Marlene

Thanks, Marlene - I feel much better now. ← Oh good, I'm glad. Veggies in a separate bowl was something my father insisted on, usually when the veg was accompanied by a sauce or lots of butter. His rationale was that if the veg and sauce were in a separate bowl, it made it easier to sop up the sauce or butter with the veg.

I actually have four of the Marie Claire books that my son gave me for Christmas: Easy, Spicy, Hot, and Crisp. I guess I should get them down and look at them.

I'm not familiar with Colborne Lane. Where is it, exactly?

Berkshire roast pork with mashed and green beans in mustard butter. And just for Bruce, I put my veggies on my plate. Dessert was either a cinnamon bun or chocolate pudding This time I tried the cinnamon bun recipe from King Arthur's Bakers Companion which we all really liked. The pudding recipe comes from Nick Malgieri's Perfect Light Desserts.

Flavours is definately available from Amazon, as it is one of the books I ordered. I don't have them yet, and if I get them before our travels mid May, I'll make some stuff and report back, otherwise, it will be late June before I get to these books.

I ordered them from Amazon.

Modern Classics I Modern cClassics II Intstant Entertaining Flavours Donna Hay Christmas The Instant Cook Ok, so I went overboard. I am a cookbook junkie. I can't help myself.

I have to say, I'd never heard of her, but I just ordered some of her books to check out!

I hope you're counting from the minute you put a pot with the steamer, veggies, cold water and lid on the stove. I find broccoli takes about five minutes, green beans four minutes, and carrots vary depending on the width of the coin, usually about four to five minutes with a quarter-inch coin....but I don't start counting my minutes until the water is boiling. And since I'm using only enough water to come a bit below the bottom of the steamer, my water doesn't take very long to boil. ← Yes I was counting from the time I put it on the stove.

A little sherry added to a cream pan sauce brightens it quite nicely.

I steam a lot of veggies, but I think you're going to have to get your flavour from finishes. Broccoli steams well and takes about 12 minutes. Green beans take about the same, finish with a lemon, butter and toasted almond mixture. Carrots also steam well, but take longer. Finish with a little honey butter. Darn near any veggie steam well, like asparagus, but then asparagus is better roasted. And your set up is fine. I used a steamer like that for years. If you're going to saute veggies, then you're better off blanching them first.

Bingo.

Tonight I attempted a cassoulet for the first time. I used Paula Wolfert's Catalan Style recipe as a base, except I used pork shoulder instead of lamb. I also used smoked pork belly, and some Louisiana sausage. I had some trouble getting the crumbs to brown evenly, but it was pretty darn good nonetheless.

I love these. Mini red or yukon golds, boiled until tender but not falling apart. Flatten them with a tea towel while they are warm and transfer to a baking sheet lined with tinfoil and parchment. You can make them up to this point and refrigerate. When you want to bake them heat the oven to either 450 or 400 convection, pour olive oil over them, and season with salt and pepper. Bake, turning once or twice, carefully until they are crispy. Takes about half an hour!

The rolls look lovely Chufi. Now my son wants fettucine. Indoor BBQ chicken and crispy smashed potatoes from Fine Cooking:

Here's the Cinnamon bread. I need to work on even shaping, but this one was really really good:

I used a cast iron pan. My ovens are pretty expensive, and new. I've got the Cinnamon Raisin bread sans walnuts cooling on racks at the moment. I did the cinnamon swirl as well and I coated the top in butter and cinnamon sugar.

If you're using kosher salt, and stir it when it hits the water while it's heating up, it should dissolve pretty quickly. I've never had a problem with my stainless steel pots and I salt my water all the time.

This thread occurred to me the other day when I came across a recipe for Welsh Rarebit. I haven't made this in probably 20 years, but I recall it was a standard growing up.

I render my own beef fat, and that is what I usually use for yorkshires, so my drippings can be used for gravy. My preference is for them to be a bit crispier, so I'm going to try a few experiments this week, and in one of them try a little mustard powder.

Hmmm you may be right. I'd prefer them a little crispier and I want them to hold up after I take them out. I think a little experimentation is called for this week.

That was my side bowl of broccoli. I think it must be a holdover from when I was growing up. Veggies for some reason, were always served in a side bowl, never on a plate. I still do it that way today mostly. Rarely will the veggies be on the main plate.

I have a question. I have no trouble getting tall crispy yorkshire puddings in the oven. But they deflate really really fast. How do the restaurants keep those yorkies crisp and puffy from the kitchen to your table?

Full Sunday roast dinner, and what else would it be, but beef? Roast potatoes and yorkies Broccoli and hollandaise

When I use my steaming method (ice water in a preheated pan on the floor of the oven), I pull the pan slightly out of the oven, and toss the cup of water into the pan (more tossing than pouring, actually). If your hand is too much above the water when you pour, then you do risk a steam burn. ← I did that, or I thought I did. Actually, it was a couple of my knuckles that got the brunt of the steam. I was more worried about spilling on th oven glass door I guess, although I did cover it with a towel.