blue_dolphin

I read a recent WSJ item: "In Belgium, Mayonnaise Makers Want a New Recipe" that I found interesting. Rather than create another mayo thread, I figured this would be a good fit since the article mentions the Hudson Foods "Just Mayo" product and that company's recent entanglements with US labeling regulations that started this thread as well as their legal issues with the Unilever/Hellman's people. That said, the article is more about mayo in Belgium. It is an entertaining read. The article refers to a 60-year old royal decree that declares, "Belgian mayonnaise must contain at least 80% fat and 7.5% egg yolk. European rivals are permitted to sell mayo with a mere 70% fat and 5% egg yolk" and some Belgian mayo manufacturers are apparently looking for some sort of exemption to produce a "basic mayonnaise" to compete with other European products. Some of the quotes: “Why would you put ketchup on your chips? It’s just wrong” “I can hardly think of anything I wouldn’t eat mayonnaise with…..Maybe pancakes.” “Stewed apples with sugar….I eat it with mayonnaise, and I am not the only one.” Back to the thread topic, the article says that Hampton Creek is optimistic about keeping their product name and would like to begin selling its product in a market like Belgium where "people eat a lot of mayonnaise" Not sure if they will be successful but I really want some fresh hot Belgian frites with mayo!

Wow! There are many eGullet posts where I wish I had smell-o-vision hooked up to my screen and this is certainly one of them!

Toast dope

Some Merlot popsicles with blackberries would be nice

Thanks for the Crepes, you are right that I could use some help to make room in the freezer! It's another hot weekend here and last night, I had visions of packing up a cooler and peddling popsicles at the beach. Of course, I'd probably eat half of them to stay cool myself! I don't think I'll take this show on the road, but anyone passing through Ventura County would be most welcome to 'pop' in for some popsicles!

Oh thank you, Shelby! I think I cooked it longer than necessary and could have added another jalapeño. And my attempts to mush up some larger peach chunks at the end introduced a lot of little bubbles but it's tasty. I learned a lot and will keep at it.

She is impressive, is she not? With respect to the "Mind of a Chef" series, in this Fortune piece, that briefly examined her refusals to build an empire, she said "she got to be influential in the writing and driving where it went. She added, “It was a perfect extension of who I was.” I like that!

I am not the accomplished preserver that many of you are. I've gotten a lot of inspiration from this thread but haven't put anything into practice. Making some preserves to serve with cheeses was on my list of things to do this summer. Peaches were 68 cents/lb last week and I had some red jalapeños from my CSA box so I finally got around to making some peach and red jalapeño jam. Served some to friends last night with goat cheese and crispy toasts. It was a hit. Hopefully I can refine my methods and try some more varieties.

That same LA Times article that featured the frozen orange slice negroni pops also had a recipe for Manhattan popsicles. The Manhattan is one of my favorite cocktails but not one I thought suited to popsicles. I always think of it as a "warming" drink and it doesn't feature any flavorful mixer that could be used to dilute it enough to freeze. The published version riffed off the cherry garnish and started off with a packet of cherry Kool-Aid ! Maybe I shouldn't diss it until I try it but I really didn't want to start with Kool-Aid so I picked up some tart cherry juice and gave it a try: There was a lot of sediment in the cherry juice so I filtered it first, added the components of a Manhattan and sliced up some Luxardo cherries to freeze in the pops. They are nice. They taste like a cocktail, for sure, but that much cherry does not equal Manhattan to my tastebuds. An interesting experiment but when I want a Manhattan, I'll serve it up, in a pretty glass!

On today's Good Food (one of my must-listen podcasts) host Evan Kleiman interviewed Mark Bittman about his recent decision to end his opinion column in the Times. He says that he will be writing but doesn't yet know what or where. I'm looking forward to hearing what he does going forward.

Amazing - what a stunning place to live and grow things. I was going to suggest that you take us through the season next year but I think you've gotten us caught up nicely here! Thank you so much for taking the time to answer.

Very interesting. Thanks for the link!

Thank you for sharing this. I look forward to hearing more. How long have you been growing grapes and making your own wines? Do you ever mix with purchased grapes or juice? Is this all done on your property? Do you own all this equipment or do you share with other growers? So many questions! Feel free to ignore if I'm being too nosey!

hummingbirdkiss, the green smoothie is a good choice to fuel your work day but I was sure you'd be having jook with an egg on it for breakfast! I know others have mentioned this but please do think about starting a thread to share your kitchen remodel. I've really enjoyed it when others have done the same. I had an early AM dentist appointment, followed by errands that included a stop at Trader Joe's where I picked up a box of frozen pumpkin waffles. I tarted one of them up à la rotuts for a late morning breakfast treat: Pumpkin waffle topped with goat cheese, fig butter (warmed and thinned with a few drops of rum) and walnuts. All from TJ's. Plus coffee and some grapes.

Old thread, I know but just yesterday, I followed a recommendation in it so I thought I'd follow up. In spite of the 90+ degree temps we've been having lately, my CSA box had items like collards, turnips and mizuna that I usually associate with cooler weather. Not in the mood for my usual hearty beans and greens dishes so I searched up this thread and in post # 3 above I found a recommendation for this collard green olive pesto. I only had about 1 lb of collards so I added the turnip greens, cooked separately. I included some extra olives, a handful of walnuts and, as I usually do with pesto, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. I posted a picture of my pasta supper over on the dinner thread where I mentioned that I was concerned that a pesto made from cooked greens would turn into a dull green slime. That was not the case - the walnuts and olives gave it a good texture and the olive flavor comes through nicely. The recipe made quite a bit so I put half in the freezer. I'll certainly make this again when I'm deluged with greens!

Pasta with collard green olive pesto, shrimp, red bell pepper and feta: I was worried that making a pesto with cooked greens would result in green slime. It's smoother than my usual pesto but the olives and walnuts add enough texture to avoid any sense of slime. I'll make it again.

Pasta with asparagus, garlic, lemon and guanciale: Last week, my brother was in town and we stopped for lunch at a new-ish pizza place. I ordered the "carbonara" which arrived with about a quart of molten mascarpone/pecorino sauce, thick slices of guanciale that appeared never to have been exposed to any sort of heat, and a pretty much raw egg all atop a paper thin crust. I'm all for a very runny yolk but I'd prefer the white to be at least somewhat set. If they'd used about 1/10th the amount of cheesy sauce, I think the guanciale and egg might have cooked a bit. Since I didn't eat much, they automatically boxed it up for me. Like it was going to get better??? I removed all the guanciale, rinsed off the sauce, diced it and crisped it up for this pasta.

Ah, thanks for the derivation. I always thought it was like 'pipe dope' that would always be in a plumber's tool kit so you'd always want to keep 'toast dope' on hand in the kitchen!

OK. I have now increased my vocabulary and I am laughing at myself as well. Batticarne? What's this? Some sort of culinary battering ram? With all the talk of stew and champ, my mind was in the British Isles and I had visions of andiesenji whaling away at the meat with a big old shillelagh or fierce Scottish war club! No. Batticarne = meat pounder. Just as it says. If I'd only gone to the romance languages first .

Thanks, Smithy! I have a Valencia tree in my yard and I think they have great flavor. I haven't given it as much water as it would like and have only a few, very small green fruits so I'm appreciating the CSA box fruit we're getting. I'm hoping my tree will recover if we get some decent rain this winter. Saticoy melon, lime and blackberry: ~ 3.5 cups melon, 2 oz fresh lime juice, 2 oz homemade lime cordial, 2 oz homemade limecello plus fresh blackberries The Saticoy melon was very sweet so the lime cordial and limecello added enough sweetness. I think a regular cantaloupe would call for a bit of simple syrup. Edited: missing word

Sorta lunch, sorta brunch…. Asparagus and smoked salmon quiche: With a melon/tomato/feta/mint salad and toasted ciabatta: Garnished the salad with a few blackberries and added a glass of methode rotuts:

Thank you for bringing this up. It's on here today @ 3:30 PM (KLCS) and I'll be watching!

I'll call these Orange Negroni pops: I juiced 2 cups worth of fresh oranges from my CSA box and added 4 oz of that Negroni "marinade" that was leftover from the orange slices I tried above. I really like these. They taste like I'd hoped the orange slices would. With all the orange juice, they don't absolutely scream "Negroni!" but the flavor is there.

I love this question and Manhattans too. Many of the "highball" type cocktails I've had taste watered down so I'm curious what an ace bartender would serve based on your question. I am certainly not an ace nor a bartender but my first thoughts were along the lines of the previous recommendations. I first thought of a Dark & Stormy. Like the G&T, it's a simple, 2 ingredient drink where both the base spirit and mixer offer a lot of flavor and it's tasty over a range of concentrations, particularly with a zippy ginger beer. The dark rum has some of the warming characteristics of the rye in a Manhattan and like the drinks that Craig E and JAZ mentioned, the mixer contributes flavor and not just dilution. My second thought was something with Campari, like the Jasmine that cdh recommended because the flavor is strong enough to tolerate some dilution. I first thought of an Americano (equal parts Campari and sweet vermouth, topped with club soda) but on a hot day, I've also made a Negroni into a tall drink along those lines and enjoyed it quite a bit. Plain old Campari and orange juice (extended with club soda or not) would be another option. I'm curious to hear more ideas and what you think of them.

Looks great! And I enjoyed the sneak peek of your cookbook shelf, too!