Beebs

There was a Portuguese restaurant here (now closed) that baked their own breads and one of them was this fabulous Portuguese-style cornbread. I believe it's a yeast bread rather than the Southern batter type. Taste was like a chewy yeast bread with a lot of that sweet corn flavour and crunchy grittyness - so delicious! I'm googling for a recipe now (or if anyone has a suggested recipe, please post!) and hoping to make it soon. I'm curious as to what other types of cornbreads are out there and if any other cultures have a particular cornbread.

I have this brand in my fridge, but it might not be the same kind as yours. Mine has crunchy bits in it - I think it has chili, shallot, garlic, Szechuan pepper. I've had the black bean one, but don't like it as much. My brother calls it "Old Dried-up Mother sauce". I use it as a condiment, or add it into whatever needs a slightly spicy kick (like peanut sauce or dipping sauce for last night's dumpling dinner....). What are you planning to do with it?

Cheese fondue! For whatever weird reason, the upcoming (Canadian) Thanksgiving is making me want cheese fondue.....

Dredging up an ancient topic.... I'm hosting a brunch and would like to do a quiche, but I want it to be crustless. Reason is because I'll be making a bunch of other stuff and it's probably a carb-heavy meal as it is. And I'm too lazy to bother with the hassle of the crust. I'm inspired by the Thomas Keller quiche mentioned up-thread (here it is on Ruhlman's website: http://ruhlman.com/2013/02/quiche-lorraine-recipe/). I can probably just follow the recipe for the filling minus the crust, but are there any pitfalls I need to watch out for? Baking temp & time issues? I've got a round baking/casserole dish I can use. TIA!

I'm really intrigued by what you serve with your big meatball, especially the ricotta! Is that how you had it growing up, or did you hit upon it accidentally? Do you use it as a kind of condiment to the meatloaf? I have to make mashed potatoes as a side, otherwise DH might divorce me. Usually no gravy, just the pan juices skimmed of most of the fat. Sauteed green veg - bok choy or broccoli or other green.

Well, DH has been asking for his favourite meal - meatloaf. Since he's been a good boy and the gross fall weather calling for comfort food, thought I'd oblige this weekend. But I'm debating whether to make something new or stick with the tried-and-true of half beef & pork, and the usual mess of meatloaf ingredients. Ketchup brown sugar glaze on top, baked free-form in a roasting pan. I also like mixing in chopped frozen spinach and/or mushrooms. I'm thinking of trying a stout & cheddar meatloaf. How does cheese hold up in meatloaf? Or does it melt out in a big greasy mess? Anyone making delicious meatloaves lately?

I made peanut sauce noodles for dinner last night - one of my favourite pantry quick dishes. I use my mom's version, similar to the NY Times recipe posted above: Half peanut butter, half sesame paste, water to loosen it up; soy sauce, rice & black vinegar, sesame oil, bit of sugar, garlic, ginger, chopped green onion & chili-in-oil sauce. Also chopped "zha cai" - Chinese pickled mustard. No peanuts though - didn't have any.

Isn't it also true, especially for the Chinese, that there is a common belief that eating an organ will improve the health of the same organ in your body? dcarch That's what my grandma used to tell me - eat fish brains, it'll make you smarter. So my sister & I would fight over the fish brains.

I dissected a cow's eyeball in high school. It was a (biologically) cool project. Not cool enough to eat one. DH loves the eyeballs from steamed fish, he even eats the white lens part. There's a grocery store here that sells pig snouts, I'll have to remember to take a picture next time. It's not as disconcerting as a bunch of cow eyeballs ogling you, but definitely uncomfortable to see them plastic-wrapped on a styro tray, nostrils up, all neatly lined up in the meat case.....

+1 for the cinnamon & bolognese. Haven't tried it with the cloves, but a dash of cinnamon usually works its way into my meat sauce. Gives the sauce a little something-something. Actually, a number of Greek restaurants round here add cinnamon to their meat/tomato sauce. One place puts in orange zest also.

What's in a fruit cake because is cheese and fruit really that weird? Honestly, I don't think it's all that weird, really. Salty cheese & dried fruit & nuts are always great together. I'll even eat supermarket fruit cake with cheese. I think it's eating the cake itself that some folk find weird - "You eat what?!?! Ewwww...fruit cake is so gross/weird/disgusting! It's only good for catapulting!" (says the DH, every single year....).

Christmas fruit cake + sharp cheddar cheese.

Beef braised in red wine with garlic mashed potatoes. Roasted butternut, acorn, kabocha squashes with loads of butter and maple syrup. Pork with maple syrup glaze (Actually, anything with maple syrup!). Apple pie & pumpkin pie & pecan pie. I think I have all the ingredients to make pumpkin pie this week, FTW!

Grilled green beans are so good. Grill till charred in spots and sprinkle with some good salt. Eat with fingers & a cold beer.

This is great - I'm going to keep this recipe for the next time I make ratatouille. Ratatouille is terrific stuff. I use it for flatbread/pizza, quesadilla, sandwiches, omelettes and pasta.

I would like to grill liver - chicken & beef/calf. Has any had much success with grilled liver? Any tips?

Grilled green beans are a revelation. They are seriously good. Started with about half a pound (tossed with evoo & salt), directly on the grill until charred in spots. Eaten as is, not even lemon. They were so delicious I grilled the remaining half pound.

Not tape, but maybe Avery or printer labels?

How about syrups such as agave, maple or brown rice? Or date and palm sugars and stevia? I don't know the caloric and nutritional comparisons between those and regular sugar though (if that is that concern with reducing sugar intake). Any aversion to Splenda? I had a maple syrup-sweetened lemonade at a restaurant and really liked it.

I used to eat the ramen noodles uncooked. Lightly crush the bag of ramen (in school we sat on them), sprinkle the seasoning packet over, shake it up, consume salty crunchy goodness. I haven't done this in years, but I still like to eat the broken crumby noodle bits at the bottom of the ramen packet.

Fun! Japanese turnips French breakfast radishes Edible flowers Butter Rainbow carrots Soft shell crabs As an aside - Japanese turnip & butter sandwiches are a great late night snack!

Looking forward to this topic! We've just inherited a gently-used portable Weber propane grill, not a big high btu model, but it'll do for our little condo. Haven't set it up yet or bought any accoutrements (brushes, tongs, propane, etc.), so that'll be this week's project. One thing I found grilled fabulously well (on my stovetop grill pan) is kale, for grilled kale salad with a light dressing. I'm sick of the kale trend, but this is really, really good.

What is that blackened hockey puck-looking thing at the bottom? I love this thread - glad to see it being revived!

Please don't kick me off the cocktail boards .... but I really don't like the Negroni! I like the combination of gin, campari, and vermouth, just not in those proportions and with a splash of soda water.

Most supermarkets and drugstores here are carrying a good selection of non-potato chips/crisps - lentil chips, hummus/chickpea, sweet potato corn chips, black bean, whole grain, brown rice, etc. A lot of these aren't fried either. They're obviously not potato chips and certainly don't taste like them either, but some of them are pretty good if you're not expecting them to taste like a deep-fried potato chip. Of course, if you over-eat on these, it's probably not healthy for you, either.....