djyee100

C. Sapidus, that Szechuan chicken does sound good! SobaAddict, delicious looking pasta. An unusual combo with parsnips, too. Dcarch, is that Neptune's dinner? I really like your last creation. Last night's dinner, a frittata of odds & ends to clean out the fridge. I sauteed soon-to-expire spinach and mushrooms with some garlic, and combined them with eggs and a bunch of leftover ingredients hanging out in the fridge--a few roasted spring onions, some shredded mozzarella, some grated parmigiano reggiano. At the end of cooking time I sprinkled the last of the mozzarella on top and set the frittata to brown under the broiler. Served it with some good bread. The leftovers (yes, my former leftovers generated new leftovers) are going into sandwiches for lunch.

I've seen this approach when I've stayed at Green Gulch Farm and the Esalen Institute. I always like the food there. The menus are simple: soup, salad, veg and/or bean stew or braise, a cooked grain, and bread. A pan of something (brownies, fruit cobbler, sheet cake) is dessert. It's all served cafeteria style, for the residents as well as the dozens (or hundreds) of people who are passing through. Your food coop experience can be a chance for you to try out the different grains (not just rice), like quinoa, millet, amaranth--to name just a few. Those whole grains are surprisingly filling and satisfying. Don't overlook the winter vegs that are available now, like onions, carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, turnips, rutabagas, parsnips, winter squashes, beets, cauliflower, celery root, cabbage and broccoli. That's what I'm cooking with. The root vegs and squashes can be rubbed with olive oil and garlic, S&P, a few drops of vinegar if desired, then roasted. Easy.

Look into the ethnic cuisines that emphasize starches and vegs, not meat, like Mexican, Indian, and Asian. That's how to stretch your dollars, and eat well, too. I recommend that you check out Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. Tasty food, uncomplicated cooking, reliable recipes and plenty of them for soups, stews, bean dishes and grains. That's where I'd go to feed a food coop crowd. A preview on Googlebooks: http://books.google.com/books?id=Ujfe46rgt8kC&printsec=frontcover&dq=madison+vegetarian+cooking+for+everyone&hl=en&src=bmrr&sa=X&ei=f4EzT9n5LMeZiAL228HkDQ&ved=0CD0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=madison%20vegetarian%20cooking%20for%20everyone&f=false

gfweb, I checked out Pepin's recipe for the shrimp pane you cooked upthread, and it sure sounds good. (for others, the recipe is here: http://blogs.kqed.org/essentialpepin/2011/09/17/shrimp-pane-on-watercress/) deensiebat, the Sephardic fish looks great. Olives, saffron, and lemon...mmm. Kim, welcome back! I love the brisket sandwiches. Vietnamese pork chops for dinner here, with a sides of lemongrass-coconut rice and sauteed bok choy with garlic and chiles. Alums from EGullet's Cradle of Flavor thread will recognize the sides. They're from Cradle of Flavor. The pork chops recipe came from Saveur mag. All the recipes are available online. Vietnamese Pork Chops--No Vietnamese caramel sauce handy and I didn't feel like making it, so I subbed 1 TB sugar in the marinade. Not a like-for-like substitution, since Viet caramel sauce is bittersweet, not just sweet. I also prefer meatier chops, so mine were about 1/2" thick (not 1/4" as in the recipe). The chops tasted good, and I would make them again. The recipe is here: http://www.saveur.com/article/recipes/vietnamese-pork-chops Lemongrass Coconut Rice: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Lemongrass-Scented-Coconut-Rice-237067 Stirfried Asian Greens with Chiles & Garlic: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Stir-Fried-Asian-Greens-with-Chiles-and-Garlic-237115

I suggest Anne Willan's La Varenne Pratique. I no longer own the book, but when I did I was impressed by the breadth of topics it covered, and the excellent how-to photos. Preview on Googlebooks: http://books.google.com/books?id=il7s2klPCX0C&printsec=frontcover&dq=la+varenne+pratique&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Xy8rT73iHKqWiAKI9rCuCg&ved=0CEcQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false Unfortunately, out of print. Used copies on Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Varenne-Pratique-ANNE-WILLAN/dp/B0006BD960/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1328229867&sr=1-4 Used copies also on abebooks.com, at a cheaper price. http://www.abebooks.com/

Here: https://ssl.iwatani.co.jp/cgi-bin/inquiry/input.php?inquiry_id=eng I know people from Thai cooking classes who are interested in this grinder also.

I received a message from Iwatani customer service: "Unfortunately, this item is not available for purchase in the United States, as it is not UL listed."

Not cracker-like, more pita-like, but very thin and crispy: focaccia col formaggio di Recco from Reinhart's American Pie. I tasted it at a demo that Reinhart gave when he was publicizing the book. Reinhart's version was very rich with olive oil and cheese topping--I remember oil dripping on my hands. A little too much for me, but others liked it. Method and recipe here: http://www.fornobravo.com/pizzaquest/instructionals/59-written-recipes/147-focaccia-col-formaggio-di-recco.html

Do you mean the recipe for sauerkraut in Ruhlman's Charcuterie cookbook? This one? http://www.cookstr.com/recipes/home-cured-sauerkraut That's the first time I've seen a method for sauerkraut where the brine is made separately. And so much brine, too. The classic method is to rub the shredded cabbage with salt to make a brine, and if necessary, add a cup or so of extra brine to top the jar. Like this one: http://www.wildfermentation.com/resources.php?page=sauerkraut Sorry I can't help you more. I've never made sauerkraut, though I've been thinking of it.

robirdstx, I'll have some of that Chipotle Pork Posole. patrickamory, the chicken-vegetable soup looks great. jpwcollins, welcome! I like the spinach and pecorino quenelles. A Clean Out The Fridge & Cupboards dinner here. Some well-aged carrots, potatoes, and celery root went into a Frenchified Shepherd's Pie. The base was a beef stew with wine, stock, pearl onions, carrots, bay leaf and thyme in a flour-thickened sauce. For the topping, a mash of celery root and Yukon Gold potatoes with a little milk, butter, an egg to bind, and fresh chopped dill. The casserole tasted very good; I was pleased with how well it came out.

I love cilantro, but a large number of people don't, so I don't serve it unless I'm sure everybody is OK with it. Some people complain that it tastes like soap. I was curious and went googling. An article from the NY Times. I knew about the soap complaints, but not the bedbugs. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/14/dining/14curious.html

I'm trying to get my head around sage in a curried soup. It will taste OK, I guess. Fried sage as a garnish on curried soup might be interesting. Thyme would marry better in a curried soup, IMO. I suggest putting in veg or chicken stock instead of the apple juice. That will give you more depth of flavor in the soup. Instead of the green herbs like sage or thyme, you could put in some lemongrass and a few slices of fresh gingerroot. The gingerroot is a little spicy, but not so spicy that it bothers people. Lemongrass tastes lemon-y and herbaceous. The lemongrass has to be trimmed, peeled, smashed flat with a mallet or knife, then tied into a knot. Both the gingerroot slices and the lemongrass knot(s) should be removed before you puree the soup. Garnish each serving of soup with a little toasted coconut, or put out a bowl of toasted coconut for people to help themselves.

Next time, I suggest dispensing with floured towels and using an alternative. The point of covering the dough is to prevent air from moving on the dough and forming a skin. You don't want drafts on the dough as it's rising. You can sprinkle the dough with flour or mist it with spray oil, and then cover it loosely with plastic wrap. You could also put a large box over the dough. I favor flour and plastic wrap, myself. Peter Reinhart has other ideas in his Bread Baker's Apprentice. On Googlebooks, pp 87-88, especially suggestions for the home baker on p 88. http://books.google.com/books?id=htveL1MPqYMC&pg=PA87&lpg=PA87&dq=reinhart+proof+box+improvisation&source=bl&ots=nanf0uVJJM&sig=HXaaRJTRl4ISt6UVQ31j7KBhsxY&hl=en&sa=X&ei=5QUdT6PPB7LoiAKuqpn6Bw&sqi=2&ved=0CDUQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q&f=false

My french fries don't brown well until the second frying, either, if I'm using the double-dip method. I'm guessing that has more to do with the level of moisture in the potatoes rather than the quality of the oil. The first frying dries them out some. Fritters can be stubborn about browning, I suspect for the same reason.

A professional cook once told me to put a little old oil in with fresh oil when frying, so that the food would fry better. He said the soaps in the old oil would aid the frying process. At the time we were frying batches and batches of something. So when the oil in the pan was exhausted, I kept a little of the old oil for the next batch, instead of dumping it and starting again with all fresh oil. As to why soaps in old oil help with frying, Russ Parsons' book has an explanation. Here, on Googlebooks, page 14: http://books.google.com/books?id=E0S45qEjW40C&pg=PA14&lpg=PA14&dq=using+old+oil+with+fresh+oil+when+frying+soaps+in+oil&source=bl&ots=MAI9sEs8OZ&sig=MNm5v0ml9vgLQCCtkSdnwExT9Iw&hl=en&sa=X&ei=YnQXT8CRE6jjiALLuMm5Dw&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=using%20old%20oil%20with%20fresh%20oil%20when%20frying%20soaps%20in%20oil&f=false

Maybe we should step back a bit and consider what proper salting means. IMO, it's not about how "salty" the food tastes. If you taste the salt, then the dish is probably oversalted. (There are some dishes where a salty flavor profile is deliberate.) Undersalting, to me, means that the food tastes dull--the cook hasn't salted enough to bring out all the flavors in the food. A classic exercise is to take a bowl of unsalted soup, and keep salting it and tasting it until it's oversalted. You'll gradually taste more and more ingredients in the soup as you salt. Once you oversalt, you'll know where to go backwards for the best place to stop salting. If you're cooking something and wondering how much to salt, you can take a small amt of the food (if possible) and do this same oversalting exercise to find the best place to stop salting. I don't believe in undersalting and letting people salt at the table. And I don't think restaurants should do that either. Sorry, but that's a cop-out, IMO. I feel in order to be a good cook I should put the best-tasting food on the table--and that means salting the food to my taste and trusting my palate. I agree with Barbara Y, salting the food while it's cooking yields different results than salting cooked food at the table. Remember this question: What's the difference between eggs that you mix with salt, then cook, as compared to eggs that you cook, then salt? Eggs that you mix with salt, then cook, taste more egg-y and savory. Eggs that you cook, then salt, are eggs with salt on their surface--or, salty eggs. According to Breton folklore, the Devil despises salt and serves meals without any salt. There you have it, folks--an unsalted meal is dinner in Hell.

I agree. I often long to see a salt shaker on my table. I agree about undersalting around here, especially in restaurants with a "health food" focus. There's a perception that salt is unhealthy, which tips over into any salt is supposed to be unhealthy. That belief totally ignores the fact that our bodies need some salt to stay healthy. Whenever I taste undersalted food I feel it is just too bad. The kitchen has labored to put good food on the table, and without enough salt you can't fully taste what the food should be. The last time I ate at Zuni Cafe in SF I noticed oversized salt shakers at every table. Usually when I go to a restaurant a salt shaker is nowhere in sight. I guess Zuni wants to make a contrarian statement. Not that the shaker was needed at my table, I thought the food was perfectly salted.

The news story dates from 2008. A follow-up article published Saturday in the Seattle Times: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2017179239_organic08.html Follow-up article from bloomberg.com about consumer lawsuit over the "organic" vegs from China that WF was selling. Whew... http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-21/whole-foods-lawsuit-over-chinese-frozen-vegetables-can-proceed-in-florida.html

Franci, how did you cook the cauliflower? Was it battered and deep-fried?

I'm not sure if you want the pad to catch drips or for comfort while standing. I have a galley kitchen with vinyl flooring--not really a problem with standing for long periods of time. Years ago I put down colorful cotton throw rugs for the entire length of the kitchen, with non-skid rubbery pads underneath them. I didn't do this for any practical reason, only for pretty. Well, the rugs catch drips from the sink, they're comfortable to stand on, they're cheap, and they're easy to wash in the machine. Just don't drop your cherries flambee on them.

I'm a fan of both Prawncracker's and Dcarch's food, but I wouldn't say that either of them represents the "best" food on this thread. Everybody here cooks food that is wonderful in some way. What contest? One of the best things about this thread is the huge variety of cooking styles here.

It sounds like the toor dal was underdone, if that was the cause of the gritty texture. Unfortunately cooking times are only guidelines. Sometimes you have to taste the legumes and check for their texture. I wonder if the toor dal should have been pre-soaked. If the flavors are not quite balanced, the dish might be slightly undersalted. A little more salt will bring out more flavors and balance them. If you're concerned about oversalting (who isn't?) put some soup in a bowl and keep salting and tasting it--until it's oversalted. Then you'll know the best place to stop salting, and you can salt the rest of the pot. If the problem is more about the harsh edges to the strong spices you're using, a little sugar rounds off flavors and helps them to blend. Sometimes, a little extra butter to a dish will do that too. The amount of oil sounds skimpy for all the Indian food that I've cooked. As a general rule, some ingredients may not scale up or down in recipes that well. Those ingredients are: spices and seasonings, including salt; fats and oils; any sour ingredients. That's when you'll have to taste as you cook and wing it. better luck next time!

Sounds like you might be burned out on composed meals and menus. How about some tacos? You can put warm tortillas and a couple fillings on the table, like shredded roasted chicken and broiled steak slices, along with a bunch of fixin's like salsa, guacamole, sour cream, shredded cheese, chopped onion, pickled jalapenos, lettuce, etc. Minimal cooking, and people have fun mixing and matching their tacos. You get to sit back and relax.

So I think this is your menu so far... > Oysters (any specific preparation in mind?) > Duck leg confit with salad & walnut bread--I like this combo. A bitter green salad of endives or frisee? Braised Belgian endive? Or you could go with a legume salad, like a lentil salad. What are you doing with the duck breasts? Have you considered doing a "Duck Two Ways" preparation? Perhaps saute the duck breasts rare and serve the slices with a simple deglazed pan sauce (as with balsamic vinegar or wine). Then your guests can compare the sauteed duck breast with the duck leg confit. People are always intrigued by protein in a two-way (or even three-way) preparation. > Veal loin with....??? You could butterfly the loin, stuff it with something interesting, then roll it up and tie it for roasting. Roasted caramelized onions with a little balsamic vinegar; sauteed wild mushrooms with thyme or sage; honey-sweetened carrots come to mind as possible sides. Scalloped potatoes? If you really want to pour it on, you can consider vegs prepared in timbales, gratins, or terrines. > Cheeses with marmalade > Dessert Sounds like a good meal to start the New Year!

Ooops, I misread one of your posts upthread. Sorry! That looks and sounds fantastic! Must.Make.Soon. Hope you enjoy it. This recipe is a work in progress for me. I have cut the meat in cubes and sauteed them in a wok, per the recipe, but the meat can quickly burn because of the sugar in the marinade. This time I cut the meat in thick-ish strips and sauteed them all at once in a 10" skillet with a generous amt of oil. A few tosses and the meat was seared and caramelized. I was happier with the results.