Pierogi

We seem to be stuck on the fact that "the bags are *free*".... I doubt that they actually are. SOMEONE, SOMEWHERE is paying Mediacy for their production. Maybe the local branch that FG shops at isn't paying for their supply, but you can bet the ranch the Corporate overlords are. Mediacy ain't printin' those things for gratis, and then supplying them to the MegaMart out of the goodness of their hearts. So, while, they may not be directly contributory to the cost of produce at said branch of the MegaMart, you can again bet the ranch that their cost does factor in to the overall prices charged by that chain. Again, there is no way Mediacy is NOT making money off those bags. That said, my city just passed a ludicrous civic ordinance that will outlaw the large, plastic grocery sacks (mercifully, NOT the veggie bags). I use those for my kitchen garbage can liners, they're just the perfect size for me, since I dump the trash to the outside receptacle every night. Starting in Augusst, if you don't bring reusables to the MegaMarts with you, you get to pay $0.10 for a paper bag. I'm p*ssed. Big time, because now I'm going to have to purchase something for the express purpose of throwing it out. When I swooped into Albertson's to get a baguette today, and went through the self check-out, did I snake a couple of extra bags into the one with the bread? You betcha. Did I feel bad about it.....a little, but I feel more like taking a picture of the stash of plastic grocery bags I'm accumulating and sending it to the City Council with a header "To The Barricades, Muthas !"

DAY-UM, Katie ! That simply rocks. Congratulations !!

Wow, you guys on the other coast must be getting our allotments ! I saw red cherries for the first time in the local stores yesterday, at $7.99 a POUND. I didn't get any. I do see in the flyers for next week's sale, though, that a couple of chains have them on special, so they must be starting to be more readily available. I love the Raniers, but the regular old Bings are just fine too.

Hey Brooks, Yes. It's worthwhile for sure. Paul Prudhomme's "Louisiana Kitchen" is still my Bible for that cuisine, but Besh's book is visually stunning and has some recipes I've fallen in love with. It's very different from Prudhomme's, but I'm still very glad I have it. That said, there are a lot, a *LOT* of recipes in it that are very "restaurant-y"....lots of steps and involved preparation that I look at and think..."yeah, I'd eat that at 'August' but not gunna make it at home". There are also a lot of recipes that are made with local, southern Louisiana ingredients that aren't available elsewhere....mayhaws and quinces and buster crabs and fresh, live crawfish. Prudhomme offers alternatives where he can, Besh is more like, find the authentic stuff. Which I appreciate, but can't necessarily accomplish. For a basic, introduction to the cuisine, I'd recommend "Louisiana Kitchen" hands down, and it would be one of the 3 or 4 books I'd rescue if the house burnt down. For the next level, Besh is a winner, but look at it as "fine cuisine" New Orleans, and not the basics. Besh's gumbo, red beans and rice and brown butter fig tart, though, have become standards in my kitchen. His jambalaya is also good, and though I haven't tried his etoufee, I'm planning on it. Hope this helps....

That's John Besh's technique in his "My New Orleans" cookbook. I'd not heard of it either, and tried it when I made his gumbo recipe the first time. It's a great tip, makes the flavor even deeper and more layered.

TOTALLY !! You just know he's preening into an off-camera mirror, admiring how studly he is.

Most olive oils will also be too strongly flavored. You want a neutral oil. I usually use peanut oil, since it has a high smoke point, and enhances the "toasty" taste of the roux, or corn oil. I guess you could use canola, but I've had problems with the "fishy odor syndrome" from it, so I avoid it for high heat applications, which roux certainly qualifies for.

OHHHHHHH ! You have "Three Ancient Cuisines" by The Frugal Gourmet ! Ohhhhhh, you're my kindred spirit ! I so love that book....

Unfortunately, Mary Ann Esposito, or shall I say mary ANN esPOSito, is still on in the LA basin, and apparently still producing new shows.....forever, I'm afraid. She's already been on since dirt was young, and shows no signs of going gently into that good night..... The show is "Ciao Italia" and it is dreadful, miserable, painful to watch. Did I mention it makes me twitch when I hear her voice....which is like the voice of your least favorite elementary school teacher. The one who treated you like a blithering idiot, even though you could understand the periodic tables in 3rd grade? THAT teacher. She comes on in the middle, the dead, smack middle of the block of cooking shows one of the local PBS stations in SoCal programs on Saturday afternoons. After the Martha show and before Lidia. Although I program my TV for the whole block, I walk the dogs while mary ANN esPOSito is....on....the....tele.....vis....ion. She is like fingernails dragging on a chalkboard to me, and her recipes suck. Plus, she's got helmet hair. She may not be the worst, I've not seen a lot of the ones who have been mentioned (and I rule Sandra Lee out as NOT being a cooking show, so she doesn't qualify....), but mary ANN esPOSito is right up there in the most annoying.

Coffee-Chocolate Layer Cake with Mocha-Mascarpone Frosting (sprinkled with cocoa nibs over top). From the April '09 "Bon Appetit". It *was* as decadent as it looked.

They be "plates" and "bowls" and "saucers" and "cups" and "dishes" in my house. Dinnerware my big, old, bouncy, fat @ss. By that standard, I guess the dogs eat from "petware"........

Asparagus Pizza....crust from Reinhart's "Bread Baker's Apprentice" (actually, could've used a bit of sturdier crust, but it was still damn good). Topping is sliced asparagus sauteed a bit with olive oil & garlic, then removed from pan, and onion added to drippings. Sauteed until soft. Onion, garlic & asparagus mixed into ricotta cheese, with some crushed red pepper flakes. Spread over crusts, topped with slivered hard Italian salami (I used "Calabrese" salami, which is also spicy) and black olives, then topped with shredded mozzarella and the asparagus tips. Onto the stone in a 500°-plus oven for about 5-7 minutes, and you have dinner. It was fine. VERY fine. Full recipe will be on Da Blog in a day or two...

I LOVE her and that show. Laura Calder is her name, and she rocks. Her show, the reruns of La Julia and "Chuck's Day Off" are about the only shows I watch on either FN or Cooking Channel any longer. Given that her show doesn't suck, I don't expect it to be around much longer. Especially if she doesn't learn to say "BAAAAAAM" or "YUMMMMMM-OH" or "MONEY".

Copied and THANK you !!! That sounds (and looks) amazing......will be my next meatloaf.

Hmmmmmm. I've probably used Better Than Boullion (chicken, beef and veggie) for about 10 years, at least. Certainly since right after they were introduced into the mass market. I've never had a jar liquify in the fridge. Ever. It's always pasty. If I keep it out on the counter for a prolonged period during prep, it does get a bit more "loose", but still not close to what I'd call liquid. I've probably kept opened jars in the fridge for up to 6 months...never a problem. If anything, I wish it would be a bit more "liquid" so it would dissolve better in cold or cool liquids. Oh, and I have no shame about using Better Than Boullion. Nor Accent. Nor Lawry's Seasoned Salt (or Seasoned Pepper). Or Maggi. Or Kitchen Bouquet. Or Tony Chachere's Cajun Seasoning. They all have their place. Better Than Boullion moreso than the others....

Ohhhh, good God.....any chance of a recipe on that? I literally just finished dinner, and would eat a slice of that in an instant....*droolie face here*

WORD, dude ! But chocolate (especially dark chocolate) and orange is a magical combination. Seriously, folks, what's WRONG with you? It's high on my list of favorite combos. I've been known to add a splash of Gran Marnier to my chocolate mousse. Other than marzipan, licorice jelly beans are pretty vile, and get systematically picked out of the candy dish. I also got some candy/chocolate coated sunflower seeds from Trader Joe's (think M&Ms only with sunflower seeds in the middle instead of bad chocolate) that I had one handfull of and tossed the rest in the trash. And yeah, those "circus peanuts" should be banned. But I can stomach most other stuff, and even crave it occasionally. In small doses, though. Even candy corn. One bag, once a year, and I'm done.

Mayonnaise. Never had success until I tried it in a small, 3-cup KitchenAid processor. Now I can make it with my eyes closed. And yeast doughs, bread, pizza, sweet doughs, brioche.

I've used it in grillades, cut thin and pounded out a bit. The meat remains a bit chewy, but the flavor's OK, and it works with the dish. I might try jacquarding it next time I make them. I've never done it, but it seems to me there was a thread here a while back (like a couple of years) where several members had used the Cook's Illustrated/America's Test Kitchen low and slow oven roast beef method with an eye of round, and proclaimed it a great success. I think CI/ATK may have even recommended that cut....

The opening of In 'N' Out in Texas is the lead story on the CBS-affiliate's 11:00 news in LA tonight. Jus' sayin'....... And was teased on their sister station's 10 o'clock news. Enjoy your double-doubles, Tejas !

Absolutely piecemeal. My sink (and kitchen) are too, too small to allow for accumulating dirty dishes. I'd never be able to get a glass of water, or cook anything else ! I also sometimes don't run the machine for two days, so really would make me bat-sh*t to have dirty dishes in the sink for more than an instant. It seems to be the only clean-freak trait I inherited from my mother. Her mantra was "I just can't go to sleep with dirty dishes in the sink". Why that stuck, and nothing else about housekeeping did is one of the mysteries of my life.

Totally agree, and totally my system as well. But I do pull ALL the ingredients out and stage them on a side counter. And I wash and trim all the veggies and trim/season the meat before I get going. I learned to pull all the ingredients and stage them after one-too-many times of leaving out something key (like an egg in a muffin recipe !). I've tried doing the full-blown mise, just to be cool I guess, and found it wasn't efficient for me, unless I'm doing rapid fire stuff like a stir-fry. Or if I need a large amount of chopped veggies added at once, like to stop a roux for gumbo.

We were on the same wavelength ! I did that yesterday, with the dregs of a loaf of brioche I'd made last weekend and bacon. It was damn good. There's seriously nothing wrong with French toast, ever.

Doesn't her accent and delivery remind you of a certain SNL character created by Gilda Radner? I know exactly what you mean. However my memory goes back a bit further and I was reminded of a very young Goldie Hawn on Laugh In when she would deliver a sort of gurgly giggle and follow up with a spot-on delivery of the punch line. Both of those comparisons are dead-bang on ! That said, I do enjoy the show, although it's a bit simplistic compared to Bayless. Even with that, though, I get some good ideas. But now I will never again watch it without channeling Roseanne Roseannadanna crossed with Goldie Hawn !

Lior--Thank YOU and welcome ! jsmeeker---That shortcake looks absolutely amazing. Just what a strawberry shortcake should be.