reesek

many thanks for indulging my early and scattered planning. largely due to all your advice, we are skipping galicia and centering our trip on cantabria and asturias. our plan is as follows - madrid - burgos - cantabria (one night near santanilla/santander) then a couple of days wending our way along the coast to Luarca and asturian environs for a couple of days. then back towards madrid through Leon - or maybe through valladolid(?) i'm hoping someone can help advise me w/r/t driving times... and advice on burgos & valladolid. we're spending one afternoon and evening in each place - unless it's less than halfway to the coast and/or there's a pretty little spot along those routes. we'd just love to find a tiny village with not much to do, but gorgeous views. donkeys a plus. as always - many thanks!

is this the former CaterArts space? it's an absolutely stunning space if so...i used to plan a lot of events and it was nice to have that one in my back pocket. what a shame if it's being wasted.

cdh,Jun 15 2004, 05:44 AM] i do the exact same thing - i like to play drug lord and spew several at once. i no longer have company on my bubble tea outings. edited to fix quotes

Rsincere - i have that bittman book - and it's great. i think his process for adding new things to a recipe is a really great way to figure out what flavors go together. i think the dinner doctor should go on sabbatical. seriously - tell us what you have around and we can help you make meals that are much tastier, probably less expensive and genuinely homemade. if you save the dinty moore and soup packets - you can turn to them in emergency situations for meals. edited to add: dinner last night was 6 gross waffle fries, and too much bud light. shhh

i think you can replace the word "vegetarian" with the word "person" and it still applies, doesn't it? edited to agree with compassrose - all non-vegans should own the Greens cookbook. it's wonderful

wine, parliaments, journal. rinse & repeat. always repeat.

thank you susan - it's always nice to feel justified in indulging myself in that way...but was this a time when i should have just sucked it up and gotten the darn Classico? it's important to me to cook (and eat) a good meal - especially for guests - to cook something i can get excited about. but really - it was one dinner - which i made them wait an hour and a half to eat. is that good hostess behavior? i'd be willing to wait - and let me be clear - they're lovely people and no one was rushing me or being impolite (in fact - they insisted on doing the dishes) but wasn't i selfish - to use owen's thoughtful criteria - wasn't i letting my passion interfere with my "real" job...in this case - feed the people. i think this is sticking with me because i know they were baffled by why i made tomato sauce from scratch after working all day. i think they felt guilty - like it isn't something i would ordinarily have done and that they were burdening me. i think i was extremely clear that i was just doing what i would have done in any case, but i don't think they got it, so i don't think they trusted it...which makes what i wished to be a nice thing into something that makes me feel a little guilty.

wendy, i vote for simple and evocative - look at each creation and think - what are the elements i want to convey? personally - i'm a huge fan of the ingredient list. i think maybe since people trust you - you can take a little license. some dishes (like cookies and frozen souffle) are pretty self-explanatory. maybe instead of trying to rename them - you can add the 'alongs' in the description oreo crumb chocolate torte - caramel and chocolate sauces, pouring cream vanilla bean souffle - roasted strawberries assorted cookies - selection rotates daily (implies - fresh, yes?) by the way - i'd love to try your souffle sometime - it sounds delicious!

thanks for that article gifted gourmet. i, for one, don't buy the LA Times' explanation (though the mezze craze has already hit in DC) i too, prefer to nibble. the reason i think tapas and small plates are popular is the flexibility. people can congregate in cute bars and have a snack with their drinks. they don't have to have a huge meal, they can try a place out before committing to a full meal there and it's a much more social way to eat. it's also a healthier way to drink. finally - true or not - there is a perception that it's cheaper than having dinner out - and it certainly can be if the goal is to nibble. finally - this was touched upon in another thread - tapas/mezze enables people with a variety of different eating styles (atkins & vegetarian) to eat together without having to be ("that table") i like small plates for many of foodie-girl's reasons. small plates can be more daring - chefs can take more risks or focus on one single flavor when several dishes are likely to be ordered.

i've been taking tuna salad to the extreme since i discovered freshly canned alaskan albacore. this stuff is so good. for $4.50 a can - it better be. it makes wonderful mayo-free tuna salad (chopped parsley, shallot, serrano, cornichon, red vinegar, olive oil, s&p) and awesome thai tuna salad (cilantro, lemon, lots of chili paste, oil, s&p) serve with wedges of cabbage and beer. tuna melts rule - but they have to be made properly. i can't believe no one else grew up with my mother who instead of draining the can of tuna correctly instead gave it one half-hearted squeeze over the sink before dumping it and most of its (starkist chunk light) water into a bowl. blech. most commercial tuna (at my work cafeteria, and lesser establishments) suffer from my mother's affliction. poor drainage ruins even the best tuna.

i get that too - or martha stewart...as in, i'm much more obsessive than i need to be. it is insulting - but in my case - the truth has bite. case in point - my bf's parents and aunt and uncle stayed with us for the last 2 nights. the night they arrived it was hot so we ate out. last night i offered to cook. there are vegetarian issues and food adventuresomeness issues (they're all english - and not particularly adventuresome). i spoke with rob (bf) on the phone as i was leaving work and got the request for penne with tomato sauce. 5:15pm. i get to the store at 6:15pm and find myself absolutely unable to just buy a f*cking jar of sauce. i'm struggling with bitterness because i know i can't add seafood b/c of the vegetarian, can't add many (if any) veggies b/c of the pickiness issues. i decide to make a sicilian-style tomato sauce with mint and topped with ricotta and pecorino and then serve cheese and fruit. i'm pleased. so i buy 6 pounds of tomatoes (7pm) and sail home - totally high that i've worked out the issue of how to make something i think of as boring into something acceptably plain, but still exotic and start to roast the tomatoes. rob's family meanwhile certainly feels odd, and possibly feels guilty - i come straight home from work and start to cook. the ladies cluck...we eat around 8:15 or so. as we're getting into bed rob says - you know...that was delicious, but they would have been happy with a crappy jar of sauce. i felt a little ridiculous for exposing these poor hungry people to my weirdness. they ate well - and serving my guests well is a very important part of being a hostess in my opinion - but what was the point? it wasn't that i was trying to impress them (this wouldn't be the way) it was more like i couldn't help it. i really couldn't buy a jar of sauce.

lucy, if i ever get married i'm going to try to bribe you into taking photos for my wedding. you make raw meat look noble and inviting! are you currently eating your servings of cheese plain (ie - with fingers or a fork rather than with a bread substitute?) i use english cucumber or thin radish sometimes, but generally think i enjoy the flavor more completely plain. loving the blog...!

gerhard this is wonderful!! i have the chills just thinking about the adventure. congratulations for following your dream - wherever it may lead - please blog as often as you can - you have a rapt audience in us. best, reese

i had dinner there once - unimpressive food and service. definitely a singles bar feel to it.

trillium - you are so nice. let me sneak off to the market and see if i can find some sour cherries this week - otherwise, i may just take you up on your offer. i'm sure i'll find an excuse to get to portland in the next couple of months. do tell more about infusing fruit in liquor. i've noticed that in other threads...i'm very intrigued. what do you do and how?

thanks toliver! this is a great thread. What was your family food culture when you were growing up? i remember sitting on the kitchen counter while my mom napped (sitting on counters not otherwise permitted!) and pulling out all the spices. i would read the labels and open the jars and smell the sweet oregano and spicy cinnamon. i read the backs of the jars to see what the uses were of each spice...we must have had 100 different jars. she didn't use most of it except for occasionally. she'd make corned beef and cabbage (which i thought was a jewish dish until college) and something she called "sweet and sour" which was basically huge meatballs wrapped in cabbage and stewed in a thin sour-salty tomato broth. she only made those a couple of times a year. i think when she was married she entertained more and made more interesting things. she always talked about beef bourgonion and lardons (like it was a dish) and chocolate mousse but i never ate that at home. as a result, i was shaped by stuff i hadn't experienced. our every day food wasn't very exciting, but i always knew the good stuff was out there. it just wasn't fun or interesting to her to make time consuming dishes after working all day. nonetheless - a balanced meal was very important to her. we always had a green salad with every meal, and the only frozen vegetable she ever made was peas. no canned veg. god bless her. she's a strong believer in cocktails and hors d'oeuvres so i developed an early taste for cheese. in the early 80's blue cheese, camenbert and maybe gouda was about as sexy as it got. i was in. we also ate a lot of deli. once a month or so we'd have "garbage" which was my favorite meal because i got to have an onion roll with dinner. (mom was atkins before he was) "garbage" meant a trip to snider's market for chicken salad, corned beef, havarti, roast beef, swiss, batampte pickles, plochman's mustard. we'd lay the bounty on a platter and make combo sandwiches. whatever we didn't eat would be for my lunch later in the week. Was meal time important? yes. we always ate dinner together. my mom hates to eat alone, so if she was home at lunch on the weekends, she'd make me lunch when she ate so she could have company. her one concession to the hassle of large scale cooking was make make thanksgiving dinner every year. we'd have strays and friends cook together (which despite her constant bitching - i know she liked) and she made delicious apple pie - a recipe i still use. Was cooking important? eating well and entertaining well were both important - cooking was an inconvenient part of that process. my mom is/was very proud that she is a better cook than her mother. she enjoys positive reactions to her food but sees the journey not as relaxing or enjoyable, but as hassle. What were the penalties for putting elbows on the table? elbows off the table, napkin in lap, no leaning back in chairs, no gulping of milk...penalties were irrelevant - obedience was expected. Who cooked in the family? my mother and i both cooked. i was making dinner a couple nights a week after the age of 10 or so. Were restaurant meals common, or for special occassions? they were pretty common. once i hit high school i think we ate out a couple of times a week. when i was in junior high - we were very poor and never went out. she was a realtor - some years we lived very well, some years we scrimped. birthdays were always marked by a visit to "whatever" restaurant we wanted. fancy was sort of expected...we all like to dress up. Did children have a "kiddy table" when guests were over? never. in fact, i don't think i have ever sat at a kiddie table anywhere. When did you get that first sip of wine? the womb. Was there a pre-meal prayer? no Was there a rotating menu (e.g., meatloaf every Thursday)? before my parents split we had steaks and baked potatoes every sunday. after they split - chinese from shanghi (with the good egg rolls) which, i think was a tradition my mom got from her family - the only one she kept. other than that - there was no set menu, but my mom made a lot of the same things - and then repeated her "leftover creations." How much of your family culture is being replicated in your present-day family life? i definitely got the taste for eating out from my parents. when i would see my dad, we'd almost always go out - so i probably ate out 2-3 times a week for most of my childhood. i eat out less now, but meal time is important to me. i'd much prefer to share a meal than just eat when we're hungry - which i think is what my boyfriend would be happy doing. (he indulges me though) i don't use frozen vegetables except peas (and corn). my mother instilled an appreciation and a taste for quality and fresh ingredients. i think the main difference between my mom and me is that she spent more money at higher end restaurants than i do but i cook the same things. i take a pleasure in the process that she doesn't have.

BF's family is coming to town today so i was obsessively wiping spills so his mother doesn't know i let her son wallow in filth. he wasn't hungry when i got home from work last night so i snacked on a couple slices of istarra and a small chunk of brie. BF's dad's birthday just passed so we made flourless chocolate cake. (licked beaters) and drank a bottle of wine while it baked, cooled and glazed. (tested glaze for proper thickness) salsa. spicy - insanely hot for only having a couple serranos in it. and chips. i think that was at about 10pm. so...cheese+wine+fiery salsa+chocolate = a stomach ache at midnight.

2 hours! what do they taste like when they're done? what do they look like? thanks sugarhill

trillium, where did you get sour cherries? i've tried begging my sister on the east coast to send me some, but she hasn't...i'm dying to try them. about jams - i'd love to make a really fresh tasting strawberry - they're wonderful fresh right now, but i've always felt that they lose something - get too sweet or too cooked - and lose their vibrancy in jams. freezer jam tastes good to me - how does that process work? what about (sourish) plums? we have a tree. awesome thread trillium. i am deeply envious of your fig tree.

where is sergio's, really nice? there was a very good little mexican place next to torrefazione right on the fremont side of the bridge. they made their own tortillas and i was impressed with fish tacos and other treats. it's gone now. it's becoming bandeleone. i'm a little disappointed about that since while i always thought bandeleone had potential - the service and kitchen issues made the place too unreliable for my dollars.

batuta - welcome to egullet! thinking about your audience - i wonder if you might get more bang if you elevated the ordinary to the extraordinary. the dry aged prime beef is an example - though depending on where you live - it may be harder to get prime. another thought (as i lunch on leftovers) is salmon. i just got some amazing yukon river salmon (copper river is also extraordinary this year) and the difference between it and farmed salmon - and even most wild salmon is unmistakable. you could also focus on elements of taste - making your guests add ingredients to taste (like vietnamese pho) will really bring sharp clean flavors to the fore without it feeling too obvious. i went to a restaurant here in seattle once that served very simple stirfried prawns with chilies. the prawns were plated with a tiny mound of salt, a tiny mound of pepper and 2 lime wedges. it was very cool to have to combine quantities and flavors myself. have fun!

it was ben (and it will be on your way home - or here) tortillas

parsley was taking over the garden so i made tabbouleh and topped it with roasted yukon river salmon. i rubbed the salmon with salt flavored with thyme, rosemary and white pepper, then added a thin layer of shallot mustard and roasted until delicious. if you can get it - i highly recommend the splurge.

markk - gorgeous! those lentils are inspiring a pavlovian reaction from me. any hope of wrangling your technique? they look eithiopian.

Mongo, I'm nominating you to blog again then next time you go back to India. Please, please, please take us with you. :beg: right?! i actually drooled.