blue_dolphin

Tomato & Gigante Bean Bake from Smitten Kitchen Every Day on toasted rosemary baguette. I used Rancho Gordo Christmas Limas and subbed in some of Marcella Hazan's tomato sauce from the freezer instead of the canned, crushed tomatoes.

Ahhhhh! I'm feeling very relaxed already! I made a version of the Baked Oatmeal with Caramelized Pears and Vanilla Cream from Smitten Kitchen Every Day using peaches instead of pears. Maybe it was the fault of the peaches but even though I cut the sugar down, it seemed very sweet to me. Too sweet for breakfast so I made it even sweeter by serving it over a scoop of vanilla ice cream and had dessert for breakfast!

I tend to use my cast iron and Darto pans more often but I agree that a non-stick can be good to have. A couple of weeks ago, I read some reviews (incl the one that @lindag mentioned above) and replaced my 20+ year old pan with this 12-inch Tramontina non-stick fry pan. So far, so good. I don't have any illusions that it will last any longer than the 3-6 yrs that review estimates and for ~ 30 bucks, I thought it was reasonable.

Since I've got a big old horseradish root in the fridge and beets, too, I figured I should try the Roasted Beet, Citrus and Olive Salad with Horseradish from Six Seasons p 280. Reading over the recipe, I thought it might benefit from a nut or seed, a crispy breadcrumb or a bit of cheese, all very common ingredients in this book. Turns out, it's quite good as is. Before I finished eating, I tried some crumbled goat cheese and I liked that addition. Beet salad with goat cheese is such a cliché but I like it and it's a nice contrast to the bite of the horseradish. One very small nit to pick - the recipe recommends using different color beets and then proceeds to marinate them all together where everything will surely turn bright pink. There is no mention of separating them to maintain some color contrast. Of course, it's not necessary unless you happen to want a salad that looks like the photo in the book, in which case, do this: then assemble everything on the plate.

Thanks for reporting on that test. I was wondering how the IP might work....or not....for this.

Another great combination of textures and flavors from Six Seasons with the Fried Celery Root Steaks with Citrus and Horseradish p 344. @koen posted about this recipe upthread here. The celery root gets peeled and sliced into 3/4" thick disks. I'd go with 1/2" next time but these were fine. The "steaks" get roasted first, then breaded and fried and finally, topped with a citrus-peperoncini-parsley "salad" and freshly grated horseradish - I added more after I took the photo. I served this as a vegetarian main dish and would recommend making extra of the "salad" topping as those flavors, along with the horseradish really make the dish special. I had Cara Cara oranges from the local farmers market on hand so I went with that but I'm looking forward to trying this with a mix of other citrus like the blood oranges, tangerines or Meyer lemon that he suggests or even grapefruit or a few lime segments.

@chefmd, for some reason, the packaging of that mustard looks like some sort of medicinal ointment to me After concluding in another thread that I don't repeat things very often, I proved myself wrong with the same breakfast as yesterday.....

I agree. Almost everything I make leaves me with tons of ideas. Agreed again. Shame on IACP for not standing behind their decisions. When Six Seasons was advanced as a finalist, the board voted to allow it to continue and then caved and failed to stand behind their decision AFTER it won the top prize. I have no issue with a professional organization giving an award to a member. Go ahead and pat yourselves on the back when it's deserving. It happens all the time. I'd prefer a transparent process over the direction they seem to be going in proposing to ban the board/officers from winning awards. Edited to add: Thanks for the recommendation on asparagus mint salad. It's on my list to try soon!

Leftovers on toast. Clearly, I started snarfing before I took the photo Toasted ciabatta, rubbed with garlic, topped with horseradish cream and leftover caramelized onions and sliced chuck roast from the Braised Beef with Lots and Lots of Onions from Six Seasons. Bread toasted, meat & onions warmed in the CSO.

I listen regularly. Usually when I'm cooking, doing housecleaning, etc. There is a lot of fluff but I enjoy Dave's sense of humor and his general interest and curiosity in many things.

Beautiful stove! I love visiting this local shop, Antique and Vintage Stove Shop to admire their selection. I've always hoped to get a vintage stove someday, preferably a red one but I'm not sure it will happen. Maybe someday! Here's a couple similar to @TechieTechie's but with solid doors: link and link

When I was putting this in the oven, I was looking at these big hunks o'meat and thinking, "What am I ever going to do with all this meat??" But after tasting it, I was packing up the leftovers and thinking, "How am I going to ration this and make it last???"

Following in @Anna N's footsteps again. Braised Beef with Lots and Lots of Onions from Six Seasons p 356. Not sure what got into me here. I rarely cook beef but I spied some chuck roast on sale at Sprouts and we have rainy weather predicted for a few days so I decided to try it. Here we are, ready to go into the oven. Beef has been browned; onions, garlic & thyme cooked down with a little added butter and a cup of wine added. Had to switch to a bigger pan mid-stream so it took me a little longer than I expected to brown the meat and get the onions cooked down and ready for the oven. This is after ~ 2 hrs in the oven. Flavor is good but the meat needs a bit more time so I gave it a turn and put it back in for another hour And we're done: My those onions cooked down! I used a mandoline to cut them at 1.5mm (recipe says, "as thin as possible") but I would go with 3mm next time so they don't completely dissolve into a paste. Served on polenta - comfort food. Looking forward to leftovers.

If they were motivated to learn and willing to do a little reading, I'd absolutely go with Samin Nosrat's Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat. She shares her knowledge and experience generously.

You have 2 focal points here, the slice of cake on the plate and the cut cake on the stand. Decide which one you want to be the star. Right now, they're sort of equal in the photos Looks like you have some nice natural light coming in from the left side of the photo. I would rearrange things so the cut surfaces of the cake are facing the window, or at least better illuminated so you can see the nice layers of cake and frosting. You can put the plate with the slice of cake in front of your cake stand and focus on that, with the cake in the background or focus on the cake itself with the plate, slice and fork a little to the side. 2 cents from a non-pro

Parsnip, Date & Hazelnut Loaf Cake with Meyer Lemon Glaze from Six Seasons p 361. @Anna N posted about this earlier in this thread and I've been wanting to try it every since. The flavor is very interesting, in a good way. I don't think it screams "parsnips" but there's a pleasant spicy flavor that I enjoyed. My dates were kind of dry so I plumped them up in a bit of orange juice and drained them well. I baked this in 3 small loaf pans - 1 to enjoy now, 2 to freeze. They still took 45 min to bake even in the small pans. I usually skip the glaze for loaves like this but I was intrigued by the addition of black pepper and had plenty of Meyer lemons so I gave it a go and I found it a nice touch. It's looks pretty with the flecks of yellow zest and black pepper so if I was give this as a gift, I'd certainly use the glaze.

Leftovers for lunch. I added some microwave-steamed sugar snap peas and yellow bell pepper plus a sprinkle of feta to the pasta with kale sauce from Six Seasons that I posted yesterday. I found this more appealing than the overwhelming green-ness of the original.

@Thanks for the Crepes, sounds like you had a nice weekend! What did you actually get for lunch at the seafood place?

I borrowed Nopalito from the library and when the sale popped up, I decided it was worth the 2 bucks. Haven't actually cooked from it yet. From the current sale crop, I sprang for: POK POK The Drinking Food of Thailand: A Cookbook @ $2.99 (NOT on sale at Amazon.ca) Simple Thai Food: Classic Recipes from the Thai Home Kitchen @ $1.99 (same price on Amazon.ca) Kristin Kish Cooking @ $2.99 (NOT on sale at Amazon.ca)

@Chris Hennes, I would have put you in the "serious student" category, with your deep dives into various cookbooks and especially recently with breads. I guess there's an element of "one of" experimentation there, too, but you are building what you've learned in each area and becoming more expert as you go. I used to be a repeater. I did most of my cooking on the weekend, mostly on Sunday, sticking with things I knew would freeze well or hold a few days in the fridge, plus a few quicker dinners during the week. I tried new things but depended on some version of the regulars for most meals. I made some sort of smoothie for breakfast every day for years! Now I have more time to play so I'm certainly leaning in the "one of" direction.

Kale Sauce with Pappardelle from Six Seasons p 312. I used a different pasta shape, although it's impossible to discern that through the overwhelming green-ness of the sauce. If anyone's looking for a good St. Paddy's Day pasta, this could be for you . I like the economy of this sort of dish. Salted water goes on to boil, garlic gets gently warmed in olive oil, vegetables are cooked in the water then scooped out to make way for the pasta, then everything comes back together in the same pan with a splash of pasta water. Elsewhere, I read comments from others who thought the the sauce was excessive for the amount of pasta so I only added ~ 2/3 of the sauce. I'd say that's still a bit overly sauced for my taste. I also took note of those who thought the sauce was lacking in flavor so I was generous with the garlic, added a squeeze of lemon juice and used a mix of parm and pecorino Romano for a little extra tang. Feta could also have been good, I think. Flavor-wise, I was happy, though I tend to like pasta with some more textural contrast from lightly cooked vegetables.

The kindle version of Kristin Kish Cooking, Recipes & Techniques is currently on sale for $2.99 on Amazon.com. Sadly, not on Amazon.ca

Made the Deli Rye English Muffins from Smitten Kitchen Every Day. They use 80g dark rye flour + 175g all purpose. No dough-y insides!

Egg & sausage on a toasted English muffin I made the Deli Rye English Muffins from Smitten Kitchen Every Day, added one of the Maple-Sage Breakfast Sausage patties from The Food Lab and an egg from the farmers market.

I happen to like a margarita made with reposado tequila. Maybe I haven't found the right blanco. Or maybe I just found what I like