pam claughton

I discovered that if you have a recipe for short ribs that you particularly like, it may work well on brisket. Just use roughly the same amount of meat, and keep all else the same. So far, my favorite way to make brisket is a short ribs recipe from recipe gullet. I made brisket constantly last winter, just fell in love with the stuff, and my local supermarket has many options to choose from. Brisket is popular at Patriots tailgates in my area. This one I love, and using the fire-roasted tomatoes really livens the flavor. http://recipes.egullet.org/recipes/r1214.html This one is my other favorite, along with the rissole potatoes, from Cuisine at Home. It's braised in beer and onions and creates a rich dark sauce. http://www.forums.cuisineathome.com/ubbthr...ber=6434&page=0 ~Pam

Am getting hungry again w/all these great pictures. That Pumpkin Ginger loaf looks delicious, as does the Lobster dish and the Shrimp and Grits, and am going to go hunting down that recipe for the chicken supper pie. Yum. No picture for my dinner, but it was an experiment that I'll make again. Coated a chicken breast with honey mustard and a dash of Caribbean hot sauce, rolled in panko crumbs and baked. Makes a nice sweet, crunchy coating. Simple, but tasty. Pam

Marlene, That is a stunning photo! Did it taste as good as it looked? ~Pam

Speaking of Daniel Boulard, I just made this recipe Braised Short Ribs with Dijon Mustard which is based on the previous mentioned one. This is much simpler, with only 5 ingredients, and it came out fantastic. My pic isn't the best, but gives some idea. I made it on a Friday evening, let it sit overnight, scraped off the congealed fat and then reheated slowly and served over roasted garlic mashed potatoes. Interesting twist w/this recipe is you reduce the wine first, from 4 cups to one, before braising. I used a Spanish wine, a blend of Tempernillo and Cabernet. ~Pam

This thread is making me hungry! Here's a few discoveries that I've now made repeatedly. From the first Barefoot Contessa cookbook, Her roast chicken with simple pan gravy is to die for, juicy and flavorful and comes out perfect every time. Her grilled lemon chicken is something I've made a half dozen times this summer for cookouts and people always ask for the recipe. It's so easy, just lots of lemon juice, fresh thyme, olive oil and salt and pepper. Leftovers make fantastic chicken salad with just a touch of mayo. Her brownies rule. Best most decadent recipe. Which leads to a chocolate dessert I discovered on the Orangette blog and is swoonworthy. Chocoholics love it. It's an almost flourless cake that ends up like a dense, rich, super moist bit of heaven. I served it last night with raspberry sauce and whipped cream. I fell in love with brisket and short ribs last year and tried a number of recipes. This one is the hands down must make again winner that had me licking my fingers. And it's one of the most simple with only 5 ingredients, beef, plum tomatoes, lots of shallots, coarse dijon mustard, and red wine. I made it a day ahead which helped with skimming off the congealed fat, and let the flavors meld. Served over roasted garlic mashed potatoes. One unique aspect of the recipe is that you reduce 4 cups of wine at the beginning, down to one, and use that as the braising liquid. Can't wait to make this one again, will try on brisket next time. Braised Short Ribs with Dijon Mustard

Jaz, I almost did that, and will next time I make this dessert. Didn't this time because not everyone likes spice the way I do. Sharon, Thanks for the recipe! I will make this one soon for sure. Have to say, the short ribs recipe I used, link in earlier post above, is by far the best way I've braised ribs or brisket yet. So simple and delicious, just five ingredients, beef, shallots, red wine, plum tomatoes and course dijon mustard. They all work beautifully together and a key is that you reduce 4 cups of wine at the beginning, to one cup and use that as your braising liquid. Just brown the beef, then the shallots, set the shallots aside, add the wine and mustard and let it go. Halfway through add in the shallots and tomatoes, then at the end add a little more mustard to the sauce, plenty of salt and pepper and it's heavenly. Am eating the leftovers, what little there were, now for lunch.

Sharon my mouth is watering at the thought of chocolate chili pots creme for dessert, that sounds right up my alley. I may have to look into finding a recipe for that...do you have a favorite? If not, I'll see what google brings. Here's what I've decided on, For appetizers, fresh guacamole and chips, and a selection of cheeses and crackers salad, mixed greens with toasted walnuts, goat cheese and dried berries with a balsamic dressing braised short ribs in red wine and dijon mustard sauce....from epicurious. Have it going now, here's the recipe Will serve with creamy mashed potatoes and crusty bread. I was torn between that or this months Bon Appetit cover recipe that has rave reviews at Epicurious, Texas Beef Brisket Chili. It has no beans and has butternut squash, which I thought has a unique seasonal flavor. So, I bought all the ingredients for that too as a backup...will make tomorrow and either use or freeze. Here's therecipe For dessert, I was thinking of making a family favorite. It's basically a flourless chocolate cake, rich and decadent, made with equal amounts of chocolate and butter and super easy. This recipe is from Orangette's blog. I am intrigued though by the idea of chili chocolate pots de creme so am not 100% yet on dessert. Thanks everyone for all of your great suggestions. Pam

Michael, Grilling a tri-tip sounds delicious...and twice baked potatoes too, which I could make ahead. thank you! Pam

Magictofu, Thank you, I am tempted to go Mexican, and like the idea of mashed winter squash and something crispy sounds good too. Pam

Kim, Thank you! These all sound good, and thank you for the links.

Pam, when you say "good eaters" do you mean hearty appetites, or adventerous palates? ← I mean easy going, not fussy. Not sure if all are as adventurous as I am.

Hi Peter, Thanks for the suggestions! The occasion is a friendly get together and interestingly, one of the people I haven't met before but successfully played matchmaker, setting up a friend with another friend's roommate and both of them will be at the dinner party. All good eaters, one person doesn't do shellfish, so will likely steer clear of that...otherwise anything goes. Will likely have guacamole as one of the starters as they all love it. ~Pam

Am having some friends over for dinner Saturday night, either 4 or 6, so a small group and only one is a true foodie. So am looking for ideas, and it made me curious to check in here. What are your 'sure thing' favorite dinner party dishes? Thanks! Pam

Reading all the praise heaped upon Sabra, and never having heard of them, I visited their web site. Hummus made with Canola or Soybean oil doesn't interest me, nor does the other junk found in the ingredient list. I'll continue making my own or buy the hummus made at the local middle eastern deli, where the ingredients are fresh and high quality. Sabra, it seems, is made in NYC - that's a long way from the San Francisco area. scb ← Try it, then decide. I used to make my own hummus, but Sabra is better than mine, I admit it. A heck of a lot easier too.

You have a lot to think about. A few things that stood out for me, You are currently doing well, she is not. How will partnering with her benefit you? My sense just from what I've read here is that it may be more of a drain, both financially and mentally than its worth. Will having her as a partner cut into your own profits? Will adding her allow you to do that much more business to offset the fact that you'll be splitting revenue/profit in half? Will it save you time, or add to it? At first glance, it appears that she benefits from this more than you do. One of my good friends has two business partners and she's eager to break away and go on her own. Someone always feels like the other isn't pulling their weight, which creates tension. Also difficult is when you both have very different ideas on how to do things, different styles. I just don't see how this benefits you...but maybe I'm missing something. I'd suggest doing your due diligence and then some to really accurately forecast and understand exactly what you need to do and if it makes sense. Also love the idea that someone else suggested, of having her come work with you for a few months before agreeing to any kind of formal partnership. That way you can see how well you'd work together. As an fyi, I recently went through a very similar thought process when I was approached by a colleague to join forces and partner up. At first the idea seemed great, how we could do so much more if we teamed up. So we decided to take six months and then see if we wanted to move forward. I crunched the numbers, and for me, decided that I didn't want or need a partner, yet was happy to work with her on the occasional project. Maybe that is an option, if the two of you want to do an occasional catering gig together or something? Good luck, with whatever you decide! Pam

How was Oya? I haven't been there yet. And where did you end up going in the North End? So far, I haven't had a bad meal anywhere there. Pam

I know exactly the kind of party you're having...give the girls the kinds of nibbles they usually pass up on....the decadent ones they really want. Here's a few suggestions, baked artichoke spinach dip, all gooey, hot and bubbly, and delish. stuffed mushrooms, go classic with buttery breadcrumbs, mix in a little italian sausage and top with parm cheese....or super easy with buttery boursin that you pop in the oven for a few minutes. the most outrageous and most often requested appetizer that I make, mushroom crostini w/ creamy blue cheese and proscuitto These spiced beef cigars can be suggestively shaped. Made with phyllo dough, they are another appetizer that I have to bring each year at holidays. A dip that is a little healthy, but still outrageously gooey, melty and delicious is made with hummus, artichokes and feta. In that same post is another all time favorite, nacho dip in a bowl, made with refried beans, cream cheese, cheddar, etc. that you bake or nuke and then dip chips into...absolutely yum. Also in that post is my classic guacamole recipe, that's a sexy, silky, delicious dip. Lastly, for something a little fancier, try this easy elegant treat, made with puff pastry, fig spread, goat cheese, thyme and proscuitto. Comes together in less than 20 minutes including baking time. Some easy, no cook options are bowls of marinated olives, spiced nuts, pates and good bread and crackers...a selection of exotic cheese, such as explorateur, and other triple cremes, sliced ripe tomatoes, fresh basil and mozzarella. Oh, and if you can find it, Humbolt Fog aged goat cheese is amazing, and Purple Haze is a lovely fresh goat cheese that is coated in thyme and lavender, great flavor. Enjoy!

Yes, the August cover is a dark chocolate dipped cherry cone. The recipe calls for 3 pints premium cherry ice cream and store-bought sugar cones. That's not cooking, that's assembling! Looks pretty good though. The patty protocol is simply shaping the ground beef and sprinkling it with salt, so that's what we had. I neglected to show June's cherry pie: Sour cherries are very hard to find around here. BTW I haven't made any of these covers, it's my wife's project. I just shop, eat and photograph. And post. ← Peter, The quality of your photographs is amazing! So vivid. What kind of camera do you use, if you don't mind my asking? I'm in the market to get a new one. thx, Pam

No bashing as long as you swear to call it a "Minnesota Lobster Roll." ← If fresh Monkfish is available in your area and you definitely want to incorporate fish into the rolls...this would be your best bet. It's flavor is very mild, and its texture is very similar to lobster. If you do this, I'd mix the lobster salad up and let it sit for an hour or so before stuffing the rolls as this would give the monkfish time to soak up some of the lobster flavor. If you do this, let us know how it turns out! Monkfish is about a quarter the price of fresh shucked lobster meat, which is running about $40 a pound on average (in my area, it may be more expensive where you live).

Please don't cut the lobster with anything else! I make lobster rolls all the time (luckily it's easy to get in my neck of the woods, Plymouth, MA). Here's the thing, you don't need a lot of lobster, you can do a very good sized lobster roll with 1/4 pound of meat, so figure 4 rolls per pound, you could buy 7 pounds of lobster meat and have plenty. To give you a frame of reference, lobster is very light, and I can get two very good sized lobster tails for 1/4 pound. The way you mostly see them here in New England is to use everyday hot dog rolls, butter and grill them and then stuff the lobster salad in it. If you want to cut back though, you could use little finger sandwich rolls, and even less lobster and it would still be delicious. The classic lobster salad is super simple, the key ingredient is sweet fresh lobster, then simply add good mayo, just enough to coat the lobster lightly, and add a squeeze of lemon(and even the lemon is optional). It needs nothing else....the warm buttered rolls topped with cool, luscious lobster is the best. Pam

I love CI, and a few years ago bought one of their books The Best Recipe, which has most of their classics. One recipe I've made repeatedly is their split pea with ham. It's the best version I've had anywhere.....the key is carmelizing the vegetables at the beginning, it adds such great flavor. Time-consuming, but worth it. Their basic meatball recipe is another keeper. I am a bit of a science geek evidently because one of the things I love most about CI is their detailed explanations of all the different variations they tried and the discoveries they made. And I am sold on the vodka crust too. Though I have a very sadly neglected food blog, I did blog about this crust and the bittersweet chocolate pecan pie that I made with it.

Nachos most likely. Smothered in refried beans, good guac, plenty of spice and some pulled chicken or pork. Pam

Really, that bothers the locals to abbreviate? I had no idea. I tend to shorten things automatically. No offense meant.

Carolyn, Thanks to one of your posts, I had an amazing dinner at Canteen in San Francisco....I arrived on a Tuesday night, and had their Prix Fixe menu. Loved it. Pam

I just returned from there, and highly recommend redd restaurant in Yountville, next exit after Napa, and right off the highway, super easy to get to. I had the most amazing lunch, a trio of foie gras, all cold and silky, a torchon, a terrine and a mousse, served with brioche toast. then I had the tuna/hamachi tartare, a generous portion with a chili oil, avocado and crunchy bits..delicious. then I had the shrimp salad, a grilled shrimp over butter lettuce with a creamy caesar dressing, avocado and bacon (lardons). Mmmm and to drink I had the rose champagne, that was delish! www.reddnapavalley.com enjoy! Pam