snowangel

How about a deviled egg holder -- a pressed "cut glass one" that held four halves? Who in the hell only devils two eggs?

Maintain, after 18 years in a house built in 1948, that what the wheels are made of makes a big difference. Husband, in the plastics business, said Delrin. 30 year old wheels were likely rubber, which has oxidized, shrunk, and are no longer the size they need to be. Chances of finding replacement wheels for doors of that age are slim. Been there, done that. It's a bitch of a job. Remove everything remotely related to the doors. Not just the trim, but headers, those side pieces, etc. Or, tear into the plaster/drywall, and replace all of the hardware. But, it was worth it (?) for the few months we lived in that house after we did the job.

I've done two soups this week. Chicken noodle, spiked with chili peppers (we all have colds) and pasta and bean (pasta a fagioli?). Both were sustaining, yummy and warm. If my head cold does not show signs of improving soon, it's time for something really spicy and brothy.

Pocket doors. Some advice. Should you choose to go with pocket doors, get an extra set of the rollers. And remember not to nail long nails into the walls that contain said pocket doors (something the previous owners of our former house neglected to remember). Pocket door hardware manufacturers have a way of changing everything so it is NOT interchangable several years from now. And, given that most pocket door rollers are rubber, they will need to be replaced. Trust me. I know this the hard way. I did a ton a research to replace the rollers on the pocket doors in our former house. Obsolete. The choice was to either rip a big hole in the plaster of the walls and replace not only the rollers, but all of the hardware that goes with it. Or, manufacture rollers. So, off I trotted to some industrial place that agreed, over the phone, to sell me a rod of delrin. We asked a friend who owns a machine shop to use his shop to manufacture new rollers. (and, while the doors were out, I refinished them -- sanded, followed by stain and shellac). The new rollers were gold. We, not trusting delrin to last a lifetime of use, made an extra set and left them for the buyers, with instructions. Depending on how long you want to live in your house, and just what the rollers are made of, plan ahead. I love pocket doors. They are wonderful. They save space. They need to be hung carefully, and by craftsmen. They can be prone to problems, which necessitates hardware on the sides of them. They are more complicated than the average person thinks. While the inside of a door can provide storage, depending on the space, remember that a pocket door takes up almost no space.

In no particular order Heartland. Russo's passion is evident. He's happy to come and talk after you've dined. His staff feels this same passion. Vincent. Consistently wonderful. The space is magnificent. Udupi. Inarguably, the best Indian food in the Twin Cities. Cheap, to boot. Who care that it is vegetarian? Krua Thai. I think this is the best Thai restaurant in the Twin Cities, and it goes way beyond the typical pad thai, same old curries and Tom Yam. Mercado Central and Mercado Burrito. Both of these are terrific. You can eat at food courts with to die for food, and shop at other vendors. Near as I can tell from previous EG posts on Maxwell Street, we have it here every day of the week. Pho 79 for pho. Doesn't get any better. It's a wonderful prescription for a head cold. My local Asian market for Bahn Mi. Doesn't hurt that I can get everything else Asian I need here. Fabulous fish, shrimp and meat counter with all sorts of odd bits, and they know me well enough to just flat give me bones that other customers don't want (they bone for no additional charge). And, that bahn mi. Heaven on a bun for $1.75. I must include one fast food joint. Zantigo. Anyone remember that chain from those many years ago? Well, there are a smattering of them in the Twin Cities. Their green chili is really good. Cafe 128. We've had many a memorable meal at this place. Each one as good, if not better than the last one. My only complaint is that it gets noisy. Dim sum at Mandarin Kitchen or My Lee Hoa. Although we had great dim sum at Yummy, I'm more partial to the other two joints. So, this is really more than 10. But, the Twin Cities have a lot to be proud of! But, of everywhere I ate this year, my favorite remains the dock at The Cabin, under the northern lights.

No, that's called quality control.

Stopped at Marshall's today and they had the cast aluminum bundt pans for $9.99. Better bake a cake tomorrow. But, seriously, that nifty stovetop waffle maker is what I will always associate with NordicWare. It has provided more meals for my family than almost any other single item in my kitchen outside of the pots and pans.

Yeah, Marlene! You are going to love having this around. I feel just about naked when the freezer does not have chicken and beef stock. I got lucky today. I have made friends with the butcher at our local supermarket. She took me aside today and let me know that she had a whole mess of bones and oxtails that were at their sell-by date, and that she could give me a deal on them or toss them. Simmering starts after supper. FOrtunately, it's been cold enough here that I don't have to make space in the fridge for chilling, nor flat space for freezing the cubes. The deck works just fine. As an aside, I don't put carrots in my stock. Call me a heretic. I do enough Chinese and Thai soups that I don't want that bit of sweetness. In fact, I really don't like carrots unless they are roasted or raw. Edited to add: should you try chix stock, be sure and try and get some feet. They had a wonderful silky quality.

OK. So off to the drug section of Target tomorrow for electolytes. Do you think they helped him gain weight? How's the taste? She is hydrated (we check the pull-ups), but nutrition and calories have been the big problem. Ped, neuro and parents are puzzled by what's going on, but she's going down on the statistical weight chart rapidly. I trust her medical care implicitely. Weight gain can be a good and necesary thing. If she could just verbalize...

I come seeking advice. Heidi is thin. Beyond thin; I can span her waist with my hands. She is 10, and weighs not much over 50 lbs. She is tiny, and I am modifying elastic waiste pants to fit her. She has had the stomach flu, followed by shrimp (which she always horks) and has a cough that causes vomiting (cough medicine is a no go because of her AED's) We are trying every trick in the trade. The MD's have suggested some things, but they aren't working. She won't drink those power drinks. What are the best things to feed someone (keep in mind that the person won't eat something because you say if they don't eat it they won't get their reward) for max bulk? She is very partial to white and yellow foods, but one can only give a person so much cheese or eggs. Bananas have been just about the only source of fibre, which causes other problems. I do have a call into the dietician at the hospital where she goes for blood draws, but thought I would hit here for some suggestions, as well. Keep in mind that highly processed food is out, she's profoundly MR (ruling out power of suggestion) and she is also completely non-verbal. But, she's still smiling and cute as a button!

I buy it in 5 lb. lots! Just flat sick of that 12 oz. of stuff. I'll help you make those heads roll. Just how stupid do they think we are (especially when caffinated).

I just realized I went to college with one of his daughters, Paul worked for Nordicware for a while, and although I own one of their nifty stovetoip waffle makers, I don't own a Bundt pan! Better remedy that soonest! Incidentally, Dalquist's brother owned Maid Of Scandinavia, a long-time Minneapolis purveyor of all things related to baking and candy-making. A sweet family!

Bingo! And, hope it's on a day when you can put the kids on the bus and lay on the couch with the remote control. And, what JAZ said. Now that we are older and wiser, we've learned to alternate spirits with water.

Methinks they are going broke (or paying their CEO's way too much) and don't want to charge more for their products, which would piss off the customers???

Have you pulled off that front panel to see what the reverse looks like? The KA (a Hobart, no less) had a front panel that was a different color (and the right color for my new kitchen). As an aside. Hope you plan to live in your house for a long time. We thought we were lifers in our old house. So, we redid the kitchen (ourselves; I'm a DIY'er). Not 18 months later, we moved, and had another kitchen to redo. Hate to say it, but I got a discount at the appliance store for being a frequent customer. Yikes. That would be two fridges, two stoves, two ovens, and one dishwasher in less than 2 years. About to tackle the second floor and second ceiling in the same time period. Just call me a glutton for punishment.

Some big lessons in my kitchen tonight. Peter and Diana. Now, Diana is good in the kitchen. She can mince, she can dice, she knows the proportions to make great larb, and I've caught her reading cookbooks late at night. But, I haven't spent as much hands-on time with her lately as I should. Peter has been ignored on the cooking front, but is showing more interest. We've had it with grazing and cleaning out the post holiday fridge and all of that turkey and ham. 'Twas time for BEEF. I picked up some beautiful chuck eye steaks, date of "sell by" was today, so they were half priced. My dad stopped by the Wedge (local big coop) and they had mountains of beautiful baby spinach, so he dropped some off. I had a handful of very fresh pecans leftover. That one pomegranite rolling around in the fridge. A hunk of Maytag that someone had left here New Year's Eve. So, lesson number one. Sear and bung. Get that oven nice and hot. Get that pain nice and hot. Sear those steaks. No, they are not ready to turn until they release. Turn. When they release on the 2nd side, stick them in the oven. Do the touch test, but REMEMBER to use a potholder on that oh-so-hot pan handle before you remove pan to check doneness. Salad. That spinach, that pomegranite, that blue cheese, those pecans. Let's put those in a skillet, add some sugar and caramelize them. Heating (burning) sugar is a good science lesson. Lay them out on a plate to cool. Grab that raspberry vinegar that we made this last summer with some of the bounty from the cabin. Whisk in some mustard, a bit of honey, the really good Olive Oil. Toss that spinach with that dressing (not very much, toss well; you can always add more dressing, but you can't take it away). Add a sprinkle of those pecans; a sprinkle of that Maytag, crumbled; and some of those pomegranite seeds. Let's see, we have sharp/aged, we have some sweet and those beautiful leaves. A contrast in color, texture and taste. Proportions. Let's see. We covered science (temperature). Texture (salad). Taste (contrasts). Kitchen safety (knives, potholders). More science with the release (no you don't need oil in the pan with the steaks, they will release, trust me; just put some water into that pan with that sugar, it will dissolve). They even helped clean up, absolutely amazed at how that burnt sugar had just dissolved. It was a wonderful dinner. Neither Peter nor Diana fought with each other. Each was proud of what they have learned. Moments of pride.

There's also that wonderful few blocks on Nicollet just north of Lake Street called "Eat Street." Lots of Vietnamese (great pho and bahn mi) among many other restaurants.

Nordicware also made the micro-go-round microwave turntable and that nifty stovetop waffle maker we own.

I have also successfully frozen the stuff. Reheat in the oven, covered and moistened with a bit of stock.

Hmmm. Been wondering the same thing. This just could be on the menu on Friday at our house.

As I perused what was left in my post holiday fridge, I espied a couple of dozen eggs I hadn't used. I guess I kept thinking I needed to buy more eggs for breakfast (kids home during day), baking, whatever. There were numerous other bits and things leftover. So, this morning, I hard-cooked them. While wondering what to do with them, I decided deviled eggs. Further purusing of the fridge revelaled a hunk of smoked salmon (from Russ Kendall's at Knife River, MN, some goat cheese. Some beautiful baby spinach. So, for dinner tonight, grazing. Deviled eggs. A bageutte, smoked salmon, goat cheese. That baby spinach, with smattering of garlic and EVOO. And that tapanade leftover from New Year's Eve. The week after the holidays, in our house, are about grazing.

This sounds so good that methinks me sees a butt in my future. Especially since I just noted that my local meat market has them on sale (bone in!) for $89/lb. I think pork butt is my very favorite cut of meat. You slow roast (or smoke it). That collagen breaks down. It is silky. It is sweet, perhaps smokey. It pleases everyone.

So, I'll ask a seeminly stupid question. So you cook the duck. How much of what happens to the texture of confit happens because you "put it up in fat?" My understanding (limited) is that you cook it, cover it in fat and let it sit for a while. How much of that texture changes during that "let it sit" time?

Were you me or Mayhaw Man, you'd have taken that hammer in hand and started demo already. Nothing speeds things up like a demo taken to that point of no return. Look forward to stage two. I'm stalled on my project; sick kids has prevented me from finding a new floor and ripping up the old one. But, not to worry, I've attacked another portion of the house (not food related) to the said point of no return. So, kitchen floor may wait (sigh).

Posole, yes (if you did bone in, stick the bone in). Enchiladas. Tacos. Crisped and used in place of lardons on a salad with poached egg. In a frittata. Eaten cold out of the fridge, with door open. In fried rice. Added to ramen noodles. Lucky you!