Lisa Shock

I agree wholeheartedly! Tarragon is the 'secret' ingredient in my cream of broccoli soup. And, it's an wonderful pairing in many other dishes.

I would be very interested in a recipe for broccoli giardiniera. My mom gave me a good one in the 80's. I have lost it, and she doesn't remember the incident at all so we have no idea where it came from. It was a mix of vegetables, but designed to be eaten right away, so it had some vegetables in it that wouldn't hold up to the canning process. (I think that many recipes out there are for a home-canned finished product.) I am also in the middle of preparing to move, and have limited access to a home kitchen. I will get back to this in a few weeks when I have my own place. I do recall steaming vegetables in my bamboo steamer over a pot of boiling, salty, vinegar based liquid, cooling and then combining them. Anyway, I have been wanting to perfect a recipe for giardiniera it's at the top of my 'test kitchen' list of projects because it's just such a good counterpoint to tomato sauced items -like as a nibble with an eggplant parm sandwich. So, I'll post in a few weeks.

giardiniera alfredo sauce jullienned to replace cabbage in mu shu jullienned to replace cabbage in egg rolls pulao fried rice enchiladas with green chile sauce finely chopped and added raw to a ricotta layer in lasagna soup: cream of, or added towards the end of cooking to noodle types in a salad after lightly steaming and cooling

I prefer freezer on the bottom models, but, only if they have regular shelves -not one big basket. I open the refrigerator portion far more often than the freezer and think that it's silly to be bending over all the time to look at my produce drawers. That said, I dream of one day having a dedicated unit for each. And, I really like some of the commercial units that can be hung like horizontal cabinets on the wall, so that everything is at a height you choose.

So, is this as simple as heating some olive oil in a pan with some garlic? Pretty much, yeah. And salt obviously. And many people also like to add black pepper and sometimes crushed red pepper flakes. But all pantry staples. I like to make a quick sauce from olive oil, garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, oregano, olives (kalamata or black) and crumbled feta cheese added right before serving. Occasionally, I will make some beurre noisette then lower the heat and toss in some mushrooms and a tiny dash of nutmeg and lightly cook the mushrooms. Another non-traditional sauce I like is brussels sprouts (halved or quartered) sauteed in butter until lightly brown and tender with diced red onion added towards the end so it just sweats a bit and then a big dollop of sour cream tossed into the pan and the heat turned off so the sour cream doesn't break. Hope this helps!

Can you place cold gel packs on the top/side of the containers that might get exposed to air when the freezer is opened? Or even bags of frozen vegetables as an insulator? If you limit the air exposure, I think you will be able to do more earlier.

I rarely use them together. -Except possibly in separate layers of a casserole type dish like a pizza rustica. I tend to think of romano as salty and parmesean as sweet/umami, even though I know that both are actually salty cheeses. So, I tend to choose between them by thinking about the dish and what would best enhance it; does it need the bite of a salty topping or a slightly sweet umami velvety-ness. Also, many times a dish that does well with romano will also do well with a salty feta instead, although I am well aware that this is a bit of unorthodox cross-culturalism.

This might make an interesting ingredient in bread, as long as you don't use so much that the structural integrity of the gluten is affected. I'd take a basic bread formula, one that just uses water, yeast, salt and bread four and replace about 10% of the flour with the peanut flour.

I have taken these tests several times and wind up either as INTJ or ENTJ with my score very close to being a statistical dead heat in terms of the I/E. I do tend to be very detail-oriented, and like to focus on perfecting things. But, hey, I'm in pastry....

I am at a great disadvantage in that all of my books are packed in anticipation of a move. But, IIRC, Ateco Simplified Cake Decorating has images of lines and simple figures (shells, rosettes, lettering) piped onto a board each one corresponding to an Ateco tip number. Amazon has this book listed several times, it went through many editions. I own two copies, each a different edition and my recollection is that there were very minor changes, so I'd get whatever is cheapest. Even though most copies are pretty old, the binding and paper used was very substantial and my copies are in great shape.

That's my go-to book on pasta.

As someone who owns hundreds of cookbooks, I can see how this will be very useful. Occasionally, I will know that I have a recipe for something, but just cannot recall where.

You could try making your own. That way, you'd only be limited by how large of a container you're willing to invest in to produce it. Check out this eG thread for more info.

Might make a good macaroon....

I can get them at the local Mexican food market, in season. The top looks like a green onion, but the bulb is much more developed, maybe up to 2" in diameter. They have a stronger flavor than green onion, yet retain the fresh 'green' character so they are different from completely mature storage onions.

I have seen the UK show on BBC America, it's much better.

Fresh, green garbanzo beans at the mexican market and the pink baby ginger when it's in season at the pan-asian mega-mart.

Some of the answer depends on the potato variety. Waxy types will work better than mealy types. The reheat will have to involve high temperatures and low moisture, such as a quick saute. They lose the crispness when refrigerated, so just warming on a steam table won't re-crisp them. The only potatoes that remain crisp when cold are those that have no moisture left in them, in other words, potato chips.

How's the flour tortilla situation? If you cannot find those, they are easier to make than the corn ones and they use more common ingredients.

I'd like to point out that the large volume of oil required to use a commercial fryer also means that it isn't economical for most home cooks. Even in a commercial kitchen, proper care of the oil is essential for ensuring a profit. That said, my tempura parties would be a lot more fun (and I could invite more people) if the food were made in larger batches. I'd also be more likely to make potato chips from scratch, something I generally only do once every few years because it's too easy to eat them all up as you fry them in a home-sized pot.

I like to have a variety of them on hand for different applications. Probably my most infamous use, among friends, is as an addition to the water when boiling large dice potatoes for potato salad. It helps keep the shape very crisp and clean so my potato salad is very precise looking. I also use it as an additive to the water when boiling other non-green vegetables, like tournèd carrots, or diced turnips. I also use it as a flavor balancing agent in certain sauces like glazes, and dips. I can second the use in salsa. I learned to make salsa back in the 70's when lemons/limes were still seasonal fruits in supermarkets, and often very dear in price. Certain regional salsas do not use citrus fruits at all, since they were not traditionally available there. I also like to experiment with it in salad dressings which may seem obvious, but, changing the type of vinegar can make a huge difference!

Thanks! I liked James and Alasdair, and thought they had some really strong potential. I'll keep an eye out for the show. And, with regards to the Cheerful Soul, I am glad that some good has come from the show. I know that Russell and Michelle had a lot of hard work ahead of them, but, it's good to see that they've been able to stick with it and that the public has taken to their concept. I really thought that the how had a lot of potential, I always wished that it would cover events a bit deeply and that the contestants would be chosen a bit better. So, maybe one day we'll see a revival of sorts.

It was on BBC America. I have not seen it anyplace else.

You don't say what sort of venue is involved. Most places require that a health department certified facility provide any foods. If it's at a private residence, it doesn't matter, but food safety will matter. You will need containers to store food as it's made, to transport the food, and to keep it safe and palatable onsite. Then, there are the myriad of tiny details such as serving platters, tables, tableclothes, napkins, condiment containers, coffee urns, etc. Utensils will still be needed for coffee, iced tea, etc. There will also need to be people freshening the food displays and keeping up with any discarded items or accidents that wind up placed on the buffet tables. And, there is the whole issue of layout planning, in addition to menu planning. It's a ton of work, I say attend and enjoy the wedding. You don't need to spend 80+ hours working it.

Yep, looks like there won't be any more seasons of The Restaurant, known as Last Restaurant Standing in the US. I personally enjoyed the first two seasons, but found the third to be weak and very flawed. I look forward to more shows with Chefs Blanc, Willingham and Moore. Perhaps this time with fewer constraints from producers.