Lavender

FYI, today's Wine Spectator has eye popping MAJOR coverage of the Las Vegas dining scene. I am keeping it as a reference for my next visit! So many restaurants, so little time.

It may have already been covered, and if so I apologise, but what is Grade C used for in commercial use if it is bitter?

Wow, the first photo says it all - the Sugar Shack is Rockin'! All the photo's that followed are maple syrup on the cake. Thanks for the pictorial, especially for those of us in the nether regions, who are far removed from the scene. I will report AZ was only 82 degrees today, thanks to some desperately needed and welcomed rain. The trade off is that we can grow fresh herbs here year around, AND the pool is ready. However, so far, only Enzo the choc. lab. was ok with the 65 degree water temp. I'm going to give it a couple weeks.

Too cool. Here in Phoenix, it hit 95 degrees yesterday. I love maple syrup. The pic's of that snow encrusted tree being tapped for sap made me want to sink my head into it. The sap and the snow.

Willie, my brother, who owns a fine dining restaurant in the Seattle area, calls the chain restaurants "vomitoriums". Rest assured, tho' dwindling, there are still a few of us who would rather visit an actual one that step foot across the threshold of another PF Changs or Bupa de whatever. Oh, and bro must be doing something right, he made Wine Spectator last year, so at least there are a few people who can still recognize the difference.

Don't forget Olives, the service and atmosphere is great and they have a wonderful wine list. The menu has a wide offering for the fish adverse. It's not quite as upscale as Le Cirque and Picasso, so it might be a nice choice for lunch one day during your visit. Also, if you are an early riser, try to make it downstairs for breakfast in Cafe Bellagio. They do a top notch job. The gardens outside the restaurant entrance are just delightful early in the morning, before they become jam packed with mouth-breathing, gape-jawwed tourists for the rest of the day. The hotel spa and salon are next to the restaurant, so if you have any treatments scheduled later than 9AM, give yourself a few extra minutes to traverse the swarming hordes. However, the best culinary advice for your Las Vegas trip that I can offer is, resist the temptation to eat at Ceasers Palace next door! Drinks ok, but food? No way. Not with the Bellagio and all it's offerings so close.

I'm getting old - the Italian market in South Scottsdale is called "De Falco's" - it's at 2334 N. Scottsdale Rd. It is a nice deli and market, very respectable Italian sausage, and they give case discounts on canned Italian tomatos.

For the person who asked about Italian markets: The one at 15003 N Cave Creek and is north of Cactus and is called the New Jersey Italian Deli. It is ok but not my favorite. As a second generation Italian American from Detroit, let me recommend in order of preference for their homemade sauage and all around selection and price: Niccolis, 6102 N. 16th St. (Owners are delightful people, wonderful selection, very clean) Tony's Italian Deli, 536 E. Dunlap (Mama is still at the cash register, the place is a little dusty, but the take out food is great and so is the sausage. I have found some good bargains on Italian kitchen goodies on the dusty shelves) Guido's Chicago Meat and Deli, 10893 N. Scottsdale Rd, in the strip mall at the N.E. corner of Shea and Scottsdale Rd. (Pricey but the real thing) There is another good one on Scottsdale Rd near Mc Dowell (directly accross from the Smart & Final), but I have forgotten the name. Some people like Romanelli's at Dunlap and 35th Ave., but I am not a fan. I hear there is another upscale Italian market opening in downtown Phoenix!

I have owned a FAGOR pressure cooker for many years, have several pressure cooker cookbooks and have bookmarked a variety of pressure cooker websites. All of these resources say the same thing: do not deep fry chicken (or anything else) in a pressure cooker not specifically designed for pressure frying. This presents serious safety hazards, most of which involve boiling oil exploding over the kitchen, the cook and any bystanders. Some words of wisdom can be found here: http://missvickie.com/howto/fry/frying.html You can only safely deep fry in a pressure cooker specifically designed as a pressure fryer. These models can usually be distinguished by having a bracket over the lid that clamps the lid down into place. This is different than the conventional pressure cooker with a lid that rotates and locks or clamps on one side. Danger, Will Robinson, danger! Do not try this at home! Wow, thanks for the great link - I had no idea how dangerous that could be. Glad I didn't try it yet!

Here in Arizona, instead of Mimosa's and cheese blintzes, Sunday Brunch can often mean a version of Huervos Ranchero. Yesterday I started soaking the red beans, and went down to south Phoenix for the good tortillas, and to visit the Mexican farmers market for fresh cilantro, jalapenos and and fresh roasted chilies. I changed the soaking water on the beans several times and early this morning went to work on them with the Pressure Cooker. They were so good I had to write down the recipe before I forget! So I thought I would share since they were so easy. Some portion guidelines - A ONE lb. bag of red beans or pinto beans will make enough Ranch Beans to line the Love Boat. Figure that after soaking for a minimum of 20 hours a one lb. bag of beans will be about 12 cups of uncooked beans. Usually 1/2 a bag is more than enough for a couple of nice meals for 4 people. For every one cup of soaked beans add two cups of water, filling the PC no more than 2/3'rds of the way full. Pierce a peeled onion or two with some good whole cloves (find the ones with the heads still attached), maybe 8 cloves to each onion, add one or two bay laurel leaves (I have a big bush outside my kitchen door - hee hee!) and IMPORTANT - Add ONE TABLESPOON vegetable oil for every cup of water - to keep the FOAM DOWN. Seal, bring to high heat and start your timing when the hard sizzle begins. Cook for 12 minutes, release steam. Add the following: For 1/2 bag of beans (before soaking), add 1 teaspoon oregano, 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, 1 - 2 Tablespoons good chili powder, 4-5 cloves fresh pressed or crushed garlic, 2 teaspoons sugar or molasses, 2 teaspoons cumin, fresh ground pepper. Green chilies and jalapeno's are optional - I leave them out because not everyone in the house likes HOT, but they can be added at the table or a hot batch of ranch beans can be made on the side. Don't ever add salt to the beans while they are cooking or they will become tough. Keep the lid off, the flame on medium high so the beans simmer and the moisture cooks off. STIR OFTEN! Cook the beans with the lid off until the liquid reduces and the beans begin to get a little creamy - about 2 hours. Don't worry about the cloves or onion, they will cook down into the beans. Towards the end of the cooking time, you can use a potato masher to make the beans creamier. While the beans cooked under close supervision, we made some salsa fresca, and slowly grilled some tri-tip beef on the BBQ outside (first lightly seasoned with salt, pepper and a little soy sauce - pierce with a sharp fork to tenderize). Warm tortillas and some cooked to order eggs (I like over easy, but scrambled is good too) and you have Huervos Rancheros Tri Tip Style! Yum!

Thanks for the link Nancy, I just ordered both books you recommended off Amazon. Thanks!

Peanutgirl, I've found the Ace Hardware franchises a goldmine for pressure cooker parts. What they don't stock, they seem to be able to order or direct you to a website. Goodluck!

Hello All! I am so pleased that this topic has proven interesting. I am a "Newbie" to e-Gullet, and have been checking out the site to take a break from boring computer work. A couple of things: My apologies to both Flounder and Toliver for mixing them up. Operator error, sorry! Newbie question - Is there a protocol to posting recipes? I prefer the "free form" method like I did with the Pot Roast, but wasn't sure if it was "frowned upon" on these discussion boards, as some of the more seasoned veterans of the boards post a "link" to favorite recipes. Regarding my Pot Roast recipe - you can omit the chopped onion, celery and carrot at the beginning if you want an easier version. I tend to complicate easy recipes with extra steps because the Italian tradition of beginning every dish with a Soffritto is engrained in my psyche. It is the beginning building block to most every Italian recipe know and I apply it universially and without discrimination. Regarding the 24 Chicken Thigh recipe, that most certainly sounds "Broasted" to me. I can't wait to try it. When I was a kid, there weren't any KFC's but there were a bunch of "Broasted Chicken" places. It was the best chicken ever. I had no idea you could do it in the PC. For the gal who's Grandmom just gave her a PC and was anxious to get started if you like Lentil or Split Pea soup (the discussion of it on another post started this board), here is my super quick college student version: Super Quick Lentil/Split Pea Soup For every 1 Part of Lentils of Split Peas you will need: 1/4 Cup Chopped Carrots 1/4 Cup Chopped Celery 1/4 Cup Chopped Onion 1 Tablespoon Butter 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil 4 Parts Water, Vegetable, Beef or Chicken broth/stock Small Bay Leaf Fresh Cracked Pepper On Medium High heat, saute the chopped vegetables, Butter and Olive Oil in the PC until the onions are translucent. Add the water or broth, a bay leaf and Pepper. Seal the PC and maintain medium high steam for about 8 minutes, or check your PC instruction manual for cooking time for lentils. Release steam according to PC instructions, salt to taste and serve! Try serving the soup with a squeeze of lemon and a dash of cayenne. Makes a great vegetarian meal when teamed with fresh arugula or watercress and feta cheese in pita pockets. I lived on this in college!

Here is a quick easy Pot Roast recipe for PC'ing: 1/2 Cup Flour 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper 3 Lb. Boneless Chuck Roast 3 T. Olive Oil 1 Lg. Onion - Cubed 1 Lg. Carrot - Cubed 2 Stalks Celery - Cubed 3 Cups Beef Stock 3 Lg. Carrots - Peeled and Cut in Half 3 Medium Potatos - Peeled and Cut in Half 12 Small Boiling Onions - Peeled 2 Cloves Garlic - Minced or Crushed 1 Bay Leaf Creamed Horseradish Sauce Place the flour, garlic powder and salt and pepper in a gallon size baggie and mix well. Add the beef roast and toss to throughly coat with flour mixture. Heat the oil in the Cooker until it is very hot. Add the pot roast and brown well on all sides. Transfer to the Cooker basket and set aside. Add the cubed Onion, Carrot and Celery to the hot Cooker and saute until wilted - adding more oil if necessary to keep from sticking. Return the Pot Roast to the Cooker and stir in the Beef Stock, the Garlic and the Bay Leaf. Close the lid and bring to pressure for 30-45 minutes, depending on your Cooker. Release pressure and add the Carrot and Potato halves and the Small Boiling Onions. Taste and adjust seasoning, then close the lid and bring the Cooker back to pressure to complete the cooking - about 4-5 minutes. Release pressure, set the roast and vegetables aside to "rest" for a few minutes, and strain the cooking juices or use an immersion blender to blend in the cubed vegies. Adjust the gravy seasoning again and serve with the sliced Pot Roast, vegetables and Creamed Horseradish on the side.

Here's hoping Flounder and me aren't the only ones interested in swapping Pressure Cooker success stories and recipes. I've been using a pressure cooker since I learned to cook, (can't count that far back) and just retired my Mom's ol' faithful pre-70's "Mirro-Matic". It works great but I wanted something with more modern safety features. I replaced it with a unit made in Spain by FAGOR called the "Rapida" basically because it was on sale at the local housewares department store. Considering the lack of research I am very pleased with my purchase. The unit comes with one heavy duty locking lid that fits both a 4 Qt. pot and a wopping 7 Qt. pot. It also comes with the appropriate safety features, an extra clear glass lid (to use with the pots for non-pressure cooking) and other accessories. It's instruction and recipe booklets were slightly daunting because the features on my unit are different then the features they reference, but with a little studying I had no trouble estimating cooking times. I am sure there are many different types of pressure cookers manufactured domestically that work just as well. I'd like to hear about the equipment available that others have tried, successful or otherwise! Does anyone have one of those "and then it was on the ceiling" PC stories? My version has red prickly pear cactus berries in it - or should I say ON IT!