Abra

I do burn logs in my offset smoker, and have only used little bits of charcoal when I needed just a tiny tweak to the fire. I would think that all charcoal would really use a lot. If you can get hardwood logs, then you can use smoke chips for additional flavor.

Oh yum! Not wanting to wait until Thanksgiving, I served the first of my vin de noix last night. Delicious! It had a nice, dark, sort of gingerbread and chocolate thing going that was quite entrancing. The tannins were still there in the background, but very well balanced. So this is after just less than 4 months of aging. It should be sensational by Christmas, if it continues in this direction.

So, on your short ribs. Remove the chilled layer of fat that will by now be covering the pot. Remove meat from pot. Set the pan over high heat and boil until the liquid is thick and glossy. Only then taste for salt and pepper, and add if needed. Return meat to pan, warm through, and there you have it. Judging from how it looked last night, it's going to be yum. Oh, and you can get your biscuits to rise more, even with cheese, by: patting out the dough instead of rolling it, and leaving it thicker. You had it pretty thin in that picture. And then, you need to use something with a sharp edge to cut them out, not a wineglass. When you smoosh down the cut edge of the dough with a dull edge, you inhibit the rise. Those are alto tricks. Basic, non-flashy, grounded, but necessary.

Is Dutch brandy different from, say, French brandy? And with that cooking, is there still a decent amount of alcohol left? I'm dying to make this!

Thanks, guys. Those are all along the lines I've been thinking, although chicken broth and schmaltz are definitely out. I hate to waste the beauty of the little things by chopping them. I've been imagining chopping the stems and stuffing the leaves, spearing them with a toothpick and then steaming them, but then it gets all Asian again. I'm also thinking of some sort of frittata, where I could blanch and shock the choy, then arrange it in some beautiful pattern, add the egg, cook, and then hopefully turn it out with the choy-pattern intact. I'd better figure it out in the next three hours, though, so if any more brilliant inspiration strikes, have at it, please!

Does anyone have a quick idea for me? I have several bunches of baby bok choy (or here it's also called Mei Qing Choy) and need to serve it for dinner tomorrow. Trouble is, the entire rest of the meal is non-Asian food, and I'm reluctant to bring Asian flavors into this particular meal And the guests are vegetarians. I'm a bit at my wits' end. I've thought of lightly blanching the leaves, then rolling them around some sort of stuffing - that would be great with a shrimp/pork filling, but for the life of me I can't come up with a non-Asian vegetarian version. Any ideas will be greatly appreciated!

Well, yes, since the potatoes were mostly all soft, and so was the leek filling, so it just all kind of melted together. The crispness thing seems to be key, and I don't know how to get such a thick layer of potato crisp. Were any of you guys in on the recipe testing of this dish? Am I just crispness-impaired?

Klary, I have a question about the gevulde koeken. I see that in Recipe Gullet it calls for "soft white sugar." Does that mean powdered sugar (icing, or confectioners sugar) as opposed to regular sugar?

I always want AllClad, and there are some great prices on that site. I have a question for all you AC fans, before I hand my list to Santa. I cook for a client who has the LTD line, and I LOVE to cook in that stuff. It cooks perfectly, and washes up great, with virtually no sticking. However, she won't let me put it in the dishwasher, says it makes the black exterior look funny. Do any of you have that experience? Since my husband does the dishes, there's no way I can ask for pots that require hand washing, which he regards as an activity on a par with shoving splinters under his toenails.

Last night Chefpeon and I made a scrumptious and labor-intensive dinner of Steak with Shallots and Red Wine Sauce in the Style of Albi, Straw Potato Cake Stuffed with Braised Leeks, and Apple Caramel Calvados Crepes (the latter not from this book, but seeming to go with the dinner.) I've got to say, we both cook for a living and wow, there was a lot of prep involved in these two dishes. Don't try this on a weeknight unless there are two of you cooking. Even so, plan on a couple of hours to get dinner on the table, at least. I wish my pictures were better. There's probably a way to have made this food look as good as it tasted, but I didn't manage it. We can chalk that up to the wine Chefpeon and I were drinking merrily as we cooked, or just to crummy photography skills. Here are the steaks, the mountain of julienned potatoes (hurray for my little julienne shredder!) and the dish of braised leek filling. The bottom layer of potatoes, covered by the leek filling prior to adding the top layer of potatoes. See how thick the potato layer is? I never managed to get it really crisp on either side (and be very glad you don't have a picture of me inverting the whole thing on the skillet lid!) and we were thinking that a thinner layer of potatoes would work better. That, and a truly nonstick skillet. I used my Cybernox, which is "stick resistant", not the same thing at all. It's a whopping big skillet, though, maybe 11", and even so the potato layer was really thick. The cooked potato cake, and sliced steak, sans sauce. The sauce was absolutely kick-ass, by the way. On the plate, looking quite dowdy, with some eG roasted cauliflower that I had to introduce Chefpeon to. The shallots cooked in wine looked like puffy rubies in real life. And finally, the crepes, which Chefpeon plated up in a beautiful and innovative way, instead of just filling them as I would have done. This was a very rich meal, even though there wasn't a scrap of duckfat in it. Now I've got to take a break from Southwest France eating for at least a few days or my husband, who washes all the dishes (and this dinner used a LOT of dishes) will move out!

Ok, Adam! At least now I have company in the Startlingly Expensive Turkey Club. Am I the only eGer who ordered the Rosengarten turkey?

Wow, I missed this thread when it started, and never saw a word about this event in the press. It's terrible. I feel so naive, never having imagined such skullduggery and possibly thuggery in the semi-local wine business. What do you all think - is this some sort of wake-up call to the future of the wine business, as the stakes get higher with wine's increasing popularity in the U.S., or more likely just the work of one isolated wacko?

Cool, Kathleen! I can't wait to see how you weave opera into the blog. Oh, and as to the fresh pumpkin, if you use a sugar pie pumpkin, which is pretty dry anyway, and roast it in the oven, as opposed to cooking it in water or steam, you won't need to drain it at all and will get a perfect puree. Do ferrets eat muffins?

I had the best meal of my life in your restaurant a couple of years ago, and I award you all of my stars. Please, don't change anything. It's perfect just the way it is!

I will make my own almond paste, because I don't much like what I can buy. We do get an amazing organic Sicilian marzipan here, but since you specify almond paste, and have so kindly provided the recipe, it looks a cinch to make my own and more authentic, at that. I'm having guests on Friday for a vegetarian dinner, and this might make a perfect dessert...maybe with a little advocaat? Or would that be a weird combination?

I'm having two Thanksgivings this year, and for one of them my Thai neighbors, who have never had American Thanksgiving, are going to be guests. I'm thinking of making Ken Hom's "Chinese American" stuffing recipe that I've been saving - are there other things I should add to this list? Are there proportions for the lap yook, and would they belong in here? 3 cups sweet rice (also known as glutinous) 1 cup dried black mushrooms 1 1/2 pound ground pork 3 tablespoons soy sauce, divided 4 tablespoons rice wine or dry sherry, divided 2 teaspoons Asian sesame oil salt freshly ground pepper 2 tablespoons peanut oil 1/2 cup finely chopped green onions 2 tablespoons finely chopped ginger root chopped turkey giblets, heart and gizzard only 1 pound Chinese pork sausage, chopped 1/2 pound fresh or canned water chestnuts, peeled, and coarsely chopped 3 cup chicken broth

Those gevuldekoeken are SO going to find their way to my oven soon! I love anything marzipan, and so does my husband. This thread should be a blog, so it stays archived.

Excellent! I'm curious about the idea of a dessert using advocaat, since I've only ever had it stand-alone. I can't wait to see what you do with it!

Although the local stores are all out of this wine, I called Syncline today and they have a couple of cases left, so they're shipping me half a dozen bottles. This, and the Yellow Hawk Mescolanza di Rosso will be my Thanksgiving wines. Neither will be traditional or expected, but both will be delicious.

A steady stream of thoughts and good wishes are flowing your way. All the best to you both!

This thread is a treasure! I've never seen either parsley or cilantro with roots, nor have I ever seen celery leaves for sale. In fact, it's only recently that celery root is relatively easy to find. That boerenmeisjes looks delicious, and summery. Do you know a really good recipe to make your own advocaat? I had some in Amsterdam a shocking number of years ago, and after that at home again I tried some in a bottle, I think Bols, which was really not at all like what I'd had there. I'd love to be able to make that for the holidays!

Caveat emptor at Jeem. More complete review here.

Oh, this is getting delicious (except the White Castle stuffing - Jason, please eat my share!) Ruth, I want ALL of your recipes, cooked and on the plate, right now! But just to spare the typing, I'll try to narrow it down to the most appetizing-sounding and unusual ones. Would you share ...savory bread pudding with peasant bread, wine, chevre, gruyere and pecans ...pumpkin sage bread pudding with parmesan ...walnut sized cranberry stuffing balls, pretty standard recipe otherwise, may be frozen and baked ...Hawaiian stuffing with Chinese sausage, carrots, green onions, water chestnuts, ginger, pineapple, macadamia nuts, sherry, cilantro And both of the linked recipes amccomb provided sound yummy as well. Jack, if you'll send the truffles, I promise I'll do homage to Brillat-Savarin!

Personally I don't like chocolate chip cookies, but my husband adores them, so I bake them for him. These are the ones he swears are the best ever, and they're just as you describe. Make them as usual, bake at 350 for about 11 minutes. 1 cup softened butter (2 sticks) 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar 2 eggs 2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 3 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 9 oz semisweet chocolate chips 9 oz chopped pecans

Last night I made this dinner, and with it I opened a bottle left behind at my house by some kind eG member at some past event. I wish I knew who it was so I could thank them, because it's really a nice bottle. It was the Syncline Alder Ridge Columbia Valley Roussanne 2003, and it was really perfect with this meal. Somehow it was round enough and had the perfect acidity for a dinner that was full of herbal flavors and lots of fat. Because this dinner had a lot in common with a Thanksgiving meal, I'm wondering whether this might be the perfect T-Day white, especially since it's about $20, which is good for a group event. Any opinions?