M. Lucia

Thomas Keller's butternut squash soup. Actually, this is how I make my butternut squash soup anyways, except I add sage browned butter, so this is my soup. Only took a pic. halfway through, was busy studying, ma salata/ avec salade: Everyone's food and their pictures look amazing!

I always like food that is symbolic for the new year. This varies from culture to culture, but being from the south, we always have: Hoppin' John! I can provide a recipe but basically it is rice, black-eyed peas, tomatoes, parsley, cooked with a ham hock. Black-eyed peas are something about seeing into the new year. This is traditionally served with collard greens (greenbacks) and cornbread (gold) for prosperity. All these are easy make-ahead dishes. You can substitute other greens, and I know cabbage is traditional for many, as is ham. For hors d'ouevres, I always like festive things, like: Oysters, gougeres, little potatoes or blini topped with creme fraiche and caviar, brown bread topped with smoked salmon, stuffed mushrooms, cucumber-watercress tea sandwiches, some good cheese and spiced nuts. Hope this gives you some ideas!

I actually can't stand mayo, but I am from the south and it is requisite at all family gatherings (to accompany tomato aspic), so here is my grandmother's recipe: 1 egg, dashes salt, red pepper, dry mustard, paprika Put in a small bowl Slowly add 1/2 cup vegetable oil while whisking/beating Add 1 tbl cider vinegar Now add 1 cup vegetable oil while beating Add 1 tbls fresh lemon juice Taste add mustard, paprika, lemon juice, or vingar if needed Put in container, sprinkle top with paprika My grandmother actually specified Wesson brand oil I don't know much about mayo but I know this has worked for ~100 years so...

Some of my favorite eggplant dishes include simple sliced rounds sauteed in olive oil or grilled, ratatouille, moussaka, Lebanese mousaka (eggplant, onion, tomato, chickpea), baba ganoush (moutabal), and stuffed eggplant (sheikh el-mehshi/imam bayaldi). As big a proponent as I am of eggplant, there is also nothing I hate more than bad eggplant. You know what I'm talking about- tough, chewy, flavorless eggplant. This is unfortunately all too common. I have always attributed poor eggplant cooking skills to not salting the eggplant first. I usually cover my slices of eggplant with salt and allow to sit for half and hour before cooking. So what about y'all? To salt or not to salt?

I generally have a stomach of iron, however the one time I have been sick since I was a child I saw baby corns return from whence they came. As if those things weren't creepy enough already, I can't look at them without remembering the incident. I'll pretty much eat anything though. What interests me here is how food is so tied to memory. Experience cultivates our likes and dislikes just as much as tastes. Whenever I eat macaroni and cheese I think of how I cooked it for my family during a very difficult time, and crudites salad brings up the first meal I ever ate in Paris. Rarely has a food been ruined for me, but rather its odors and tastes tied with a personal experience or emotion.

Had some carrots and 12 grain toast, but then why have dinner when there's cake! Guiness Ginger Cake I took all the scraps I cut off to level the bottom mushed and heated with some milk- yum.

It is in fact boerenkaas- my typo. It is a dutch cheese that is nutty and mild, I believe it is a kind of gouda. I really liked the little crystal flavor bits in cave-aged gruyere so I asked the guys at Murray's Cheese what they were, turns out their amino acid crystals, and they recommended this cheese which also has them. Boerenkaas can come young (semi-hard) or extra aged (firm, breaks into shards), I like them both. It is available at many cheese shops and groceries in New York.

Using up some odds and ends: Peas with olive oil and garlic over polenta with boernkaas. (Percy- looks like pearl barley or rice rather than couscous) I have to try those potatoes!

Everything looks great, my only suggestion would be some sort of vegetable crudites. I know as the holiday party season sets in, I am always thankful for some vege options that don't involve pastry or cream. Sliced cucmber rounds make great carriers for toppings (crab, shredded carrots with spices, dill and cheese).

In the Middle East they make the most amazing ice cream, including almond made with fresh almonds and unsusal milk or cheese flavors. Check out Claudia Fleming's "The Last Course" for good ideas. Fresh Almond Basil or Tarragon Brandied-Fig Cream Cheese Fresh Milk Kiwi Prune-Armagnac Nutmeg/clove Eggnog Red Bean Pinenut

Here is a cute idea for decorating cupcakes as animals. Congrats wordplay!

Just wanted to say I am loving this thread, it reminds me of the Baking with Julia thread. I wish I had more time to bake, maybe over the holidays. KTHull- those tarts are gorgeous! And Seth, it's great to have bakers of all skill levels participating, it inspires amateurs like myself. Keep up the good work all!

I am a soup fiend, and have it for lunch most days. For my very first dinner party in college I made vichysoisse and to this day I think it is the only my roomate learned how to cook. Usually I have a vege puree soup (spinach and sweet pea, butternutsquash, carrot ginger, asparagus). Other favorites include white bean and sausage, black bean maybe with corn and tomatoes, light corn chowder, ribollita. On my list to try is a broccoli and mimolette soup and a chestnut soup. I just wanted to add that I was looking through Larousse and I noticed their Dubarry puree (cauliflower soup) is just like slkinsey's method, which must be why it's so good- time tested and true.

I have to say I like something traditional for dessert, with a new twist. Maybe ice cream in an unusual flavor or a moist cake with a special garnish. My experiences have not been favorable when chefs start putting things like green vegetables or black pepper in my dessert. I don't like huge servings but I am not a fan of the tiny samplers either. Some things I have enjoyed recently are: Sticky Toffee Pudding Winter Fruit Stew (apple, persimmon, raisin, liquer) with cinnamon ice cream Upscale Peanut Butter Cup (choc. crumb crust, pb mousse, enrobbed in dk choc.) Semolina Cake soaked rose water syrup with tangy yogurt and I still love a good old piece of pie

Agnolotti pasta is simply a half moon shaped ravioli; I must admit I didn't make them, but purchased them from a local fresh pasta place, the radicchio filling is fabulous. That was the end of my Tgiving pecan pies, so sad. And yes, that is beer + lemonade = shandy. My friends told me that in Germany it's called a radler. Tonight it's homemade pizza with eggplant and capers and the end of a bottle of Gobelsburger 2002 Riesling (apparently I am on the same page as Behemoth's guests).

Radicchio agnoletti and spinach/mandarin orange/red onion salad. After my performance, a little reward:

'inoteca, Five Points, Red Cat, Bottino (Chelsea), Bianca, Beyogulu (UES), some others I think of as midrange: Craftbar, Pastis, Mermaid Inn, Otto

This year I am looking forward to making some old favorites: Rich Roll Sugar Cookies (recipe from 1962 ed. Joy of Cooking) decorated with royal icing George's Vanilla Buttercreams (powdered sugar, butter, vanilla or splash of bourbon, coated in dark choc.) Molasses-Ginger cookies "Sugarplums" Dates stuffed with marzipan And I'm looking forward to eating the gifts we usually recieve from different friends, like petit fours and lebkuchen

Speaking of picnic accessories, I always have my Opinel on hand. I actually recieved it as a stocking stuffer, and it's carbon blade has served me ever since. I think an oil dispenser/sprayer is a great tool. For when you don't want to drown things in olive oil, I can just spritz something like vegetables for roasting and pop them in the oven. It saves time and mess.

I am a huge fan of the Wusthof Offset 8" Serrated knife, which you can see here. I use it for all kinds of things, certainly more than just slicing bread, and the offset handle is great for stability. I got it for around $40 in New York.

My local coffee shop has ~30 loose teas on their menu (from Serendipitea, which are quite good) and they have little bags which they fill when you order and then tie with a little twine. I can try and ask them where they get the tea bags. Tell your friend not to give up on the loose tea, it is so good!

I am now emboldened with my leek usage! I always wondered how much green I should use, and I tend to use more green for soups and such. I will now be saving the ends for stock, as I have never noticed any harm done by them. One of my favorite things is braised leeks, with a liberal pat of butter added at the end.

What about aloo ghobi (spiced Indian cauliflower and potatoes)? I'll post my recipe when I get a chance.

Check out this article from today's L.A. Times.

Well, I never posted in the dinner thread before because I don't have a digital camera. (I have an old-school Nikon and a Canon) But my new cell phone has a camera! Tonight wasn't anything special, just sauteed couple shallots, then added baby brussel sprouts with a splash of wine and some stock. Simmer until liquid is evaporated. Had with leftover sweet potato puree with touch of maple sugar and a glass of Gobelsburger 2002 Riesling and some Arabic homework. http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=mo...cmd=si&img=5762 the brussels in progress I got so into trying to post the image that I forgot to take any more pictures! Can someone fix this?