M. Lucia

Susan- feel better soon, don't forget no straws at first (the sucking action isn't good for the stitches and can be painful) and in the meantime lots of soup and ice cream. Last night of cooking before 10 days in Paris (with an aside to Barcelona)! Can you believe that with all the good eating ahead I am actually going to miss not being in the kitchen? Hopefully, if my companions are willing, we can do some simple farmer's market cooking. It will be fun. Anyway, I made chickpea dumplings in yogurt sauce (a very bastardized version of pakodi kadhi), and it was just wonderful. I boiled the dumplings and then simmered them in the spiced yogurt sauce. Off to pack and clean out the fridge, out for ice cream later.

First, I would direct you to the wonderful couscous thread which includes information on moghrebbiyya/ israeli couscous/ berkoukech. Scroll down to the bottom of the first page and the 2nd page. I find one of the best ways to prepare israeli couscous/moghrabbiyya is to saute a small onion in some oil. Add the couscous to toast briefly, then add stock or water, bring to a boil and cook until done. So yes, the best way of cooking it is simmering or boiling it in sauce/stock/water. Two of my favorite preparations are the Lebanese preparation with chicken and baby onions (moghrebbiyeh ala djaj) and there is a recipe from Gourmet for couscous with preserved lemon, butternut squash, golden raisins, parsley and pine nuts.

Crispy Bass with Endive and Golden Raisin Marmellata from Mario Batali's Babbo cookbook looks like it will be good, though I think I undercooked the bass... dessert: gorgonzola with red wine syrup

I discovered this dish called Cuccia, which had my name on it for two reasons. First of all an excuse to eat dessert for dinner! For the second reason, check out the site/recipe. Anyway, I used what I had and tossed together some rye berries, ricotta, honey, golden raisins, and cinnamon. A glass of Montpulciano and dinner was had.

Oh man oh man, that is the most exciting thing that's NOT in my fridge. I became addicted to dates during many trips to Saudi Arabia in a previous job, and the dried-up cylinders of dung that pass for same here in the States have now become... well, dried-up cylinders of dung. May we see photos to enable more viscous drooling, please? Shoukran. ← I'm glad someone else shares my obsession. Although I can usually find pretty good medjool dates here in the U.S. These were sent by a friend who knows nothing about dates but knows I love them, so they are actually the small extremely sweet ones. Not always my choice, but good nonetheless. My love of dates is so known that people often bring them to me so I think I have collected about every use for dates in recipes like pilafs, appetizers, ways of stuffing them, baking, date pastes, etc. I'll try and get a picture tomorrow. Afwan.

I've found mussels and scallops are a bargain if you are not cooking for a crowd. Two lbs of mussels serves two and can be had for around $5, and when I am cooking just for myself I love searing about four scallops, which don't cost much. I have found a lot of stores that sell things self-serve by weight (as opposed to pre-packaged) can offer good bargains. In New York, there are delis and groceries where you can measure what you want from bins of rice, beans, nuts, dried fruit, etc. There is also usually a wide selection so you can get different types of rice or beans which helps change things up. I have found the dried fruit to be quite a bargain when compared to pre-packed dried fruit (I got a big bag of golden raisins for about 50 cents). They are great for brightening up pilafs and savory dishes and I sometimes make a syrup with apricots or dried figs for dessert.

A huge box of dates someone sent me from Oman. also blue d'auvergene, real mini chorizos, marcona almonds, a port reduction, Marshalls brand biscuits in the freezer and who knows what else lurking in containers

I inherited one of those George Foreman grills from a neighbor, and I had some leftover baked red onions. So dinner was red onion, mustard green and parmesan paninis. They were just as crunchy and warm and good as the sandwiches I had in Italy, and I am so pleased to be able to do this at home now! Dessert will be Kahlua blondies.

I think the hummus at Hummus Place is pretty good. However, I think it is on par with all good hummus in the city. Places that come to mind are Cafe Mogador (down the street), Al Bustan, or even Beyogulu. You can find good hummus in New York, but I find most of the good hummuses on about the same level. (oh yeah, and I have a pet peeve with the hummus foul dish they have -> I either want foul medammes or hummus, not some amalgammation of the two dishes)

You're gon from eG for a few days and look at all the beautiful cooking you miss! Last night I made artichokes stuffed with bacon, cheese, tomato paste, parsley, breadcrumbs and artichoke (of course). Steamed in the oven and then topped with cheese and put under the broiler. Served with arugula/grape/walnut salad. Dessert was mini chocolate cakes with whipped cream. My laptop has gone to the Mac hospital for a week and will hopefully comeback with a new hardrive/G4, etc. In the meantime I will be computerless and hence internet and eGullet-less for a week!

Can I assume "Derby" pie will play a part in this blog ?

Black bean soup with homemade smooth guacamole on the side. I made a red velvet cake for a party today and managed to save myself a big 'ole piece for dessert later.

Nice work arbuclo! I agree on the fougasse, easy and nice presentation. Great to pull apart at a dinner party. My friend just sent me a GIANT box of dates from Oman and, after gorging myself on them for the past few days, I made date paste out of some of it. The sticky bun idea is great, and I'm thinking of all the other things I can do with the stuff.

Just wanted to add that my understanding was that the bechamel only appeared on top of Greek moussaka after the 1950's, before that the lighter yogurt sauce was preferred. The old recipe I have is just yogurt, eggs, pinch of flour, seasonings. You can also make it with just yogurt, like this recipe I found.

Chufi that pasta sauce sounds wonderful. When I first read it I thought you meant it had chestnuts in addition to mushrooms, I think a chestnut-mushroom sauce sounds nice for winter. dinner here was: Mexican Chopped Salad with buttermilk dressing: romaine, black beans, corn, tomatoes, pickled red onions, cilantro, leftover chicken For some reason I hesitated when adding lime juice to the dressing, thinking it would make a curdled mess with the buttermilk, but it seemed fine(I suppose buttermilk is already somewhat soured). dessert t.b.a.

When I first saw this a thought they were made with cake and icing, etc. How creative to use rice crispies and candy, it's perfect! I especially love the "walk on the sheetpan" part. I am trying to think of an occasion I can make these for- I am totally copying your idea!

I just wanted to add that if you are looking for more interesting pieces of inexpensive dinnerware (not just plain old white), I'd recommend Pearl River Mart, on Broadway above Canal. Mostly asian-style, but a huge selection at good deals. It's where Gourmet and Food and Wine source a lot of their dishes for magazine photos. Does anyone else have good sources for inexpensive interesting, unusual, or antique dishes?

Oh how precious!

I make green tea shortbread by just adding matcha (green tea powder) to my standard shortbread recipe. 2 sticks butter 3/4 cup xxx sugar (powdered sugar) green tea powder to taste (less than a tbl) 1 tsp almond extract pinch salt 2 cups flour Combine flour, salt, and green tea powder, set aside. Cream butter and sugar. Add almond extract (optional). Add flour mixture to combine. Pat into disk and refrigerate until chilled. Roll out dough and cut into shapes. Chill dough again before baking. Prick all over with a fork and bake at 325 for about 20 minutes.

Thanks Kevin. The process is what I assumed it was, it just always seemed somewhat formidable. As soon as I use up the groceries I already have I'll be trying this. As for bitter chokes, there was a recipe for braised artichokes in SFGate this morning that said bitterness was caused by undercooking.

Everything looks wonderful, I hope you enjoyed your birthday! I grew up in a house without a dishwasher, I don't drive and I currently live in a 4th floor walk-up (which oddly has a dishwasher but not enough space to throw an actual party), so I'm with you. Sometimes the challenge of it makes entertaining more fun

I love steamed artichokes braised artichokes, artichoke hearts, artichoke bottoms, but I'll admit my total ignorance here, stuffed artichokes: how do you remove the choke while keeping the thing whole? I am assuming you trim the leaves and base, and then somehow pry into the thing and scoop out the choke? I have been wanting to try making stuffed artichokes for the longest time but I always picture myself totally mangling them, so I usually just make some other preparation. I thought something like this recipe looked good, so could someone give me some pointers on how to prep the artichokes?

This thread is already 3 pages before I even found it! I'm really looking forward to this, I cook a few Indian dishes and am hoping to add some to my repertoire. Your dosa lunch looks just like the yummy ones from the vendor in Washington Square Park. I've been recently wondering about mangos because I had always bought the darker colored ones but just I noticed the yellow ones are in all the markets around here. Also, I usually peel my mangos, then make a series of slices towards the seed and then slice them all off the seed in one fell swoop (if that makes sense). Do you ever make traditional Indian sweets?

Thanks TP, I'll be using the fondant recipe should the opportunity arise! As for eating them plain, I find store bought marshmallows pretty noxious by themselves. I was thinking of making squares with a kashi-type cereal, so that granola bar idea is right up my alley.

What, not even a hint?