Sararwelch

Recently I sprinkled smoked sea salt over roasted white asparagus - it was a really good combination.

I bought some walnut oil and I really like it - so far I've only used it in salad dressings, does anyone have other recipes/ideas?

I didn't have a specific recipe in mind at the time I purchased it, I was just excited to see it and it was an impulse buy. This time I'm planning to do a little research first since they're not cheap.

I tried the Jacques Torres recipe using applesauce and I couldn't get it to set up. Plus it was unbelievably sweet. I may have done something wrong in terms of the cooking process, but the sugar content seems high.

I recently whittled mine down to about 35. I have gotten quite a few cookbooks in the last two months (chocolate & vanilla, 3 barefoot contessa books, Martha Stewart Living, Bread Baker's Apprentice, Professional Chef) and I am waiting for Bouchon and French Laundry to come in the mail. I gave some of the books I don't use anymore to a friend. Some of the books I had were more basic from when I was just learning to cook, and I know I won't use them again.

I'm not sure I have a brand preference when it comes to cream cheese, but it has to be whipped!

Seriously, Mario Batali has committed way worse fashion blunders.

I went to a produce market over the weekend that had a selection of fresh yuzu. Yellow and green were available, and they were about the size of a lime. I picked out a yellow one, and when I went to pay, they didn't charge me for it because they said it didn't have any juice. When I got home and juiced it, they were right, it literally didn't have any juice! Has anyone ever seen this before? I'm going back there at the end of this week - should I try again? Maybe buy a green one this time?

I made this marmalade yesterday. I added seeds scraped from a vanilla bean. It's great and a really nice color.

I have an assortment of tahitian and mexican vanilla beans. Any good recipes I should try? Thanks!

Those are beautiful! Gary, what is your snow made out of?

That is really interesting. Anyone have any creative uses for walnut oil? I basically just use it to make vinaigrette.

This year my family decided to do something totally untraditional. We're going to do a food tour of Berkeley (CA) and pick up whatever we find along the way that looks good to assemble hanukkah dinner. Should be fun!

I have Penzey's fleur de sel. I just picked up some smoked sea salt at Dean and Deluca - now that's some good stuff!

I also want a stand mixer - just don't like the idea of having it on the counter in my small kitchen. I'm interested in a pasta roller - same issue with space Le creuset dutch oven Tartlet tins What I know I'm getting this year... The Thomas Keller cookbook set, a bunch of vanilla beans, subscriptions to a couple of food magazines. So that's pretty good!

I stopped buying most bread products. As long as you plan in advance, it's not that difficult or time consuming to make your own bread. Ina Garten has a great recipe for barbecue sauce in her original Barefoot Contessa cookbook that keeps for a long time in the fridge. I always make my own pasta sauce. Very easy, freezes well and no chemicals. I make different kinds of pesto (basil/pine nut, parsley/walnut, cilantro/pepita) and freeze it in ice cube trays.

Somewhat related - I went to Lark Creek Steak upstairs and was not impressed. Normally I like Bradley Ogden's restaurants (Lark Creek, One Market, Yankee Pier), but this was not the same quality. The food was tasteless and greasy.

I bought a buddha's hand recently. At $7.50/lb, mine came out to about $5. It smelled wonderful, but the zest was really bitter. I tried to candy some of it, and couldn't get the bitterness out, even with multiple rinsings. I also froze some of the raw zest to use for baking, maybe it will be better in a cake or muffins or something.

I have taken to making almond paste based macaroons. All I've been able to find in my local stores is the 7 oz tube by Odense, which is very pricey, and doesn't even supply me with the 8 ounces I need for the recipe. I've done a search online and found almond paste in cans, but never more than 10 ounces to a pound per can. Is there a place you'd recommend where I can buy a few pounds of almond paste for a decent price?

I've also been able to find them in party supply stores. The Michaels by me has a surprisingly good selection, as well as candy wrappers and other items that aren't that easy to find.

I was thinking that an extract or citrus oil might work best, but I haven't tried it yet. I made Ina Garten's toasted coconut marshmallows last week and they turned out great.