Behemoth

Amazing how things make so much sense when you stop and think about them for a minute. Will definitely be expermienting with this. Thanks!

Thanks jackal...do you wrap the whole thing in a plastic bag to keep it from drying out?

Made Ciabatta again yesterday...only this time part of the oven ignited when some pile of crumbs on the floor got too close to the element. Anyway, as I cooled the oven down to clean it out, I threw the proofed ciabatta (ciabattae?) in the fridge so they wouldn't overproof. Took them out about 2 hours later, and baked after about 1 hr out of the fridge. I was really worried they would be messed up, but they were actually better than ever. Unevenly sized but evenly dispersed holes, really perfect. Which leads me to wonder... I would love to be able to do everything but final baking a day ahead. If I could do that, I would be able to bake our bread more than once a week. What is the best way to work this? Do you refridgerate the dough after the final proofing, and if so, do you shove the whole thing, couche and all, in there? Plastic wrap? How long does it need to return to room temp before baking? What's the longest I can leave it in the fridge? I've seen instructions for sourdough bread, but nothing on rustic ciabatta-type breads.

I don't think it is the cooking method so much as the cut. Top sirloin can really vary in toughness based on whether it was cut closer to short loin (more tender) or the rump (tougher). If we're talking slabs, the bigger the steaks the more likely they came from the rump end. It would probably be a good idea to serve it sliced on the diagonal, very thin against the grain, as opposed to in one whole slab.

What to do with leftover fennel fronds: Mussels steamed with olive oil, shallots, butter, fennel fronds, white wine, a little tomato paste and pernod. Ciabatta with, and Pierre Herme's cocoa coffee nougatines with espresso for dessert.

There are so many really amazing recipes that require very little work, it makes it hard for someone as lazy as myself to work up to complicated stuff like puff pastry. Loved the mousse, loved the brownies, loved Suzy's cake, and here was another winner: The cocoa and coffee nougatines. (Sorry, I found it a bit hard to photograph well -- very sparkly.) It is basically a caramel with bits of toasted almond and crushed espresso beans in it. Crispy edges, slightly chewy middle. Yum. If you try this it will be very obvious that, contrary to what the recipe says, it is impossible to scoop out the dough when it is right out of the fridge. I had to put it in the microwave for 10 seconds to soften. Came out very nice. These were great with an espresso, would be amazing crumbled over ice cream. Oh, also I only had droste cocoa, but they still came out very chocolately, especially considering how little cocoa one uses.

You shouldn't have to brine them if they are young enough. The natives just wash them, and while still wet dip 'em in a little salt and eat them, fuzz and all. You can skip the salt part. We dip everything in salt.

I'm really curious...in terms of setting up a household budget. How far along is online banking in Japan? In Europe it is really far ahead of the States (you can transfer to other people's accounts for free, for example) though here we finally seem to be catching up. The reason I ask is that I have found tht online banking a great way to manage things -- you get pay deposited and rent, utilities etc paid out of the main savings account, and then set up a second account into which you can transfer 1/4 of your monthly food & misc budget each week. It's a practical way to keep track. The other option is of course managing it all through credit cards, though credit doesn't seem to be as widely used in Europe as here, and I am assuming it is not as popular in Japan either. Sorry, former banking nerd here. Then again, maybe it is messing with tradition to remove the stress before the 25th of the month

Or buying them through the schoolbus window I doubt these will reach the midwest. Hey, wasn't there a thread about this last year? I think it was my first post.

Anytime. What is a dragon carrot? I was planning a halfway decent lunch but our neighbors were doing some construction and flooded our basement in the process. So basically we warmed up leftovers.

I really wish someone would combine the two. I would love some ready-to-go chocolate covered salty pretzel sticks. Speaking of Japanese snacks, I had my first mochi ice cream the other day. It is like a little mochi rice cake but frozen, with ice cream where the filling would be. (I had red bean.) Now THAT was a revelation. Is that a popular snack in Japan? I was the first time I'd heard of it. (The frozen kind, I mean.) BTW, your daughters seem to be exhibiting early signs of that fabulous japanese fashion sense. I am deeply envious.

By the way, can I just add that I am really intrigued by the way the sauce is applied here? Very Jugenstijl, somehow.

Hmm. I find myself more than a little ambivalent about the "always white" thing. White plates are great for formal western platings but more rustic preparations can come off looking a little lackluster (or worse, silly....) Actually, I find that I look to the culture of a certain dish to get ideas on how to plate it -- for example, with the pasta dish above, maybe play on the idea of asian noodles and use a) a rectangular white plate or even more daringly b) a shallow blue chinese soup bowl? Asian soups look so much nicer in patterned bowls (IMO) for example. Another big example is middle eastern foods. I find that clay pottery and heavily ornamented dishes can really flatter the food. For example, here is something I posted on the dinner thread recently, a moroccan grated cucumber salad: The plate is some cheap thing I rescued from a friend's flooded basement. I've held on to it all these years because I think it really works well for certain things. I don't think this particular salad would have looked nearly as nice on a white plate. And what would moroccan food be without all those stunning clay tagines...Indian food also comes to mind. I have served deep red rogan gosht in a white bowl (when I was cooking at my SIL's), but it looks so much better when I serve it out of deep brown clay bowls at home. Obviously, having idiosyncratically patterned dishes would be impractical in a restaurant setting, (not to mention that the food and setting of a typical white tablecloth restaurant would make clay look completely out of place) but for a home cook who gravitates towards foods of certain countries, it might be worth getting a few pieces that flatter that particular cuisine? But anyway, I ain't no chef. Just wanted to throw another possiblity out there

Most likely turnip. By the way, do turnips exist in Sweden? In Germany no one knew what I was talking about. I had to substitute rutabaga. (aka, er, swede...? )

Aww. Thanks! The salad is really easy: peel, seed and grate cucumbers. Squeeze out excess water. Dress with sugar, olive oil, vinegar, salt and zaatar, and chill until ready to seve, then add the black olives. Actually, the original recipe was from Paula Wolfert's Moroccan book. While probably authentic, the original recipe had too much sugar for my taste, so you can adjust the seasoning the way you like it. Oh, we went out today. It wasn't great but Monday is a late day.

Too cool. Like an edible version of a cadbury egg. Our dinner was basic stuff. Good salami, bruscetta, and eggplant parmigiana. Not the most photogenic of foods, but what it lacks in looks it makes up for in charm. Espresso & starbucks ice cream for dessert. I will eat something green tomorrow, I think.

Wow, I use Diana Kennedy's cookbook so often I've memorized a good 20% of it. I had the oldest one, which I then supplemented with Essential Cuisines, both of which have lots of do-able recipes. Fifi, she doesn't seem racist to me(?) Her tone reminds me a lot of Paula Wolfert's actually -- occasionally arrogant and prickly but very commited to the cuisine. Not someone I want to be married to, say, but a very reliable cooking resource. What did you read that gave your impression? Cookbooks I've never used? I was given a set of cookbooks on Northern German/Schleswig/North Friesland cuisine. I need to sit down and translate them, then try to come up with reasonable substitutions for some of the fish. Or wait until we move there. No wait, I did make "Pharisaer": coffee, whipped cream and rum but that wasn't exactly challenging. For some bizarre reason I bought "The vegan gourmet" at some point. (I had lots of vegan friends...) but I could have come up with most of those recipes on the fly without help, so it really wasn't worth it. I've never made anything out of Chinese Gastronomy, but I have read it cover to cover. It's more about the philosophy than the recipes, anyway. What about cookbooks you've outgrown? All Moosewood for me...I've given them all but one of them away. I should be able to find a taker for Enchanted Broccoli Forest...

Aloha <b>Behemoth</b>, I have tried this shape and I used a 5/8" wooden dowel to make the impression and, yes, I did have to re-impress the seam just before baking. Love the "...genius who must be worshipped," comment! ← Thanks glossyp -- I do want to give it another try. I am working up the nerve to try scissor cuts, and after seeing Marcia's beautiful loaf, sourdough...

Moroccan night. Cucumber and zaatar salad: Chicken and chickpea stew with saffron etc: pita bread to sop up sauce, viognier to drink.

Joining in a little late here... Herme's recipe looks very similar to the one from Rose Levy Beranbaum's Pie and Pastry Bible. That's the one I always use. It is delicious -- nice and tart. edit: no wait, she does a very Beranbaum thing. She whips the yolks with sugar, adds the butter over low heat, and then strains it into the unprocessed lemon zest. It gives a very nice fresh taste.

I promise I will tell the story. But right now I need some sleep...

As far as I can tell, here they would be underripe greengage plums. I love those things. Every year, at the beginning of every season, I would eat about a kilo of those all at once, and spend the rest of the afternoon whining that I had a stomach ache. My poor mother. We will definitely be going to Zahle. My dad's best friend lives there, and A has to meet him -- so far, he only knows him as the guy who sent us that amazing case of arak for our wedding. We used to drive up to Ehdin on hot summer sundays for those outdoor lunches. Its funny. For me, too, that is a big part of my memory of Lebanon, and something I want A to experience. Why was food such a big part of life there? Maybe it was that the seasons were so reliable, when everything else wasn't. I must admit I am bummed, I really really want to see Saida and Tyre. We'll see... I think what I am excited about the most is being able to show A all the places that were such a big part of my life growing up. I am fairly certain our visits will be much more frequent after this.

thanks Bill. You bring some of that risotto with you and you are welcome to dinner anytime

Well, I must say it tasted great and the crust and crumb were fine. Had I chosen or executed my shape better it would have been pretty damn near professional. But as it stands now, it's just too embarassing to photograph. Has anybody tried the fendu shape? While he is a genius who must be worshipped, sometimes Reinhardt's directions are a little vague.

snowangel, sumac is awesome. Slightly sour. Here is a great recipe with which you can use up the rest: link I like to use a rub on smoked ribs. I make mine with coffee, sort of an adaptation of a raichlin (sp?) recipe. Actually, I marinate with the rub first, then brush on BBQ sauce near the end. In the sauce I use pomegranate molasses instead of regular, just cause I happen to always have it around. You could do both for a certain intriguing middle eastern something