Jump to content

Marlene

eGullet Society staff emeritus
  • Posts

    8,303
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by Marlene

  1. Marlene

    Roast Pork

    I've detailed the pork and various dishes over here but here's what it looked like going in the oven and coming out: Contrary to Dave's instructions, I rolled the roast in breadcrumbs right at the beginning and it seemed to work fine. The crust didn't burn, and I didn't need the kitchen torch to brown it!
  2. Sunday dinner. As I put tonight's dinner together, memories kept crowding my mind. Sunday dinner was dinnertime and not lunch at our house. It was the night my mother brought out the good crystal and china and the Sunday table was where my brother and I learned how to set a formal table, which knife or fork to use and how to fold a napkin. It was the place where we grew into adults as we learned the art of polite dinner conversation, took our first sips of wine, learned how to treat fine china and crystal and sat patiently until everyone was finished. At our house, the setting of the table for Sunday dinner was almost as important as the dinner itself. Wine glass, water glass, main plate, side plate. Meat, salad and dessert forks. Butter knives and meat knives. Spoons at the top for coffee for the adults. And there was always some sort of centerpiece. Fresh flowers were Mother's favourites, but a candle would do in a pinch. I pinched tonight and used a candle. Cloth napkins, folded properly and fanned on the main plate. Tonight's dinner was roast pork with a mustard herb crust: Going into the oven: Coming out: Broccoli gratin witha mustard breadcrumb streusel: Mashed potatoes and gravy And of course dinner rolls: No Sunday dinner was ever complete without dessert, and although my father took over the production of Sunday dinner when he developed an interest in cooking, my mother was always responsible for dessert. Usually a pie. Now those who know me, know that I am pie challenged. However, I'd been having good luck with Keller's Pastry recipe and had done several single crust pies recently, so I figured I was ready to move on to a double crust pie. Hence, apple pie became our dessert tonight. I was thrilled that I actually got both crusts under and over the pie without any mishaps. I'm not exactly an expert in the pleating department, but I just wanted the thing to be in one piece. When I took it out of the oven, I thought, hey, that looks alright! But for some reason, upon cutting into it, it was swimming in juices inside, thereby disintegrating the bottom crust pretty much. It was really tasty, but I think I need more work on this: and more work on picture taking too it seems. I thought I had a better pic of the sliced pie. All in all a sucessful Sunday dinner. I do cook roasts often on Sunday, but Maggie made me think about this sunday dinner and all the traditions that went into the ones I remember so well growing up. Thank you Maggie, for reviving some wonderful memories!
  3. Marlene

    Roast Pork

    Question. I don't have any roasted garlic and I really don't have time to make some right now. How will that affect the sauce Dave? Sunday cooking is in full swing over here!
  4. Since this topic has degenerated into nothing more than attacks on the participants in the show, and there is nothing new being added it the way of food content, it's time to close this topic.
  5. Inspired by this article, I've got a Sunday roast coming up tomorrow and I've issued The Sunday Dinner Challenge. Post your results here and lets see if you can recreate some of those memories.
  6. Marlene

    Roast Pork

    Keep the suggestions coming. While I"m at it, I'm sure Maggie's article took many of you for a walk down memory lane. So here's my challenge, Tomorrow's Sunday. I dare you, no, double dare you to re-create your favourite Sunday roast or Sunday dinner from your childhood and post about it. Are you up for it?
  7. Marlene

    The Art of Broiling

    You have a broiler on the bottom of your oven? I don't think I've heard of that before! My fairly new range, has an infrared gas broiler. I haven't used it for much, but I really have to watch stuff when I do use it. I guess I could try a steak under it and see if it's any better than a regular broiler.
  8. Marlene

    Roast Pork

    Tomorrow is Sunday, and Maggie's fine article McArthur's Law has me thinking about a full blown Sunday dinner. I've got a lovely boneless 5 lb pork roast that I'll be cooking up. I was originally going to spit roast it, but the forcast is calling for rain tomorrow so that may be out. Normally, I just stick a pork roast in the oven and roast it on convection with some potatoes around it. I'm thinking about some sort of glaze/crust to try this time though, maybe a mustard crust of some sort? And I'm coming up blank on ideas. Any suggestions?
  9. It does bring back memories. And I still do the Sunday roast tradition today. It's usually a prime rib or roast pork, (it will be roast pork this Sunday), and it's the one time of the week where we are all able to sit down and spend a meal together. To me, Sunday dinner isn't a dinner without a roast of something on the table, with all the trimmings, roast potatoes or mashed, roasted veggies, gravy, dinner rolls, a glass of wine and a water glass in front of us. My son is at an age, where we offer him a half glass of wine with Sunday dinner, as my parents did with my brother and I when we entered our teens, although he still prefers his Rob Roys. And rolls his eyes when I say it's "Sunday Dinner", but I note he's the first one to the table. And even if I seldom bother to make dessert during the week, there's always a dessert for Sunday dinner. I even have the ruffled apron my mother wore when she made Sunday dinners, and the chef's apron my father wore when he took over the Sunday dinner preparation. Great article, Maggie.
  10. Marlene

    Diners

    It's been years since I ate at Frans. There is a little diner right across the street from 1 Queen Street. I wish I could remember the name of it, but they made wonderful breakfasts and we were often there for lunch since I worked at 1 Queen.
  11. Marlene

    Pegu Club

    And you can get the bitters right there too! I fell in love with Pegu the last time I was in New York, and I brought back two kinds of orange bitters from there as well.
  12. I think this is where I come in. I do love my coffee, but I'm not so passionate about it that I want to spend a lot of time fussing with it. I want the time that I would have to fuss with a coffee set up to be used for tinkering with a new cooking or baking recipe. And I don't really drink espresso all that often. I'm sold on the Miele for several reasons. I can make one cup at a time instead of a whole pot. I can make an espresso or cappacuino for friends and I don't have to spend a lot of time to learn how to do it. It gets another appliance off my counter and I can still use my favourite blend of beans. Oh and it looks pretty. So contrary to Bond Girl, this topic talked me into the Miele.
  13. I've deleted a number of posts from this topic that are off topic, inflamatory and unecessary. Keep to the topic folks.
  14. Not that I know anything about baking, but what if you stuck it in the freezer for 15 minutes or so?
  15. I'm with you. After Bond Girl brought the Miele up here, I investigated and have sold my husband on the Miele system when we renovate in the fall. (and yes, I'm a princess too )
  16. Well if you don't want to heat up your kitdhen boiling corn, it can be done easily in the microwave, wrapped in a paper towel for about 3.5 minutes then turned and another 3.5 minutes. Make some onion confit in a crockpot if you have one in advance. Always good on top of a steak. Otherwise, simple salads, baked potatoes. (you can still oil and salt them and do them in the oven instead of on the grill.
  17. I baked up a storm right before labour for some reason. Perhaps the fact that Christmas was only a few weeks away had something to do with it. Glad to hear you're on the mend Rochelle.
  18. If you're looking for a sauce to go with the steaks, a red wine-port reduction works beautifully with grilled beef.
  19. Definately a compound butter of bleu cheese or a garlic herb compound butter. Baked potatoes rubbed in olive oil and kosher salt, done on the grill. Darn near any vegetable is good grilled. Peppers, corn, asparagus. Grilled peaches. Simple coleslaw works really well. Fine Cooking has a pretty decent recipe for oven fries if you don't deep fry. Grilled shrimp to top a filet is often nice.
  20. Marlene

    Au Gratin Challenged

    A couple of things I noticed. Both length of time cooking and oven temp. I make a potato gratin that calls for a cup of heavy cream and a cup of white wine, so it looks like you're a little short on the liquid. Also, my recipe calls for the oven temp to be at 400 and to bake for an hour and 20 minutes.
  21. I've done this. The second time, I figured ok, I'm smart enough not to test the carmel with my finger, so I tried to lick the carmel off the spoon. Duh. Ouch.
  22. The tart is great. Keller's pastry recipe is so easy, even I can make it! The last time I made it though, I used sliced apples, and kept adding some as they cooked down. I was much happier with the presentation:
  23. Marlene

    Sandwich Dinner

    I guess the obvious ones are coleslaw and potato salad. A pasta salad would work well . Simple sliced tomatoes.
  24. What a team. Hubby suggested delicately, "don't you think you should have that looked at"?. "You're kidding" I replied. I've got Easter dinner to cook. I don't have time to spend 6 hours in emergency so they can put a bandaid on it, the same as I'm doing now. What are they going to do? Sew the nail back on? Oy.
  25. Perhaps, I'll just drink heavily. With my other hand.
×
×
  • Create New...