nightscotsman

Cool! It will be nice to finally meet you, Mr. Nice. Be sure to bring you eGullet placard so we can find you in the crowd.

I'm going to try to make it to this. Anyone want to meet there? According to the notice he has a new book out, but I couldn't find it on Amazon. Anyone know anything about the book?

I have a question: what makes white corn meal so different from yellow that it goes bad in the cupboard faster? I don't think I've ever had white corn meal, so have no experience with it.

Kitties in the HOUSE! Fun show guys. We had dinner at Luau before the show and it was very good. The Kaluha Pulled Pork Sandwich I had was excellent with moist, tender, flavorful meat and a nice side of papaya slaw. By the way, please do not encourage Zoka by purchasing their terrible baked goods. Worst. Brownie. Ever. And it didn't even have the excuse of being vegan.

One excellent tip that I learned from Cook's Illustrated to keep grilled tuna tender and moist is to marinate it for 1 to 24 hours in extra virgin olive oil. According to them, the oil tenderizes the tuna by coating the strands of protein. The olive oil penetrates the fish more quickly than other oils because it is rich in emulsifiers. Just put the fish in a ziploc bag with 3-4 Tbsps of oil and a bit of salt and pepper, and refrigerate. You can also add herbs and spices to the oil marinade to bump up the flavor (I like loads of coarse black pepper).

And one more that has some good info: Keller's/Plugra and other butters The short of it is - yes, which butter you use makes a difference, especially when used in baking (butterfat content), and eaten more or less straight on bread and such. If I only have access to supermarket brands, I use Challenge. However, my preference for baking is Plugra if it is readily available and not too expensive.

Yep - I'll see anyone who can make it at 11:30 (or thereabouts). Remember, we're meeting at the One World dining room for the Italian menu as opposed to the Square One bistro where we usually go.

OK, my friend flaked out on me and postponed our lunch again - so I'm in for lunch at SCCC today. Is anyone else coming?

Uh, mamster... I hate to tell you this, but that borsht you had at my place a few months ago? It had prunes in it.

The best Borsht I have ever had was from a recipe in the Sept/Oct 2002 issue of Saveur. They call it "Ukrainsky Borshch" and it uses cooked (they call for roasted) beats. A ton of ingredients, and quite a bit of work since you also make a beef stock with smoked ham hocks, but the flavor is rich, complex and meaty. Sorry I couldn't find the recipe on-line.

This discussion reminds me of one of Michael Moore's stunts on his old show "The Awful Truth": He got a big-ass Winnebago, painted it bright pink, loaded it with homos, then drove it to every state with active anti-sodomy laws so they could perform "unnatural acts" in front of the state capitol building (picture the outside of the RV, rocking dramatically and rhythmically). They called it the "Sodomobile".

I'm assuming these were frozen fries (and if so, I agree - eew), but I should point out a recipe for fries that Jeffrey Steingarten published in "The Man Who Ate Everything" and attributed to Joel Robuchon. The instructions are to pour cold peanut oil over raw sliced potatoes, then put on the highest heat. Supposedly by the time the oil reaches 350 F, the potatoes will be "deep golden brown and ready to eat". Never tried it myself, but I've been wanting to every since I read the book.

Apple Dumplings Serves 6 as Dessert. This is a recipe I got from my Mom for apple dumplings she used to make when I was little. It's a very unusual recipe in that she used diced rather than whole apples, the crust has quite a bit of baking powder and milk so it's halfway between a biscuit and a pie dough, and the whole thing is baked in a spiced syrup making it almost like a cobbler or pudding. Mom made a few changes to the original recipe and I made some as well (and will probably make more changes next time I make it). Syrup: 1-1/2 c sugar 1-1/2 c water 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon 1/4 tsp grated nutmeg 3 T butter Apples: 4 granny smiths, cored, peeled and chopped into 3/4" dice 1/2 c sugar 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp nutmeg Pastry: 2 c flour 2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp salt 2/3 c shortening (I used butter, Mom used Crisco) 1/2 c milk Make syrup: combine first 4 ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. remove from heat and stir in butter. Let cool to room temp For pastry: Combine flour, baking powder and salt. cut in butter using pastry blender or food processor until it forms coarse crumbs. Add milk all at once and stir quickly with a fork just until all the flour is moistened. don't over mix - treat it like a biscuit dough. Push the dough together and roll out a little larger than a 18x12 rectangle (do not chill first). Cut into squares a little larger than 6x6. For apples: stir together sugar and spices and toss with apple chunks. Mound in center of pastry squares. moisten edges of pastry, bring corners together over apples and seal seams. don't worry about being neat and tidy or making sure the apples are completely sealed in - this is a very rustic, homey dessert. Put the dumplings in a 9x13 baking dish and pour the cooled syrup over them making sure to moisten all of the top surfaces. Sprinkle with a little bit of sugar and bake at 375 F for 35 minutes until the apples are tender. server warm (these also reheat in the microwave quite well). I think this recipe might be even better using 4-5 cups of rhubarb instead of apples, and the the spicing could be played with. Also it's quite sweet, so some tinkering with the amount of sugar might be in order. Keywords: Dessert, American, Vegetarian, Easy, Fruit ( RG435 )

I'd love to do SCCC on the 1st, but now I'm seeing I'm supposed to have lunch with a friend that day - and they are buying. Hmm... maybe I'll drag my friend along to One World anyway.

I can't go Tuesday, but any other day I'm in.

New Seattle Central menus: One World Dining Room APRIL 29th, 30th, AND MAY 1st, 2003 ANTIPASTI & TAPAS Zuppe di Giorno soup of the day - 2.00 Insalata Mista e Gorgonzola tossed romaine with Gorgonzola and walnuts - 2.00 Ensalada de San Isidro Romaine salad with seared albacore tuna and tarragon vinaigrette - 6.50 Antipasti e Tapas your choice of the daily selection - 2.50 PRIMI PIATTI includes a side salad Risotto di Asparagi Asparagus and fontina risotto - 5.25 Ragù Bolognese con Tagliatelle fresh ribbon shaped pasta with meat sauce - 6.25 SECONDI PIATTI includes your choice of antipasto, tapa, soup, or salad Paella Marinera Spanish rice and shellfish with seasonal vegetables - 6.45 Saltimbocca Sautéed veal scaloppini, with semolina gnocchi - 6.75 Carneiro Recheado à Portugesa Grilled stuffed lamb loin chops with minted carrots - 6.95 Square One Bistro April 29th - May 8th , 2003 ...served with a cup of soup or salad... Poached Salmon Salad Seasonal Greens, Hearts of Palm, Chilled Asparagus, Your Choice of Dressing - $5.25 Tempura Fried Oysters Sauce Remoulade & Apple - Bacon Slaw - $4.95 Duck Breast with Huckleberry Demi Glace Wild Rice Pilaf & Wilted Spinach - $5.95 Seared Halibut Cheeks Tomato - Fennel Broth & Crispy Potato Cake - $5.50 Grilled Pork Tenderloin Peanut Sauce, Steamed Jasmine Rice & Baby Bok Choy - $5.75 Ricotta Ravioli with Lightly Smoked Tomato Sauce - $4.95

When I was little and my family went on road trips, first choice to stop for lunch was the nearest A&W drive-in. Teen Burger (the "Burger Family" member with bacon, natch) and a root beer float. Wish they were still around these parts.

Well, one of the classic uses is in pancakes and waffles - essential, in my opinion. And buiscits, of course. Buttermilk is used alot in baking to add body to batter, to add flavor, and for the acid to both activate the levening power of baking soda and tenderize the gluten in wheat flour. That said, I'm actually not a big fan of using it in chocolate cakes as I believe the extra dairy tends to mute the flavor of the chocolate. You often get a more intense flavor with plain water. Oh, and one of Claudia Flemming's signature desserts at the Grammercy Tavern was buttermilk panna cotta. I've made it and it was quite good, though you need to be careful with what you pair with it.

You can whip ganache? sounds interesting how does it work? You use a higher proportion of cream to chocolate, chill thoroughly, then whip like whipped cream. The cocoabutter stablizes it so it doesn't water out. Different recipes I've seen use various proportions of cream and chocolate depending on how dense the final product desired. The white chocolate cream I did used 4 oz of white chocolate and 1-1/4 cups cream. Also, depending on how stiff you whip it, it can be firm enough to use as a cake filling, or light and soft to use as toping or garnish, or even as a dessert by itself with some berries (think super fast and easy mousse).

What'samatter - you outta the good stuff and got desperate?

It really was, but I have to confess that at that point in the meal I was so full I was ready to hurl, so I couldn't enjoy it as much as I would have liked.

Tru in Chicago serves their tiny root beer floats with espresso ice cream and I thought it worked really well. Even better than vanilla, in my opinion.

Damn, that's a great sounding menu! I would have a really hard time choosing just one item to order. Any chance you could post some photos when you've finalized the presentations?

Another raspberry idea: recently for a friend's birthday party I made small, paper thin chocolate bowls (made with small balloons dipped half-way into tempered chocolate) filled with layers of white chocolate cream (whipped white chocolate ganache) chocolate sponge sprinkled with framboise, and fresh raspberries, finished with some decoratively piped white chocolate mousse, some mint and more fresh raspberries. The flavors blended nicely and the chocolate bowl made for an easy, neat and impressive presentation.

You're very welcome . I'm sure you and clair797 will love the book as much as I have. I haven't made the Orange Velvet Cake, but it looks like a strongly orange flavored, fine grained butter cake. There are also a huge number of fillings, frostings and glazes including a "traditional Kentucky" Sour-Cream Nut Icing that sounds really good. I have the original version of the book and there a few diagrams and illustrations, but no photos. I don't know if the new edition now includes pictures.