Betts
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Posts posted by Betts
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All knives go in the dishwasher
I refrigerate bananas - skins go dark but I don't eat the skin anyway
Chicken soup - boiled intensely in pressure cooker comes out clear ( whoda thunk!)
I never truss a turkey - stuffing and a little buttered foil to keep it in and loosely tie the legs together for modesty
I never try out a recipe before serving it to guests.
None of my cookware matches
Mushrooms always get a shower but not a tub bath
I love to taste raw beef - hamburger to tenderloin but raw chicken doesn't taste of anything health risks aside and sashimi is pointless IMHO
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This is a customer's favorite and now mine - not grand just simple, rich and very tasty. You need to understand that I am an excellent and discerning cook but nothing beats those seasoned bagged stuffing crumbles.
Stuffing must be cooked in the bird. There is no other way to get that deep down satisfying flavor. Dressings cooked in a pan are just bread pudding!!
MPC Stuffing
2 sticks of butter
2 large onions - chopped
4 celery ribs, diced
1 + cups chicken stock - canned is fine but it should be full salt style
1 package of Pepp Farm or Brownberry Seasoned Stuffing crumbs - not cube style
Gently saute vegs until very soft. Stir in stuffing mix and then moisten with the stock. Most of this will fit in the cavity and any extra goes in a small casserole or the neck cavity.
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I have given.. good homemade fruit cake, chocolate truffles, chocolate ganache dessert sauce, and spaghetti dinner kit. I used to give my children's teachers the chocolate sauce and the kids claimed that it brought them a small measure of fame. Lately, I have given nightscotsman's homemade marshmallows. If it needs to be sent, then Minn wild rice and recipes. My gourmet group will get a small bottle of my own vanilla this year.
I like to receive... my sister's black currant jelly, Champagne and really any decent wine, unusual crackers, useful quality kitchen tools ( silicon spatulas, olive wood spoons, linen towels) and cookbooks. I once got some fabulous balsamic vinegar for coaching a team of kids.
Since I am the one with the "foodie" label among my friends, I frequently get offered the odds and ends of their holiday baskets. Now from the friend who does not drink and gets sent unbelievably fine wine, I happily take the hand-me-downs. However, I am amazed at the poor quality of many of the items in those baskets. I remember one pate that was distinctly dog foodish.
Good idea - what about gourmet (kosher? )dog biscuits - there are tons of recipes and and a bottomless market. They are not perishable and easy to package attractively.
What about attractive serving pieces and other dining room accessories rather than kitchen related?
How about " house " spice blends - herb salts, flavored sugars, BBQ rubs. There is a small high quality manufacturer in Minneapolis who has an excellent and distinctive line and ships all over the upper midwest. I don't think customs would get snippy about it. ( My brother ships horse feed from Canada to the US so I know a little about snippy customs officers).
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Thank you Brad.
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Yup Brad, you are wrong this time. I got 2 bottles of the Villadoria Piemonte Brachetto ($13.99/).
Where would I get a bottle or 2 of the Australian Shiraz in MPLS? Haskells or Lyn-Lake seem like the likeliest bets.
OOOH I like the Thanksgiving challenge. The menu in my family is so entrenched in concrete that wine is the only outlet for creativity. Additionally it is my daughter's birthday so it is a Thanksgiving/ birthday party.
We usually have either Beaujolais or Champagne at the table and there will certainly be a couple of back up Champagnes in light of the b'day aspect.
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Thank you both - I feel somewhat reassured. Truth be told - most of the imbibers are not the most sophistocated palates around. I just don't want something too sweet and I wanted something a bit unusual.
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I don't know about the red and black but I saw red today at the store. They will ship.
check out www.maidofscandinavia.com
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November's Gourmet has an article on the sparkling reds from Australia and I popped into my local wine store to try to find a bottle. I came out with an Italian Piemonte Brachetto.
Are these similar in character? I'm planning on serving it with the Thanksgiving turkey - do you think it is suitable?
Lastly at what temperature - room temp like a red wine or chilled like a sparkling wine. I know that this is classified as a semi sparkling and I want to do the right thing by it.
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Has anyone tried the recipe with brown sugar? I'm thinking that this might give a caramel -ly flavor to the marshmallows.
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If you are a repeat client of caterer#1 and prefer their food, then speak up about who you want for servers - most experienced and personable. The spilled drink could happen to anyone - how it was handled is most important. I rather like that revised menu for #1.
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Simplicity itself - perfect creme caramel flavored with maple and orange, served with tiny bits of fresh fruit. This was my latest bit of dessert heaven at Stargazers on the Thames in Chatham Ontario.
If there is a creme caramel on the menu I almost always order it but why is it so hard to get a good one? I want dense, utterly smooth, a hint of flavor besides eggy and most of all that clean break of good custard as the spoon slides through.
Creme brulee isn't the same and the crust shattering apparently doesn't satisfy me the way that it does for others
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Susan and Kris - sensatrional blog.
An idea for the tomatoes. I got this recipe from a customer who did a barge trip on the Loire. This is what the chef did.. Roast 6-8 peeled tomatoes which have been halved, sprinkled w/ s&p, chopped garlic and basil leaves and olive oil. Roast in a baking dish 400F for about and hour. Meanwhile peel and chop a medium potato and put in a quart of water with a little salt. Cook until very soft. Put the potato, water and roasted tomatoes in a food processor and blitz until smooth. Add 1 -2 tsp balsamic vinegar, S&P and olive oil( Canadians float a pat of butter on the tomato soup- no basil nonsense)
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This is great - sometimes you want only a dozen madeleines or a few cupcakes and cutting the recipe down just doesn't work.
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I cannot help but strongly recommend one bowl - big and deep. I have a Franke and just love it. You can do the sheet pans, big roasters etc, stack loads of rinsed dishes and still work.
The disposer goes on the corner so there is lots of sink "floor space". I did buy an oblong strainer thingy that fits over the top but rarely use it.
Any hand washing - crystal, silver, whatever just goes on a clean dish towel and then dried. I have seen drain slots routed into the countertop (corian or granite) but this isn't really necessary.
Also the really deep sinks conceal those few stray dishes from sight.
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"they were bug blocks of lightly fried potato."
Bruce - you aren't one for restaurant cliches are you! That is an image that will stay with me.
Nice review and we will probably go.
Maybe Stuart and JP can carve out a dining destination in Lyn-Lake.
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Anne - The Duh! factor just kicked in. That is why you are the pro and I am in the minors. What an elegantly simple solution. Thanks.
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Tekna - thank you for your report. I downloaded it to take with me. A few weeks from tonight, I'll be sitting and sipping and looking at the sunset. Any other highlights from the trip?
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Exactly what does it look like? Flavor extract, boiled down fig juice, smushed figs?
I buy the Mt Vikos roasted figs that are packed in a thick dark syrupy goo that I adore. Great with fruit and stilton or brushed on grilled chicken.
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My favorite recipe for chocolate chip cookies says to refrigerate the dough overnight and then bake. This makes a really stiff dough that is hard to scoop and I usually let it warm up a bit to get something more workable.
Do I really need to wait overnight? I am assuming that the flour gets more thoroughly hydrated and any gluten gets a rest. Are there other benefits for such a long rest?
I have made hundreds of dozens of this unique recipe and I don't always do the overnight thing but usually let the dough ( which is very soft initially) rest an hour or two and get very good results.
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Assuming the wedding is this weekend - please let us know the end of the story.
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Have you thought about the vanilla-coffee-dark rum flavor triangle instead of the fruity one.
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I've paid much closer attention to the artwork since this thread started. Two things - whoever is the photo editor/stylist whatever has a dark, pessimistic or depressed streak. It's getting worse and the Sept cover is an all time low. That cover isn't going to get anyone to pick up the magazine unless they are into " food noir".
Secondly - do you think everyone got the memo about using a white plate? The directive must have been issued because there is a unusually high percentage of food on white dishes.
I can wait for the fresh hell that Gourmet has in store for the holiday issues.
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Ditto for what Katie said and most of what else was said. You can apologize up one side and down the other but you just have to hold firm at this late date. I have been in a similar spot.
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Pam - I buy the Croc'ins from Classic Provisions in Minneapolis.
PH 763-544-2025. Sara Hill is the owner and a real whiz in the artisan cheese business. This is a strictly wholesale business but they are very chef friendly and will even do partial cases which is great for the smaller operator.
Recipe Writers and Their "Voice"
in Cookbooks & References
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I can feel Lynne Rossetto Kasper's sense of place/ ingredients and history in "the Splendid Table"
I can feel Nigella's blithe personality and practicality in all her books
I like the chatty precision of a Shirley Corriher book
Lettie Teague's wine writing in Gourmet gives me a feeling that I might actually enjoy a glass with her at the table - can't say that for a lot of wine writers.