blue_dolphin

Oh dear, I hope someone will come by with a cocktail soon!

I'm of the same mind as @rotuts. There's only one yeast bread and a handful of other baked items. I haven't come upon a recipe where the lack of weights annoyed me, and it sometimes does. Nonetheless, a fair question - I know many have sworn off purchasing cookbooks that use these old timey measurements.

This is my experience with hairy melon as well. A really slow braise in a flavorful broth will allow it to pick up some flavor but I haven't had one that brought much to the table on its own.

Indeed, this is a cups and spoons book. Weights and count measurements show up here and there - a pound of scallops, ears of corn, sleeves of Saltine crackers . I suspect most of the traditional recipes had to be converted from juice glass, handful, pinch and jelly jar measurements so it wouldn't have been that difficult to include weights as well but this is still the backwards old US of A, clinging to the measurements of our founders !

I concur. I think the peanut version wins with me because of the sweet-salt combination, plus I can tell myself they have some protein ! I like the almond, too, but agree they are too big.

The first one is a thyme of some sort. Lemon verbena is very different looking. Edited to add: here's a sprig of lemon verbena from my garden: My plant is about 5 ft tall.

The recipe for Spring Onion Gratin appeared in the first episode of this season's series Season 4, Episode : Onions . It does not appear in the book. In the episode, Vivian uses the terms interchangeably, but confirms with the farmer that the onions she is using will "bulb up" if left in the ground. This article from The Kitchn says that scallions, "are either harvested very young from the regular bulb-forming onions we are familiar with, or they can come from other varieties that actually never form bulbs," while spring onions, "come from the varietals that produce bulbs and are basically more mature versions of scallions. They are planted as seedlings in the late fall and then harvested the next spring, thus the word "spring" in the name." From the video, it's clear that the ones that go into the dish haven't formed bulbs yet so I would think that in this particular recipe, scallions would be a good substitute if you don't want to wait for Spring. Edited to add: I think a leek gratin made like this would be delicious but scallions would be more similar to the spring onions.

I received my copy of Deep Run Roots yesterday and have already spent a few enjoyable hours reading it. As @rotuts points out, it's a big book - I was a little surprised at just how big. I haven't started cooking from it so no recommendation there but if you enjoy reading a cookbook, I absolutely recommend taking a look at this one. If you find essays and background information in a cookbook to be unnecessary fluff or filler, then steer clear. Vivian says the book is as much a storybook as a cookbook and I've very much enjoyed reading it. I'd like to plow through and read the whole thing before I start cooking from it but on the other hand, I'm savoring each chapter and am tempted to slow down to make it last longer. It's organized into chapters by ingredient, beginning with an informative essay, a collection of advice or tips that Vivian calls, "Wisdom", then some classic, Eastern North Carolina recipes before moving into recipes where Vivian has added a more modern twist, as she does in her restaurant. For example, the first chapter, Ground Corn, starts with recipes for Mom's Cornpone, Grandma Hill's Hoecakes, Lillie's Fried Cornbread and Foolproof Grits before moving into Charred Spring Vegetables with Creamy Scallion Dressing and Hushpuppy Croutons, Grits & Greens with Hot Sauce and Pork Rinds, Pimento Cheese Grits with Salsa and Chips, Cheesy Grit Fritters and Spoonbread with Sausage Ragout. While the chapters are organized by ingredient, some recipes appear in unexpected places. Fried Green Tomatoes are not in the Tomato chapter but in the Peach section, in a recipe for Fried Green Tomatoes with Curried Peach Preserves and Whipped Feta. I think it makes the chapters more interesting to read but less useful if you are looking for, say, salad ideas. There is a "Recipe Guide" at the front of the book to address that issue with a listing of recipes by type and the index in the back seems to be useful for finding things. The chapter essays, header notes and recipes are all written in a consistent, authentic voice, the same voice that Vivian uses in the PBS series "A Chef's Life." If you like the show, as I do, you will like the book. If you find her annoying in the show, you will likely be annoyed by the book as well. It's clearly her book and not a celebrity chef-ghost-written product. There are many recipes that were featured in the show and quite a few new recipes. In the show, we're introduced to one of the home cooks doing recipe testing for the book and the credits list several more, giving me some confidence in trying the recipes. The photos were shot by the fellow who is the director of photography (in his words, cam dude) for the show, who had never shot a cookbook before. Someone in an Amazon review dinged the photos for not being clear. I'm not sure what that means, I find they contribute very positively to the experience of reading the book. While there are abundant, beautiful photographs that illustrate both the essays and recipes, in at least one case, I wish they had either more or different photos - the recipe for Sweet Potato Onion Bread is illustrated with 5 photos of ingredients being added to the dough but no photos of the dough being shaped or of the final product. That's an exception, as there's a photo of almost every finished dish. Like @rotuts, there are quite a few recipes that call out to me, including the Pork and Red Curry Braised Watermelon that he mentioned. On my list so far: Jalapeño Peach Chicken - this starts with the recipe for a Jalapeño Peach Glaze that should yield several jars to can Sweet Potato Onion Bread Fried Chicken Livers with Balsamic-Marinated Figs Roasted and Fresh Tomato Pie A number of the blueberry recipes appeal to me, like the blueberry chutney, a salad of blueberries, cucumber, pistachios and yogurt, Crab Hoecakes with Blueberry Corn Salsa, and a Blueberry, Buttermilk and Lime Parfait that has layers of a blueberry jelly, buttermilk panna cotta, lime curd and buttermilk whipped cream assembled in half-pint jelly jars. Like the watermelon dish, that will likely wait until next summer. I'll probably try the simple fresh sausage recipe since it's used in several dishes that interest me, like the Spoonbread with Sausage Ragout. I will not be making the Tom Thumb sausage - a local speciality of fresh sausage stuffed into a pigs appendix and aged for a week or 2 but the Dirty Faro and Rutabaga Relish that it's served with sound pretty good. I'll post back after I try some recipes.

I used to make one of these smoothies every day before work and decided to make one for old times' sake. Tofu, beets, cherries, blueberries, cranberries, flax seeds, oat bran and a little yogurt. I feel so healthy, it's making me sick!

Unfortunately, I have not seen an advance copy of the book so I can't answer that. My guess is there's probably not a named "cocktail cookie" recipe but in the interest of enabling, once I get the book, I volunteer to recommend some excellent cocktail-cookie pairings - sounds like an entertaining research project !

As you do? These are so beautiful! It's closing in on 10pm on a Tuesday night here and I'm ever so sad that there will be nothing so stunning turning up within the next hour or so. Sigh.....

Believe it or not, they are Black & White Diamond COCKTAIL Cookies ! Nice little shortbread cookies. I posted about them over here in the Trader Joes thread.

Nice try! I concede your first point but beg to differ on the second....

Years ago, I cooked and enjoyed a hairy melon dish stuffed with pork, following a recipe from a Chinese friend. It was similar to this one for Steamed Hairy Gourd Stuffed with Minced Pork and should adapt well to the IP. Edited to add that my friend's recipe used a mixture of pork and shrimp to stuff the melon and she used the same mixture on green bell pepper squares (I know, I know) and steamed them. Or, give it to Kerry to turn into a baked good for her rounds: Hairy Gourd Bread

The boo-terscotch is very sweet, as is the case with many white confectionary items. In my opinion, there's not enough butterscotch flavor to make them worthwhile. For baking, I'd say they're an OK substitute for white confectionary morsels but not for butterscotch morsels. The s'mores are a bit less sweet, because of the crispy, cracker-y center so they do add texture, even if they lack a distinctive s'mores flavor. I'll probably use either or both in a dark chocolate cookie or brownie that's not too sweet.

I have Dorie's Cookies on order as well and am also interested in My Two Souths. Sigh....so many cookbooks!

A couple more M&M flavors. Crispy S'mores M&Ms: I have never had regular crispy M&Ms so I don't know how these differ but I didn't detect any burnt sugar or graham cracker flavors. To me, the center of these is like a malted milk ball without any "malt" flavor. White Boo-terscotch M&M's I had hoped these would taste like butterscotch morsels. I should have been tipped off by the word "white" being placed first in the name - they mostly taste of white confectionary product, with just a little butterscotch. I tasted both of these flavors but have no desire to eat more, unlike the coffee version which was rather nice. They'll be OK to add seasonal color to cookies or something like that.

Before this thread goes off the first pages, I have to call this out as one of my favorite eG lines: Love it !!!

Egg, bacon and cheese on a mini croissant: Had a few of those little croissants leftover from yesterday's brunch so I refreshed this one in the Cuisi steam oven and decorated it up for breakfast.

Quiche du jour chez blue_dolphin: Spinach, onion and red bell pepper. I tried @kayb's trick of blending a few oz of softened goat cheese into the cream before whisking it with the eggs. Very tasty!

Quiche is my most requested pot-luck dish and something I make a lot. I remember being pleased to earn the approval of my former boss, a Frenchman, for its proper custard - he used to complain about people turning it into a "cheese pie." One trick I picked up recently is to brush the crust with an egg wash immediately after blind-baking and return it to the oven for a minute or two to set it. Cuts down on leaky crusts and I've always got the beaten eggs handy for the custard so it's no extra work. Looks purdy and shiny-like, too ! I will try give this a try tomorrow. Two quiches on the docket for tomorrow - one for brunch guests and one for a cousin bringing a new baby home from the hospital.

This is my experience as well. I picked some up the other day to try making some little stuffed beets. They were pretty tasteless. Sort of makes me wonder if there are any nutrients left in them?

I went ahead and pre-ordered Deep Run Roots: Stories and Recipes from My Corner of the South, due out on Oct 4. This is a cookbook by Vivian Howard of the PBS series A Chef's Life. Many of the flavor combinations she uses on the show interest me, I enjoy the way she explores an individual ingredient on the show and the book is similarly organized by ingredient so I decided to spring for it sight unseen.

@sartoric, I love your little "quiche-like things" Since reading @ninagluck's post over on the dinner thread, I've been ever so intrigued by the idea of stuffed beets. For my first test, I took the easy way out. I picked up a packet of cooked baby beets from Trader Joe's, sliced one in half, scooped out the middle with a melon baller and filled them with some of TJ's jalapeño and honey chèvre. Steam baking in the Cuisi steam oven for 10 min @ 400°F left the tops only slightly colored so I raised the rack, switched to broil and left them in rather longer than I intended - I was going for golden brown, not char-broiled! Still, kind of cute to put into a salad for lunch:

Not just fine-grained but fine-grained, medium-moisture sea salt! Now I do not know about you but I keep my salt in the salt pig so it is readily available and I know many others to keep their salt in an open container near their prep area. So I ask you how long will that medium-moisture remain? The more I think about it the more amusing/annoying it appears I was thinking the same thing. After a week of triple-digit temperatures with single-digit humidity, I don't think there was medium-moisture anything in all of Southern California!