Abra

Yum, bison skirt steak sounds good. They didn't have this available when we went bison shopping, but I'll be on the lookout for it when next there's buffalo. The market was having a special buffalo sale - normally we can't get it at all here. I think I'll be begging them to make it a regular event. I just vacuum sealed about 20 lbs for the freezer, but I'd love to have it fresh on a regular basis. And thanks for the recipe reviews, Dejah. I din't use that meatloaf recipe, but next time I will. It's a Weight Watcher's thing to put finely diced vegetables in meatloaves and burgers, but I've never pureed them.

John, you'll find that being owned by a vinegar mother is like having that Amish Friendship Cake batter in your fridge. The chef is probably overjoyed to have found a new home for a part of his mother. That stuff grows like weeds, and soon you too will be palming it off on all of your friends.

Ok, we'll get to Lago as fast as ever we can. In fact, we're going to the opera on Saturday and will plan to have dinner at Lago beforehand. Since the opera is at 7:30, we're going to try to get to Lago at 5:30, so as not to have to hurry. If we happened to meet anyone we know there, why that would be cool!

Ok! Food and Wine has chosen the images to accompany the article that will soon appear on their website describing our extravaganza, and here are the rest. I'll be sure to post here about when the F&W article is going up, as soon as I know. Some of the nicest pictures, naturally, will be there rather than here, so don't despair if your dish doesn't appear in this thread. So, we started off with assorted appetizers, Spanish cheese and sausages, bread, olive oil, and Cabrales Phyllo Tartlets with Sherry Sauce Drizzle. Those photos are going to be on F&W so you just have to imagine how delicious they were, and how they sustained our famishing members whilst many dishes were prepared a la minute in Sparrowsfall's kitchen. here's Laurel prepping some gorgeous chard and the resulting delicious Smoky Chard Saute. Chefwendy sears 18 tiny quails and exhausted from her labors, presents the finished dish to her appreciative audience. Here's Rockdoggydog slaving over Saucy Clams and Shrimp with Wild Mushrooms, and Sparrowsfall with his Garlicky Shrimp with Olive Oil This is Laurel's picturesque prep of Mackerel Escabeche with Asparagus and Artichoke Hearts. To see the finished dish you'll have to wait for F&W to publish it. Cheeseandchocolate prepared this fabulous Cauliflower Gratin with Manchego Cheese and Almond Sauce ahead of time, so all she really had to do was sit around and sample olive oil Heyjude made this yummy Rotisserie Chicken with Dried Fruits and Pine Nuts These decadent Twice Baked Potatoes with Tetilla and Urgelia Cheese were made for us by SeaGal These are Pork in Adobo Sauce and Lamb Meatballs with Mint, made by Abra and SeaGal respectively. Here I am, looking really hot and blurry. That dish has a little of pretty much everything we had. Here are Shel, chefwendy, and Ed, with possibly Richard in the background, getting started sampling the earliest dishes. SeaGal demonstrating to White Lotus how she cleans the sand out of leeks Plating up FWED's lemon cinnamom flan napoleons, a riff on the original F&W recipe and fruit jellies and chocolates also hand made by FWED and extremely popular with us all, even after we were practically stuffed to death. There were other dishes, other photos, and for those you'll have to read the Food and Wine article. But what I have to say here is that this was one of the most fun and interesting eGullet events I've attended so far. The coherent menu with its well-synchronized flavors, the use of so many good Spanish ingredients, the novelty of the dishes, limiting ourselves to wines from one country, and the spirit of adventure with which we all entered into this project were a thrill! What will we do for an encore?

I have 2 each of the SA - 80 and SA - 70, and also the PB - 60, the MK - 40, the BS - 90, and the PKF - 30. Definitely not the high-end assortment, just a working girl's collection. Next up for me will be one of the TH series. I gave one to my son last year and he's always bragging about how he has the best knife of any of his friends.

Thanks for the ideas and links, all! It's going to be buffalo meatloaf for dinner tonight, and then I'll tackle the roasts. I can also recommend, to those inclined to eating dinner food for breakfast, what I had myself this morning: thin slices of cold, rare buffalo steak on whole grain toast. I know, it was more assembly than cookery, but I still liked it a lot.

All MAC for me. I'm a personal chef and lug my stuff from house to house. I love their light, sharp flexibility. The only time I ever wish for a heavier knife is for some huge winter squash, and there's a MAC to handle those, I just haven't popped for it yet.

I've been making my own red wine vinegar for several years. I show the whole process in (perhaps too vivid) detail here in Abra's blog.

Does it look like there's any actual cooking at the audition? I see a lot about talking about yourself, but no hands-on stuff - am I missing something?

Thanks for the link, Dejah. I see some good-looking and simple recipes there. And the website looks great too. I'm planning to do the ground bison today - I gather that it works better with some added moisture and binder, that's why you did meatloaf and meatballs as opposed to burgers? And Heinz, those all look delicious, of course. The porcini roast and the tatin are the ones I'd really like to see. Ever since I made an oxtail tatin style, I'm hooked on that preparation. But I'm truly amazed that buffalo is available in Germany. I really think of them as only New World animals, especially because they're so big!

Cilantro. The first time I tasted it I actually spit it out, but now I'd probably brush my teeth with it if someone made a cilantro toothpaste.

Well, in the absence of your fabulous recipes, tonight I quickly seared some top sirloin that I'd rubbed with an espresso-spice rub, then sliced it thin and put it over a salad with Corona beans and bourbon-sauteed onions. It's the roasts that I'm really wondering about, so I hope one of you has experience with buffalo. And if you don't, it's delicious, and very lean, so if you're trying to reduce animal fat in your diet, it's a great thing.

This weekend I acquired a bunch of buffalo cuts - sirloin tip roast, New York steak, chuck steak, top sirloin, top round, and ground. Previously I've only ever worked with ground buffalo, so I'm looking for tips and recipes for the other cuts. I already know to undercook, and on lower heat, as compared to beef, due to leanness. What else should I know about and do with this treasure?

Oh, Serafina. Another place to add to the list, and maybe a bit more mother-in-lawish, in a good way. I think I'll send the links to Lago, Serafina, and La Spiga to the grad and let him choose. Thanks for the feedback, Laurie and Wendy. If he picks one of the others, Shel and I will definitely try Lago ourselves at the first opportunity. And I'm going to make that lasagne at home. The grad himself rolls out a lovely pasta, and the rest of it looks like just my kind of thing to do on a rainy weekend day.

Do I want to go to Cafe Lago? Here's the deal. Next month my stepson is graduating from college, and asked to be taken out to an Italian restaurant. It'll be him and girlfriend, both foodies, and a friend-girl of his of unknown food sophistication, my vegetarian (adult) son, my mother-in-law who is definitely not a foodie, but can tell the difference between cheese crackers and cheese ravioli, and us parents. Really a mixed bag, and a big enough group to make cost somewhat of an issue. I've scoured the forum and come to the conclusion that Lampreia, Troiani, and La Spiga are probably not it, for one reason or another, mostly involving cost and consistency. And I'd like to avoid Il Fornaio, just because a chain, however interesting, is not really cool enough for this occasion. Would you take this bunch to Lago? Somewhere else? Why is Seattle so weak on Italian? Well, that last bit is mostly rhetorical.

Sorry, inexplicably posted in the wrong thread. Must have been due to excessive Spanish celebrations last night.

Thanks to all who attended and made our Spanish fiesta such a fabulous success! I have lots of nice pictures, but am giving Food and Wine first pick of them, since I don't want to post pictures here that will be appearing on the F&W website. As soon as they let me know which ones they want, I'll be posting the rest of them here. I thought the food was exceptional, even for an eG event. It's such fun to know so many really excellent cooks, and be on the tasting end of your magic.

I normally do this all winter, but it's been in the 50's for about a week now, so I haven't been able to. When it's colder I have to use my second story back deck, which means carrying food through the living room. The small deck off the kitchen is prone to raccoon infestations and no food would be safe out there. No bears, though.

I've been eating roasted cauliflower at least once a week this winter. I'm not sure if anyone's mentioned it yet, but leftovers, if there happen to be any, are dynamite in a frittata the next day. I roast the cauliflower hotter than people are talking about on recent pages, like at 425 convection, for about 25 minutes. I like it really well browned, and that works perfectly in my oven.

We have a Fresh Roast from Sweet Maria's and like it a lot. It makes small batches, so you can do a lot of experimenting. Their green beans are super, too. One caution is that you either have to roast outdoors, or under a really good kitchen hood, as it creates a lot of smoke. But if that's no problem, roast on!

Nah, Shel's latte art is kindergarten stuff, but he can teach you to pull a nice shot with crema, and to foam milk correctly, then, artist that you are you can teach him to do the latte art!

I'm a total squash fanatic - I probably eat my weight in winter squash every winter, and my weight is, ahem, not inconsiderable. I also do my pies from fresh (caveat: not a commercial baker) and have some words of wisdom to share. First, a picture: In addition to the more common Sugar Baby or Sugar Pie pumpkins (never use those big pumpkins, they are watery and stringy beyond redemption) there are a couple of other wonderful squashes to use. The dark orange squash at the top is called Long Pie Pumpkin, and produces the sweetest puree I've ever had, with a rich, velvety texture. I even had to reduce the sugar in the pies this year, the puree was so sweet on its own. The texture of the puree is beyond compare - if you can find some, get them! The lighter one is a Pink Banana Squash, which also makes a superior pie that's smooth and sweet, and it's easier to find. I also find that a key thing to do is roast the squash - no steaming or boiling. I even just roast them whole, then scoop out the seeds when the squash is tender. That way there's no scary knife work with the tough exterior, no dried-out cut edge, and no added water or oil. Once roasted the squash purees right up, no draining needed, and you're on your way.

It seems like a bit much for you to bring three dishes! That said, personally I'd use the Urgelia in the potatoes. It's a nice cheese that ought to be lovely in that recipe.

Of course, WL, we'd love to have her, bearing in mind that a lot of wine is bound to be consumed. The leeks will be perfect. FWED is totally re-imaging the flan, and I expect that several of us will come up with our own unique presentation ideas. Not to worry.

I wish we could see your pictures, vengroff. It sounds delicious, as does the wine. There's still time to join us, if anyone else is interested.