Genkinaonna

Loving the blog so far! I haven't been to Madison since my college days (I went to UW-Milwaukee but I had lots of friends in Madison) and it's amazing how much it's changed and grown in the last, ahem, few years, not to make myself seem TOO old ... I need to get myself one of those chitarra dealies...because if there's one thing I need, it's another kitchen gadget!

Dorie Greenspan, Mario Batali, and Rick Bayless, for those among the living. They all seem like they'd be nice to talk to, non-pretentious, and willing to share lots of interesting stories. I guess if it was my last meal, I wouldn't need to worry about taking recipe notes though

I generally take food home, unless it's something that won't heat up well, or I'm not going right home. As I tend to be habitual about which restaurants I go to, if I know I'm headed somewhere that there will be good leftovers, I tend to do any other errands first so I can go straight home. I have been known to bring a cooler on Sundays when we go to Dim Sum since we invariably end up going to the store (or stores) afterwards as I plan for any culinary projects I have brewing for the week. And I'm NOT leaving any hargaow (sp?) uneaten!

I'm going to do a turkey breast sous vide with garlic, butter, and shallots in the bag...I ALWAYS overcook my turkey breast when I do it in the oven. My family doesn't really like dark meat turkey (but chicken thighs are really popular, go figure!) and there aren't enough of us to do a whole turkey anyways. Mashed potatoes with roasted garlic, chives, cream cheese, and lots of butter and half and half Sauteed swiss chard with tomatoes Green Beans (simple steamed) Apple compote (not a big cranberry fan) Standard bread and onion stuffing with sage Buttermilk Biscuits Roasted Sweet Potatoes Pumpkin Pie, Pecan Pie I'm in the traditionalist camp for Thanksgiving. No fancy stuff, just the classics, although I do feel like the sous vide will help the turkey breast. I might make some turkey skin crackers as well, since the crispy skin component will be missing.

Beautiful! I hope the recipient realized how much work went into it!

I always keep dry vermouth in the pantry, I use it all the time for deglazing pans and making sauces for chicken and pork. Definitely more versatile than all the other booze I have in the pantry, try making a savory sauce with kaluha !

Awesome news! Congrats!

Can't wait to see what you have to share this time! What's in season right now? I know it's warm all year, so are you still looking at summer type produce, or do you see more of the typical fall stuff?

GlorifiedRice-Wow I hope you called back and talked to her supervisor. Talk about judgmental! With my first daughter, I tried to follow the guidelines that my ped. gave me, cereals (starting with rice) at 4 months, then single fruit and veggie purees, then blends, then chunks, etc... I was a little more flexible with my second, I started with mixed stuff right away, but I made all her food, so I'd throw whatever fruit looked good and ripe in the Vitamix and have the teachers at her school mix in some baby cereal. My 17 mo started on solids at about 4 months, and we basically just ground up whatever we had. One of the first things he ate was my lentil soup (complete with garlic, red pepper paste, and ham) pureed smooth. The teacher in his classroom always joked that heating up his food made her hungry! I just make sure that whatever I give him is either smooshy or small enough that he won't choke on it. It's funny how the anxiety level goes down with each child! I guess that wouldn't be the case if you had a child with allergy issues, but luckily for us that hasn't been an issue. The only thing we've avoided is honey, since botulism is a concern with children under one.

Ok seriously...this person is my twin...I grew up right outside of Milwaukee and I love frozen custard...maybe it IS me and I just don't know it!

Yeah as much as I'd like to do another week (maybe with more cooking and less trekking all over the city this time) it's not me, although I DO take cake all over more than I care to admit... I did have a huge burrito for lunch too...whomever this is, we must be twins, separated at birth!

That's so cool! I want one! And then a bigger yard to put it in : )

That's a restaurant burrito...I can't see PanaCana ordering something like that based on what she's posted here...and that cake looks familiar, for some reason...is it Kim Shook?

Yeah we're addicts too...that's why we're out! : ) I have a new box of Cacao Barry 64% Callets on order from chocosphere...5 Kilo box should last us a couple of months, as long as I keep it up too high for the kids and out of eyesight of my husband...

Ooh I love the Racines Cake! It's one of my favorites...unfortunately I'm out of both chocolate and cocoa nibs right now so I'm stuck baking non-chocolatey things

The part about families eating together was interesting to me. I'm always nosey about what other families feed their children and what their mealtime routines are.

I've done the Brioche, and I just didn't feel like it had the lacy, pull apart type crumb that I get from my other brioche recipe...it was like the gluten development just wasn't there. However, the flavor is great, and it makes killer hamburger buns! I've been using the olive oil dough to make pizzas on the grill...super easy and great for a quick meal once you've got a batch hanging out in the fridge...

When's your book club? I'd read whatever you want for a piece of that foccacia!

Plan plan plan... Pick several dishes that can be served cold, or at room temperature, or stored at room temperature. Minimize the amount of stuff you have to do at the last minute. Plan some more. Do you have a slow cooker? You can use it keep soup or sauces warm, although you probably shouldn't reheat items from cold in it. Where are you located? Do you have a grill? Mine has a side burner that I can use to simmer things, and I've reheated items on the grill with the lid down like an oven. I know a lot of people would say don't try anything for the first time when you're entertaining, but I love using that opportunity to make foods I've never tried before. That being said, I do keep a notebook with ideas that I come across throughout the year and I try to make them at least once before I serve them to guests if it's feasible. And did I mention planning? Oh yeah, and good wine will smooth out any rough edges!

This is more of a baking tip than a cooking tip, and I can't remember where I even picked it up, but when I'm making a cream the butter/sugar and add the flour/liquid alternately type cake recipe, I add the leavening agent (baking powder or soda) with the butter and sugar. This assures that it's fully incorporated into the mix, since quite a few of those recipes stress not overmixing once the flour is added. At least with the yellow cake that I make, using this technique makes a visible difference in the height of the resulting cake.

Mifi-I love love love all of Melissa Clark's recipes! Her cookbook is one of my "go to" books whenever I need some culinary inspiration. Percyn- That. Meal. Looks. AMAZING! I made a riff on the Deconstructed BLT and Egg salad from Around My French Table by Dorie Greenspan tonight. It's my French Fridays with Dorie assignment for the week, and for once, I didn't actually have to go buy anything, I used up a bunch of little bits and pieces from the fridge and pantry. It was supposed to have country bread croutons, I made some of out of a croissant that had been getting progressively staler on the counter...and I did poached eggs instead of hard boiled, just because I like them better that way. And instead of the mayo you're supposed to dot the eggs with, I used some (very decent for store bought) Trader Joe's refrigerated hollandaise I had hanging out after making eggs benedict the other day. All in all a highly successful salad.

Thanks for all your hard work and AMAZING food this week. I wish I could have been there to eat some of it!

Go, sleep! And then write more!

I get their bulk stuff, good selection and it seems like it's fresher there. I DID buy proscuitto there until last time when I ordered some and then watched in horror as the deli clerk hacked all the fat off of it (which was about half the total weight) and left the fat on the counter, to give me just the lean part. I almost asked her for the fat since she clearly had no clue what she was doing and thought that she was doing me a favor by trimming it. I only wonder what the reaction of the deli manager would be if they saw that...it was probably $20 worth of product destroyed... I got the same coupon through LivingSocial.com...also made my dad and husband sign up for accounts and buy them too. $30 for $60 of groceries is a pretty good deal!

I have a white chicken chile casserole that freezes and reheats really well. I serve it with yellow rice and it's a perfect winter meal, although really rich!