Smithy

I used to very much like the Gato Negro wines that I could get in Washington State. At the time their wines ran around $3/750ml bottle at the grocery store. This was years ago, and no doubt the price has gone up, but I'd try the label again if I were to see it. I remember a red (merlot? blend?), but I think they also offered a white that we liked. Edited to add: I second kayb's recommendation of the Bota Box Pinot Grigio.

The Salton Sea: largest lake in California, important stopover for migratory birds, yet many (even nearby Southern California residents) don't know it exists. The annual Pelican Days Festival is intended to help remedy that, and by accident we arrived to camp there in time to participate. Last year's events had included a tour of the Oasis Date Gardens (who rarely offer tours) and a wagon-ride tour of another desert area that included a chuckwagon dinner. Both tours had sold out before I could sign up. This year, my hopes of a culinary education were dashed again: the tours weren't offered. The culinary fun arose from a chance meeting. I met a couple on a birding walk who had also discovered the festival by accident. Their English accents caught my ear; their lively interest and good humor held my attention. They were touring the Southwestern USA on a 3-month holiday, having rented a small camping van. They had stayed at several of the same places we had, dodging or inconvenienced by the same wet, cold effects of El Niño. We conversed a few times during the day. That evening I came home to our trailer contemplating a dinner party. I gave the trailer a long-overdue cleaning, pulled chicken from the freezer, mixed a marinade, found some things I'd been saving for a special occasion. If they didn't come over, we'd still benefit. Sometimes it takes a special incentive for me to do housework. I saw them again the next afternoon, and as we talked I hoped they were getting the same good vibe I was. "Would you like to come over for dinner with us?" I asked. "We're 2 campgrounds down." "Really?" they said, "that would be brilliant!" I asked careful questions, wondering whether I sounded considerate or neurotic. Were they vegetarians? Did they have any food allergies? Did they have problems with dogs or cats? They tended toward vegetarian meals but were not firm on it and had no issues with chicken; the rest of the answers were all 'no'. We made our plans to meet later that evening, and I gave directions to our campsite. 5:00 came, Anne and Glyn came, and Russ and I laughed when we recognized their van by its distinctive rock 'n' roll paint job, not at all what we'd expect of a rented van. We'd noticed it at Death Valley only the previous week. We poured drinks and gave a quick tour of our trailer. The grill was lit, the conversation and laughter blossomed. I have no photos of the evening. These pictures are either from previous posts or from the evening's leftovers. Dinner that night included specialty California and Minnesota items, things I'd been saving for a special occasion, and food I knew I could cook without disaster. Drinks: Shock Top beer or Tecate for those of the beer persuasion Matanzas Creek Sauvignon Blanc, nicely chilled, that I'd been saving for a special occasion Water, of course, knowing that someone had to drive later First course: Fresh green salad of good lettuce and spinach from the nearby Imperial Valley (source of much of our winter produce) and cherry tomatoes from somewhat farther south Optional garnishes of grilled artichoke hearts in olive oil; my favorite central California (Lindsay Naturals) green ripe olives; and croutons (from a bag) Vinaigrette of Meyer lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and a few herbs - for those who liked garlic and lemon Bottled Caesar dressing - for those who didn't (there were no takers) Warm sourdough bread - my garlic rosemary olive oil sourdough, along with the commercially-produced sourdough after which mine is modeled As we ate and talked, skewers of meat and vegetables were cooking on the grill outside. The main course: Boneless, skinless chicken thigh meat grilled after marinating in yogurt with spices, loosely based on @Shel_B's recipe Grilled red bell pepper and onion more bread Pilaf using some of last summer's wild rice (photo shows fresh package and leftovers from the party) Dessert: Medjool dates filled with walnuts, purchased recently and saved for a special occasion Coffee brewed in the Keurig pod coffee-maker I'd given my darling for Christmas (for the first time I appreciated its value: each of us could pick a flavor) Chenin blanc, or cognac, or coffee spiked if people wished The conversation flowed as freely as the food; it's a gauge of fun that our evening started at 5 p.m. and went something past 11. When they left, one forgot a sweater - which gave me a reason to go visit the next day without seeming a pest. What could have been a short visit lasted easily another half hour. We've all moved on to different locations, but we may be able to connect again before they return home. If not - well, we have an invitation to Devon! There's a certain social risk involved in having strangers over for dinner. Suppose you don't like each other after all? Suppose they don't like the food, or someone has an unexpected allergic reaction, or a violent disagreement breaks out over the pronunciation of 'tomato'? Isolation is even easier during extended travels like ours: faces pass by, yet connections are rare. I'm glad we didn't let those 'supposes' keep us from a fun evening and a new friendship.

It seems to me that good scallops are a bit on the sweet side. I love it when I can get them fresh and fairly dry. Yours look nicely seared and cooked perfectly.

@shain, I rarely bake sweets but I would like to add that lemon-mandarin pound cake to my repertoire; it looks like just the thing for my next dinner party. Is that a recipe you can share?

It sounds like you've already sent it in, so the discussion is moot, but I would also have said "go for it". The essays didn't strike me as especially daunting; on the other hand, I missed those 'glaring concerns' that Shalmanese caught, so his eye seems better than mine. Do please keep informing us to the extent that you can. This is a fascinating process.

I had quite forgotten this topic, @Rebel Rose. Thanks for bringing it back up. I happen to be in southwestern USA desert at present, and am likely to have opportunities to draw inspiration here.

I'd never seen one like this, either. I may have to try one - at $9.99 (I didn't check shipping costs) it looks worth trying.

@HungryChris, how do you reheat your home fries? Is the texture the same after reheating as when fresh out of the pan?

Chicken Enchilada Pasta sounds a bit like cognitive dissonance to me, @ElsieD. It looks good. Did you like it enough to make it again? What were the ingredients?

I see what you mean about the difference. I use King Arthur unbleached bread flour, but its protein content is stated as 12.7%. That 0.7% difference may not seem like much, but combined with technique and hydration differences it might be huge.

What can you tell us about this flour? For instance, what's the protein content?

I did a loose version of this recipe a couple of weeks ago and liked it: Spicy Roasted Cauliflower with Tahini, from Saveur.com. I had a couple of quibbles with the recipe: the leaves didn't come out well enough to justify leaving them in, but then I cut the cauliflower into 8ths instead of quarters and may have messed things up there. The salt can be omitted. The tahini, according to my jar, has 25 mg sodium for 2 Tbsp. I plan to keep tweaking this and put it into regular rotation. Your sliced zucchini and yellow squash treatment makes me wonder about winter squash treatments. They may not be very low-carb, but they can be low-sodium and savory. Have you checked out the eG Cookoff #71: Winter Squash topic?

It's funny about Mexican food. My sister, mother and I grew up hating it, whereas my father liked it a lot. Somewhere along the line I developed a taste for it - a strong taste - and after that, whenever I visited my parents Dad and I would go out for our "Mexican fix". My mother never changed her opinion of the flavors and textures, and so far my sister is just as averse. Maybe there are other cuisines that are (a) considered monolithic when they aren't and (b) evoke strong antipathy to the perceived monolith, but offhand I can't think of one. ("Chinese" used to be considered monolithic but I think we're collectively past that even though some of us may be ignorant of anything beyond Szechuan vs. Cantonese.) Anyway, good on you for trying.

Too bad about the misunderstanding, but look at it this way: with a sherry vinegar you need not worry about serving your prized salad and dressing to someone who wants to avoid alcohol. I think I'd start with a nice vinaigrette based on a nut oil (walnut?) and a sherry vinegar. I seem to recall having good results with that combination in the past, although it's been a while.

This recipe from Fine Cooking is a favorite: Citrus-Marinated Roasted Chicken. I've posted about it here (with the finished product here), and several others have done so as well. @Darienne comes to mind as one; maybe she can find some of her posts. At any rate, the marinade includes soy sauce but I think you could reduce or eliminate the soy and still have an excellent meal. Does this sort of thing appeal to you? What about pastas stuffed or tossed with vegetables? I'd hate to do without cheese (I feel your pain there) but with well-roasted vegetables you'll get a good Maillard reaction and deep flavors. Roasted cauliflower, with or without a yogurt and spice coating? If that appeals, I have a couple of links for you.

Pan, this sounds like an excellent idea. Another possibility is to grind those hibiscus petals finely and add them directly to a spice rub. I haven't tried it, but I think it would work brilliantly. I do wonder whether hibiscus AND lemon juice might be a bit of overkill toward tartness. We keep working in our household toward lower-salt cooking, small steps at a time. The easy things are not to buy prepared foods, which almost inevitably have high sodium, and not to add salt during cooking. This is practical up to a point, but I'm fond of being able once in a while to grab a jar of prepared sauce or cooked beans, and the occasional deli meats. (2 steps forward, 1 step back...) Then there is the issue of bread...which needs some salt in the dough. As for the salt substitutes: he's perfectly happy with one of the potassium chloride-based fake salts. I hate 'em. I'm glad you're still with us and able to get this topic started again. Thanks for giving the rest of us a wake-up call. I think this is a great topic for a brainstorming sesson.

We had a few opportunities to try them, thanks to some gift certificates. We liked their crab cakes very much, because they seemed closer to the true Maryland crab cakes that we'd had in Baltimore than anything else we'd tried. I don't remember which other foods of theirs we tried; apparently they were good enough to eat once but not memorable enough to pursue. Our problem was with delivery: driver didn't show up in the promised time slot, and sometimes the delivery date was missed altogether because of it. To be fair, we live out in the sticks and drive times may be an extra complication, but the last straw came when the promised crab cakes turned up hours late, in the middle of the dinner party at which we'd planned to serve them. I might try a purchase again someday if I happen to see their truck parked at a convenient location, but I doubt I'll try delivery again.

Rummaging around in the depths of the forums I found this topic on how to make your own Hand Held Smoker.

I would not expect a cup of hot water, with lemon, to be free in the USA; it seems I've been charged for tea here under those circumstances. If I'd asked for a glass of tap water I'd have been surprised at being charged, but your second link makes it clear that the York establishment would be within its rights to charge me when it's in 'Cafe' mode - although not in 'Bistro' mode, which may confuse tourists. As for whether a glass of tap water should be free of charge, that seems more a judgment call. If I come in alone, take up one of your tables and order nothing but water, I think I should pay something for the service and space I'm using. If I'm part of a group that is otherwise ordering full meals, it seems to me that the better approach is for the staff to clear away most of my place setting (to be used elsewhere), then serve the water at no charge. That's how our airport restaurant handles our weekly breakfast gang, who are regular and lucrative customers; one person drinking only water doesn't have a significant effect on the workload or overhead at that table.

This may be a good time to point out the possibility of splitting and sharing packages among users. Here's a topic that may be useful for the purpose: WTT/WTB: Sharing Modernist Ingredients. Please note the host's rules in the opening post.

Those are some beautiful-looking loaves ahead of me! I've been working toward making my own sourdough rosemary olive oil loaf, because the San Luis Sourdough loaf of the same type is rarely available to me. I'm getting closer. This batch sat in the fridge for a couple of days before baking (due to poor planning), and I think the pre-fermentation may have improved the flavor.

By "weigh" do y'all mean that you can throw things into individual hoppers and it will meter out the exact amount? Or do you mean that it has an integrated scale?

Nice photos, everyone! I often turn to this topic for inspiration and come away feeling like a slacker. :-) Nicolai, this looks like meat spread atop a flatbread and then folded for easy eating. Have I got that right? What is the 'Ajeen'? Next question: what king of vinegar and pickling spices were used there? I recently discovered pickled turnips and think they're a wonderful thing. Wouldn't mind learning how to do them myself.

Are you getting scale on your circulator because of the hard water? Or are you talking about some other cleaning need?

Lovely writeup!