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helenas

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Everything posted by helenas

  1. Wonderful book written by a very stylish person. True, it reminds of "Between Meals", as well as of "Reflexions", but somehow i find both too depressing (sorry, Wilfrid). Very interesting chapter on Paula Wolfert: quite unexpected image, and now i like her even more. And Frank Zachary: what a person!
  2. helenas

    Deboning chicken leg

    thanks, guys. spqr, wow - do you have a picture to post? as i got your replies after i went shopping, i decided to go with chicken confit for today. So i'm planing to try deboning and stuffing somewhere this week.
  3. Help, please. How to debone a chicken/duck leg for stuffing? There is a lovely recipe in Kamman's French Women Cooking book, but i was completely lost while reading the instructions: do you cut the skin, and what about all this sewing? Do you leave a piece of drumstick bone? The end result should look like tiny hams, that's why the name of the dish is jambonettes. thanks, and maybe we can talk about deboning the whole chicken as well?
  4. Imported canned tuna? Seems like a rage, at least among gourmet mail order companies...
  5. helenas

    Squash

    Winter squash/potato gratin with sage, thyme and gruyere is our favorite dish; had it just couple of days ago. I also love stuffed winter squashes (i tried acorn) from Mario Batali: Zucca al Forno.
  6. i got the unsolicited catalog from the company named Cryer Creek Kitchens: there is a picture of gorgeous looking fruitcake right on the front page: this one is made from glaced apricots and pecans. As i have a forgotten box of glaced apricots ( bought a year ago to try some Jeremiah Tower recipe) i might try to whip out something soon. Mind you, it looks even better in the catalog: loads of apricots!
  7. helenas

    Dinner! 2002

    salmon/roasted asparagus pie in potato crust: tarragon/comte custard.
  8. helenas

    Bandol?

    There is a fascinating article on Bandol by Jay McInerney in october issue "House&Garden". Actually he is one of the reasons i'm bying this magazine. I never tried Bandol before, but it sounds like my type of wine (he mentioned wet labrador and lit cigar as reference points). He also recommended several, mostly from 1998, but also said about decanting it for two days or so. Most of his recommendation are available locally, and not that expensive, but what with this long decanting? And what are your favorite Bandols?
  9. Sorry if this topic was previously discussed. It was mentioned in Rosengarten Report that this wholesaler of spanish food runs an open house every 2nd and 4th Saturday 10 AM to 2 PM with free tasting. Any experience? Or maybe even egullet get-together for shared tasting? If there is a sufficient interest, we might request the owner for egullet only private tasting. Your thoughts? edit: the site is added for your convenience: Ole Ole Foods
  10. I'm interested in trader joes only for buying wine cheaply. i have wegmans in walking distance and Delicious Orchards 15 minutes drive from my house. Oh yes, and Nicholas in 25 minutes drive. And a laptop in my bedroom and certainly computer at my work to reach egullet every moment i need. So i'm gastronomically set
  11. I would volunteer for honey, but i'm afraid Stefany will kill me... Maybe bread?
  12. thanks for pointing to this book. Are you reading the french or english version?
  13. helenas

    Wine Course

    So? I suppose that the bunch of eguletters have started their study. Where are your first impressions, guys? Care to share?
  14. I prefer to read several books at the same time, so currently piling on my nightstand related: Gastronomy of Italy by Del Conto; The Il Fornaio Pasta Book; Passion for Vegetables by Gayler; somewhat related: The Art of Travel by de Botton; non-related: Bohemian Paris by Dan Franck;
  15. The only location in South Jersey doesn't sell wine, so we plan to go up north. There are four of stores there: Wayne, Westwood, Westfield and Florham Park. Can somebody tell me what's the best location or they are similar, and what can be also interesting things (food wise: markets, stores and farms, not restaurants) to check around? thank you.
  16. helenas

    Meatloaf

    inspired by this thread, i decided to do a meatloaf today, for which i went with the recipe from "Welcome to my kitchen" cookbook by Valenti. Actually this particular recipe is on the web, as i mentioned in the "Porcini Powder" thread: Meatloaf with Mushroom Sauce by Valenti. The recipe calls for unusual amount of milk, that i was tempted to cut, but then i decided that Valenti knows better, and how right i was! ( i mean in me trusting Valenti). Just simple, plain WOW: this was the best meatloaf in my life (mind you, i don't have memories of mama's meatloaf - in russia there were panfried meat balls). And it was picture-perfect, looking exactly the one on "New York" magazine picture.
  17. Please, please, can i use it as my new signature?
  18. helenas

    dirt cheap wines

    FG, this particular Delicato was in 1.5 liter bottle and was about $10. And i think i tried all decent wines in price range of $10-$15, and decided to look into lower price range for weeknights, which presumably should allow us to splurge during weekend.
  19. helenas

    dirt cheap wines

    ...i entered the local winestore clutching Andrea Immer's Wine Buying Guide for Everyone. I was determined to stock on value-priced wines (that according to this guide do exist). After browsing through jug wine section , i finally ended with a bottle of Delicato Family Vineyards Shiraz 2001 and italian Citra 2000(?)Montepulciano d'Abruzzo. We opened Citra for the dinner that night and it was plain awful (i mean the wine). So next day we tried Delicato. I'm not a big fan of shiraz, but guess what? We were pleasantly surprised. Nothing sophisticated here, but it was really a pleasant wine to drink and a perfect accompaniment for a weekday dinner. Just wanted to let you know, in case you tried some nice cheap wines and would like to share them. In the meantime i have Wilfrid's Fat Bastard to try...
  20. helenas

    Porcini powder

    I found the reference for porcini powder in Tom Valenti's Mushroom Sauce. I checked his book as well, he says you can keep it for a while and should always have zome on hand "because it adds a compelling element to a number of dishes". Grit was not mentioned
  21. helenas

    Porcini powder

    i think it was discussed somewhere on egullet, but search function returns nothing. they say that adding porcini powder enhances the taste of common mushrooms, and that you can easily make your powder at home using the spice grinder. But what happens with grit? is it ground to dust and not perceptible anymore? thank you
  22. And thanks to remind me of Thorne. His site has some answers (including book recommendations): Riso: Undiscovered Rice Dishes of Northern Italy Italian Rice Dishes
  23. Thanks, Jim. Unfortunately, it looks like esperya doesn't carry rice anymore. What can be other good rice sources? Currently i'm using Dal Raccolta vacuum packed arborio, but i'd like to experiment with different types of italian rice.
  24. bread
  25. helenas

    Olive cake

    Margaret, this is my favorite subject! There are several different recipes: one in the Wells' Paris cookbook, several in the Loomis' French Farm book, and you can find tons of different recipes in french if you do a google search for "cake aux olives". My favorite recipe though is here; and i think it's similar to what you're looking for: - Provencal Olives ( scroll down to Cake Aux Olives). Let me know if you need recipes from Wells or Loomis.
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