zoe b

Jaymes, I hope I didn't offend by teasing you a little--because the thought of you subbing water for cream in eggs is terrifying me-- water in scrambled eggs is nasty--as you well know--so you must be givin it back to me!!!! Z

well, ok, yeah, there are plenty of goofy recipes out there for leftovers--but i have to disagree with her premise that leftovers are the invention of food writers--somehow i thought they were what was left over after the meal--and I always think they are like money in the bank--you don't have to create a whole meal for dinner if you don't have time. We actually made thanksgiving dinner on Saturday because we go to a cousin's on Thursday and it's great but no leftovers. And we had Thanksgiving redux last night--and could possibly have it again tonight--I'm fine with that! Next a turkey soup--which I like a lot--it's wonderful with wild rice. And i love turkey pot pie, enchiladas--I've even used it in a Chinese stir fry recipe--just add it last after you thicken the sauce and heat it up--it's more than passable.

I think lilija &slkinsey's variations sound delicious--I will try them out..... this time next year..... and I'm laughing at David Ross's mom--she obviously has the inside info on the whole Pilgrim thing!

Jaymes , darlink, I have a question for you--do you have any recipes that are less than 1500 calories per serving? hehehe-- if you do, I've seen no sign of this!!! You are a true food hedonist! So the sausage ring--is it like a meatloaf in texture, or scrapple or what? crispy or meaty? I'm interested in this. I love the smoked oyster in scrambled eggs idea--I bet it is yummy...I will try this --it sounds very MFK Fisher to me for some reason--it should be eaten late at night in PJs with your lover while drinking champagne. but I'm afraid scrambled eggs won't stay nice over four hours--i do have warming trays, but still, i think the tops'll get crusty. zoe

I'm having my annual Not Holiday brunch on Sunday--people just drop in and visit--we have mimosas to drink. I have to keep it do ahead because once people start arriving I can't be cooking--so I just put out a buffet table. I'm serving a ham this year and I usually make overnight French toast-- I call it Cuban French toast because the recipe is from my friend Nieves, who's Cuban--but i don't know if it actually is Cuban--but i wanted to do something different. I found this recipe in Epicurious http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/238006 haven't really looked at it yet, but the flavor combo sounds good. Or I could possibly so some sort of strata--not the traditional one, but i've seen fancier recipes for this--or maybe a fritatta or two...or a grits casserole.... I'll make a fruit platter, have some cheeses and salamis, some muffins and tea breads--but if you have anything that you make that works for you, I'm all ears! Zoe

oh, i make them every year--I do the veggies for Thanksgiving and there'd be a rebellion if i didn't make them. Although I use bird's eye frozen pearl onions, cooked fast in lots of boiling water and drained and patted dry. and i do a bechamel, with nutmeg and sage and lots of pepper. maybe someday I'll do the fresh ones--I'm sure they are wonderful--I just quail at the thought of peeling them all--but i peel the brussels sprouts, so what's the difference, really? and if you have leftovers and are sick of eating them--puree them with some spinach--instant creamed spinach! and you can do shirred eggs on a bed of creamed spinach with cream on top----mmmmmm.

Nancy, maybe a few of your teflon pans could be reclaimed from the Pam Spraying Spouse!

hah! paulraphael, you beat me to it! my daughter just sent me the same news story! But Teddy, if you want to take a ride out to Hunterdon County, there are a zillion squirrels here--you can shoot your own--my husband used to have to shoot them for his father--he was first generation German American and he used to cook it Hassenpfeffer (sp?) style--which makes swense considering the rabbit/squirrel similarities. I'd be curious to try it--not done sweet and sour, but maybe a wine braise with olives and lots of garlic?

sus-- man-- a mofongo stuffed turkey--the thought of it is making me swoon! I love mofongo so much it's not funny! We went to Puerto Rico about 15 years ago and I think I had mofongo the first night and would have had it every single day after-- Puerto Rico is where I learned to love lard--every little place we went into had great music playing and giant tubs of lard in the cooler. I've ordered it here in the US, but it never tastes as good--I'm sure it's healthier, but not as delicious. As for the rock hardness of your turkey--I think a law was passed a few years ago that allowed meat processers to call meat fresh down to a really low temperature--what we would think of as frozen. Good luck with it all--and please report back on how everything turns out. Zoe

oh, someone will probably disagree, but a good quality frozen turkey is fine--if you roast it properly and keep it moist and make a delicious gravy it will be fabulous. (and there are many ways to do this--I just saw one that sounded sensible--to roast the turkey in a low sided pan rather than a roasting pan--the theory is that the high sides focus the heat on the breast where you don't want it and away from the legs and thighs) and it does sound as though it was injected with brine, so that's done for you --although I'm not a big fan of brining. And i somehow guess that a gang of grad students would adore it even if it doesn't come out perfect! I love the idea of a plantain stuffing--do you have a recipe? I couldn't do this for family, but would love to try it another time.... Zoe

ok, I did something rather risky--my theory being that it didn't sound like the Pam ruined the actual finish, rather it just formed a sticky layer on the surface. I soaked the inside of the pan for two days in my fav stain and baked on stuff remover--automatic dish detergent dissolved in hot water. Then I gave it a good scour with a plastic scrubber--then soaked it in soapy water for a day--thinking of dish powder residue. Then I baked a mix cake in it--I had an ancient box in the back of the pantry--from kid days--for cupcake emergencies. I just didn't feel like getting all upset when another recipe came out in chunks. The cake stunk, but it came out of the pan fine--I think it's ok now. whew!

Gingered Pear and Tomato Marmalade I have a bumper crop of pears this year from an old pear tree--they don't have a lot of taste so I needed to find a way to jazz them up. I also have tons of green tomatoes so I decided to try combining them. I used Anne Seranne's The Complete Book of Home Preserving for general guidelines--amounts, etc., and altered her recipes to suit what I had on hand. 2 lemons, thinly sliced 2 oz ginger, fine dice 2 lb sugar 2 lb green tomatoes, in large dice 2 lb pears, peeled, cored and in large dice Place tomatoes, pears and ginger in a kettle with the sugar and leave overnight. Add lemons, slowly bring to a boil and simmer uncovered until thick--about two hours. You can use the jelly test for this, but you'll know when it's thick enough. You might have to mash the fruit a bit to break it up. Place in jars, pour some paraffin on top, place lids and give as a gift or enjoy yourself. Keywords: Intermediate, Fruit, Condiment, American ( RG2046 )

just got a response from Nordicware-- A GOOD SCRUBBING WITH A PLASTIC SCRUBBER PAD SHOULD HELP--THEN USE CRISCO AND FLOUR so maybe the finish isn't damaged--I do hope this is the case. Zoe

arrrggghhh--I wnt to the site and discovered that , yes, using a lecithin spray is not a good idea....but what they said was that it leaves a sticky residue--which gives me a little hope as perhaps there is a way to remove the residue--since it didn't say this damages the finish. So I wrote to ask if it is possible to remove the residue--will report back. I looked at my spray--it is soy oil and lecithin so maybe that's not as bad a s total lecithin. Zoe

oh, rats--yes, i do use a spray--JUST for that pan--because I felt that I might not get all the teeny crevises with a paper towel and oil or butter--now i am so depressed. prasantrin said "Another thing to consider about non-stick--have you ever doused the pan with cold water while the pan was still hot?" No, I haven't done that, at least! I do rinse off my cookie sheets between batches, but they are aluminum. Well, since this is a fancy fluted pan I can't line it--I'm going to think of something nice to soak it in to appease it--maybe pamper it into returning to being the fabulous non stick pan that it was--I think a nice salt bath will maybe do it. Zoe

I've had my beautiful heavy aluminum pan for about a year now--and loved never having to sweat getting the cake out--but the last two cakes were disasters-- admittedly, the first one was an apple cake recipe from Epicurious and half of the reviews said it stuck--so allrighty on that one, maybe. But the second time it was the brown sugar pear cake from Baking My Home to. Yours. I haven't made that particular recipe, but have made other bundts from this book so i had no reason to expect disaster--the entire outside of the cake stuck--but at least i had a big bowl of brown crispy crumbs to eat--my fav part of a cake--and at least it wasn't to bring somewhere or for guests--but still--has this happened to anyone else? Or possibly coincidence? I hope. Zoe

oh, that's purty! especially on the cake stand. but what does it taste like? I'm having a hard time getting the taste from the recipe--is the filling custardy or cake-like? and the cranberries seem like they'd be only a small part of the taste since they are more of a garnish--Zoe

I wanted to be a vendor at this Festival as i was dying to try all the cheeses and wasn't about to spend the $15 to get in. (I make the sheep's milk soaps that Valley Shepherd sells at Farm Markets so i asked if i could have a table for my soaps--but of course they had theirs out so it was no-go.) It's always awful when the crowds are too big to handle--too many people go home disappointed. But it is amazing the amount of people Eran draws to his outfit--when I make deliveries, even on week days, the place is a zoo. Zoe

canola oil has a high smoke point so it's great for frying. The canola in the US is pretty neutral. I also use soy oil -- there are issues with it in terms of genetic varieties/pesticides, but unfortunately, any oil we use has environmental isssues--unless you are using lard from your own pig--and vegetatians wouldn't like that much! oh, forgot to add--rice bran oil--I use it in my soap, haven't used it to cook with yet--but this can be ordered right from the farmers' co-op --great people to deal with http://www.riceland.com/consumers/gifts/ Zoe

sony--you supplied exactly what I need to know--thanks a bunch. maher--the tongue with salsa verde sounds really good--this might be the recipe I'll use--thanks! it calls for a salted tongue, I see--I'll have to research what this is--whether it's already cooked or not. Zoe

and let's not forget Belgium-- http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ViewWork?wo...&searchid=21050 Here's some info about Marcel Broodthaer's Casserole with Closed Mussels--depicting Belgium's national dish--no frites shown, unfortunately. Zoe

Well--came here to find about tongue--and discover a recent thread! I often had brined or corned tongue as a kid in Philly at delis. There was also a terrible family dinner when my mother cooked tongue and brought it to the table whole in all its glory--she hadn't skinned it though, and i still can see those giant taste buds. We kids all ran screaming from the table. Back to the present--at the table next to me at the Farmer's Market is a buffalo farm and they are slaughtering this week--the meat is pretty expensive, but i heard the farmer telling someone that tongues, hearts & livers are available--this piqued my interest and made me want to try tongue. So tongue eaters--which method do you prefer--corned or brined, or braised? What's the texture and taste of the braised? I only have the pickly taste in my sense memory, so I'm curious about braised tongue--does it have a stronger or gamier taste, or just a beefy, meaty--in my case buffaloey taste? I don't think it's gelatinous at all so it won't break down the same way as a pot roast--so I need enlightenment....please! Zoe

oh, good, at least I'm not the only one! And yeah, I was wondering about the water--it itself would have to have a preservative because water loves to grow little nasties. We really have to make people aware of this mess! Oh, and Tim, you ask the lady....oh wait maybe not!

menon said-- well, I asked the guy if he would end the auction early and made him an offer, but he didn't want to do this--can't blame him--but the reason I wanted to end the auction was so it would get here on time...oh, well... so sent the hub down to the Le Creuset Outlet in Flemington--I talked to a nice fellow on the phone and he said he'd advise Bob--they have the Screwpulls --which did look like the most sensible choice -- I was a little worried bcause Bob was talking about those monsters that sit on the counter and you put the bottle in--I told him to look at our counters and see where a good spot was for this--the same deal holds for almost everyone else... So he came back with the Table Model--very nice, not too pricey and it does come in a plastic box, so that's a little fancy--hehe. And believe me, to us a corkscrew that costs over $20 seems fancy--I just buy them at the thrift store usually. thanks for all the input, everyone--as usual, I now know a lot more about something thanks to e-gulletteers. Zoe

I mean added to supermarket meat--I'm sure ham has had this for quite a while, but it seems to be spreading to fresh pork and also to chicken. I find this absolutely awful-- I made a roast chicken from Publix brand when we were in Florida and it had no taste whatsoever, and you really couldn't make a sauce from the juices because the chicken swam in two inches of liquid while it roasted. Last week I made chicken wings for my daughter and friends who came to visit--the wings were huge and meaty when I put them on the sheets to cook--in twenty minutes they were swimming in water, and by the time they were done, the water had evaporated, and the wings were teeny. Last night I made oven --pulled pork--I slow cook a pork shoulder with onions, garlic and a bottle of beer--I had to drain the liquid half way through because this roast was up to its chin in water. So aside from the fact that you are paying 13% for water with this little trick, it ruins the meat. I have to start looking at labels--is all meat adulterated in this way now? And why aren't people protesting? Zoe