Emily_R

Love that Heidi - especially the threaded lid! Beautiful!

WOW Jmahl -- that's amazing. I had no idea sweet potatoes were so prolific! I just harvested the rest of my radishes today... We have a huge amount of them, and unfortunately I discovered i'm not a fan of roasted radishes, so I'm at a loss for what to do with them. Maybe I'll try a stir fry?

I was recently in Madison, Wisconsin and spent time in an amazing cheese chop there, Fromagination. I bought this cheese there, and it was exceptional: http://heavytable.com/espresso-bellavitano-by-sartori-cheese/ The text there describes it as cheddar meets parmesan, but I think it has more of a cheddar meets manchego feel... Really really good! The coffee rubbed rind was very mild to me -- not strongly coffee flavored, but just added a little more savoriness....

Dejah -- That hot and sour soup looks great -- would you mind sharing the recipe?

I just had TJ's frozen brown rice, red rice and black barley medley -- SO GOOD. It comes in three packets that take only 3 minutes to heat in the microwave. It made a perfect quick wholegrain side dish -- we had it with chicken sausage and roasted fennel with grapes. Sadly, I was visiting a friend when I had this -- there's no TJ's right near me. But I liked it so much I'm thinking of trying to cook up batches of all three grains, combine, and freeze my own!

Just made two great new recipes last night and tonight. The first was an eggplant and tomato dish with israeli couscous from Serious Eats... http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2012/08/eggplant-and-tomato-sauce-with-israeli-couscous-recipe.html I added a can of chickpeas which was a good call... And there is no need to do it in two pots -- I basically cooked the eggplant and tomatoes for 10 minutes, then added the rest of the broth and the couscous and cooked it for another 10. I didn't have basil so I used oregano and mint. Its a winner! And tonight, made this swiss chard gratin from Food 52. http://food52.com/recipes/14230_swiss_chard_gratin -- its really a nice recipe, not heavy at all, actually very little milk or cheese in it, but it was just delicious. The tiny pinch of nutmeg makes surprisingly big difference. I had it with baked fish an couscous... Yum!

I was under the impression that buttermilk helps keep chicken moist and tender in situations like grilling, where chicken ordinarily would dry out. Cooking chicken sous vide locks the moisture in to begin with, eliminating the need for a buttermilk marinade...

I don't understand -- lard and butter and drippings as opposed to what? Olive oil? Canola oil? I'm just not understanding why that kind of switch is somehow supposed to be magically healthier...

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/19/dining/reviews/le-cirque-in-manhattan.html?smid=pl-share Wow. He makes it sound like they're serving one step above banquet hall food. Has anyone here been recently?

Maybe its just me, but I don't see why four more months at this place to put on your resume would make much difference. To me its not worth the risk of your burning out on the profession entirely / getting so scarred by this experience that you won't be able to move on and be productive at the next place you're in. Get out!

Lunch today -- avocado and home-grown tomato on hearty white bread with melted cheddar cheese. So good it seriously improved my day.

Rancho_Gordo -- YES YES YES on how much I hate it when people invite me to a BBQ and ask me to bring something to grill. HATE.

Veeeery interesting dcarch! I'll try the two steaming options (air and water cooled) in the next few days, and will report back!

Sounds awful. To be honest, my response would have been to trash it, make something using a recipe I've had luck with, and trust that my mother in law would never have known the difference. I don't see how anyone requesting you make them a birthday cake has even the remotest claim on what @#$$%@#$! recipe you use!

I will say, that while I'm fine with potlucks for big crowds (the one I went to recently was probably nearly 40 people), I really resent them for small dinner parties. If there are 8 or fewer people, and you're going to invite me for dinner, I don't think I should be required to cook for the pleasure of coming to your house to enjoy your company!

I prefer potlucks where the host provides the main protein, and guests provide sides and desserts. I was just at a fantastic potluck over labor day weekend that worked this way -- the hosts provided grilled chicken and sausage, and cupcakes for dessert. The guests, many of whom are good cooks, provided a really amazing array of super delicious sides -- it was one of the best meals I've had at a party in a while. That said, I think the quality of the attendee makes a huge difference on the quality of a potluck. If you are inviting people who love food, great. If you're inviting people who eat frozen dinners at home, not good at all.

Put them in a steamer, let the water come to a boil, and then I steamed them for 17 minutes (splitting the difference between 15 and 20 minutes, since I've read both online). Then put them into an ice bath. Peeled two right away and two the next day. Its a miracle!

Naguere and Enrique -- THANK YOU! We have chickens, and even our oldest eggs (two weeks old maybe) have been virtually impossible to peel. I tried your steaming technique and -- like magic -- perfectly peelable eggs! I would have put this message up yesterday, but I wanted to put the eggs to the real test -- would they still be easy to peel after a night in the fridge. And? Yes! I am so thrilled!

Scotty -- so good to hear I'm not the only one who didn't see what the fuss over that Momofuku recipe was... I wasn't a fan at all...

Or maybe something along the lines of a Smores Pie? This Coffee Smores Pie from Bon Appetit sounds particularly drool-worthy... http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2012/07/coffee-smores-pie

Hey mskerr -- Not sure quite how to reply... I certainly am not taking on four-page recipes for dinner! One thing that I guess has really shaped my day-to-day cooking is a new years resolution I made to myself back in 2008, and have been renewing ever since: to try at least one new (to me) recipe every week. And I get pretty close to it -- some weeks multiple new recipes, some weeks I miss, but I keep track of them all in a spreadsheet and it averages out to about 80 new recipes a year. This has really improved both my cooking and my repertoire -- to the point that I often just forget about great recipes I've made in the past, until friends of mine I shared the recipe with say they've made it three or four times since I served it to them, and then I'll say "oh yeah! that recipe! It was good!" I also do a lot of soups in the winter, but usually they serve as just one dinner and then lunches in the week. My I-can't-deal-with-cooking standby is pasta with butter and salt (a childhood favorite). My I-seriously-can't-deal-with-cooking dinner is cereal and milk, or maybe popcorn. But that happens pretty rarely -- maybe once a month? Right now all of my cooking is centered around dealing with the immense amount of vegetables the garden is producing... To the point that if i see another tomato I may scream. At other times in the year I'm occupied with using up the eggs our chickens give us, so lately that has meant more quiches, fritatas, etc. I don't go out to dinner very often -- I live in a small-ish town, and I'm cheap, and I hate feeling like I could make better food than I'm buying. Anyway, not sure if that's what you're looking for...

I know it might not be as good as stock you can make with meat, but stock made with the bones from whatever organic chicken you buy and cook (for roasting or any other meal purposes) can still be tasty... That's what I currently do -- I buy whole free range chickens from a local farmer, and freeze the carcasses after roasting them. Then when I have a few of the carcasses I make stock in my pressure cooker...

Ok Rover, I'll see your corn chowder and raise you one! I just made Martha Shulman's Creamy Corn and Poblano soup from the NY Times Recipes for Health. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/23/health/nutrition/creamy-corn-and-poblano-soup-recipes-for-health.html It was fantastic! I liked it much better than any chowder I've ever made with cream or potatoes in it -- this was absolute essence of corn. The only thing that would have improved it would have been some grilled shrimp, but then again, I think shrimp improve almost anything...

You got me Squeee-ing with just the Dodo! That one kills me!

Maybe a yellow tomato and corn soup?