mixmaster b

Russ- I am glad to hear about the Chez Panisse book. I love their books and have many of them, but not Desserts. The Fruit book is my most recent and I love it. Their perspective is always unique. Thanks!

My wonderful fiance made a classic bolognese (at least I think it was classic--recipe courtesy Mario B.) with lovely thin papardelle. Heaven. Consumed late at night wiith a super-delish Tomassi Amarone ('95, I think). Sometime you can't improve on the basics.

Another great Mario Batali lasagna is pesto and asparagus. It is a non-tomato version that uses fresh pesto mixed with bechemel, layered with pasta, blanched asparagus, and topped with breadcrumbs. (parmesan is in there, too.) I love this version of lasagne--it is our standby to serve to vegetarians, but I could eat it anytime. (I also love the more traditional bolognese version, and the tomato/cheese version--but no black beans, please.) The bechemel is easy to make and makes the lasagna really rich but not so heavy. I bet you could blend some ricotta in with the bechemal to great effect. Please tell us what you make. edit: Here is the recipe--I used parmesan instead of pecorino and had good results. http://www.ochef.com/r42.htm#Baked%20Lasag...s%20and%20Pesto

Wow- Thanks everyone for the great input! Steve- In the past you have mentioned books by the Roux brothers, Michel Bras, Frederic Bau, and Alberto Adria. Of these, I have been able to find affordable (i.e. not hundreds of dollars) copies of the following: Notebooks of Michel Bras: Desserts Patisserie: Pastries and Desserts from 3 Star Master Chefs (1986) Michel Roux's Finest Desserts (1995) The Roux Brothers on Patisserie (1993) Desserts : a lifelong passion (1997) I think "Patisserie: Pastries and Desserts from 3 Star Master Chefs" sounds like the best choice as it is the earliest of the Roux books. I could not get a feel for the Bras book from the site. I have also e-mailed Lesley regarding the English copies of her book--alas my French is not good enough to allow me to follow recipes. Bruce Healy & Paul Bugat' s "The Art of the Cake: Modern French Baking and Decorating" sounds wonderful. I love to make special cakes and I will check this book out for sure. Their book "The French Cookie Book: Classic and Contemporary Recipes for Easy and Elegant Cookies" looks great, as well. Healy seems to be well regarded by many, so I am excited to check out these books. Maybe I will be inspired to start saving up for Mastering the Art of French Pastry --going for $400 on Amazon used! Thank you kit, I am looking making a big shopping/Christmas list, and am gratified by all suggestions. It helps me to hear different views on books--even when they are voiced rather passionately or even forcefully! I am not familiar Lenotre. Can you say more? Silverton I know because I like in LA and she is omnipresent. I have her early book Desserts, but I find it too hard to use. At my level, I find I really like pictures when attempting complex recipes. I don't have the ability to visualize the end product, so I can't tell if I am on the right track or not. Do you like her new Nancy Silverton's Pastries from the LA Brea Bakery ? My fiancé has her bread book but sometimes finds it discouragingly complex (i.e. constant care and feeding of starters, etc.). Nightscotsman and haunted chef- Do you find the Nick Malgieri to be fairly classic? Or more personal/updated? I have seen some of the older books at alibris.com. I am interested in Baking with Julia because I found Dorie Greenspan's instructions in the Herme books very clear-good translations for the home cook. Speaking of Herme, his early books seem to have cult-like status on the sites I looked at. Any guidance about which books to look for, and where to find them, would be great. Thanks again for all of the great suggestions!

Basically, you can sear seasoned tuna in a frying pan the way you would a steak--a few a few minutes on each side should do it, depending on thickness and how rare you like it. For your menu, I would go slightly Asian: salt it, crust it in sesame seeds and sear it. Different mixes of crushed sprices, like pepper/cumin/sesame are good too if you are feeling adventurous, though the flavors can overpower the tuna. Mmmm. Tuna is good.

I am interested in getting some cookbooks that cover the basics of pastry and baking--not bread, necessarily, but dessert, cakes, cookies, etc. I searched a few other cookbook threads but did not have luck on finding books on pastry. My interest is in fairly classic French and European style baking, and I need a book that covers technique. Pictures would also be much appreciated--I like both the step by step pix or great pictures of the end product. Right now, I have Desserts and Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Herme. (I love these and have had good results from the recipes, but feel I should start with a more classic approach.) La Varenne Pratique has provided some good starting points, but I would like to find a book with more focus on baking. I was thinking about the Payard book. Any comments? Suggestions would be much appreciated! In case it applies, I am a home cook and am slightly more skilled than a total beginner. Thanks!

I think you have that exactly right, Saffy. I also struggle with the concept of fizzy water, or naturally carbonated as the marketeers insist on calling it. I mean, what is that ? Naturally carbonated ? Everyone knows that they're artificially injecting carbon dioxide into the stuff, even if it did naturally have some CO2 in it before they started. When was the last time you saw a fizzy mountain stream ? Fizziness is an appetite suppressant and causes flatulence. So why on earth would anyone want to drink fizzy water with a meal ? My guess is again that it's marketing that has created the demand, that it's considered elegant I drink sparkling water because I like the way it tastes. I think most people who drink it do it for that reason. I don't care if the carbonation is fake or real, as long as it fizzes! (I don't have problems with the flatulence, and if it is an appetite supressant--hooray ) I spent some time in Italy growing up, and they open sparkling and flat water for every meal. I got to like it very much, and it is definitely healthier than soda! There is a big difference between seltzer and mineral water. To me, seltzer has big, strong bubbles that can be a bit much--I like it with a sandwich or burger but not with a nice meal. The same goes for Perrier--I don't like the strength of the carbonation and would not order it. My FAVE is Ferelle (Or is it Ferarelle?) an Italian brand. It has a nice, softly fizzy quality. I order it anytime I see it on a menu because it is hard to get here. The same goes for Badoit. My standby is Pelegrino, though I will drink about anything. (Even Perrier is OK on ice. ) I am surprised by some of the comments about small bottles. As I said earlier, we would prefer not to carry small bottles due to space limitations and the markup is not as high. The entire purpose of our restaurant offering it is for the one diner at a table who may want bottled water but not a large bottle. A small bottle is just over 16 ounces or 1/2 liter. I agree on the very small Pelligrinos. Too much money for not enough water. These are the little, 8 oz bottles with the screwtop. I think it is preferable to have the choice of a small/medium bottle (12-16 oz) or a larger size. Forget the 8 oz. Having the water listed on the menu would be my preference, and $5-$6 is okay for the big bottle, but more is just a rip. Also, I HATE it when the waiters question you on water. Water means tap water. Bottled or sparkling will be requested if desired. And I am with the others who don't like the lime or lemon in/on the glass. I like it plain! No comment from me on bottled flat water. I am not too picky about tap--though I know enough to appreciate it when I go to NYC. Please let us know what you decide to offer!

Tommy- Does this thing work well on small amounts of stuff? I have always been frustrated using a cuisinart or blender for smallish quantities, because the stuff gets flung up on the sides of the bowl and doesn't pulverize properly. I am currently in a get-rid-of-extra-gadgets mode, but if this device works, it would be worthwhile to keep around, if only for making Thai style curry pastes. Also, does it chop the garlic into pieces or pulverize it into paste? Thanks!!!

Kenny- My favorite, as mentioned earlier, is Mori Sushi on Pico. It is a bit pricy, but it is wonderful. Lots of fresh fish flown in from Japan, and instructions about what to use soy for, and what to have as served. The atmosphere is nice, as well--very modern in feel, and very personal, as though the owner did much of the work himself. I think he make all the pottery, so he might have done the contrasting, as well. If you go, be sure to get fresh wasabi. Another wonderful place is Takao on San Vicente (not to be confused with Takai across the street). The chef used to be at Matsuhisa, and the best dishes are the carpaccio/tartare types--very special. The sushi is also very good. Takao's atmosphere is very standard-issue sushi bar--nothing special, but the food is very good. I used to be partial to The Hump, but was not so impressed on a recent visit. Their "California" style stuff is so much better than the sushi--next time I go I will focus on that part of the menu and forget the pieces/rolls. It is a very nice room, though, and fun to find in the Santa Monica airport. I have not tried Coi, the hip new spot, but I have heard that the food is secondary to the scene. There are many other well regarded places, but I have either not been or not been is so long that I can't really comment.

That sieve/skimmy thing looks perfect! Actually, I have used like items at shabu-shabu restaurants with great success. Must get one for the next stock making session! Thanks!

Thanks very much to Dave the Cook for the detailed instructions. I have been making stocks for a long time, but I was inspired to do a more careful job than I normally do, and had great results. I made a chicken stock with leftover bones from a rather large roasted chicken. Normally, I don't cut the bones up, and I think it made a real difference. I followed instructions as posted by Dave, with the addition of a carrot, thyme, and parsley stems. I found that some skimming was necessary, mainly when the stock first started to simmer. I used slightly less salt than sugested, anot 1/2 tsp for 3 liters, and thought it was sufficient. I also made a fish stock, which I have not done before, using leftover (uncooked) trout heads and bones. For that, I semi-followed Julia's recipe from Mastering the Art. That really needed skimming! I strained it through a chinois and then through a coffee filter , as I had no idea about the best straining technique. The result was nice and clear. But both came out very nicely--clearer and with better flavor than past attempts. I do have a few questions from Jinmyo's post- What is the best method for "filtering" after straining? And is this done for clarity? What is the best utensil for skimming? I used a flat spoon but found that I was getting as much liquid as scum. Thanks!!!

My S.O. and I recently provided food for about 100 people for a close friend's engagement party. Here is what we did: Crostini table: Lots of sliced grilled bread, in baskets, and good breadticks. Toppings were serve yourself: white pean puree; tomato/garlic/basil (basic bruschetta); mixed mushrooms (sauteed and finely chopped). Cheese, cornichons, saucisson (sp?) and proscuitto. Crudite done Martha style --long sticks of various veggies, some raw, some blanched and chilled, served upright in glasses. The dip was aoli. Dessert table (all homemade): Pignoli cookies Small white cakes with cream, raspberry syrup, and raspberries on top (these tasted disurbingly like raspberry Twinkies.) Lemon squares Truffles Passed: Peking duck rolls Raw oysters with champagne mignonette (thanks to Liziee for the sauce recipe) Small potatoes, twice baked, with pancetta and truffle oil (these would hold well) Sesame chicken salad in crisp wonton cups Dolmas with feta (these would hold well, too) Rare roast beef on mini-palmiers and horseradish sauce (also thanks to Liziee for the sauce recipe) Smoked salmon roulades Shrimp gyoza with dipping sauce (these hold fine if you don't mind them at room temp; you can also do pork or beet, which might hold better.) Being non-pros, we had very little idea about necessary quantites, and ended up with WAY too much food. (Better to much than too little! ) I think it was because the crostini bar worked so well. People liked the concept a lot, and seemed to fill up on that before many of the passed things made it out. I would be happy to give recipes (most are from basic books like Martha Stewart's Hors D'oeuvres and a recent Williams Sonoma book, but a few are improvised or from more inspired sources) or additional info. I have also had good responses to cheese straws and also sweet/hot spiced nuts. They can sit endlessly and are very tasty, though perhaps not very unusual. Best of luck with the open house!

Thanks for the peanut sauce recipe, torakris. Looks great! Saturday: Cream of carrot soup Home made raviolis with chicken/roasted garlic filling, served w/ thyme butter (made by the fiance) Raw artichoke & mushroom salad with lemony dressing Decent but not terrible exciting bottles of CA chardonnay More cheescake. (It lasts really well-very convenient) Sunday: Roasted chicken w/ pan sauce (also thanks to fiance) Braised celery (This was yumm--from an older Marcella book) Roasted potatoes w/truffle oil

torakris- Would you share the recipe for your peanut sauce? The ones I have made all seem too sweet and lacking in complexity. Your version sounds great. Thanks!

I put mine into the dirt. It remains fresh for years. When I need some I cut some out. It also has very pretty leaves. Survir- Would you elaborate on this? Can I just plant a ginger root in a pot? Thanks!

There must be a story here. How did the Wusthof snap in half? My Significant Other and I were frantically preparing for a dinner party (behind schedule as usual) and he was using the knife to make a garlic paste--you know, chop the garlic, salt it, then smush it down really hard with the side of the knife. I was in the other room, and I heard a big snap, then "F*#K!!!"--the knife just split in half. (I imagine he was putting a lot of pressure on the knife--but still! ) Luckily, no blood was shed! Like I said, it was really old---maybe 30 years?--it had been sharpened so many times that the blade was about an inch shorter than it was supposed to be. The worst part is that we also had a great 8" Wusthof Classic, this one I bought about 8 years ago. We took it on vacation this summer, along with a bunch of other kitchen supplies, and left the ruddy thing behind at the end of the week! (That's what happens when you have to pack with a severe hangover.) So we went from having 2 great knives to having none. Time for a visit to the kitchen supply store...

I read this thread with great interest because I was planning to do hors d'oeuvres for a friend's engagement party. Thanks for all the great ideas, and especially thanks to liziee--we used the mignonette sauce, which was a big hit, and also the horseradish sauce. The horseradish sauce was used on roast beef served on tiny savory palmiers. (I wanted to try the popovers but needed someting I could do a bit more in advance.) THANKS! Helen-the final results sound marvelous!

Survir- Good luck with the cake! I hope it stops jiggling. I have been making a lovely pistachio brittle I found on epicurious. It is not identified as Middle Eastern, but it does have pistachios. The taste reminds me of those clear, rectangular sesame candies you get in healthfood stores, only better. I thought it might work as a garnish for another dessert, or possible a post-dessert nibble with coffee. Here is the link: http://www.epicurious.com/run/recipe/view?id=102704 I like to chop the pistachios in half before adding them, so the fresh green color is more visible. Please tell us what you make!

I am interested in recommendations, too, especially for veggie prep. Does anyone have experience with Wusthof Culinaire? I am in need of a new knife--my good Wusthof 10-inch knife snapped in half while pureeing garlic!!! I got it from my grandfather, though, and I know it gave many years of service...

Steverino- I have a lovely cutting board and a salad bowl that I hope last forever. I use a product called Clapham's Beeswax Salad Bowl Finish on them once in a while and they are just beautiful afterwards. (I know I can give them a good scrub in hot soapy h2o when needed, because this stuff is so great.) If you are interested, here is the info: http://www.claphams.com/salad_us_r.html How great to be able to make them yourself. Dave the Cook, if you decide to go back to wood, consider Ikea. They have some rather wonderful, thick wood boards/blocks--big enough to leave on the counter as a butcher block. I got mine 5+ years ago for 25 bucks and it is still in great shape. I think they still carry them.

"Put down those drills and pick-axes, boys! It's time for some zinfandel!" And I thought I could type...

Marinated albacore steaks in lemon, garlic, evoo, s&p. Grilled. Grilled bread Relish of grilled tomatoes, oil-cured olives, capers, anchovies, garlic, lemon juice, s&p Haricots verts w/ butter Nice cheap french rose to drink (Vielle Ferme) Finally started in on cheesecake

Wow! It has taken me the better part of the day (on-and-off, while pretending to work) to get through this thread! It is pretty thick reading, taken in total. Personally, I like to think that if you apply yourself to learning about something (wine, for example) and taste and think and study, that you will gain some sort of expertise. Your friends might ask you for advice, or be particularly interested in a bottle you bring to a dinner party. They might say you have good taste in wine. (You might even get a job as a sommelier of work in the mine industry, and possibly be viewed as an authority.) I fail to see what is wrong here. I would like to think that the efforts I have made to learn about wine and food, and to expand my palate, have resulted in an improvement in my taste. (They have certainly resulted in a more enjoyable time on the planet.) I definitely think it makes sense to consult an expert in a field that I don't know too much about before making a decision. I don't see this as undermining my individuality, or bowing mindlessly to a higher authority. If I find that I do not like the advice/experience prescribed by the "authority", I have the sense to reject it. In all the books I have read on wine (very few) the authors seem to repeat endlessly "drink what you like; taste it for yourself; don't rely on the scores". Doesn't seem too snobby to me, and also seems to leave room for individual taste. However, they all describe flawed wines, and poorly balanced wines, and wines that are drunk too young, so there must be some sort of objective standards as to what a good bottle of wine should taste like. (Of course, it should go without saying that someone who hates wine will disagree with their decision to have a nice bottle of something red with their red meat.) I think that if the general public was encouraged to consume better quality food, less pre-made, frozen, fast, fat-filled garbage, the population would be healthier and happier. (I am talking USA here, as I have no idea how the general populations of other countries eat.) To this end, I have very little problem with Martha or Emeril. I think it is great that you can find fresh herbs and tofu and leeks in the supermarkets of suburban and small town America, and I think Miss Martha and her omnipresence has contributed to that. A young cousin of mine was rescued from a lifetime of fast-food and his mother's bad cooking by Emeril's TV show, and can now make a decent meal for himself. (And given a few years, he may grow to appreciate more sophisticated fare, but the door was opened by Emeril.) Personally, I do not care for Emeril or his dumb show, but I think he and his ilk have something to contribute to the population at large. If Nigella can inspire someone to make a good meal once in a while, all the better. And in terms of true contributors (Julia, Jacques, Alice Waters, Mark Bittman, various e-gullet posters) , I derive great pleasure from reading, eating, watching and learning. I don't think it is snobbery to acknowledge that you might be able to learn something from a connoisseur, or to think that the taste level of the general population could be improved. I am not sure whether it is snobbery to believe in a set of subjective rules that should govern good taste. Wilfred seems to have a wonderfully balanced view on this subject, and the next time I have a few free hours, I will go back and read the previous threads on the topic. Lastly, I doubt any of us can really ever know if we are food snobs. I suspect that snobbery is in the eye of the beholder, and that most on e-gullet are sufficiently obsessed with food that we have insulted or alienated someone, somewhere...

Last year, our friend did a goose that was wonderful: brined, stuffed with a saurkraut concoction, and basted with some sort of Pernod mixture. I would be concered about messing up the goose fat with the Pernod, but the goose was delicious. The saurkraut was a great flavor with it--I am intrigued by JD (London)'s dish. Any chance of getting a recipe? I roasted a goose a few years ago after seeing Matha Stewart's "goose 101" article. The recipe on the site is the same: http://www.marthastewart.com/page.jhtml?ty...true&resultNo=2 I was happy with the results, but I have become a fan of brining in recent years and would definitely brine it if I did it again. Also, she suggests trimming the excess fat, but there are no instructions about rendering it. I think tossing it out would equal permanent banning from e-gullet! I was a bit at a loss about what to do with all the fat (I did do some sauteed potatoes)--that might be the subject for another thread! My experience is that there is very little meat on a goose. The goose we did and the one we ate last year were served along with turkeys and lots of sides, but there were only a few bites for each guest (large gatherings of 16-20 people, don't remember the size of the geese). If you are cooking for a crowd, you might consider a small turkey, turkey breast, or ham (or any other main dish, for that matter), as goose for a big bunch will be hard on the coffers! Also, what is Thankgiving with no leftovers!

Sunday night: Various cocktails made with Campari, inspired by Campari thread, consumed while cooking, to the possible detriment of the final product: Cream of broccoli soup Chicken breast pounded flat and rolled around a stuffing of chanterelles, button mushrooms and leeks (inspired by a recipe from Chez Panisse Cooking) Served with pan sauce (white wine, butter, reduced) and Isreali couscous with celery, chervil, and a bit of vermouth. Stanford Sauvignon Blanc (nice.) Pignoli cookies for dessert Last night: Pasta with a sauce of reconstituted porcini, tomatoes, lemon, and cream, from Rogers/Gray Italian Country Cooking. I love this recipe, have used it for several years. Salad of sliced cukes, orange pepper, red onion, cherry tomatoes, boconccini, shredded basil, dressing evoo, lemon, s&p. Uninsiping CA Pinot Noir Too full to eat cheescake. Maybe tonight...