skipper10

I agree about the recipes and over-design of #97, but I chuckled when you asked who cares about Bronze becoming the "new Stainless." The vast majority of the first 60 responses on FC's Cooks Talk were about the "new bronze," they did not even mention the changes in the magazine. All they talked about was how they hated or loved the new bronze, As you said, "who cares?" Having read quite a few responses from CTers about the new issue I think the best thing for the new editor might be to either get rid of CT folk or completely ignore them. She should come up with a magazine for people who actually love to cook.

Please do let me know how they come out. I am obsessed with those carrot cakes. Did you really go and buy those molds? I've been looking for them on internet without much success. The ones in Jehangir Mehta's book that look identical to FC were baked in the rings.

This Toby person...and this Jean-Christophe person.... http://www.eatmedaily.com/2009/01/jean-chr...taurants-feuds/

Now the NEW Fine Cooking website is live. Looks great, I love the page design, but I can't use it even though I am a paid subscriber to the web, as well as to the magazine. First I had to log on, and I understand that from now on I have to log on each and every time. All these years, before the "improvements," I used to be "remembered." Did any of you visit and do well? When I logged on today the first thing I saw was an enticing picture of Jehangir Mehta's baby carrot cake - exactly what I was looking for. According to the web someone already made them and rated *****. "Read reviews" it says, but no matter what I did I could not get the review to come up, moreover, I could only partially see the recipe, at least a quarter of which was cut off on the left side, despite my wide screen. I had a question: The FC magazine recipe for these carrot cakes is different from the book version:(Mantra The Rules of Indulgence, p.77). His book calls for milk, 4 c grated carrots, 5 medium eggs,... FC recipe calls for 2 cups carrot juice, 2 large eggs, (no shredded carrots,) I can't help wondering about the reasons for change, and whether there has been a discussion about it....etc. I want to know which version tastes better. But the only place I could post anything was under "review the recipe." well, I am not ready to review the recipe... Next I attempted to search for another recipe, but could not find the "recipe search bar." Went to their Cooks Talk Forum and saw that discussion of the new website had over 100 entries, read the first one that said it was AWFULLLLLLL. Did not read any further. FC website has always been their achilles heel, it never ever worked well or at least as well as other similar websites. Either FC has poor equipment or incompetent computer staff, but it is very annoying. If they don't fix up soon I won't subscribe any more. No cook could keep his or her job long if they consistently served half-cooked food. It looks like consumers demand more from chefs and cooks than from computer geeks. Can a chef ever say:"I am serving your chicken raw because I have a stove glitch, please be patient?"

Speaking at the Smithsonian in Washington DC Jacques Pepin said that he never hired cooks who wanted to show him "what they can do." "I wanted a cook who would do exactly what I want him to do, the way I want him to do it..." he said.

I agree with most of your and other posters' points. However, I think that despite the layout, fonts, and other technical shortcomings, recipes in #97 rock, there seems to be more interesting ideas in this one issue than there has been in several recent issues all together. Perhaps the changes are being made because FC is having identity crisis: should the magazine be about fine cooking or should it become an overpriced compilation of quick and easy recipes that require no technique and call for canned stock, canned beans, packaged shredded salad, etc, never mentioning that made from scratch those foods taste so much better. I can't help feeling sorry for the new Fine Cooking editor, she is being pelted unceremoniously on Cook's Talk for the changes she made, although majority of attacks are coming from people who openly state that they don't cook, can't cook, yet, can't contain their dissatisfaction with the photography in this issue. One woman was quite indignant because the recipe for modern take on coq au vin calls for such odious ingredients as "pancetta, shallots and fennel." Somebody else is even more indignant with Graffiti chef/owner Jehangir Mehta's take on carrot cakes. (He makes his with carrot juice, bakes them in 2.5 inch baba au rhum molds, and garnishes with candied carrots and pistachios. They look amazing.) I hope the FC editor has enough sense to ignore them.

When we ate chicken we used to make Jacques Pepin's "Chicken Danny Kay." One whole chicken, no larger than 3.5 pounds, (used to be .69 cents a pound) placed in a pot, poached gently for 10 minutes, removed from heat and left alone covered for 40 minutes. (JP's directions/discussion of this technique can be found in some of his older books and in "The Apprentice," p259. 1. Drumsticks and thighs are eaten when ready with whatever vegetable/carbohydrate we have on hand. We are not big eaters and sometimes, depending on what else we had, we just shared a leg, but, to be honest, to me poached chicken without further treatment does not taste that great after it gets cold. 2. Breasts - sandwiches for the next two days. 3. Chicken meat clinging to the bones - chicken salad. 4. Broth is divided between 2 - 3 containers and frozen, it makes excellent chicken soup, especially if I save a little bit of chicken breast meat. Because they have not been boiled to death the carrots and celery from the broth are quite tasty. 5. The liver is either saved separately for liver pate or chopped with a tiny bit of butter and a bit of shallots or onion of any kind, spread generously on a slice of toast, cut into bite size pieces and broiled. Perfect amuse bouche. 6. The gizzards and neck are saved for chicken stock. (In JP's The Art of Cooking, V2 p84 has a very amusing presentation of this poached chicken, it is arranged on the plate to looks like a rooster: a slice of HB becomes a head, beak is made out of mushroom, cockscomb is made of red pepper, and so on...)

Today's Washington Post Food section (page 1) has a long article on Asian markets in DC area featuring Egulleter Yoon-Hee Heather Choi. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...9010601907.html The article, among other things, says that non Asian chefs including Michel Richard are customers at H Mart, there is also price comparison between H Mart, Giant and Whole Foods. edited to add that there are pictures of Heather and two rather well known chefs in the Post, but for some reason they do not appear on line. Sorrrrry.

I have a few friends who in "honest speak" collect dust on their Culinaria and Delices de... books. To be honest, none of us really have used the recipes. Of course, I had to have my Culinaria books, I could not live without them, and I am certainly not giving them up. (Still being honest...) I tried a few recipes and they were not spectacular, or even as good as similar recipes with less / smaller or/NO pictures from Saveur or Fine Cooking. I do have the Spain book. Which recipes do you recommend? If anyone does use those fancy European books, please, speak up and be my guide. I am particularly dying to try something that would work from Delices de France /Dine with master chefs? DESSERTS.

I can only respond to this part of your question. Taste and usually choice of sandwiches I can't easily make at home. I had half of a Subway once and will never choose to have one again. My most favorite sandwich in the world is Pan Bagnat. I've never had a good one in US, with the exception of the ones I made at home, of course. I am surprised they are not popular in US because all of my friends get hooked once they taste one. My other favorite sandwiches, order based on driving distance from my house: 1. Bahn mi. I live near a Vietnamese shopping center that has a number of Vietnamese restaurants and sandwich places. Over the years I've eaten Bahn mi in all of them at least once. When I have a craving for Bahn mi I choose to drive a few miles further to my favorite Vietnamese sandwich shop because they bake their own bread and make themselves everything they put into their Bahn mi: pickled vegetables, pates and other meats. You can taste the freshness of their ingredients with every bite. 2. On those infrequent occasions when I drive to Washington DC I make a point of stopping at A. Litteri. Great food imported from Italy at decent price and incredible sandwiches, that I can't make at home. (If you choose "Platters and other ..." and scroll down, you will see their sandwich menu and prices.) http://www.litteris.com/ 3. Cheese shop in Williamsburg, Va. http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-cheese-shop-me...re-williamsburg I love their sandwiches, the way they serve them in odd looking metal baskets, availability of beer and wine by the bottle and their shop. They have top notch merchandise in their gourmet section. If they have a certain jam or vinegar or oil, you can be sure it is the best there is. To be honest, I don't often buy the stuff from them because I can get it for half their price in my local Asian, German, Italian shops in Northern Va, but a lot of tourists who live in ethnically less diverse areas stock up. Their specialty is their secret "house dressing" used in sandwiches, also popular are bags of humongous looking baguette ends. We go to Williamsburg once or twice a month usually timing our trips so we can have soup and sandwich at the Cheese shop when we arrive. We frequently buy sandwiches to take home before we leave. The lines may be long at times, but they move very fast. Finally, in case you have not heard of Margoux Sky, who reportedly and allegedly makes "The best sandwiches in America," you may want to check her out. According to the story she ran a sandwich shop for two-and-a-half years. She did everything herself: bake the bread, make sandwiches and all sauces & dressings, cook the soup, and sweep the floor. She was burned out and was ready to sell her business. The night before she signed the papers she filled the last carry out order at the request of her sister. According to the story the sandwiches were for Oprah. Oprah took one bite of her sandwich, found out about Sky's predicament and wrote her a check. Her sandwich was featured in O, and the rest is history. Good luck to you with your project.

Do you consider almost 1000 pages thick enough? How about 1080 Recipes by Simone and Ines Ortega? When it first appeared it was heralded as "The bible of authentic Spanish cooking..." and referred to as counterpart to US Joy of Cooking and Italian Silver Spoon. I tried three or four recipes out of 1080, that came out pretty good because with the exception of vegetables I bought everything at a Spanish store near Williamsburg, Va. I moved on to the next book because 300 mile round trip to La Tienda to pick up food imported from Spain annoyed my locavore family. http://www.amazon.com/1080-Recipes-In%C3%8...a/dp/0714848360 edited to add link to Amazon...so, if you choose to buy it, you do it through eGullet.

Some interesting ideas for cookbookholics ... If people don't use cookbooks why do they buy so many of them? http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?...tent=readBottom

I totally agree, the book is very interesting despite being a bit unusual, and, contrary to some reviewers, many of the recipes are doable (for very special occasions in my case) in home kitchens. I have not tried to make anything yet, but among other things I have learned about the existence of "white soy sauce" sold in Asian stores, Organic soy sauce sold for $90 a bottle, chicken stock made with two ingredients only: chicken backs and water, and so on. There was a mention of "On The Line" in yesterday's chat with Washington Post restaurant critic Tom Sietsema. (second post from the top) Sietsema raves about Le Bernadin, has not seen the book. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...8121702360.html I kind of agree with the poster that the book's structure is a bit "strange." It is copyrighted, and supposedly written, at least in part, by Eric Ripert, yet throughout the book he is referred to in third person and his name appears under certain paragraphs, as if he is being quoted in a press release... I would have preferred to hear his voice throughout the book. I guess the coauthor Christine Muhlke is no Bill Buford. Reading the book I had a feeling as if the book was edited by two non-foodie editors who did not communicate with each other. I loved the focus and thoroughness with which information was presented in some parts of the book and was puzzled by the lack of precision in others. For example, my heart was warmed up by the discussion of shallots:"...super-important, because a piece of shallot cut one way or another makes a huge difference when you bite into it... " ..... "Then it's about taste....if you sweat it halfway or fully or not properly, it is very different flavor..." this followed by brief discussion of how to compensate if cooked shallots are too sweet or "too oniony"... etc. I love the precision of the "Fumet" recipe: Soak fish bones.... for one hour, changing water twice...drain...dry bones... roast in 400 oven for 2 minutes...blot away any blood, add shallots and wine, simmer for 10 minutes, let stand for 1 minute. Strain and so on. (I am omitting the details of the recipe for obvious reasons.) However, the directions for the brown butter sauce may have come from another book; 8 oz of butter, 1 cup of chicken stock reduced to one-half cup, cooked in two "medium pots." I did not see any reference to what they consider a "medium" pot. If I put half a cup of stock into my "medium" pot it will vanish in 20 seconds. Another puzzle: Their fish butcher sounds totally amazing. He is very fast, when he is on leave, he is replaced by two people. He uses: Boning knife, Filleting knife, Thin 10 inch knife for skinning small fish Thicker 10 inch knife for larger fish Knife sharpener (he sharpens after EACH fish.) Sharpener or steel? I suspect it is steel, but how do I know that he does not have some super duper gizmo that sharpens knives in a few seconds and that I desperately need one too instead of following Chad's instructions? There are a few more examples like these. I know I am nitpicking, but the book is so full of "perfection" talk, that these small things stand out like sore thumbs. I also wish they would have discussed how they handle problems. I got excited when I read that (like TOP CHEF 5) they had "Refrigerators filled with tens of thousands of dollars worth of food conk out overnight," but was disappointed that this sentence was ALL that was said about the incident. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the book tremendously, Eric Ripert has not lost his throne on my Olympus.

I too missed it last year and enjoyed it yesterday. I agree, Tre should have won. The winner was kitchen manager for season 2 or 3 and had ample opportunity to bond with the judges, she should have not been allowed to compete this time. I also question how Eric Ripert, a practicing Buddhist, can be among Top Chef judges when he presumably does not eat beef, pork, lamb...etc.http://forums.egullet.org/style_images/dev/folder_post_icons/icon14.gif

And serve to guests who are recinining in a slowly bubbling hot tub of melted butter. ← The butter poached roast (is that an oxymoron-?) was also discussed during today's Free Range on Food, a weekly Washington Post food chat. One chatter expressed surprise, pointing out that David Hagedorn has had heart and cholesterol problems. In response to another chatter Hagedorn stated that very little, around 2 tablespoons of the butter, is absorbed into the meat. He admits that butter-poaching sounds excessive, but says that once out of curiosity he rendered all the fat he trimmed off a roast, it was over a cup, that, he says, would have been roasting into the meat. He also says that dry roasting shrinks the roast, while butter poaching results in a juicier meat that is red all the way through since the water in the roast has nowhere to go, the density of the butter does not permit it. Shirley Corriher where are you? http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...8121102634.html

Today's Washington Post has Michelf Mina's recipe for butter poached standing rib roast http://projects.washingtonpost.com/recipes...ast/?s_pos=list and accompanying article: (Michael Mina preparing a holiday meal in a kitchen of a one-bedroom apartment) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...21602544&s_pos= thoughts?

You are mixing apples and oranges, pies and dumplings. I do not speak Ukrainian, but I do speak Russian, I also know that although there are some similarities between these two languages, some words have opposite meaning. (comparable to different meaning of certain words in American and British usage of English, only more so.) In Russian the word "pir" pronounced "PEER" means a feast and the word "Pirog" means a pie. You are right to say that Russians do not usually refer to "Siberian pie," just as Americans, who make chili all over the country, distinguish "Texas chili" from "Cincinnati Chili," but would not recognize "Washington DC chili" as something special. "Pelmeni" are usually meat dumplings, and you are right, Siberian pelmeny are famous in Russia. The Russian pelmeny's taste and texture is closer to home made Chinese dumplings, (pronounced Jao-dze) which they usually boil, not steam at home. The Russian pelmen (singular of pelmeni) shape is that of a large tortelini, not manti. Turkish manti, spelled with "i" without the dot on top and pronounced "mun-ty" are dumplings for sure but taste and look very different from pelmeny. (I would kill for a plateful of manti right now, but don't know how to make them.) They are delicate morcels, have four corners and are made with filo dough, not flour & water dough of Russian and Chinese dumplings.

Cabbage pie is a bit tricky because cabbage gives out too much juice, but if you cook it to death it tastes awful. I was taught to make cabbage pie this way: Place in a large, heavy bottomed pan chiffonade of a whole small cabbage, (cored, of course) you can do it in Food Processor. Sprinkle cabbage with a little bit of salt and a generous teaspoon of sugar. Add 1/2 cup of milk. Braise on top of the stove, partially covered, LOW & SLOW mixing every once in a while so your cabbage does not burn in the bottom. It is ready when most juices have evaporated and the cabbage tastes good. Drain the juices well. When making your "pirog" add chopped HB eggs to the cabbage, salt and pepper . I have never made pirog with mushrooms, I suppose you could saute some and add to whatever stuffing you are making, or make pirog with glass noodles and mushrooms. Let me know how it goes. Good luck.

Way back when we first started talking about Baking: From My Home to Yours, Dorie Greenspan wrote (bolding was added by me): I'm sure some Canadian and American cookbook authors (particularly those with little professional or international experience) prefer volume, but I think most would prefer to work with weights, and would rather use weights in cookbooks if they could. ← Thank you for the quote from Dorie. Very interesting. I took a class from her once. She came across as a very nice, very meticulous and very conscientious person. I can only imagine what she went through with all those conversions. As to the publishers, they need to get with it. Their reluctance to publish Harry Potter books under a woman's name says it all. Having said that I should also point out that some of them started seeing the light. I have just bought Flo Braker's "Baking for All Occasions" which gives measurements in volume, ounces and grams. "Tartine," a favorite book since 2006 also gives measurements in volume, ounces and grams, while Claire Clark's "Indulge" published in 2007 gives only grams and ounces. If one day Dorie's publisher wakes up, smells the coffee and decides to reissue "...From My Home..." with metric measurements I would immediately buy the book.

I have never eaten at Cinderella, and my San Francisco memories are based on late 50s and early 60s when the Russians who have dance with Nijinsky or have met Ata Turk were still alive. I won't be surprised if Cinderella uses puff pastry; in addition to tasting good it costs pennies at a restaurant supply place, it is already rolled out and ready to go at a moment's notice. Because it is puff pastry clients gladly pay more. I would think that salmon and sturgeon together would be redundant and very expensive for a restaurant, unless, of course, they use canned fish. I have never heard of that combination, but I am not a Russian food expert. As to sour cream or beaten egg to hold the filling together..., it would have a consistency of a quiche, wouldn't it? I have never heard of a Russian pirog made that way, but again, I am not a Russian food expert. As to the spices and condiments in general -- traditionally Russians use them very sparingly. It is mostly salt, pepper, sugar, vinegar, mustard and horseradish. (Of course, the mustard and horseradish are homemade and more often then not are heavenly.) Bay leaves are used in soups and stews, mace and nutmeg are used in dessert baking. I've never had a pirog with either of them. Some cooks, if / when they have it add a little bit of dill to the pirog stuffing. If I were you, I would make two kinds of stuffing that you want to make and place one on one half, and the other on the other half of the pie, let them meet in the center of the pirog. They should take the same time to bake. When done -- taste both and see which one works for you. Russians do it all the time. When making a pirog for a small group, they would make one half with meat stuffing, the other with cabbage, voila, every one, is happy. good luck to you. If you have problems PM me.

Thanks! I'm going to need some lemons, but this will be my next next project! ← sorry, forgot to add:butter 1 stick, 4 oz.

In Russian "Pirogi" is plural for "pirog," (pronounced kind of like "pea-ROGUE," stress on the last syllable.) Pirog means pie, it may be sweet or savory, but it is always rectangular, never round. It is not to be confused with the Ukrainian dumplings with a similar sounding name. When most russophiles think of Russian food sooner or later they come up with "pirozhki." Pirozhki is a smaller version of a Russian pirog, Russians use the same dough and stuffing for both. To paraphrase Tolstoy, every Russian family makes pirogs or pirozhki, but each family makes them differently. For large family gatherings they usually make pirog. There were three waves of emigration from Russia: following the 1917 revolution, following WW2, and as a result of recent political changes. Foodwise, all three groups may have come from different planets, although the basic menu items remain the same, insisting on authenticity of this or that recipe is meaningless and may lead to WW3. I am not kidding. Now to your question about glass noodles; Before the revolution well-to-do Russians in St. Petersburg and Moscow enjoyed pirogs and pirozhki with what they called "viziga" (pronounced vee-ZEE-gah). Viziga is plural for (lack of better word) collagen like transparent looking string extracted from a sturgeon's backbone. Getting enough "viziga" for a pie was a very expensive and complicated process. In those days viziga was as desirable and expensive as, let's say, white truffles are in Manhattan today. After the revolution many members of Russian nobility fled the country, some ended up in Europe and US, mostly in New York or San Francisco, cities with great Chinatowns. Now poor, the formerly well-to-do Russians, discovered the cellophane noodles, which they claimed tasted exactly like "viziga. This is how Russians in certain countries, not the former USSR, started using glass noodles, NEVER rice noodles in their meat or fish pirogs. (By the way, the poster in Hong Kong, THANK you so much for posting Delia's recipe, looks very interesting, I am going to attempt it one of these days.) Most Russian pirogs are not made with puff pastry, but if this is what your friend wants, use it. Occasionally I do make a savory pirog, as I learned years ago from an old Russian woman in SF where I went to school and ate in Russian eateries on Geary and Clement. For the stuffing you will need glass noodles, fish, onions, HB eggs, S&P: 1. Soak or boil glass noodles according to your instructions. (Don't buy the skinny noodles from PRC usually sold in batches with pink thread, you need noodles that when rehydrated will be thick, almost the size of a cooked spaghetti, round and transparent.) Drain real well, take your time, all water must be gone. 2. Saute one or two onions, small dice, don't let them brown, but they should be soft and tasty. Cool. 3. You can use any fish your friend likes. I prefer canned salmon or canned tuna in oil, or combination of both. 4. In a large bowl combine noodles, onions, and fish. Break fish into smaller pieces, you don't want to have a huge piece of fish in your mouth. The beauty of pirog is that each bite has a little bit of everything in it. Be reasonably generous with S&P. Now taste and correct the seasoning. 5. Place the the dough of your choice on a baking sheet with sides, (I use half sheet). If you are using puff pastry you will need to prick it all over. Put half of your mixed stuffing in one layer, making sure the fish is evenly distributed and leaving about an inch on all four sides. Chop 2-3 HB eggs and spread them evenly all over the stuffing. Cover with the rest of the stuffing. 6. Place a second sheet of dough on top and seal all four sides real well. If using PP refrigerate as needed. 7. To bake: preheat the oven for at least half an hour. Make one or two vertical cuts in the top layer of the dough only. You need to let the steam out, or the dough in the bottom will be wet. Brush with egg glaze and bake. I hope this helps.

I can't remember which website I got that from. Looking it over again, I'm a bit surprised she uses the measurement "stick of butter", or was that the measurement added by whoever posted it? Where'd you get the books so cheaply? Maybe they ship to Japan! ← I hope this helps with measurements, no grams are given: (If I am violating the board rules, please, let me know too, I am not sure...) Vanilla shortcrust Dough: unbleached AP flour 6 1/4 oz sugar 1 3/4 oz for the filling" 14 oz granulated sugar 1 1/3 oz unbleached AP flour 5 2/3oz freshly squeezed lemon juice confectioner's sugar for dusting, optional As to my formerly favorite book seller, ALL books, (shipping included) used to be $9.99. You compiled your list and they sent you one book a month, unless you asked for more, then they sent you as many as you wanted until you bought 10 books a month. Recently this book club was overtaken by another entity that raised the price of books to $12.99 and all special books are on "buy now" status, in other words, if you don't buy them now, they are gone. I am going to give them up unless they change their ways.

In her Art & Soul Cindy Mushet discusses "measuring" p. 3-5, then, at the bottom of page 5 she says: "you can weigh ingredients for recipes outside this book" ... "by consulting the Volume and Weight Equivalents chart on pages 6-7. Just be sure to check introductory section of other baking books or magazines so you know how they are measuring"...etc. etc. etc. (Page 6) VOLUME AND WEIGHT EQUIVALENTS (rounded to the nearest 1/4 oz) FLOUR: Unbleached AP (dip & sweep)* 5 oz per cup Unbleached AP (lightly spooned) 4 1/2 oz Unbleached AP (sifted) 3 1/4oz Cake (dip & sweep) 4 1/2 Cake (lightly spooned) 4 Cake (sifted)* 3 1/2 (note on page 7:) " *indicates the method of measuring and its corresponding weight for ingredients used in this book when alternative measurements are also given. For example, though flour may be measured several ways, the * next to the dip-and-sweep method indicates that this is the standard for the recipes in this book." I hope this helps. If you tell me which bar recipe you are looking at, I will be happy to check it out for you. PS: Living overseas has lots of joys and advantages, alas, buying cookbooks cheaply is not one of them. Had you been in the States you could have gotten The Art & Soul for $12.99 and Bakewise for $9.99, shipping included. I have to start dinner now, I will respond to your previous email after that. I loved that other website you brought up in your yesterday's post, thank you for introducing me to it.

That's what I was thinking! That DG's Baking and CM's A&S would complement each other nicely. I've only seen a few of CM's recipes online, and they seem just as accessible as DG's recipes, so that even those who are not in the US can make them with relative ease. I didn't realize there were measurements in both volume and weight. Bonus! I wonder why her publisher's allowed it when so many other publishers don't (because of "space restrictions"). ← I am not sure how much publisher has to say about that. Me thinks that adding weight measurements is a lot of tedious extra work for the author and more chances for serious typos and other mistakes. RLB, bless her soul, in addition to cup measurements also gives all measurements in both ounces and grams. Bet you anything her publisher is not complaining that The Cake Bible is alive and well after all those years in print.