Marlene

YOu could hold this in a braising pot at 200 in the oven, covered if you want and it will be fine. I've never done these in a crockpot so I don't know if it will hold in there

See, what you do is have a renewal of vows ceremony, You can then do the whole thing over again, (shower etc) on a smaller scale of course! My parents did this for their 25th anniversary and mom's best friend had an "anniversary shower" for her. Friends kept asking what they wanted, since everyone wanted to bring a gift, so Dad made a small list of things he'd always wanted in the kitchen but had never gotten around to getting or things that needed replacing. They got darn near everything on the list!:

Actually, they're Gourmet's place settings, not mine. They are from this weekend's past seminar on "The Art of the Table". In any event. the word charger is adapted from the french chargier, meaning to load. When chargers were first used, (in the 1300's,) they were used as platters for serving meats, or "loading meats on a platter or chargier". They became popular in the 1800's as an "underplate" for a formal setting, but it's only in the last few years that chargers have become popular again. Today, they really are just used as a way to make your table look nice. Like centrepieces, for example. In a formal place setting, they add a touch of elegance to the table, and in a casual one, they add some fun. At one time, chargers were only ever used for formal place settings, but as the trend to casual entertaining continues, people look for ways to brighten up their tables with a variety of centrepieces and other things, and chargers are now being made in less formal dinnerware, , in stoneware, brass, and even plastic for the outdoor entertainer! Me? I still lean to the old school way, and only use chargers in a formal setting, rarely in a casual one.

The charger remains for the first and second courses, but is removed for the main course. So if your having soup and salad or another appetizer and soup or salad, the charger stays for those courses. If you are only serving a main course, the table is set with the charger, and then the dinner plate on top, and is removed before serving. The charger is also set flush to the table edge, while the dinner plate, when the charger is removed, is set about an inch in from the table. Formal place setting. More casual place setting.

Sorry. I entertain a lot. I also just got back from a bunch of seminars put on by the Gourmet Institute and one of them was the Art of Setting a Table, given by the Style Director at Gourmet. She was pretty clear on the use of chargers, placemats etc. You wouldn't use chargers and placements together for a formal setting, but certainly for a casual one, absolutely.

The charger should be bigger than the plate. And yes, you can use place mats and chargers at the same time.

4 more for me The French Laundry 'Braise by Daniel Boulod and 2 of Sara Mouton's Favourite recipes and Weekday Meals

That was my recipe. But I can't remember the topic it was in. I'm glad you liked it!

I have a Unicorn Magnum and I do love it. It just doesnt' give me as coarse a grind as I would like for this particular dish. Oh, my Goodness! I thought I was tasting that steak as I peered at it and my mouth was watering! Fantastic!! Did it taste as good as it looks? Okay, is it peppercorn crusted AND with peppercorn sauce??? Your sauce looks thicker than my runny one, so I am hoping you add details. Thanks for the picture. ← The steak is pepper crusted yes, but it's not a peppercorn sauce per se. Some of the peppercorns will fall off the steak when you're searing and I just leave them for the sauce.

Steak au povire

I want one. After I saw this. I googled them and on another site, it says the mills under 9 inches don't adjust to coarse grind. Not that I mind having a nine and a half in Copper mill in my kitchen, but geeze, the rest of my kitchen is stainless steel, so i'd have gone for the Chrome, except they're only 8 1/2 inches tall.

I use oven mitts all the time and they hang on a hiik right near the stove. I also have one of those ove gloves and they are fabulous. Especially when you're trying to unwrap something hot in tin foil. I had a silicone mitt and I gave it up pretty quickly. They are cumbersome, don't grip really well, and as Anna says, get one wet, and it's all over.

An Atlas mill/ Can you elaborate? I'm using the mallet method, which is inefficient, to say the least. Some peppercorns don't crack at all, and some are reduced to dust. I've got a Magnum mill that produces a very nice really coarse pepper, but it's still too fine for steak au povire! edited, because I can't spell.

I use bar keeper's friend all the time on my All Clad pots and pans. Works like a charm.

I'll have to check next time I'm in both stores, but I'm pretty sure Bruno's still rotisseries theirs. I'm not sure about Sobeys though. It's been a while since I looked at their set up.

The recipe originally came from Bon Appetit, but they had so much liquid in their's I had to cut it way back and I made a couple of other changes. I think the boiling strongly will contribute to a chewier meat. It's really important to braise so that the liquid is barely bubbling.

Alright, here's how I make my verision of biftec au poivre and you can tell me what you think! Using cracked pepper, not coarse ground, I press the steaks into the peppercorns and let that sit for about 30 minutes. I normally use NY Strips for this, about 1 1/2 inches thick. I use a cast iron pan and sear the steaks in a mix of butter and olive oil, until just under rare then hold them in a warm oven. I'll then add some finely diced shallots to the pan and add a bit more butter if I need to, Then I use Cognac and ignite, then deglaze. I use both beef or veal stock (usually beef in my case) and red wine and reduce until about half. At this point it's more or less sauce like in consistency. Then I'll whisk in creme fraiche if I have it, or heavy cream if I don't. When I use heavy cream, I find I have to reduce a bit more, some mustard, some demi glace. I've never needed any flour thickners, particulary when using creme fraiche. I don't add peppercorns to the sauce itself so technically, it's not a peppercorn sauce. As I mentioned, I'll be making this tomorrow night and will likely have a picture of at least the finished dish if not the whole method, somewhere.

So boar d laze, is steak au povire different from peppercorn steak? I always make this by pressing the crushed peppercorns into the steak before searing, then making the sauce, which is what I'll be doing tomorrow night. And thanks for the advice on the beurre manie. I'm going to make one of those up for my freezer, since I do make a lot of sauces and you never know!

Turkey soup

What about a stew?

I tested the salt theory when I did mashed potatoes the other night. Peeled. They were most definately salty.

I don't have a Kyocera knife, but I do have one of their peelers, and they are plenty sharp! Trust me. A cut in my finger that I should have gotten stitches for showed me that!

My second cuisinart grind and brew is having problems with the grinder sticking in the machine. A crowbar won't pry this thing out. That's it. I'm getting a regular cuisinart brew central and a separate grinder.

My brother had reflux but had a prescription that kept it well under control so he could eat a lot of that stuff. My mother is now on a soft foods, bland diet due to reflux and a hiatus hernia so I'm having to learn to cook this way for her. Things that work for her include, egg salad salmon or other fish minced meats (not pureed!) of turkey, chicken and the occassional beef. Braises could work well for you here. Shepherd pie of all things seems to be ok yogurts, smoothies, puddings, most fruits are out, but peaches and bananas seem to be ok. Can tolerate strawberries in a smoothie. Decafinated coffee And she still has one drink before dinner. As long as she keeps it to one, she's ok. Rice and mashed potatoes ( you can do some interesting things with mashed potatoes. I've got a mashed potato muffin recipe that she adores) most gravies seem to be ok in moderation. Just about any soup seems to be fine and there are lots of great soups out there to make. Breads don't seem to work or anything that will "clump" in the stomach. Heavy cream sauces Get a crockpot if you don't have one. You can do lots of "braises" that can cook while you're working and will still meet your restrictions.

I usually roast my potatoes in duck fat, but I've always done them from a raw state. This looks really good Kim. I'll have to try it!