snowangel

My daughter's aide is a vegetarian (will eat eggs and do dairy). When she is staying with us at our cabin, can you give me some suggestions for incorporating her dietary requirements into those of our family (two members of which are serious carnivores)? I strive to avoid being a short order cook. And, thank you for participating in this Q & A.

No stupider than Minnesota liquot laws. Anybody but me heard of 3.2 beer?

Diana likes it as a "condiment" for roast pork or chicken, and likes it as a spread for sandwiches when mayo/mustard aren't what she's looking for.

Can you give us your recipe? I finely chop about a 1/2 a pound of bok choy, toss with a little kosher salt, and let sit for a while, then squeeze out the water. Add about 3/4 pound (a little more or a little less) of chopped pork butt, 1 T. finely minced ginger, 1/4 c. chopped scallions (green and white parts), 1 T soy sauce, 1 T. rice wine (sherry will do), 1 T. sesame oil, and a bunch of finely chopped water chestnuts. Stir with hands in one direction. I buy wrappers, and buy the round ones (so I don't have to trim them). I look for whatever brand has the most wrappers per pound -- you want them thin. Fill wrappers, pleating tops. I usually need some water to make the pre-packaged wrappers stick together. When done, they should stand up on their own, and be crescent shaped. Put on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and they won't stick to the surface. At this point, you could put the cookie sheet in the freezer, and once they are frozen, put in a plastic bag. I usually make twice as many as we'll eat so I have an emergency batch in the freezer. Do not fully thaw before cooking, however. For cooking: heat a flat-bottomed pan (I use a non-stick 12" Calphalon), add some oil (not too much), and put in the potstickers, starting in the middle and working out in concentric rings. They should be nice and close. I tend to turn the heat down when putting them in and raise the heat when they are all in. When they have browned on the bottom, put in some chicken stock -- it should come about 1/2 way up on the pot stickers, and cover. When most of the stock has been absorbed, check to see if they look done (remember, the wrappers are a form of pasta), remove the lid and let them cook for another minute or two. For sauce, I tend to prefer a soy/sesame oil/garlic/and maybe ginger sauce. Enjoy. They are fabulous. They reheat OK, too. Nuke to take the chill off and then recrisp the bottoms in a hot skillet.

Cabin??? OK, we're all summering at snowangel's place! You're more than welcome, but keep in mind that we are at the end of a 3 mile jeep trail and there is no running water (i.e., outhouse) nor is there electricity, but we do have LP gas stove and fridge. Lack of amenties keeps the riff-raff out. On the plus side, we have 1000 feet of lakeshore on a pristine lake bordering on Voyageurs National Park and Superior National Forest. We have no neighbors, and the island bars the view of the cabins and tiny resort on the other side of the lake. At times, the silence is deafening.

Potstickers (I've been making them for so many years that I can get 6 pleats per side!) and stirfried greens with charred garlic (the house reeks of garlic for days). We eat this meal at least twice a month. For breakfast, I make killer buttermilk pancakes. Up at the cabin, it's belgian waffles. We have a stovetop (made by Nordicware) belgian waffle maker, and since the stove operates on LP gas (hotter than natural gas), they get really crispy on the outside but stay nice and moist on the inside.

This model has been discontinued, and the new models look crappy and cheap. Although I prefer the french press or melita, on a weekday morning, as I scramble to get husband and three kids out the door, with lunch bags, backpacks with homework, everyone dutifully coated/hatte/mittened and kisses, an automatic fills the bill. So two days ago, our ancient automatic just died. So, like a good girl, I research on e-gullet, and note Dave's recommendation. So, off to Target I trot, only to find out that the new Phillips are substandard, do not mention wattage, and look like they will not make it a year. The manager is nearby, and suggests I go to the clearance area; she mentions that they are getting ready for a major remodelling, and they have tons of stuff from the storeroom deeply discounted. There, sitting on a shelf, are two of the old model Phillips, one with glass carafe, one with thermal. They are marked down to -- get this -- $8.97. Needless to say, I bought both. Must have been a reward for cleaning out the deep freeze. And, they are definitely a much higher performer than our old automatic.

Get the Pepin. Get the Pepin. Get the Pepin. Trust me. Get the Pepin. When my mother-in-law asked Diana what she wanted for Christmas, she said "a cooking book. But not a recipe book." She received the Pepin, and it is wonderful. I received Culinary Artistry. Another keeper.

As we drive back from our cabin in the summer on Sunday afternoons, we tune into KAXE (a fabulous PBS station based out of Grand Rapids, MN), and listen to The Splendid Table. For quite a while, the host and I believe Al Schierman did a thing with a call-in based on this idea. There was an assumption that the caller had some basics (garlic, onions, EVOO, etc.), plus a few odd things in the fridge. They would concoct a meal out of said off things. We (especially Diana) loved this segment. Sadly, they no longer have this segment, so we tune into the blues station from Univ. Mn Duluth (equally outstanding).

I thought this was a college requirement! That or using the table Paul had -- he and his buddies had stolen manhole covers, welded legs on them, spraypainted them, and voila! tables (or bottle openers). Problem with the latter was that after one had opened a few too many, there was too much broken glass and beer on the floor. My sister and I shared a car (1970 orange bug) during college, and we always made sure we had a "church key" in the glove box, along with limes and salt. When my dad asked about the salt (a disposable Mortons shaker), she lamely said "in case it is icy."

Have you given any consideration to a place in your yard to put your feet up and enjoy your garden, have a drink, eat a meal? A few years ago, a wicked storm knocked over the big tree in our back yard. Planting another tree was out of the question because of power lines, and had we chosen another site in our backyard (we are inner city; back yard not large), it would have provided a ton of shade for our neighbors and my sunny perennial bed. So, we opted to build a pergola and patio. Not a deck. My pergola is absolutely wonderful. THe patio is absolutely wonderful. Most wonderful of all is the wisteria I planted 3-4 years ago, and which should completely cover the top of the pergola this year, providing a nice amount of shade. I have hung lights (believe it or not, icicle lights look wonderful dancing in and amongst the wisteria). We have a table, a glider/love seat thingie. It is a focal point, and has garnered much attention from my neighbors. I keep it swept of snow early in winter, and many mornings (provided temps are in the teens) will find me bundled up with cup of coffee in hand, enjoying my space. And, I can't begin to recount the number of meals we've eaten under our pergola (bugs permitting), nor the time spent just watching stuff grow (main activity). Plus, my kids are pretty pleased that they are the only kids they know that know what a pergola is.

What cut of meat do you use for your burgers? How do you chop/grind it?

You neglected to write how long you have been married...

A bazillion years ago, a friend and I took a candy making class. They told us that they use cane, not beet, sugar to make candy because when you cook (boil) beet sugar, it boils up much higher in the pan than cane sugar. More likely to boil over. Why is this? Is this even true?

When I mentioned to Paul last night that the freezer was today's project, his words were "remember, it's not a safety deposit box."

No long lost treasures (at least none like the top of our wedding cake; click on link in one of the posts I made on this thread earlier as it is a good story) because we'd had to make room in freezer for frozen stuff during kitchen remodel. But, I did uncover a few more unrecognizables. The trash bin is full. If it weren't below zero, my trash would be a wretching experience, I'm sure. Why do we save some of the crap we do? For that matter, why do we buy some of the crap we do?

I'm feeling virtuous. I took advantage of the sub-zero temps here today and hauled everything out of the freezer, onto the back stoop and defrosted. It is clean and tidy, with everything well organized (we'll see how long that lasts).

Perhaps we're just less energetic, and chaos has less appeal.

Ditto. Diana (age 12) actually asked the question; your reply has been printed and added to her cooking notebook. She and I really appreciate the detailed, yet simple, explainations.

You'd be right at home in my kitchen!

Why do some recipes for baked goods call for adding dry and liquid ingredients alternately (like 1/3 the dry, then 1/3 the liquid, repeat, repeat) and some call for all liquids at once and then all drys?

Diana (age 12) and I cook and clean up. Paul keeps Peter (7) and Heidi (8) out of our way. It's a great time for Diana and I to create together, and I've noticed that all sorts of "stuff comes out" from her (about what's going on with school, her head, etc.). It's wonderful, because she can be so creative in the kitchen, and a good worker, to boot...not to mention spending time together AND getting something done! We work like a well-oiled machine. On the occasion that she cooks solo, I clean up as thanks. Paul (husband) does awesome breakfasts (ably assisted by Peter, a masterful sausage link and bacon turner), but they leave the kitchen a disaster. It's an exercise in how much crap can we leave on the counter and how many more dishes can we use than is necessary.

Could you please give us a little bit of your background -- how you came to be a concierge, what makes you a great concierge, how you establish yourself as a concierge, as (as Cabby also asked) how you keep track of details, just what a day at work involves, how often you are called when you are not on duty, on the basis what information do you make recommendations (for restaurants, activities, places to see, theatre, etc.) to guests?

Late night snack last night: bacon, romaine and hummus sandwich on toasted levain from Acme.

I am reminded of a lunch we would have once a year when I was growing up in Thailand. On our annual New Year's trip to Phuket for scuba diving, we spent one night in Hua Hin. We always ate at the same place...a little hole in the wall (actually on a corner), that had a very limited menu. We always had crab fried rice. The crabs were jumping in the basket. Fresh, fresh, fresh. The ingredients (I watched them cook): leftover rice, crab (chunks at least as big as your thumb), scallions, eggs, Tiparo fish sauce. Garnishes: cilantro (whole leaves) and lime wedges. One dish, complex but without confusion. The memory of that meal far eclipses that of the lunch we had at French Laundry last year. I don't know how much the later cost, but the former used to be 10 baht ($.50) per plate. And, with the former, memorable without taking home a menu or writing down exactly what you had. Yes, sometimes, and for some of us, less is more.