LizD518

Haven't tried it myself - but I just read on Alinea at Home about the tna dish she just made. She didn't like the final texture of the dish, but said the flavors were amazing. If you are comfortable with playing around without a recipe, it may be something you can work with.

I made Italian Wedding with homemade turkey meatballs that was great, but even better was adding diced tomatoe (I used Pomi) to the leftovers after the orzo sucked up most of the liquid. I think I'll always use tomatoes in my Italian Wedding soup from now on b/c it rocked! I also made spicy black bean and veggie last week. One of my favorite soups for cold winter days. I have a butternut squash that I want to use up next - but I want to do something different with it. Anyone ever combine butternut squash and carrot? What about fennel seeds? I know carrot and fennel go together, but I'm not sure about the squash with it.

Bread - of all types. I am working on the artisan-style breads - it is my project for 2009, and I can see it starting to get better; but, pizza dough and naan (which I made yesterday) comes out completely flat tasting - like there isn't enough salt. I know that these doughs do not develop like a more artisan-style bread that has a long proofing time, but when I get pizza from the local pizza joint the crust totally has flavor! I don't think they are using a starter, I'd be surprised if they are making their own dough - so what am I doing wrong?

cbread - I feel your pain. I grew up about the same distance from Concord as you are at and that is where we always went for groceries...and movies...and restaurants... There was one small grocery store in the next town over from us that had a good butcher and my mom went there for years, but once that butcher retired she stopped going there. Now I live in Wilmington, DE, and even though we have the population to support a lot of grocery stores, I hate them all because there doesn't seem to be one good, complete middle-of-the road option. I don't want a Whole Foods (it would be nice to have the option, but realistically, I can't afford it). I do want someplace with variety though - more than just the basics designed for people who just want fuel, not good food. I'd like to go into a grocery store and get at least a few aged cheese and other varieties than basic bleu, feta, basic parm, cheddar & unaged goat cheese. I'd also like to be able to find fresh yeast, a wider variety of fresh herbs, and more than a half pound of brussel sprouts at a time (true story - around Christmas time there was only a small basket of wilted little sprouts - at $3.99 per pound! - in season!) The meat bins seem to be filled with boneless-skinless chicken breasts, but try finding meatloaf mix, as you mentioned above. And don't get me started on the ethnic food aisles. Thankfully, I do have access to a Korean grocer and there are tons of Mexican markets around here as well. There are even a few Indian markets. You mentioned that you like to shop every day...is is possible for you to plan 2-3 days worth of meals based on what you find on your trips to Concord? This might make it more reasonable to shop there regularly.

I think the format has potential of making the chefs think on thier feet - like IC Lite or multiple quick-fire challenges, but the tone was a little super-serious for my taste. I have enjoyed Ted Allen on both IC and TC, but here he didn't seem very comfortable for some reason. Maybe he was feeling the pressure of being host or was being held back by something. He is usually good at interacting with a variety of different people. I think this show is aimed at people who find IC & TC too "out-there" or fancy for thier tastes and maybe the FN is trying to keep things on a more accessible level. The overall quality of the food produced seemed like that of an accomplished amatuer / lower-tier pro. I was a little worried that none of the four even seemed to have ever tasted octopus, never mind prepared it; but overall, they seemed to produce food the the judges generally liked.

For "Fried" eggs, use muffin-top pans if you have them. A place I worked at bought them for just this reason when we made large amounts of breakfast sandwiches. Crack the eggs into the in-dents (spray with pan spray first), then bakin the oven until done. Eggs can be cooled and the sandwiches can be assembled and re-heated to melt the cheese as necessary. Oops - just saw that oven space will not be available! Oh well, I got nothin' then!

What kinds of cheese did you use? Did you have any problems with the cheese separating?

I used up all the spare chicken parts in my freezer to make stock yesterday. Now I have a few soups on my radar: Italian Wedding soup with homemade turkey meatballs, and spicy black bean and vegetable soup. I also want to do a carrot-ginger soup sometime in the next few weeks.

Santa was good to me this year! The Alinea cookbook - Fascinating Eric Ripert's "A Return to Cooking" - Simply gorgeous - and the food isn't bad either! The Waldorf Astoria Cookbook a $100 giftcard to Sur la Table which purchased: A set of nesting bowls with rubber grips on the bottom 2 mini silicone spatulas a bread-shaping basket mold a "salt pig" a ceramic y-peeler a $25 gift card to Amazon which purchased: a baking stone for making bread

I don't think it is a traditionally aged balsamic - but I love the one from Napa Valley Harvest. The bottle says it is aged "up to 18 years in wood casks" so maybe it is a blend? It is fairly sweet and somewhat thick. I love using it to make a vinaigrette. And I've been picking it up at Marshall's and / or TJ Maxx for the last few months. Only $5.99 for a 250ml bottle - so a good deal all around.

Although I know that most real, home-cooked macaroni and cheese is going to blow the pants off of the supermarket stuff, I succumb to the craving for a box of Annies or other white cheddar boxed mac & cheese about once every couple of months. I often make some "taco beef" and mix that in, replace the butter with sour cream, and have my own version of Hamburger Helper. On the other hand, I hate cheap chocolate, especially Hersheys. Hershey kisses taste like wax. M&M / Mars products are still fairly palatable though, especially peanut M&Ms!

Uh Oh! I better tell my brother that before he makes white pizza with garlic, tomatoes, olive oil and mozzarella. Mushrooms are okay if they are sauteed first and dry. Tomatoes need to be used sparingly and in small / thin pieces so the extra juice evaporates in the hot oven. Celery?!?! who would add that to pizza?! Peppers - only if they are roasted in my world. My problem is with bbq sauce...It does not belong on my pizza for any reason!

I just made peppermint marshmallows and pumpkin pie marshmallows to hand out to my work friends - they both came out perfectly pillowy and tasty. All my girlfriends at work were amazed and raving about them.

Maybe I am just a purist - but I think the best thing to do with M&M's is to put them out in a candy dish and let everyone munch on them throughout the holidays. If you don't want to leave them out in your home or office, maybe they can be a contribution to a holiday gathering. Also - if you are participating in a holiday gathering that has a buffet - I like to scatter them all over the dessert table as decor!

You're looking or a kind of sandy / pebbley texture, like when you are cutting butter into flour for pie crust, before adding the water.

How about a fruit crisp? The classic is apple, but pretty much any fruit can be used. Apple crisp: Slice or medium dice apples, sautee in butter & brown sugar with some cinnamon and / or nutmeg until still firm, but cooked. Top with crisp topping in bake 20-30 minutes at 350* until topping is browned and...crisp! Topping: I usually make a big batch and keep the extra in the freezer and use as I need it. 1 cup flour 1 cup brown sugar 1 cup rolled oats 1/2 cup chopped nuts - I usually use almonds or walnuts (optional) 1 stick butter 1 tsp cinnamon work all ingredients together until it is in pea-sized lumps. Change the cinnamon to other appropriate spices if using other fruits. Top with some good vanilla ice cream or whipped cream

I work in a cafe that sells pre-made sandwiches that are wrapped and kept in a cold case. Thanksfully we have a panini and will grill anyone's sandwich for them. I have found that nearly any sandwich benefits from at least a light toasting as it wakes up the flavors. Yesterday, I had a chicken salad on croissant that was grilled and it was great. My favorite is when I get an Italian sub (with mayo, not oil - sacrilage!) and have that toasted1 The bread is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, the peppers and the meats are all juicy and it is so delicious!

I made a delicious mushrom & butternut squash risotto the other night: Soak dried porcinis (or wild mushroom mix) in hot water with a bit of dried thyme and a bay leaf, strain and use this broth, with the addition of a little dry white wine as your cooking liquid. Reserve the soaked myusherooms and mince finely. Sweat some finely minced onion in olive oil, add the rice and sautee for a minute. Add diced butternut squash, diced soaked mushrooms and sautee for a minute. Add the first bit of cooking liquid and proceed as normal. I salt several times along the way, continually tasting so I don't over-do it. I also added minced criminis that I had sauteed in some butter until they were nicely cooked at the very end. And finished it with a big lump of Mt. Tam cheese and a sprinkle of parmesan - but that was in place of the butter that I would normaly use. It was so filling and satisfying.

I made my own version of this for Thanksgiving this year - I used David Lebovitz's recipes from "The Perfect Scoop". I included too many pecans, I think, but the pear ice cream was one I definately want to make again.

I made this using an 8"x8" baking dish and it puffed up like cake, not at all as dense as I would expect a"bar" to be. Was a delicious dessert the night before Thanksgiving.

I made a version of a method suggeested up-thread for Thanksgiving. The original was bacon drippings as the fat, add cider vinegar and maple syrup and roast them in the oven. I used balsamic vinegar instead, and added parsnips, carrots, sweet potatoes and shallots for more of a roasted winter veg dish. Awesome!

I am making the Midnight Crackles and the Applesauce Bars for Thanksgiving nibbles. Has anyone who has made the crackles found them very dry to work with? When I took the chilled dough out of the refridgerator, it never softened up. I ended up cutting the dough into pieces so that I could crumble it. It had a sandy texture, so I added a touch of water to bring it together so I could roll it into balls. THey baked up fine after that, but I was very surprised. They taste great though - and I can't wait to try the applesauce bars as well!

I have been thinking about making some sort of caramel-dipped marshmallows as a Christmas gift item, and have been reading up on a few of the threads here to get a sense of how difficult it might be. I have made marshmallows and I have made caramel - mostly as a sauce or brittle - but I'm not sure if the caramel can be used to enrobe something like a marshmallow the same way as chocolate can. Does anyone have suggestions or a recipe?

Someone mentioned foods of Southeast Asia, especially Indian would work. You mentioned no vinegar, but is lemon juice or tamarind ok as souring agents? Also, many Northern Indian dishes do not use garlic or onions because they are prohibited. They use a resin called Hing, or Asefoetida as an ingredient to evoke those flavors. The Indian subforum could give you a lot more detailed information and point you towards recipes.

Not a chef, but a catering FOH manager so I can't really help with portion specs... When doing a full meal preceded by cocktails & hors we usually do an hour of passed hors d'oeuvres with a combo of 5-6 items and a total of 5-5.5 pieces per person. If you include the shrimp cocktail in with the other cocktail items you'll have enough variety (albeit no vegetarian option) and can just plan to prep heavy on the shrimp - they go the quickest. In fact, we often pass the shrimp, rather than placing them on a table to keep people from loading up thier plate. If possible to staff it appropraitely, I would have the hors passed as it is a. more elegant (imho) and b. easier to control portions and therefore costs. But I would recommend having person to manage the staff and FOH so that you do not have to worry about that and also all the food presentation and cooking duties. Your main menu looks like it is a bit heavy on protein and light on side dishes. I would definitley add 2-3 salads ( 1 garden, 2 composed) to round out the selection, and probably serve the fruit with the dessert items. Good Luck!!!!