SobaAddict70

my tastes are fairly pedestrian, so take from it what you will... when I make a clam sauce, if it's white or red, the predominant flavor that I'm looking for is clams. for that, they have to be fresh and preferably not from a can. since you asked for red, I would do: garlic, olive oil, clams (and lots of them!) chopped up -- and previously steamed with just a little white wine, garlic and shallots, the resulting juice which has been strained to remove impurities, and 1-2 cups homemade tomato sauce. sometimes one or two dried red peppers or a bay leaf, which get discarded before service. homemade tomato sauce consists of: battuto -- onion, carrot and celery (sometimes 1/2 celery, 1/2 fennel) cooked in olive oil, tomatoes (either canned, in-season or Pomi), salt, pepper, herbs. sometimes white wine if I feel like it. I like my sauce on the smooth side, so it usually gets its turn in a food mill or immersion blender before I continue using it in a recipe. no cheese, but that's personal preference, as with so many other things in life and food... ps. I have been known (on occasion mind you) to whisk in 1 T. unsalted butter at the last minute. never done it with a red sauce though, but that trick works with a white sauce...

patrick -- I haven't had a bad RG bean ever. Belgian endive and Bordeaux spinach salad, with oil-cured olives, blood orange and roasted shallot vinaigrette. This is partially adapted from this post at Yummy Supper. Mostly ingredient substitutions/additions (i.e., endive for radicchio, olives for hazelnuts, sherry vinegar for balsamic, blood oranges for Cara-Caras), otherwise the recipe is the same. Spaghetti with butter, Parm-Reg cheese, black pepper and parsley. Not exactly cacio e pepe, but something close to it.

a few of my favorites, some of which may have already appeared on this thread... Sass and Veracity -- Kelly has a lovely eye for dishes that you might not necessarily think of. An excellent source of inspiration for me, and one of my daily visits. Lucy's Kitchen Notebook -- Lucy (who you may know here at eG as bleudauvergne) writes intimately of life in Lyon, France. The Taste Space -- Janet is a long-time member of the food blogging community, and her blog has many inspiring and beautiful posts on vegetarian food. Briciole -- Simona's food blog ranks high on my list of favorite Italian food blogs. Nordljus -- Keiko's blog is filled with stunning photography (the writing's great too!). and my own, if I might be allowed to do a little self-promotion -- The Spamwise Chronicles.

Franci -- it's funny you mentioned the grated over shredded. When I was at Eataly, I had a flash of inspiration and asked the cheese guy to grate it for me, mostly because I'm a lazy cook. I'm thinking that tomorrow night's dinner will be spaghetti with butter, cheese and pepper. not exactly "cacio e pepe" but something very close to it. dakki -- mac an' cheese is always a winner in my book. especially if it were in individual-sized portions. robird -- the thing about corned beef and cabbage is that while I dearly love the whole dish, my favorite part is the cabbage. maybe I really was a vegetarian in a former life. Scotty -- a nice, simple taco that speaks volumes. kayb -- +1 on the hash. dcarch -- I love how the lamb looks like hearts, perfect for V-day. And Berkshire pork too! I'm a bit envious. FP -- plate looks great, especially the carrots. Chris -- I bet that chuck roast tasted great. Never heard of coffee being used as a rub for meat though. You do learn something every day. Anna -- looks great, especially the vegetables. mm84321 -- I like how you used beets in a way that doesn't stain the entire plate pink. Something I need to cook with more often, maybe a food resolution for 2012... David -- that reminds me of a recipe for potato crusted-salmon and a black truffle vinaigrette. I think I'd prefer your dish though. Dejah -- that kid is an eating machine. Sheepish -- the salad is my favorite pic. and kudos to everyone else who I didn't comment on specifically! I've been grazing this past weekend on things in the refrigerator and so, haven't really been cooking much. A thread on Facebook erupted into a minor discussion about the perils of "authenticity" especially when I mentioned subbing in fennel over celery in one of M. Hazan's recipes. Had this as an appetizer for dinner late Friday night though: Cauliflower with rocambole garlic, parsley and extra-virgin olive oil Rocambole garlic is an heirloom (hardneck) garlic cultivar. It has a spicier and sharper flavor than normal garlic. Season is typically from early November to the end of January, +/- a few weeks. Substitute regular garlic if unavailable. Recipe is on the blog. This is my favorite way to cook vegetables...besides cauliflower -- broccoli, spinach, chard, escarole, green beans and zucchini are all great alternatives.

I'm hoping the OP has some success with his venture, but I do have to agree with Jaymes who encapsulated my thoughts far more diplomatically than I would have. The idea of cooking to be able to accomodate everyone strikes a natural chord in me, because I do like to see people happy, especially through food. However, the circumstances present in the OP's situation seem to be daunting, in fact, almost insurmountable. A less charitable person might even say "painful".

dcarch -- great idea and presentation, as usual FP -- can you please PM me the recipe for the sausage? Franci -- love the salad (the ribs look good too!, but I love the salad more) patrick -- one of the reasons I almost never cook Asian is because of the daunting list of ingredients. you're a more patient man than I. Anna -- looks like a simple and lovely plate of salad. I do love minimalist plates. Shelby -- I've never heard of eggs on top of pizza. I'll have to try that some time... Tagliatelle, with Marcella Hazan's Bolognese sauce from her "Essentials of Italian Cooking" Mostly Marcella's recipe, with the addition of ground pork and the substitution of fennel in place of celery.

so I decided on scallops instead of cod. "Scallops, endive, leeks". Each was sautéed separately in French butter. The scallops had a little salt sprinkled on top, then were set aside for 5 minutes -- before they had their turn in the pan. Leftover pork with red curry sauce and jasmine rice for the rest of tonight's dinner. Whitecliff Vineyards Traminette, 2010.

I like and often serve it with other winter greens and paired with fish. Also in a warm salad, with pears, apples and/or quince and sometimes cheese. Incidentally, tonight will be cod with endive and leeks. (Or if I can get some other kind of interesting fish at Citarella.)

Or, just use actual vegetable oil. There's a noticeable flavor difference but it's not large. Using bacon fat to prepare a meal for vegans is not quite an ideal or ethical solution. +1 for the vegetable oil route.

Tagliatelle with parsnips and pancetta. (click here for the recipe)

You might try making an apple sharlotka but with some applesauce in the batter.

Soba can you describe how you make your sauce moutarde? 2 tablespoons good-quality Dijon mustard roughly the same amount of boiling water as the mustard* 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil salt, to taste freshly milled black pepper, to taste juice of half a lemon herbs of your choice other embellishments include: nasturtium flowers, garlic scapes -- but that depends on the season * It's all right if there's slightly more water than mustard. The water helps with the consistency of the vinaigrette. Spoon the mustard into a small bowl and add the hot water in droplets slowly, whisking all the while. Whisk in the olive oil the same way - by droplets, whisking well after each addition until it thickens and emulsifies. Taste for salt and pepper, then whisk in the lemon juice and the minced herbs. Use a tiny amount to just barely coat cooked vegetables, or dribble a little on top of cold meats or fish. Cover the leftover sauce and keep in the fridge.

I am partial to salade parisienne. You can adapt it to just about any season. There may be roast chicken this weekend. It depends on whether I can get to the market early enough on Saturday. Leftovers, combined with a few vegetables, and maybe a couple hard-cooked farm eggs, and sauce moutarde ... and you're all set. I'm just thinking aloud here: Baby Yukon Gold potatoes or fingerlings, fried in French butter Roasted turnips and black radishes Lightly dressed heirloom spinach Maybe some glazed shallots or roasted onion Puréed delicata squash... Yes, I think this will be a meal in the near future.

no posts since 2004? must correct that immediately. I picked up some parsnips at USGM recently. I was going to simply sauté them in butter, with shallots and parsley, but some of these ideas sound delicious as well. Deborah Madison has a recipe that uses them in a breakfast dish, with nuts and maple syrup; I don't know if these are that sweet however. Any other ideas?

Scotty -- you'd have fooled me. That looks textbook perfect. and fyi, I haven't had tetrazzini (either chicken or turkey) in over 20 years. keith -- simple is best, with fish. mm84321 -- 2nd plate looks great regardless. Norm -- if I didn't have a refrigerator full of vegetable leftovers, I'd probably put seafood stew on the menu tomorrow. tonight: Penne with cauliflower, adapted from this blog post by Mark Bittman. Not bad, for what is essentially a Marcella Hazan recipe.

Had takeout Japanese, but I think I redeemed my foodie cred with some crêpes and compote de pommes

scotty -- your rooommate is darned lucky! keith -- awesome dinner. wish I was there. anna -- looks great, and I bet that chicken was silken. princess -- never had cheese with linguine with clams, but now I'm jonesing for some. mostly leftovers last night, however I bought a mess of carrots from USGM this past weekend and tried making this cooked carrot salad adapted from this Times article. I have to invest in a mandoline, but otherwise turned out all right. I'm getting a blender this weekend, so potage de Crécy is next on my list.

Hm. Well. I am not personally a vegetarian, but I do post a lot about vegetables, vegan recipes, vegetarian recipes and vegetable-focused dishes. I have never had these kind of responses from people. I think that has to do, in large part, by how I present myself. I am not anti-anything, except maybe "anti-food that is not delicious". Life is short; so enjoy it while you can. This sums it up, essentially.

Off the broiler does indeed make a difference, especially since I used to work at a BK so very many years ago when I was a teenager. I have first hand experience on what happens in the kitchen. It seems like that was another life.

Clockwise from right: (1) squid poached in Spanish olive oil, with garlic, lemon and bay leaf; (2) cabbage, braised in French butter and (3) crispy roasted potatoes

I have done this before, however it is an extraordinary amount of work to de-leaf each and every brussel sprout. Not high on my favorites list. +1 re Alcuin's suggestion. And now that I think about it, this would go rather well with young artichokes (the small kind, before they mature and become giant globe artichokes)

Prawm -- you've made me want to go visit Eataly later this week to pick up some bottarga. robirdstx -- holy wow! I love me some good steak pr0n... Norm -- I want everything on that table. Every so often, I'll have something completely vegan and gluten-free for dinner, so I can feel virtuous again. This is, by the way, an updated version of my most searched for/most viewed post on the blog, "Roasted Vegetables with Lemon and Herbs". Someone out there must really like that recipe, because it's garnered over 600 views the last time I checked. Heirloom potatoes (La Ratte fingerlings, Russian Banana fingerlings, Mountain Rose, Yellow Finn, Purple Peruvians), baby brussel sprouts, black radishes and winter turnips. Black radishes have, as you might imagine, a black, gnarly peel. They have a mild, sweetish taste with just a little bit of bite that most people commonly associate with radishes. Most of these potatoes are available at Union Square Greenmarket here in NYC, or online at various seed purveyors. I love La Ratte fingerlings in particular because they have a creamy, almost buttery flavor and texture that really intensifies especially when roasted. The "dressing" by the way is just lemon juice, extra-virgin olive oil, salt, pepper, and chopped parsley. If I wanted to vary the dish, I could "Indian-ize" it by replacing the lemon juice with a touch of asafoetida and aamchur.

Italian potato salad -- with four kinds of heirloom potatoes, heirloom spinach, arugula, shallots, cremini mushrooms, olives and celery

Arugula and Bordeaux spinach salad, with fried farm egg and homemade sea salt and sherry vinegar potato chips. Bordeaux spinach is an heirloom spinach that's more tender and sweeter than regular spinach.

Keith_W -- yes. nikkib/Franci -- thanks. I do love fried boquerones, especially as a tapa. I'm still in the office as I type this, and not really sure what's for dinner tonight. I might resort to pasta, a typical standby.