Steven Blaski

Suzy, over in the chewy chocolate cookie thread, jgarner53 posted a "crinkle" cookie similar to yours, except that her recipe calls for canola oil instead of shortening, and it's not a "double" chocolate experience -- just the 4 oz of unsweetened.

I'm just bringing one dessert, but it's a killer: Chocolate Caramel Walnut Tart I made it last year and it was requested again this year. I use black walnuts for the crust. Serves 12 easily so it's great for larger gatherings.

I wouldn't feel comfortable asking for a taste of something in a restaurant, ever, no matter whether it was upscale or down, whether I was a regular or not. It would just feel weird. Presumptuous. Diva-like. But that's just me. I was born without the correct entitlement gene for this action. If it was just a matter of being curious how something was prepared I'd ask the waiter to describe it; if that didn't satisfy my curiosity then I'd simply order it.

Cook's Illustrated (11/02 issue) did their blind tastings of unsweetened chocolate using 1. a chocolate sauce and 2. brownies. Here's their results: UNSWEETENED CHOCOLATES Recommended: Scharffen Berger Unsweetened Pure Dark Chocolate (1st in sauce test) Callebaut Unsweetened Chocolate (2nd place in both tests) Ghiradelli Unsweetened Chocolate Baking Bar (1st place in the brownie test) Valrhona Cacao Pate Extra Nestle Unsweetened Baking Chocolate Not Recommended: Baker’s Unsweetened Chocolate Hershey’s Unsweetened Chocolate

Thanks! That's exactly what I was looking for! You're my favourite Steven Blaski in the world! ← You're very welcome!

In addition to the water issue (1 cup of butter has about 2 TB water in it that the Crisco lacks) there's also the salt issue -- if you use salted butter the result will be saltier than using Crisco, so you'd need to adjust that, or use unsalted butter. If you're worried about transfat, Crisco has a transfat-free version of itself -- in a green can. There are some other brands, too.

Here's a chart that contains a lot of information: Ingredients Equivalents

Jack Daniels would be fine -- definitely better than a weak-tasting rum. By the way, I've made Julia's pumpkin pie in The Way to Cook and it's really good. But I recommend two tweakings, even though you say want to follow her recipe closely--you'll keep her same ingredients, this is just a technique flourish: 1. cook the pumpkin, sugar, spices and salt mixture for 3 to 5 minutes in a medium saucepan till it's hot and shiny. This mellows the flavors of the spices and removes any tinny off-odors from the canned pumpkin. 2. after cooking the pumpkin mixture, scrape it into a food processor and give it a nice long buzz. Then with the motor on, add the cream and milk, and the eggs (or just yolks in her recipe, she folds in whipped whites at the end) and process all till very smooth. This makes the filling extremely silky! These two techniques were introduced by Stephen Schmidt in Cook's Illustrated back in 1993 (he says he got the cooking the pumpkin idea from cookbooks author Marcia Adams). Rose Levy Berenbaum also recommends these two techniques. For her recipe (which details the two techniques above), she's posted it on one of her websites: Great Pumpkin Pie

Thanks for the tips, Brigit! Congrats on the new kitchen. Happy cooking!

Thanks for the report -- I was wondering about roasting the florets like that. But I wouldn't describe the "kibbles" as a "mess" to avoid -- in fact, those tiny, crunchy, caramelized bits are my favorite part of the dish!

Brigit, I looked at that recipe after you mentioned it -- it's called "Pork Tenderloin Grilled on the Skewer" and is from Elizabeth David (originally in her "Spices" book) and it calls for salt pork. You mentioned you use bacon; do you use regular, sliced bacon, or what? The recipe previous to David's is from Ada Boni for basically the same thing--"Grilled Skewered Pork Loin or 'Lombello' Arrosto"--and she uses prosciutto, which would probably be tasty in David's version too. Mmmmm ... Bacon, salt pork, prosciutto--I'm getting hungry!

Absolutely... it's at the very tippy top of my list of favorites! Here's the recipe that I use... Parsnip Cake Di ← Thanks, Di, I'll give it a try!

Speaking of beets (and broccoli!), I've always thought a parsnip cake might be really good -- it's a vegetable that's as sweet as a carrot but it also has that inherent gingery spiciness that seems a natch for a cake. Anybody ever tried doing that?

Ain't no such thing as a male or female eggplant -- it's one of those old-wives' tales. "There is long-standing controversy about male and female eggplants, which is an inaccurate approach considering the fact that fruits are the product of sex and do not have it. However, it is folk wisdom worth some attention. Eggplants have a dimple at the blossom end. The dimple can be very round or oval in shape. The round ones seem to have more seeds and tend to be less meaty, so select the oval dimpled eggplant." - University of Illinois Extension Here's some eggplant tips from Food Maven Arthur Schwartz: "Select eggplants that are light for their size. The usual advice with produce, including eggplant, is to choose fruit/vegetables that are heavy for their size. It doesn’t work with eggplant. The lighter eggplants seem to have fewer seeds, and in the five or six years that I have been choosing my speciments, I have yet to get a bitter one. Salting eggplant is important if you’re frying the eggplant. I don’t believe salting has any impact on bitterness. I have salted and carefully cooked many an eggplant that still remains bitter. However, eggplant can absorb a huge amount of oil when it is fried, and salting it first seems to reduce that absorption. Also, frying eggplant in abundant oil at no less than 375 degrees makes for a less oily result. This is what Russel Parsons of the Los Angeles Times says in his book How to Read a French Fry: “Adding salt to eggplant that is going to be fried results in a softer, plusher texture, but it has little or no effect on eggplant that will be grilled.” Anne Gardiner and Sue Wilson, authors of The Inquisitive Cook feel that salting results in eggplant that is both less salty and less greasy. They write “Sprinkling pieces of eggplant with salt … leaves the eggplant pieces with a denser texture, so they tend to absorb less fat.” I do sprinkle salt on eggplant slices (for instance, for Eggplant Parmigiana) but if I am cooking chunks of eggplant or an irregular shape, I soak them in salted water. Use about a tablespoon of salt for a couple of quarts of water. Let the eggplant pieces soak for 20 minutes to half an hour. The water will turn dark. Discard it and pat the eggplant dry before frying."

Thanks so much for your very kind words. There isn't a list but I'm in the process of posting all the dropped recipes up on my website. ← Well, Paula, here's another request (as if you didn't have anything else to do!): that you also post the recipes dropped from the revised "Mediterranean Cooking." I don't have the original book, and the few recipes you mention in the Introduction that were dropped sound delicious (if a long way from South Beach ).

Yes, I certainly agree that she had a genius for conveying her passion. But I think I disagree with your opinion that she wasn't very scholarly; or perhaps we're just defining "scholarly" differently. Her last book, "Harvest of the Cold Months," for example, is a social history of ice and ices. The book before that, "English Bread and Yeast Cookery," is rife with essays on the history and tradition of bread-baking over the centuries and presents numerous historical recipes. In most if not all her other books, she often presented old, even ancient recipes, alongside more modern versions, to underscore the origins and transformations of a dish in the context of its culture. In all of her books, I sense this sort of ... anthropologist in an apron! A thirst for knowledge as much as a hunger for deliciousness. Maybe it's because her prose is so personal and seductive and sensual that the rather dry attribute, "scholarly," doesn't come first and foremost when we think of her. At any rate, I see quite a few similarities between David and you, especially in the way you both can illuminate an entire culture through their foodways.

Hello Paula, In the introduction to the revised version of your second book, "Mediterranean Cooking" (which is my favorite of your books), you write: "I want once again to tip my hat to my favorite food writer, whom, I'm sorry to say, I never met personally but knew only through her work. I am speaking of the late Elizabeth David, author of many excellent cookbooks, whose classic, 'A Book of Mediterranean Food,' is still for me the most inspiring of all the numerous Mediterranean cookbooks that have been written." I am curious to know at what point in your life you first read Elizabeth David and "A Book of Mediterranean Food" (was it before or after you had begun writing about food?). Also, in what ways did both she and that particular book influence and inspire you (was it her scholarly approach? her writer's voice? etc.). Thank you for all your wonderful books. Steven

Aglio E Olio (Pasta With Garlic And Oil) over linguine/spaghetti: 1/3 c. EVOO, half-dozen garlics sliced thin, pinch of hot pepper, 1/2 c. parm-reg and pasta cooking water. Soul-satisfying. Jamie Oliver does several "chicken in a bag" quick meals that you bake in foil, very simple and delicious. Here's one: 2 boneless, skinless chix breast halves, 3 cloves garlic, small can of cannellini beans, handful of fresh herbs, skosh of white wine, 1/2 c. cream, ten baby leeks (blanched first till tender) -- wrap up all the above in big foil envelope and bake for 25-30 mins at 425. Another one, even simpler: chicken breasts, half pound of sliced mushrooms, knob of butter, herbs, wine. Wrap and bake as above.

When did LC start using Bakelite knobs? Recently I got rid of my entire set of LC (purchased in the late 70s); the lids were crowned with cast iron loops as opposed to "knobs" -- all of a piece with the lid. Seems really dumb of LC to switch to making the knob a separate part, and plastic to boot.

You can make the mashed potatoes up to two days in advance and refrigerate them. The trick is waiting till right before you serve them to add in the butter. I've followed Pam Anderson's recipe many times and it works great: Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes

One of the books in the series you might want to beware of is "The Cooking of Provincial France," compiled by the late Michael Field. In Julia Child's biography is chronicled the story of how she -- who served as a consulant on the project -- and MFK Fisher -- who wrote the introduction, were both rather appalled to have anything to do with the book. It was Field's first book and he apparently knew little at that time about the topic. Many of the recipes are bastardized versions from Julia's own "Mastering the Art of French Cooking." Later, Craig Claiborne savaged the volume in a NYT review. I've collected a few of the books in that series over the years but oddly enough, I find that the only volume I can now locate is .... "The Cooking of Provincial France." Another series that I do possess in its entirety is Time-Life's later "The Good Cook," overseen by Richard Olney. These single-subject books (Beef, Cakes, Soups, etc.) have stood the test of time well.

How about a nut crust for your pumpkin pie? Pecans, for instance, are only indigenous to the U.S. You could just grind up some pecans with some sugar and a bit of melted butter, press it into a springform pan, and blind bake it first before adding the pie filling. ETA: I just noticed you're from New Mexico: how about a piñon nut crust to make it really local?

Ruth, I Googled: <"caramel apple bread" -pudding> and more than 500 pages came up -- could you be more specific -- a source, if you remember it, or any other pertinent information?

So I'm seeing a new eG posting requirement: either a plus (+) or a minus (-) sign next to one's handle to signify whether one is above or below the minimal TV-watching level ... more revealing than even one's real name or full disclosure ...

What brand of bread flour do you recommend?