Marlene

i'll work on the cat pics, although they are of independent mind in this. In the meantime, the sooner the better that I get to actually cook something on this. We don't do Easter in a big way here, but I'm thinking I can come up with a scrumptious meal or two!

Inever add salt at the beginning of my confit. You can add a little at the end if you want. Don't forget, confit will take 18 - 24 hours to produce,depending on what you are using for equipment. Good luck!

Marlene, we need a picture of your three felines around this new beastie...Can't let the cute white dog get all the attention! ← Dogs need far more attention than cats do. My cats just know they are the centre of attention at all times. That range is absolutely gorgeous! That's the range I'd get if my building had gas installed. Congratulations! As it is now, I may get the electric Dacor. Was installation of the gasline very expensive? ← The gas line was $450.00 to run, all in. Oh wow!!!! Wait till Daddy-A sees this!! He has, and is suffering greatly to be sure! Looks amazing Marlene ... when do you finally get to use it?? A. ← Moving day is Wednesday, Thursday is unpacking day. I figure it will be Friday or Sat before I actually get to use it!

Either would be good! But I'm thinking fried chicken first. And of course Prime Rib for the first test of the convection oven. My three cats would eat the cute white dog for breakfast.

We were over at the new house today getting stuff organized. Here's my new baby, waiting to be installed. No, the burners and grates haven't been put on yet. Look at the knobs on that sucker! This is where its home will be. They still have to cut the granite. You can see the gas line pulled and the panel has been flipped to wall behind

The last time I made onion confit, a few weeks ago, I didn't use any demi glace. I did slip in a cube of concentrated beef stock though. I'm not quite sure what apple jelly would do.

I also failed at my attempt at biscuts during my blog. There is a discussion of biscuts in there somewhere, but I'm truly too lazy to go find it right now.

I certainly hope so. I can wait for the island, but I want to get cooking on this baby.

I held it at 170 in the oven for two hours. I've just taken it out and it doesn't seem to be harmed although I haven't tasted it to see if it dried out at all. Hubby's still not home, but I was afraid to leave it in there any longer. If he ever comes home, he can eat it cold

*happy dance* happy dance*. My range is being delivered to the house tomorrow. They pulled the gas line today. I'm waiting to hear from my contractor as to whether they can install the range tomorrow or Monday. Yahoo!

Oh. My. God. Fried chicken heaven. First the pics: Just out of the buttermilk soak Then I sprinkled the seasoning directly on the chicken. I'm not a very good sprinkler. The seasonins is a mix of paprika, chilli powder, kosher salt, pepper and a little garlic powder. I threw the extra seasoning into the flour and floured up the chicken. I don't have any paper bags, we can't get them up here so I used a ziplock bag. (note: if you southern gentlemen are still considering sending me a southern care package, please add a good supply of paper bags ) I used crisco shortening and I had some bacon grease so I threw that in too and heated the oil to 325. Do you have any idea how hard it was to get that thermometer to stay upright? Fried Chicken Heaven Oh man. This was heaven. The crust was shatteringly crisp and it was moist and tender inside. Like Fifi, I had trouble maintaining the temp. I put the first batch in, and the temp dropped to 300 and never really recovered, but it didn't seem to matter. I noticed that it seemed to take less time to cook in shortening than it did when I did this in oil for my blog. All in all, each batch took a little over 10 minutes. Total. I used the instant read thermometer and took the pieces out at 160. I noticed this crust was thinner than when I did Brooks' recipe this way. Now that means I'm going to have to do another batch using Brooks' recipe on Sunday so I can compare the two. I know, I know, I said I was going to make Brooks' but I didn't. Everyone seemed so insistent on the buttermilk thing that I went back to Dave's recipe for this. Oh a note: I used tongs to take the chicken out of the pan. It's really not a good idea to put tongs fresh out of hot shortening in your mouth to nibble off the crispy piece that got stuck there.

Quick question. Can I hold fried chicken in the oven for any length of time? covered or uncovered? With Don working ungodly hours lately, I'd like to keep some of this warm for him.

Is anyone getting the impression that Susan really likes the backs? I'm about to start the flouring process for mine. Pics later tonight

This thread just reminded me to go take my chicken out of the brine and into the buttermilk!

ok Brooks ante up. Lets see your fried chicken. Come on. you can do it.

I don't know. If your special guest was into cooking, I'd think frying up chicken could become very romantic. I've got my chicken brining right now in water, lemon juice tobassco and kosher salt. They'll go into the buttermilk before I go to bed. I picked up a 3 lb chicken that my butcher very kindly cut up for me.

drizzled on a tomato, onion & bleu cheese salad. Used as a dipper with nice crusty bread. balsamic vinigrette dressing.

Don't be discouraged Patti! I've got cooking disasters plastered all over the site, and really, I don't think yours was a disaster, it just wasn't what you were expecting.

I don't know Patti. I can comment on the taste, but it sure looks good. And I like my chicken dark and crispy like that!

Ok, folks. At the risk of sounding incredibly stupid, what's a turned vegetable?

Steve, I've eaten at Queue du Cheval two or three times. I honestly cannot remember the wine mark ups there as I was never in charge of ordering the wine. The next time I'm in Montreal though, I'll make a note to check.

Tonight was the braised pork chops with creamy cabbage. First pics, then comments: Dredging the chops in flour Then browning them: Then adding the mustard seeds, caraway and shallots. Who knew mustard seeds popped like that? I had them flying all over the kitchen! Then add the cabbage (ok, I admit I cheated. I used a package of freshly shredded coleslaw mix from Brunos. I just couldn't face shredding cabbage, sorry) Add the wine, simmer, then the water, chicken boullion and cider vinegar. I also threw in a cube of chicken stock for the hell of it. Let is simmer for a few minutes: Then lay the pork chops on top of the cabbage mixture, cover and braise: When the braise is done, remove the chops, add some creme fraiche and stir until thickened. Plated: Now the comments. First, I could have let the chops brown longer I think. Secondly, once again, her timing's off. She indicates the chops only need to braise for 20 minutes. I did 40, and I could have left them another half hour at least. They were good, but they weren't particularly tender. I have to say, this smelled heavenly. The cabbage. Ok, I'm no fan of cabbage. I don't eat coleslaw and frankly, just the thought of cabbage rolls is enough to make me ill. I do however love sauerkraut. So I (being extremely brave) forked up a mouthful of this stuff. It was good. It wasn't outstanding, although those of you who love cabbage might think so. But for me, it was good enough to have seconds! The caraway and mustard seed combination really make this tasty. I've got one braise left in me before I pack up my pots and pans to move. I'm thinking coq au vin

ok, ok, I'm breaking down. I hear buttermilk as a common theme. I'll go get buttermilk tomorrow. And crisco.

I don't think Ruth's is any worse than any of the other top restaurants in the city for marking up their wines. It doesn't make it right, but they certainly aren't the only ones doing it.

I can vouch for the fact that this sauce is outstanding. Just try to remember, it's ginger, not garlic the recipe calls for.