Abra

OMG! Those are some of the most beautiful pastries I've ever seen. I was trying to find one, or even six, to "order", but it's impossible to choose. Bravissimo. By the way, what sweetener are you using for the sugar-free stuff?

Can't sleep, can't cook in the middle of the night, this thread is driving me mad. As soon as it's decently light I have to run out for chicken. I always have onions, sweet and half-sharp Penzey's, and smoked pimenton, just never thought to combine them this way. I'm dying to be initiated into the club!

The answer to all of your questions is basically: yes! Just come on over for an afternoon and Shel will put you through the paces on the La Marzocco. I'll even make you lunch.

The updated list just upthread shows the recent changes.

Thanks, Jim, I'll check 'em out. I can get a lot of specialty beans here, but I'm always looking for more.

Wendy, nice to see you again! Quail escabeche is just what we've been needing - you're on! That's a bonus recipe that's online only, so we'll all get to be surprised. So now we have Rockdoggydog - Saucy Clams and Shrimp with Wild Mushrooms, and meat and cheese plate White Lotus + Mr. WL - Leeks Romesco with Crumbled Garrotxa Cheese, and Tomato Salad with Mint Dressing SeaGal - Twice Baked Potatoes with Tetilla and Roasted Fennel, and White Bean and Chorizo Salad with Olives Cheeseandchocolate - Cauliflower Gratin with Manchego and Almond Sauce, and Toasted Bread and Bittersweet Chocolate Sparrowsfall - Garlicky Shrimp with Olive Oil Abra and Shel - Pork in Adobo Sauce and Cabrales Phyllo Rolls with Sherry Dipping Sauce Laurel and Joe - Mackerel Escabeche with Asparagus and Artichoke Hearts, and Smoky Chard Saute FWED and Ed - Lemon Cinnamon Flan MsRamsey - wine, and tales of her new life down south Heyjude and Richard - Rotisserie Chicken with Dried Fruit and Pine Nuts Malarkey? if she can get three papers written before Saturday Chef Wendy - Quail Escabeche, and Ferran Adria book, and maybe an espuma Jude, I put you down for the chicken, it seems to fill a hole in the menu quite well. Anyone else? Eden won't be able to make it, so her dishes are up for grabs again, if anyone wants them. Those fried gorgonzola bites sound really yummy.

Gorgeous, Andie! That's a very tasty-looking recipe too, and I can't wait to give it a try. Have you ever added a few shiitakes? Or do the criminis have enough mushroom flavor for you?

Jim, do they sell beans online, for those of us who blanch at a 200 mile drive to buy beans? Not me, I mean, I'd go to the ends of the earth for a good bean, but my keyboard is so much handier!

And further to the wet fish/dry fish lingo thing, is there such a thing as a non-Uma Thurman fan? Those flapjacks looks scrumptious and earthy, not at all like anything I've ever seen called a flapjack, and not what I would have thought of as a Brit breakfast (shows what I know). Gotta try that recipe. Do you think Art Meets Matter ships to the US? I couldn't see anything about that on their site. Fun blog already!

No science here, all faith. I totally trust John Ash's recipes. Everything I have made from that book has been delicious and has worked exactly as written. I think of it as one of the most reliable books in my collection. So, I'd do whatever he says and have faith that it will be excellent.

$14 for asparagus does sound ludicrous, and I confess, we've never gotten a vegetable dish there. But you owe it to yourself to give it one more try. Go early enough to sit upstairs at the counter, and eat some of the more specialized dishes. The octopus and the morcilla, just for two things, are super-delicious. It's an expensive dinner, that's for sure, and we save it for special occasions, but I think the food is brilliant.

Is everybody finding Spanish wines ok? I got a couple of bottles of Palacios Les Terrasses today that should be delicoius.

Thanks, reesek, it sounds like the menu has changed since we were last there a few months ago - time to go again! I want to recommend a little coffee thing that I'm not sure is on the menu. I'm not even sure how to spell it, but after googling a bit I think it's "cafe bombon." It's sweetened condensed milk under a shot of perfect espresso, and it's beyond delicious.

I am so jealous! We can't make it, so I'm waiting anxiously to drool over your reports. Please take pictures, for those of us that haven't been there yet.

Just a little thread-grooming here. This is the current menu and list of attendees: Rockdoggydog - Saucy Clams and Shrimp with Wild Mushrooms, and meat and cheese plate White Lotus + Mr. WL - Leeks Romesco with Crumbled Garrotxa Cheese, and Tomato Salad with Mint Dressing SeaGal - Twice Baked Potatoes with Tetilla and Roasted Fennel, and White Bean and Chorizo Salad with Olives Cheeseandchocolate - Cauliflower Gratin with Manchego and Almond Sauce, and Toasted Bread and Bittersweet Chocolate Sparrowsfall - Garlicky Shrimp with Olive Oil Abra and Shel - Pork in Adobo Sauce and Cabrales Phyllo Rolls with Sherry Dipping Sauce Laurel and Joe - Mackerel Escabeche with Asparagus and Artichoke Hearts, and Smoky Chard Eden? - Chickpea and Spinach Stew and Fried Gorgonzola Bites FWED and Ed - Lemon Cinnamon Flan MsRamsey Heyjude and Richard Malarkey? So that makes it 15, possibly 17 so far, and we have 16 dishes accounted for. There are still a lot of fabulous-sounding dishes to choose from, for those who haven't decided yet. With this many people and dishes I second my earlier recommendation that we each bring small plates, maybe even disposable ones, to accompany our dishes. Otherwise we'll be spending all night at the sink.

Ok, here's where we are so far: a)whether you'll be bringing someone, and b) what food you'll be doing Rockdoggydog - Saucy Clams and Shrimp with Wild Mushrooms, and Garlicky Shrimp with Olive Oil White Lotus + Mr. WL - Leeks Romesco with Crumbled Garrotxa Cheese, and Tomato Salad with Mint Dressing SeaGal Cheeseandchocolate - Cauliflower Gratin with Manchego and Almond Sauce, and Toasted Bread and Bittersweet Chocolate Sparrowsfall - Ham and Chickpea Saute Surprise Abra and Shel - Pork in Adobo Sauce and Cabrales Phyllo Rolls with Sherry Dipping Sauce Laurel and Joe - Mackerel Escabeche with Asparagus and Artichoke Hearts, and Smoky Chard Eden? - Chickpea and Spinach Stew and Fried Gorgonzola Bites MT-Tarragon - we're hoping your fiancee wants to come! FWED and Ed - dessert as yet undecided Check out page 78 for Spanish wine suggestions. Anyone else want to join in the fun? SeaGal - we don't have any potato dish, so that sounds nice to me, as do all the others. WL picked up the leeks, though. I have seen tetilla at PFI - it's worth calling them first in case they don't always have it. And we don't have any chorizo dish either - they have the Palacio at both Spanish Table and Whole Foods, if anyone wants to take that one on.

Laurel - the chard is timed at 25 minutes, the mackerel at 30. So, if you believe F&W, the two would take an hour to prepare. I'll put you down for both, but if you want to give one up to somebody else, just let us know. Steve, please say you'll go for the shrimp, track down the live ones, and blow us all away!

I think sorrel with ricotta or quark, and maybe some shallot and mushrooms, would be yummy. I don't think I'd put it with arugula, though, since I fear the flavors would clash. Try eating an arugula leaf and a sorrel leaf together, just raw, and see what you think. Arugula is my favorite salad green of all time.

Ok, now that we're on a new page, here's the update. Thanks to Sparrowsfall, I am happy to announce that we will have our fiesta on Saturday Jan. 22 at his home in Seattle. Here's what I know so far, omitting people who cannot join us that day, and leaving spaces for you to tell us a)whether you'll be bringing someone, and b) what food you'll be doing Rockdoggydog - Saucy Clams and Shrimp with Wild Mushrooms, and Garlicky Shrimp with Olive Oil White Lotus SeaGal? Cheeseandchocolate - Cauliflower Gratin with Manchego and Almond Sauce, and Toasted Bread and Bittersweet Chocolate Sparrowsfall - Ham and Chickpea Saute Surprise Abra and Shel - Pork in Adobo Sauce and Cabrales Phyllo Rolls with Sherry Dipping Sauce Laurel and Jow - Mackerel Escabeche with Asparagus and Artichoke Hearts, and Smoky Chard Eden? - Chickpea and Spinach Stew and Fried Gorgonzola Bites MT-Tarragon? FWED and Ed - dessert as yet undecided Check out page 78 for Spanish wine suggestions. Anyone else want to join in the fun?

FWED - get the magazine and you'll find a number of Spanish desserts. That's the idea this time - all from that issue. Glad you can come out to play! And we'll miss you, lmf and kayswv - hope to see you next time.

I used to only make soup with sorrel, but this summer I discovered that sorrel leaves make fabulous wraps. For a simple example, just wrap your sliced turkey up in a sorrel leaf. And then, of course, the sky's the limit. I was wrapping all kinds of leftovers with the sorrel I got from my CSA this summer. It's got a lovely, lemony tang that enhances many foods. That's wonderful that your whole family has lost so much weight with you!

Wow, live shrimp. Must have been somewhere in the ID, huh? I'm thinking that we shouldn't be doubling any recipes, even with the number of people we have, and should do it as a series of small plates. What say you all? Maybe we each should bring enough little plates to serve the dishes we make, since I doubt that Steve, even with his formidable dish collection, has enough for this shindig. Or should we just dump it all on one plate and dive in?

Cheeseandchocolate, you're doing a heroic job of living up to your name! I'm going to keep editing the post upthread until I can't do it any longer, so that's where changes are for the moment. Steve is great about people cooking at his house - encourages it, in fact, so no worries about the oven. Good luck to SeaGuy on his surgery, and we'll hope he's doing well enough for you to join us, Jan!

Thanks to Sparrowsfall, I am happy to announce that we will have our fiesta on Saturday Jan. 22 at his home in Seattle. Here's what I know so far, omitting people who cannot join us that day, and leaving spaces for you to tell us a)whether you'll be bringing someone, and b) what food you'll be doing Rockdoggydog - Saucy Clams and Shrimp with Wild Mushrooms, and Garlicky Shrimp with Olive Oil White Lotus SeaGal? Cheeseandchocolate - Cauliflower Gratin with Manchego and Almond Sauce, and Toasted Bread and Bittersweet Chocolate littlemsfoodie? Sparrowsfall Abra and Shel - Pork in Adobo Sauce and Cabrales Phyllo Rolls with Sherry Dipping Sauce Laurel Eden? - Chickpea and Spinach Stew and Fried Gorgonzola Bites MT-Tarragon? Check out page 78 for Spanish wine suggestions.

I'm so happy to see your blog, Jen, and congratulations on the 27 lbs! As you know, I'm a WWer too (- 60 and stuck) and I've never seen a paper journal before, since I only do it online. Of course, instead of thinking about how yummy those pictures are, I'm thinking "how the heck does she figure the points for that???". So, would you sometimes count for us, so we can get a sense of how you're managing to eat that stuff and still lose weight? I wanna Bunnykins bowl!