sequim

As one who is half-Polish, I'd recommend hot or cold borscht. As one who is half-Norwegian, I'd recommend pickled beets and herring.

And here I've never even tasted chestnuts... Side thought: Fun things to do with your microwave. Putting peeps in there is fun too. They puff up and look like walruses.

Alrighty then, I'm goin' to Varmint's place. Pie crusts I can't get either and I really really like pie. Caramel I learned after three takes before a party I was having. DON'T STIR IT! Oh well, sugar's cheap.

Have you tried the blender method? That worked for me and being careful not to make the butter too hot.

I'm with you. One of these days I'm going to get scientific and make me some good ones, though. I just can't/won't believe in fate.

oooh, sequim, recipe or vague proportions? this sounds great! Fi Hi Fi, I love saying that. More vague, like what I feel like or have. For a dressing for one salad which I frequently make, I use a splash of champagne vinegar or something tasty, about just under a tablespoon of the white miso, 1/4 t + of dijon or garlic dijon mustard, about 1 T + of peanut oil, 1/4 t + of honey, a dash of ground coriander (love the lemony flavor of it). Maybe tarragon. Ground pepper. You know, with miso it's easy to experiment as it hasn't overpowered the dressing yet.

Ah yes, I discovered the value of mustard as well. It just made my vinaigrette. That and the smidge of honey I whisk in. My vinaigrette came up a notch as well when I discovered miso. What a lovely flavor explosion that was. I've never used the egg yolk, finding the oil and miso enough to emulsify.

What a wonderful decision you made and I'm happy you got your father's understanding. It's inspiring to see someone who's had the comfort (ie money) of the corporate life and who turns away from it. I predict you will be as successful with your writing career as you were in getting two degrees and working in the corporate world.

So now we know being a good cook isn't genetic. It's either fate or practise.

Sure! Come on over! Bring wine! Basically you can put just about anything into a ravioli, what ever looks good or fresh in the market. I'm thinking about an asparagus filling for Easter...probably something like this: steamed asparagus, little bit of toasted walnuts, fresh ricotta, then puree the filing. Serve with a creamy lemon sauce. Had some lovely 'tortelloni' recently, which is a giant tortelli, filled with walnuts, ricotta and sausage. With a walnut sauce. Rich, but fantastic. Check out Marcella Hazan's bookClassic Italian Cooking for some great recipes. Its a great getting started book. Someone from eG recommended it to me. And the group ravioli sessions: priceless! We've solved many of the worlds problems over a ravioli session! Thanks Hathor! Yes, I realized, while taking Moby's stuffed pasta class, that ravioli is about leftovers and creativity. I've made spinach raviolis with homemade mascarpone, pine nuts, and chicken liver the last couple times and I'm ready to branch out. I want to try Moby's asparagus recipe as it's that season for spring veggies. I ordered the Marcella book along with a couple other cookbooks, oops I did it again. Can't wait to get those and check out her ravioli recipes. Speaking of semolina. I bought a big bag of what I thought was bulk semolina flour from Central Market; however, when I went to knead my pasta dough (using about 80% of this semolina and 20% regular flour) it was horribly coarse and wouldn't develop the gluten. It kept falling apart, finally, I chucked it and used the reverse proportion and that kneaded just fine. So cautionary note, one better know the quality of the semolina before buying it. Some are too coarse as this was, it was more like cereal. However, when I bought some at DeLaurenti, it was milled just right and I could use the 80% semolina mix.

Huh - how odd. You are remembering to put on that last extra coat of polyurethane the way the food stylists do - aren't you? Hey, that could solve alot of problems!

Roasted veggies. I love them, love their shiny glossiness and sweet goodness, but can I duplicate those luscious photos, no! Mine are rarely glossy or they're still half raw, or their tips are burned. Trying to get them timed with the roast meat is an additional nightmare.

It's nice to see not everyone is a perfect cook/baker on eGullet. I've been feeling so inadequate when reading that thread "Dinner!, What did we cook?"...

I've had many problems with cookies, most notably spreading. One trick is to chill the dough before baking and this has really helped. They actually look like catered cookies, you know, properly small and perfectly formed. I also recently got a cookie bible-type book (name escapes me) and she went into the making of cookies, from how different fats affect them to baking pans. It helps to read a book like this to understand what's going on.

I just want to make sure we're talking about the same place. The one I mentioned is the Sichuanese Cuisine Restaurant on 1048 S. Jackson - is that the same one you call Lo Sichuan? These spellings are driving me crazy. The person who organized this lunch has gotten menus posted up and they're in English, however. That makes me think we're talking about different places.

Hi Folks, Has anyone had the Sichuanese ravioli at the Sichuanese Cuisine Restaurant or is it the same as the Sichuanese dumpling mentioned? I do like a thin-skinned dumpling/ravioli. Our office is actually ordering from them for our birthday lunch in a couple weeks. I can't wait! I wish I hadn't missed the eGullet gathering - somehow the posting escaped me.

Now books, on the other hand, talk alot about the food and that's what I love. Particularly books written by immigrants to America remembering the food.

I know, I know! Now, Big John's Shhhhh.... It's a secret???

I have to say that I'm totally confused when people say this. I realize I don't watch much TV so I must be missing something but I have no clue what you're trying to say by this. For the tragically unhip... "word" is a shortened version of the underground 80's phrase "word up" (Made popular in a 1988 hit song by Cameo), which meant "I know what you mean" or "I understand". Example: "It sure is hot today." "Word." It can also be used as a question, as in "word?" It translates to "I can't believe I'm hearing this." or "Are you serious?" Example: "I'm going to make an alligator cheesecake." "Word?" roughly. Ok I think I got it. Like in "you're gonna do what???" in a shocked voice if it's word with a question mark, but "oh I getcha" if it's word alone. Thank you for bringing me up to date or rather, back to date updated.

Thanks tsquare! Now I remember, that's the place my friend said I should check out. I forgot all about it. As you can tell, I'm in a pasta-making phase and finding all the places that carry good flour....

I have to say that I'm totally confused when people say this. I realize I don't watch much TV so I must be missing something but I have no clue what you're trying to say by this.

This reminds me, PFI has it in bulk too. I don't know of its quality though. Sorry, but what's PFI?

I'm curious too and have been receiving their emails. I almost registered but then had a time conflict. Will enjoy hearing how it goes at the Indian class.

DeLaurenti definitely has both durum and semolina as I bought a bag of both. I'm not sure why it's considered one and the same as the durum was quite different from the semolina which was alittle coarse, while the durum was very soft and yellow in color. You'll find the flours upstairs - some on a rack and some behind the counter. I recently bought some semolina flour from Central Market in Poulsbo from their bulk section and it was awful. It was more like semolina cereal and I couldn't make pasta from it as it wouldn't develop. Next time I won't buy such a large amount of an untried product. This week I went to PCC in West Seattle and bought the Red Mill which they call durum semolina. I haven't tried it yet though. I definitely think DeLaureni has the very best so far. I checked Borrachini(sp) in Beacon Hill and couldn't believe that they didn't have any pasta flours!

I'm getting rid of all those packaged pasta I have, as the older they are, the longer they take to cook, and now they are all so bland tasting by comparison! Hell, I wasn't looking at the weather, I only saw the food. And your beautiful 6-burner stove, ha.