blue_dolphin

Coquilles St. Jacques à la Parisienne from Mastering the Art of French Cooking with a version of the Pan-Steamed Broccoli from Six Seasons I once again demonstrate that I don't know what Julia means by a moderately hot broiler - something for me to work on! Luckily, the over browning was limited to the cheese and the scallops were tender and delicious.

Most dishes air dry but I use dish towels to dry wine glasses and other crystal. We have hard water so air drying always leaves water spots.

That looks amazing, @liamsaunt! I picked up some nice beets with fresh greens at the local farmers market: So today, I made the Roasted Beets, Avocado & Sunflower Seeds, p 134. I subbed toasted slivered almonds for the sunflower seeds. Had a mix of red, gold and candy beets but the red ones turned the others pink on the outside. This is an interesting cross between a warm side dish and a salad. The beet greens get sautéed in olive oil, then marinated with vinegar along with the warm beets. I added a sprinkle of feta because I thought it needed a little something and didn't want to turn the avocado to mush by mixing too much more.

I was going to make this for dinner last night but I didn't so...Coquilles St. Jacques à la Provençale from Mastering the Art of French Cooking With crusty bread to dip into the buttery sauce.

I have one drawer full. It's a big drawer. The formerly colorfully printed linen calendar towels that are now entirely white are used for straining things as are some of the blue and white check collection that must be 30+ years old. After that, they range in age. Once they get so many holes that I can't even find a few inches to line a strainer....that's when they become dust cloths! Two other factors prevent new additions from earning admittance to the towel drawer: non-absorbancy - why would anyone make towels that repel water? I don't know, but they do. I give them a couple of rounds through the washer. Then, they are OUT! The other issue is towels that aren't cut on the straight grain of the fabric so the hems twist and wrinkle and prevent me from folding them into tidy stacks. Again, I give them a few washer rounds to see if they will relax. If not - OUT! Both of those flaws are usually recognized early, while the towels are still presentable so I use them for lining gift baskets or wrapping other food gifts.

Is this product actually labeled "soy milk"? I ask because it sounds like one of the "Better Than Milk" soy powders that are about as close to true soy milk as coffee creamers are to powdered milk.

I'll look forward to hearing your thoughts if you try it. It wasn't bad at all. I'm certainly not binning it and I expect it may improve on sitting a bit longer. Just didn't quite knock my socks off today.

I was having a bit of a calamari craving and decided to mix up some of the Artichoke Mayonnaise from Six Seasons p 42 to use as a dip. This is one of the "orphan" condiment recipes in the book in that it's not specifically called for in any of the other recipes. So like many orphans, these recipes have to make their own way! I used frozen artichoke hearts and found the flavor bland. Perhaps marinated artichoke hearts should have been specified? Or I had unreasonable expectations? To adjust, I tripled the lemon juice, added the zest of a lemon, more salt, a squirt of hot sauce and a little fish sauce. I enjoyed it, especially after squirting the calamari with fresh lemon juice. I also used the Artichoke Mayo to make some cheesy toasts. I added some grated Parm & Romano to the artichoke mayo, spread it on sourdough toast, topped with a bit more cheese and broiled. Very tasty. A few of these would turn a soup or salad into a meal but so would a lot of things so still not sure this one is a winner for me. I'm looking forward to trying it on fish (as suggested in the recipe) but, at this point, I'm not sure I would make it again.

I bought the Peche after a recent Cocktail Virgin Slut blog post about a negroni-like cocktail with a bit of the peach liqueur. Sounded interesting. I don't have anything planned for the Strawberry Brandy, other than when having friends over for brunch, I like to put out a variety of liqueurs that can be used to make Kir-type champagne cocktails or added to sparkling water for something light. By Jove, I think you've got it! Thank you!

I've been thinking of posting a photo of my rums over in that very long Mai Tai thread and asking @JoNorvelleWalker to "make" me a Mai Tai!

I'm quoting my post from back in Dec: I really like that coriander syrup. I've always shied away from the sweetness in an Old Fashioned but this syrup includes some red chile flakes, which provide a bit of heat to balance the sweetness. It also makes very nice coriander soda. In addition to the Elijah Craig bourbon specified in the recipe, I've made this cocktail with various base spirits: Wild Turkey 101 - not recommended Rittenhouse Rye - so so Laird's 100 proof apple brandy - good Appleton Estate Reserve - excellent Koloa Kaua'i Coconut rum - (I used a dash Angostura and 1 dash orange bitters for this one) sweet, but very nice Cazadores Añejo tequila - no, no, no Hacienda de Chihuahua reposado sotol - nice! Maybe I should try a brandy or cognac version. What I've learned from my experiments it that a sippable spirit will make a sippable Cliff Old Fashioned. Also, coriander seeds are cheaper by the pound

It's been quite a while since I bought anything new but a spate of holiday Réveillon cocktails used up my Laird's and it's not available in my immediate neighborhood so I placed an order with Hi-Time yesterday. Here's what was delivered today, all but one still wearing their travel attire The Laird's, Plantation pineapple rum, Punt e Mes and Elijah Craig are restocks. The pineapple rum was $22.99 vs $31.99 @ Total Wine and the vermouth was $15.99 vs $23.99 @ Total Wine so those 2 covered the delivery charge of $11.99/case. I wanted a bottle of the Bigallet China China but it's out of stock so I tossed in the Elijah Craig to fill up the box, even though it's exactly the same price. New to me are: The Barr Hill Gin is a recent purchase from Trader Joe's and decided to join the group photo. I've been enjoying it with some fresh lime juice - thanks to the honey, it doesn't really need more sweetening. Suze is new to me. I''ve been using Salers so I'll be interested in comparing them in a white negroni. I really can't remember what I wanted the Batavia-Arrack for but it was out of stock last time I ordered. I figured it will come to me eventually . The Strawberry Brandy is a local product and I've been meaning to get over to their distillery to try their Persimmon Brandy. I don't believe they are distributing that one yet so I went with the berries. Finally, three new-to-me amari - 2 from SoCal: The Amaro della Sirene is made by an Italian in Oregon and is flanked by the 2 LA offerings.

That looks really good and more saucy than mine turned out. I subbed some diced pancetta (browned and drained) for the prosciutto. I usually roast Brussels sprouts so it was nice to try something different. Could be a very rich side or stand on its own as a main dish. Had a serving for lunch yesterday: Leftovers were reheated in the CSO and topped with a poached egg for today's breakfast:

A small nit - there's a table of contents but no index of specific ingredients so when looking for a cup to gram conversion for mayonnaise, I found it in the "Various Mix-Ins" section, rather than in the "Fats" section where I was looking. When I first got the book, it did feel like I was flipping pages a lot but now that I'm familiar with the organization, I can find what I need quickly.

Picked up 2 of these pretty pink glass soup/salad bowls at the local Goodwill yesterday for $0.99 each. I think there were 8 of them so I may go back when they open this morning and get a couple more. They are 8.5" diameter at the widest point and every third swirl is frosted (actually a very light molded texture on the reverse.) They are marked Vereco France, a company later purchased by Duralex. I believe Duralex continues to make something very similar, but in other colors, as the Beau Rivage pattern. I don't imagine they are particularly valuable but I think they'll look pretty for salads. I already had the pink plate. Also picked up 2 of these cute oval plates and 2 Old Fashioned-sized glasses, also $0.99 each:

I couldn't find a mention of the Baker's Appendix so I thought I'd give this little book, which has earned a spot on my counter, a shout-out. It contains cup/spoon to gram conversions for ingredients, conversions for oven temps, volume charts for baking pans, high altitude adjustments, ingredient substitutions. All the info you'd find in the appendices of various cookbooks, combined into one small volume. All of that info is readily available online but there are times when I find it easier to check the book rather than fiddle with my phone or go to the computer. I used to keep some printouts around but this is tidier. It also includes a few basic baking recipes. That's not what drew me to the book, but I can see it being handy to use for things like browned butter, crumb topping, glazes and frostings. I think it would make a great little gift, maybe combined with a few utensils, for a new cook or baker. It's available as an ebook, although to me, the value is to have the info handy WITHOUT needing to refer to a device.

I picked up some nice broccoli from the farmers market this afternoon specifically for this Charred Broccoli with Tonnato, Pecorino, Lemon and Chiles from Six Seasons p 183. Great combination of flavors. I broiled the broccoli in the CSO and it was OK but next time, I think I should use the big oven for more char. I also compared the tonnato recipe from the book, p 45 with one I made recently from a Lady & Pups blog post, based on a Gabrielle Hamilton recipe and tasted them side by side with the broccoli (and Triscuits ) The tonnato from Six Seasons is both delicious and a little quicker (a few less ingredients to measure) but I like the depth of flavor that that those ingredients (Dijon mustard, shallot, anchovy, white & black pepper, fish sauce and a pinch of brown sugar) add to the mix so I'll take the time to make that one.

I've been eyeing the carrot recipes in the book and trying to decide which carrots to use. Here's the selection from one of the vendors at my local farmers market last week: round, yellow & purple in the top row and the ever popular orange down below: Sorry. But you'll be having great stuff later in the year. And I will never get ramps.

I'll look forward to that. Down here in So Cal, we're getting into spring. Broccoli, Cauliflower & relatives are at their peak - they're featured in the mid summer chapter of the book but they will be long gone around here if I wait that long! A variation on the Crispy Sugar Snap Peas with Tonnato & Lemon from Six Seasons p 124. The recipe calls for deep frying the sugar snaps in a light batter. I'm sure they would be delicious but I'm not particularly good at deep frying (I was also a little afraid of them filling up with hot oil) and so I gave these a quick steam/stir fry to give them some color but maintain their crispness, squeezed the lemon juice over them right in the pan and served with the tonnato sauce. Yum!

I'm going out to lunch today so I decided to have just a small bite of breakfast: A slice (OK, there may have been two slices involved ) of the little baby Panettone I received for Christmas, toasted and buttered, plus a mug of black coffee.

Thanks! It used to be available down here in So Cal but no longer. I was told that it was due to a family dispute but I didn't know if that was just the long distance distribution or if it was still available locally. I'll look forward to your wok adventures! And back on topic, I posted my lunch over in the Six Seasons thread. Radishes with Tonnato, Slivered Almonds (subbed in for the recipe's sunflower seeds) and Lemon:

Looks wonderful - I need Dim Sum! I am hoarding my last jar of Yank Sing Chili Pepper Sauce as I haven't been able to find it locally. Did you see it being sold at the restaurant?

I am not the biggest radish lover but I just happily lunched on a big ol' bowl of radishes in the form of the Radishes with Tonnato, Sunflower Seeds and Lemon from Six Seasons p 112.I picked up some at last week's farmers market for another recipe and had quite a few orphans that ended up in today's lunch. I made a few minor modifications: subbed slivered almonds for the sunflower seeds and served it all on a bed of greens. The more major mod was using a Tonnato recipe I know and love rather than the one in the book. I'm sure that one is fine but it seemed a little heavy on the tuna and under seasoned. Next time I'll give it a try.

@Anna N, what did you think of that parsnip bread? Was it very parsnippy tasting? Seems like that could be a good thing or not, depending.... @Smokeydoke, looking forward to photos and your thoughts after serving the Brussels sprouts salad. I generally agree with your assessment. I thought the upsides were that it was much lower labor than the Brussels sprouts salads that ask you to separate all the little leaves and Brussels Sprouts salads are handy to have in your back pocket during the winter (or just lazy shopping) months as those sturdy sprouts store so well. Here's repeat of the Pasta alla Gricia with Sugar Snap Peas p 123. Recipe available online here. For the first round (link in the first post), I made this as written in the recipe so the sugar snaps were slivered into the pretty much the same shape as the spaghetti. It was excellent and I wondered if it had much to do with the slivered pods and thin spaghetti having so much surface area to coat with the sauce or if it would work as well with a shorter pasta shape and compatible larger slices of the sugar snaps. I also had some cute pod-shaped capunti pasta so I did the experiment: Yes, indeed, it works very well! So cute the way the little pancetta cubes lined up in the pasta like peas in a pod! This is certainly a winner - comes together in the time it takes to cook the pasta.

I wanted to try the Heston Blumenthal-inspired sous vide scrambled eggs that @Anna N posted about upthread. They are indeed luxurious and delicious. Sharing a plate with the Half-Steamed Turnips with Alla Diavola Butter from Six Seasons.