snowangel

Chris, I have eyed this recipe. How was it? Would you make any changes?

As I baked today, I was reminded of just why I hate their dry measuring cups (I have a set of the plastic ones as well as the metal ones) -- the handles are so big and heavy that on the smaller ones, they don't stay on their bottoms when placed on the counter. They tip, handle-side down. A bit heavy handled, me thinks.

Welcome to the eGullet Recipe Cook-Off! Click here for the Cook-Off index. As many of us in North America slog through the last bit of winter, time for a hearty and warming dish -- Feijoada. Reseach indicates that this is a Brazilian and Portugese dish of black beans and various pork products, although an old issue of Saveur (the Jan/Feb 2005 Top 100 issue) refers to a Feijoada de Polvo, an octopus stew. There are a few topics on eG about feijoada -- one is here and another one here. And, johnnyd made some beautiful looking feijoada during his foodblog. Scroll down in his blog to see the feijoda-making in progress, as well as the accompanying salad and cocktails. Get out those pots, start sourcing the appropriate black beans and pork products and let's make feijoada!

Thanks, jackal, for the clarification. Yes, it is a preferment. So, what happens if the preferment spends an extra day in the fridge (think 36-48 hours instead of 24)?

I'm not sure yet if this is a problem, but I made a firm starter today and forgot about it, so it tripled in size (at least). Should I forge ahead or toss it and start over? BTW, doug, I noticed that the first few loaves I made with my new starter did not have the rich sour flavor -- it's sort of like the starter needs to be refreshed over the course of a few weeks to "mature."

Is that pad phet? I love long beans and minced pork pad phet. It's one of my favourites, though my dad used to make it much too spicy for me! ← I've always known it as prik king, and it is one of my very favorite dishes! IMHO, regular green beans are not an acceptable substitute as they are just too sweet and mush quickly. Snake/yard long beans are also wonderful in a coconut-milk based curry -- it seems that no matter how long you cook them, they still retain some crunch. In another vein, my mom stopped one day last winter, and as she left, she mentioned stopping at the grocery for green beans for minestrone, so I gave her some long beans, and they were a wonderful addition to the soup -- retaining crunch and body upon reheating!

So, Chris, you've had this for almost a year. The verdict?

And, witness the pile of cookbooks on my nightstand, and on the floor beside my bed. My nod to technology is a mechanical pencil (don't need to find and empty the sharpener) , a stack of post-its (for marking recipes) and a pad of paper for the grocery list. I'm sorry, but the intro's to so many recipes in books, and the sidebars, just aren't the same while sitting at the 'puter.

What's the policy on kids? We may try and coordinate this with some college visits (my kids are not little and know their way around the kitchen and even know how to wash dishes!).

We did wings, and a guest brought a couple of kinds of dip and assorted chips, but the big hit was the larb. I made a pounds worth of meat, assuming I'd have some leftover for breakfast, but no, they gobbled it right up!

When Alton Brown did these, he put the meat in a parchment lined sheet pan, rolled the meat out, and used a pizza cutter to cut the burgers. Looks like it made for easy shaping! However, when we get the slides from The Castle, there is a dill pickle slice (ripple cut!), and no ketchup.

While one is multi tasking (read, taking care of a bloody nose with one kid) instruct a child to put the bread in the oven, when the rising dough has plastic wrap on it. What a mess. Kids need step by step instructions. Oh, and BTW, newly sharpened knives are really sharp (I should be buying stock in band-aids and steri-strips).

I concur with all of the advice given above (and at my supermarket, stew meat is chunks of chuck!). Good sear in a hot pan, low and slow braise with a lid. One of the things I've learned from braising, and something that we've discussed extensively on the smoking butts and briskets (yes, I know this isn't a braise) is that you really can't predict how long it will take for the meat to achieve that fall-apart texture. It depends on the amount of connective tissue. I always allow a lot longer for a braise than the recipe indicates; sometimes it takes more time, sometimes not.

I've had the LifeLiner for almost a year, and the verdict is in. Yeah! I just had to clean one of them, and I simply put it in the shower and took a brush to it, and voila, looks good as new. The other thing I finally figured out is that is comes much wider than regular shelf liner, and with the 20% off BBY coupon, it was actually cheaper than that awful shelf liner which wants to wrinkle and battle with me (sort of like plastic wrap) when putting on the shelf.

I got a silicone madeleine pan as a gift, and unless you like madeleines with almost gooey bottoms, fey. But, it makes a nice paint tray -- the dried paint just peels right off! I love the chefn spatula thing mentioned up-topic. I love that it is double ended, allowing one to get the last bits out of a narrow jar, and I love that it is one-piece, so you don't end up with the crap between the wooden handle and the spatula itself. Oh, and the oven mitts. Get some yarn, nail polish, sharpee market and some gorilla glue and make it into a puppet for a little kid's gift! The only time I've found those valuable is in moving a piece of meat on the smoker because they don't wick up the juice.

Geez. I had suggested to my family that I do larb, potstickers, etc., etc., and I was informed that under no uncertain circumstances that we must have wings and cheesie cheezie dip. I'll cross the cilantro, ginger and Thai Basil off the list -- at least for this weekend.

This recipe is great -- and it sure would have been nice if they'd credited Bittman (it appeared a couple -- maybe more -- years ago in one of his NY Times Minimalist columns. Basically, it is a cut up chicken, sauteed in garlic, ginger and chili flakes, and you can serve it as is with cilantro and lime, or remove the chicken, carmelize some sugar with more garlic, ginger and peppers, add some fish sauce, and return the chicken. Cook the chix a bit longer (you'll want to remove it earlier from the first saute if you do this) and serve, again with lime and cilantro. This is a fav here, and it works well with boneless chix parts. Edited to add: Thai basil works well on this, too, as a garnish.

Whew. It's been so cold in MN that I am exhausted, and fortunately, we won't travel far for the next blog, which begins on Monday (January 28). Two teaser photos: Any more of our next blogger's teasers would give s/he away, but be prepared for a celebration, and a housewarming or sorts!

I have been getting my "coconut milk fix" all week long. I've made curry twice; the temps have not hovered much above zero, so hearty and spicy has been in order. A massaman, and a green curry with chicken have been on the menu (the latter with an obscene amount of Thai Basil). Oh, my leftover curry makes for a most heart and body-warming breakfast ever. Bruce, your deconstructed larb (for lack of a better couple of words) looks wonderful. The extreme carnivores lost out on this one, didn't they?

Oh, baby it's been cold outside. Lots of braises (gotta use up that venison), but even more, I have been craving Thai curries. It was funny, the other night, we went out for dinner with friends, and since the trip took us right by my local Asian market, we stopped. I stuffed the bag of produce inside my parka, and took them into the restaurant! Getting the produce from the market to the vehicle has been a challenge, so I'm buying only as much as I can get in between me and the parka.

I just checked Molly Steven's (All About Braising) and she has you brown them, braise for 30-35 minutes, with an additional 8-10 minutes to reduce the liquid, then add cream and braise for another 6 minute, but she also cautions you to check them with a knife until tender before you reduce the liquid and then add the cream. Next time, try and braise them for longer.

If you have kids, Sunday through Thursday nights are "school nights" which means homework, early bed time, etc., which leaves Friday and Saturday nights.

We have the the same two volume paperback version of Joy up at the cabin, and yes, duct tape does a nice job of holding the various parts of the book together. What makes the book so enchaninting is the various little slips of peper here and there -- all VERY old grocery receipts that mark the tried and true in a rural location. The other candidate in my kitchen is Barbara Tropp's Modern Art of Chinese Cooking. The dustjacket -- long gone. The spine, well, it's teetering. Stained and splashed with soy sauce, sesame oil, oh yes. Doesn't matter that some of the pages are stuck together because I long ago memorized the basics.

Sounds like you need one of these (scroll down on the topic to see it in action).

Not to mention, if you peel/seed them prior to freezing a lot of the "liquor" (juice) gets away, and that stuff I can drink all by itself! Best to seed, peel and stem after they're thawed. And others mentioned also best not to freeze in a clump because they're a mess after thawing (unless they're already skinned and seeded). ← This has worked like a charm for me. I had a bushel of them last summer (actually, a small bushel, perhaps a peck?) and a mess of jalapenos. So, as we were eating grilled food on the deck, I stuck the peppers on, and when I froze them, I put them on a half-sheet lined with parchment, into the freezer, and then into ziplocks. At the time, the idea of seeding and peeling that many was daunting, and oh my, do they peel and seed easily when partially frozen, plus you do get all of that lovely juice, and during these long winter days, I've got more time to take care of how many I need for dinner.