blue_dolphin

As part of Fine Cooking's 25 year anniversary, they have published a list of "25 Cookbooks That Belong In Every Food Lover’s Library" 9 of the 25 are baking or dessert books, a much larger proportion than my own collection, though that is an understandable personal preference. I'm sure there are nits one could pick about all of the books but I look particularly askance at the selection of Jamie Oliver's Jamie's Italy as the only Italian cookbook. Is it really on a par with the selections from Madhur Jaffery for Indian, Diana Kennedy for Mexican and David Thompson for Thai cookery? I guess I should take a look at it. With the exception of Ms Jaffery, it's consistent with their choice of an Anglo interpreter for other cuisines. And no Wolfert? I guess Ottolenghi is covering parts of her world on the list. No China, Japan, pickling/fermentation. Nothing modernist. No classical French, unless Patricia Well's My Master Recipes is supposed to cover that, though I wouldn't agree. Nigel Slater's Tender is the one vegetable-seasonal eating book. I'll have to take a look at it to see if I think it's the be all in that category. Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential is on the list. I agree it's a great read but it wouldn't make my own list if I had to winnow them down to a top 25. I've never looked at Mark Peel & Nancy Silverton at Home but it surprises me that it would be in anyone's top 25 collection. Maybe I should attempt my own personal "top 25" list, not that I would impose them on anyone else! What do you think about the Fine Cooking selection?

I like this combination of photo and caption: I know very well that the caption refers to an earlier photo but I did look carefully to be sure those weren't little airplane garnishes on an omelet.

I had a package of already shelled pumpkin seeds and used them so no shells. It is a delicious soup. And thank you for all your excellent reviews from this book!

Breakfast from Shaya Lamb kebabs tucked into whole wheat pita (both of which were reheated in the CSO) with tahini sauce, Israeli salad with preserved lemon vinaigrette and a little hummus that I didn't end up eating.

Kabocha Squash and Fennel Soup with Crème Fraîche and Candied Pumpkin Seeds from Sunday Suppers at Lucques p 323. @FrogPrincesse has already reported on this one, earlier in the thread. Alongside the soup are Crostini with Blue Cheese and Walnuts from a Deborah Madison recipe. I suspect that I browned the squash and fennel more than the recipe intended when I was roasting them so the color is dark but I rather like the toasty flavor. The recipe offers a choice of chicken or vegetable stock or water. I used the Instant Pot to make a quick stock with the skin, seeds and trimmings from the squash, fennel and onions. I used an amontillado sherry and liked the flavor it added. I substituted Greek yogurt thinned with a bit of buttermilk instead of crème fraîche. I was going to skip the candied pumpkin seeds but I'm very glad I didn't as they only took a few minutes and add the perfect finish to the soup. The header notes say they're adult Halloween candy - they're almost like a spicy pumpkin seed brittle.

Wow, that is one amazing lunch! I would have needed more wine. Then a long nap!

The Preserved Lemon Vinaigrette from Shaya has become a staple for me. He uses it on an Israeli salad. I use it on everything. 1/3 cup white wine vinegar 1/4 cup lemon juice 1 1/2 T minced preserved lemon (about 1/4 of a lemon) 4 t za'atar 1/2 t salt 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil The book also has a preserved lemon aioli that's fabulous. I'm always adding a little preserved lemon to things that need a little oomph.

An assortment from Shaya Clockwise from top left: Moroccan Carrot Salad p 366 - carrots are lightly roasted and tossed with olive oil, vinegar, harissa, paprika, sugar caraway, cumin, orange zest, thinly sliced onion and mint leaves Labneh with Peppers and Radishes p 38 - the chopped green bell peppers are briefly blanched in heavily salted boiling water which nicely reduces the green-ness. Pita p 302 - I've been making these with whole wheat flour, a blend of Sonora and Red Fife Bulgarian Lamb Kebabs p 16 with Prepared Tahini Sauce p 392 - kebabs are made from ground lamb, bread, buttermilk, onion, smoked paprika, cumin, parsley, dried milk powder and S&P. Israeli Salad p 33 with Preserved Lemon Vinaigrette p 393 on butter lettuce

A variation on the Blood Oranges, Dates, Parmesan and Almonds from Sunday Suppers at Lucques p 343. @FrogPrincesse has already posted about this a few times. Simple and delicious - eating it is kind of like nibbling on a fruit and cheese plate. I used Medjool dates instead of Deglet Noor, curly endive instead of arugula and walnuts and walnut oil instead of almonds and almond oil but I think it's still true to the idea of the recipe.

Thanks! I had a mix of sizes of collard leaves - some were big enough that I could get 4 rolls from one leaf and others that barely made one roll!

An article I read last month in the WSJ said the triple stacks were being offered for a limited time:

Curious that post doesn't show up for you. Here is a link to @Dejah's post with the recipe.

They're not mid-summer tomatoes but quite good - juicy and flavorful. They're from Beylik Family Farms and grown hydroponically but since they are ripened on the vine and harvested locally, they are way better than what I think of as "hot house" tomatoes. I always pick mine from the "seconds" bin, which are less expensive, but also more ripe.

Went to the local farmers market this afternoon. My haul: Clockwise from top left: Oro blanco grapefruit, Eureka lemons, big fat carrots, ginger, Japanese yams, Fuyu persimmons, eggs, collards, kale, green onions, cilantro, tomatoes, Italian parsley, blood oranges, Cara cara oranges

Ah, understood. Mine must have been more mild as there wasn't any rust.

Are you re-seasoning because your pan is now sticking or are you just going by appearance? I roasted a cauliflower that had been poached in wine in one of my paella pans. It left cauliflower-shaped pale markings in the previously pristine black surface but I just gave it a scrub, put it on a burner to dry and added one coat of oil. It doesn't look pristine but has retained it's non-stick properties as far as I can tell.

My understanding is that cannellini beans are in the same family as haricot and Marcellas are thin skinned cannellinis so they should work, assuming you keep in mind that the thin skins make the Marcellas rather delicate. If the recipe calls for a long cooking time and much mixing and it's important to you that the beans remain intact, you might want to pick something more sturdy.

I see similar lemons around here, usually marked as Pink Lemonade lemons. The flesh is pinkish but otherwise they are very similar to standard Eureka lemons. Not sure if the Pink Tigers are the same or something different.

As @pastrygirl said, it may not whip well, but I've found it to work just fine in baking - cream scones for everyone! Edited to add this link to @tikidoc's cream scone recipe. Because of this, I always freeze heavy cream in 1 1/4 cup portions.

For New Year's Eve, I made the Collard Dolmades with Sweet Potato Yogurt (I previously posted about them here) from Deep Run Roots p 438. I made these smaller, with ~ 1 T of filling and they were a hit. This left me with leftover collard stems, collard leaf trimmings and half a roasted sweet potato so I made a small batch of Stewed Collards p 426 and used them in the Creamed Collards with Pickled Collard Stems p 429. I also made a small pan of Mom's Cornpone p 28 which was a bust so I spread the creamed collards on toasted slices of pan de pueblo bread made a at local bakery from corn and wheat flour. The creamed collards are very rich so the pickled stems are a perfect addition. They were also good to perk up my bowl of black eyed peas. I will never throw collard stems away again. I used the leftover roasted sweet potato to cook up a few slices of Grandma Hill's Candied Yams p 314 subbing in the Baharat spice mix from Shaya for the seasoning. The sweet potatoes were also very good and made me wonder why I don't keep them around more often. The cornpone batter is just cornmeal, water, salt and a touch of sugar and it's cooked in bacon fat in a screaming hot cast iron skillet. Mine came out dry in the middle although the edges were crisp and tasty. I could probably play around with the amount of water and thickness to make it better but not sure it's the kind of thing I should be eating a lot of.

Leftovers from New Years Black eyed peas topped with pickled collard stems, Grandma Hill's Candied Yams, Creamed Collards with Pickled Collard Stems from Deep Run Roots on toasted pan de pueblo bread from Roan Mills

NYE dinner with cousins and friends. I brought Brined and Roasted Almonds from Six Seasons and a variation on @JAZ's Sweet & Spicy Walnuts using the Baharat from Shaya. The Tuscan Grape Bread from Diana Henry's How to Eat a Peach that I made previously and was less than thrilled with was thinly sliced, toasted and served with some Pt. Reyes Blue. I also made the Collard Dolmades with Sweet Potato Yogurt from Deep Run Roots. Photo from a previous post: My cousin made the Broiled oysters with arugula purée and Champagne sabayon from the New Year's Eve menu in The Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook At this point, we moved over to the dining room and my Champagne consumption increased so no more photos. From the same Silver Palate menu as the oysters, my cousin made the Spinach & Bacon Salad with a warm Champagne Vinaigrette and the Nutted Wild Rice to accompany broiled lobster tails with garlic butter. After a break, dessert was homemade lemon buttermilk sorbet and Christmas cookies.

When faced with electric coil-element or smooth-top US stoves, the Chinese students and post docs I worked with found standard skillets or fry pans better suited than a wok. They occasionally used a high-power outdoor gas wok burner when cooking for larger groups and parties but stuck with the skillets for indoor, family cooking. In sharing recipes, they recommended that I do the same on my low-powered gas range.

Quiche & bacon: Hot coffee and bottles of bubbles not shown but very much part of the meal!

This is only marginally food-related but the number of puns in this LA Times report entertained me: CHP nabs motorist who hatched plan to avoid tolls using sticker from chicken wing package