Smithy

Further to the round steak question: I've settled on braising, based on where the cut comes from. Now I'm down to dithering among flavorings, and I'd best get going on it soon. Fifi, I'm glad you mentioned the red wine and rosemary - happens I have some of both, as well as some mushrooms and leeks, that need to be used. I've also unearthed interesting-looking recipes from Chef John Folse's Encyclopedia of Cajun Cookery (that may not be quite the right name, but Mayhaw Man is spot-on about that book's value), and from my ancient copy of Helen Brown's West Coast Cookbook. Then, there's Chufi's Braised Beef, Dutch Style that's been getting such raves. Decisions, decisions. This is another reason we usually eat late around here. Edited for spacing.

Low to medium heat??? What's up with that? ← It does seem as though you'd naturally get more even temperature distribution on low to medium heat. That's a funny way to brown things, though. I don't see any hints that they think it will brown better. How's your AMEX card doing these days, Fifi?

Simple but good, indeed. You are an inspiration. Lucy, that looks like a well-loved and cherished tart pan. Is it Le Creuset? I've never seen a round pan like that over here. It looks like the finish is chipping off? Does that change the way you handle or use the pan?

Your statement about not making final decisions until the last minute says volumes about how well and easily you cook. Your meal with Matthieu strikes me the same way. If I served courses as you do, I think I'd spend all the time in the kitchen instead of with the guests. Do you? If not, how do you get away from it? For instance, do you usually have a lot of the work done in advance (the quail ready for the spit), are you an especially efficient cook, or is it a bit of both? As a rule, how much time elapses between courses? Is there time for sitting and visiting then? I think your answers will tell a lot, not only about your cooking style, but also about the differences between French and American meal rhythms. Lucy, this blog is already beautiful. I loved your previous blogs, and I can see this will be another winner. I wear a size Medium! Edited to add, to the Fan Club Chapter Leaders: when will the bleudauvergne Fan Club apron be coming out?

I discovered a pair of venison round steaks in the freezer this morning, nicely cryovac-packed. Any suggestions on treatment for round steak? I'm off to see whether any of my cookbooks will tell me where that cut is from and what treatment usually benefits it best. While I'm looking, I suspect several eGulletteers will have better and quicker answers for me. The meat doesn't look fatty.

Venison medallions in wine sauce, venison stroganoff, grilled venison kebabs are favorite treatments of mine. Venison stew is lovely, too, and I made what I thought was a great venison gumbo last winter during the great eGullet Cook-Off III: Gumbo thread. I bet you could do wonders with a stuffed rolled venison roast, stuffings and spices of your choosing. Dried fruit stuffing with a port wine glaze? Mushroom stuffing with a mustard and rosemary coating? The possibilities are endless. I'm so glad to see people around this Forum coming up with uses for meaty pieces. It breaks my heart when people grind up all that good meat and make it into burger or sausage. Sure, those are good - but it's like turning an entire cow's worth of meat into burger. My husband was one of those grind-it-and-bury-the-flavor folks until I began to re-educate him.

It seems to be a hard-acquired taste. Even though I live in lutefisk country, I haven't managed to like it.

EEEEEEWWWW!!!!! Yeah... EEEEWWW! I'll bet that was some gamey hunk of venison. jackal10... You are one of the few that I know of that like the gamey taste. To me, it just means ill-treated venison. It is so bad, that is why there are all of those recipes out there for marinades to try to kill it. Of course, you do enough to cover up the musk (thinking you really can) and you can't tell it is venison anymore. ← I must disagree with the assumption that the meat was wrecked. Depending on how the deer was hit, how quickly it died, and how the meat was treated, there might have been a lot of salvageable meat left. I know this from experience, because last year I decided that the doe who'd committed hara-kiri on my car deserved to be eaten. After I'd cut away the bruised and damaged meat (clean shoulder strike, immediate death) I still had a good half left. It's all been good, with not a touch of gaminess. Wait Just One Minute Here! Your husband has hunted nearly 40 years and this is his first deer? While I have to admire his perseverance, he's no Natty Bumpo, that's for sure! Deer aren't exactly hard to find up hear in Northern MN. I know a guy who's killed 9 so far this year with his pickup truck. ← I too applaud Paul's perseverance! I take it to mean he's choosey about his shots. Good for him. And yes, they do seem to prefer the highways to the woods. Snowangel, do let us know the size of that "nice doe". The one I hit last year was a "nice doe" and she still outweighed me. I figured this out when I strung a rope through a pulley in the garage rafter and tried to hoist the gutted carcass. There we were: deer on one end of the rope, me on the other end, and MY feet were the ones dangling in the air. A double block-and-tackle arrangement was required before she was properly hanging. Good thing my husband wasn't there to "help"; he'd have been too busy laughing and taking photos.

My dog Gromit (jack russel terrier) crosses her paws all the time! Must be a PNW thing. Yay! San Juans!! A. ← Nope. Our Charlie Brown, may she rest in peace, used to cross her paws and laugh. Hmm. She was born in Oregon and moved to California at 3 or 4 months old, so that could still be attributed to a PNW thing. Lucy (not named after the Peanuts character), on the other hand, lived her entire life in Minnesota and was a charming paw-crosser. Both were border collie/Aussie/fence jumper mutts. Abra. I knew I should recognize that name. East of Eden is one of my favorite books. Abra, this blog has been beautiful. I'm sorry I've missed out on the last couple of days, and am likely to miss out on the finish. I want to say now, I've learned more this week about pairing wines with food, and about wines and spirits that I want to try, than I'd have dreamed possible. Thanks for showing us your tool kit! When you get back to Mario's book, make sure you try the Game Hen with Pomegranate. I took a couple of short cuts with that one and it was still wonderful. I used a full-sized chicken, and failed to do any advance marinading. As good as that chicken turned out, I have to wonder what would have been gained by taking the extra steps. Some day I'll try it and see. Edited to add: I love what Scandanavians do with Christmas. Thank you so much for the tour! Betty Boop done Norwegian-style was new to me. and: I've never been in a Central Market before, but now that you've shown one, I should be glad we don't have one nearby. Not only would my odd-food collection in the cupboard grow exponentially, but my dish fetish would reach terminal proportions. It's bad enough already, without those gorgeous little dishes you showed.

Paula, if these questions have been addressed, or implicitly answered, elsewhere, please forgive the repetition. I have a couple of questions I'd like to ask in the short time we have remaining with you. Perhaps I'll have to go haunt the used bookstores for your World of Food book to get my answers? First - what is the common ground that defines Mediterranean food? There seems to be less distance, figuratively speaking, between Moroccan and Turkish food than between Moroccan and French food. Even though the climates may be similar (that all-important "Mediterranean climate", which California shares) the cultures seem wildly different. I haven't identified the thread that binds them together. Second - can you describe the progression you made from one cuisine to the next, and why you made it? I had the idea that you'd started with Moroccan food, but the Elizabeth David discussion makes me wonder. Where did you start, and what prompted to you move to the next? Finally - whether or not you have time to answer, please accept my thanks for this special conversation. It's always good to read your responses on the Forum, but this week has been especially well focused and interesting.

I have been enjoying the photos immensely, but your description of how they were set up makes them all the more enjoyable. Your story of the cover photo shoot is especially fun. Thank you so much for telling us about that!

I'm parroting Abra's question, Jack. Is this different that our molasses? Heavier, perhaps? ras malai caught my eye, just because I was pleased to be able to read the label. What is it? What do you use it for? What about dhokla? Abra, you're a brave woman. I'm so glad to see I'm not the only compulsive impulse-buyer who keeps things longer than they should be kept. I confess, I'm so out of my depth with the contents of your cupboard, that I couldn't help figure out what to do with them! I hope some of the others answer your questions, so I can learn along. The menu sounds luscious. I'll be looking forward to seeing how it works out, even though I can't cook along tonight. Has Riley discovered persimmons? Our Mischke did, when we were wandering through pruned orchards last winter. Who knew a husky would like fruit so much? I have to hide persimmons when I have them in the house.

I have absolutely GOT to make that beef soon, never mind our recent vow not to buy any more meat until we've worked our way down through the freezer contents. I have Molto Italiano, and I'd be interested in cooking along, but I couldn't do it today. Doesn't it all look wonderful? You've singled out several recipes I've been ogling with great interest but not tried yet: Chicken Thighs with Saffron, Green Olives and Mint; Chicken with Cooked Wine; Chicken Livers with Balsamic Vinegar, and the porketta-style pork tenderloin. If you do a demo, the pork loin and one of the vegetable dishes at the end of your list would make a smashing combination. If you were to do the cooking tomorrow, I'd be interested in joining you for one of the chicken dishes. With my cooking-and-posting history, the photos might be up before dawn Friday. Abra, you're well on your way to spawning a bunch of new threads! "Clearing out the cupboards" "Cooking with Mario" what's next?

I've cooked a few things out of Mario's new book, and they were terrific even with my meager skills. I'd love to see you do something with those. However, the tours would be good too, as would seeing your personal chef kit. I think my favorite suggestion so far, though nobody else has voted for it yet, is showing us what's in your cupboard and getting suggestions for what to do with them. That's such a great idea that if you don't do it now you should start a thread on it later! Think how much we could all get from such a thread, wondering what to do with those impulse purchases! Your cat looks just like my Gracie Mu. You're right, silver-grey is hard to photograph.

I've been seeing interesting differences in my clay pots - not only vs. metal, but also glazed vs. unglazed, and possibly even Egyptian vs. Moroccan. It's a fascinating line of inquiry, and I thank Paula for opening up this world to me. My question at the moment is, how do you decide whether to cook something in a glazed or an unglazed pot? Which is more common in the southwest of France? Or, perhaps, are pots of a particular shape routinely glazed or left unglazed, so that the finish isn't the determining factor?

Gorgeous!

It's hard to say just what I love best about eGullet, but without a doubt, one of my favorite things about it is that food writers are here! I never know who will pop up next! Anissa, I have Mediterranean Street Food. It's a delight! Welcome to eGullet!

I'll be interested to learn the results of the food pairings with oaky wines. I personally don't like oak in wine if I can detect it; I suspect it's been severely overdone in the wines I've tried, and I've developed an aversion as a result. (It's entirely possible, at my usual price range, that the "oak" has come from wood chips thrown in instead of proper barrel aging.) That being said, I've been under the impression that the heavily oaked chardonnays don't pair well with food because they shout it down. Was that incorrect? Should I be suspicious that the person who says that is also a non-oak person? As to the arm: this part may get too personal, and if so, please accept my apologies and ignore it. I went through something like that last year, and it turned out to be related more to posture and lack of stretching than to heavy lifting. The lifting (more specifically, the heavy briefcase suspended from a shoulder strap) was a contributing factor, but the stretching and muscle strengthening were what helped. Are you satisfied that the chiropractor is giving you sufficient information? I don't know much about persimmons except that they grow readily where I grew up, in central California. Do they grow in your climate?

Hmm. I can't wait to see what you do with the skate, but I've never had it, so I'm no help there! In fact, I have more questions than answers! First: Please, please do the speculaas with the almond paste, instead of the plain! I've been drooling over that recipe, as well as the rest of Chufi's photos and recipes. I'm glad my "Belgian" compromise was well-received, and your selections are all things I've been wanting to try. What do you plan to do with your persimmons? Your photos are GORGEOUS. I noticed that the apple orchard had a lot of fruit on the ground. Do you happen to know whether the orchard had been picked and the stuff on the ground were the culls? Or did that orchard just start dropping its load before the pickers got there? (Don't you love these questions, fired away about something you were just happened to see on the way? )

I'm interested in the way writing about food and cooking changes the writing process, if at all, from writing fiction or essays. It appears that successful writers establish a discipline to get the work done. (Caroline See advises in her fine book, Making a Literary Life, "1000 words a day, or no more than 2 hours editing, plus one charming note, 5 days a week.") Your case is different: you can't just lock yourself in the den with a word processor and research materials. Aside from your field research (oh, happy travels!) you have recipes to test, you have kitchen work (I think of it as lab work) to do. A specific way to ask this question would be to ask, "What's your writing routine? How is it different from your husband's?" However, I'm afraid that question is too personal. I'd be happy with a general answer, if you have one, based on your literary friendships.

Oh dear oh dear, what a choice! Both French and Dutch sound good, particularly in light of the current threads. Could you, er, do a bit of both and claim it's a Belgian meal?

The other reason it's good to post photos to ImageGullet is that some firewalls refuse access to some web sites. Case in point: my computer's firewall won't allow me to connect to anything at Geocities. But you're right: ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

Wot he said. I thoroughly enjoyed your first blog, and am looking forward to this one, as well. What a setup! Unfortunately my computer time is limited right now, but I look forward to popping in from time to time and seeing how the story unfolds.

If you're willing to discuss your relationship with and attitude toward editor(s) over the years, I'd be curious to know whether and how it's changed. As you have gained stature in the world of culinary writing, do you find editors more willing to leave your style alone? Did you have to fight to maintain or develop your own style, early in your career?

I've made the Evening Garlic Soup once now, and even though I misread the directions and put in too much vinegar, it was still good. I plan to make it again, this time properly. May I ask a question about the mechanics of a recipe? I think I'll learn some kitchen chemistry from the answer. What purpose does the vinegar serve in this soup? I'd have assumed it was simply for seasoning, except for the way in which it's added. Why add it to the broken egg yolks, then add that mixture to the soup, instead of adding them in separately?