Smithy

Once again, the time machine is needed. We've been having mechanical and electrical issues that have curtailed my computer time and battery power. I think they're resolved now. So, it's time for a visit to the past, to our holiday season. At home, we have Christmas ornaments and Christmas dishes and, most years, the sort of weather that makes for a white Christmas. We haven't used those decorations for years, because we've been visiting family far away instead. I bring along a small trove of ornaments, wall hangings and table linens for the season. Sometime in mid-December, I took the time to pull out the decorations and get the trailer dolled up for the season. I also cleared out oddball foodstuffs from the refrigerator that I didn't expect to be using for family visits. When all else fails and you can't think of a reason to use the seeds, drink the pomegranate juice. It's delicious. We had a final just-the-two-of-us dinner - I forget what, now - before driving into more congested areas. There are very, very few reasons for us to drive into the L.A. Basin with our rig, particularly in these conditions: Maybe, by now, there's only ONE reason we would do this. That dear reason turned 96 on Midwinter's Day, and is still mentally and physically sound. We went to help celebrate her birthday and share the Christmas spirit with a feast and music. She invited friends over for a very nice dinner of baked salmon, steamed vegetables, pilaf, and decadent desserts. The desserts surprised me: a massive pumpkin pie and a massive, rich, creamy cheesecake from Costco that was the Platonic ideal of cheesecake goodness. I like cheesecake well enough, but had never known just how good one can be. That was one surprise. The larger surprise was that she had chosen such sweets at all. She has been an athlete all her life, and has rarely indulged in desserts beyond frozen yogurt or a cookie. I wish I had a picture of the food. The salmon filets had been marinated in lemon, then placed in a baking pan and sprinkled with crushed corn flakes and a touch of margarine. It was delicious. I've tried to replicate it since then with some success. Next time I try, I'll take a photo. The next day, after breakfast, we again braved the L.A. traffic as we headed westward. The deluge continued. It isn't clear from this photo, but traffic crawled for miles. It came clear that an obstruction of some sort was ahead. We finally arrived at it: nothing in our direction of travel, but the eastbound lanes were well and truly stuck: a semi had somehow flipped over, onto the railroad tracks between the eastbound and westbound lanes. After we passed the mess we saw that the eastbound lanes were halted for a good 12 miles. Eventually we drove out of the rain, out of the traffic, and up the coast. We passed beautiful farm fields in Ventura County, and I mentally waved in the direction of @blue_dolphin as we went through. I seem to have lost the photos from that trip, but eventually we arrived and set up camp in the parking lot RV campground that would be our home for the next week. It's conveniently close to Pismo Beach, which has lovely walking and surf and people-watching. My sister stayed with us for this family visit, and we learned that the garage/dining room/spare bedroom of this trailer isn't really practical for adult sleeping arrangements. Instead, the overhead bunk bed (suitable for children adept at managing ladders) held her gear and served as a head-basher for everyone who stood up too quickly from the dining table! The three of us walked, more than once, to a burger joint close to the beach and to our campground. These fat, juicy burgers were drippy and delicious. Some of the customers' comment cards remain on display.

That kitchen looks gorgeous, and looks like it will be a pleasure for cooking and visiting. Congratulations, @gfweb!

@kayb, that delicious-looking meal would put me into a very happy stupor. I doubt I'd wake up for dinner.

I have some ground turkey that was destined to become burgers, but in light of this topic I'm leaning toward making meatballs with it instead. What would be a good seasoning combination? One idea is a bit of olive oil, ginger, citrus (orange peel? lime?), cumin, and...what else?...in the meatballs. Then serve them over rice, with some sort of sauce. Ideas welcome!

FWIW I thought I was a member of the target audience when I enrolled and began the course. I've been asking myself the same question about what's different this time around. I think, in my case, it's a combination of factors, including but not limited to: Perhaps there isn't enough new material this time around, and I find myself reluctant to repeat work I already did; In my current circumstances, electricity is very limited and I'm unwilling to devote the necessary battery power to doing the coursework and videos; For a variety of reasons, undivided attention is also at a premium. I'm very glad to read this!

I haven't made the time to keep up with the class. I loved the class the first time through, had a wonderful time and learned a lot, but this time around I find myself less compelled to do the work. Add me to the "I hate to say it, but..." group.

Welcome! This is a good place to tell us a bit about yourself. What sorts of food do you like? Do you do your own cooking? In what part of the world do you live? Come browse the forums, and join the fun!

@Mike Forman, you're certainly getting a lot of advice here. Please let us know what you end(ed) up doing, and how you like(d) the results.

Welcome, E.J! We have a fair number of people here with restaurant experience, both front of house and back. You may find the Restaurant Life forum to be particularly interesting. My experience is limited to line cook at a burger joint, many years ago before I knew anything about cooking, so I can't do much more than welcome you. Take a look around, join the fun - and if you have questions about where to find things, feel free to ask a host or post a question in the Moderation and Policy Discussion forum.

This is a wonderful vicarious tour; your photos are very evocative. I love Indian food, and yet have barely scratched the surface of making it for myself. The food here may inspire me to get with the program! I don't suppose there was explanation of the grinders? I'm intrigued by the different sizes and wonder about their different purposes. Can you remember whether the middle one has a very shallow depression, or is it flat for rolling, say, breads? Like rotuts, I want to know more about those bins' content! It reminds me to things I'd see in the Cairo spice markets. Bins of spices shared shelves with bins of hair pigment and, for all I know, more noxious substances.

I think the crunch in breadcrumbs may come more from the browning of sugars and the dehydration under heat than from fats, but I may be mistaken. Are nuts out? Otherwise, you might consider a light sprinkle of crushed nuts atop a dish for some crunch. I wonder about citrus juice as a marinade or a poaching/baking liquid. Lately I've been using orange juice (in my case tweaked with some lemon) as the foundation for the braising sauce or marinade for various meats and vegetables. This favorite recipe gives an idea of what I'm talking about: Citrus-Marinated Roast Chicken, from Fine Cooking. You'd need to adapt it to reduce the fat (at least), but it may give you some ideas. I can promise you that the resulting sauce is not tart, but quite flavorful. What about drizzling pomegranate juice or maple syrup over poultry before cooking, for a touch of different flavor? Would using a different poultry - turkey is easiest to find - expand your options? I don't have a specific fish recipe that's foolproof to your tastes, but you might consider poaching fish in broth or wine instead of marinating it then searing. Poaching is a bit easier for the timing. You mentioned rice and noodles. What about pototoes cooked in broth instead of oil or dairy?

Thanks for the explanation about the vibrating table. I suspected the jokes, but I still wanted to know the process - and now I do!

I echo the fish question. Can you have smoked salmon, or even unsmoked salmon? That's something I'd cheerfully live on for a time. What about shellfish? Grilled or poached shrimp, for instance?

There are multiple ways of sorting roundish objects by size: pass them through a series of screens or sieves with successively larger holes, or pass them over rollers with successively greater gaps between them. I don't know how it's done with capers, but with oranges the smallest fall through the first set of rollers and are directed to one packing line; the remainder go over another set of rollers with a larger space that allows the next size set through, and so on. So far all I've learned about caper handling is that they're so tender they must be hand-picked. I hope someone who knows the packing side of it will weigh in.

Welcome! I see you've already discovered the Spirits & Cocktails forum, where you should find a lot of like-minded people. Come on in and join the fun!

Truth to tell, now that I've seen the images in that blog, I'm not sure how my mother served it! It makes sense in some ways to have the poofy (broad) side up. My clearest memories are of slices on their sides, on dessert plates. Thanks for the education.

The odd, dark meaty juice that appears in the bag when sous-viding meat. It isn't the light golden or dark golden color one would get if, say, roasting or poaching.

I confess: I don't think I've ever seen an angel food or Bundt cake served where the widest part - the part that never contacted the pan - was up. Is that what you mean, @Kim Shook? If so, I'd love to see a picture of it when it's finished. It sounds ... unstable-looking ... to me. Must be a failure of imagination on my part. By the way, i am delighted to see you back and posting again! Edited to add: @cakewalk, the question goes to you, too. I'd like to see what that looks like.

When you get a chance, would you please elaborate on the "egg things that are popular on sous vide right now"? A link, or a general discussion would be helpful for the next time I have an opportunity to play with that toy.

Welcome, Chef Margie! As you see, this is a friendly bunch of people, ranging from food enthusiasts to professionals. Come on in, check the place out, and make yourself at home. If you have any questions about where to find something or how to use the forums, feel free to ask a host by PM (Personal Messenger) or ask publicly in the Moderation and Policy Discussion forum. Keep on working on those dreams!

@Paul Fink, have you checked with Surdyk's? I haven't been there in a few years, but they used to have an excellent selection of cheeses.

Cauliflower? Broccoli? Corn, beans, chard? Canneli Beans? Cardamom Bread?

Polite soul that you are, I suspect that you are deliberately not citing the recipe. Are you willing to say what you didn't like about the results? Were the seasonings unusual?

Smoked Porter sounds excellent. I like some stouts as well. We opened one last night that I'd intended to save for an as-yet-undetermined cooking project. It was pretty good. It didn't last until dinner, so I can't comment on how well it would have complimented this variant on Chicken Cordon Bleu.

Those are amusing labels! As you surmised, I'd never heard of a Shawinigan Handshake before. Thanks for the additional links.