maggiejiggs

Is he going there alone? That probably makes a difference in the kinds of suggestions that would be best. ← Dinner with business associates, who he'd like to impress, I'm sure. They have the ability to move around they city, so I don't think location is desparately critical.

Husband leaves tomorrow for business trip in San Franciso. Last minute, of course, needs suggestions for great places to eat, representative of the area preferred. Too late for Chez Panisse, I said, plus you can't go there with out me. Any ideas? Money isn't too big a problem this time around, lucky him.

I need a great recipe for cannoli, if anyone can help ! maggiejiggs

Thanks to all. I grew up in NJ, across the river from Manhattan. Now living in Indianapolis. Since our Colts are playing in the Super Bowl, I'm planning a Cuban party - let's celebrate our co-ethnic joys! (pork is a midwestern staple, NJ is home to me and to many Cubans, and Miami?!!!) Maggiejiggs

Can anyone give me an authentic recipe for a Cuban Sandwich? Maggiejiggs

Dorie Perhaps my butter IS too warm. Mayonnaise is a pretty good description. How long do you hold your butter out of the fridge before creaming?

Dorie I'm getting wafers!!! And they taste and look like pure butter to me. Puffy I guess isn't the right word. Somewhat mounded, perhaps. I don't have trouble with other cookies, but chocolate chips are my downfall do you think my butter is too warm before beating? Or should I try more flour?

We need to form a club, Maggie -- Otherwise Good Cooks Who Bake Flat Cookies. OGCWBFC, for "short". ← Well, I must say your support really does lift my spirits

Do you start with a new (not hot) cookie sheet for each batch of cookies going into the oven? If not, the cookies will melt out before cooking. That has just been my experience. ← Well, l've tried again, and they're still flat. I chilled the dough, put the mounds on chilled sheets, chilled again, and they still spread. They are flat, and smooth looking, rather than puffy and crinkly (?) looking. My kids still love them, which is the important thing, but I can't stop wondering what I'm doing wrong. Chocolate chips seem to be my downfall, where cookies are concerned...any more ideas??? Another point, they are very greasy when they come out of the oven, making me wonder what I'm doing with the butter. Overbeating? Needing more flour? I sure need help

Thanks for the last two posts. No, I've never chilled my cookie sheets, have tried chilling the dough, but not the individual sheets, with mounded dough. Will try both. Always wonder if my butter is TOO warm before beating, or if I beat not long enough or too much. I have success with other cookies, but the chocolate chips have got me

Why do my cookies turn out flat??? Followed your recipie, Dorie, for chocalate chips. But I always have this problem. My cookies melt out, rather than puff up. I can tell you step by step what I've done, but thought you might have ideas before I went thru that. They're still tasy as heck, but thin, not mounded like yours.

We were at a wedding in Cambridge, England, and though I love the beer, I really felt it was time for a martini. We were in a pub, and the Slovak waiter (we're not the only multicultural country in the world) said he knew how to make an American martini. Here's me, imagining the world of James Bond, of course. So he proffered me his martini, a 50/50 mix of gin and vermouth A guest in the establishment offered this explanation, so don't quote me Pub licenses are restricted, so the liquor comes out in shots (ounces or such), and so they can't just squirt a hint of of vermouth into it. The only place I got a legitimate martini was in London in our hotel bar (not a pub). So, I can't tell you for sure, but maybe this is why Fisher was drinking vermouth-gin, even in France.

I'm sorry but you're both wrong. What's in stock that isn't in fond? Rien. Nada. Nothing. With stock you brown bones/bits of meat at a high temp, the collagen/amino acids form a fond in the pan, you deglaze it with water, combine everything in a stockpot and simmer for 12 or more hours. With fond, you pan fry the steak, collagen and amino acids are released, and you deglaze the bits that stick on. The only difference is simmering. Simmering actually gives you a greater depth of flavor due to the maillard reactions occurring during the prolonged exposure to heat. Simmering will also extract more collagen, providing a more unctuous mouthfeel than deglazing. Neither the greater depth of flavor nor the increased collagen output differentiates stock from deglazing, though. They are both the same animals. Pan drippings + water = reduced stock Collagen, amino acids and maillard reactions. All of the building blocks that make up wonderful sauces. Maggie, if you read my initial post, I never recommended re-heating meat. As far as BBQing differing from pan frying... with both you've got intense, quick-cooking heat, resulting in browning and the formation of a crust. I'm not talking about mesquite chips here. I'm referring to two ways that provide a lot of heat to a steak in a short amount of time. Other than the obvious grill marks, the two methods are not that different. Toni, shallots vs. onions is a subjective thing. Shallots are traditional. I just happen to love caramelized onions with beef. If you like shallots, saute those in the beef fat. I don't think I'd do both, though. Cream is fine added ahead. If you're going to grill, make sure you have a full tank of propane. If you run out in the middle of grilling, you're up a creek. Believe me, I know If you have the steaks already, remove them from the packaging so they dry out a bit. Tomorrow morning, flip them so the other side dries out a bit. If you had another day, that would have helped as well. This is kind of a DIY semi-dry aging. It does amazing things for the crust. The drier the exterior, the better the crust. For people that like their steaks rare, go straight from the fridge to a blazingly hot pre-heated grill. That will give you good exterior color with a red middle. For those that like medium, remove the steaks from the fridge about an hour or two before cooking and let them come to room temp. Done like this, the rare and the medium steaks finish in about the same time. Btw, the quality of the sauce is almost directly proportional to the quantity of stock you add. Are you sure you have plenty of frozen stock? You want a LOT of stock, which you then reduce the crap out of. It's not a thick as a demi-glace, but you still want a concentrated, full flavored end product. ← No, no, you weren't the post that mentioned re-heating the meat I understand your points regarding stock vs deglazing. However, I thought the point of the question was could this rationally be done for a large number of people. I deglaze the pan, making a balsamic reduction, which is quick and easy, and very, very different from a sauce you'd make with stock. I'm not sure what sauce you guys are talking about, didn't ever see the recipe, but just thought this a good solution for the time and ease factor. Although pan frying and grilling are very similar, I still maintain that grilled meat tastes a lot different. I don't always use wood chips, but I always grill over charcoal, never gas, and there is no way charcoal grilling tastes the same As I said, I had success with steak au poivre for 6. I like to use thin, boneless rib-eyes. Not only are they wonderfully tender and juicy, but they cook up quickly in the pan, can be kept warm with out overcooking while you deglaze the pan and make the reduction. And I agree - I would not bother with this recipe for any more guests. A roast or stew or grilled steak makes much more sense.

They sell those here too: http://grizzly.com/products/h6252 I also just bought one, but haven't received it yet. I'm hopeful. ← Yes, I realized it when they sent me their huge catalog, with the most amazing machinary you'd ever want to see! I was a bit surprised after looking thru it that they sold sausage stuffers! Mine looks great, sturdy, just the same as the high priced ones I looked up. I should have included their website