Jim Dixon

Here's my recipe for beet risotto. Jim

My mom gave the 1931 Joy that had been her mother's, and I still pull it down occasionally. The German pancake recipe is perfect, and my own pancake/waffle batter is derived from Irma's. Jim

trillium, I think this calls for a trip to Fong Chong...we can also compare our webbed toes. Jim

To be honest I haven't eaten much at Fong Chong in the last year or so...maybe it's slipped a bit. But it once was the only place for serious dim sum, and other people who'd eaten farther afield dim sum-wise backed me up. I also tend to eat the same 10-12 items (and if I eat them all, I'm way too full), so that may color my opinion, too. And sorry, but you haven't lived here long enough to say we need the rain (I would insert a smily deal here to indicate wry humor, but have pledged to never use them). I don't care what the state climatologist says, I'd rather ride to work on a dry day anytime. I do like rainbows, though. But since I always wanted to live on the east side of mountains, I'm okay with our verdant little paradise getting brown around the edges every few years. Jim

wood Hope you're enjoying Portland (even if the weather today sort of sucks...big surprise there). On Sunday you may want to hit Fong Chong for dim sum brunch (NW 4th and Everett). For more traditional breakfast, head across the river to Junior's (on 12th couple blocks south of SE 12th and Hawthorne...next to historic Ladd's Addition, the first planned residential neighborhood west of the Mississippi) or Small World Cafe (inside Big City Produce, N Mississippi and Sumner, a block north of N Alberta...oooh, wrote Mississippi twice, et, thrice). If you're sticking around for dinner, try Lucere in the Riverplace Hotel. Good French rustic menu (cassoulet on menu now) and you can walk along the river before or after dinner. (disclosure: I sell them olive oil). Jim edit: Genoa is now open on Sundays, too

Part of our Thanksgiving dinner is creamed onions, and my mother and I have debated the use of various types of small onions for this (which is much better than it sounds...the "creamed" part is really a sharp cheddar-gorgonzola sauce with bourbon). Anyway, I prefer Diamond brand canned pearl onions. They fit nicely with the other from-a-can baked dish (green bean casserole) we like to eat once a year. Mom did the dish one year with the frozen onions, and it didn't seem quite right. But so many years of creamed onions all run together, so I can't really say why. Jim edit: for Italian sweet and sour (agrodolce, from Marcella) onions, I cut a cross in the blossom end of small boiling onions, boil for a minute, then peel...go figure

Nan, my mom and the supplier of pie, is making a coconut oil-butter crust pie this very minute. I'll report back later. And sorry for the cryptic post about coconut oil. I'm reading The Good Fat Cookbook (thanks to Bux) and it espouses the use of all naturally-occuring fats as being more healthful (reinforcing my own ideas). Jim

west coast time here...maybe I can use eGullet to finally get the time difference right...last time we were in Italy I kept calling and waking people up in the middle of the night. Jim

11:55-1:59 they cook fast, too Jim

kiku, I use both puy and Italian (and the locally grown version of the puy lentils), and I never soak. These all cook pretty quickly, average about 20 minutes to the al dente stage. Sometimes I cook them as described for al Mauro, sometimes I cook them in more plain water and then drain...but never soak. I brought back a lot of farro from this same trip. I looked at a lot of recipes that called for lenghty soaking, but when I gto around to cooking the stuff it didn't need it at all. Jim

These "translations" are hilarious... at least the software got this right: From my limited Italian, this is a sort of ravioli. Make a basic egg pasta, roll it out, cut into disks. The filling is bread crumbs, egg, grated Parm (grana means hard, 'granular' cheese, not grain), chopped salami, minced roast beef (from leftover roast), raisins, crumbled amaretti cookies, pear, a little garlic, some parsley, salt and pepper. The sauce (condimento) is browned butter with more grated Parm, roasted pancetta, and sage leaves. Jim

I almost always take some food home with me from restaurants. If I'm reviewing, I order a lot (my wife always cringes a little because we order like we're gluttons) and taste each dish, but know I can't eat everything. I have no problem eating the leftovers over the next couple of days. If I'm paying for the meal (as opposed to my editor), I'm loathe to leave much behind. I've learned to be very specific with the servers ("be sure to scrape all of that sauce into the container"). I hate it when I open the container at home and something I was looking forward to isn't inside. Jim

As with most of my favorite cooking techniques, this one doesn't require much work... split lengthwise, then again (so you have long quarter-sprouts) chop roughly saute (olive oil, butter, or combination) with either garlic or shallot until wilted and maybe even a bit browned, about 15 minutes medium heat squeeze lemon or lime juice over, salt and eat (good wine or sherry vinegar also works well) Jim ps...altho' this is how I always cook them, next time it I'm trying the celery root or lentil combo

We called this "skip-n-go-naked" and always consumed it in the context of a "biology field trip." 6 cans frozen pink lemonade 1 bottle Everclear 1 half-gallon Tequila 12 bottles beer (typically cheap-ass Olympia...this was in pre-microbrew era) mix in large stockpot Jim

Coconut oil is actually one of the most healthful fats around. I don't have time to get into it right now, and it's worthy of a new thread. The bad rap on the so-called 'tropical oils' was a very successful marketing effort by the soy industry. Guess which oil is supposed to be better for you? more later... Jim

I mentioned this on the Thorne Q&A, but will repeat it here. I adapted a recipe from last month's gourmet. A basic sear and finish in the oven approach, but the only part worth repeating is using French hard cider (only 5% and fizzy...also cheap at $5/bottle) to deglaze. Really goes well with pork. Next time I'm using Klink's technique and adding a bit of cream or creme fraiche, too. mmmmm....pork chops Jim

klink, my mother will be so happy... Last year Judith and I decided that we'd better learn to make Nan's pie crust (she's not getting any younger, but that still didn't prevent her from loading a couple of girlfriends into her 1991 Marquis and cruising down to California). Anyway, she patiently showed us how she mixes things up and rolls out the crust. Have I made a single pie since? Jim ps...I'm now starting to lobby for a switch from crisco to coconut oil, which is like shortening at room temp...I'm trying to get the processed fats out of the stuff we eat. I'm convinced that they are really, really bad for you.

tommy, I'd cut right on yours. It'll be easier to keep clean than a counter top (that backsplash joint can get funky). Any wood cutting surface will show knife marks before long, but then they actually look like butcher blocks. If it gets too cut up you can always spend a few minutes with a belt sander and get it looking brand new again. I have friends with maple prep surface counters, and they cut right on them. You get some marking but it can be like a patina of sorts...you will want to spread the cutting around if you go that route or you get one spot with a lot of wear. Setting a hot pan on the wood is a bigger problem. Then you will need the belt sander. We used 12-inch granite tiles when we did ours a few years ago. Much cheaper than slab stone...I put a piece of maple across the front edge. Jim

But just be anal about usage, brine means salt + water...so the acid bath isn't technically brine. Jim ps: am I actually agreeing with tommy?

I've come to the point where I automatically brine pork, unless maybe I'm doing a roast. Even the locally grown pork I get here in Oregon is bred to have less fat, and I find the cooked meat gets dry if I don't brine. Last night I adapted a Gourmet recipe for pork chops with hard cider jus...used thick, center cut boneless chops from Carlton pork (Yamhill County, considered the best commercial pork producer around here)...I brined them for 45 minutes in 1/4 c kosher salt + 3 c water, dried, rubbed with salt and pepper, browned in butter, deglazed pan with French hard cider ('hard' is only 5% alcohol, and the stuff only costs $4.99/bottle), finished in oven with jus and a few whole shallots from my garden (after 7 months starting to shrivel, but still tasty). I pulled the chops when they hit 155, maybe a tad too long, but they were still nice and juicy...I attribute that to the brine. It does even more wonders for chicken breasts, but we still like the thighs better. Jim

Nan's Pie Crust Here's my mother's recipe. I've been eating pie made with this crust my entire life, and it's a nice balance of flaky and tender. edited 1/24/07 I fixed a key typo: 1 teaspoon of salt, not 1 tablespoon I also added some details to the processor method, which I recommend I've been making this with all butter and it comes out fine. While there are trans fat free shortenings, I can't recommend using any of them. Jim 3 c flour 1-1/2 c shortening (she told me she's been using 1 c crisco and .5 c butter) 1 tsp salt In a separate bowl beat together: 1/3 c water 1 egg 1 T vinegar (plain white) Mix flour and salt (sifting optional), cut in fat until you get that small crumb consistency Add egg mixture to flour mix, blend well, and chill. Let sit out about 15 minutes before rolling out. or do it in the food processor: -combine dry ingredients, process to blend -combine egg, vinegar, water as above, then add to dry mix -process until it forms a cohesive ball Mom says if the dough starts to break up while you're rolling, just ball it back up and start over. makes 2 double or 4 single crusts Keywords: Easy, Pie ( RG145 )

brine that pork first, big fella Jim

Blanching first seems like too much work to me...mine come out fine, but I think the key is cutting the spuds up (bonus is more crispy surface area) or using smaller potatoes...and roasting at high enough temp to get them browm, but not so high they burn before getting done. I usually cut into roughly egg or walnut size, then cook at 400 (after tossing with oil and salt). Jim

franceso, thanks...I was guessing that it might have been heavy cream instrad of sour cream because, as I remember, it didn't have a noticeable sour flavor. But it might have been the prescinseua. It was served as a thick dollop on top of the pansoti, and it was very smooth. I've also seen Tuscan recipes for salsa di noci using bread crumbs and milk. Jim

frittata with onions, anchovies, and oil-cured olives tuna (good canned Spanish) with chopped arugula, flat leaf parsley, shallot, preserved lemon, sherry vinegar, and olive oil served on green salad Jim