Susan in FL

We had Friday night Happy Hours at home tonight instead of out. It was my turn to pick 'n' pay (we alternate), & I had a craving for a hamburger and hot dog fix... It had been way too long. We drank beer and later wine, and grilled the hamburgers and hot dogs outside. Our collection of goose fat has grown, so we deep-fried homemade fries in that. The fresh local shrimp looked mighty good, so we boiled some of those for a starter. Mmm-mmm good.

I love Fell's Point. Your post brought back some nice memories from there. Doesn't it have some kind of record for the most bars within some square mile radius or something like that? Just when I thought there was nothing new to be found around here, tonight Russ brought home a sixer of Kona Brewing Co.'s Fire Rock Pale Ale. ...Not bad! It's slightly sweet, light-bodied, tasty.

Here are a couple of shots from the night before last. The photography challenge that these dark nights present is making me refer to this time of the year as "off-season" for food photography -- at least at dinner time on the porch. I am already looking forward to longer daylight. This dinner tasted so good. We had sauteed pork chops, turnips mashed with salt, pepper, & butter, and tiny Brussels sprouts cooked to just the right doneness & finished with a dash of grapeseed oil. Last night I went out for dinner with a girlfriend, to celebrate her birthday and for an early holiday celebration. I had seared foie gras over lentils that were cooked in carrot juice & root vegetables, served with tahini grape sauce; Chilean sea bass marinated in soy, honey, miso & grapeseed oil, with spinach, scallions & portobello mushrooms, surrounded on the plate by a celery root puree; and a dessert sampler plate. My friend picked the bottle of wine because that was on me, for her birthday, and it was a Ferrari-Carano Chardonnay. It wouldn't have been my first choice as a match for the food I ordered, but it was excellent, as was the espresso. I spent sooo much money, but it was sooo good. Please pardon me for this much detail on a dinner I didn't cook, but I just had to share this with all you dinner thread food lovers.

Ah, Bony Fingers. I think I've had some of that somewhere in my beer travels and if I recall correctly, I loved it. I haven't posted much about what I've been drinking lately because until recently, I hadn't tried anything new to me. What I did find last weekend was Kronenbourg 1664. After following the thread on this beer, I had to check it out. It's good for what it is, but just not my cup of tea. At home we've continued to enjoy Shipyard Export Ale, and the Flying Dog ales, mostly. As for being out, we are happy to have found a bar whose Sierra Nevada Pale Ale on tap is always fresh. That's a good find.

Finally I know what you guys are talking about. I found a sixer of this in a "gourmet" food store. I must say it's the best French beer I've ever tasted. I think it's the only French beer I've tasted. ...Sorry, I couldn't resist. It was fine, but not my favorite style. It struck me as crisp, European-tasting, and mostly lemony. I was happy to find it. It's my mission to taste every beer that's discussed!

This thread just keeps getting better! Our dinner last night was a test recipe for Leite's Culinaria, Penne with Ricotta and Spinach, and -- with the last of the puff pastry from the fridge -- Tomato Tartlets. I'm not sure, but I think these little tomato tarts were what got the whole thing going about homemade puff pastry. In October, I used Pepperidge Farm!

Great blog! I was quietly enjoying it all week, catching up when I had chances, but nevertheless enjoying it very much. Thank you, Kathleen!

I would gladly post the recipe. This was the ah ha version for me. I've always liked it, but until I found this recipe, there was always a hint of a flavor I didn't like, but couldn't describe or identify. It's from the April 2004 issue of Food & Wine. Saturday night I used this recipe, since both peas and mint are good with lamb, but now even when not using peas and/or mint, I've adopted this technique. Here's the link, but as you probably know, you have to log in to Food & Wine these days to see a searched recipe. Let me know if you need for me to PM the recipe to you or paraphrase it here.

I am literally LOL. That just struck me so funny. (There are WAY too many lines here that I am passing over instead of commenting upon.) That is the brand that Publix had! My favorites are Rapa and Delaware Maid, though. For more info, jump back to April, posts #430 and #437 and around there.

Wow, the food here continues to look so good. Saturday night was going to be the Puff Pastry Party, but I stayed too long shopping and didn't leave time. So instead we had lamb rib chops, Israeli couscous with peas and mint, and this wonderful Pinot Noir. So Sunday was the day to make puff pastry. With ours, I made Steak Diane Wellington, my version of a combination of Steak Diane and individual Beef Wellingtons. Tonight we're cooking chicken and various vegetables. It's a clean-out-the-fridge night.

They do look good! I can see there will be no problem finding something to do with what's left! Please do butt in! ...Any time you want, with a suggestion like that.

I'm not touching this!! Yesterday we had scrapple (found some in the frozen section at Publix... pretty much all this did was make me hungry for the real thing, fresh, from up north), bacon, malanga (taro root) fritters, over easy eggs, and the usual cheap bubbly.

Good Morning, and Good Day, wherever you are. Yesterday and last night was a lot of fun, but I agree with Megan -- I still see the point of Pepperidge Farm! The prep was time consuming, but as mentioned, a lot of that time was resting-in-the-fridge time. Russ had read up on this whole process a lot more than I did, and he looked over several recipes before deciding to go with Moby's. Therefore, he knew more about the turns and more about no-no's than I. For example, I was suggesting at one point that we roll it the opposite way and he quickly told me oh no, we couldn't do that. The time when some butter had oozed out I suggested a fold that would put the butter back on the inside. He told me we really shouldn't do that, but we did, and it turned out OK. I think the prep will be easier next time, having done the deed once and knowing more about what to expect. However, on the other hand, maybe there is something to be said for beginner's luck! Wendy, what threw us and challenged us the most was how quickly we needed to work so that the butter and dough didn't warm. I was surprised the first time we took the rolling pin to the hard butter enveloped in the dough. I thought that would be too hard to smash, but it surely was not. Overall, it was easier than I expected, but still I wouldn't do this every time I need puff pastry. The reason is that I just don't enjoy baking or working with dough as much as I enjoy "cooking." I'll use homemade all the time, though, if Russ is willing to make it for me! We were amazed about needing no flour on our worksurface -- actually no extra flour at all -- the first time we made pasta in this kitchen, during the homemade pasta Cook-Off. Then about a month after that, we made pasta again, and it was sticky and we needed it (and had flour everywhere, all over everything). That taught us a lesson. The first time was during the hot hot summer and we had the air conditioning on. The second time was when our weather had cooled enough to be able to open our windows, making it more humid inside our house. So, for this Puff Pastry Party, we closed up our house and turned on the air conditioning. We pumped it up and got it very dry and cool in here. That -- along with Russ's expertise of course -- might be the reason. Our countertop is definitely not non-stick. Klary, your finished products looked wonderful. I just know that cheese tart was delicious. I once made Feuillete Comtois au Jambon, using the Pepperidge Farm and it was one of the best tasting things I ever ate! I can imagine how Comte would be with homemade. Mmm-mmm, I wonder if I could get my hands on some Comte, for using what we have left over... We froze half of what we had left, and the other half is in the fridge. Does anyone know how long this will be good, from the fridge? Megan, have you decided what to do with what you have left?

Nice work, Puff Buddies! Yes, we made puff pastry. The emphasis is on Russ, in "we." We too were going to use the Rough Puff recipe, but ended up, like Klary, using the recipe from the Demo by Moby. That's cool, because the three of us did not talk in advance about what recipes we would use! We put my laptop on the counter, and followed the demo and recipe from there. I am beat, so I'll be up for more discussion tomorrow. But meanwhile, here are three photos from the puff pastry in the making. With ours we made "Steak Diane Wellington." Russ was the main cook for the pastry and I was the main cook for the individual beef Wellingtons. More tomorrow... But first I would like to say to my Puff Buddies Megan and Klary (and Russ), thanks! Even with the encouragement on the Dinner! thread, I would never have tackled homemade puff pastry without you. The finished product, our dinner...

Your perception is interesting, Dick.

I wish you were my son.

That's a good point, Sandy, about no two batches being alike. That's a difference between this Cook-Off and some of the others. Chili is probably the last thing for which I would ever write or post a recipe, or would follow a recipe -- no measuring of ingredients here. It was mostly in the spirit of this being a Cook-Off that I even listed what was in it. Your's looks good. Traditional. You mentioned it was on the mild side for you. My version for this Cook-Off was a bit too hot for me. Nevertheless, and after all, this Cook-Off is a fun one!

Either that's not happening here, or I don't go to places where it is happening. I have not encountered an expanding number of items on menus. I dine out about once a week. I must say though that I agree with Rooftop in not understanding why anyone would order meatloaf in a restaurant, unless it's some super special specialty or novelty, or....... no....... I do not understand why anyone would order meatloaf in a restaurant. Actually, last night when I went out to dinner with a friend, my thoughts about the menu included my pleasure with the number of choices on the menu. I like this restaurant a lot, and I was thinking about why I do. There are perhaps eight choices for appetizer/tapas/first course -type selections; that was followed by six or eight main course salads or "light plates"; then listed were about the same number of fish and seafood dishes; and finally there were four to six meat entrees. What is more unusual about this restaurant's menu is the wine list. They have an excellent wine list, but the selection is very limited -- just one or two fine examples of each major variety. That's a novel idea. Every glass of wine I've ever had there is superb.

I had a hot cup of coffee, and a cold Reesie cup right out of the freezer!

What is in it, Kris? I recognize chicken, sausage, and peas... I think. That looks like it tastes good.

Beautiful! And yummy looking, too. Crooked view food photos seem to be in stlyle right now... I'll have to give that a try with my new camera. Nice work, Yetty! Percy, I was unable to find suitable and appropriate wording to compliment the arrangement of the sausage and egg in your most recent breakfast photo.

The Great American Beer Festival came and went a month ago without any todo in this Forum. In case anyone hasn't checked out the winners and is interested, here are a couple of links. Here you can click for a PDF file listing the winners, on the official site. Here you will find another list which might be a little easier on the eyes. Was anybody there and have any stories to share? Opinions?

The olives were good with it! They were just regular canned ripe olives, and I would have them again with chili if we're piling on the toppings like this. It reminded me of tacos or nachos and all that stuff. Thanks, Linda. I was thinking there was another person in on it. I'm glad you posted a link. Great idea about chili cassoulet or a cassoulet-style chili, Bill.

Dinner on TV trays two nights in a row... No porch, it's been either raining like tonight or it's cooled off too much after dark. Last night was the eG Chili Cook-Off in our house, and tonight was Thai: Waterfall Beef, Sticky Rice, and Cucumber Salad.

Beautiful, Linda! I Cook-Off'ed Chili last night. Linda, I think it was you that sent me copies of posts about not soaking beans, and oven cooking them, a year or more ago... I want to give the right people credit, but now I can't remember who did the research and authored/posted all that! The info cited the Russ Parsons method for cooking beans and mentioned that Russ wrote the definitive aricle in the LA Times quite a few years ago. Well, I am truly a convert and owe you, Russ, and _____ my thanks. I will never soak beans again. That is the method I used for cooking the beans for this chili. I sautéed onions and garlic in bacon fat, and then added beans (I'm old-fashioned about chili -- if it's not kidney beans it doesn't seem like chili to me), water and brought it to a boil. Then I added salt and transferred the Dutch oven to the oven for perfectly cooked beans in 2 hours. Meanwhile, stove top, I cooked the other part of the chili (ground round; sausage; canned whole tomatoes, cut up; herbs, spices, flavorings... usual chili stuff) and then added the two together to simmer while we took a walk. I usually eat just a load of raw onions on my chili, but reading all the variety of toppings in this Cook-Off got me in the mood to serve more. Purplewiz's/Marcia's avocados looked so good, that was one of the offerings. Besides the onion and avocado we had olives, fresh cilantro, and cheese. Russ's first bowl... My first bowl... Dinner is served. I had a Mojo IPA and Russ had wine (Zinfandel). I heard that Brit Hume would've liked the chili better than Chris Matthews.