Della

Welcome Kathy!! Great review of past recipes out of the Molly book. Sounds like you love to braise much like the rest of us that frequent this thread. I'll look forward to more posts and lots of opinions/tips. Sorry to hear no one liked the parsnips. They are a favorite in our house I am sure any root veg would work well - you could probably even skip the veg and just make some yummy mashed potatoes to go with the dish. I haven't tried the boneless short ribs but seem to remember someone else upthread mentioning them. How do they compare to the ones with bones? I guess I just think you need the bones for the full flavor? I guess not? I also love the chicken and artichokes but haven't done it with marinated ones......maybe I'll give it a whirl!! Anyway - welcome! della

I'll just mention how much fun it was to cook out of the Rover's cookbook together. The food turned out really well and we got to make some things we hadn't made before ~ but were NOT all the complicated which surprised me. I thought they might be but really just had a few "steps" to follow. Thanks for posting the pics LMF!!!

Really interesting blog! It's great to get a glimpse into your "food life"

That's exactly what I've done (except I bought 3 peppers instead of 2). It's in the oven right now! ← Very cool! Now that I think of it I think I added an extra pepper and a couple of jalepenos when I did it I have a couple pics but I accidentally (not thinking) put them on my mom's computer in another town and with her dial up - took too long to upload. I'm hoping I can explain to her how to put them on a disc and mail to me.(i have more than food pics ) Anyway - let us know how dinner turns out!

I made that dish a few weeks ago and we loved it. I could leave or take the potatoes but Greg LOVED them and thought we should add even more next time. And he is usually just so-so on starch and all about the meat. I would suggest making the dish with all the ingrediants the first time you make it and then you can adjust the next time if you like the dish...........let me know how you like it!

It's a great book! I'm trying to decide what to make this weekend myelf.

You can freeze it it in slabs to eat later. You can make ham and white bean soup! Home-made mac and cheese w/ham Ham and eggs (had it today for breakfast!)

Hello Forest! Hope all is well ~ and how funny I saw this post. LMF just mentioned yesterday that you were on EG!! As for the stew, I have never added sugar before - what is the reasoning behind adding that to the dish? I do toss in a cup of red wine at times to add some extra depth of flavor. As for deglazing the pan - once you brown the meat you can deglaze with the wine and get all the good bits up and simmer for a minute or two to reduce the liquid and deepen the flavors. I wouldn't pre-sauted my veggies since they'll cook just fine in the stew. Well - I guess I'm not offering much in the way of suggestion except for adding the wine but I'll think about it and maybe come up with some other ideas. Della

I love nachos - always have, always will. Sometimes it's just a plate of chips & cheese melted in the microwave with sour cream and salsa - but that is just for a quick "i need cheese" moment. Real nachos are chips on a sheet pan with cheese (cheddar & pepper jack) thin slices of fresh jalepeno and white onion as well as some black olives. I heat up either traditional refried beans or some refried black beans or plain black beans (whatever I have on hand as all are good) and when they are hot I dab the beans on top. Into the oven under broil but the rack is in the middle. When the outside chips start to get a little brown around the edges and the cheese is melted I take them out. Then everyone gets what they like for toppings but I like to add pickled jalapeno, sour cream, guac, fresh tomato and of course sour cream. Cilantro too. YUM!! Upthread the idea of sauteing pinto beans in bacon is brillant!

Making the Bisteces Rancheros right now.........should be done in about 15 minutes. Really easy - I hope it tastes great! Others have posted that is it good. I'll report back. Side note - when you skin the peppers and de-seed them DO NOT RUB UPPER LIP for any reason. OUCH!!!!!

Although Molly doesn't really call for it, I always reduce the liquid in this particular recipe. You could add a tablespoon of butter and flour mixed together if you want to thicken it a bit more. I tend to serve rice with this and of course, baked beans are always a good side for pork braised or smoked! I'm also the one who uses pork stock, just because I tend to have some around usually! ← Well, we made the dish and didn't LOVE it - it was "ok" but nothing special. Maybe I did something wrong? So - we ended up making the Jerry Traunfeld Herbfarm Braised Short Ribs and they were great. I'll try the dish again another time

We are thinking of making the Caribbean Pork Shoulder for the family on Friday so we are going to do a practice run tomorrow. Greg is in the other room getting the spice rub together right now. My local store didn't have a pork roast with the fat/skin on so we are just using the pork shoulder (boston butt) w/out. It is just shy of 4 lbs. I went through the whole thread and read comments/opinions. There doesn't seem to be any hints other than maybe using pork stock rather than water as a change to the recipe. Oh - other than lower braising temp but I tend to do that anyway. SO - Any extra tips or hints as far as this dish before we cook it tomorrow? What side dishes go really really well? I saw baked beans mentioned a couple times............ THANKS!! More tomorrow........Della

I finally got a chance to sit down and go through this whole blog - what great pics!! I had seen a few earlier but WOW the food shots are really great (as well as the ones of you two). I know you guys had a fantastic time - and the pictures with your narration really show it!

Welcome Jamie, those are some gorgeous cured meat pictures. Can't wait to see what you make next! ← I'll second your meat pics! They are great! Your pastrami looks really good and I am sure tasted even better than it looked We've attempted pastrami twice now and have a brisket on it's way to us from Neiman Farms in yet another attempt to keep pastrami on hand at all times (LOL). I'll be you never buy bacon from the store again!

Even though it is slightly out of Wallingford and on the way to Fremont I think the "Dock" has good bar food and have had their dip and their reuben several times.

I didn't see any!!! Darn it! (LOL)

This is going to be really interesting! Glad you are blogging Eden!

Okay, so it's not IN Seattle, but this weekend is the 25th Anniversary of the Oyster Festival just outside of Shelton. Seems like the year before last that the festival got started in a muddy field (it poured rain all weekend the first year). Even though the event has gotten a lot bigger, it's still fun, especially the oyster shucking contests. This weekend should be sunny and gorgeous - hope you have a chance to get down there. http://oysterfest.org/ ← Greg and I went to the Oyster Festival today. Quite fun! Music, Beer, Seafood all over the place. They even had a seafood "cook off" which looked interesting. We'll definately go back next year.

I used to go to Applebee's once a month for happy hour - bosses choice - for about 6 months in a row. (We had been going to Azteca Mexican before that and I have to say I missed the jalepeno poppers!) But I digress........ And I have been at least 2 x's for lunch and once for dinner with clients (their choice - don't ask!) Anyway - I don't like their food. It is AVERAGE and if spending MY money (which I never did) I would NOT go there - not even to try Tyler's new entrees. Can you blame a person for wanting to make money? NO But I think putting your NAME with a restaurant - you should like all of their food - and I have to say I can't imagine Tyler loves everything Applebee's makes and serves. That is why I find it hard to come to terms with why he is putting his NAME with that restaurant. But then again - I didn't know he endorsed Sandra Lee's cookbook (which is another topic).

I saw the commercial a week ago and was super sad. I used to really like him a few years ago but ever since he did that "how to boil water" show I just haven't been a fan......I can't believe he would do AppleBee's.....or maybe I can - I just hope the paycheck was huge cause he has lost all my interest and respect.

That sounds really good! I do roast garlic and then smash it with butter, olive oil, S & P, a dash of red pepper flakes and a drizzle of balsamic and spread on warm toasted bread..........that is one thing I really do love to eat but I don't really think of it as "garlic" bread. Even though I guess it is...... I am just stuck on Mom's version......LOL!

I worked at a Black Angus restaurant years ago and had a guy that used to come in an want just the fat off the prime rib instead of the "meat" part...........I haven't thought about that in a long time! UGH!

I made the chicking fricassee with artichokes and and mushrooms the other night and it was really good! The flavors melded together and the sauce was to die for (at least IMHO). Definately a keeper! Dropped oven temp to 300 but other than that did the recipe exactly as directed.

I make mine a couple of different ways - depending on what dish it goes with and who might be eating it with me The way my mother made it is the way I like it when I am having pasta with red sauce......basically take your bread, butter it liberally, sprinkle grated parm on it along iwth a good amount of dried minced garlic and put under the broiler. Watch it so it doesn't burn. The other way I make it is to rub a crushed garlic clove over the bread, drizzle with olive oil and toast/heat in oven.........maybe a sprinkle of salt when it gets warm. (secretly i like the one with the dried minced garlic best!)

I have ordered from them and I live in the USA. Watch their website for sales. They have some good prices fairly often. I got my 5 1/5 quart oval dutch oven for about $130 US dollars - which is quite a bit less than what the outlet charges. But you have to wait for a sale......but they do happen quite often. Good luck!