ludja

Here's a link to the butter/buttermilk version of the cake listed on Leite's Culinaria: click . For some reason I am perversly interested in this cake after your guy's reviews! Although I don't typically love cakes which use oil, it's hard to imagine it could be that unsatisifying! But...I think I *would* try the butter/buttermilk rather than the oil/yogurt version. Thanks for the tip, CaliPoutine! It seems like she tried to convert the recipe to a recipe that is at least perceived to be more healthy and maybe it wasn't that successful. I'm now craving a lemony poundcake with confectionary suger/lemon juice glaze! Care to share more info on your tangerine pudding cakes, tsquare? I love tangerines and these sound very wonderful!

Yum; this looks like a wonderful tea as well! What is the goat butter like? A milder, spreadable goat cheese? It sounds interesting. Do you think you like it better than butter in this context? I love the scones with Devon clotted cream and strawberry preserves...

You have already....in all the postings on this thred and Alexanders of Limpsfield thred......you just have to take it on the chin as you did ask for it....the review that is...... ← Here's the thread for Alexander's at Limpsfield .

Thanks for the report, these reviews of Alexander's intrigue me. I like the non-typical (for a steakhouse) appetizers and side dishes on offer and it sounds like they have some interesting desserts, despite the hit and miss experience of alanamoana in this regard. Any more details on the rootbeer dessert, ghost? We were just discussing some root beer desserts on this thread started by gfron1. Not ultra original perhaps, but I was thinking I would like a parfait-type dessert with layers of rootbeer granita and vanilla ice cream...

Another good general resource is the Local Harvest organization and website. Here's the results of search for farms around Denver: click Some of the farms participate in Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) where you can get a box of produce each week after signing up with a farm. edited to add: You can restrict the search to farmer's market's, CSA's, coops, etc. I've also heard of people in the Denver area finding sources for buying grass fed beef and organic pork from people who raise the animals. It would be interesting to hear what you think of the scene after scouting things out a bit. I wonder if there are also local cheese producers?

Sauce Gribiche!

Hi Jason, I don't have any information on the Bau book, but regarding other new P&B books check the New Baking and Desserts Cookbooks 2007 thread in the Cookbooks and Reference Forum.

I think it is good when sauteeing mushrooms to not salt them in the beginning as they will throw off too much water quickly and the mushrooms will steam more than brown, as you mentioned. However, I do like to add salt during the last few minutes of sauteeing. I think it helps draw out a bit more water at this point but as the bulk of the water has already left the mushrooms and the mushrooms are already browned you get the added intensity of flavor and no loss in color, etc.

Thank you very much for the photos and detailed descriptions, Mooshmouse! I want one of those triple tiered platters! What order do people typically eat the items in? savory, semi-savory and sweet, I guess? Looking forward to your photos, and hope you're feelng better, prasantrin!

Mushroom Pierogies are delcious and freeze well. This recipe uses quite a bit of dried porcini as well but you could adjust the amount of button and wild mushrooms if you wanted to. Dejah: Can you sketch out a recipei for the Hungarian Mushroom Soup? Is is something like sauteed onions and mushrooms, followed by stock, thickened with a little roux, flavored with paprika and finished with sour cream? For some reason, none of my Hungarian cookbooks have a mushroom soup recipe...

Thanks, I realize now I read your post too quickly since you did mention the sodium alginate! The combination of the vanilla foam and rootbeer "caviar" sounds really fun.

"SA" rootbeer? (sorry if I'm being dense... ) The new idea sounds interesting as well. Not that it matters, but in just reading this thread for the first time, I would have gone with a vanilla cake base in combination with the root beer flavors. I think the root beer brings enough unique flavors to the table, so to speak. So much simpler than the ambitious dessert you are designing, but this thread made me think that I might really like a parfait with alternating layers of root beer granita and vanilla ice cream topped with whipped cream... I haven't really thought of using root beer in a dessert before. edited to add: Is "SA", Samuel Adams?

Put in me in the "mild yech" camp although I can see how it makes sense as a night time snack for true cereal lovers. I did eat and like kiddie cereals when I was younger but as I grew older I lost my taste for them and didn't move wholeheartedly to adult cold cereals either. I'll usually have some around for breakfast in case other supplies are low and I need a quick breakfast. One example I can think of though it that I do like muesli with yogurt and chopped apples and have sometimes eaten that as a snack.

Spanish tapas are another potential theme. It's great to have a few warm tapas in the mix but there also many nice recipes for room temperature dishes.

It has been wonderful to follow the development of your inn and restaurant. Thank you for sharing it with us! I must admit, it was on my list for my next trip to England so selfishly, I'm sad to hear the news. Good luck in your new ventures and I hope the new folks are inspired by the type of place you created.

I need to find the right time at a faster connection to listen to the webcast. Thanks for quotes/comments, JohnnyD and Pontormo. It must have been a very interesting gathering with Waters and the rest of the Berkeley there especially if they scheduled time for questions from the audience.

Great idea and maybe easier all around if new grads and everyone is dressed up, etc. on graduation day. Here is a nice previous thread on antipasti for other ideas.

Is chopped liver on the menu at Hershel's? (I need to pass the info on to a friend local to RTM and I keep a network of good chopped liver purveyors on my radar for when I travel... )

My solution is my standard suggestion. Smoked pork, and lots of it ← Not for the bbq purists, but since I didn't have a smoker I once had a large party with Carolina Style bbq I made in the oven. It came out quite well; I reheated the pork on the day of the party in steamers. Served it up with hamburger rolls and slaw. I made my own dry "mixes" of cornbread ahead of time and made fresh batches of cornbread periodically during the party. (This can be made ahead of time as well.) Then all you need is a couple of other salads, since it was summer I think I made a cold black-eyed pea salad and had sliced tomatoes with homemade cider vinegar mayonnaise. Drinks started out with mint juleps (one per person, for their own sake!) and evolved to iced tea and beer. Dessert was pecan pies and buttermilk pies... It was a great party!

I don't think most people's responses were directed at you personally. I think it was more a response to the situation you described and how it related to similar experiences people have likely had to negotiate themselves at times. We don't know you and your famliy and weren't there for the whole backstory and exact situation so the responses could only be to the general situation as it was originallly described and interpreted. It is an interesting topic and evidently raised a lot of different scenarios and perspectives for people to think about. It really did remind me of the situation with my Dad and his favorite Chinese restaurant back home. I also mentioned the topic to another friend and he had a host of related stories as well! Thanks for starting the conversation and look forward to your other posts! edited to add: We also need to keep the home lights burning for our few representives from the South Bay and Peninsula!

What an exciting post! Good luck straightening out the snafu and getting the stove in inside! I really like the way the cabinets and your pastry space are looking. The kitchen is giong to be wonderful! Congrats on your promotion, hope it all works out well!

steamed artichokes and corn on the cob cream puffs!

Yup.

Thank you so much for sharing this, franci. This looks like something that I would really like. Maybe I'll try it for Easter this year.

In all fairness to JohnL, I got the same impression when reading the original article you linked to. This quote from the article in particular implied conspiracy on the part of chain restaurants to me: "“Burgers, pizzas, and quesadillas were never health foods to begin with, but many restaurants are transmogrifying these foods into ever-more harmful new creations, and then keeping you in the dark about what they contain,” said Michael F. Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). “Now we see lasagna with meatballs on top; ice cream with cookies, brownies, and candy mixed in; ‘Ranchiladas,’ bacon cheeseburger pizzas, buffalo-chicken-stuffed quesadillas, and other hybrid horribles that are seemingly designed to promote obesity, heart disease, and stroke.”" I'm not sure how to interpret that passage any other way. Perhaps I am reading CSPI's intent wrong. I get the feeling that they are a special interest group in search of a drum to beat. But, I have been known to be a cynic sometimes. My opinion. ← Thanks annecros! I agree that the writing appears to be designed to "catch the eye", but I guess I was focused more on the calorie and fat numbers in the article and the "regular" dishes that that they listed as being equivalent to the "Xtreme" examples. When I was replying to JohnL I was referring to the Pollan article on some of the factors on supersizing that he referenced in his reply to me. (See the link in post 31).