rancho_gordo

I don't even know how to answer this, so I won't. If he introuduced you and a lot of other people to cooking, great!

Wow. This is like when Reagan died! Some of us were cooking and exploring lots of interesting food before Jeff Smith came along. And some of us found him kind of creepy at the time, long before he was accused of inappropiate behavior. Clearly he was a personal hero to a lot of new cooks here but I think it's easy to blow his importance out of proportion.

I love my all-metal food mill with three screens. Simple, cheap and it works.

I just can't get the image of Rocco entering the kitchen in the wee hours of the morning and with much fanfare, he chops tomatoes and onions. We're supposed to take away the feeling that he plays the food like an instrument but he just came off as ridiculous. It felt false and perhaps the producers came up with the idea but the fact that he went along, willingly, tells all. The best moment was the follow up when his mother declares the sauce he invented to the tune of Babalu , "awful!" I know some people like him and feel like we're shooting fish in a barrel but so many talented people aren't given the chances this guy received and he seems to be squandering everything, just to be una brutta copia di un playboy. Finally, he does have plugs in his hair, right? That do isn't a fashion choice he made, is it?

But not too thick, right? The one time I had them when they were kind of funky is when I had a real thick paddle. What about using two thin, baby paddles? My cacti are going nuts right now and I love them at this stage when the spines are still rubbery and the flesh is so tender I hope you can, too!

I don't know what's traditional, but I was always taught to boil the cleaned and cubed cactus with an onion for 8 to 10 minutes and then rinse. Slime has never been an issue. I love them in scrambled eggs and salsa with lots of tortillas handy.

Well, there were no responses last night so I turned to Joy of Cooking. Sauteed with butter and olive oil, 2 mins a side. Removed roe sacks and then added sherry vinegar (a teaspoon) and some capers to the remaining liquid. Absolutley divine and not "challenging" in the least. JOC said it was rich and that two sacks were too rich for one person. Guess again! I hate them both with a green salad and went to sleep smiling! I hope to get them again and will try the two methods mentioned above. Thanks!

I LOVE eGullet! Traded with another vendor today and she gave 2 shad roe. She made a face and I said I'll try anything, but I have no idea how to cook it. Any ideas for something very simple?

I went to one there and it was pretty awful. But in fairness, I think the host helps pick the menu and this was a big party of about 40 people and most everyone wanted to socialize and drink wine. In the end, they couldn't control the food and it went from bland to outright gross.

I'd like to thank the members of the academy..... Thanks again for all the kind words! I served Pozole Verde all day a few weeks ago at the Village Market and will try to remember to post here if I do it again so you can come and experince the glory for yourselves! Here are some shots of the Village Market's lovely Mona serving up the gruel while I took some snaps: and As I said before, it was fun getting such a positive reaction to the pozole until they learned they'd have to make it for themselves and that my samples were an example of what to make, not something they could take home and heat up.

You're doing this to hurt me, aren't you???? I have to say, I think this is more an East Coast trend. I remember a few years ago I'd written something about gin martinis and someone Quite Well Known said, "Everybody knows that martinis are made with vodka now!" but here, at least in San Francisco, a martini still meant gin. I think it still means a gin/vodka drink up with a touch of vermouth, but I can see the signs on the wall. It's sort of like the Bush administration's technique of if you say something enough times it becomes true. At this point they can call them Macheroni (or Macaroni) for all I care. In my house they are gin, stirred, up, cold and refreshing.

This is probably a new topic, or maybe it's been covered, but can a "foodie" (hate the word!) be a non-cook? I'm sure the answer is going to be yes, but I can't understand how someone who loves good food (and even grows it, as in the case of our own jschyun) not want to play with it in the kitchen. I'm so busy I'm about to loose my mind but I still manage to keep a pot of beans on the crockpot every few days. And make salsa and a dinner salad.

I'm burstin' with pride that my "soul bro", Gary Soup, got to sample my chips and actually liked them. Can I borrow that "macho" reference? I think it's great. I was serving Pozole Verde in the store last week from my dried pozole/posole/hominy. People liked it until they found out they'd have to make it themselves. It's a little discouraging that even in a food aficianado's destination, like the Marketplace in the Ferry building, most people still want clever, pre-made food. Still, it was fun being back in the city after months. Thanks for the plug! I'm blushing!

Oye vey or Aye yi yi! bbq4meanytime, does this mean there are two types of grits? Hominy and Southern? And the Southern is just cornmeal? How does it differ from mush, or does it? You have to excuse me- I'm an old Yanqui who is confused about so much these days and the more learn, the more I forget. It's funny, I like all hominy EXCEPT the yellow canned. I prefer them all "fresh" but the yellow canned to me is inedible, like rubber. That's to make masa harina but a real tortilleria (like, er, Rancho Gordo) would use fresh masa. They soak the corn in wood ash, remove the skin, grind the wet corn and that's masa. It's not reconstituted from the powder. The problem is the masa goes sour pretty fast so for homes without access to fresh masa, the masa harina is a "make-do" thing. I'm working with a farmer who is going to have Red Osage hominy for me within a few weeks. I am very excited! The taste is more like a grain than corn.

My understanding is hominy = pozole = grits (when ground). The skin of the corn is removed by being soaked in lime water (mineral, not citrus) or wood ash. cornmeal = mush = polenta with variious sizes, fine to coarse. I would love to be corrected if I have this wrong.

When in Provence, I loved drinking Americanos. Especially with a rock candy swizzle stick.

I've been thinking about this thread for a few days. I'm thinking out loud and hoping not to offend but it seems like some of us need our ag providers to be suffering and struggling and not thriving. It strikes me as just as much an aesthetic issue as the "slickness" of the ferry building. I like that the building is well-designed and in "good taste". I just wish they would have left and restored the Covarubbias murals from the world's fair that were maps of the world with the Pacific ocean as the center. For me the essential problem with something like the ferry building, the stores within and the farmers markets held there, and their success, is now that you have this glorious tribute to good food, how do you continue to encourage established farmers to switch over to sustainable ag or encourage a young generation of farmers to take up a pitch fork? It's impossible to get in. Edite to add: I know LOTS of farmers who wear overalls, maybe not in town but they are very handy. As for names, I prefer to be called "Snakehips" to "Farmer Gordo", but that's just me.

If it's possible without starting a war, can someone explain the comment to me? I don't get it.

I can see this is a topic to keep track of! Already so many good ideas. I've looked for years for a really good rice pudding using leftover rice. So many recipes call for uncooked and that seems to defeat the spirit of something like rice pudding, which is very good but comfort/leftover food in my book. Any ideas or recipes?

Ms Butler and I have formed a Mutual Admiration Society. I am flattered, to say the least!

I wrote this years ago when I was a young lad so please try not to judge too harshly: Top Shelf

Wow. That's kind of shocking. It's like the ItaliaLand ride at Disney World. What's the point of it? Is there a need for diSpirito to be there to supervise that menu? I think it's worse that he'd put his name on the awning than the fact that he's never there. I'm late to the show so excuse me if this has all been discussed to death.

Another big fat, "Right on, Bro!" to you, Gary Soup! I believe you are 100% right. Part of the problem is we have less than 80,000 people and San Francisco is about 750 to 800,000, I think. But still I think we could support a winter market and that's the long term goal of the Saturday market. I do Marin and Oakland which are year round and during rain, it's the vendors who show up, almost 100%, because we have to pay the stall fee anyway. There are very few customers, but the ones who show up are diehards and it's all a lot of fun, even if it's also miserable. I always have wayward beans in my van and a puddle of water somewhere when it's raining and of course they meet up and a few days later smell like a plastic baby doll that's been fed real milk and left in the sun. Supper yummy!!!!!

Oops! Temporarily I'll be out but I have a "Master Plan". I had too great a time in Oakland to let that one go.

I think they should be year round. But- There aren't as many people to support the markets, the weather is a always more extreme here (hot or cold) and the managers don't think it would fly. I think they are wrong and the direction is for the Saturday market to eventually be year round, but it's still not there. Most markets go thru October but once Labor Day hits, they tend to be dead. My thinking is if people can count on it and it's always there, they'll use it like they would a supermarket. In fairness, it rains a lot more here and it's harder and colder than the city. And an outdoor market in the rain is a real drag, especially for the vendors. Sunday in Marin and Friday in Sonoma are year round. Is there one in Sta. Rosa year round?