Shel_B

Thanks so much. Lots of good information there. With all the great suggestions and recipes I found here and in some other venues, the final result will be killer, I'm sure. In a way I'm glad I didn't just grab one of the recipes I had and go at it. What I'll end up with will be far superior.

That makes sense. Thanks so much for the suggestion. I'll try it when I make the next batch - probably with the cumin mentioned earlier.

Slapping head! Why didn't I think of that? Got plenty in the cupboard. Next batch. Thanks!

I love garlic, and eat it almost every day. Lately I've been lightly frying large cloves in EVOO until they get a light brown crust, setting them aside to drain a bit, and then munching on the fried cloves much like candy. It helps that one of the local markets has tons of garlic with large cloves. Now I'm thinking of flavoring the garlic. I tried adding some fennel seeds to the frying oil, and also some corriander seeds, but neither imparted much flavor to the garlic. What spices or herbs might be added to the oil that won't burn and which may impart some flavor, even if subtle, to the cloves? Oh, I sprinkled some cloves with a little cayenne - eh! not so great.

Thanks, Dejah ...

Great. Short ribs make good braising material. I've enjoyed John Besh's Short Ribs. Maybe you'll enjoy them as well.

Yes, I've been looking at some recipes and techniques for making a carbonade. There was a show on America's Test Kitchen where they made a version. Thanks!

Try this for starters: http://www.allaboutapples.com/orchard/me.htm

I'm a big fan of Paula Wolfert, and over the years have made a few of her recipes, a number of which were "a lot of work." Thanks!

Thanks so much, Kim. I've copied and saved the recipes ...

Last night I was looking for an interesting potato recipe in the Williams-Sonoma potato cookbook. The book has great photos of the plated recipes, and one of the photos included a picture of beef stew. The sauce just glistened and wrapped the meat and veggies in a comforting blanket of goodness. Boy, talk about comfort food. Today is cold and grey, and it's raining. It might be a good day to make some beef stew. Does anyone have a good recipe that they'd care to share? I'd like something with a thick sauce that has not been thickened with lots of flour - something along the lines of a well-reduced braise, maybe with some wine in it? Just a thought - maybe make the stew with something other than chuck roast. What would you suggest? Round? I don't mind a firm textured meat in the stew. Perhaps with some potatoes (what kind), carrots, peas - what else might be good - mushrooms maybe? Onions? I've never made a beef stew before so any suggestions are welcome. Thanks!

FWIW, this page http://www.diabetesmonitor.com/m19.htm may have some bearing on this discussion. If you don't want to read the entire article, you can scroll down to the section on sorbitol and maltitol and a bunch of other "tols"

I didn't see a list of ingredients. Did I miss it? shel

Thanks so much, Andrew. Coincidentally, I came across a version of that about a week or so back. Not made it yet. Your version has the peppers which was not in the version I found. Thanks! shel

There's Spaghetti Indiavolati in which the spaghetti is cooked in water that has been heavily infused with garlic and hot chile peppers. The garlic and peppers are ground up in hot water, added to the pasta water, and after a while the solids are strained out and then the pasta is cooked in the infused water. After the pasta is drained, dress with a nice extra virgin olive oil (a peppery one might be nice) and fresh grated parm, maybe sprinkle some parsley on it for a bit of color ... shel

Over the years I've been collecting and using some less well-know Italian pasta sauces which have come to me from various sources - from restaurants, from friends, on line, from books, and other sources. So, if you know of, or have, any interesting recipes, especially those that might be a local specialty, a local version of a more well known dish, or something that a particular restaurant might be noted for, I'd sure like to see them. Thanks! shel

I bought one within the last week or so - maybe ten days - in Ricmond, CA - across the bay from San Francisco. FWIW, Burger Kings that I've seen in the East Bay have a deal: Two double cheeseburgers for $2.00. The catch is you have to buy two. shel

There are many pasta dishes that can be made without the ingredients you've mentioned. One that I made recently is Spaghetti Cacio e Pepe, spaghetti with cheese and pepper. Add a green salad with an appropriate dressing and you've got a nice, tasty, classic Italian meal. shel

A chef friend tasted Diamond Crystal and Morton's Kosher Salt, and he concluded that there was a clear difference between the two, with Diamond Crystal having a "cleaner" taste. Another person, on another cooking board, came to the same conclusion. shel

There's a steamed calamari recipe I want to try and one of the seasoning ingredients is peperoncino, the Italian chile peppers, sprinkled on the calamari after it's cooked and just prior to serving. If I can't find them here, what would be a good substitute? Just to be clear, I'm not looking for the pickled or jarred peppers, but the plain chile peppers. Thanks for any suggestions, shel

Propylene glycol is used as an antifreeze, it is also used in our food and cosmetics. scb

http://www.kozyshack.com/products.html Kozy Shack makes some pretty good puddings for a pre-packeage commercial product. They're my go to pudding if I'm in the mood for something like that. The page at the link above has a store locator in the upper right corner. You have to scroll down a bit to see the locator. Good luck! shel PS ... Hmm, I didn't see butterscotch on their site, yet I know I've had it. Maybe it was discontinued <shrug>

You left out yellow prussiate of soda (a water-soluble, anti-caking agent) shel

For a long time Diamond Crystal has been my kosher salt of choice. What other kosher or similar salts are people using? I'm looking for better, fresher and cleaner tasting salt. Any suggestions? Recently I read (perhaps in these forums) that kosher salt, per se, isn't available in some parts of the world, specifically Europe. What is used in those places instead of kosher salt?

Thanks for posting that. I never heard of curtido and looked up some recipes. It seems to be something I'd enjoy making and eating. shel