Eilen

I had picked up some pita from my favorite middle eastern restaurant and I also made a sauce from yoghurt, cucumber, mint, garlic and lemon juice. No dill b/c I couldn't find any at the store. Also some lettuce leaves and extra cucumber slices. Oh, and feta, too, which is probably a no-no but we like it. So what is the traditional way to serve them? I mean, with what condiments? I don't think yoghurt sauce is, but I've never made anything else for them.

So I ended up using the epicurious recipe that lexy linked above, except I halved it to serve two people. I soaked the beans (in the fridge) for about 20 hours and ground them as finely as poss. in my f.p. I only used a little onion, garlic, parsley and cilantro, about 1/4 of what the original recipe called for, and left the spice amount virtually the same, mainly b/c I love cumin. I let them dry for most of the afternoon, then formed them into patties right before frying in grapeseed oil. These felafel were certainly better than my previous (kind-of pathetic) attempts. They fried up crisp on the outside and were nice and moist with plenty of cumin flavor on the inside. I don't have a camera else I would have taken pictures; they looked so nice and were not greasy at all. I was happy with this method, but they certainly don't beat the best restaurant felafel I've had. Still, it's an improvement on what I had been doing. These'll do nicely when I get the craving again.

If you're in the market for moderately priced and easily accessible from downtown, I'd strongly suggest a dinner at Whiskey Soda Lounge--here's a link to a review since their website is not that great. Definitely order a tamarind whiskey sour and don't miss the yam samun phrai. It's a hot spot and not that big, so plan to wait a while. Also have a look around the website I've linked. Under the review for clarklewis there's a blurb about the chef leaving and an updated review planned for Feb/March.

This is exciting--I love making felafel but I've yet to find a recipe that works for me. My patties are always sticky and they very nearly fall apart on me. The flavor is great, I've got the seasonings exactly how I want them, but I'd like to work on getting a nice crisp exterior. Pam, I have been using canned chickpeas and maybe this is my problem. I'll have to get dried beans and try it as Pontormo suggests. Does anyone use a mix of beans, or just the chickpeas?

This article from Sunset magazine could be of help to you. Also, check out the website for 26 brix, a restaurant in Walla Walla that consistently receives good reviews.

I was going to recommend Trader Joe's also; the panko is just like the imported boxes available, only much less expensive.

I love these Rubbermaid containers; they're fairly cheap, and the lids are interchangeable with the different sizes. Plus, they actually do resist staining! I've had them for over a year now and they're still free of any leaks or nasty tomato-based stains. I can't speak for their dishwasherability, though; I like to handwash pretty much everything because the dishwasher seems to cut the life of all kitchenware in half.

Yes! Sorry it took me so long. 5 cups huckleberries 1 1/2 tbs. lemon juice 1 box fruit pectin 1/2 tsp. cinnamon 1/2 tsp. ginger 1/4 tsp. nutmeg 4 cups sugar Mash the huckleberries and process on low speed until they're nicely crushed. Transfer to your pot, stir in lemon juice, pectin and spices. Bring to roiling boil, stirring. Add sugar and bring to rolling boil again, stirring, for one minute. Remove from heat, skim off foam, process as you like.

Just thought I'd report that the huckleberry jam was a success--the second time around! The first batch I tried I didn't follow directions and ended up with a gloppy, gluey mess, but I did only waste two cups of berries. Second time, armed with a real life huckleberry jam recipe from my mother (should've asked her to begin with), I was rewarded with six little jars of spiced jam to hand out to relatives yesterday. I did keep one for my household, though, and I've got plenty more berries for another batch!

Lori, I seem to remember Chufi enjoying the recipe for end of season green beans, though it may be a bit too end of season now! I really like the braised chicken breasts with hard cider and parsnips, though I cut the cider with chicken stock and use a bit less rosemary. There's a picture of it on this page--it's really good! I also made the stuffed cornish game hens; I love game hens, though, so I might be a bit too partial to recipes containing them. Hope you enjoy your new book!

Well, in any case, I'll give it a go in the next couple of weeks if time allows. I did buy Mes Confitures the other day--wrong season, I know, but like I said, my four pounds of frozen berries got me thinking about preserves. And yes, huckleberries are much more tart than commercial blueberries, I like the tartness and I'm just worried that all that sugar will mask it. I'll mess around with the proportions. Thanks again.

Yep, there's also lemon juice. I suppose I'll try the first batch with the amount of sugar called for and see how it goes. So would I let the berries thaw and then proceed or just start while they're frozen? BTW, how would one make pectin? I am feeling adventurous! Thanks for the advice.

Has anyone ever made huckleberry jam? My mother gave me 4 pounds of frozen huckleberries and I thought I would try jam. Can you even make jam from frozen berries? The only recipe that I thought might work is one for blueberry jam that calls for seven cups of sugar per four and a half cups of berries. That seems like way too much! I've never even made jam before, so if those of you more experienced think it might be to difficult to do, please let me know!

I didn't necessarily intend to play, though I have been reading this thread and enjoying the random cookbook titles and inspiration. But the other morning before work I was browsing through my meager cookbook collection and grabbed Nigel Slater's Appetite, which, though I've read cover to cover, I've not yet used. Randomly opening the book took me to the pasta section, and a recipe for creamy orrechiete (sp?). I scanned the ingredients--so simple--just roasted garlic, thyme, cream, and pasta. I even had everything on hand, though my pasta was a differet shape. The nice thing was that I was able to roast the garlic while I was getting ready for work, throw it in the fridge and basically put everything together when I got home that night in the time it took to cook the pasta. So all said, not a spectacular meal, but once I realized I followed the rules of cookbook roulette, I had to share!

Here's a question: if you have purchased creme fraiche can you make more from it? Using any of these methods?

Abra, to be honest, I've only just recently discovered them, and when I cooked them, I ended up eating about a 1/4 just standing over the pot on the stove! I cooked the rest of them, loosely following this method, adding way more cumin and lime, cooking them longer, and leaving them quite chunky. They went into tortillas with a bit of cotijo, and a lot more cilantro!

Abra, those are just beautiful; I also found a new appreciation for beans because of Rancho Gordo. My favorite so far is Red Nightfall, which I use to make refried beans, oh yum. Deborah Madison has a recipe in her Veg. Cooking For Everyone book for a flageolet bean and leek soup. It's delicious. I have a whole pound of flageolets and I'm waiting for some new tender leeks to make it again. Beans are great in cold/room temperature salads, I love them with a tangy, garlicky vinaigrette, mixed with various veggies. This is generally my summertime weekly lunch. I do think of all, though, chickpeas are my absolute favorite. In salads, soups, hummus, side dish, I would rather have those golden orbs more than any other bean.

I also read the CI article on pre-salting and decided that's how I would do my (first!) Thanksgiving turkey. I was wondering, though, if I could also rub it with spices/herbs when I salted it--as in a dry rub, I guess. Would this make a bit of difference in taste? Thanks.

Glad you enjoyed it! Eilen

On Thursday, I decided to make the Chicken Breasts braised with Hard Cider and Parsnips--it turned out wonderful! I didn't change much of the original recipe; just dropped the hard cider to 1 1/2 cups and substituted a cup of light chicken stock for a bit more balance--I felt all cider would have been a bit too sweet. It felt like a very autumnal dish with the cider and the sweet parsnips and a bit of bacon to even out the sweetness. I really recommend this dish. Tomorrow night, it's Molly's braised game hens with sage stuffing! Can you tell I'm pleased to finally have this book?

I decided last week to do the short ribs with wine and porcini. I'm thinking now that I should have read through this thread before starting. The result was good, but not great for the amount of work/time put into the recipe. I did change a few things, I put crumpled parchment inside the pot directly over the meat, tied the ribs in case they fell apart, and started about fifteen degrees lower than called for. I had a heck of a time keeping the simmering constant. Sometimes the liquid wouldn't be moving at all, so I turned the heat up only to check twenty minutes later and it was simmering too quickly. Oh, and I soaked the porcini for a few hours instead of the half hour called for, which may have been a mistake as the flavor overpowered anything else. I think next time, I'll just use Marlene's recipe, which I've done a few times and has been so far my favorite. Would anyone say the chicken and pork dishes are better, in general, than the beef braises?

I posted this on another website; I used to live in Spokane and have family who still do. If you have questions about anything or are looking for a particular type of cuisine, please let me know. Breakfast: The Davenport Hotel, 10 S. Post, 509.789.6848~~Excellent Sunday brunch menu for a fair price ($29.50) in a beautiful setting. The Davenport was recently remodelled and it’s worth it just to stroll in for a look around. Reservations recommended. Frank’s Diner: greasy spoon-type fare in a cute cable car. Spokane’s favorite for breakfast, so be prepared to wait. Rockwood Bakery and Espresso, 315 E. 18th Ave., 509.747.8691~~Your best bet for coffee and a pastry in Spokane—skip Rocket Bakery’s 59 locations and find your way here. My favorite is the cream cheese danish. Lunch Casual: Huckleberry’s, 926 S. Monroe, 509.624.1349~~Spokane’s very own New Seasons, a good source of items for an impromptu picnic, or stick around and eat in the Bistro. Six kinds of daily soup, tons of interesting salads (try the curried red lentil salad), and sandwiches and more made to order. The Picnic Company, 9326 N. Division, 509.467.0123 ~~Some of the best sandwiches in Spokane are here, my favorite is the Michigan Picnic—hot turkey, melted dofino cheese, mushrooms, melted cheddar cheese, red onion, mayonnaise and hot honey mustard on a toasted roll. You can also rent baskets and order ahead for a nice picnic. Excellent, friendly service in a somewhat cheesy environment. Dinner Europa Pizzaria and Bakery, 125 S. Wall St., 509.455.4051~~An interesting cross between American and Italian food, try any of the rotolos, calzone-like but lighter. If you’re a pizza snob, well, don’t eat any while in Spokane. Save room for dessert, they make their own. Fugazzi, 1 N. Post St., 509.624.1133~~The best place to eat fish in Spokane, my favorites are the rock crab springrolls and tortilla-crusted halibut. They used to operate a bakery and I believe they still make bread for the restaurant. Skip dessert. Mizuna, 214 N. Howard, 509.747.2004~~Used to be all vegetarian, they introduced meat and fish because of consumer demand. Still, they have the most delicate and thoughtfully prepared menu in Spokane, in my opinion. Skip the animal protein and enjoy what they do best. Best, Eilen

I learned to pre-cook roast potatoes from a British friend. One of the important steps that I don't think has been mentioned is after draining the water off the potatoes, return them to the hot pan and shake them around a bit to rough up the outside. I think the idea is that some of the excess water evaporates off, leaving more of those heavenly crispy bits.

Thank you Susan, I shall do just that. I actually did start off at 300F, then turned my oven down to 275F for the last couple of hours. The meat turned out great--I used a chuck roast--the liquid was a bit too salty but that was my fault.

I just got this book for my birthday and decided to start off simple with the Yankee Pot Roast Redux. It's still in the oven but it smells great and the little piece of meat I couldn't resist tearing off was delicious. I've always used the Cook's Illustrated method for pot roast but not anymore! Excellent time of year to acquire this kind of cookbook...