Megan Blocker

I hope their food is as good as their website is annoying! Holy zounds that thing stings my sensibilities. ← Was it the spelling ("two coarse meal") or the Brazilian flag perpetually waving behind the text that got your goat? But just look at all that meat! ← Maybe it was the repetitive 8 second loup of music. ← I have my computer on mute! I'll have to go back and check it out now... ETA: Oh, yeah, that's annoying, too. But the meat still looks meaty!

I hope their food is as good as their website is annoying! Holy zounds that thing stings my sensibilities. ← Was it the spelling ("two coarse meal") or the Brazilian flag perpetually waving behind the text that got your goat? But just look at all that meat!

Hmmmm....Meat orgy dare I guess rodizio(spl) ← Or Peter Luger? A pastrami on rye from Katz's? Craft with no sides, all meat? ← The evidence is contained within this blog ← DOH! Serves me right for not reading back...can't wait to hear all about it!

Exactly - which I sort of alluded to in my post - it starts as a habit that combats sleepiness, and ends up as part of a culture, that culture attracts people drawn to doing things against the perceived norm, and, ba-ding, smoking is rebellious, and so is cooking. Or something. Hmmm...

And, on this end, lachen und weinen. Oh, man, that is awesome.

Hmmmm....Meat orgy dare I guess rodizio(spl) ← Or Peter Luger? A pastrami on rye from Katz's? Craft with no sides, all meat?

Klary, put down the rolling pin and STEP AWAY from the pastry dough. That's it, nice and slow. You are a hoot! If I'd known you had such an addictive personality, I never would have encouraged such an undertaking. Hee hee! Keep the pastry porn coming! ETA: If only I were in Amsterdam, I could take full advantage of your addiction and chow down on those delicious-looking tartlets.

I have all the makings for a real, true coq au vin waiting for me at home. I've also been thinking a lot about pear and apple tarts and pies. Also, parsnips! Roasted, mashed, buttered...yum.

No, you shouldn't! ← I'm jealous! We had a strict no-Christmas-music-or-decorations-before-Thanksgiving policy in my house, and I've definitely observed it in the five years since. HOWEVER, I went to Saks twice last week (once to shop and once to pick up the spoils - they held it and rang it up a day later on double points day - SCORE!), and between Tuesday and Thursday, half of the Christmas decorations had gone up. Yup. Which is why I figured listening to George Winston's "December" while cooking this weekend was a minor transgression (Sorry, Mom! ). How many parties do you typically throw during the November-December-January season, Marlene?

Once I run out of my faux-puff, I do want to try to make the real kind. I don't really think there's that much difference in work (time, yes, but the faux is time-consuming, too). I think it's definitely something you make in bulk and use over time, though. And on an impulse? I definitely see myself buying Pepperidge Farm rather than dirtying up my one (yes, ONE) countertop for a whole day...but maybe the goal is to make some every six months and just keep it in the freezer! I guess we now know that Chufi is the true artisan amongst us!

Sorry to butt in here … but a fantastic use for scraps (or any leftover puff pastry) is to wrap pieces around squares of dark chocolate, brush with egg, and bake to make pain au chocolat ← Um, I think we have a winner! I have tons, though, so it will last a while. I think I may make some individual chicken pot pies, and maybe an onion tart!

Klary, that meal looks amazing! I hope you're willing to share the chicken recipe. Yum! And so pretty, especially the tart and the dessert. Fantastic job. Elie, wow! I love that sundae - it looks positively sinful.

Gorgeous, Ling! Nothing like a well-earned food baby. Deborah, that tart is beautiful! Well done.

Not so brisk...it was over 70 degrees yesterday!

Etiquette a l'hopital, eh? I think spoons with pasta are definitely an etiquette thing...it somehow makes twirling the pasta easier and more anchored. Less sauce and whipping spaghetti toward your neighbor. I don't do this at home, though...and I can't remember the last time I did it in a restaurant, either. But I think the (very good) Italian place around the corner provides one... And your point about the history if switching is definitely the same one made in the Gourmet article!!!

Mine are not very exotic...mostly burns from the side of the oven and so on. I did get a new one last night (obviously, not a scar yet, but I have faith!) taking the apple tart I made for my puff pastry experiment out of the oven. Right on the knuckle of my right index finger. Slick, Blocker. Slick. I have lots of other, non-cooking-related scars. I'm notoriously clumsy.

Gorgeous, Chufi! I have so much left over...and an extra apple from my filling. I think I know what to do with it. Oh, wait - I still have a WHOLE TART (minus a small slice) in my kitchen. Maybe next week, then... Let me also say thanks to Susan, Klary (and Russ!) - like them, I never would have done this without support, albeit long-distance, and I'm so glad I did.

I did cool it again after molding it into the tart pan (rather rustically molding it in, I might add...I was not very neat yesterday!) and before putting it in a 375 degree oven (the recipe for the tart itself was courtesy of Patricia Wells' Bistro Cooking). I guess I meant more that I would like to see how it cooks up sans topping/filling - the crust seemed very flaky and layered; I'd like to see more of that, just to see how it works! The quick puff recipe was pretty easy (time-consuming, but not technically challenging) - not really all that different from making pate brisee, aside from the turns aspect, and the higher ratio of butter to flour. I'd like to try the non-cheating way once, to see how it compares!

Susan, that looks gorgeous! Can't wait to hear more about the prep...I'm beat, too. I think I now see the point of Pepperidge Farm puff pastry, whatever anyone else has to say about it.

Slice eaten! It was very good - definitely layered, as it should be, though it was hard to capture on film. Not the fluffiest puff pastry ever, but then it was under a filling...I'd love to try and use the rest of the batch on something else, something allowed to rise a bit more... I should mention that the filling was also quite yummy - all in all, a delicious dessert. And, now that I have some dough in the freezer, I can make it at least two more times...

That looks great, Klary! Your pictures are far lovelier than mine. I have no natural light in my kitchen, so... Yes, you definitely did the more elaborate version! I can't wait to see how yours turns out... Sooooo...I decided to make an apple tart with my puff pastry; turns out the recipe from Julia and Company made about three times as much as I needed , so I cut a third off of the final product (after two more post-fridge turns) and wrapped the rest up tight and stuck it in the freezer (the recipe assures me it will keep for months). Like Klary, I thought it was cool to see the layers when I cut the pastry: Next up: baking the crust. I molded it into the tart pan, poked the bottom all over with a fork, and baked it for twenty minutes (with pie weights). The result: While the crust was baking, I made the filling, which was really just apples sauteed in butter and sugar. Once the shell was cool, I filled it with the filling and a topping of eggs, sugar and more (yes, MORE) butter. Finally, I baked the whole tart for about twenty minutes, until golden brown... One more pic once it cools and I get to (finally) eat it!

Susan in FL, Chufi and I decided a few weeks back to tackle our fears of puff pastry and dive headfirst into the realm of pate feuilletee, or, in my case, pate feuilletee expres. We're doing this in our own kitchens in New York (me!), Florida (Susan) and Amsterdam (Chufi), which we all think is kinda cool. Synchronized, long-distance cooking! I was going to make "rough puff," per the suggestion of PatrickS via this post on the Dinner! thread, but, when I went to help clean out my grandparents' house last weekend (they've moved out of their home in Connecticut after 31 years), I found a copy of Julia and Company up for grabs. artisan02 had suggested the quick puff recipe from this book in this post, and I found Julia's description of what a "turn" is to be much easier to follow. My dough is currently resting the fridge, so you'll have to sit tight to see what it will become! But, in the meantime, here's the process thus far: I measured out 4 cups of flour into the bowl of my stand mixer, then diced 6 1/2 sticks (735 grams ) of butter. The butter got a little soft in the midst of all the dicing (it took a while, given the amount!), so I let it chill in the freezer for a few minutes. Once it was cool again, I got everything together. Besides the flour and butter, the recipe called for a little salt and some water: Then, I mixed the butter and flour together quickly, and added a bit of ice water to bring it together. Julia had 1 cup in the recipe; it was really more like two tablespoons for me. When it was done, it looked like this: Mmmmm...look at those hunks of butter! I then pulled out my SilPat (RoulPat, really), my rolling pin and my pastry scraper. I formed a rectangle... ...rolled it out, and folded it in thirds, like a letter. You can see how the butter stretched out during each fold, and got all streaky. Very neat. After doing this four times (each rold and foll is called a "turn"), I stuck the whole lot in the fridge to chill out. More after it's done resting!

Kathleen, fantastic dinner last night! Looks like you guys had a great time, on top of eating great food - brava, indeed! I noticed your copy of Moo next to the ferret cage...what a great book! It makes me think I need to go back and re-read it.

Wowza. I go for chicken bun xao from Saigon Grill when I'm sick, with plenty of chili sauce added on top. I'm not a huge soup person, but a noodle dish is a nice substitute,. Plus, they deliver really quickly, so there's less chance of falling back asleep before the delivery guy arrives (this has happened to me a few times!).

Thanks, Stef! No foodblog yet, but maybe some day... I had breakfast for lunch today...the street outside my window is super-crowded for a Sunday, thanks to the marathon going up First Avenue a block away. Lunch was scrambled eggs with a little parsley, a tomato and red onion salad, and a potato-bacon-onion hash (Using up the leftovers from earlier this week!).