Stefferdoos

Heh, that's actually why I like beets. Dislikes: cilantro and all offal except for hearts and the pope's nose on a chicken (which is something my family used to fight over).

mm, that color is so pretty. I want to paint my living room with it. To dcarch as well... the scrimshaw on that lamb leg bone is so cool!

I find the Keurig is my least favorite of the single serve coffee makers. It makes a pretty weak cup in my opinion (even with the darker roasts). Possibly why its so popular in the US. I'd say the best of them is the Tassimo. Does a good strength cup with a layer of crema on top. Obviously, the preference is freshly ground and pressed. But a few years back I found the single serve attractive just because it took so little time.

Scotty Boy, I can't think of any word that would more accurately describe how that salmon looks other than "luscious". Tonight I made a good old standby. Roast Chicken. About 7 years ago I spent about a year to get the right recipe and method and it couldn't be more simple. Salt and pepper inside along with parsley, thyme, rosemary, lemon and onion Rub the outside with olive oil then salt and pepper Roast at 400 until the chicken is the correct internal temperature (this being debatable I won't mention a particular temp) Tonight I had it with pommes puree and sauteed spinach.

The above plus: Sultan's Kitchen: A Turkish Cookbook - Ozcan Ozan Having spent much time in Turkey I wanted one that was more specific to Turkish interpretations of dishes that are common across the region. Turkish cuisine is a little different as it seems to be caught somewhere between Greece and the Middle East (just like the country itself).

Strawberries are already coming in!? It's my favorite food! I was a bit surprised too. Almost a month earlier than last year. Probably because winter was so much sunnier than it was last year.

The first strawberries of the season are in here in Carlsbad. So I made jam this morning. I'll have toast and jam for breakfast and probably more jam and whatever I can find to put it on all day long. Or just eat it with a spoon.

We had Devilicious come to our offices for a few weeks while we were waiting for our own food services to come on board. I found it to be inconsistent. My favorite truck has been Tabe (Korean BBQ taco truck). Since our offices have moved, we don't see them anymore. I may have to go and find them some day. I've never stopped at MIHO. Mostly because the lines always seem really long. Recess is another big favorite of mine. Their tots rock! I really want to stop at Mangia Mangia as well. Thanks for the review on that one.

I love making pineapple and mango salsa for my pork chops (I just season those with S&P before grilling). The salsa is simply pineapple, mango, red onion, jalapeno, lime juice and a little salt. But the sweet and tart go so well with the pork.

When I lived in Upstate NY the thyme I used to get there was definitely suited to the zipper method 90% of the time. Now that I live in CA I find most of the thyme I buy has very fine and curvy stems. I've started using the pitch it in method but when it does need to be separated prior to cooking I will separate out the woodier bits and just chop the rest.

I'm not a complete locavore by any means but I have definitely become better at it. Living in Southern California certainly helps to make this easy on me as well as markets like Whole Foods, Ralph's and the produce shop I found here in Carlsbad that totally rocks. I haven't started going to farmers markets yet, but do stop at farmstands when I see them and there are plenty of them around (there's one down the road from me that sells heirloom tomatoes which I happen to be addicted to). Like everyone else though I definitely have things that come from afar in my cabinets and fridge (coffee, spices, imported cheeses, San Marzano canned tomatoes and condiments). My meats and produce are all local. Its a start. Once I get more familiar with the area I hope to move this ratio further along. Maybe next summer I'll buy a few bushels of tomatoes and can my own to get me off my San Marzano habit. However, I won't be giving up my Hellman's anytime soon. After watching Food Inc. the other night I'm glad I've moved in this direction and wish I lived in Virginia near that one farmer they featured.

Landru, we may have shared the same mother. I hated meat as a kid but now realize it had everything to do with the way my mother cooked it (bone dry). Pork chops were the worst I think. I started to try and come up with creative ways to make it look as if I had eaten everything (bits in the napkin or tucked under the edge of the plate). But I remember sitting what seemed like hours at the dinner table unable to choke it all down and clear my plate. To this day I wish I had a dog growing up to eat that stuff for me. Meat has improved at my parents house during my adult portion of my life. In part I think because my father has retired and does all the cooking now. My neuroses: I won't eat offal. This comes mostly from bad olfactory memories of my father cooking elk livers in the mornings while I was hungover during my college years. But disguised as a pate, I quite like it. Strawberry Quik milk. Looks too much like Pepto. But I do drink strawberry yogurt smoothies which are also pink and opaque. Go figure. Pet peeve neuroses: My sister insists she hates onions but if I dice them small enough that she can't tell its in a cooked dish, she eats them. I have this one spinach orzo dish I make that she requests all the time and asks me not to put onions in it. I just ignore that and she still has seconds and packages up the leftovers to take home with her. I had an ex that wouldn't eat a vegetable with more than 6 letters in its name. Not sure how he got around lettuce (7) unless he just didn't consider it a vegetable like asparagus, cauliflower, broccoli or zucchini. My nephew will only eat canned green beans and not frozen or fresh ones. He's only 5 and a half so I'll cut him some slack. But I blame my sister who cooks out of boxes and cans like some 50s or 60s housewife. She's also picked up my mother's talent in the kitchen for cooking meat until it becomes sand. This one isn't a pet peeve. Just a memory of my grandmother and her personal neuroses. She doesn't drink milk. And goes so far as to pour orange juice on her cereal instead. However, its just dairy in liquid form. She says its something about not being able to see through a liquid that bugs her. Ice cream and cheese she's just fine with. But not whipped cream. She's 100 and still kicking like no other 100 year old I've ever met. So maybe she's got something right with this one.

Its got to be his British palate that has him so at odds with the opinions of the other judges most of the time. Though Padma herself is from across the Atlantic as well, I'd think its safe to say that she's been here long enough for a palate adjustment. I thought Toby was a temporary stand in for Gail anyhow.

I'm a situational tray user: Eating in living room or dining room, no tray just carry (its an open plan first floor) Eating in sunroom, outside, in bed or in basement TV room. I use a tray.

There was an explosion of bacon somewhere? Yum!! But seriously, I find it silly when something as basic as bacon or garlic has some sort of resurgence. These are staples to me. I wasn't aware it was ever out of fashion. Will butter be the new black next?

I'm Italian-American. Even if your goldfish dies, you're probably getting food from someone.

Are these menus a recent development there? I guess what I'm really asking is if it was driven at all by the campaigning Jamie Oliver did to improve school lunch programs in the UK.

I find The Great Poem much too taxing to actually read - I'd rather go see a movie based on Beowulf and there's plenty of those around. This latest one has John Hurt as Rothgar and the setting is Norway, 709 AD. We did a feast scene in the great hall that showed the tables full of food props - plastic animal parts, salted fish, cheeses, breads, etc. There were wine barrels and jugs of mead everywhere. I wish I'd snuck a few snapshots. ETA: Thanks for the link April, it's a good one. ← I have a copy of Beowulf that I am certain nobody has seen. Somehow I ended up with my sister's HS English project video tape (from about 15 years ago) that featured a female Beowulf and Rothgar's wife (did he even have a wife?) was played by the football team captain. Maybe I need to have a "premiere" party of my own with all your great food ideas.

So I had to go back and look at my 2008 resolutions first to see how I did. In 2008, I will eat less Adirondacks High Peaks Ice Cream with Hot Fudge Sauce - pass I will make a terrine (or two or three) - fail I will find a Turkish restaurant in my area or at last resort at least find a middle-eastern one - fail but I did cook Turkish for my family instead I will learn to make sausage - fail I will teach my nephew how to make soup - fail (but we made other stuff) I will read all the cookbooks and other cooking related books I asked for at Christmas - more or less pass OK, so lets see if I can be more realistic this year. In 2009, I will eat more Japanese noodle dishes I will make a dinner comprised entirely of French Laundry recipes I will find a Middle Eastern restaurant near me (this quest will not die) I will learn how to debone a chicken quickly I will teach my nephews how to make whatever they wish to learn I will read all of my magazines cover to cover and not let some just sit there on the coffee table I will grow tomatoes successfully (this year they were such a failure for me) I will not eat so many chocolate enrobed Biscoff cookies dipped in Nutella at the Delta Crown Room club when my flights are delayed

Brunswick Stew Split Pea Soup Jambalaya Basically anything cooked in one pot over a good amount of time that makes the house smell yummy too.

Suggestions for states I've lived in: New York - no doubt about it, the Cheesecake Massachusetts - another no brainer, Boston Cream Pie New Hampshire - wow, I lived there for 7 years and I can't really come up with a definitive dessert for the state. Lots of people seemed to be fond of making Blueberry Buckle but it was always after they had been to Maine over the weekend and gotten some blueberries there. Texas - possibly the Pecan Praline? Though, I am sure there are many southern states that would like to claim this as their own. Well, what do you know. The Boston Cream Pie is already the Official State Dessert of Massachusetts http://www.foodreference.com/html/fdesserts.html.

Did you use some of that bacon she brought you in it as well?

Tonight it was bibimbap. Or, at least my version of it. I used sirloin marinated in Korean BBQ marinade, lettuce, zuchinni, rice, egg, bean sprouts, carrots , scallions and cukes that I pickled in some rice vinegar, soy and Siracha (I should have done the same with the sprouts I think). Plus a liberal amount of this: And all stirred up to one yummy mess. Honestly, I love that paste so much sometimes I just steam some rice and mix it in along with some lettuce.

Roast Chicken is exactly what I made in my new house last summer. Plus rosemary roasted potatoes, roasted summer squash and zucchini with oregano, carrots, peas and a salad. It was moving day and we unpacked the kitchen boxes first. I may have made a poor choice there since it was like 90 degrees out and I didn't have central air yet. We were all sweating at the dinner table but it tasted great. Needless to say, I got my central air done that week. Thank goodness my cousin has his own HVAC business. I can't thank my family enough for getting me unpacked so quickly. I also had to go out of town that week but my sister, her husband and two kids spent the week at my house and unpacked the rest. They moved out of their house the same day I moved into mine and were waiting on their apt to be ready (they are building a new house). I've been so happy this first year in my new house back in the town I grew up in. I get to cook for my family (mom, dad and sister's family) every Sunday and have a place where there's enough room to do all that cooking.

Yeah, there's just something rather unnatural about pairing Velveta and chocolate. I'm not sure if the problem was compounded by the addition of caramel, white chocolate and nuts or not. Call me a candy snob, I don't care how many bows you tie on it, or how much red sugar you stick it in, it was an unappealing mess I just didn't want to try. And, if you watched the judges they weren't to eager to try it either. I was, however, interested in trying Tyler's Gingerbread cakes and Robert's Cranberry Clafloutie. ← I'll agree the thought of chocolate and cheese is a bit disgusting. But since Velveeta isn't really cheese I think its use had more to do with its chemical properties rather than anything else. I'm sure I've likely unknowingly eaten fudge made with Velveeta in it just from living in Texas for a year and the large proportion of back of the box trick home cooks that reside there. I'd just as soon see Cat gone as well. How many times will we need to see different versions of the same damn recipes before they realize she's a 1 trick pony. I'm waiting for something like a Sea Urchin battle where she makes Sea Urchin mousakka or something equally as ugh.