Genny

Hi everone! This is my first trip report and my first try at posting pix, so bear with me! My husband and I flew from Phoenix, Arizona to Medford, Oregon on June 1. Its seriously the longest actual vacation I've taken in 4 years. It was awesome! The Rogue Valley is in the southern most part of Oregon, a few hours from the coast. It is lush with green rolling hills, farms and ranches. Very rural. Don't let the "Medford International Airport" fool you. It only earned the 'International' title because there are direct flights to and from Canada. There are only 2 gates- both from the same room- leading out onto the tarmac. Pretty podunk. Our flight was supposed to arrive at 1:30 in the afternoon, but since it didn't leave Phoenix until 4, we were a little late. We arrived around 6 or so. We went to spend some time with my husband's father and his wife. Dad picked us up and took us to dinner at Porter's in Medford. Porter's is a nice restaurant named in honor of those working porters at the train station. Medford used to be a pretty big train hub in the gold era (If I remember the lore from the menu correctly!). We stared with Poached shrimp with a black pepper cocktail sauce. It was cooked perfect and the sauce was quite good. I had thir Rogue Valley Blue Cheese and Pear salad. Mmm. Very good. The Rogue Valley Creamery has won international awards for it's blue cheese. What a treat! Dad had the Seafood Chowder. This was by far the best seafood chowder I have ever had. The broth was succulent and flavorful. It tasted like a creamy sea, pleasantly briney with the perfect size bites of clam, scallop and crab. For dinner I had Parmesan Encrusted Steelhead with garlic mashed potatoes and asparagus. OK, I'll admit to a mea culpa here. The original fish on this was supposed to be sea bass. I wanted the local fish though and the way they had it prepared on the menu sounded boring so I asked to have this prepared with the Steelhead instead. The stealhead itself was so freah and perfectly cooked, unfortunately the crust on it was very hard and crunchy and overpowered the fish. I imagine this is better with the bass, but it was terribly crunchy, like kettle chips! The garlic mash and asparagus were both slightly overdone. Could be because of the fish substitute. My husband had the Prime Rib. It was in a word: sublime. Perfectly cooked medium rare, served with raw horseradish and a light au jus. Just lovely. Dessert was awesome! Dad had the cheesecake with raspberry sauce, it was thick and creamy and not to dry and cakey. Lance had Jack Daniel's bread pudding, wow, this tasted like french toast with lots of cinnemon and raisins. MMMMM. And I think mine was the best. I had a pear poached in star anise infused syrup with vanilla bean ice cream. Wow, so fresh and light. The pear was perfect, just tender, not mushy. All in all the meal was a hit. edit: to add photo

Thanks Trish, I had just looked that up and was going to post the same. You just beat me to the punch! And she is undoubtably the most revered TV Food Personality we have.

Well Dave the Cook, thanks for opening up such a lively discussion! I'll throw in my blasphemous 2c in here: We grab a little of this and a little of that and mix it up. If it tastes good, we serve it. If it doesn't we doctor it or chuck it. Actually, my suggestion would be a pitcher. Make a pitcher of whatever drink the crowd wants to have on hand. I'm in the Arizona heat and I have a couple preferences for drinks to beat the heat. First: Vodka Tonic. Its a classic and super simple Next: It may have another name but I just throw this one together. I call it the Arizona Sunset because it looks like that. It may have a "real" name in the bar though. 2 parts orange juice, 1 part vanilla rum (depending on your taste and how bent you are to get jazzed) and a dash of grenadine. Stir it all up & serve over ice. Also, I don't know how it works on your family vacations, but when we all get together there is never a shortage of hands on deck to peel & squeeze limes or chip ice. I would definitely recommend you have a book on hand especially if someone else wants to pitch in or make their own. Oh, have fun!!

I'll second the vote for 9 1/2 Weeks: it doesn't really make you hungry for FOOD though A sweet movie that food is the focus of is "Simply Irrisitable" starring Sarah Michelle Gellar & Sean Patrick Flannery. She has inherited the family restaurant and has to learn how to cook to run it. A sort of *magic* happens and she becomes a great chef whose eclaires make people swoon and do crazy things. Its been a while since I've seen it but there is mention of a crab napoleon that had me wanting some of that!

I haven't seen a commercial! Oh, Jason you poor deprived man. 10 years??? We have one across the street and it is my DH's favorite "I don't feel like going out and I'm feeling cheap" go-to spot. It was yesterday's lunch- I get the taco salad with extra meat and don't eat the shell.

I look at those constructions and think "I could never," hopefully you'll change my mind! How many years have you been working with pastillage and baking? It looks like an art or construction background is helpful, have you studied either? Thanks so much for including the time it takes you to do some of this. It is one thing to see the end product or even the sugar competitions, but to get an idea of what it really takes to develop the idea, construct the molds and then actually build the project is a fantastic view for the amature or beginner. Thanks again for all your time in sharing this with us!

And at 500+ calories with only 37% fat, what a bargain! I saw this signage on my local Taco Bell and wondered...it does look good. I love how Taco Bell can reinvent the same 7 ingredients every 6 months into something new. Really: Beans/Beef/Lettuce&Tomato/ Cheese/ Corn shells/Flour tortillas/ Sauces...Inventive! Has anyone else had these? Can we get a review?

Aaaah, my favorite kind of dinner... Last night was a blazing 103 degrees here. We went swimming and noshed on cold left over roasted pork tenderloin, St. Andre triple cream brie (I LOVE that stuff!), port duck liver pate, and simple green salad dressed with EVOO and a touch of basalmic vinegar. Pairing was with a simple sparkling water...did I mention it was HOT?

Wow Marlene, that is one beauty of a blender! Very sexy. Thanks for the report. Any ratings on its longevity? How is your new Waring now that all the pieces fit together correctly?

My vote is for Hans! Actually I thought Susanna was quite ballsy in the episode that they "pitched" their ideas when she told them that the FN has a responsibility to air health conscious programming in an effort to highlight the US obesity problem (I'm just paraphrasing here). I don't really like her much- too Martha Stewart in her smiling friendly face in front of the camera and intensely driven ambition off-camera. Just my 2c. Why do I want Hans to win??? I love the idea of Inhibition Kitchen- confronting your food fears and getting over them. I try to do that in my kitchen now and would love to see unique ingredients tossed up in an appealing way. Maybe I can stuff the ballot box? Deborah is just OK, her "concept" is too out there. The gay couple is more interesting than I thought they would be. They are my second choice, but Hans is definitely first. **soap box** What is wrong with having someone teach cooking who is not a CHEF? Perhaps this should be a different topic but I think it's pretty crappy to trash on these people's cooking skills when they all can 'cook'. If the FN target market is home cooks, amatures, and people who are interested in learning how to cook, then maybe "It ain't rocket science people" is the right approach?**end soap box**

Cheese, glorious cheese Bottle of wine, fruit of the vine Chocolate (OK but I really need my meat and veg!)

Ooooh, RJ, no one likes a bragger! Didn't your mama teach you that?

Oh FistFullaRoux, this is terrible news. You and your wife are in my prayers tonight. This thread caught my eye because my FIL had the bypass Sept. 04. He is doing great and has lost quite a bit of weight (I don't know exact numbers but I'd guess at least 50#). I just wanted to see what this thread was about. It discusses quite a bit of what our experience with him was and some other things too. Thank you so very much for sharing your personal story here. My neice is 15 and I think she is thinking about the bypass. I sure hope she tries to lose weight the conventional method! Take care! Genny

Sorry no pix...hungry! Beef burgers, pan fried (DH still sick so man no cook with fire). His was with carmelized onions, no bun. I was in the mood for "everything" so mine had avocado, Blarney cheese, pickled jalepeno, carmelized onions and was eaten in a lettuce wrap "Protein Style". Was good! All with a side of home made Dilly Beans!

Has anyone cooked the Osso Bucco in a crock pot after browning instead of the oven? This seems like a good idea since the even slow-cooking of the crock pot is perfect for braising. Would you crock on high or low? My anniversary is on Sunday and I have a lovely chianti just perfect for the occasion, I'm thinking the Osso Bucco will go perfect with it! Also, any suggestions for a vegetable side with this? I would usually have a fresh green salad.

Ambyre, it would be great if you could share your test results, thoughts and questions here to document the process!

Damn, y'all eat GOOD! Ordered in pizza last night, hubby and I were not feeling well... Sunday was Shrimp Vindaloo (from Cooking Light), eh, not a do-over. Did this with curried cauliflower and couscous (had flat bread to go with this but it was moldy- and just purchased!) the couscous was the pinch hit to take up some of that heat.

Wow, I'm really impressed with everyone's early genius showing. I can't say that I had super early childhood successes at cooking or eating exotic foods. Many of my memories are of food though. Some of my fondest are food related...does that count? Like stuffing my face with as many puffed cheetos to mimic my hamster at age 8 (really, my mom has a picture). Hmmm, I did take every opportunity to pilfer fresh grown produce like: the neighbor's apricots from her tree every summer, sitting in the cherry tree eating as many as I could (it was a cherry grove actually, my brother took salt pellets in the ass from the farmer once for the same offence!), riding my big wheel 2 doors down and picking a fresh cherry tomato from "Aunt" Rose's plant every time I went up her driveway (I knew this would get me yelled at!), and when my parents started gardening I would go pick the early peas and eat them right there, pull up the radishes and slice them super thin and float them in my Campbell's cream of mushroom soup with lots of black pepper. Nothing is better than fresh fruit still warm from the sun, picked and eaten on the spot! I can remember when I was about 13 my Dad bought a cookbook for me. I was so offended. I had been responsible for about 1/2 of the cooking at home because my mother worked nights. I thought I was doing OK and then he gave me that damn book! Hm. I started looking through it and I think the first thing I made out of it was an Easter Anise Loaf. I was so proud, it turned out beautifully. It is a sweet bread flavored with anise and has dyed hard boiled eggs baked right into the top of the loaf. The picture was so pretty and it had 'Easter' in the name of it. It was my contribution to the Easter dinner at my grandmother's house. My Dad did show me how to knead the bread to the right consistancy, that was the only help I got. When we brought it into my grandmother's house she asked, "Well, well, what do we have here?" and my Mom told her I made it all by myself. When my grandmother asked what it was, I proudly (and loudly) replied, "I made you an Easter Anus Loaf!" Well, as they say: "Pobodys Nerfect!"

I'm currently using my Henkel santoku but it sure doesn't keep an edge worth a damn. I'm thinking about the Kyocera FINE black ceramic knife. Is anyone using that? If so, what do you think of it? Mind you, I'm all of 5'2, very small hands and not looking for a lot of heft behind my knife, I do have others for that. This would be for every day chopping of onions, chicken breasts, etc.

Smithy, years ago I purchased a japanese ceramic grater that is like a dish that lays flat on the counter. The grating surfaced is raised in the center and there is a well around it to catch the pulp and juice, leaving the fibers mostly on the grater surface. I used it for years but found it to be labor intensive. I purchased my microplane (fine) about a year ago and never looked back where ginger is concerned. I do still use the ceramic grater for daikon radish though for shabu-shabu. The microplane and food processor just don't give as nice a pulp for daikon radish in my experience. Perhaps you will find an alternate use for your ginger grater!

Wow, 6 months to plan for the Bat Mitzvah! I'm so very impressed with your planning and testing and all the attention to detail for this. I'm also jealous you have such a fantastic event to plan for! As a fellow home cooking enthusiast, these opportunities don't come very often it seems. (And my DH thought I was nuts taking 6 weeks to plan for his grad party!) Just wait until weddings come! Good thing you have a few years yet for that I'm sure this will all come off beautifully. As with everyone else, I'm looking forward to the pix and report to follow! Genny

YEA MEL! Congrats on your anniversary, you and your hubby and faithful staff and all your supportive friends have earned some real pride! Best wishes and prosperity for Year 2! Genny

Fresh pea soup (bisque?) with the fresh smoked bacon cooked to your liking to garnish?

Hi Rosie! I just got back from the Rogue Valley last night and we did have a night at Sammy's. If still on the menu, I would suggest: First: garlic custard with morel stew; Main: duck breast with pumpkin sage ravioli; Dessert: chocolate cherry cake or coffee ice-cream. I'll be working on a trip report in the next day or so. Although I don't have a dining suggestion for Ashland, if you have 30-40 minutes, I recommend a stop in at the Ashland Winery. They are a 100% organic winery and are producing some good stuff. Don't let the outside appearance deter you. The winery is just outside of downtown, with the detour for street paving it took us about 10 minutes to get there from downtown. You'll have to IM me your favorites if you go! If you need more dining suggestions, my FIL lives in the area and I could get some recommendations from him. Otherwise, look for my trip report for the places we went to eat and do. Enjoy your Sammy's trip! -Genny

"EPIC" that is the word to describe this week. Sam & Marlene, Marlene & Sam (PC!) thank you both so much for all your time and efforts this week. Stretching yourselves and opening your kitchens & lives to us. Wow. This has been truly inspirational. I'll be going back through to grab some inspiration for my own kitchen. Certainly meat balls with motz and the corn cakes with poached egg and spicy hollandaise sauce will make it on my table sometime soon! Kathleen, thanks so much for chiming in & doing dishes!! -Genny