Smithy

I haven't been able to distinguish flavor differences between the colored eggs and standard brown eggs, but I love the way they look. Are you saying that the cornmeal contaminated the semolina, or have they both gone off? Had they been packed together for long?

It's all worth comment, compliments, questions and a bit of envy! At present, however, I'll just ask what dressing (if any) came with/on the apricot and date salad? I have a ton of dates to be used, and I keep looking for good uses for the things that get shipped to our grocery stores and try to pass for apricots.

You must have seen some lovely country while you were lost, so you can say you had to go see it again. ;-) How fortunate for you that you had to drive to go get the strawberries! (It's also nice to be in country where the dogs are of the pat-me-please variety.) You DID come away with strawberries, even if not duck eggs, didn't you? Was it just the one basket of berries? What kind of dressing did you put on that romaine? I think I see the pitcher just at the right margin of the picture.

Oh, I'm looking forward to this! Let the testing and the noshing begin. I'm glad those excellent-looking cheeses weren't damaged by the spill.

Those look wonderful, CatPoet. Thanks for posting the recipe and photos; I think I'll have to have a go at them.

Welcome, Bernoulli! As a physicist and flight instructor I appreciated your member name immediately. When your wife refers to you as a 'peasant' cook, I hope she isn't denigrating your food! What kind of peasant food in particular do you like to prepare? Do you have favorite cuisines from the various places where you've been stationed over the years? There are a lot a seafood aficionados here - of the 'cooking' as well as the 'eating' sort of enthusiasm. We also have a lot of collectors and users of kitchen gadgets, both old and new. Your introductory post came in as your 7th post, so it's clear you've been exploring the forums. Please, continue to join in on the discussions!

Franci, that speaks to the power of good food photography. I have to admit that, despite your comment, your photos make me want to make them! :-D Hiuray: beautiful colors, and great presentation. That looks really tasty.

Thanks very much for the tips! I made my first galette / rustic fruit tart today for a dinner party today, using your recipe and the pointers from your blog. The dough rolled out beautifully, and soon I had the galette assembled, using a combination of nectarines and peaches. (If I've missed this point, I apologize: is it a good idea to put something like an egg wash down first, to seal the dough? I did so with beaten egg whites, before the fruit went on.) I was quite proud of the finished product, and only as we were getting ready to leave did I realize my oversight: how to transport it? I ended up carrying it on the parchment paper, on the baking sheet, with the lid of a cake carrier over it. What a wonderful presentation. The galette received enthusiastic praise, and the sincerest compliment of not having much left. The accompaniment was nectarine/amaretto ice cream (today's other project), whipped cream, both or neither, depending on the eater's preference. I was quite proud of the whole thing, until I went back up and looked at photos of galettes from the pros in the last 2 pages. It's only partly the quality of the photos; I can see that the pastry wasn't as flaky. But it was a hit, and a lot of fun, and I figure that's what counts - at least as a starting point - for this amateur.

I believe I've lived with a bad fridge in past lives, and had no issues with yogurt going off as long as it was sealed. For that matter, I've kept yogurt (refrigerated) long past its supposed expiration date with no problems, as long as the original seal hadn't been broken. Unfortunately that's qualitative information, not quantitative, and it was for my own purposes. How long do you need to keep things in this bad fridge? If this is a matter of a few days, I wouldn't worry about it. If you're planning for a month-long woods retreat, you may need to use the short-shelf-like items early in the trip..

I tried this recipe last night, massaging and all. Artichokes are fiddly to begin with, and I rarely mess with them because the finger-food aspect doesn't appeal to the other human in the household. Nonetheless *I* like them, and indulged myself when I found some on sale.I ended up discarding a lot of outer leaves (more than I'd have predicted) that were tough, despite long cooking; a lot of the onions got a bit too caramelized for my liking (read: it took forever to clean the Le Creuset gratin dish afterward). Despite these issues, the dish was a hit. "I like these!" said my darling, spearing yet more artichoke, and I hardly got any. The melted butter for dipping may have been a factor. In fact, next time around I may add melted butter as a garnish before serving. I do think I overcooked it in the hopes of getting more edible artichoke fraction. Next time, if there is a next time, I'll use a different pan and more liquid so that the artichokes are sitting atop a deeper reservoir of liquid. The flavors were good.

Perhaps just adding an additional egg yolk would do the trick. Egg yolks tend to moisten; egg whites tend to dry and leaven.

Mjx, for about how much time, and at what temperature, should this be baked? Does the answer change if it's flattened to make schiacciata? If so, what would the new numbers be?

rotuts, if I didn't already have a kitchen nearly bursting with gear, you'd be driving me to it. Circulator. Cuisinart Steam Boy (or Girl). Next thing I know, you'll be buying a rotovap and I'll want that too. Sous vide eggs: glorious! Enjoy that lusciousaise, and have a little extra for me.

ElsieD, did you have any better success this time around? I'm wondering, based on your description, whether the layer of egg is too thin so that the yolk isn't adequately protected from heat by the white, or the ramekin. It's normally my experience that the white sets first, not the yolk, and if I'm reading your first post correctly you've had the reverse happen. Another thought is that the temperature and/or time are wrong. There's been a lot of research posted about the results of cooking eggs (still in the shell) at a precise temperature in a warm-water circulating bath. Dave Arnold has put out a chart showing the uses and 'doneness' of eggs cooked at specific temperatures for an hour. Although you're trying to cook these in dishes using a more conventional method, you may find information here that helps home in on your target. Perhaps cooking for a longer time and lower temperature would help. Here's one link to the chart and a discussion: http://www.splendidtable.org/story/theres-more-than-one-way-to-cook-an-egg-dave-arnold-has-11 Googling "Dave Arnold" and "eggs" will get a great deal more, many of them including the same chart.

What a great machine! I've never seen one like that before. Good find!

I had to go look at their web site to see what it looks like: http://www.cuisipro.com/en/Cooking/Cordless-Herb-Chopper-plu74-7190.html. Clearly, I haven't used one, but I have questions. The photos make it look like there are 2 main blades and a third, stationary? pointed blade coming off the top of the axle. Am I see that right? If so, what's that all about? I take it you've tried the "shake while chopping" that they say is so easy. What happens with the wet herbs: do they clump up, like trying to mow wet grass?

I like your style, Matthew. ;-)

Welcome, Annealment! There are quite a few people here who've made the transition; I expect they'll be along soon to welcome you also. What sorts of things do you like to cook and bake?

Shelby, can you describe the flavor? Was it more like mint, oregano, both, or neither? Sour, bitter, tart, bland,...?

That looks wonderful. What is the purpose of the champagne?

One of my favorite upscale cafes uses flatbreads that they make on site. The bread is soft and pliable enough to serve as a wrap if one wishes, but it can also be cut with knife and fork as part of an open-face sandwich. Since it nearly covers the plate and the 'filling' almost covers the flatbread, I've usually chosen the latter option. They wouldn't share their recipe with me, alas, but their bent is Mediterranean. If you wanted a more local twist, might you use mesquite flour as an element in a flatbread? I don't know whether it would be difficult to source in quantity, and I know it isn't *quite* from your neck of the woods.

You're welcome. By the way, SobaAddict's recipe above shows another great way to keep the bright color: blanch the beans in boiling water, then stop the cooking in ice water, then go on with the rest of the dish. I don't know whether that would help keep the color with your sous vide strategy. I do know I plan to cook his recipe soon. :-)

The lemon juice, or any acid, will make those beans lose that bright color. I wonder what would happen if you waited to toss the beans with the lemon juice and zest until after cooking?

It all looks beautiful, Soba. Thanks for this information. I'll have to renew my library loan to continue cooking on this topic myself, but if you keep it up I may end up making the purchase. ;-)

What an interesting question! I've been through all my recipes and my "Date Recipes" cookbook; all the recipes for bar cookies call for layers. I wonder what would happen if a "date bread" recipe, for quick bread or coffee cake, were spread out into a 9x13 pan? Do you recall whether the recipe involved chocolate, nuts and/or fruit other than the dates? I haven't looked into my quick bread recipes, but your answers may help focus the search.