sadie4232

If someone had told me six or seven years ago, that cooking would become a passion, I would have fallen over laughing. Sure, I knew how to cook, but I had gotten lazy over the years and found it far easier to heat up a frozen pizza or some other type of packaged food than to actually spend time making a meal. Fortunately, I happened to marry a man whose culinary skills far surpassed mine and could whip up a yummy dinner using fresh ingredients in about the same time it took to heat up something from a box. Would wonders never cease? Not being completely stupid, I more than willingly let him run the kitchen. But then a funny thing happened. I quit my job and finally had time to experiment with food and recipes. And as my husband, David, was still working a very stressful job, it seemed just a tad bit bad form to assume he would want to whip up dinner when he came trudging home each night. So left to my own devices, I picked up our chef’s knife, cracked open some cookbooks and forged ahead. While most of those first forays were more misses than hits, I was learning about not only food, texture and taste, but also learning aspects about myself. For starters, I had to learn patience. You just can't rush some recipes and taking shortcuts sometimes come back to bite you. Another area was learning to trust my intuition. Sometimes a small voice in my head would tell me to do something different from what the recipe called for and it was usually right. Giving myself some creative license to put my own thumbprint on a dish has taken some time, but I realized that most recipes really are only guidelines, not sacred scrolls never to be altered. But probably the most important thing was letting go of the expectation that everything I made was going to turn out perfectly the very first time. Often they didn’t and sometimes don’t even today. But over the years, I realized it was okay to screw up and not feel like I had to walk around in sackcloth and ashes because I botched a meal. I found when I got over myself and out of my own way, the recipes usually come out way better. In fact, I have fallen in love with cooking so much that I started my own blog to document my hits and misses. It's been a great resource when I'm thinking of making a recipe again and taking a look back on what worked/didn't work the last time. My latest challenge is to move from "just" making new recipes to really focusing on getting a better handle on techniques. The Wright Table

Talk about the power of suggestion: Tater Tots are on the menu tonight, along with some grilled Bratwursts slathered in caramelized onions and mustard. Bliss! Can't decide if I should keep reading this forum or stop before I cave in and buy other "shameful" food the next time I'm in the market. Who am I kidding?!?!? I'll keep coming back to be tempted.

Contrary to all medical research, I believe bacon is one of the four major food groups. We ALWAYS have it around and it makes a regular appearance in many a menu. We are cheese addicts and have one whole drawer in our refrigerator devoted to cheese -- the stinkier the better! Other low-brow guilty pleasures: - Pop Tarts - whether toasted or fresh out of the box, if they are anywhere in the vicinity, I'll cave and eat 'em. - Making a meal out of a bag of Cheetos with a bag of Oreos for a chaser.

I hate beets and can't stand liverwurst, but love pate. I've never cooked a whole fish and can't bring myself to boil a live lobster. Dark chocolate peanut M&Ms rule! Count me in as a member of the Tater Tot Lovers Brigade. Cheese-Its and Pepperidge Farm goldfish don't stand a chance in this house. The Wright Table blog

When a recipe says to marinate/soak/leave in fridge, etc. "overnight", what does that really mean? Are there minimum or maximum times that should be considered? For instance, a chickpea soup recipe calls for soaking the beans overnight and a brioche recipe says to put the dough, after going through the first rise, into the refrigerator overnight. Does this mean eight hours? 24 hours? Would appreciate any guidance.

This year, I really want to cook more meals using seasonal fruits and vegetables. The challenge has been knowing what is available when. Also, I am a relative newcomer to the Western North Carolina (WNC) area from the Northeast and don't know how the more temperate climate affects availability. To try and get my head wrapped around this challenge, I've put together the following list as a starting point. I would greatly appreciate hearing any changes people might have and insights to regional fruits/veggies and their availability that I may be unaware of. The other area where I could use some help is getting a grip on items that may or may not be this list but have very limited availability. For instance, I seem to recall that blood oranges are generally in season/available like one month out of the year. I have a number of recipes calling for them, but I can never seem to time it for when they can be found. Any and all input is welcome! SPRING : Apricots, Avocados, Mango, Pineapple, Rhubarb, Strawberries, Artichoke, Asparagus, Belgian Endive, Cabbage, Celeriac, Chives, Collards, Fava Beans, Fennel, Fiddlehead Ferns, Morels, Mustard Greens, New Potatoes, Peas, Peppers, Spinach, Sugar Snap/Snow Peas, Vidalia Onions, Watercress SUMMER: Blackberries, Blueberries, Nectarines, Peaches, Plums, Raspberries, Tomatoes, Watermelon, Beans, Beets, Bell Peppers, Broccoli, Carrots, Chinese Cabbage, Corn, Cucumber, Eggplant, Garlic, Green Beans, Okra, Peas, Potatoes, Peppers, Summer Squash, Zucchini FALL: Apples, Cranberries, Figs, Grapes, Pears, Pomegranate, Quince, Acorn Squash, Belgian Endive, Bell Peppers, Butternut Squash, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Celeriac, Cucumbers, Garlic, Ginger, Mushrooms, Okra, Parsnips, Peppers, Potatoes, Pumpkin, Spinach, Sweet Potatoes, Swiss Chard WINTER: Chestnuts, Grapefruit, Lemons, Oranges, Tangerines, Beets, Belgian Endive, Brussel Sprouts, Broccoli, Carrots, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Celery, Kale, Leeks, Potatoes, Peppers, Radicchio, Radishes, Spinach, Sweet Potatoes, Turnips, Winter Squash

I often make recipes that call for the zest of lemons (limes, oranges, etc.), but not the juice. I hate to waste the unused fruit and wanted to know if I could juice the lemon and save it for a future use. Would it keep in the fridge like store-bought lemon juice? Conversely, can you refrigerate or freeze the zest?

Try this link instead: http://alineaathome.typepad.com/alinea_at_home/

In most issues of Food and Wine magazine, they have a section called "Chef Recipes Made Easy." Simplified versions of recipes by Todd English, Thomas Keller, Nobu Matsuhisa (to name just a few) are included. Does a cookbook exist with a similar compilation -- scaled back recipes by great chefs?

The time has come to replace my baking sheets. I'm looking for recommendations for type/brand. If it makes any difference, I seldom make cookies, but use the sheets for baking fish, chicken, fries, etc. Also, would it be prudent to have a couple unrimmed sheets? If so, any brand recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

Today I made Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins (props to Simply Recipes) that are amazingly, wonderfully, deliciously good. Just the right balance of sweet and slightly tart. Will definitely add this recipe to my "go to" file.

This may seem like a naïve question, but here goes: A recent series in my hometown newspaper focused on interviews with local chefs and one of the questions had to do with what food(s)/ingredient(s) they didn’t personally like. Answers ranged from calves liver, beets and other veggies, to various spices. How do professional chefs deal with cooking ingredients they really don’t like? Do these items not make the cut for being on the menu or does someone else do the cooking and tasting?

I used the Dutch oven technique, at 450F. No additional moisture (I don't generally think it is necessary for this method, but I could be convinced otherwise...). ← I'm not familiar with the dutch oven technique. Can you provide some details? ← This is a method where you preheat a dutch oven to 450F or so, then flip your loaf directly into it, slash, close the lid for 25 minutes while it bakes in the oven, then bake with the lid off for 15 minutes. I've just started doing it and it eliminates the need for steaming I think, producing a really excellent crust--it's a great method. You can even put your loaf on parchment, slash, and transfer to the preheated dutch oven on the parchment. I would suggest putting your dutch oven on a stone even still, as it protects the bottom from overheating and burning the bottom of your loaf a bit. Chris, do you use parchment? Your loaves look like you are handling them very gently. josh ← Today I tried this method to bake a loaf using the recipe for the peasant bread. I took your hint and used parchment and baked in a 500 degree oven on a stone. In the past, I got a good crust and crumb, but today it turned out beyond great -- the crust was as crispy as could be and the inside a wonderful chewy texture. In a word, perfection. WOW! Thanks to you and Chris Hennes for the tips! Would have posted pics, but my husband and I polished off the loaf before the thought entered my mind.

I sure would have! Using mediocre quality fish that's been frozen (and likely handled poorly) is a recipe for a slimy mess, if by that you mean flesh that doesn't hold its texture and gives off a lot of icky moisture. Richard's recipes are deceptively simple, but they all require high quality ingredients. This is a dish to prepare when you have fresh peas and tomatoes at their peak; without them (and fresh, excellent fish), this dish will suck. But it seems unfair to criticize a recipe that's largely been ignored! If we're going to take recipes to task for sucking, I suggest we only judge those to which we've given our best shot in terms of quality ingredients, technique, and any other relevant (cookware, time, temperature, etc.) factors. Fair? ← First, let me say that this was probably not the best example to start with. Next, I will be the first to admit & agree that if one is going to tackle recipes from a top-notch chef, it's always best to work with the finest ingredients. Otherwise, you set yourself for disappointment. However, not being a trained chef, but a passionate home cook, the urge to try and replicate a recipe is sometimes just too tempting to ignore. It's not always possible to find (or at times afford) top-shelf ingredients or the finest cookware. So, you work with what you can find and hope for the best. Having learned my lesson from the fish fiasco, I have made it a point of being patient until I can find/afford great ingredients and have had pretty spectacular results with other of Richard's recipes, along with many from French Laundry and others. So in the words of a previous poster on this thread, this wasn't a case where the recipe sucked but where I did. Mia Culpa, me bad. Let's move on, shall we?

I agree that sometimes meal failures are due to performing some stupid cook trick , which the recipe can't be blamed for. But surely there must be some recipes that, even when followed exactly, just weren't worth it. So why limit ourselves? Let's hear all the stories and share the pain.