blue_dolphin

Gingerbread pancakes from The Moosewood Restaurant Table, mango chunks and yogurt The cookbook includes a recipe for a lemon syrup to be served with these pancakes which sounded awfully sweet to me. Instead, I stirred some lemon zest into plain Greek yogurt and topped it with a few slivers of candied lemon peel. The flavor of these pancakes was good but my batter was much too thick to be poured on to the griddle. Not sure what I did wrong but I'm not going to worry about it.

BTW, I got some excellent ideas I can use to expand on my above experiment in this 1995 article from the SF Chronicle: SAVORY SHORTCAKES / The perfect shortcut for summer entertaining I think they are all for individual shortcakes but no reason I can't adapt them to the format I used above.

The recent Cake Memories topic got me to thinking of the "fruit tortes" that my mom was locally famous for. Not a cake exactly, but a cake base, filled with some sort of custard or pudding and topped with fruit. I've mentioned them previously over in the Family Recipes topic . The recent thread got to me wondering if I could come up with a savory variation so I decided to make Nopalito's take on Mexican street corn, Esquite Tostado con Crema y Queso Fresco (Toasted Corn with Crema, Ground Chile and Queso Fresco) and put it on a corn bread/corn muffin base. Here's the "cake" made from a box of Jiffy corn muffin mix. I was dismayed that the box in my pantry said, "best by 9/25/12" so I invested 47 cents in a new box! Fresh corn cut from the cob gets toasted to get some color and mixed with lime juice and salt and is to be served topped with crema, queso fresco, ground chile and pico de gallo. I spread the crema over the corn bread then topped it with the corn/lime juice mix and queso fresco, spooned the pico de gallo in the middle and sprinkled the ground chile over everything. Here, with more pico de gallo on the side: To get something easier to serve, it would probably be best to mix some of the crema and toppings into corn to sort of glom it all together. Still, kinda fun

I bought the soy chorizo for the first time not long ago so I can't really compare brands. I got the stuff from Trader Joe's and I'm quite pleased with it as an easy way to add a lot of flavor to a dish like beans. I plan to keep it on hand, probably parcel it out in ice cube trays and freeze so it's easy to grab a little. It's pretty salty but I'm not eating a ton of it.

More leftovers - Marcella beans cooked with some soy chorizo, reheated broccolini with sesame seeds, Parmigiano and lemon and a poached egg

Two more Six Seasons recipes for my lunch today. Pan-Steamed Broccoli with Sesame Seeds, Parmigiano and Lemon p 176 and Roasted Radishes with Brown Butter, Chile and Honey p 116 both served with orzo with lemon and parsley from Diana Henry's Simple. The pan-steamed broccoli was nice. I substituted broccolini and followed one of the suggestions in the book to add some anchovy to the pan. Between the garlic, red chile pepper flakes, anchovy and lemon this is a very flavorful prep. One could easily toss this with pasta, maybe a few kalamata olives and call it dinner. The roasted radishes get started on the stovetop, then move to the oven and get finished back on the stove with a dab of butter and a splash of red wine vinegar and drizzle of honey. This gives them a lot more flavor than I got from the grilled radish salad I posted about above.

I'm sure @Anna N will weigh in on how things may have evolved but in the meantime, check the first post in this thread for the initial specs. Edited to add that I realize that this is the second time today that someone asked @Anna N a question and I jumped in with my 2 cents. I will stop interrupting. It's long been an issue of mine !

I grate them over pasta, vegetables - would be lovely on asparagus - for a little umami hit. Anywhere I might otherwise use a sprinkle of parm but don't want to go the cheese route. Since @Anna N is dipping into Japanese and Asian themes these days, I can imagine they would make a nice condiment there too and look forward to seeing how she uses them.

Broccoli Rabe, Mozzarella, Anchovy and Spicy Tomato from Six Seasons p 185. Bottom line - quick, easy lunch, delicious with some crusty bread and a glass of red wine but not a whole lot better than something I might cobble together from leftovers. If I did that, I would be quite pleased with myself, but I've come to expect a bit more from this book. In truth, I probably wouldn't have used fresh mozz to decorate my leftovers, and it is lovely here so that certainly elevates the dish. I used broccolini instead of broccoli rabe and added some radish greens to up the "bitter" factor that differentiates broccoli rabe from the rest of the broccoli family. My tomatoes never really turned into a "sauce" - as the book describes - long as I cooked them, they were just little tomato chunks so that may be a factor as well. Nice lunch. No complaints, though if I find myself with spare broccolini or broccoli rabe, I'm likely to go for the quicker and easier Broccoli Melts from Smitten Kitchen Every Day.

That sounds lovely! @Shelby has recommended a Green Bean and Mushroom Tart that includes a bit of blue cheese and crispy shallots. I loved it and I bet it would be smashing with asparagus, too. If there was puff pastry in my freezer, I would be testing it out right now!

Did you read the review over on the Wirecutter? If you are really anti-smart, want something simple and cheap and have given up on accuracy, that $35 Hamilton Beach model might be something to consider.

More leftovers for a sturdy, monochrome meal: The Sautéed Turnips with Prunes and Radicchio from Six Seasons was seen in its first incarnation over here in the Six Seasons thread. Today, it got reheated and topped with some semi-soft washed-rind Belgian Chimay Hiver cheese that I picked up a while back at Trader Joe's. The funk of the melty cheese went well with the earthy turnips, bitter radicchio and turnip greens and sweet prunes. This would be most suited to eating by the fire, washed down with a Belgian ale after a day of skiing but served its purpose for my breakfast, too!

No complaints here. I enjoyed my meal of this salad, accompanied by some extra sharp cheddar and crusty bread. I have enjoyed many more successes than failures from this book. I also appreciate the fresh produce I can access and have been having great fun using it in new recipes.

Grilled Radishes with Dates, Apples and Radish Tops from Six Seasons p 115 Not my favorite thing. Maybe my fault for using French breakfast radishes, maybe I just don't like cooked radishes. I'm not the biggest radish lover but they have their charms which include a fresh crunch and a mildly spicy bite. In this recipe, they are to be grilled or roasted whole and dry in the oven. Since I am grill-less, I used the oven option and the radishes started to shrivel before they softened. I gave them some extra time but in the end, this cooking method took away their charms (to me) and left some rather soft and tasteless little vegetables. I mainly chose this recipe because of its use of the radish tops. My bunch of radishes came with an impressive collection of perky leaves. Shown below going into the pan: Yes, that's a 12-inch skillet with the leaves from just one bunch of radishes! Now, I usually blanch the leaves for a couple of minutes first, drain, roughly chop and THEN sauté them but I followed the recipe and wilted them directly in the olive oil and they ended more bitter than I, a lover of bitter greens, like. I really loved the recipe for Radishes, Tonnato and Sunflower Seeds and I'll probably try the recipe for Roasted Radishes with Brown Butter, Chile and Lemon, but I won't make this one again.

I'd say the contents of your refrigerator make for a very happy catfish ! My breakfast was also leftovers, Sugar Snap Pea and New Potato Salad with Crumbled Egg and Sardines from Six Seasons. Once again, I used the CSO's plate warming setting (125°F) to take the chill off the leftover salad while I boiled the egg.

I can't say I found it depressing. At every stage of life, there are individuals who view food as fuel or a necessary requirement of living and others, like most of us here, who are happy to take advantage of the resources available to us to make the most of our meals. The last posts, in particular, made me smile in thinking of my parents and I thank @Anna N for sharing it. My folks were active and independent into their 80s and 90s and my dad always loved the idea of getting a good deal so he signed them up for a luncheon put on by the local senior citizens council. As soon as they walked in and looked around, he turned to my mother and said, "Mary, these aren't my people. We can't stay here." They went on to have a discussion about leaving, that sounded much like the text messages in @Anna N's post. I can't remember whether they stayed or left but the rest of the story came back to me and brought a smile to my face. I need to keep that smile in place as I edge closer to that age range myself!

Strawberry Fix from Sasha Petraske's Regarding Cocktails was delicious with some spectacularly sweet and fragrant strawberries from Harry's Berries. Muddled strawberries, lemon juice, simple syrup and mostly, bourbon.

One more recipe from the sugar snap pea section in Six Seasons. Sugar Snap Pea and New Potato Salad with Crumbled Egg and Sardines p 121. Very delicious, lemony, pleasantly fishy dish along the lines of a Niçoise salad. The radishes weren't called for in the recipe but did appear in the photo in the book AND in my crisper drawer so I threw one in. My sardines were packed in olive oil so I used some of that. As is my custom, I used half the specified amount of salt and less olive oil. Since the recipe calls for soft boiled eggs, I didn't try to "crumble" them but used a knife. The portion above is one serving per the recipe. I'd say that's generous for a first course but not quite enough for a main. Thanks for taking the time to explain your rant. I've never seen pan temps indicated in any of my cookbooks, whether written by professional chefs or not, so I wasn't sure that was your gripe.

Sugar Snap Peas with Pickled Cherries and Peanuts from Six Seasons p 119 Another one of Joshua McFadden's combinations that I never would have come up with on my own but which combine to make an interesting salad. The pickled cherries are the star of the show, and the main source of tartness so it's good to have a piece in almost every bite. Edited to add that the pickled cherries are also from Six Seasons p 58. I mentioned them over here in the preserving topic and gave them a week in brine before using them.

I picked up these turnips at my local farmers market yesterday and figured I should use them while the greens were still perky!

From the LA Times: Mario Batali's three Las Vegas restaurants are closing in light of sexual misconduct allegations The restaurants are located in hotels owned by the Las Vegas Sands Corp - B&B Ristorante and Otto in the Venetian and CarneVino in the Palazzo - and it's the Las Vegas Sands Corp that wants to end the partnership. The article says most of the 298 employees will be laid off. Hopefully they'll find other positions and I know it happens all the time but it's disappointing that lots of lower level employees will be affected by the offenses of a company leader. Edited to add: Ditto the staff of The Chew: ABC Cancels ‘The Chew’ After Seven Seasons

Sautéed Turnips with Prunes and Radicchio from Six Seasons Topped with an egg, not part of the recipe.

Sautéed Turnips with Prunes and Radicchio from Six Seasons p 168 Nice flavor contrasts between the sweet, earthy turnips, sweet-tart prunes (they are marinated briefly in balsamic vinegar) and slightly bitter radicchio and turnip greens. Is your rant because there is no temperature given for the pan in which the flatbread is cooked? I don't think I've seen pan temperatures given in cookbooks aimed at the home cook. I'd suspect that most home cooks, present company excepted , don't have a way to either set or measure the temperature of a pan. Is pan temp commonly specified in your cookbooks?

I came home from the farmers market and quickly made an Instant Pot steamed artichoke with preserved lemon aioli for my lunch. Sorry, I was too hungry for a "before" photo

Thank you! That sausage recipe uses bacon instead of additional pork fat so it's kind of like getting sausage and bacon all in one!