still rooting for Sam (mostly based on looks, I'm sure); as for me, I'm starting to hope that Cliff wins.

I made a creamy potato-cauliflower potage for dinner tonight. It was great. I started by peeling and quartering 3 russet potatoes. They were boiled until done, then drained, and set aside. Then I cut the florets off half a head of cauliflower and boiled them until done. The vegetables were put through my brand-new-for-Christmas mouli using the medium disk. Once all blended, chicken broth was added until the desired consistency was achieved (not really thick but not thin either). Seasoning was salt, pepper, and a sprinkle of nutmeg. Just before serving, I added just enough cream to make it the right colour. It was truly fabulous.

I was too hungry to wait for a photo but tonight's dinner was a creamy potato-cauliflower potage. A perfect meal for the post-holiday season...

I've found the best resources for that type of cooking to be the cookbooks put out by ladies' groups or church groups. Of course, if you're in NM, that's not going to help find you such cookbooks. Of course, you also have to pick and choose from the recipes. Lots of them are not all that wonderful. I'm assuming you've already googled the appropriate sect name + recipes. You can also try searching on Hutterite and/or Doukhobour. They are similar to the Mennonites, in geographical origin, if not exact liturgical details. The Hutterites can be found in northern BC and AB and the Doukhobours are found in the Kootenay region of BC. Have you thought about contacting your girlfriend's mum or grandmother? Tell them you'd like to gather some of her favourite family recipes to surprise her with in the future. I'm sure they'd be more than happy to share (I've done this one myself with both my grandmothers and my husband's grandmother).

That's exactly what I've done (except I bought 3 peppers instead of 2). It's in the oven right now!

My first foray into the book will be Bistecos Ranchero (or however it's spelt). I did buy the potatoes for it, even though most people here thought they were a "third wheel" in the dish. Not sure if I'll use them or not.

I've had a similar sort of experience. Once this summer, I used my knife to remove the top of the foil and found no cork inside. Turns out I'd bought wine with a screw cap...

Here in Sacto, East Bay Restaurant Supply offers some cooking classes (one day things, I think). As they are also in Oakland, you might check to see if cooking classes are offered there as well: East Bay Restaurant Supply

I got this book for Christmas too and so spent a couple of hours yesterday reading through this entire thread (again). Boneless chuck roasts are on sale for 2.99/lb this week so I'm going to pick up a few of those and go from there!

Okay, the official recipe, directly from Liberia:

I'm doing the happy dance! "Ding dong, the prick is gone" His parting words of "a chef is always a gentleman" just about made me swallow my tongue. This from the same guy who threatened to beat another contestant so badly that his own mother wouldn't recognise him? Good riddance to bad rubbish, I say.

I've sent my sister an email, asking if she would send it to me. In the meantime, I've got a pantry version of it on the stove right now. I probably won't take a picture of it because it kind of looks like cat sick...

My sister brought a really great recipe for groundnut stew with her when she moved back to Canada from Liberia. Perhaps I should ask her for it...

This only holds true if taxpaying were an equal proposition for all taxpayers. That is not the case at all.

Who pays the "real cost" for our food now? I'd like to thank them. SB ← Look in the mirror, bud. It's the taxpayer!

Nahh, the real trick would be finding Kool Aid that was grown at all. Don't they just cook it up in a beaker?

You mean without the massive farm subsidies? Those of us who shop at the grocery store don't pay the real cost of food now. I had an "out there" idea last week that shopping outside the industrial foodway is an inherently subversive act. The US didn't become a major world power until after World War II. That rise to power and increase in wealth coincided with the beginning of farm subsidies and the subsequent decrease in price of food. What would happen to this country's wealth if all of its residents had to start paying the real cost of food? And without wealth, would a decrease in power be far behind?

I think this part of your argument only works if those barges have some big-ass sails on them.