amccomb

I love these oatmeal currant and spice cookies from epicurious.

I wanted some for a pie and for preserves - I like cherry with rosemary or cherry with brandy (or amaretto) preserves.

I like the sweet and salty, too. My favorite is chocolate chip oatmeal cookie dough - I love the salt, molasses, chunks of chocolate, and the chewy unbaked oatmeal combo. Throw in peanut butter, and my husband and I have to have a spoon duel to see who gets the last bite!

No cans of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup? Kraft mac-n-cheese, ground beef, and cream of mushroom soup was a staple growing up.

I figured cherries were ending, but I've been looking since spring and have not seen any for sale. I'll keep on the lookout for figs, but I looked all summer and fall last year and never found figs, either. I was looking for Meyer lemons over the later winter/early spring and found one site that sold them, but didn't have the money at the time, and now I don't remember where they were. I've also looked for some of the more unsual berries with no luck. Perhaps there is someplace that sells them frozen?

We are in Southern Indiana, and our weekends are full for the next month.

I live in a small town in Indiana. There are a couple of very small ethnic grocery stores, but none that carry produce. I've been arriving early at th4e farmer's market all spring and summer, and still nothing out of the ordinary - not even an apricot. Plus it's pricey - $8 for a PINT of blackberries which weren't even that great.

Does anyone have any good online sources for fresh fruits? I'm always searching for things like sour cherries, figs, meyer lemons, quince, and various berries at the supermarket, but I'm never successful. I do this all throughout the year for each season, and never find what I'm looking for. Any ideas?

I made a spicy chorizo cabbage soup with chickpeas and tomatoes tonight. I have a chicken chowder with ancho planned for this weekend. I'm going to do a creamy tomato basil next week with grilled goat cheese sandwiches, and when corn is in season, I'll do a corn and roasted pablano chowder.

I've been thinking of using some of the rhubarb growing in my friend's yard for preserving. I've been thinking rhubarb and orange and whiskey, or rhubarb and apple. ANy other ideas, besides rhubarb and strawberry? What else is coming into season that can be put up? I missed Seville orange and Meyer lemon season.

I made Hot and Sour soup from Cooking Light last night. Turned out pretty well - I added 2 tablespoons of mirin for a little sweetness. I've yet to find the perfect hot and sour soup recipe. I'm looking for some spring and early summer soup ideas. My husband is not a fan of cold soups, so things like cold cucumber or avocado or gazpacho are out. Corn won't be in the farmer's market for awhile yet.

I think this is a wonderful idea, and I love the versatility, but I have a feeling this would fit his definition of "cake" too much. I think his wife is buying him a 1/2 sheet chocolate cake from a local bakery as a birthday cake, so he wants something a little less cake-like. The Turtle Bread Pudding may fit the bill, though! It's still cakey, but not a cake. I was thinking of maybe a strawberry chocolate charlotte, using slices of chocolate cake brushed with a liquor or maybe strawberry jam and filled with a strawberry (and maybe white chocolate, if I can get it to come out smooth and not grainy) mousse. I could top it with a strawberry jelly and few chocolate dipped strawberries. It would still contain cake, though. I had also thought of a terrine of strawberry and white chocolate or lemon mousses, layered. He isn't a big pie fan, and not a pastry fan, so making a pie or using phyllo or puff pastry or anything like that is probably out. I thought about cookies or brownies, but he wanted something more "fancy".

So, a friend is having a birthday this weekend and he has asked me to make a dessert. He's kind of vague about what he wants, but here's what he has said: -It has to be chocolatey. -He would love for it to contain brandied cherries (I made him some brownies with brandied cherries and cream cheese frosting that I think he was hoping I would make. Unfortunately, I ran out of brandied cherries and don't have time to make or order more before the party.) -He doesn't want just a plain chocolate cake, but it can be cake-like. He doesn't want anything too fancy, he wants somethi ng he can slice (or scoop) and serve. -He wants it to really WOW him. I mentioned my chocolate mousse cake, which is very good, very rich (and so expensive because it uses so much chocolate), and he thought it sounded good, but a little blah because it's JUST chocolate and has nothing else going on. Any ideas? Maybe I should go ahead and try to order some brandied cherries and have them rush delivered... Editted to add: I asked him about raspberries with chocolate, because I have a white chocolate raspberry mousse I could use as filling between two flourless chocolate cakes, and he suggested strawberries instead of raspberries. Any ideas for strawberries? There aren't any good fresh strawberries out around here yet, so it would have to be something I could do with frozen ones!

Although I'm inspired by the success of this project, I'm still afraid to try it on my own. First, I've looked through the cookbook and picked out several dishes from each course that sound good. The fish course and the meat course are the two I'm most unsure of. I've never cooked fish before. I know, that sounds strange, but neither my husband or I are big fans of seafood, so we only eat it when we go somewhere really nice and we know the quality will be high. When perusing the recipes, I was tempted to try one of the lobster recipes, but when I read what goes into the preparation - steeping them, pulling off some parts, making stock, pulling out the meat, cooking that in butter...well, I am intimidated. Then I moved on to look at a foie gras recipes, which again, had so many steps that I have no experience with. Lastly, I looked at the meat recipes. I don't mind involved sauces and multiple steps, but I am again intimidated by the cleaning and boning, removing organs and stripping membranes. Then, there is the problem finding ingrediants in the middle of rural Indiana. You would think there would be lots of great produce around, but I have looked for fresh peas here for years, and have yet to run across them. I check the farmer's market every week during spring without luck. I definitely don't have a green thumb, so I can't grow them myself and do't know anyone who does. Fresh seafood is impossible. Cheese is difficult as well, but I can order that online without losing too much... In the end, I don't think I'm ready. I definitely can't afford it right now. The whole thing makes me appreciate what bilrus did even more.

Your pictures look very pretty! The only thing I wonder, menu-wise, is if there should be more diversity. I don't see much in the way of grains or starch or fruit. The focus seems to be heavy on meat - especially seafood. I was going to suggest contrasts of textures and temperatures, but I guess you do have something crunchy, and something cold...

It's 8:00 pm here, and we just finished take-out turkish food. After clearing the table, I rushed to check for updates! I can't wait to see the results. In fact, I have the FL cookbook out as well, trying to decide if I want to give the five course dinner a shot in a few weeks. Much is riding on these results!

I made a clafouti not too long ago using some brandied cherries I brought back from Rome. Both my husband and I were blown away by how wonderful it was. It was definitely homey. The bottom was soft like a thickened pudding, and the top was almost cake-like. The very top, which was slightly browned, was slightly chewy, but not in any way rubbery. It was as though the sugar had carmelized and created a crust that reminded me of a macaroon. The dessert was not very sweet at all - just a slight hint of sweetness. We were hooked.

I made a version of Italian Wedding soup with my homemade turkey stock, turkey sausage meatballs, cheese tortellini, and spinach. Turned out very well! I'm planning on hungarian mushroom soup next week. I'd really love to find a good recipe for an asian chicken stock using star anise, ginger, etc. I'd love to make some lighter asian soup, either chinese or thai.

Well, I decided to go with sherry, butter, and duck fat. It' s been going in the crockpot for about 12 hours now. It smells great, but I haven't tasted it yet. Do you season it with salt and pepper? Or just go with the onion flavor?

I just finished this thread for the first time. I wish I could have gotten in on this from the beginning! I am currently baking two big batches of turkey stock - one plain and one with herbs and fennel bulb - so I'm planning on a turkey and wild rice soup later this week. I really want to make an asian style chicken stock with ginger and garlic and star anise - maybe next weekend. I also have everything for a black bean and sweet potato soup that I've been meaning to whip up. Last night, I made a corn, potato, and ham chowder that came out really well with a drizzle of sherry on top. Last week I made a lentil, smoked sausage and kale soup that's an old stand by. We always drizzle some fini vinegar on each serving. I'm looking forward to seeing more posts about spring soups! I've always wanted to make a fresh pea soup, but I have never seen fresh peas in the supermarket here and our farmer's market doesn't start until long after pea season, so I've never seen them there, either.

I just caught this thread after all of this time and have decided to make some onion confit this weekend. I had planned on going the simple route with onions, butter, olive oil, salt, and pepper, since I don't have demi-glace here and wanted to keep my flavor options open, but I've noticed a couple of folks were disappointed in the results. I have two things I could do to liven things up a bit. I could use duck fat, which I have seen mentioned, but haven't seen any one post the results of using duck fat, especially compared to the "original". Another idea is to use some green apple jelly I made last fall. I noticed at one point, someone mentioned that it may be the gelatin in the demi-glace that adds to the texture of the confit, and someone else thought pectin might be a decent substitute. Well, the apple jelly is high pectin, so I'm wondering how it would work as a sub. Any thoughts?

Are there any meats that are particularly associated with spring besides the soft shell crabs and young lamb? I wish I could get soft shell crabs, but I'm in the middle of indiana. Also, any recipe ideas for any of these things? I was thinking of a nice soft white bread with an herbed butter spread topped with thinly sliced radishes sprinkled with some Hawaiian red sea salt. Maybe a risotto with morels and fava beans. I've always wanted to try fiddlehead fern, but I have no idea how to prepare it! I would love to make a cold fresh baby pea soup with creme fraiche. What about ramps? Any good ways to prepare those? Could I roast them with baby potatoes, or do they need to be on their own?

I should also clarify - I'm not planning on making my spring feast soon - probably in April. Will more things be in season then? If so, what? Maybe for those of you with spring fever, helping me dream up some sunny spring desserts will help cheer you up!

I'm smack dab in the middle of Indiana. It's still really cold here, but I saw crocus this morning! Also, the grocery started carrying rhubarb again! I totally forgot about rhubarb!

I was hoping to have a spring feast highlighting as much spring produce as possible, so of course I would love to have a few desserts featuring seasonal items as well. However, I'm drawing a blank as to what's in season! I know mint is, so I could do something minty. I thought about strawberries, but they won't really be around until early summer and blueberries are more midsummer. I picture lemon with a spring meal, but I'm not sure if it's because of the bright sunny flavor or because lemons are really in season. Any ideas for spring desserts?