kkeym

thanks for the suggestions -- it just came in now and I'm still pondering. I'm going to prep it all now and then decide what to do. Got lungs, kidneys, liver, stomach, heart, and intestines. Looking forward to this...

Tomorrow a friend is butchering a lamb and giving me most of it, including heart, liver, and stomach. I enjoy eating these kinds of things, but have never cooked them. Would love some ideas on what to do with them. Any thoughts? thanks!

In November or December, Champe Speidel of Persimmon in Bristol opened Persimmon Provisions in Barrington -- great meats, cheeses, etc. It's a small market but the quality is exceptional and the people there are incredibly knowledgeable and don't mind spending some time talking aobut preparation etc. Well worth a visit.

I try to keep my cookbooks clean, but something usually gets splattered in there. I don't mind when it happens, and like others, when I've been away from one of those books for a while it reminds me of what I liked in it. I have hundreds of cookbooks and these days I rarely use one except, as others have said, for inspiration. When I do use a cookbook I tend to make notes since I almost never follow a recipe verbatim - so I make a note of what I did so that the next time, I can do something else different. When I was learning to cook I used cookbooks all the time and made notes -- asterisks for the good stuff, crossing out the bad stuff. Some of my cookbooks I have never, ever used. I sometimes like to go back to the old ones and happen upon my notes from the early days. I find that the notes in the books are the things that help make the books really useful. Other books I keep pristine, and I do have a few cookbooks that aren't really for cooking but for kitsch value, but treating a cookbook as a museum object just doesn't work for me.

we had the large prix-fixe at l'Atelier in October, were very pleased. They also added an anniversary dessert for us -- nice touch. I would highly recommend it.

My goal isn't a particular ingredient -- I'm planning to spend time at the area's ethnic markets finding new things and trying them out. Don't know what I'll find yet, but looking forward to getting into it.

Fun topic! I don't have a lot of recipes I've been meaning to try, but I do want to do these: 1. work my way through Ciril Hitz's Baking Artisan Bread -- there's a lot I can learn in there, 2. finding something to make using the chinois I got last year -- I've wanted one forever, finally got one, and haven't broken it in yet! Those are the only things in the front of my mind...

Not quite Providence, but in Rhode Island... Le Central in Bristol is doing what they call "stimulus dinners" for 3 Wednesdays in September -- went tonight and had a very good dinner. The deal is a set menu of 3 courses with 2 wine pairings, different each week for $20.09 per person. Tonight started with heirloom tomato salald with Hannahbell cheese toasts, delicisious with a nice spicy arugula, paired with a 2008 domaine houchart rose. Next course was duck and portobello shepherd's pie -- wonderful and just right for the chill in the air. Paired with 2008 maipe malbec that was so good we ordered another bottle for our table of 6. Third course was caramel pineapple crepes -- very good if a little sweet for my tastes. Well cooked, lovely presentation. If anyone is interested, they're doing it for the next 2 wednesdays (sadly, I can't make either one).

Dante, if it's not too late, I would recommend Spark on Broadway -- innovative menu, great food, great atmosphere. It's a BYOB place, tiny, very friendly.

Looks fantastic, I'm disappointed I couldn't make it this time -- hope to make the next one! Kkeym

I agree the bios are incredibly hokey, especially given the caliber of the show (i.e. real chefs, not Hell's Kitchen) But I must admit, I am intrigued to see the guy who is William Shatner's personal chef. Kkeym

Castle Hill Inn does a nice brunch and has a beautiful setting. Good choice. Clarke Cooke House is a very nice restaurant. Some local standby foods, some innovations. Plentiful servings, well presented, very good desserts. It's been a few months since I've eaten there so I can't be more specific, sorry! Kkeym

I'm in the market for a CSA farm share. It seems to be a good idea for my family (2 adults, 2 small children), but I don't know what to expect in terms of what the farms provide, how frequently, how much it costs, and how to get in on it. Figured someone here must have information on this -- I'm in Barrington, RI, and am willing to travel a bit to get my share, but traveling too far seems to defeat the purpose a little, right? Thanks for any information/thoughs on this! Kkeym

Actually, Berenbaum wasn't stealing a title, but rather riffing on her own Cake Bible (1988). But I agree with the overuse of Bible in cookbooks...

Thanks all We ended up having most of our meals in, but did go to 2 places -- Causeway Diner (on the recommendation of a local) -- had calamari, very fresh, light batter, lots of legs, just the way I like 'em; mussels, tasty but a bit sandy; eggplant parmesan, which was good but not outstanding, huge portion; and linguini with white clam sauce, fresh, large pieces of clam, a little rubbery but tasty. We also went to the Franklin, went to the bar upstairs, which was comfortable and had a good selection. We had appetizers there -- braised short ribs, which were very good, and duck quesadilla, which was outstanding. We also discovered New Orleans Absolut vodka when we were there, hadn't seen that before. mango and black pepper flavored. very nice. thanks for your suggestions Kkeym