FoodMan

Make that two strongly recommends. (And Jinmyo, thanks for a wonderful post.) Three

A great summer day here in Houston and I wanted to light up my charcoal grill for the first time after we moved to our new home so the wife asked for burgers. Burgers it was, I made the patties nice and thick, medium rare for myself and medium well for her. Served hers topped with melted swiss cheese, mushroom and onion sautee, and the rest of the regular fixins'. I am not too crazy about sauteed mushrooms and onions on top of my burger so I just topped it with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, raw onions and pickles. Served the burgers with homemade fries. For dessert I had picked up a few pounds of very nice strawberries. I made some shortcakes with turbinado sugar (recipe from an older issue of F&W). the berries were macerated with some sugar, balsamic, and vanilla. Cut the cakes in half, put a scoop of vanilla ice cream in there and top with plenty of berries. A fabulouse summer (or spring) dessert. FM

Thanks Adam. Last night: quick farfalle tossed with sauteed chicken thighs, sausage and pine nuts in a cream-basil sauce. FM

can you elaborate?? Was it roasted or braised? It does sound very interesting. Thanks FM

This recipe does sound amazing ---The article was great too mamster -- I copied it into word (the recipe), added the updates, and printed it out. Will try it as soon as I get a chance. FM

Is rhubarb easy to grow? When do u plant it? how? Maybe I can plant one in the new garden. FM

Rose water is a very common ingredient in middle eastren and Indian foods (mainly desserts). I use it to make rosewater and pistachio ice cream, puddings, yogurt sauce to top starwberries,... There was also a very good recipe on e-gullet somewhere for Pistachio cake that uses it. A simple search should find it. Once Suvir finds this thread I am sure he will add more comments on the use of rosewater in Indian desserts. FM

Colombian red beans. Cooked with beef, smoked sausage, potatoes, sweet plantains, plenty of green onions and tomatoes. Served on top of rice and sprinkled with cilantro. Dessert: orange polenta short bread cookies (from Babbo's book) and store bought French Vanilla ice cream. FM

Man that woman is SO ANNOYING.....she once made "homemade" biscuits by adding cream cheese to Bisquick. I think I even prefer R. Ray better. FM

I did not see it but it sounds pretty bad!!! I mean if she is a vegetarian the poor two guys should be told that instead of wasting a perfect protein filled meal on her. FM

Mark- Wouldn't that render the bacon soft and "uncrispy"?? I like my bacon slightly crispy and I imagine the microwave would sort of "steam" it. Correct me if I'm wrong. I like the idea of using it to partially thaw meats for thin slicing. I use mine to: - melt butter or ghee - reheat certain items (never meats or especially chicken which I think gets a nasty "chickeny"taste . Mainly reheat rice, mashes, soups, chilli, coffee -quick "steam" vegetables in a bag -re-heat breads (normally pita or other flat breads) I don't believe I ever used it to cook anything though. FM

Sunday- - Stuffed bone-in 4-rib pork loin. The stuffing was a mixture of pine nuts, basil, corn bread crumbs, and one egg. Roasted until the crackling got golden brown and crisp. -Saffron spiced rice. From Roden's book, cooked with saffron, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom in chicken stock. -Dessert: chocolate tarts Monday- -Eggplant with Tahini and yogurt. -Indian Chickpea flat bread -Leftover grilled chicken thighs -Dessert : Chocolate Souffles FM

The second one sounds like a great combination! Do you marinate/preserve the eggplant yourself? Sorry it took me a while to respond but I've been away from the board for a few days. I do marinate and preserve the eggplant myself. However, I cannot claim ownership of the recipe , it's from Mario Batali's first cookbook "Simple Italian Food" and it is a delicious snack on some crusty bread, added to pasta or on top of Pizza. PM me if you would like the recipe it is very easy even though it takes some time for the eggplant to be ready. FM

Awbrig- I gave the recipe to Charlie a while back... I am assuming you are talking about the Balsamic butter sauce? I'm sure it would go great with pumpkin. I actually got the recipe for the esparagus from this Wednesday's "Houston Chronicle"'s Food section. However tossing the stalks in risotto was entirely my idea FM

Beautiful. Elaborate. Please. Chop shallots finely (about 2Tbsp) saute in a little butter until slightly browned. Melt 2 Tbsp butter and mix in about half of that balsamic vinegar (or more if you like), add some fresh thyme and S&P to taste. Mix in the shallots in the balsamic butter and you have shallot and Balsmaic butter "sauce". I just blanched the esparagus and cut them into large pieces then tossed them in the sauce. When the risotto is pretty much done I just mixed the sauced esparagus in there. Give it a try, it is very very good. FM

The lamb shank from Saturday's dinner: Wednesday: -Hake fillets seared in butter and oil then finished in the oven, topped with a light saffron/gralic cream sauce. -shallot and Balsmaic butter esparagus risotto. -Haagen Daaz Dulce de Leche ice cream for dessert Thursday: -Homemade Pizzas- One Margarita with fresh Mozz and Basil, and one topped with marinated preserved eggplant, balsamic caramelized onions, mushrooms and Tallegio cheese. -Desserts: brown sugar peach tarts with Devon custard. FM

It sure sounds wonderfull, I have to try that. So much liquor...so little time. FM

Oh look at those spoiled strawberries, and these rotten rib-eyes. You ever feel like stuff you pay so much for should last much longer than it should. Well we do too here at the e-gullet R&D department. The reason for spoilage is mainly water content. So we are proud to introduce the ingenious....EGULLETDeHYDRATOR In just a few minutes you can dehydrate ANYTHING, from meats to vegetables to liquids. Yes we said liquids, milk will last for months, same for OJ. All you have to do is put your target food item in this compartment, as you can see it is big enough for a whole leg of lamb. Then push the Dehydrate button allowing about 5 minutes per pound and voila this great gizmo will stop when every drop of water has been exhumed. Look at this cucumber it is perfectly dry and can be stored for up to a year. same goes for this apple juice, yes this is apple juice -powder that is- just add water and wow as fresh as just squeezed juice. Restoring meats and vegetables is as easy as dehydrating them. just put them back in the same compartment as the one used to dehydrate them and fill the other compartment marked "water " with water. Push the rehydrate button and the target food is miraculously restored to its original fresh condition. Just look at these pork chops, would you believe that only minutes ago they were as dry as jerky. AMAZING!!! This great gizmo is not available in stores and is yours for ONLY 25 payments of $19.99. Order now because these babies will be selling fast fast fast!!! Disclaimer (to be typed in very fine font on the bottom of the screen):This product is not FDA approved, it has not been properly tested, foods restored were never consumed by humans. Foods restored caused serious brain damage in most lab animals. buy at your own risk.

I use the exact same method as you do to make Limoncello (I still have one bottle in the freezer and another in the pantry from the last batch) but I use 100 proof Vodka instead of grain liquor. I make sure to strain the liquid using a cheesecloth to remove any piths or particles. Very tasty treat. However using Bugialli's method, does the liquid turn yellow also or is it just like flavored Vodka...clear? As for the meyers, slice them paper thin and bake on tope of some fish in the oven. marmalade and Jam have already been mentioned as have the curd tart but they are excellent. FM

In case you did not know "The Apprentice", Jacque Peppin's memoires is out on the shelves and at Amazon. Amazon has it for %30 off and my copy is in the mail. FM

I think I use the #2 bulgur, I'll double check when I get home. FM

Funny thing!! I actually did the exact same recipe from Roden's book to go with the Kibbe but forgot to mention it in the post above. Thanks for the reminder FM

Are we talking Cinnamon buns or Sticky buns??? I make Cinnamon buns all the time from Reinhart's "the Bread baker's apprentice" book and they come out perfect. However the Cinnamon buns do not sit in a sugar mixture (the sticky buns do which he also has a recipe for). The buns are rolled and baked then drizzled with confectioner's sugar glaze. The sticky buns utilize the exact same recipe for the dough but they have no cinnamon swirl in them and they do bake in sugar then are served "upside down". Jackal has good advice about the temperature but I beg to differ on the rolling part. I make sure not to roll them too thin or they will get dry and tough instead of soft and fluffy. Maybe u can post the recipe you are using and I will compare to mine and see if any improvement can be made. If you need the recipe I use for either of the buns let me know and I will either e-mail it or post it. FM

WTF?! Last I heard the reduction or elimination of mestrual flow is an indication of malnourishment and is often an indicator of anorexia in women. Would you say they are not adopting an evangelical tone? How about these statements: They then proceed into the standard issue "enzyme" nonsense, using junk science to support their views. What worries me is not so much adults that decide to adopt this lifestyle but the possible harm to unwitting young children who are dragged into it by their parents. Very well put. Not angry, just voicing my honest opinion. I do not send hate e-mails to these folks nor do I throw eggs at them in the street (waste of good protein ). Their website is a compilation of flawed propaganda that they try to pass as a fact that was reached using the proper scientific method . FM

Friday: -Fried Kibbe stuffed with ground beef, onions and pine nuts. -Tahinni and yogurt sauce with lots of parsley (went great with the Kibbe) -Hummus -Tabboulli Saturday: -Slow braised lamb shanks -soft polenta with butter and parmigianno regiano (sp?) Sunday: -Homemade Italian bread slices topped with Machego cheese, Serrano ham, and drizzled with Olio Novo. Finished with a little sprinkle of fresh Thyme. -Spaghetti tossed with homemade chicken/pesto "sausage", broccoli, lots o garlic in a vermouth butter sauce and purple basil. -Almond Chocolate stuffed crepes for dessert FM edited to add the Tahini sauce