Smithy

Has anyone else tried this book's method of cooking prime rib? If so, what did you think? The method goes basically like this: *Preheat the oven to 500F *Put the seasoned roast in, in a shallow roasting pan, uncovered *After roasting for a time period based on weight (strictly timed), turn off the heat *Let the roast continue cooking until the oven cools down to lukewarm, an estimated 2 hours The two striking things about this method are that you only have the 500F heat on for something like 30 - 45 minutes, depending on the size of the roast, and you don't open the door until it's time to take the roast out. (They do add a note that you can remove the roast and set under tented foil to finish its cooking, if you need the oven for other purposes, but say the treatment is less than ideal.) They claim that this strict timing method makes a thermometer unnecessary. (! Sounds like heresy to this gizmo geek!) I tried it last night and thought the roast still ended up too done, and the ends had the texture of cardboard. The texture business may have been because of freezer damage. (I bought more than I could use during the holidays, but this wasn't really wrapped well for freezing.) The too-done part may have been because I left the roast in the oven too long. I certainly liked the simplicity of the method, but wouldn't care to wreck a roast in the name of simplicity. Has anyone else tried this method?

Is there any living with your boss/mother now?

Well, it's too bad about the photos, but the party sounds truly appropriately FAB. What a great way to see Mr. Fabby into his second half-century! Did you do the rolls you wrote about upthread? If so, what was the second flavor combination? I like the name, too, even if I didn't win the prize.

Not to mention the hapless visitors to our neighbors, who loved suckering city slickers into trying them. I'm not sure anyone ever finished an olive, though, and they learned to beware Wes' sense of humor.

Hence the term "blue plate special"?

Clementine in the Kitchen is a wonderful book. It's funny and touching, and the recipes look good although I'm not sure I've tried many of them. The book gave me pause to reflect just how much the availability of food in this country has changed in the past, oh, 60 years - and just how much our culinary horizons have broadened in that time.

I just stumbled over this, and since our cranberry salad is a household standard at this time of year I'll resurrect the topic. Anne, did you ever find a satisfactory cranberry salad recipe? The family I married into has a version that - now that I think of it - has to be their own Southern tradition. (I hadn't realized it was a Southern thing, but it makes sense given the family history.) This cranberry relish was a revelation for me: at last, cranberries could be tasty! I can't abide that canned stuff, and never appreciated cranberries before I tasted this. 1 bag frozen cranberries 2 whole oranges 1 apple, cored a cup or so of walnuts sugar to taste Grind it all together in a food mill or, if none is handy, a food processor. Add sugar to taste, and mix well. That's it. No gelatin, no juice. (It won't hold its shape in a mold.) The family adds a soda cracker moisture barrier to the top, then tops it with whipped cream or the fake version of the same. I omit those items and, if I'm using this as dessert, pass the Cointreau for embellishment. It's a generous but not huge recipe: fills the small bowl from our old Hamilton Beach mixer to capacity; fits comfortably in the large bowl from that set. When I can, I use navel oranges from our ranch. The peel of a navel orange that's never been in a packing plant packs quite an acid whallop, and can be bitter, so I generally peel one orange and withhold part or all of its rind, based on taste.

I'm not sure I've noticed a flavor or texture change with refrozen ground burger, but I'm not sure that I've done it often without cooking it first. I have, however, frequently thawed meat and cooked it into a large dish of something that provided leftovers. I routinely freeze leftover stew, spaghetti sauce, casserole, or even meat 'n' potatoes that were made from previously-frozen-then-thawed meat. We've never noticed a problem with flavor or texture of the meat in the dish when the leftovers were reheated. (Potatoes are another matter.)

I think I'd chalk up the toast experience to "caveat emptor" and be sure to check the order before leaving, next time, if there were a next time. I also like Kim's advice about asking for the croissant lightly toasted. With regard to the rolls: you're right about rosemary for one; what about some thyme with the rosemary? How would dill be for the other rolls, to compliment the salmon? Too pedestrian? I love that flavor combination.

Boy, I can relate! Our Siberian husky gives me about 5 minutes to relax when I come through the door before he's pushing his latest favorite stuffed toy (always squeakectomized after the first 10 minutes) in my face. "Here! Pull my toy!" There's no ignoring him until he gets in a good round of tug-of-war, chase-around-the-house, and catch. I have a serious case of kitchen envy.

You know, I've never been able to figure this one out. Everyone whose opinion on cooking I respect says to braise at a lower temp, even as low as 200F. I understand that, if you leave the lid off, you'll get some evaporative cooling, but why do so many braising recipes tell you to braise, covered, at 300F? ← I'm going to take a wild guess that (a) every oven is different enough that recipes have to generalize, and (b) most recipe writers don't figure people have the time to cook at, say, 225F and (c ) the cookbook publishers are worried about having someone cook too low and too slow and getting food poisoning. These are all guesses, mind. In the eGullet Culinary Institute seminar, The Truth About Braising, Fat Guy's instructions were to set the heat and check it periodically to make sure that there's just a small simmer going. (The link, by the way, takes you to the introduction. There were 4 different sessions, with Q&A and discussion afterward, and the instructions for setting up the braise were early on. The seminar makes for a good education.) Using that technique I generally find that temperature to be somewhere around 225F or 250F in my oven, depending on the rack position. On the other hand, keeping a tight lid on the liquid will trap steam. You won't be boiling the meat (contact with the liquid) so much as steaming it, which is a different process. Whether you're boiling, braising or dry-roasting the meat it will still take time for the interior to reach the same temperature as the exterior, and how fast that happens will depend on how efficient the cooking medium is at transferring heat (liquid is very efficient; air is less so) and how hot it is. I think that means that within a certain temperature range you can get the same results at somewhat higher heat, but you have to be more watchful to make sure you don't overdo it. Any other SSB's out there want to take a whack at this?

Cured, protected and frozen like that: I'd sniff it, and if it didn't smell rancid, I'd eat it. The worst that might happen, I think, is freezer burn.

As much as I love enchiladas, I've never attempted making them because they look too labor-intensive. Thanks for the tutorial. That looks like something I could do! I too would love to see some of Snaky Boy and Cool Flame. Perhaps Queen O'Mean could be added in? The shelf is a clever solution, and it looks terrific. I love the clock! We have a cat clock where the tail and eyes wags back and forth with the pendulum. At least, they used to do.

...and MY phonetic brain took a very long time to work out where you'd come from with that. I was thinking, "Queen O'Mean? Who goes by that handle around here?" Perhaps Queen O'Mean could put in an appearance with Snaky Boy and Cool Flame. I dig that comix vibe, too!

Well, now the fough looks easy, thanks to your instructions and photos! I suppposed that's one of its pitfalls, though. I *had not* thought of storage bins in the drawers. That could be sooooo much nicer than canisters inside the cupboards which is my current setup. We're considering redoing our kitchen, and we're on the lookout for what works and what doesn't. How easy is it to remove those drawer pans and get them back in again? With regard to your kitchen reno: I'm all ears (well, eyes) as the week goes on, if you care to comment on what has worked fabulously, what has worked not as well as you'd expected, and what you think you'd do differently if you had to do it again. Feh. Y'all are just kids, going on about turning 50. And somehow, I'm betting the "hotness" class is about even.

I just remembered that when I was a little girl, a favorite book was Bascombe the Flying Dog. Bascombe was a bassett hound who discovered that he could spread those enormous ears and soar with them. So you see, I do know a 2-syllable word that would be (more) appropriate (than "kitty") for a bassett's name. It isn't a very French-sounding name - I'd make it more English - but it will get a smile of recognition from a few who remember the book. Visalia girl here, myself. There's at least one other Modestan in the audience, if he's tuned in yet. It's nice to hear that you get good alone-time / talking-time with your son. I cherish the memories of my talks with Mom, to and from town, at about that age. It's a shame when kids don't have that with their parents. Good for you both, that you have it.

I've always enjoyed your writing, and I look forward to this blog and seeing you work in your new, wonderful kitchen! Where in California? Your husband musta been born on the coast somewhere, in light of his dad's being in the Navy at the time. Where? And where in Central California did you live? Sorry, I have no bassett names, although it occurs to me that "kitty" has two syllables.

Thank you very much for blogging. It's been a great week!

I've had to be away from the computer for a while, and find myself having to catch up with some comments and questions now. First off: I think you're taking the prize for number of lurkers brought out into the open with your blog. If *that* doesn't show you that folks are reading and enjoying, I don't know what will! The food incompatibility between you and your husband makes me laugh and groan, and puts my household's incompatabilities in perspective: at least he, bless him, loves all things allium as much as I do! Our disagreements are more along the lines of sweet vs. savory. As a rule I lean more toward the tart or savory: he prefers sweet salad dressings and will adjust a sauce's seasoning with "white balsamic vinegar" (even as he decries my refined white sugar use in cookies) when I'd be inclined to add more lemon juice instead. However...just let me get a whisper of cinnamon near my chicken or lamb, to approach my favorite Middle Eastern seasonings, and he's pulling his split pea soup out of the freezer. Olives? Nope. He says he likes them fine, just not in something (no, it doesn't matter what type of olive). But if I offer them up as an appetizer, I'm still the only one eating them. Now, after reading your travails, I'll let him douse the chili with so much paprika that I can't taste anything else, and just keep on smiling. I've read mixed reviews of Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day, and am glad to read your take on it. I may have to revisit the bookstore to see whether I want to pick up a copy. One reviewer wrote that it still takes hours instead of 5 minutes, even with the dough already prepared and resting in the fridge. Yes? No? I see you too have the Gourmet's 50-year best-of celebratory cookbook. I have it too, and consider it one of my "what was I thinking?" purchases. It looks okay, but I don't think I've ever actually cooked from it. Have you? Do you have any recommendations for where I should dive in, if I'm to keep that book?

Thanks for the salt information! I have to laugh at your freezer photo. Ours looks much the same, right down to the basket, the little round blue-lidded Ziploc™ containers, and the Barnes & Noble (!how's that for coincidence?!) bag holding packages of frozen stuff. I should say that ours DID look much the same until last weekend. My other half objects to opaque shopping bags, even if they do come from B&N, even if they have all the same thing in each bag. He still can't tell what's in an opaque bag. I repackaged those things. I love the cute little boy face sneaking into the pic! Edited to improve formatting

ninetofive, and Pam R: Whose smoke(d) salt do you use? I've been using the Danish Smoke Salt from Salt Traders. If there's a good, more universal source, I might try it.

I don't think I've ever had Belgian endive before. Do you think you just had "bad" ones, or was it the treatment they got? If I were to buy some to try them, what should I look for? That chicken looked wonderful.

Uh, Smithy, I think you mean white wine vinegar instead of lemon juice? I hope... ← Ha! Yes, I most certainly do. Sorry I didn't notice your question sooner, and thanks for the catch!

I don't think you can make the paste seem like pulp, because the paste will already be smoother and somewhat thinner than the pulp. How does the recipe call for the pulp to be used? I'm guessing that there's liquid to be added to the pulp, or else the pulp is added into some sauce components that are later strained. Is that right? Since you're starting with tamarind paste, you can probably add it to the sauce until you have the right flavor.