Smithy

Welcome, Stacy! Good for you for pursuing your dreams. Is your current workplace close enough to the Capitol to get a lot of business? What's the baking scene in Sacramento?

That sounds great! I was on a Middle Eastern/Mediterranean train of thought because of the kofta, but your treatment also sounds delicious. Who cares whether it came from home or a celebrity cook, as long as it's good?

Shelby, that looks so luscious I can almost smell it from here. Do you know what variety of peach that is? They look as though they're dead-ripe, at the peak of perfection.

Welcome to the forums, Emanuel Diogo. It isn't clear - to me, at least - whether you're looking for basic cookbooks for beginners, cookbooks to improve your existing skills, or cookbooks about new techniques or cuisines altogether. Do you already like to cook? If so, at what level, and what sorts of food? What would you like to learn? If you're not sure, what sorts of food do you like to eat? Are you interested in learning to bake breads, cakes or pies? Are you interested in Modernist cookery? Answers to these questions will help us give you useful suggestions. If you're looking for cookbooks for beginners, you may find this topic interesting: Best Cookbooks for Beginners.

This is one of my favorite summer treatments, adapted from a recipe in the June/July 2003 issue of Cooking Pleasures magazine: Pesto-stuffed chicken breasts. (Sorry, I can't find a link to such an old issue.) Butterfly the breast, lay and pound it flat, spread with pesto. Roll or fold the breast back up (which you do depends on how thick it is), and tie it. Brown gently - so the breast doesn't get overcooked - in vegetable oil, then add a braising liquid of your choice (water, chicken broth, white wine, a mixture). Cover and give it time to cook, keeping in mind that chicken breast doesn't take long. Remove the breasts to a covered serving dish, and keep warm. Increase the heat under the skillet, and start cooking the sauce down. Toss in cherry tomatoes toward the end, and cook just long enough to warm them, not enough to pop them. Untie the chicken breast, serve the sauce and tomatoes over it. If you wish, you can slice the chicken crosswise to show rolls with bits of pesto in each slice; you can also make extra sauce and serve with rice.

It's a shame nobody answered you before now! My advice would have been to slice the eggplant lengthwise, score the cut face lightly (to allow more oil to seep in), brush with a blend of EVOO and oregano (and minced garlic, if you have it); grill face down until it browns, flip up and put on indirect heat until cooked through (soft). Eggplant collapses quickly once it starts, and it's easy to burn, so you can't have it over direct heat for very long. Brush once more with the oil/garlic mixture, sprinkle chopped parsley and/or mint over it and let that soak in while the kofta finishes cooking. Now, what did you actually do, and how did it come out?

*Ba-DA-Bump!* Seriously, now that I'm done laughing I'm thinking that is an outstanding name for a specialty sub at a place with old tools. Talk about distinguishing the deli from the rest of the pack!

I think it all sounds great. Based on my (admittedly limited) experience with diabetics, I think he'll have plenty of wonderful food from which to choose. As for the stevia: I recommend you ask him about that - or any other sugar replacements - before using it as a sweetener. I don't think it's an issue for diabetics, but I'm not sure; furthermore, I personally think the stuff is vile. If he feels the same way it would be a shame to ruin the dessert! It sounds like you're going to have a wonderful visit, and they'll feel blessed by your thoughtful hospitality. As others have said before me: relax now, and have fun! Edit: I previously overlooked your statement that his wife is allergic to nuts. I retract my approval of pecans. :-)

I'm no artist, but I'll play along. To me, black and white with maybe a pop of red sounds like an ice cream parlor, and also a bit clashy with the green and yellow of the BP station. Depending on how the 'pop' is done, what about doing a pop of yellow with that black and white, instead of the red? (I am NOT suggesting red and yellow together; that's been done.) Another idea: if it were to take on the feel of a 50's diner with the decor, would that appeal to the crowd you have in mind? Yet another idea: you need something for people to look at while they're waiting (you hope not too long). What about historic photos of your area, things that would appeal to the type of work done around there?

Kerry, what about with chocolate chips instead of, or in addition to, the pecans? (Can you tell I'm a chocolate junkie? :-))

Are you referring to the bar cookies that are like brownies in shape and texture, but not predominantly chocolate? (American and British terms sometimes differ.) If so, a lot of people over here think they're great. I've always preferred brownies. Edit: Kerry's answer is much better than mine. :-)

Franci, that is gob-smacking gorgeous. There are rare times when I regret moving away from Big City life. Your post and photos bring me such a pang. What did you eat that with? Freshly toasted slices of some toothsome bread? Crackers? Slices of the best vegetables available? Or merely the very best, most ethereal wine? ;-)

Mousses, souffles and brandades brings me to gelatin, the simplest of all. Have you explored the possibilities of making your own, using unflavored gelatin packets? I've made it with a wide variety of fruit juices, as well as broths. Gee...if you were looking for an excuse to get into the Modernist Cuisine movement, this would be your excuse to get a rotovap and whipper, to make your own foams. :-)

What about eggs, softly scrambled (barely set) or devilled and then blended into a paste? Liverwurst and cream cheese, possibly thinned with a compatible broth? Guacamole? You mention needing to restrict the fiber, but I have to think you're missing out on nutrients if you cut out all the vegetables. Some ideas here: those scrambled eggs with cooked spinach and feta cheese, all blended to a paste if need be; cooked, pureed squash done like mashed potatoes; same idea with carrots or other root vegetables? What about vegetable-based pastas in small quantities? I can't answer about those ultra-powerful blenders, but you might also consider a wand blender, which works well chasing stuff around in a pan or else in small containers; some come with their own container.

Pecans and peanuts aren't related, so I don't know that the peanut allergy is a concern. Are you thinking pecans in the wild rice pilaf, or with the brussels sprouts? Either sounds pretty good to me. As for wild rice, it's a low-glycemic-index seed, so it should be fine.

I'd save the gas, and turn it off.

I've made a mint 'sauce' of pulverized mint, garlic, oil, a little salt, maybe some parsley...along the lines of chermoula. It goes very well with lamb, and might do well with other savory meats. If that sounds interesting to you I'll scrounge around and find the proportions.

If not choke cherries, could they be pin cherries? I never can keep them straight.

This is interesting reading, gfron1. Thanks for taking the time to keep us posted. $600 for a single font? Who knew?

Those are beautiful, Matthew. I wish I were closer so I could buy them too!

Glad to have you here!

That all looks tasty and award-worthy, a nice mix of innovation and familiar comfort food. How nice that the weather behaved itself!

Welcome, tcamp. It's nice to know your reading here has inspired you to participate. Maybe you'll post about some of your weekend cooking projects? If you have any questions about how things work on these forums, don't be shy about asking a host.

Is it that you prefer the tartness of most green (cured before ripe) olives? I ask because there are also green ripe olives that to me have a wonderful, buttery flavor that's nothing like the green Spanish-style (what you'd put in a martini) olives or the garlicky hot Tuscan olives we can get in our grocery stores. Similarly, there's a huge difference in flavor between salt-cured Moroccan black olives, kalamata olives and standard black ripe olives. So when you say you prefer green olives, it would help to know whether it's something about the flavor, or you just don't like black. ;-) I've had some very nice purplish olives that, as I recall, had a nice mellow flavor. If I can find a jar I'll tell you their variety; I think Paula Wolfert recommended them for Moroccan tagines.

I have to start looking for duck wings at our grocery stores! Shelby, that food looked glorious.