BarbaraY

Hiroyuki, you inspired me to try something kaiseki. I bought kumquats thinking that I would make sorbet but when I tasted one found that they aren't very good as the skin is very bitter and the meat is almost dry. Very low juice content. Maybe I will simmer them in syrup because they couldn't possibly make good sorbet. I can usually eat a handful or so of them but not these. If I find kiwis in my CSA bag tomorrow I may try using them.

This is the customary fund raiser in this area, too. Overcooked spaghetti, soggy iceberg salad, and garlic bread with margarine and garlic powder. I don't attend.

This sounds a lot like the beef tea that was given to invalids in the early days. Lean beef is put into a jar with water and the whole thing is simmered for several hours until the nourishment is in the water. I once had a recipe that called for scraping the beef but don't remember the details.

I'm curious, too, how the flavor compared. I have the book and enjoy just reading through it but have never tried any of the recipes. They almost all call for ingredients that are very difficult or impossible to obtain in this rural area. Lots of rather complicated techniques, too.

We have rice 2 or 3 (or more) times a week. I usually have Jasmine rice except when I'm making Japanese style foods. For many, many years I have use a small Aroma brand rice cooker. It is a cheapy that cost about $15. No bells or whistles or warming feature. I wash the rice till the water is clear, drain, fill to the line that corresponds to the amount of rice I'm cooking. Put the pan in the cooker and turn it on. I let it rest for about 20 minutes after cooking. If the rice is very new I have found that less water is needed.

Well, I thought my mom was bad but even she couldn't out do the toenail thing. (Gag!) She loved to go out to eat. Even so she embarrased us to tears, especially in her later years. She was as skinny as a rail and she took obesity as a personal offence. More than once she had said, "Oh My God! He's (or she) fat. Did you see how fat he is?" and this in a very loud voice. My sister and I both would try to shut her up but it was an obsession.

My mom was a really poor cook but she always made fairly good pancakes. All we ever had for breakfast was cold cereal or pancakes (as I recall). A few years ago I was having breakfast with Mom and Dad and was amazed by her pancakes: flour, baking powder, salt, egg, and milk. No fat at all and they weren't bad, not as good as my buttermilk pancakes but not bad at all. PamR's recipe looks to be a good one, too. K8 Memphis, I recommend you get either an electric teflon coated griddle or a cast iron griddle and season it well. I have both. You won't need to butter or grease the pan and the cakes will be much easier to flip accurately.

This thread makes me want to weep. Everything is so beautiful and delicious looking. A Japanese restaurant opened in our town for the first time in about 15 years. My daughter and I went on Saturday to try it out. We were rather disappointed. I ordered anago and cucumber roll and my daughter had her favorite California roll. We weren't paying close enough attention and were served inside-out rolls. Not my favorite because they're so messy to eat. The eel was very tasty although the shari seemed underseasoned to me. We didn't order nigiri wanting to see how things were first. We also had tempura that was rather tasty although the dipping sauce was quite bland as was the white miso soup. The soup tasted as if it had been made with just water instead of dashi. They didn't serve any pickles! How can you have Japanese food without pickles? There was a salad of Western style greens with a tangy sesame flavored dressing and an oily vegetable melange. We will try it again and I hope they work out the problems as I truly want a Japanese restaurant nearby.

OMG! It all looks so delicious, I'm ready to pack up and head for Santa Fe. That mac & cheese looks just too good. Love the idea of the shortstack, too.

I use the Tiparos brand as that's the only one available here without a major trip. A bottle tipped over in the restaurant pantry once and I went looking for a dead mouse. How can something that funky taste so good?

After my first post about disliking croquettes that I've had, I remembered the "Croquetas de Frijol" from the secrets of Mexican Cooking by Elena Zelayeta published in 1963. I made them once when the book was first given to me and the whole family liked them. The kids called them "Bean Balls". I broke out the book and made them for our dinner last evening. Not bad but I've already thought of ways to perk them up just a little. The recipe calls for; 2 cups cooked, mashed pink or red beans (I used pintos) 2 tablespooons minced onion 1/2 teaspoon oregano ( used about 1 teaspoon) 1 can peeled green chiles, chopped 4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese (used more until it tasted right to me) Salt to taste 1/4 lb. Monterey Jack or Cheddar cheese cut into small cubes (mine were about 1/2-inch) 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water Bread crumbs (I used Panko) Mix all ingredients together up to the Jack cheese. Roll a spoonful of beans around the cheese. The recipe says to roll them in crumbs, egg and crumbs again. I did flour, egg, and crumbs I made 8 croquettes and left them to chill over night. then fried in medium temp oil. I also made a simple tomato sauce of onion, garlic, and tomatoes cooked with a little chicken stock and seasoned with a pinch of oregano. Nothing fantastic but they were good. I think they would taste better with fire roasted fresh pasilla chiles. A little garlic other than that in the sauce would be good and I think Black Beans would be good, too. I would have taken pictures but found the batteries were dead. Sorry.

I'm enjoying your blog very much the contrast between two cultures. The Piñon coffee sounds disgusting even though I do like piñons as a snack but not in my coffee.

I consider this a KISS recipe. It started from the recipe in Marion Cunningham's Breakfast book. The only change I make is to add a teaspooon of sugar to aid browning. 1 cup buttermilk 1 egg, beaten 3/4 cup AP flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon sugar 2 Tablespoons melted butter. I mix it all together and cook on my electric griddle set at 375º F. If I want whole wheat or buckwheat cakes I sub 1/2 cup of those flours and 1/4 cup AP flour and 1 TBS honey in WW cakes or 1 TBS. molasses in Buckwheats. Dot with your choice of fruit if you like. Please no vanilla in my pancakes! To many restaurants do this to be creative with the Krusteaze or Sysco mix. Don't like Bisquick for pancakes or waffles.

I have had the book since it was first published and used it often but it sort of fell by the wayside in the past few years as I haven't been baking much, Today I made the Rustic Potato Loaves which I baked many times in the past. They really are very good. Forgot to get pics, though.

I have the book too. Will check his version. Thanks.

My favorite buckwheats. Beat together 1 cup buttermilk 1 egg, beaten 1-2 tablespoons molasses 2 tablespoons melted butter Stir in: 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup buckwheat flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt Makes 4 to 6 depending on size. Keep batter lumpy. If it's very thick add a little water. I like my Buckwheats a bit on the thin side. Love these with pork links and applesauce. Note: Brown sugar can be used instead of molasses.

The baker in the small town I lived in when I was a kid was locally famed for his "Beehive". I searched for it for years before I stumbled across a recipe that called it bienenstich. The only difference was that he topped his with walnuts instead of almonds and the topping was quite carmelly. Makes my mouth water just thinking about it.

I put mine in the freezer to protect them. Do you know that they're delicious even frozen.

I made lamb shanks last week, Braised in a Bolognese style sauce. The leftovers were even better the second day; pulled the meat off the bone, returned it to the sauce and tossed it with cooked penne. Just too good. I've never thought of roasting them as they're so good braised.

I made the World Peace Cookies today. When I handed the first one to my grown daughter she said. "Mmmmm! These really could bring World Peace." They're really a wonderful cookie, too good for children.

When I was wearing chef's coats I had the two turns of the sleeve. Depending on season I wore T shirts in summer and Henleys in winter if there were no uniform reguirements. I can't stand long sleeves to the wrists at any time so the long sleeved Henleys were pushed up almost to elbows.

When I saw this topic, I shuddered. About 35 years ago I worked in a restaurant that had everything but the kitchen sink on the menu. One of the items was turkey croquettes that were made from the meat that was taken off the bones after boiling turkey carcasses. The stuff was truly obnoxious. My grandmother occasionally made chicken croquettes with a blan "white sauce". I wasn't fond of them either so you can understand my antipathy toward croquettes. All that said, I might be inspired to try something like the smoked chicken with green chile or the crab & chorizo ones.

Thanks for the tip, ComissionerLin. I first tasted Ciabatta in PA several years ago. Have never found anything comparable in my rural area. Will check out that book, too. As if I needed more baking books.

Well, it certainly looks like it would be very tasty and I love the idea of the gremolata butter finish. The ravioli are truly beautiful in that shape. Sorry you did get a pic of the finished dish.

This one uses a bigas which calls for a ferment of 8 to 16 hours. I let it ferment about 12 but the kitchen was rather cool when I mixed the dough.. Sourdoughs that I've made in the past do usually take a longer proofing time. I think the amount of salt in it may have slowed the rise, too. Thanks for the feedback.