Smithy

Dance. Gotta do something while the timer's counting down or the pot's coming to the boil.

Raw chocolate chip cookie dough is my downfall. Like Darienne, I don't make cookies often any more. Invoke the "5-second rule" for things dropped on the floor - if the dog doesn't get there first. I feel best about it when the object in question is to be cooked anyway, but I've been known to pick up (just-dropped) nuts from the floor and add them to the salad.

Getting back to the question at hand: I wonder if there's another scale configuration that would be as portable without seeming too suspicious: for instance, a fish-weighing scale or a small-animal scale. Some of the fishing scales I've looked at would fit in one's pocket, but you'd have to wrap the hook so you didn't stab yourself. :-)

Welcome to the Society, Steve! Feel free to come explore the forums and participate in the discussions. There are a lot of people here with questions, answers, and opinions. What sort of food do you especially enjoy cooking and/or eating?

It's rare in our household as well! Nonetheless, it happened..two bottles in a row, and I have another report: tonight's leftover Malbec wasn't half-bad with smoked salmon. I'd do that combination again.

So, did anyone try the chocolates with durian filling? I loved the warning sign.

That's very interesting, Plantes Vertes. Thanks for resurrecting this topic, which I'd missed before now. Please do post your tasting notes when you can. I'm inclined to agree with the posters above who note that having multiple variables and failing to control or account for them is generally a poor practice that leads to inaccurate results. I'm also inclined toward favoring environmentally friendly alternatives in our own long-term self-interest, as long as the results are good. I'll have to start reading more about this topic and working out the difference between 'organic' and 'raw' in the context of wine.

I opened the first bottle last night. Right out of the bottle it had a nose and taste of grape - as opposed to cherries or blackberries, for instance - but did seem a bit astringent. After breathing for a while the flavors opened out and there was more of a sense of fruit to it, but this was not one of those wretched wines labeled as "fruit forward" that smack you in the face and give new meaning to the phrase "fruit punch". We drank it last night with grilled steaks, a grilled vegetable salad (ramps, peppers and asparagus). Chimichurri sauce was included in a nod to the Argentinian wine source. The wine and the meal complimented each other reasonably well: that is to say, everything tasted good together and separately, and nothing was overwhelming compared to the rest. I've had some wine and food pairings that were nearly magical in the way they brought out new flavors in each other. This pairing wasn't magical like that, but it was good. Today, the leftover wine - having sat in the decanter for over 24 hours - was still good. (Surprise!) It seemed a little drier, as though some of the fruity compounds had evaporated, but it was still quite drinkable. Wanting to test rotut's theory, I opened a new bottle, decanted some, then chilled the rest down to about 60 or 65F. (Our room temperature is running in the low 70's right now.) Chilling did balance the flavors better, perhaps toning down the alcohol compared to the fruity compounds. Just a guess. We paired it with a Southeast Indian Slow Cooker stew with a lot of lentils, onions, garlic, spices, spinach, chicken broth and more spices. Did I mention it was spicy? The wine and the stew didn't play together as nicely as the wine and steak did last night: instead of each tasting good together or separately, each seemed slightly bitter at the first taste after working on the other. $10.99 at our best local liquor store is the normal price; I bought it on sale for a dollar or two less. I'd get it again.

Tom Thomas, your recipe sounds delicious, and your timing is interesting because of another topic that just came up on Hyderabadi Biryani. Perhaps you could answer that person's questions?

Welcome, daniel! There are a lot of skilled confectioners on these forums, and they're happy to talk about confections of all types. A number of them are currently in Las Vegas, Nevada (USA) at a Chocolate and Confectionary Workshop, and you can see some of their activities here: http://forums.egullet.org/topic/148418-report-eg-chocolate-and-confectionery-workshop-2014/ You may find yourself interested in the topic titled "Your Daily Sweets: What are you making and baking?" The 2014 topic starts here: http://forums.egullet.org/topic/147429-your-daily-sweets-what-are-you-making-and-baking-2014%E2%80%93/ There's also a topic titled "Confections! What did we make?" here: http://forums.egullet.org/topic/143988-confections-what-did-we-make-2012%E2%80%93/ Of course, there are a lot of other topics in the Pastry and Baking forum, but we have a lot of lively discussion on other food-related topics. Come join in the fun!

I'm glad to see Delights from the Garden of Eden getting so much attention and going into a new publication. I have the original paperback version (mine came in good condition), given to me by a friend who met Ms. Nasrallah and loved her stories. The stories in the book are fun and interesting, and the recipes fascinating. I can't remember which I've done and which I haven't. I'll have to pull the book out and start cooking from it again.

There are some good ideas coming here. Note that the handout listing approves hard cheeses such as cheddar, swiss and mozarella, in small quantities. I'm with Lisa on the fruit salad. It's a pity about the stone fruits, but with citrus, berries, pineapple and melons you still have a lot of options.

Actually, that photo looks to me like 2013, not 2012. Kerry, can you confirm the year, for our curiosity? At any rate, I picked up 2 bottles of the 2013 and will be opening at least one this weekend. The vintage makes a difference, but for purposes of this game let's assume that it's less important than the winery and the wine in question.

Welcome to the Forums, Nucoffe. I'm sure you'll get lots of advice, not only about where to eat, but also on the very best ways to cook any of those dishes. Note I said 'advice', not 'agreement'. ;-)

Welcome! We'd love to read about your desserts, or any other Moroccan food about which you'd like to post. What are some of your favorites?

Congratulations! Please tell us more as you find it out. I'll be interested to hear what you do with your purchase.

Is this it? Chicago metallic 41800 1/8 Sheet Pan from katom Restaurant Supply was the first thing that popped up when I put "Chicago Metallic 1/8 Sheet Pan" into Google. The next link, from Amazon, notes (a) that it was only available through third-party sellers and (b) only available in packs of a dozen, which is probably more than Shel wants. I don't know the first thing about katom, by the way, but the photo in the link is a good one. This was just the first of five links for 1/8 size pans.

Shel_B, have you looked at Sur La Table? I have their heavy-gauge sheet pans in full and half-size, and like them very much. Their quarter-sheet pan is made by USA Pan out of Pittsburgh, PA: http://www.surlatable.com/product/PRO-189234/?source=igodigital It wouldn't surprise me to see that they also carry smaller pans. As for whether you need heavy-duty at that size, it depends on what you're using it for. My cheapo trays left over from my toaster oven days are of course wildly warped. They wouldn't be suitable for trying to get an even layer of jelly-roll batter, but they do fine for quick toasting of nuts.

Oh, that would make it well worth the price of admission.

Rats. Now I'm considering the purchase, and it's gone up to $70. Never mind, maybe later.

Excellent, Kerry! Thanks for taking the plunge, and for finding such an accommodating store! Photos would be fun, if possible. I'm glad there wasn't any breakage involved. I know we have the Alamos Malbec in town. I'll pick some up tomorrow.

That fish was swai. We buy it in packages of individually-wrapped fillets, frozen, much like tilapia that we buy. We think swai may be slightly firmer than tilapia, but they're very similar. Tilapia should work as well, I think.

A pate possibly, or use them to thicken a sauce that would go with, say, vegetables and rice. I remember this from some of Paula Wolfert's work; I think it's a Moroccan technique. I'll post more when I get a chance, but it will be much later today (tomorrow for you, liuzhou). You might try going to her website for inspiration.

I made my first attempt at Nadan Meen Curry tonight. Here's my report and my feedback. First of all, it was delicious! I did come away with a number of questions, but I'll show some pictures of what I did as I go. First, the raw ingredients, as near to what you specified as I could manage: You didn't specify what kind of oil to use to begin cooking. I happen to have some red palm oil, and I used that. It adds an interesting color, as can be seen with this photo of the onion, which was already beginning to soften, and the garlic, which had just been added. In your notes you indicated that the onion, garlic and ginger should all be added at once. (I usually end up burning the garlic when I do that, so I added it after the onion was already softened.) Your instructions say to add the fish "when the masala is cooked"...I realized I didn't know what that meant! I probably added the fish too soon. It was well-cooked enough after a short simmer that I removed it to a warm oven while I cooked the sauce down. It took a while to cook the sauce down, and I wondered just how thick it should be. Here's the fish and sauce, ready to serve: and here's a plate of the fish and sauce over rice. Bread and vegetables were served separately. We both thought it was delicious! We'll be trying it again, possibly with thicker fish (these were thin fillets) and certainly with a shorter cooking time to the fish. If I can lay my hands on the missing ingredients, I'll add them. So: First, thanks so much for this recipe! It passes the taste test! Second - and this is the test of communication - how close did I come to what you tried to explain?

Great! I'm sure that there will be differences in availability even within one country; I often can't find a specific California label in a Duluth wine store, for instance. The closest approximation will be acceptable; think of the discussion that may generate!