Emily_R

I do usually blanch and shock kale and broccoli rabe. Actually this is often to facilitate their textural change, speeding up the process of getting them to that thoroughly wilted and yielding stage. I'll often just blanch the broccoli rabe in the water I'm boiling for pasta (before the pasta has gone in it of course)...

Coke Zero Coke Zero Coke Zero. Its pure bliss in a diet soda. I'm stunned that its not further up the soda rankings...

Just made the Carrots with Lentils and Olive Oil recipe that recently appeared in the Times and loved it... http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/08/health/nutrition/08recipehealth.html?ref=carrots I served it with basmati rice as a simple weeknight dinner. It was fantastic -- so savory, and somehow really more than the sum of its parts. It should make for great leftover lunches as well. That said, I made a number of smallish changes, mostly out of necessity. I was totally out of garlic (gasp!) so I added some ginger and used a pinch of garlic powder. I upped the onion a little, and cut down the carrot a little (so it was a little more balanced ratio of carrots to lentils, rather than predominantly carrot)... And I used cilantro instead of mint. I have the sense it is a pretty flexible recipe -- I have no doubt the original specifications would be delicious as well... Serious serious yum.

For the bag of sesame seeds -- benne seed wafers? Ok, what I need help with is the insane amount of frozen strawberries and raspberries I have in the freezer. My garden produces upwards of 75 pounds of strawberries and 50+ pounds of raspberries a year... I probably have about 25 pounds of strawberries and 20 pounds of raspberries in the freezer right now. The problem is that neither my husband nor I like smoothies :-( Other than making tons and tons of strawberry or raspberry coulis, (or frozen strawberry margaritas, which is the primary thing I use the frozen strawberries for) what should I do with them? Emily

Hi Thampik -- I just recently got a pressure cooker, and my suggestion is getting one or two pressure cooker cookbooks and using them as a reference for timings. It is hard to generate a rule of thumb because factors like whether the meat is in small chunks of a big piece, and whether it is on the bone or off, will make a big difference. For what its worth, the book I referenced suggests 28 minutes at high pressure plus natural release for lamb shanks. The book is Pressure Perfect by Lorna Sass, and has yielded a whole bunch of fantastic recipes. Her book does have tables and charts in it... In addition, as I understand it the amount of liquid shouldn't depend on the amount of meat, but instead on how long you're going to be cooking it for. I believe one of the books I have says a minimum of 1/2 a cup of liquid per half hour of cooking time. I don't think this should vary much by the type of pressure cooker, though if you have one that vents a fair amount of steam while it cooks (as the old weighted gauge ones do), you may need more liquid... Emily

Oh lord this is seriously tempting...

While generally I don't buy many tomatoes out of season, lately I have found that the "Kumato" tomatoes -- they are brown tomatoes about the size of tomatoes "on the vine" -- are quite good. Nice acid / sweet balance, good juicy texture... While sure they're not a peak of the summer tomato, they do nicely in a salad, or chopped up in guacamole, or on a sandwich, etc.

Hey Alan -- I'm PMing you the exact recipe, but for everyone else, 5 minutes at high pressure, and quick release.

I'm sorry you had a bad experience dcarch! My understanding from reading several current pressure cooker cookbooks is that as long as you add enough water in addition to the sauce ingredients, this should be plenty safe. I was surprised at how little water was required (in addition to the thick crushed tomatoes in puree) to cook my pasta perfectly -- I think I used 8 ounces of pasta and a cup of water, in addition to maybe 2 cups of pureed tomatoes...

My solution is to literally start eating cereal the minute the milk is poured, including several bites while walking to the dining table. But I agree with grape nuts, which I think actually need about 45 seconds to reach their best consistency.

Hey Chris -- I'm about to start making some pancetta, and have two questions for you... 1) In Charcuterie, they suggest wrapping in cheesecloth if making stresa. I see above you don't do this. Do you know what the point of the cheesecloth is supposed to be? 2) I see you're talking about hanging for 20 days, and in the book they suggest 2 weeks... Have you noticed a big difference in flavor with longer aging? And it doesn't dry out on you? Thanks! Emily

Ok, one last question Ann -- do you bake it from Frozen, or thaw it? And seriously everyone -- run, do not walk, to Ann's blog for her rhubarb pie recipe. I think its the best pie I've ever made. My only change to her recipe is to add a little orange zest to the pie, which I love. As for me, I'm fighting off a cold, so last night made my favorite fend-off-illness meal -- Garlic Broth turned into avgolemono soup. Here's the recipe from the NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/01/health/nutrition/01recipehealth.html?_r=1 It is so good -- it really feels like you are drinking a bowl of health.

Ann -- I love your rhubarb pie recipe so much... Did you make this one using frozen rhubarb or fresh? I've always struggled with frozen rhubarb, as it seems to let out such a huge amount of water... Emily

For what its worth, I just did this in the pressure cooker for the first time. The idea of cooking pasta in the pressure cooker seemed so bizarre to me, but I figured I'd give it a try. basically the idea is you add 1/2 cup of water for every 4 ounces of pasta, along with adding crushed tomatoes and herbs and seasonings that will make up the sauce. Damned if it didn't turn out really well, and most shocking to me, the pasta was cooked perfectly! Not mushy in the least!

Two nights ago I made a red pork posole in the pressure cooker, and was amazed at how much depth of flavor got developed in what took 30 minutes start to finish, and only 8 or 9 minutes at high pressure! If anyone out there has a pressure cooker I'm happy to PM you the recipe..

For Chinese, to me the ultimate test is wonton soup. Is the broth homemade? Are the wonton wrappers the right thickness? Is the filling flavorful? Are there other add-ins (fresh spinach? roast pork?)

I tried something new tonight and was pleased -- brussels sprouts in black bean sauce! I had never thought of going Chinese with brussels sprouts, but it was delicious. I added a little ground pork and a little ginger, but other wise it was pretty much this recipe, with a little chicken stock + cornstarch to make it a tiny bit saucy. Really really good. http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/brussels_sprouts_with_black_bean_garlic_sauce/

My recent favorite has been a lemon anchovy dressing, with the following proportions: 1 clove garlic 3 anchovies 2 Tbs lemon juice 3 Tbs extra virgin olive oil* salt and freshly ground pepper to taste I basically mince the garlic and anchovy into a paste together with some kosher salt, put that plus the remaining ingredients in a mason jar, and shake vigorously... Really really good served over arugula and shaved zucchini... Emily

Yum -- this sounds seriously delicious. Can you give a sense of the proportions? Was it mostly zukes and a little chorizo for flavoring? Or a more even mix? And was it really saucy? Or was the sauce basically just coating the veggies? Looking forward to giving it a try...

My understanding -- I believe I heard this from Cooks Illustrated -- is that typically cilantro stems aren't bitter, though parsley stems are.

There are six of us for the superbowl... Our menu: (normally there would be more meat, or at least wings, but we have a vegetarian joining...) Hoisin & Honey Glazed Riblets Chips w/ Guacamole and Salsa Hummus and Pita Chips Pepper and Cheddar Rolls -- Check these out! I've never made them but they look SO GOOD (http://www.blogexquisit.com/2010/12/rollitos-de-pimiento-y-cheddar.html?utm_source=BP_recent) Frozen strawberry margaritas (hey, I've got to use the 80 pounds of strawberries in my chest freezer somehow!) Vegetarian Chili Apple crisp

Ok, surely this crowd is up for a debate about just how much risotto should spread on your plate? Anyone?

I have a 5 liter (6 quart) cooker, and the instructions say it should be filled *no more* than 2/3rds full at the max. When you factor in the space taken up with bones and veggies and whatnot, I'd say the max amount of stock you could make in it would be 3 quarts, and that's probably pushing it -- maybe more like 2.5...

Matthew -- I have a 5-litre (not the KR), and my understanding is that its the bare minimum size you'd want... Remember that you can only fill your pressure cooker about half way full, so 5 litres isn't its actual cooking capacity. Especially if you are looking to do make larger quantitites of stock, I'd definitely go with the 7 litre... Emily

Kneading bread dough.