Jaymes

Wow. Just wow. Especially the bit where you covered the rinds with the "darkest chocolate" you had on hand. Are they (calamansi/calamondon oranges) native to Ecuador? Are they hard to find down there? We lived in the Philippines for several years and they grow wild there and are ubiquitous in the Filipino cuisine. I've always grown them in pots in the US, but most folks here have never heard of them. I definitely think I might try to make some "calamancello" following Katie's recipe, but subbing the calamansi rinds.

Our pork ribs in the oven: For one rack of ribs, marinate overnight in mixture of: 2 c apple cider 1/2 c bottled Teriyaki sauce 1/4 c brown sugar Bake ribs slowly in 250 degree oven, basting frequently. I usually take them out of the oven when they are fork tender, but NOT "fall off the bone" mushy, which I hate. And then finish them outside on the grill or in the smoker. But I have lived places where the outside finish was impossible. So I just ran them under the broiler until the skin got nice and crispy.

I'm curious as to how you did this. Did you zest those little calamansi? And then what with the cognac? "Breathtakingly good" makes it sound pretty compelling. I think I might give it a go, either with the cognac, or with vodka. But, interestingly enough, the peel of the calamansi is actually sweeter than the meat. I used to have two large bushes flanking each side of our garage, and my sons would eat those calamansi whole while playing basketball in the driveway.

I have grown Meyer's Lemon trees in pots for quite a number of years, even hauling them around with me from state to state, as I kept relocating. They produce great numbers of lemons, which I really love in many applications, but it's clear that they're not as strongly-flavored as "regular" lemons. I was told some years back that Meyer's are not "true lemons." I never did any research into exactly what that means, but even when I use them in baking, I add extra juice. I'm not surprised that they're not particularly wonderful for limoncello. I have wondered, though, about calamansi/calamondon oranges as I have several pots of those also and they produce a lot of fruit. Other than the fact they're so small and would be quite the royal pain to zest, I'm curious as to how that would turn out. It's probably a long shot to ask here if anybody has tried them, but you never know... eGulleteers are always a surprising lot. So, has anyone ever tried making "calamancello"?

I was lucky enough to get to live in Alaska for several years, and noticed an interesting phenomenon. Alaskans eat a LOT of fish, as you might imagine, but when Alaskans got to talking about fish, almost invariably, someone would say, "You know, I probably shouldn't admit it, but I think I might like halibut better than salmon." Amusingly enough, it was like they were afraid of being "disloyal" to the perceived Champion Favorite Fish of All Alaskans. So much so that they couldn't even outright admit to liking halibut better, and had to soften their statement with phrases like, "I think maybe I might..." All of the "Salmon Bakes" up there also feature deep-fried pillows of snowy-white halibut. One of the most heavenly dishes on earth. Like those other Alaskans, I like halibut better. But I'm not ashamed to admit it. We also lived in Panama, where the restaurants served many dishes made with corvina; Corvina Almondine at Las Americas was a favorite. And the corvina ceviches. I really loved that, too. And I've had some fabulous dishes made with grouper. I dream about a Grouper in Basil Sauce that I had once in Thailand. How does that old saying go? So many fishes, so little time?

The thing that has been most on my mind during this thread is that something tells me, even after all this, when your dessert comes out, your chef will be the one taking the credit. But maybe I'm being too harsh... After all, I barely know him.

I could tell they're not Meyers, primarily because you mentioned them as having thick skins, as opposed to Meyers, which, in my experience anyway, are thin-skinned. I only mentioned them as an illustration that the size of the lemons doesn't necessarily translate into the strength of the oils in the zest, so that makes it a little harder to "guestimate" how many you should use. I'll only caution again that you're better off to overdo than underdo. And yes, Katie's suggestion to add the zest of one lime was something I had not heard of until I read it here. And it's made a big difference in the quality of my final product. So let me add my thanks to Katie.

Perhaps 6 rather than 12? But, my advice to you would be not to worry about "overdoing it." After you've extracted the oils, you add your alcohol, syrup, maybe even some water, etc., until it gets to the strength you want it. It's been my experience that it's impossible to "overdo" adding too much zest. On the other hand, having too little means you have to start all over and steep some more. Another thing to consider is the strength of the lemon oils/flavor in your particular lemons. Meyers Lemons, for example, are quite large. But their peels do not seem, to me anyway, to be as flavorful as regular lemons.

This thread puts me in mind of what some folks call 'Texas vegetarians.' They make an exception for Mexican food and barbecue.

I've watched several episodes and do find it entertaining. In this episode, I particularly liked the fact that these high-falutin' professional pastry chefs were undone by the most plebeian of truths: you have to toast those poptarts, dude; and (in another episode), I told you for a reason that redhots turn into unchewable rocks when frozen. But the bottom line for me is that I don't feel emotionally attached to the show, so it's easy to skip if I'm busy. I just personally prefer the cooking contest shows where the same cheftestants return until one finally prevails. For me, anyway, getting to know them, and to root for or against them, is emotionally satisfying, and most of the fun.

Do either of these fit the bill? http://www.crateandbarrel.com/dining-and-entertaining/dinner-plates/square-rim-large-plate/s531653 http://www.crateandbarrel.com/dining-and-entertaining/dinner-plates/square-large-plate/s545140 Or these? Rectangle Dinner Plates

And that's the way of it, isn't it? One doesn't have much choice in the matter. There are a few words that I used to use all the time to mean what they originally meant that I can no longer use in that context at all. Often, there are other words one can substitute that mean the same thing as the original. But, for a few, there is nothing else that conveys quite the same message. I feel sadder about the loss of some than others, but there's nothing to be done. One example (about which I don't feel such sentimental sadness, I should add) is that every time I ask my children if they've seen my "thongs," they blanch, then redden. Keeping in mind that I am a granny "of size," I suppose that mental image is just too much. When, of course, I'm only asking if anyone has seen my shower flipflops.

And, when it comes to "sexy tableware," who can forget the "Young Men Playing Leapfrog" china pattern from La Cage aux Folles?

In a small city like Grand Forks, I imagine the reviewer must be very careful about what is written, as an overly negative review could easily destroy a business in a place like that. When I read her reviews, I get the impression that she's being very careful about what she writes. People are all too eager to write Marilyn Hagerty off as "charming" (read: "unsophisticated" "country bumpkin" etc.), but there's so much more to her than is assumed. Some fact about her: But if you think of her as "charming", it's much easier to write her off, I suppose. And to those who think otherwise, she is not a blogger. Judging by her comments, she has little use for blogging or bloggers. (incidentally, I've used her restaurant columns in the past when looking for restaurants in the GF area. I consider her reviews to be a source of information more so than reviews.) Some of this I knew about Marilyn (her distinguished children); some I did not (daughter having just died). That's one reason I found the line about the "kinds of places that Marilyn AND FAMILY don't frequent" particularly galling. As for her "blogging." According to that article by her son in the WSJ wherein he says she doesn't "blog," I still feel pretty sure that she's writing her articles on her computer and then zapping them over to the newspaper via email (in an rtf file if she doesn't have a mac), which is what I did during the years I wrote for a small hometown newspaper (including, I guess I'll add, restaurant reviews that required the same sort of delicate tap-dancing for which Marilyn is now garnering such dismissive disrespect). So even though she might not be "blogging," she is playing online scrabble with her son and I'm sure she's been familiar with computers and the internet long enough to feel like she's progressed well past the "isn't that charming" stage.

Absolutely stunning. And gotta love that cobalt blue. I don't really think color gets any more gorgeous than that.

I just have to say that my son and daughter-in-law have some very "sexy tableware," that they purchased primarily because she wanted "something different." So that's what they registered for at their wedding, and bought even more of it to "fill in." And now that's what they've got - the stylish and so "something different" square plates, bowls, etc. And the stylish and so "something different" stainless flatware. And nobody really much likes using any of it. The flatware especially is annoying - forks and spoons that don't feel comfortable in your hands, and knives that are difficult to hold and almost impossible to get a tight enough grip on to actually cut anything. And it makes no difference how hard you try to get them to stay on the edge of your plate, they refuse to stay balanced, and they just tumble, either into your food, thereby getting the grip all messy, or onto the table, thereby getting the tablecloth all messy. That stunning, stylish, expensive flatware is so horrible to use that I'd show up with some of my own from home if I didn't think that would cause a permanent rift in the family. As for those trendy and stylish square plates and, especially, bowls, my DIL has a few pieces of her grandma's old, plain, out-of-fashion plates and bowls in the same cabinet. Guess which one everybody reaches for. Nobody (including my DIL who had to have it and who still insists she loves it) wants to use those cumbersome square things unless they're forced to. So, while I certainly think there are some absolutely gorgeous "new" and stylish tableware patterns out there, as far as I'm concerned, in this matter as in the rest of life, looks are definitely not everything. It's one thing to make the occasional trip to the trendy, upscale eatery and eat off of those chic and different square or rectangle or triangle or whatever plates. But having to deal with them at home, day after day, meal after meal, is a completely different matter.

Wow, I can't imagine how it could be rolled up without breaking/cracking. You have to work fast, while it is still hot and it seizes fast so locks into place almost instantly. I've been thinking about this and don't see how this would work with a typical "creamy praline" recipe. The individual pralines are so fragile that they often crumble even while you're trying to wrap them in cellophane or something, and I don't see any way they would hold up to rolling. I can, however, see how it would work with the typical "chewy praline" recipe. That produces a much more substantial candy.

You know what... This has been really fun. Thanks.

I don't know if you have ever lived in a small town (and, by small town, I don't mean a suburb of a major city, but a small town a couple-hundred miles from any sort of major population center), but I have. And perhaps you have as well, and perhaps my experience just differs from yours, but I find your comments not only incredibly condescending, but lacking any insight whatsoever into what isolated small-town living is like. Let alone "Marilyn or family." I would absolutely, definitely, bet the very last dollar I have that "The Toasted Frog, Sanders 1907, The Blue Moose B & G and Little Bangkok" are not only "the kind of places Marilyn or family frequent for any number of reasons," but that they are exactly the kind of places that Marilyn and family have frequented, "for many reasons," time and time again. And again. And again. And that Marilyn has written about in her column time and time again. And again. And again. And further that absolutely every single soul that lives in Grand Forks and possesses the wherewithal physically and financially to go there also has frequented time and time again. And again. And again. And has read about in Marilyn's column time and time again. And again. And again. I'm sorry you find Olive Garden so loathsome. But for the residents of Grand Forks, I feel pretty sure that any new restaurant whatsoever is of interest enough to be worthy of a writeup in Marilyn's column. And at least a few sample tries. And the benefit of the doubt. And a change of pace. And several hopeful perusals of the menu in search of something, if not Four Star Fabulous, pleasing. I don't know how long Marilyn has been writing those reviews, and I don't know if she's required to write a new one every week, or every other week, or what, but I think it's easily possible that, over the years, she has written more columns about restaurants in Grand Forks ND than there are restaurants in Grand Forks ND. So, you find it "charming that she discovered Olive Garden at 85"? Really? When she specifically mentions having visited an "older one in Fargo" several years back? Or perhaps her son took her to one elsewhere, maybe even New York City, since he works for the Wall Street Journal. And you find it "charming," do you, that some old Midwestern woman, who seems capable of earning a living with her writing, actually manages to do that with a computer, and online, perhaps having given up her trusty Underwood with the coming of the new millennium? Interesting. Because that's exactly what I find you. Charming. .

Oh, it was much more than that. Witness these excerpts from a recent Epicurious article about the Harvey Houses: And as I said, my grandmother was a Harvey House Girl. One of the earliest things Fred Harvey decided upon was not to refer to them as waitresses. Waitresses were not held in the very highest esteem, and many good families back east would not have allowed their daughters to go west, unescorted, to wait tables in the rough towns of the wild, wild west. This was a time when, as one wag quipped, "there were no ladies west of Dodge City, and no women west of Albuquerque." Fred Harvey knew that calling his waitresses "Harvey House Girls" put them in an entirely different light. His young women had to be single, "attractive," and of "good moral character." They lived in dorms governed over by strict matrons. Another quote from Epicurious: Like I said, my grandmother was a Harvey House Girl. Wish I had asked her more about it. I was just too dumb to realize how treasured those stories would be to me now. But one thing I do remember. In her later years, I often helped her to prepare bounteous meals in her large country kitchen. And if we were having ham, she never failed to remind me, "Slice the ham thick, Darlin' - that's what Mr. Harvey always said. 'Slice the ham thick.'"

I hadn't really thought about this much until this thread, but as MJX points out above, it does seem "generational," as though dates used to be much more popular. We loved them in our household. But fruits in general used to be far more common as a standalone dessert, I think, just like your great-grandmother passing around the date box. I remember platters of dates and figs and dried apricots presented basically unadorned with evening port. Haven't seen that in many years. Not sure why, except that these things go in and out of fashion, of course. But I suspect that it also has something to do with our increasing taste for refined sugar treats. Just plain ol' fruit doesn't do it for us anymore.

No. Wow... Talk about gilding the lily! I come from a pretty strong "praline" background, too. But that's a new one on me. I have a hard enough time getting the stuff out of the pan. I can't imagine how one would roll it up. Wonder if she made any adjustments to the standard praline recipe.

Clearly y'all have that ESP thing going. The Whole Foods candy is similar. Obviously prepared in a log or loaf, or pan of some sort, and sliced; not rolled into balls. But, for what it's worth - that looks darker than the Date Nut Loaf/Roll Candy that was ubiquitous in the 50's, 60's, 70's. The color of my mother's, and mine, and everybody else's that I remember, was somewhat lighter - more the color of southern creamy pralines flecked with the dark dates and nuts. And, as well as the color, the texture was also similar to those pralines and (if you're familiar with it) the Mexican milk candy - Leche Quemada. It was sort of that praline stuff holding together chopped dates and nuts. And it was very rich. And depending upon how perfectly you had done the cooking and beating of the hot candy, sometimes it didn't "set up" as well as others. That's one reason my mother always stored the log wrapped in the wet dishtowel in the freezer. It helped with the consistency if she hadn't gotten it quite right and, with all that sugar, it never really froze solidly. Remained pretty soft and easy to cut. So she'd just cut as much as we were going to eat in one sitting. Or as much as she could eat in one standing - with her head sticking into the freezer, the door shielding her covert activity from the rest of the family. ETA - Want to expand a bit on the "praline" thing I mentioned above. I don't know if you've ever made those New Orleans/Southern-style pralines (or Mexican milk candy) but, basically, you take the first three ingredients in your "Ma's" date candy recipe (sugar, milk [or cream], butter), boil them to soft ball, take off the fire and add any flavorings you might want (vanilla, cinnamon, etc.), beat til the mixture loses its gloss, add pecans, quickly drop onto waxed paper and just hope to goodness you've done all that correctly and they "set up." So it's no coincidence that your Ma's candy has a similar look and texture to those creamy-style pralines (not the chewy ones). The only thing you're really adding that's different is all those dates. They definitely change the color and texture of the resulting candy, of course, but a great many similarities remain.

And one of the highlights of the season for me (and actually a highlight of all of my television watching for lo these many years) was the interaction between Paul and his father after the victory. I remember in one of the scenes Paul talking about how he had had some difficult and risky times in his youth. I've spent some time around traditional Asian families, even living in Asia for a while, and the success or failure of the children carries a huge amount of importance. To watch the overwhelming emotion of that father upon seeing his son succeed so spectacularly was incredible. Honestly, I felt privileged to witness such an intimate and human moment.

Hey Jaymes. This is a GREAT RECIPE! The RG Cannellini's went into the compost bucket but, since I really wanted to try your recipe, I plowed ahead with some Cannellini's I bought a couple of years ago at the coop. Pretty old, but no floaters. The first 30-45 minutes of cooking they were still looking pretty wrinkled, but they came to and were fine. Another reason for plowing ahead was, before I knew the RG's weren't worth cooking, I'd gone up the road to Morse's Sauerkraut to check out the pancetta and ended up getting some prosciutto instead. Black Forest prosciutto. They had Parma there, but it was like $26/pound, and I'd always liked the smokiness of the Black Forest so I stuck with that. That worked out well as the smokiness and salt of the BF really made things come alive, so to speak, in the soup. I used some Contadina crushed tomatoes and store bought celery, but the onion, garlic, and carrot came from last year's garden. The rosemary and thyme came from plants I bring in to the house before things freeze up. I clipped off a bunch of each and put them in stems and all, and took them out after enough had gotten into the soup. Came out just right. So, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! Your recipe worked out better than any other for the first time I tried it and I'll definitely be making it again. I am so tickled that you tried it, and liked it. It's a real favorite around our house.