russ parsons

actually, in new mexico, if you read early accounts, mutton was the main meat source--even more than pork.. it wasn't until the anglos arrived in the 1880s that the cow was introduced. i'm sure there's someone who can explain it in terms of calories produced per unit of feed and quality of feed (i'm guessing mutton would be right at the top of both of those ... pigs are tremendously economical, but they do need a little better forage than is available in n.m. and cattle need a tremendous among of grazing area. that was great on the land grants in california, but on small holdings it would be impossible.)

obviously, that was my inclination as well ... at least until the little woman got uppity.

[sob] i love you guys! (edited to add explanation for over-emotional reaction: my wife was threatening to make me throw it out if i couldn't get it clean. and you know how it is with a pan you've used a couple of thousand times; i was facing a pretty tough choice: the lady or the pan)

i did a piece a couple of years ago where i developed souffles that could even be frozen in advance and then baked. it was amazing. i found the real trick was getting stiff peaks out of the egg whites and then the right balance of base to egg white (a little less than normal). after that, everything worked, pretty much. those things are not so delicate as we have been led to believe. here's one recipe: Souffle of bitter greens Servings: 6 Butter 3 tablespoons olive oil 4 cloves garlic, sliced 5 cups trimmed, shredded mustard greens, washed and lightly drained 1/3cup ricotta 3 egg yolks 1/2teaspoon salt 5 egg whites 1/8teaspoon cream of tartar 1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees and generously butter 6 (one-half cup) straight-sided ramekins or individual souffle molds. Warm the olive oil in a skillet and add the garlic. Cook until the garlic turns translucent, about 3 minutes, then add the mustard greens and cook, stirring, until they are quite soft, about 5 minutes. Cool slightly. 2. Combine the greens mixture, the ricotta, egg yolks and salt in a food processor and puree until smooth. 3. Beat the egg whites until frothy. Add the cream of tartar and continue beating until well-defined, stiff peaks form and retain their shape. Do not over-beat. 4. Gently fold about one-half cup of the greens puree into the egg whites, using a hand-held balloon whisk or a spatula. Cut straight down through the puree and the egg whites, scrape the bottom and lift the egg whites over the puree. Turn the bowl a quarter turn and repeat. Keep doing this until the puree is fully incorporated, 3 or 4 times. 5. Add the remaining puree and fold it in the same way. When you're done, the puree should be evenly distributed but there may be small patches of egg white remaining. Do not over-mix. 6. Using a large soup spoon, divide the souffle mixture among the ramekins. If you have excess batter, bake it in another ramekin or discard it. (The recipe can be made to this point, covered tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 2 hours or frozen for up to a month. Souffles can be baked straight from the refrigerator. If frozen, remove the plastic wrap immediately and warm at room temperature for 30 minutes before baking.) 7. Put a jellyroll pan in the heated oven and arrange the souffle ramekins on it. Bake until the tops are puffed and golden brown in spots, 18 to 23 minutes. A sure sign of doneness is when the souffle becomes extremely fragrant. Do not over-bake, or the center will be dry. Remove and serve immediately.

related question, as long as we're confessing our hygienic deficiencies: my big all-clad sauteuse, which i've had for about 15 years and use at least 2-3 times a week, has a layer of black scum on the bottom (outside) of the pan. this comes from teh days when i didn't have a dishwasher and was less thanrigorous about getting all the grease off the outside of the pan before re-using it. any ideas for how to get rid of it?

kevin, how did that montasio dish work? radicchio is not a usual replacement for arugula. and that particular radicchio, treviso, is usually cooked, which tames the bitterness and makes it actually somewhat sweet and melting. personally, i think a better replacement for arugula is some kind of spice salad mix, or maybe even watercress, which is tougher, but kind of peppery.

i think it's picolit. i spent a couple of weeks in friuli several years ago and wormed my way into the tre bicchieri final tasting. some truly amazing wines, if you love whites with acid (and i do). terre alte from felluga is one of my favorite big-deal whites and is still a pretty amazing steal considering the quality. also, i tasted joe bastianich's tocai friuliano the other day and it was great ... all green apple and mineral. the region is fascinating. it really doesn't seem like italy at all (and until after world war i, it wasn't). it's much more austrian/german/slovenian. great smoked meat and lots of pork fat. oh boy.

i hesitate to bring this up because i'm sure you already know about it. but when i want really coarse cracked pepper (steak au poivre, etc.), i just put whole peppercorns on the cutting board and crush them with the back of a skillet. works great.

Watch out with the dried beans though... We were using some in a class that had obviously been used repeatedly. Even though the beans didn't touch the pastry (which was parchment lined), the pastry ended up with the smell of old burnt beans. In the oven, the butter in the pastry absorbed the odor. So much for those shells -- even though we had to use them in the class -- blech! So, if using beans, stick with those that haven't been baked into oblivion.. ← wow. i've been using the same beans for at least 5 years and have never had that happen. and the beans i'd been using before lasted just as long before my wife threw them out (don't you hate it when someone else "straightens up" your kitchen). For a brief time, I used rice, but that was a huge mistake. Ever try picking individual grains out of partially baked tart shell after the foil liner splits?

yes, sorry, the magnum.

i use dried beans and they work great. at one point, i did a story pointing out that you could use pennies and it would still be cheaper than buying pie weights.

i got the regular. i sometimes make pepper combinations, with black pepper and allspice, or fennel seed or other things, for seasoning meat. so an extra-large capacity would work against me.

i did try the baking soda trick when i was doing my first reporting on the subject and i found that it didn't work at all for me. the skins slipped terribly. but then i've also seen recipes that call for adding a pinch of baking soda to vegetables while cooking, and that didn't work either.

sold. i just bought one. can't wait to get it.

i'm a big-pot blancher. and pasta maker. in fact, my big pot is the one thing that never leaves my stove top. i think it's a basic piece of cooking equipment that everyone should have. that said, there's absolutely no sense (IMHO) in going out and springing for a fancy all-clad or (gasp) copper one. this will almost entirely be used for boiling water and the heat transfer just isn't that big a deal if, as someone pointed out, you have enough of a thermal sink from the water. Get an 8-quart with a pasta insert and a steamer. you can also use it for making stock. i'm willing to bet you'll find that you'll use it more often than almost any pot or pan you own. edit: just remembered: in one of his cookbooks, the great edouard de pomiane began a cooking instruction by saying: "when you go into the kitchen, put a large pot of water on to boil. I'm not sure what you'll use it for, but you will use it." (paraphrased, probably badly)

don't even get me started. when i was editing the section, part of my responsibility was managing the test kitchen, where we had 2 sub-zeros. both averaged 2 to 3 service calls a year. understand that that $4,000 refrigerator will only have a 1-year, parts only warranty. each service call was, iirc, about $250. when we redesigned the test kitchen, we went with kenmore elite: perfect, problem free refrigerators.

rachel, that does look like a good mill and i really appreciate being able to see the range of grinds. as it happens, i'm in the market for a new mill (the old perfex just isn't getting it done). my one concern is when you said you were impressed by how fast it was. i've never used a battery-powered mill before and i'm having nightmares of one touch instantly producing 1/4 cup of ground pepper all over my dish. do you have control issues?

that's a great idea andie. and to tell the truth, i've never been able to tell that much difference between regular polenta and instant polenta once it's been chilled and fried.

i like pancetta all ways (including raw, if it's good stuff, spread on hot crostini ... mmmmm). the other night i made a really simple salad with arugula and fresh mushrooms and garnished it with thinly sliced pancetta, still in the wheel shape, that i'd crisped in a pan just like you would bacon. it made a nice touch. and as a recent book pointed out: everything's better with bacon.

great story. my friend and colleague david karp reported several years ago the case of a woman in the San Fernando Valley whose navel tree "sported" and began producing blood oranges on one limb. She was convinced her neighbor was trying to poison her.

and i have always said that marcelle bienvenu has the best byline in all of food.

could possibly have been a brand name. but also notice my use of the weasel word: relatively. Sanguinello (actually, several related varieties) and Tarocco date from the turn-of-the-century. according to the indispensible "The Citrus Industry, Vol I": "Of comparatively recent Sicilian origin and thought to have developed from teh Sanguinello Moscato variety, Moro did not attain the popularity of Tarocco for several decades. More recently, it has been planted to a considerable extent in Sicily where it now enjoys equal favor." And I'm curious about the blood orange curd: every time I've tried to do it, the color has turned that bruised purple that anthocyanins do when they're heated. any tricks?

i see everyone's got to it already. but since i just finished writing the orange chapter for my next book, i feel obliged tochip in with a little further explication: the moro is actually a relatively new variety that was developed specifically for color. the other two main varieties, tarocco and sanguinello, have much better flavor but need a pretty consistent chill to develop color. and since most people want a blood orange for the color, moro is now the dominant variety.

i've gotta say again, this is what i love about e-gullet. no ranting, no raving, no half-baked conspiracy theories, what other food site has members that can intelligently discuss such an exigent topic?

thanks to all who volunteered, but since rachel lives in mexico city and it is most convenient for her, i'm going to accept her offer. i hope this isn't inappropriate; i'm posting this only to avoid cost and trouble for everyone else who offered. thanks again!