David Ross

I would agree that the French Laundry Cookbook is probably one of my favorite books to look at, yet least favorite to cook from. The photographs are gorgeous and the recipes intriguing, yet I doubt I have the patience to 1) procure the exact products needed, 2) buy any equipment needed for a dish that I don't already own, 3) care to go to the depths and lengths it would take to plate and garnish the dishes.

Just because the Holidays are over doesn’t mean that I put away my Holiday Recipe Box. The 2011 Holidays will creep up on us sooner than we realize, so it’s never too late, (or too early), to begin preparing a few things now. Mincemeat and Fruitcake are two Holiday sweets that can, (and really should), be prepared at least a year in advance. Time is in your favor when it comes to mincemeat and fruitcake because it allows the fruits to steep in brandy or other liquors while at the same time mingling the flavors in the mixture. Unfortunately, “traditional” mincemeat is a rare-find on market shelves these days. While many of the commercial mincemeats are quite good, (boozy, fruity and spicy), they fail to include the single most important ingredient to the traditional dish-meat. Forsaking a store-bought jar of mincemeat for our Holiday Pies in 2011, this month I made a batch of traditional mincemeat using venison that I sourced from D’Artagnan. My Grandmother Ross always used venison when she canned mincemeat, yet other wild game like elk or wild boar would also be good in a traditional mincemeat. Many local markets still have candied fruits on the shelves in the baking aisle in January to sell off any stock left over from the Holidays. And I’m lucky that one of the local supermarkets always has frozen beef suet available. Suet lends flavor and moisture to the mincemeat and without it, it just doesn’t taste as good. Traditional Mincemeat- 4cups ground venison 6 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and diced 1 cup ground beef suet 1 cup dark raisins ½ cup currants 4 cups sugar 1 cup dark molasses ½ cup apple cider vinegar ¼lb. citron, chopped ¼lb. candied pineapple, chopped 1 lemon, juice and zest 1 orange, juice and zest 1 tsp. crush juniper berries 1 tsp. cinnamon 1 tsp. nutmeg 1 tsp. ground cloves 1 tsp. ground ginger 1 tsp. ground allspice 1 tsp. salt 1 cup brandy Saute the venison in a skillet until browned, then drain off liquid. Place the venison, apples, suet, raisins and currants in a food processor and pulse until the mixture is combined. Spoon the mixture in a large bowl and add all the remaining ingredients and mix to combine. At this point, I put the prepared mincemeat in a Tupperware container and place it in the freezer. Yet I couldn’t resist temptation and had to use some of the mincemeat to make a “Post-Holiday” pie. What meat(s) do you put in your traditional mincemeat?

Bradley Ogden is rarely at Caesar's anymore and his son, Bryan, left the kitchens a few years ago. A few months back, the General Manager left to take a position within the Food and Beverage Department at Caesar's. It's just a shell of its former self and I've avoided dining there in recent years. Rumors have flown for some time that the space will soon shutter and be reincarnated as something else. If you are interested in the same style of "New American" cuisine that Ogden puts on the menu, I'd recommend Sage at Aria and Chef Sean Armstrong. See my review of Sage here. For Italian, you may want to try Valentino at The Venetian.

I will most likely be heading back West on Sunday.

I've already got it on my calendar and in the roster of vacation requests from work to join you all in Cleveland.

I've asked my Doctor in the past about the effects of grapefruit on one who takes Lipitor. He wasn't at all concerned, probably because I rarely drink much grapefruit juice and I usually only eat one grapefruit a week and that's only this time of year when it's in season.

Last week we heard the shocking news that the Wynn was closing its flagship restaurant Alex with nary a whit of advance notice. You can read a bit of that discusssion here. The restaurant will shutter after dinner service on January 15 and be turned into a special events banqueting hall. There has been barely a whisper from the heads at Wynn about the closing of Alex other than to quietly say that Chef Alex Stratta will stay on at his causal Italian eatery "Stratta." (And if you believe that I have a pink cow on Las Vegas Boulevard to sell you). Now today comes more devastating news for both food aficianados and the general public. Executive Pastry Chef Frederic Robert crafted his last breads and desserts at Wynn last Friday. No advance notice, no thank you for the sweet memories. Nada. Daniel Boulud left Wynn in 2010 and the space is now another high-end, (price), low-end (personality) joint serving "American Cuisine." We're left to wonder what the future holds for the remaining Chefs and restaurants at Wynn and Encore. Will Paul Bartolotta stay? Will the property be reduced to a stable of 10 steakhouses?

I so long for a fresh fish market like the one you have down there.

I’ve been looking for years to find a low-end blender that would crush ice into tiny little shards so I could make myself an Old-Fashioned Icee like they sell at convenience stores. I never had much luck at finding the right blender, I think partly because I didn’t want to shell out big bucks for the professional types of blenders we’ve discussed here and partly because I was too lazy to research what types of blenders did the best job for mincing ice. Last week when I was cleaning out some old recipe files I came upon a copycat recipe for the “7-Eleven Cherry Slurpee” that I’d been holding onto for nearly four years. I set out on mission to find a shave-ice machine that I thought I could find on some post-holiday special. I found the “Ninja” Master Prep blender by Euro-Pro at my local Shopko. I’m not sure if you have Shopko stores in your neck of the woods, but they are basically a low-end Target store. The promotional material on the “Ninja” Master Prep proclaims that you can “transform ice cubes into perfect, creamy frozen drinks and desserts in the blink of an eye. Make perfectly chopped salads, salsas and dips quickly without fear of uneven chunks or worse—turning the whole thing to mush. The powerful, interchangeable Master Pod easily switches from the Mini Master Prep (ideal for chopping) to the Master Prep Pitcher (perfect for frozen drinks and smoothies).” So far I’ve only made the 7-Eleven Cherry Slurpee and it was fantastic—icy cold and with a sweet cherry flavor. It wasn’t “artisanal” in flavor or anywhere near a cherry slurpee made with anything close to the juice of real cherries, but the texture was just as I remember from the Slurpee’s of days gone by. (And the flavor was darn good too). Next week I’ll provide some photos of the Cherry Slurpee, but in the meantime,here are the workings of the “Ninja”- The blades differ from most blenders I’ve seen in that there are two-tiers of blades-two at the bottom and two blades a few inches above. Rather than the ice all catching down in the bottom of the blender glass, the two-tier blades keep the ice swirling during chopping. You just push the top of the “Ninja” to pulse the blades and the ice is chopped and minced very quickly. The “Ninja” is currently for sale at Amazon for $39.99 plus shipping. I bought mine at the local Shopko for $34.99. I haven’t tried the smaller canister that is used for chopping and processing vegetables. I’m of the mind that the blades rush so fast that they would turn a chopped salad into a puree of salad ingredients and I fear that the plastic parts may not last for the long haul. One has to be very, very careful when handling the blades. As they say on “TV,” the blades of the “Ninja” can cut through newspaper and cans like a razor blade. Anyone else had any experiences with this whirling dervish?

Frangelico is always my favorite liquer for ending a great meal.

Tonight, another batch of dinner rolls using the Pillsbury Hot Roll Mix. The only thing I did different from the instructions on the box was to let the rolls rise for 40 minutes as opposed to the 20-30 minute instruction on the box. And I brushed the rolls with melted butter and sprinkled some coarse sea salt on top. As always, delicious. Shapped into balls- After rising and ready for the oven- Out of the oven- The Dinner Roll-

Tonight, Celery Gratin. I started with the same basic white sauce that I used for the Dungeness Crab Gratin but omitted the Worcestershire sauce. Instead of Swiss cheese, tonight I used Parmesan. I cut the celery in 2" chunks and turned it into the sauce raw. I didn't want to blanch the celery first because I wanted it to remain crispy in the finished baked gratin. I also used the celery tops and leaves and chopped them up to go in the gratin. Those are fresh breadcrumbs on top. They are so simple to make, just plain white sandwich bread pulsed in the food processer with some melted butter. Baked the gratin for about 30 minutes until bubbly then passed under the broiler for another 2-3 minutes to brown the top. And I agree, cooked celery is so wonderful in flavor and texture I wish we all ate it more.

I've got to go buy more white grapefruit today. Our local markets usually have white and two varieties of pink grapefruit. Cut into supremes the white grapefruit is a delicious, tangy/sweet garnish for seared sea scallops. I was doing some different things with sea scallops recently and I was looking for something that would counter the very rich, buttery taste of the scallops. I tried cutting the scallops into thin slices and serving them raw as a Crudo served with grapefruit slices. The raw scallops were too timid for the grapefruit, but when I seared them in a hot pan with butter, it tightened up the texture and rich flavor of the scallops and they worked beautifully with the grapefruit. The only garnish was a drizzle of olive oil and lemon juice. I usually don't pair seafood with fruit but this was delicious.

Every December when the crabbing season opens in the Pacific Northwest I make a Dungeness Crab Gratin. My fishmonger procures deep-ocean crabs which are larger than crabs taken out of bays. The meat of the deep-ocean crab is more firm and the claw meat is about 1/3 larger than the claws from the bay crabs. I start with a simple white sauce of butter and flour, then add cream or milk to thicken. For this dish I used Emmenthaler Swiss cheese and seasoned the sauce with salt, cayenne, white pepper and maybe a dash of Worcestershire sauce. Sometimes I'll add some slivered, toasted almonds and some chives. I layered the gratin dish with cooked crab then spooned the sauce over the top. The sauce is so creamy I didn't need to add any cheese grated over the top of the dish and I like to keep it creamy without adding the texture of a top layer of breadcrumbs. Baked in a 400 oven about 15 minutes then under the broiler for about 2-3 minutes to brown the top. Served with buttered, toasted baguette slices. Tonight I'm making another gratin using a vegetable that most of us only eat raw-Celery Gratin.

So can we come to a consensus about place/dates? I vote for Cleveland the first week of August. Anybody else?

The last time I made Gougeres was in June when the last of the Copper River Salmon was running in Alaska. I did a take on the traditional salmon lox on a bagel with cream cheese. Aquavit Cured Copper River Salmon, Anchovy-Parmesan Gougeres, Dijon Mustard Cream-

One of the more painful aspects of the closing of Alex is the fact that the property has announced that the space will be used for "banquets and special events." How terribly sad. That wonderful grand staircase that descends into the Belle Epoque dining room. The gracious services, the cheese cart, the little bag of confections and cookies, all the details and personality of a great restaurant reduced to a banquet hall. It's almost like plucking the Queen Mary out of Atlantic service and parking it at a pier in Long Beach. A shell of her once regal standing.

I agree, a cool, or cold, or room temperature, Gougere is not very appetizing for my liking. It's one of those dishes that really should be served straight away out of the oven. One thing the recipe doesn't mention and something that I do is to brush the Gougere's with egg wash once they've been piped onto the baking sheet. It gives a golden shine to the baked Gougere and may help prevent any "deflating" since the egg wash seems to act like a protective shield. The moisture content of the cheese is an interesting point. I never considered that but I'm sure it can affect the dough and the rise. My favorite Gougere is made with bleu cheese and I haven't a clue as to the water content.

I was watching some old Mario Batali cooking shows and he regularly used red onions in dishes that I thought were exclusive to yellow onion territory. I've always kept a distinction between red onions and yellow onions, never considering substituting one for the other. Reds are good pickled and raw in salads, but that's about all I've ever done with them. Yellows are the old standby, the standard for any mirepoix, sliced, chopped or minced as a garnish on a hamburger bun, fried rings and baked in cream sauce. I've always seen yellow onions as the most versatile onion. Now I realize there are a number of different types of yellow onions, some spicy and some sweet like our local Walla Walla Sweets. But I've never taken much time to explore the different types of red onions, (if there are different types). Do you substitute, interchange red onions when a dish calls for yellow? Do you use the red onion because it's more spicy, more peppery in flavor?

I rarely if ever get upset when restaurants in Las Vegas close, even good joints that I really enjoyed. It's all a part of the gig of playing in Vegas. But...I was shocked and saddened when I heard from a friend in Las Vegas today that Alex is closing. That is a huge loss for the Wynn property and for the Las Vegas dining scene. It was the flagship restaurant of the Wynn empire. One can only hope that we will see the space with the grand staircase re-incarnated into something just as delicious as Alex--and we'll see Chef Alex Stratta continue to ply his craft in Las Vegas.

Shelby those wonderful green gooseberries you have would be delicious in a fruit compote to serve with any of your game meats. A fruit compote is basically a warm, thick, fruit sauce. We get fresh green and pink gooseberries up in the Northwest. They are very tangy and tart, so find a compote recipe, say blueberry, and add more sugar to your taste. And one trick I use, if your gooseberries still have the little brown stem attached cook them down first then strain to press out the solids and stems.

I've never been able to do a very good job at making dinner rolls. In fact, I've never really done a very good job at making a basic loaf of white bread. I think to really master the art of bread making you have to have a pretty good knowledge of the types of flours used for different breads and an understanding of the rising process along with an old fashioned measure of hands-on experience. (All traits that I sorely lack). Yet last summer I came upon a little box of Pillsbury Hot Roll Mix that has solved my problem. It comes in a box, costs under $3 bucks and will make 8 of the most beautifully golden brown domes of pillowy dinner rolls you've ever eaten. (At least that's what I think). Now I'm sure some of our artisanal bread bakers will turn away at the thought that I use a boxed hot roll mix, but it's incredibly convenient and quick. You simply combine the flour mix with the packet of yeast, 1 egg, 2 tbsp. of soft butter and 1 cup of hot water. Mix to incorporate the dough then let it rest for 5 minutes. Shape into little balls, place in a greased pan, (I use a Le Creuset casserole dish), cover and let rise just 30 minutes. The rolls will rise quickly and nudge up against one another. I brush the rolls with melted butter and sprinkle some coarse sea salt over the top and in the oven they go for no more than 20 minutes. The result? Steaming, yeasty rolls like the ones the cooks made by "Mrs. Fox," in the kitchen of Hayesville Elementary School, Salem, Oregon, ca. 1964. Now I don't have a photo of the latest batch of rolls I made with the Pillsbury mix. They barely made it to the Holiday table with the Prime Rib. We ate them straight away with salted butter and clover honey. Owing to a piece in Saveur magazine, there is some buzz in food circles about the little Parker House rolls that Tom Collichio serves at some of his restaurants. Yes, they are good. I've eaten many of the little rolls served in a hot iron skillet at Craftsteak in Las Vegas. Even though they are made by professional bakers with a touch of "barley malt syrup," I still don't think they are as good as the Pillsbury Hot Dinner Rolls I make out of that little box. (And the mix is darn good for cinnamon rolls, crescent rolls and Hot Cross buns). Would you, could you, or do you, use a hot roll mix out of a box?

This is going to be a wonderful foodblog. You've brought back some cherished memories of the times I spent on my Grandparents farm in Prineville, Oregon, when I was a boy. Three things I'm liking right now; your pie safe holding cookbooks, the view from your porch and the thought of sipping wine while looking at the fields, and that canned bacon from the Vermont Country Store. Is it really strips of bacon in a can?

I think I could eat dozens of those beauties--and many glasses of champagne. Delicious!

I love any type of "Au Gratin" dish-seafood, potatoes, vegetables. Last night I did a dinner celebrating fresh Pacific Northwest seafood with oysters, sea scallops and Dungeness crab. The Dungeness Crab season off the coast of Oregon and Washington started the first week of December. It's been a good season so far with high yields of crab and the weather has been agreeable for the fisherman. I buy my Dungeness from a fishmonger who only sources deep-ocean crabs, (rather than crabs out of more shallow bay waters). The water in the deep-ocean is colder, resulting in crabs that are larger with more firm meat than their little bay cousins. I started with a basic white bechamel sauce of butter, flour (Wondra), milk and cream. Seasoning for the sauce was nutmeg, cayenne, Old Bay and a few dashes of Worcestershire. The nutmeg adds a sweet hint of spice, the cayenne heat, the Worcestershire a tangy note and Old Bay accents the seafood flavor. For this gratin I added Swiss cheese, (sometimes I'll use English Cheddar). The gratin was baked in a 450 oven for about 15 minutes then run under the broiler for 3-4 minutes. Served on top of buttered baguette slices-