Marlene

fifi, that's exactly what I have. Who knew it was called a bullet? Well ok, everyone but me. (careful, I'm nicotine deprived. II could conceivably committ a mushroom deprivation crime. ) So what time do I need to force my poor husband out of bed in the morning to get the smoker going? I've got the gingerbread cake in the oven. Once it's done I'll upload the pics of breakfast and cake. I'm moving on to the mustard bbq sauce now. Trust I can make this up in advance and stick it in the fridge.

Fish. There's been plenty of hearty red meat in this blog, but we need some seafood. If not just fish, how about a quick cioppino or linguine with clams? ← ick. I am however making your carnival corn tonight.

I moved it to the garage. It was looking like it wanted to freeze. It won't fit in my fridge until I decide what I"m going to have for dinner and take that out. Then it can go into the fridge overnight.

I thought you were doing stroganoff! (and you put your mushroom thingy in the picture just to taunt me, right?)

Any chance we could get the ice cream recipe? Edited to add: Hmm, the version of the recipe posted upthread says nothing about sifting... ← Send an email for the real recipe. The one posted upthread is one that someone editted for home use. Neil ← yes, but the recipe you sent me doesn't mention sifting either!

Don's gone to work and the boy is still asleep. (well of course he is. It's not even noon yet!) While I wait for him to wake up so I can feed him something, I'm snacking on some raisin toast: Now for dinner tonight I have sirloin out for beef stroganoff. I also have a chicken out which I could roast. Which one should I make? Don is leaning towards the chicken and Ryan hasn't had a chance to vote yet. Also on the list is a gingerbread pudding with carmel sauce, recipe courtesy of Neil, the owner of the Hamilton Street Grill in Vancouver.

Ok, here's my butt. It's now sitting in my 12 quart stock pot covered in 4 quarts of water with 2 cups Diamond Crystal Kosher salt. It's on my deck. Stupid question of the day (ok, it's early. I may have others later). It's -6 C out there. Won't the water freeze?

Yeah that would work Susan. Don also suggested a hammer. Let me go stick the butt in some brine and get refueled with coffee. Then I can contemplate the coleslaw (now I have to go shopping again).

Well no. I have a brand new weber smokey mountain on the back deck that has not yet been broken in. I'm going to stick the butt in some brine (I have Diamond and Morton's kosher salt). It actually snowed here a bit yesterday, so the back deck is a perfect place to put this today.

Hardly. The Manhattan was made with Rye. Canadian Club. I just forgot to put it in the picture. The 12 year old scotch was for Don

More on the OXO mandoline. First of all, it was a bitch to slide the potatoes down the grate. It took way more arm power than it should have to start with and the pusher just didn't seem to be able to handle the smaller part of the potato when it got close. I wasted this much: It just wouldn't go through no matter what. After I removed the blades for cleaning I tested them for sharpness, and it seems to me that the slicing blade is pretty much dull as dishwater. I want to trade this thing in for something better.

Tonight's dinner may have been one of the best I have ever made. All of it was new to me. Steak au Poivre, Pommes Frites. And on we go to the great experiment. First I had to haul out the mandoline (more on that sucker later) and julienne the potatoes: Mandoline cut fries: Then they needed to be soaked in cold water for 15 minutes: In the meantime, I did my best to crack peppercorns. This sucks let me tell you. I used my mortar and pestle, ziplock bag and rolling pin and I still had trouble cracking them. I need a spice grinder. Coated the steaks with the pepper and let them rest: In the meantime, it was cocktails for us, and KFC for Ryan: I swear I had other pics of this, but they didn't seem to be on the camera. This is some sort of chicken wrap and with that he had fries and a large pepsi. Bck to the pommes frites which needed to be fried briefly and then held: Time to commence cooking. The mise and the pan: Searing the steaks: Setting the cognac on fire. I swear it was on fire, you just can't see it in the picture. It certainly wasn't a spectacular blaze or anything. adding the cream and mustard for the sauce: In the meantime, it was time to get the pommes frites in for the second frying. As I was busy with the sauce, the frying fell to Don . R2D2 ready to go: Pommes Frites Steak au povire:

Ok, the potatoes are sliced and partially fried for the first round. The cracked pepper is on the steaks and they are resting. The boys are out getting haircuts and we seem to be having a surprise mini snowstorm here at the moment. I did not cut my fingers off, (cheer up, I could still burn the house down ) but I'll have more to say about the OXO shortly.

I have the 3 qt All Clad Saute pan with lid as well, but I wouldn't use it for braising. My LC braiser is much heavier.

I've never paid any attention to the snack area at my Costco either, but for some reason, I recall fries being available. Maybe not. I need to go there on Sunday or Monday so I'll actually take a look!

Thanks Janet! And you all have the number for emergency in case you haven't heard back from me in a few hours?

Agreed fifi. I'd leave the lid on at least overnight. Take if off when you're awake to check on it!

Now that makes more sense. Yes, I'm pretty sure I can do that with this model.

Ok, this mandoline thing is complicated. Maybe I should just hand cut the fries. Who's used one of these before? I have the OXO one. I'm gathering by reading this, that first, I take the whole potato and slice it. Then I take the slices and slice them into french fries, yes? Can I do more than one slice at a time?

I've returned from the school. slightly deaf, but otherwise in one piece. No Manhattan yet, as I need to take the lad to get his hair cut. In the meantime, I've pulled out the mandoline and am contemplating it. Oh, and the steak au poivre requires the flaming of cognac, so you can look forward to possible reports of either missing fingers or burning house. The things we do for you guys!

I've never done confit in the oven, but I do leave the lid on the crockpot the whole time. I would leave the lid on as well or it has a potential to dry out.

My favourite is the Caribbean Pork. First of all, there's no browning or chopping and sauteing of aromatics. Once it's marinated, into the oven it goes. Secondly, the crispy pork skin that you get after finishing it under the broiler or a high heat oven is simply to die for. I have a variety of Le Crueset pieces that I use for braising depending on what I'm braising. The braiser pan works very well for short ribs and the round oven works well for roasts. The thing I've learned the most is how easy braising is and how forgiving it is if you need to leave it for an extra hour while you do something else. It won't hurt it! I also note that her oven temps are generally too high.

I think this is a fabulous idea. Somebody take these nuts away from me!

Good morning. Those nuts are sitting right beside my laptop here in the kitchen just begging to be eaten. I'll stick with coffee for now. While Snowangel gets a new camera, I'll be trying not to slice my fingers off with the mandoline I've never used. But first, I need to spend the afternoon at the school. Today is the day we kick off our education fundraiser week. Our theme is the Olympics with the educational focus on phys ed for the week. Complete with the procession and the lighting of the Olympic torch this is kicked off by an assembly in the gym, with the kids watching the teachers make fools of themselves. The kids gather pledges and must perform some physical activity after school every night for the next week. Kids are awarded points based on the number of minutes of activity. In addition, there'll be activities at the school, with the whole population divided into Countries. Medals will be awarded at the end of the week. This is a big deal fundraiser that usually nets the Council anywhere from $8,000 - $12,000. Past themes have included a week of Math Wars, Science Experiment, Racing through History and a Reading circle. The teachers will be performing in an ice skating competition this afternoon, and as as Council Chair, I get to be one of the judges. Trust me, after an afternoon of 600 kids screaming in a gym, I'll be more than ready for my Friday evening Manhattan. I think I need more coffee to brace myself with.

Just a note on those nuts. Beware if you make these. They are highly addictive. Damn those are good. Janet, you really need to put that recipe in RG.