Abra

Ah, I'd assumed that you were ditching the curry oil along with the scallop. Instead of curry oil, perhaps a lemon-infused oil? Or if you're wanting more color contrast, maybe a little saffron oil? Do you have enough dishes for all of these courses? That's always a huge issue in my menu-planning, not enough dishes, no desire to wash between courses, and hating to use disposables.

For your cauliflower soup, I think I'd do a little layer of fennel and shallot sauteed in butter, maybe with a crumb or two of pancetta. Then either fennel pollen or a little fennel frond as garnish. The turkey sounds divine. I'm doing two Thanksgivings this year, and wish I could try your recipe for one of them.

All egg issues aside, Patrick, your mousse looks delectable. Would you post the recipe for us?

Me too on all of the above, except I love black licorice as well as fennel. Fennel stalks and fronds make a killer addition to the aromatics when making turkey or chicken broth. And fennel pollen is one of my all-time favorite seasonings. Try a fennel pollen cream sauce on pasta - yum!

Ok, I give up on trying to turn rockdoggydog into a baker, but for anyone who wants to bake squishy, buttery rolls, this is a wonderful recipe.

This is a nice one. It has that same toasted nut/browned butter thing going. And Trader Joes has pecans for a song. * Exported from MasterCook * Deer Valley Pecan Pie Recipe By : Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:00 Categories : Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method -------- ------------ -------------------------------- Butter Crust: 1 1/3 cup flour 1/4 cup sugar 1/2 cup butter 1 large egg yolk Filling: 1 3/4 cup pecan halves 6 T butter 3 large eggs 2 T flour 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar 1/2 cup maple syrup 1 tsp vanilla Combine flour and sugar in food processor (or bowl). Whirl in butter cut in small pieces until fine crumbs form. Add in yolk and whirl until dough holds together. Press dough over bottom and sides of 10" tart pan. Bake crust at 300 until pale gold - 25-30 minutes. Let cool. Toast pecans in a single layer on cookie sheet at 350 until fragrant - about 7 -10 minutes. Cook butter over medium high heat until it begins to brown and have a nutty aroma - 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat. In blender, finely grind 1/4 cup toasted pecans. In a bowl, beat eggs to blend. Add ground pecans, pecan halves, browned butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla. Mix well and pour into baked crust. Bake tart at 350 until center is set when slightly shaken, about 25 minutes. Let cool at least 30 minutes before serving. Source: "Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah, via Sunset Magazine."

This recipe is dead easy, and I'll be happy to walk you through it if you have any questions. This is the recipe that will make people actually eat rolls at Thanksgiving!. You can do it, and really, you should do it. You'll be a hero if you make these! Even my mother in law loves me when I make these - need I say more? * Exported from MasterCook * Buttery Pan Rolls Recipe By : Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:00 Categories : Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method -------- ------------ -------------------------------- 5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 3 tablespoons white sugar 2 teaspoons salt 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast 1 1/2 cups milk 1/2 cup water 5/8 cup butter -- divided 1) Combine 3 cups of the flour, the sugar, salt and yeast in a large bowl. Stir well and set aside. 2) Combine milk, water and 1/4 cup of the butter in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until butter melts, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let mixture cool to 120 to 130 degrees F (49 to 54 degrees C). 3 )Gradually add milk to flour mixture and beat at low speed of an electric mixer for 30 seconds. Then beat for 2 minutes at high speed. Gradually stir in the remaining flour to make a soft dough. 4) Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 8 to 10 minutes or until dough is smooth and elastic. Place dough in a well greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Punch dough down, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. 5) Melt remaining 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter. 6) Shape dough into 40 balls and dip each one in the melted butter. Place the balls in two greased 9 inch square baking pans. Cover and let rise for 45 minutes. 7) Bake in a preheated 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) oven for 15 minutes or until rolls are golden. Brush warm rolls with any remaining melted butter.

I graze on it raw while working in my container garden, and add leaves to sandwiches of all sorts. But mainly I love it as a salad with radicchio, some grated Asiago or crumbled chevre, toasted walnuts, red onion, and stuff like that. It's one of the best green salads I know.

I eat frittata once or twice a week, as part of my Leafy Greens Self-Improvement Program. I almost always include lacinato kale, to which I'm fairly addicted, but ruby chard is also good. Start by sauteeing shallots or onion with a little garlic , add the chopped kale, then whatever other little bits are in the fridge. Red pepper or piquillo peppers are a nice addition, as are shiitakes. By the time I pour in the eggs and add a sprinkle of cheese, the stuff on the bottom is already cooked, so I set the pan under the broiler for 3-4 minutes until the top is puffed and golden, and there it is.

Until FWED drops by...he showed me his molds (yeah, molds collection, not etchings!) and he made molds for the circle and heart interiors of the cakes. That's how he gets those pristine edges. His basement is a pastry geek's wonderland, complete with spray booth.

Neither my grandma, my mother, nor I ever used Stove Top or Pepperidge Farm. The time-honored method in our family was to set out sliced white bread on the counter to dry overnight, then tear it up into chunks in the morning. Mix it with broth, raw eggs (of course, how else is it supposed to stick together?), sauteed celery and onions, a ton of sage, sometimes nuts or water chestnuts. I can't claim this is Yankee, since we're Left Coasters, but it's traditional. Now, though, I like to try something new each year. I like a mix of sourdough, or ciabatta, and a good whole grain bread, lots of fresh herbs, toasted nuts, as well as the compulsory sauteed aromatics. And eggs, and homemade broth done with fennel fronds. And then whatever else strikes my fancy. Oh yes, not to forget, I also have to make my mother-in-law's stuffing for my husband. The less I say about this the better, since in cyber-space, even your m-i-l might be watching.

Too cute. Here I am, thinking "I must be such a dull person, I have none of these endearing, compulsive food-arranging habits, I probably can't even tell the difference between mustard on top/mustard on the bottom, what a lassez-faire slob I am." I like everything, with everything, any way. Well, maybe not liver with peanut butter, but if I did, the peanut butter would have to be pleasantly melted over the top of the liver and dripping softly down the sides. And the liver couldn't be too rare, because red and brown are sort of an icky color combination. And no jam, no mustard, and heaven forfend, no catsup. I know, bacon! A little bacon would be great, but only very crispy smoky bacon, cut into tiny lardons, and only on the diagonal. Ok, I'll stop now.

This is addictively delicious. * Exported from MasterCook * Rutabaga-Sweet Potato Puree Recipe By : Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:00 Categories : Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method -------- ------------ -------------------------------- 1 1/2 lbs rutabaga -- peeled and diced 1 lb sweet potatoes -- peeled and diced 1 cup apple juice 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon salt to taste Place all in pressure cooker, cook at high pressure for 8 minutes. Release naturally or quick release. Puree with immersion blender and serve. Source: "Great Vegetarian Cooking Under Pressure"

Annie, I showed your cake to Shel and now he wants to marry you. I think it was the cat-o-nine tails that really did it I swear, if I can only live near one pastry chef in my life I'm so glad Annie's the one. What awesome food art!

FWED buys his supplies at a place in Mukilteo - I think it might be this one Dawn's If they don't have it, I'd PM FWED, since he's not around here every day. That's a cute mold - now I want one!

Aside from rudeness about food, about which I'm in agreement with everyone upthread, what floors me is how people aren't honest with themselves about what they eat. I have a client for whom I make a certain gingerbread all the time - she's basically addicted to it. One day she told me that she'd found the same recipe online, and was now making it for herself, so I could make something else. After a month or so she confessed that hers was never as good as mine. Hmmm, I said. After another month, looking really desperate, she insisted that I look at her recipe to see what the problem was. Her recipe had less than half the sugar I used, and I told her so. "Oh, I don't like a lot of sugar" she told me. I had to tell her that it was the idea of little sugar that appealed to her, because, in fact, she loved my cake, didn't like her own, and the difference was the sugar. She went back to having me make it for her, because she couldn't bring herself to use that much sugar. Then there's salt. I made a dish for a friend, and because he was a friend and not a client, I gave him the recipe. He called me in great disappointment and told me that his had tasted nothing like mine, although he'd followed the recipe exactly (including the "salt to taste" portion). I asked him how much salt he'd used, and it was about a quarter of what I'd think is reasonable. When I told him that was most likely his problem he told me that they don't like salt. In fact, when people ask me why my food tastes so good I usually tell them it's salt. They never believe me, because they all know that salt is evil.

I always brine turkey, and have done so for 5-6 years. If you want herb flavor to infuse your brine, heat the salt in enough water (or apple juice, or whatever your brining liquid) with your herbs until the salt is dissolved. Let cool and dilute appropriately. I find that a plain salt brine is very good (1 cup kosher salt to 7 quarts of water) and an herb brine is better, and adding herbs and some sweetener is best. I like to use apple cider as a part of the liquid, but I've also added maple syrup or brown sugar. Like Really Nice I let the bird air dry for a day in the fridge, after 24 hours of brining. I've never dreamed of using milk in the brine, though, and now I'm super-curious about it.

I had the 25/25 lunch today at Earth and Ocean. The FOH had problems (our server was slammed with two large tables, and though other sections had empty tables, no one came to help him out), so our lunch took almost 2 hours. The food was good, not brilliant, but very nice. The really bad part is that they charged us $3.50 each for iced tea, which I think is gouging. Yeah, they make no money on a $12.50 three course lunch, but hey, they chose to participate. Smoke from the bar also drifted into the dining room. I enjoyed it, especially the plating, which was very pretty, but this was my first time there and I'm not particularly moved to return.

Is there an actual reason to freeze it? I have some left over in the fridge right now, and it seems like it should last virtually forever there.

Stunning, Annie. I want one! Noprmally I find buches very boring to eat, but I'll bet yours is delicious as well as gorgeous.

My family loves my cooking, and my husband does all the dishes, for which let us now fall to our knees in praise. However, he does have one truly terrible trait - he won't eat fruit! No fruit, except jam, or apples in pie, or orange juice. Wait, also blueberries in muffins. That's friggin' it! It's so hard to make desserts when all that beautiful fruit can't be involved. I know, it sounds petty, but it drives me mad.

I recently bought this one metal turntable from Pfeil and Holing for $39.50. I'm already in love with it - works like a dream. Get the additional non-skid turntable covers while you're at it. This one will last a lifetime, as far as I can tell.

Bob - I too had just about a 6 figure income, and as I think I said to you by email, you'll never approach that cooking, no matter where you cook. You'll be very lucky to make half that. In my case I have a super-supportive spouse, and we have adjusted to having a lot less money to fool around with. Your life circumstances really will dictate whether you can manage the pay cut. It's a huge issue, and love of cooking doesn't go far when you are facing several thousand dollars' worth of dental work, a kid with special needs that has to go to private school, a near-death old car, and stuff like that. I'm really glad I made the switch, but if my husband didn't have a good job, I'd be right back there behind the desk. Money isn't everything, but only you can take an honest look at the changes in your lifestyle that this switch would bring about. I got rid of a ton of stress, lost a ton of weight, and am much happier than I was before. But I can't easily go to Provence to refresh my food memories, and we're having to think hard about replacing a 20 year old car, so there's a real loss of freedom. It's a very individual choice.

Redsugar, please do tell how you do the pumpkin marmalade. That sounds irresistable.

Pastry made with lard is incredibly tender. It has a slightly different flavor, and works perfectly with savory fillings, but is also delicious with sweet stuff.