djyee100

You could do an Asian version of the ballotine, either roasting or deep-frying the bird. I've cooked this Asian stuffed roast chicken recipe, & it's tasty. Only the ingredients are listed on Googlebooks. The chicken is stuffed, then placed on a bed of onion, carrots, & celery, and roasted. The remaining ingredients are a glaze for basting the chicken as it roasts. I like to add a little brown sugar to the mix. Here on Googlebooks, page 144: http://books.google.com/books?id=hKx5s2iGcJEC&pg=PA144&lpg=PA144&dq=patricia+yeo+festive+roast+chicken+with+rice+and+mushroom+stuffing&source=bl&ots=pv-jDH4neN&sig=UK0QnM_vB1TBsJJX5vWe2R5MNrw&hl=en&ei=fpniTam8FOvKiALIipW6Bg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&sqi=2&ved=0CBYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false For a ballotine, since you've got the chicken all deboned and flattened out like that, it's a nice touch to marinate the meat beforehand.

Funny, the only time I've cooked rabbit liver, it was with ONE liver, just like you. It came with the rabbit. I made a terrine of the rabbit meat with pork sausage, cognac, pistachios, thyme, juniper berries, and bay leaf. The whole rabbit liver went into the middle of the terrine, very decorative and tasty too. If you feel like making a terrine, you could probably substitute chicken breast for the rabbit meat, and the terrine would still taste good. Or, you could make a cook's treat of the single liver: saute it in butter with a chopped shallot and S&P, deglaze the pan with a little white wine, and finish the dish with a few drops of balsamic vinegar and chopped parsley. You can eat this plain or mash it up and spread it on toast. As far as I can remember, rabbit's liver is pretty mild, like chicken liver. Or, you can buy some chicken livers, add it to your single rabbit liver, and make Tuscan Chicken Liver Sauce from Judy Rodgers of Zuni Cafe in SF. I like garlic and chopped parsley in my sauce, too. My notes say to watch out for oversalting. Those capers and anchovies are pretty salty. The recipe is here: http://events.nytimes.com/recipes/10924/2002/08/21/Tuscan-Chicken-Liver-Sauce/recipe.html

Wonderful meals, everyone. ChrisTaylor, that fried chicken from Ad Hoc sent me searching on the web for the recipe. (I found it, here: http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/restaurant-reproductions/restaurant-recipe-buttermilk-fried-chicken-from-ad-hoc-080197 ) Your lamb shoulder dinner looked like my kind of food, too. Zeemanb, it sounds like you got BBQ season off to a good start. An easy dinner here, Pontormo's Salad, a warm salad of scrambled eggs, pancetta, herbs, and mixed greens. There's something about eggs and bitter greens that go together well. I especially like the dressing in this recipe, which includes balsamic vinegar and red wine. The recipe is here. I reduced the amt of S&P to taste. http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-wintersaladrec1jan17,0,7009266.story

There's no need to travel to Berkeley for that as he can get the same thing at Arizmendi (sister bakery) in SF.... I've never eaten the pizza at Arizmendi because it looks like it's been hanging around awhile & then reheated. As per this blog: http://www.thesecondlunch.com/2010/02/cheeseboard-vs-arizmendi/ I've noticed that the crust at Arizmendi is thicker, too. Though I'm sure Arizmendi makes a tasty pizza compared to most other pizza joints. Sometimes a live jazz band plays while you wait in line at the Cheese Board. Then you can go picnic on the street median until the police tell you to move, an authentic local experience. http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/uvCBQevs26owAL7KW2_VIA?select=FzHh3QB0n9i_3N68EKoWlw After that, assuming you are not booked for unruly behavior, you can then spend $30 or more for splendid cheeses at the Cheese Board. How can you beat that?

No doubt. But we're not going to be doing the schlep to Los Gatos. Are you willing to shlep to the East Bay? For a Nepalese lunch? Taste of the Himalayas restaurant: http://tasteofthehimalayas.com/chef.htm A friend persuaded me to go with her for dinner, along with another friend, and she endured our cracks about yak butter and lichens beforehand. The food wasn't like that at all, of course. It's a delicious cuisine, with a sophisticated side from Northern Indian and Persian influences. This place is popular with the locals. If you have extra time, you can browse some Himalayan shops nearby. Or, you could travel a few blocks further and reacquaint yourself with the sourdough-crust pizza at the Cheese Board. BART and a short taxi ride will get you there from SF.

I like the combo of shrimp with sriracha mayonnaise, with some fresh chopped cilantro to perk it up. Maybe toasted sesame seeds on top? Instead of combining more ingredients into the potato salad, how about putting something else on the side to set off the salad? People can go back and forth, tasting the contrast of the two. Those radishes sound good. So does green beans or asparagus with vinaigrette.

Steamed littleneck clams with butter, and fresh-baked blueberry pie, by the ocean. My family spent summer vacations in a cottage on Cape Cod. Years later, when we were adults, my brother and I compared our list of favorite foods and came up with many of the same foods--the things we ate as kids at Cape Cod. I'm glad the world's end is postponed to August. Blueberries won't be in season til then.

Well, they're not that attractive for side dishes. Sorry. At first glance, I thought the dish was a coffin for quail as in cailles en sarcophage, the main course in Babette's Feast. (You see how my mind runs.) If it's a bone dish, I wasn't that far off. You could use them to hold pens on your desk. Six inches long is just about right. Keep one dish, give away the rest.

After years of being a regular, I stopped going to Yank Sing last year. Something happened to the way they make dim sum. The steamed dim sum tasted like it had been pre-made and frozen, then thawed and cooked/reheated unsuccessfully. The fillings were dry and overcooked, and the wrappers were thin, soggy, and gummy. After giving the restaurant a few chances after disappointing meals, I decided to stay away until I hear some better things about it. Anybody eaten there recently? Ton Kiang, a popular place that does a Northern Chinese take on dim sum, is still around. As far as I know, it's still good. http://www.tonkiang.net/ This 2009 article from the SF Chronicle lists a bunch of dim sum places in the SF Bay Area. I haven't tried any of them (I always went to Yank Sing.) Check ahead--the restaurant may not be around after the Great Recession. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/28/FDGJ15D5ID.DTL&ao=4

For anyone willing to go to the East Bay, I recommend the Camino restaurant in Oakland. It's a place where the locals go. I went there with some friends a couple months ago, and we shared a bunch of dishes: a grilled cauliflower salad with green garlic, parsley root, & capers; sheep's milk ricotta with julienned winter vegs, oranges, grapefruit, & preserved lemon; grilled duck with collards & winter squash & blood orange sauce; roasted pork belly & sausage with smoky lentils & turnip sauerkraut. Some other dishes, too, for which I cannot find my notes. The dessert was my fave: a date walnut bread pudding (more like a tender cake) with nocino & a smoked chocolate ice cream. Everything was excellent. I've wanted to go back to the place, but haven't had the chance so far. The chef worked for a long time at Chez Panisse, and it shows. But he has taken off from Chez Panisse's classic style and come up with imaginative & interesting menus of his own. Check out the dinner menu on the restaurant website: http://www.caminorestaurant.com/

I clipped this recipe from Saveur mag a long time ago. I've never tried them, but they sound fantastic. Larry's Firecracker Latke Poppers: http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Larrys-Firecracker-Latke-Poppers

I thought this EGullet thread came up with good ideas for a camping trip.

I always shop for center-cut pieces of cheese from the big wheels. I tell myself that because they have the rind on only one edge instead of two, I'm getting more for my money. Cheesemongers are supposed to cut the big wheels in standard ways (according to diagrams, even) to minimize the differences in the pieces and give people a little of everything. I buy the center-cut pieces anyway. Some people say that the flavor of the cheese varies depending on where it is in the wheel. That kinda makes sense, if you think about how a cheese dries and ages. The parts closest to the rind will age first, and (they say) the most strong-flavored cheese from a particular wheel lies closest to the rind. Whether more or less aging of a certain cheese will appeal to you, that's a matter of taste.

After a hefty meal of prime rib or steak, how about thinking of light or small portions of something to nibble on? - port with some great chocolates, like Recchiuti chocolates. - port with stilton and crackers. - another special dessert wine with toasted nuts and some high-quality dried fruit (like those big extra-fancy dried apricots). - I like the fresh fruit ideas, especially the poached pears. Sometimes I wonder how well citrus goes as a dessert for a traditional beef main course, though. If you want citrus, oranges are still in the markets. You could slice up naval or blood oranges on a platter, and serve them with dates. The organic Medjool dates sold at WF around here are especially good. I like to stuff the dates with mascarpone and top them with toasted pinenuts or a toasted almond. A strawberry rhubarb cobbler or crisp? Strawberry season has begun, and I would guess rhubarb is available also. (I don't remember seeing rhubarb the last time I was at the market, but then, I wasn't looking for it, either.) You could garnish it with a little whipped cream. This is a yummy Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp from Joanne Weir. A friend brought it to a potluck and told me people loved it. Here: http://www.joanneweir.com/recipes/desserts/strawberry-rhubarb-crisp.html

Actually, I like the random backgrounds in your pix. I think they give the pix personality. The coins are charming. The cellphone...well, that's a common item in our lives, isn't it? Maybe move away any items that you feel are less than picturesque, and keep taking your style of pictures. Those omelets look perfect. Have a fun trip in England!

ChrisTaylor, the winter lobster casserole looks like something simple and delicious. Was it just braised at low heat? And what's in it? I see carrots, of course, baby leeks, and either small boiling onions or hand-carved potatoes. If those are carved potatoes, my hat is off to you! Anything else in the broth?

I've seen these at the market, but I haven't tried them. Now I will. I'm unclear about how to prep them. Let's say you start with the whole pod. Remove the beans from the pod? Then boil them? Then what? Should the beans/seeds be husked again, like you do with favas?

Almost everything I ever learned about menu planning I learned at the sushi bar. After a few bites of one thing, what taste or texture or look do you want next? Onto the next choice. That's how I plan side dishes and menus. I don't keep to certain sides with certain main dishes myself (though the combos people are posting here sound very good). That's because I cook new things all the time, so I'm imagining or improvising new side dishes for them. I also like to empty my fridge of CSA produce or my impulsive grocery purchases, and that often determines what shows up at the table. Most of the time, when I do cook something again, I don't remember the side that I last served with it. So it's on the next new thing.

Sounds like you've disposed of that ramekin of peas, more or less. I suggest that you keep it simple for the fettucine sauce: toss with garlic-infused olive oil, grated parmigiano-reggiano, and shreds of prosciutto. The next time you have a handful of peas, you can also try a potato salad with peas and bacon in it. The peas are remarkably good in this combo. To make this potato salad: Combine very warm cooked potatoes, preferably red potatoes, with an herb-mustard vinaigrette (olive oil, white wine vinegar, garlic +/or shallots, Dijon mustard, S&P, and various herbs like parsley, dill, or tarragon). Let sit for awhile to cool and allow the flavors to meld. Then gently fold in fresh cooked peas and crumbled bits of crisp bacon. Serve on a bed of watercress or arugula if you have any around.

- Serve it with pasta or another starch to moderate the richness and strong flavors. Think bread & butter, or macaroni & cheese. - Serve it with wine to clear the palate between bites. That's what wine is for. (Among other things. ) Chardonnay is the classic pairing with cream sauce. - Follow it with a green salad with vinaigrette to clear and refresh the palate. Sometimes I serve the green salad with a rich main dish, sometimes I serve it as a course that follows. Don't ask me why, but this time I feel a green salad that follows will taste better. Maybe because then the sriracha won't run interference with the herb-y greens flavors?

A cursory search on the web. Mustard seed must come in contact with a liquid in order to release their characteristic flavor. http://www.nandyala.org/mahanandi/archives/category/herb-and-spices/mustard-seeds-aavalu/ Also, the seeds will pop when they get hot enough, in a pan of oil or in your oven or on a grill. In this recipe for pork tenderloin rubbed with mustard seed, the author mentions how the mustard seeds pop all over the place on a BBQ grill. He/She considers this to be fun. (Who does the cleanup? ) http://blog.easygourmetdinners.com/2010/07/grilled-pork-tenderloin-with-mustard-seeds.html

The mustard seeds may turn bitter in the cooking method you describe. Offhand, I cannot recall a preparation (Indian or otherwise) that calls for the roasting of mustard seed on a food. Popping the mustard seeds in hot oil is supposed to release their bitterness. I suggest toasting the mustard seed and some cuminseed in hot oil (LindaK's post upthread), and pouring it over separately cooked cauliflower. I look forward to hearing about your results, whatever you decide to do.

Trying eating a pinch of raw mustard seed and figure out if you like it. Then go from there. Indian cooking typically uses black or brown mustard seed. Since this isn't a standard Indian prep, you can play with it. You can toast the mustard seed (or not), grind it into a powder, then add it to your dressing. If you toast the mustard seed, it's faster to use a small skillet on moderate heat, frequently stirring the seed, until it becomes darker and fragrant. Immediately transfer to a dish to stop the cooking action. Spices burn easily. The Indian hot oil dressing, or tadka, requires heating oil in a small heavy pot with a cover (the smallest pan you can find). The oil should be very hot, just starting to smoke. Toss in the mustard seeds, and clap on the cover. It's done when the seeds stop sputtering. When you look into the pot, you may think there are fewer mustard seeds in there than you would expect. Look at the bottom of the cover. Olive oil really doesn't get hot enough for a tadka. I suggest that you use peanut, safflower, or canola oil instead. ETA: As soon as the seeds stop sputtering in a tadka--this only takes seconds--, quickly pour it over the food to cool and prevent burning.

Not much difference, as far as I can tell. I started cooking the egg & veg mixture in a cast iron skillet over moderate heat on the stovetop. When the mixture was set at the edges and bottom, I transferred the pan to a hot oven to finish the cooking. That's a classic frittata method right there. Some people, the brave agile ones, flip the frittata over onto a plate partway thru cooking, then shovel the upended frittata back into the pan so that both sides cook deep golden brown. (A manuever that can result in oil burns on one's hands and wrists. I know, I've been there.) These days, I prefer to set the omelet under the broiler for a minute to brown the top. I didn't call my dish a frittata since I didn't do that midway flip in the pan. However, I checked some cookbooks after reading your question, and apparently it's still a frittata even without that flip to deeply brown both sides. ETA: Also, I will not call a dish a frittata if it's not Italian. I make a baked omelet of Greek origin that contains zucchini, feta cheese, rice and dill. I call it a baked omelet or oven omelet. TMI? How's your head now?

Jenni, I liked your bread and the paneer bhurji. Such colors on the plate! I have some semolina lying around in a cupboard, I should try your bread. For dinner here, another riff on spring vegetables. An oven omelet of artichokes, sauteed spring onions, spinach, thyme, garlic, and Parmesan cheese; more asparagus, this time steamed and tossed with Meyer lemon-butter; and a potato salad of red creamer potatoes with green garlic and sherry vinaigrette.