lovebenton0

Damn, my garage sale West Bend must be faulty (plus, no little blue barns and trees on the side). It is rectangular, and a lovely country beige, with a brown floral spray. Anyway, I'd have loved to have had gorgeous confit in seven hours, but it took me 24. Damn, you're good! Next time it's on high (5) all the way. ← I cooked mine the entire time after that first 20 minutes with a foil cap on it. I did tear the foil at one corner to make about a half square inch vent to release the moisture. Except of course when I checked about every two hours to stir it because I couldn't stand not to. Actually it was confit in 11 hours. I set it down to med low (2) at the 7 hr point, for another couple of hours, then to low (1) for the next two hours while short ribs were braising to completely finish to this incredible marmalade stage. Then we ate it for dinner topping baked potatoes, with the short ribs braised with beer/bacon/shallot/garlic/bayleaf/thyme, and a broccoli and scallion gratin with jack cheese and gorgonzola. My mr was licking his plate! The confit is in! This was a small batch, used all the onions I had, and 2 lbs doesn't go far. I do have a full half pint jar left. Next time I will do much more. There was a bit more oil/fat at the end than was necessary, about a Tbsp in excess, but no fear, I used it in the gratin.

You are a kind soul, viva! I used the basic idea for the pork mincemeat, but changed some ingredients as my purpose was to use it for dressing and cornbread sticks. It turned out to be a most successful experiment. Notably, I did not use any of the candied fruits such as citron, but did use dried apples and golden raisins, then some dried pears in place of the candied fruits -- the pears are so close to candied anyway. Also I used bourbon in my version (mostly because I left it up to my mr to pick up rum or bourbon, whichever he preferred because other than the small amount to go in the mincemeat he'd be the one drinking it ). Oh, yes, yes, and one large yellow sweet onion, which replaced some weight of the candied fruit. And I added a good bit of sage which is really delicious and gave it an earthy smokiness. Other than that I followed right along. It is a definite keeper for future cornbread dressings and special cornbread sticks and wedgies.

I was just poking around my local mexcian market recently (no coincidence, I was inspired by this thread to do some investigating re: tamales). In a refrigerator case they had plastic packages filled with masa--reading the package, one already had lard in it; the other not. Both came from 'masa' factories relatively close by. When I tackle this, my plan is to get the fresh masa w/o lard and to add my own in. (as fifi described above). ← I think that sounds like the most realistic idea for me too. I'm sure I can manage to procure the fat for the lard from the butcher at a market or even my local HEB butcher if I make arrangements, and lay my hands on the plain masa. Now if we all just could beam to a common kitchen somewhere . . .

lmf, you made me think of smoked salmon spread, gorgonzola or any bleu you like mixed with a cream cheese or mild goat cheese and those piped in. Spiced tomato preserve would be interesting also, since you've got the tomatoes now. Very thick squash puree, highly spiced in some way, savory or sweet, curried, maybe. Garlic and chive, or basil, or cilantro and lime in a cream paste, for herbs could be nice. Olives. You didn't say what the rest of the meal was other summery, Shalmnese, that might help.

Is anybody looking in? I think I need to set it on low now, as much of the liquid has been reduced. The onions are soft and beginning to carmelize nicely. What do you think? Confit after 7 hours. That is true color in the photo. I had to move it out of the kitchen light -- it kept coming out red. The house smells divinely rich and earthy. I want to eat some now! But I'll be patient, it needs more time. And if it continues like this it will be good with the braised short ribs tonight.

I wish I had a report for you. but haver not yet acquired a tree. I'm still hoping to get one here in town, but have been unable to get to the nursery that Jess directed me too. How big is your tree, chrisamirault? Do you have pics to share? I imagine it is warm enough in your home, plus the sunny window, that the environment there is fooling the tree into thinking it's in a more natural environment. So it's still growing as if at home in the subtropics.

Very perceptive woman, Sara Dickerman, and she gets this just right! ← Spot on article, GG, a good find. Some of those menus sound like our Dinner thread. I appreciate it there where we are sharing not only what we ate but what/how we cooked it, for a purpose. However, at a restaurant I'd prefer a little less verbage, adjective wise, a bit of "less is more" can be a good thing. If I want to know more, I'll ask. I prefer to read something like: And appreciate it if the server can educate me when necessary.

Turnip casserole. Tomato and corn caserole. Mixed bean casserole. If you're counting potatoes as veg now. . . Scalloped potatoes. Potatoes au Gratin Mashed potato casserole (with onions, garlic and cheese).

Well, I have been lurking here off and on over the past couple of weeks, read the first six pages then. Finished the rest of the thread this morning. What a great resource this is everyone! But it was not a good time to leap into my first onion confit. Until now. Right now. In crockpot. Started it at 8:00 this morning. I know, everyone seems to start this later in the day, to finish overnight, but now was when I felt like doing it, and I never know for sure when I'm going to be able to sleep so . . . This is what I've done. I combined ideas from one and another of you (mostly fifi and Marlene) and adjusted that to what I might want to do with the confit and ingredients on hand. 2 lbs onions (yellow and purple combo) 3 bay leaves plucked off the tree this morning 2 sprigs thyme, fresh picked (1 sprig silver, one lemon) 1/4 cup EVOO 1/4 cup rendered chicken fat 1/4 cup rich chicken demiglace 1 ounce red wine (Beaujolais) 1/2 tsp Kosher salt 1/2 tsp ground pepper 2 cloves garlic No sugar. at. all. I put all in the crockpot. I have one of those West Bend rectangular 5 qt pots (yes, with little blue barns and trees on the side ). The high setting (5) is pretty hot because of the griddle base function. So I started it at medium high (4) to sweat the onions and get it bubbling, no cover for first 15 or 20 minutes. After 15 minutes. Then I covered the pot with foil, leaving a little vent opening After 2 hours. The confit is now on medium (3) and still bubbling mildly. I'll see how that does in a bit -- may need to adjust it up or down. Once the liquid reduces further I'll set it on low for the next 10 or 12 hrs, if this follows the pattern of everyone else's onion confit. Hillvalley, if you are peeking in here -- are you sure you didn't have a cold? My entire house smelled like onions within 30 minutes.

Left over turkey, stir-fried with carrot and onion, ginger and garlic, soy, red chili, served with sticky rice. One of our fav ways to use up some of the meat. I always make stock with turkey carcass for soups or whatever. Don't care for the rice in soup that much, prefer egg noodles or lo mein style.

Wed night: Chicken soup with a rich turkey stock, diced tomatoes, corn, carrots, and diced jalapeno, topped with sour cream and cilantro and served with cornbread sticks. Dessert plate of sliced pear, apple, bleu d'avergne and Port Salut with thin sliced toasted sweet potato pecan/raisin bread. Thursday night: Breakfast for dinner (which I crave sometimes as I seldom eat breakfast!) of fried eggs, bacon, tater tots, and homemade mixed grain bread toasted, peach butter. Hot apple cider.

Tea shops are good sources, also herbal shops for the little cloth tea bags which can be hand washed and used again. I have used them for tea and herbs. You can buy them individually or in multi-packets usually. I'll have to look for the tea bags you posted, torakris, those look very convenient. And disposable.

Honestly the best oil sprayer I've found has been to use one of those spray margarine bottles filled with EVOO. It's so cheap it doesn't even matter if you use the original product. Of course this is a bit OT, sorry, since you can hardly use that for a good stocking stuffer. And now I've found way too many things on MK site, Andie, to add to my own wish list! The pull down spice rack (no more trying to focus up into that cupboard and constantly re-arranging jars into order!) and the adjustable pan organizer are just what I need to help me manage and locate those things more easily. Most are not good stocking stuffers but these SS smidgen measuring spoons are a cute and practical idea. I've lost track if they've already been listed by someone else.

The planning, creating, anticipating process is often one of the most satisfying aspects for me. Cooking is good fun once I have the play set in my mind. What do I have on hand? Unless it is a shopping day it is necessary for me to make choices from what is in the fridge and pantry. What am I physically able to handle that day? Out of that what do I want to focus on for a main? Meat, bird, fish, vegs, fruits, pasta, soup, etc.? Do I want or need to make bread? What is most appealing to me as a main -- or what sounds appealing to my mr, if he's around at the time I'm initially planning? Basically he'll eat anything I want to cook so asking is a courtesy not a requirement. Or perhaps he wants to cook, which means I'll being doing sides and bread only. After the main food choice is decided I go from there -- what do I want to do with it? Taking into consideration my options what will be the theme or flavor of the meal? Maybe I've been wanting to try something and will work towards that end. Then sides come together to go with that. When during the day I start this process helps me pare down my choices, as well as what I'm realistically capable of accomplishing on that day. Obviously if I start thinking about dinner at 4:00PM and want or need to eat early by 6:00 or 6:30, I have restricted myself to staying within a schedule. But if this starts tickling me in the morning, or I already have something I know I should fix fresh (ooops! damn, better do that asparagus, or fish, or whatever, tonight! ) I have all day to play with food and the menu can become much more involved from there.

I would put coconut in that fruity category based on it's general usage, which is to either be an ingredient in sweet dishes, or as an ingredient in savory dishes with a fruit component. Sweet potatoes are so versatile in both sweet and savory dishes that they easily fall back and forth across the line.

Did you notice in the last recipe it called for 4 lbs of butter?!!! I'm sure someone did not proof that. Seems more likely the amount is 4 Tbsp (or ounces) of butter to be proportionate. And after all that you only can use the foot. Yeah, fifi, the smelliness probably didn't help to promote the escargot industry. If someone packaged them at the edible stage though (bags or tins of snail feet?) they might go over. TX Golden Snail Feet. I can see the tin now -- have to have a Big Foot snail character, maybe skiing on the Gulf Coast.

I'm looking forward to a great cheesey blog week with you, Placebo. You're off to a good start.

When I was living up around Chicago (mumbly mumbly) years ago a similar thing was called loaf burgers. Which was an association with meatlof because the extender (usually bread crumbs or cracker crumbs for these) was added to the ground beef in much the same way. Also in the mix was chopped onions, Worcestershire sauce, s&p, then they were deep pan fried in bacon grease. I never saw these on any menu anywhere but they were a home burger item on lots of families' dinner tables on a regular basis.

I like to grind a few shards of cinnamon stick with the beans. I like it better than using the ground cinnamon - although I do that also if not grinding the beans fresh. Toasted pecans and hazelnuts are also good this same way. And 1/8 tsp good Mexican vanilla added to the basket per pot is delightfully smooth, either alone or with any of the others.

Thanks for the lard instructions, fifii, that sounds easy enough. And it looks so good in the jars. I don't why the RG is not connecting for read only either. It asks for a password. Oh oh oh! Mole tamales! OMG that sounds good. Two of my fav foods in one! Do you have more details for us, Abra?

You may be exactly right! Although I just looked at a can of the grapefruit Hill Country Faire store brand from HEB, a fav of ours, and it says (OMG!) Naturally Flavored. HEB in TX carries a great cheap store brand of sodas. We particularly like the golden cream soda, grapefruit as noted, and gingerale; the black cherry isn't bad either. Randall's (Safeway) also does good store pops.

Do you have the recipe? Please o' Please ← With her permission I will post exactly what Jaymes told me. The theme of the gathering was Strange and Unusual Foods. I believe I posted that that included the deep frying and consuming of oreos, pickles, pickled peppers and peanut butter/cheese/dill pickle and chipolte mayo tea sandwiches. So no, this was not a gourmet attempt. However, we did have a few unusual and fine dishes to eat -- and I (as well as many others) considered the Senegalaise soup to be among those. I was just as surprised by the recipe as Jaymes was embarrassed by it but I swear you would never know that Campbell's touched your palate. We are both now interested to find the real thing, so if anyone has a clue. . . Ling, thanks, that turkey made the deepest richest stock -- I'm in love. Can hardly wait to do gumbo this weekend. Was that a plain or chocolate-covered frozen banana? Used to love those when I was a kid in MI.

I have frozen the block bags of Fleishman's dry yeast for extended periods of time without any problems. The only caution on the label says it should not come into direct contact with ice or ice water when using. I take what I need to use and let it sit out a bit before adding directly to dry ingredients to make a sponge or to warm water with a bit of sugar to pre-activate. The yeast cakes of fresh yeast are harder to find any more and I really don't seem to taste that much difference when I make a sponge (which I prefer) or pre-activate the dry. I do also pre-ferment the dough most often and have for years. Saving back a whack of dough from any basic dough such as for French or Italian breads is just a habit. There is a definite up in flavor and yeasty aroma with that method for me, then add the pre-ferment to fresh dough the next day. But I can see where it could make a difference in something like brioche.

Fennel (leaf, seeds and bulb -- it has it all) -- which is used for both savory and sweet. Cabbage -- shredded, cooked sweetened with brown sugar, then used in breads like carrot in sweet carrot bread.

This came up on a Thanksgiving thread, in response to me asking what do you do with chestnut puree? Sounded interesting to me: All these ideas are making me want to do something savory or savory sweet with chestnuts for the holidays, seems they would be good with lamb me thinks. I like the butternut squash/chestnut pureed soup and the streudel ideas especially when thinking of pairing with leg of lamb.