SobaAddict70

A little sad. I'll admit Chinatown isn't a nabe I get to much, these days. Not even for dim sum.

You ordered wrong. It's possible OG has gone way downhill since I last ate there. But then again. it's not known for its non-seafood dishes. Like Grand Sichuan isn't known for its Cantonese offerings.

Once in a while I'll have a Big Mac or Crispy Chicken sandwich. McD's fries are, ehhhhh. The McRib sandwich is a guilty pleasure. That's about the sum total of my McD's experience.

I don't understand. These are some of the easiest, most basic recipes to cook. They're the foundations of each of these cuisines. Are the recipes too difficult for you to cook? Are they too pedestrian? And why slowly collect books that you're not going to use? I'm collecting them because of the food writing. I have oh, probably less than 25 cookbooks at home, most of which I don't cook from -- including one that focuses solely on meat cookery and another on baking and chocolate. I think that last one was given to me as a gift. I use them primarily as references and inspiration points, even if I don't make anything out of them. I'm really picky about cookbooks. If I were getting one for myself that I would use, it would have to be something Italian (like one of Marcella's books), or Indian (like one of Madhur's books) or something involving vegetables. Yesterday, I bought a copy of "Crave" by Ludo Lefebvre on a whim. You might know him as the executive chef at Bastide (Los Angeles) and formerly of L'Orangerie (Los Angeles). Many of the recipes in the book are a little daunting and assume access to a full restaurant kitchen, along with the ability to procure a variety of ingredients on hand. That being said, I will probably be adapting a few in the future ... like a soup of young garlic with pan-seared scallops, except this will have ramps in it.

WOW.

The TIME LIFE Foods of the World food books (and recipe guides) that I'm slowly collecting. 5 out of ??? so far. Japan, New England, Scandinavia, France and China.

I've had Subway sandwiches and Quiznos. I'll take an overstuffed deli sub over those any day.

Guess what's going to be available in a couple of weeks.

Always.

Roasted winter vegetables (brussel sprouts, purple potatoes and mushrooms) and watercress salad, with glazed cashews, peanuts and dried fruit I'll have the recipe posted later.

In a few weeks, asparagus and ramps will be available at the Greenmarket, then I can look forward to something like this: Warm asparagus salad with bacon and poached farm egg Roasted wild asparagus, poached egg and Parmesan cheese Recipes on the blog. The portions are sized for one so you'll have to experiment a little to find proportions that work best for you. Right now I'm experimenting with a salad that combines mushrooms, brussel sprouts and purple potatoes. Won't that be interesting? LOL.

It's gotten way out of hand. There's a bar in Brooklyn that advertises bacon-infused vodka. 0.o I don't suppose "moderation" is a word that exists in their dictionary, eh?

If it's going to be a dairy dish, the addition of bonito won't make it kosher. http://kosherfood.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ&zTi=1&sdn=kosherfood&cdn=food&tm=20&gps=123_627_1132_668&f=00&tt=14&bt=1&bts=1&zu=http%3A//www.astray.com/recipes/%3Fshow%3DKosher%2520japanese%2520soup%2520stock%2520%28dashi%29

You could substitute white miso for the bacon.

If I use tomatoes out of season, they're usually canned whole tomatoes. But I don't stop there. I slice them in half, dot each with a scant pinch of salt, pepper and a tiny bit of sugar, add some slivered garlic and chopped parsley and a drizzle of olive oil, then roast them for 8 to 9 hours at 200 F. They become almost as good as in-season toms. Almost.

Oh, that's easy. Roast chicken (made T. Keller's style) Leftovers become: Chicken and bread salad, Zuni Cafe style Chicken and mushroom ragout, over noodles Chicken salad sandwiches, with homemade mayo Chicken fried rice or congee and the best part, the carcass usually end up as: chicken stock, or soup base for Hainanese chicken rice Never has one bird fed so many.

Old Spanish proverb -- "A spendthrift with the oil and a miser with the vinegar." That's the rule I follow. Basio recipe: olive oil, white wine vinegar, shallot, salt, pepper, mustard, herbs. Some things get subbed in/out depending on whatever I'm using it with.

This is one of my favorites. Mussels steamed in beer and aromatics, with crusty bread and lemon Aromatics can be: dried orange peel, fennel seeds, chopped fennel, celery, celery leaves, shallot, onion, leeks and/or ramps. Very often I use Belgian beer as the steaming liquid -- Ommegang Hennepin preferably. Sometimes Pernod, occasionally ouzo. Sometimes white wine. I like to keep things simple and focus on the star of the show.

If it's something I've never made before, I will follow a recipe a couple of times. To (1) get the technique down pat and assuming things turn out wrong (2) correct any mistakes. After that, it's open season. Most of what I cook is "from the hip". Sometimes you just know.

I can't remember who it was that said it originally. It seems that people want to watch food shows as entertainment instead of a combination of education and entertainment. For example, Julia is instructive but she's not the first thing that comes to mind when you're trying to increase ratings. A little sad, really.

These still exist, at least in my neighborhood.

I don't have a pic for it (but I will this weekend b/c I'm making it for breakfast Saturday morning). Baked Eggs with Herb-Garlic Croutons and Mushrooms stale bread garlic salt pepper fresh herbs mushrooms unsalted butter eggs light cream Cut thick slices from a loaf of stale bread. Trim into croutons. You can form into regular size (salad) croutons, or if you like them chunkier and larger like I do, cut into roughly 1/2" cubes. Pre-heat oven at 325 F. Gently heat some olive oil in a pan, add a couple of cloves of chopped garlic, maybe a crushed dried chile and some parsley. Fry until garlic is slightly golden, turn heat down a little. Add bread cubes and a touch of salt. Cook, stirring frequently or until croutons become crisp, taking care not to let them burn. Remove from heat and place on a paper towel-lined platter. In that same pan, melt a knob of unsalted butter and some sliced mushrooms. I like to use a mix of regular button mushrooms, crimini and portobello. If you're feeling extravagant, substitute some reconstituted porcini or maybe fresh chanterelles. Cook until mushrooms become tender. Add a pinch of salt and stir in some chopped herbs -- parsley, marjoram, winter savory or thyme are all good choices. Butter an earthenware baking dish (or maybe some ramekins). Add croutons to baking dish. Spoon mushrooms over. Make a well in the center and crack in a few eggs. Pour a tablespoon of light cream if you like. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Bake until egg yolks are set/whites are firm to the touch, about 15 minutes. Sprinkle some more chopped herbs, then serve immediately.

I do (from the hip) all the time. That being said, I think you have to have some basic grounding which can take any variety of form before attempting to go at it alone. Otherwise you might end up with Kwanzaa Cake (a la Sandra Lee).

One of my favorites: Broccoli rabe and heirloom beans with sourdough-garlic croutons and cheese The actual ingredients don't matter. Greens can be chard, escarole, broccoli, broccoli rabe or cabbage. Beans are typically Rancho Gordo but can also be any kind of dried or canned beans. Croutons are usually homemade. Recipe here. Method is easy -- make a mirepoix, saute in olive oil until tender; add greens and bean cooking liquid. Add beans when greens have wilted. Cook until greens are done. Taste for salt, then add chopped herbs, extra-virgin olive oil, croutons and cheese. Serve. Another favorite: Winter-spring minestrone Again, the actual ingredients don't matter. Use whatever you've got on hand. This version features Bintje and Purple Peruvian potatoes, carrots, parsnips, celery, celery leaves, asparagus, ramps, watercress, onion, shallot and two kinds of beans from Rancho Gordo, along with vegetable stock, extra-virgin olive oil, fresh thyme and grated Parmesan cheese. Serve with bread and a salad and you're good to go. I also like ricotta gnocchi -- more versatile than the usual potato. This pic features ricotta gnocchi with Sungold cherry tomatoes and shiitake mushrooms. I make gnocchi throughout the year and pair it with whatever's in season. In the winter, it's usually a mix of crimini and reconstituted dried porcini mushrooms, or wilted cabbage and caramelized onion, or puréed Jerusalem artichokes, turnips and heirloom carrots.

Been on antibiotics (stupid cold) for the past couple of weeks, so no fabulous cooking lately. This was tonight's dinner ... insanely easy (especially when you cheat like I did) and delicious. Farfalle with roasted broccoli, onion confit and anchovy and by "cheat", I mean the vast majority of work was done by the oven.