Marlene

I have just returned from a trip to Las Vegas. We've eaten at most of the steakhouses now in Vegas, so my list would be like this: Delmonicos Prime S&W Craft doesn't even make the list in my opinion. Maybe we were there on an off night, but our meal at Craft during this trip was possibly one of the worst we've had in some time. I hope to get around to writing up the various restaurants we visited this time around, and will include my impressions of Craft there.

The Caribbean Pork Shoulder is one of my favourite braises from this book. Definately start at the lower temp. I find anywhere from 240-250 sseems to work about right for most recipes. You only want the liquid to be barely bubbling while it's braising. Oh and I started out braising with no Le Crueset too. I now have 6 pieces so beware! The saute pan will be fine for the ribs as long as it has a good cover as will the stainless dutch oven. I have an All Clad Dutch oven that I've used on occassion for braising. I'm glad you liked them! That recipe is now my favourite way to braise short ribs! I always reduce the juices for this dish. I tend to add some pork stock and then reduce considerably and the reduction works wonderfully for this dish! Mike, I seldom make a braise and eat it the same day. First of all, most braises are even better the second or third day after making them and I tend to make a braise in advance for when I know I need to get dinner on the table quickly. I will usually de fat the juices before storing though and I almost always store the meat and juice together. In fact, after straining and de fatting, quite often I throw everything back into the pot, cover and stick in the fridge. Then I can reheat in the same pot.

Anna, Bruno's regularly carries creme freche. I like the idea of using panko to coat the fish, and I agree, I generally like to use panko instead of breadcrumbs in most instances.

I did these recently, inspired by JAZ's blog and following the directions Dave gave above although I also made a glaze for the finish using demi glace and honey. They are really really good done this way!

yes but they have a 15 year old with them, so I think Pegu may be out..

It's really nice to hear that I'm not alone in my buttercream failure. It concerns me a little that the magazine bills this as stress free and damn near foolproof. It's not either as far as I can tell!

Laurel, I've been thinking about this and I think you're right. It was just too warm. I'm off on a week's vacation, but I think I will definately try this again when I get back. Who knows, maybe third time is the charm! In the meantime, Part Two of this issue's digest will appear in this space tomorrow!

I mostly do short ribs in the brasier, so the answer to your question in terms of liquids, I think you'll be fine using the smaller one. I think with some of the other recipes you're going to have to experiment with quantities to see what works and what doesn't but again things like the cabbage and pork chops, potatoes etc should all be fine as well.

Shaya, did you have any soup leftover? The recipe notes this one can be served warm or cold, and I'd be interested in how it comes across cold.

Lucy, the Beef Tenderloin appetizer I make is rolled in crushed brined green peppers before searing. That's about the only time I use them I think!

I did in fact recently order the Cooking Fresh along with three other ones, Dinner with Friends, 101 Quick and Delicious Recipes and Comfort Foods. It comes as a set. In addition, I managed to snag the Weekend Cooking edition from my newsstand the other day, which is also not part of the subscription. I'll look forward to checking out the veggie dishes when the set arrives! So, to the buttercream. Yes, I kept the mixer on while adding the syrup. Maybe I didn't whip it long enough after I added the butter? How long would that be do you think? It is entirely possible that I'm going to have to try this recipe again.

Anna, I' ve been looking at the other pork tenderloin recipe and contemplating it. Now I'll just have to try it! birder53, the cake was really really good. And easy. Like you, I don't bake a lot so it's nice to have a recipe onhand that I know works. I've only been getting Fine Cooking for about six months. So far, I've made at least one thing from every issue I've received. I agree with you about sauce quantities though. There was definately not enough for the pork medallions and the coleslaw could have used more as well. I could have wished for more vegetable/side dish receipes in this issue though. Hopefully as we are moving towards spring and fresh produce the next issue will provide some interesting sides for our monthly meals!

I have two beef appetizers that I do. One is a tenderloin on crostini, quite similar to this recipe. The other one is a little more asian as the beef pieces are dipped into a soy sauce mixture then you roll slivers of peppers and green onion up in them, secure and grill for a minute or two. The first one is a cold appetizer and it is easy to make ahead and assemble the day of. the crostini can be seen here third picture down, and the other one can be seen here

Hmmm. Let's see. The 5 qt takes about 9 short ribs. I would imagine the smaller buffet might take only six, but the liquid quantities should be about right. I think some of the other recipes like the cabbage, potatoes etc will be fine and won't need adjustment, but in terms of something like a pot roast, in order to do it in the buffet, it needs to be relatively flat. I'm not sure that's really answered your question? I need to go view a 3.5 quart probably in order to judge better. Did you have a particular recipe you wanted to try in the 3.5? That might help me!

Grilled ribs tonight, rubbed, and wrapped in foil on the grill for 1 and 1/2 hours then on the open grill for 5 minutes a side. One of the things I'm rapidly coming to understand is that I like a "wet" rib rather than a "dry" one. Next time, some sort of mop is in order. Rubbed with Klink's dry rub: Done:

I'm pretty sure it was oil temp. I didn't use a thermometer this time and I don't think the oil was hot enough. I tried again today for snacks for hubby and I and used a thermometer and it worked fine.

We're doing ribs today as well, although grilled, not smoked!

We had friends for dinner tonight. My mantra to them was, "we'll keep it simple, steaks,a salad baked potatoes. So this morning, I was up making bacon bits, salad dressing, tart tatin, croutons etc. Yes, lets keep this simple! Because it's spring, and we were grilling we started with Margaritas and strawberry daquiris: We had a shrimp cocktail for nibbles. We were supposed to have brie fritters too, but somehow they kind of disintegrated while deep frying. I'm not really sure how that happened: Dinner was, grilled rib eyes, baked potatoes and ceasar salad. Condiments included bacon bits, sour cream and my homemade bbq sauce. Dessert was Tarte Tatin. I actually made this twice. The first time, it stuck, and wouldn't release. the second time I used a cast iron frying pan and it worked a dream:

For cookbooks and magazines I keep a simple excel spreadsheet by category, i.e appetizers, meat etc. Under that I list the name of the recipe, the cookbook or magazine it is in and the page number. I sometimes add notes if I've made substantial changes to a recipe. For recipes that I've found on the net and tried and liked, I label them in gmail under recipes. Of course there's recipeGullet and I do have recipe software as well, but I find the spreadsheet is easier and i don't have to spend a lot of time retyping a recipe.

I do have the 5 quart buffet. I now also have several round ones of various sizes. The buffet casserole gets used mainly for short ribs, and other small pieces while the larger pot roasts go into the 5 or 7.5 quart round dutch ovens. I have to say though that I use the buffet casserole for all kinds of things though and it is probably the most used of my Le Crueset pieces. And no, I tend not to double her recipes as I 've never had to and the buffet casserole seems to fit the dish I'm doing at the time. It is a heavy so and so, though! Mike, I can't help you with the dumpling question since that's one dish I haven't made from Molly's book yet.

I have looked everytime I'm out for Dawn power disolver as well and would love to know where to find this.

I love the method of cooking turkey in the Cotton Country Collection.

The ingredients for the dressing are basically Sesame Oil, rice vinegar, brown sugar salt, canola oil and asian chili sauce. It provides a nice kick, but no fish sauce!

Good question. And questions folks, will help me remember things to look for when I do the next issue! The pork was amazing for both its simplicity and it's flavour. On a busy night when we've got music, etc, its nice to be able to put a dish on the table in under an hour with very little fuss. Most of it can be prepped ahead of time - chopping the cabbage, shredding the lettuce and making the dressing. Then it's easy to throw together. The marinade for the pork provides a nice spice that sticks with the pork even after removed from the marinade and seared. The pork literally takes minutes to sear. The one thing I recall now, is that I didn't think the recipe provided enough quantities for the dressing and since they also suggest reserving half of the marinade to pour over the finished pork, you'd need to up those quantities as well. I found I needed every bit of marinade I had for the marinade itself.

Never having made a four layer cake before, I was a touch nervous about trying this, but it turned out to be very easy. Fine Cooking suggests tracing a line around the middle of the cake first with a serrated knife. Putting the cake on a turntable and rotating it as you slice makes this really simple, and helps someone like me who can't cut a straight line to save my life keep it pretty even. What exactly do you want to know about the pork?