snowangel

Welcome to this edition of the eG Cook-Off! Click here for the eG Cook-Off index. This time around, paella is going to be on the table. I've had it but once or twice, and this eG Cook-Off now a bit about preparing it -- what to include, what to exclude, what kind of rice to use, and the appropriate cookware. There is a bit of stuff floating around here on making paella, including the Paella topic, one on fideua (a noodle paella) and a couple on paella pans (one on carbon steel vs. stainless steel and another on smooth vs. pebbley interiors). There's also a recipe in RecipeGullet for Rice with Salt Cod, Chickpeas and Red Peppers and one for a Seafood Paella. Then, there are books about paella. The first one that came to mind was one I saw at the library a few days ago: Paella!: Spectacular Rice Dishes From Spain by Penelope Casas. There's also La Paella: Deliciously Authentic Rice Dishes from Spain's Mediterranean Coast by Jeff Koehler. I know nothing about cooking paella, just that I like it! For starters, do I really need to buy a paella pan for something I won't cook very often? Are there absolutely required ingredients?

Since you folks are so good at guessing, only a photo this time!

I have leftover rice, which I intend to use for dinner tomorrow night (and not as fried rice). What's the best way to warm the stuff up?

The Man (owner of the nursery) said that Sioux is his favorite, and given what we talked about, I'm hot to try it. Oh, and the best thing is that although their web site says that they are sold out of several items, they are only sold out for mail order. They always hold back quite a bit for those of us who actually show up at their place (and buy more than just the six pack). But, I found no Bloody Butcher, which is listed as sold out. When I asked about it, he sheepishly admitted that he forgot to plant them this year, and has been receiving (from in-store customers) almost 2 dozen requests a day. As he said "I think I'll plant Bloody Butcher first next year." Edited to add: Anne, dill. Plant a seed and have it germinate here, and you've got dill for life because it thrives and self seeds so well.

Viva. No question about it, and we did a side by side up at the Cabin a couple of years ago. Now, if Viva only still made paper napkins... Cheap paper towels suck, and quite often my local market has Viva on sale, and if there's a coupon in that coupon thingie in the Sunday paper, I stock up. But, I don't use paper towels for spills and such, mostly for mopping grease off of food, etc. For most of the other stuff, I use dishtowels.

From Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook, Beef Selivers with Coriander. This one was a real winner. As always, I took liberties. The inspiration for this dish was cleaning the fridge and the upstairs freezer (we have a side by side) and a pound and a half hunk of elk fell on my big toe. Then, I discovered in the veg bin that I had not one, not two, not three, but FOUR bunches of cilantro in the fridge. Since I had so much elk, I decided to double the recipe, so I'd make sure and have leftovers for breakfast. And, I didn't have any of the longer rec peppers she specifies, so I sub'ed thai birds (2 for 1). And on the side, a stir fry (probably very not Chinese) of local asparagus and local ramps. The sweet of the smashed garlic cooked almost to char, the sweet of the aspargus, and the garlicy/onion bite of the ramps was a terrific compliment to this dish. Oh, and I figued out that my market's bunches of cilantro are only 1/2 of what she calls a bunch, so buy plenty! I actually waitied until I turned off the burner before I added the cilantro, which was a fine move on my part. I'm loving this book; I only have one gripe -- a very inadequate index.

I've never heard of Egyptian Perch. Did you buy any? What does it look like? Not all perch look like sunfish; many of them are skinner and fatter (i.e. fillets are thicker) than the flat sunfish I know.

Add one, and a very special one at that. A gift from a friend whose mother is cleaning house, and discovered that she had not one, but two copies of Florence Lin's Complete Book of Chinese Noodles, Dumplings and Breads. Mint condition (never opened, it appears).

Brewery Creek Garden Center is beyond awesome. Specialty is tomatoes and peppers and herbs, but they have all the rest of the stuff (annual and perennial flowers, shrubs, etc.), but that wasn't our focus. To top it off, the owner (grandson of the guy who started the place; a true family business) works the tomatoe, pepper and herb area heavily, and really, really knows his stuff. So, after talking with him, I opted for a sungold, druzba, big beef, marmande, cherokee purple and sioux. This should give me as long a growing season and as much variety as possible. But, then the herbs. Eat your hearts out folks. When was the last time you saw, at a nursery, two kinds of Thai Basil (Holy Basil is on the owner's "to grow" list for next year), culantro, Vietnamese basil and purple perilla. That doesn't count the other zillion kinds of basil, and the other obscure stuff. It was a wonderful day, with close friends, great plants, a beautiful day, and a picnic of terrific salami, baguette and brie on a blanket on the nursery's grounds. Until we hit later May, the plants will spend their days on the deck, in the sun, and evenings right inside the deck door, so the tomato plants stay warm at night!

I'm so glad to hear that your wife is recovering! Oh, and your son. I'm glad that he is better, too. That high fever is what we call an FUO -- fever (of) unknown origin. They only happen when it is inconvenient for the parent(s) . Thank you so much for sharing your life and giving us a tour of a part of the world that I have never seen!

Oh, Arne! Be still my beating heart! A new kettle with which to make many memories! I'm smoking a mess of stuff and the end of May (Memorial Day weekend to celebrate a 13th birthday in our household) and debating between a brisket and a butt. Now that I think of it, one of each would be great! And, Arne, do let me know when you master getting the kettle, during smoking, down to 150 degrees (F)!

I'm hoping you'll write about your experiences with it once you've had some results. It's been on my wish list for about 6 months, but I'd love to hear more before jumping in. ← There's a whole Aerogarden topic right here. Me, I grow herbs outside in the summer, and I'm rather partial to giving them a pulse in the food processor with a tiny bit of oil. Roll them into a log in plastic wrap, and freeze. Give that log a whack on the edge of the counter when you want a hunk, and bingo! I've even successfully preserved Thai basil (notoriously unstable unless fresh) successfully.

Anne, I shop tomorrow, and will let you know what I get, and report on progress throughout the season. Eh, diamonds and pearls; foo. What I really want for the big birthday I have coming up is a new lawnmower!

Anne, the short season here is of real concern. I won't plant before Memorial Day, and once late August rolls around, who knows what will happen? By then, the days are shorter and the nights are cooler, so we do heavy pruning so what has a chance can ripen. In fact, come August 1, I start pinching off new blossoms because they won't do squat, and just rob the plant. What do other's do for cages? I hate staking and tellising, because during the really active growing time, I'm often gone to our cabin for over a week at a time. At our former house, we had this heavy stuff, that was like the Texas cages. It came on a roll, and was wonderful for the tomato plants, but I can't seem to find any anywhere, and naturally, it was one of the things than went when we moved. Maybe Texas cages should be on my birthday or anniversary present list?

I just love spicy food for breakfast (as noted here) and am quite frankly, very disappointed when all of the Thai food I cook the night before disappears that night. I'm learning to make extra, and hide some of it in places in the fridge the family won't look.

My folks stopped by after dinner out last night at a new Szechuan restaurant, and brought me the doggie bag (actually, several boxes). While the family opted for scrambled eggs and sausages, I couldn't resist leftover Ma Po Tofu over rice. Breakfast of champions! This was a particularly wonderful version of the dish, with lots of creamy tofu cubes, and very spicy. Edited to add: Of all breakfast items, I'm most fond of spicy leftovers.

'Tis ramp season again; these come from Wisconsin, and they are beautiful. So tonight, given the 81 degrees (shorts weather, finally), burgers on the grill, topped with knots of grilled ramps. Spectacular!

Bruce, the recipe for Ann's silll toffee squares can be found right here! I have a few dinners to post, just as soon as I can find that cord that connects the camera to the computer (spring cleaning). Suffice to say, the grill is once again coming into it's own on a regular basis and I bought 4 (yes four) twin packs of Kingsford at Costco just the other day. Edited to add: when you cook the toffee mixture, keep the heat REALLY low or you will toss out a pan (like I did the first time I made them as was in a hurry).

Anne, can you recommend a tomatoe for salsa (fresh and canned; two -- or more -- varieties can apply). Oh, and this place has a PDF download for their pepper selection. All 24 pages. We're not going to talk about the acres of perennials. I told my husband (the wage earner) that Tuesday "could be a big day."

Don't even get me going on the thickness of bacon. Supermarket thin is too thin, and thick is too thick. Too thin, and it's like tissue. Too thick, and it is not bacon, but fried smoked pork. If I don't make my own bacon, but purchase it from a local smoker (never a supermarket!), I won't buy it if they won't slice it to order. Half way in between supermarket thin and thick is just about right. I now have my very own meat slicer, so I can do thinner for Peter's sandwiches and that perfect balance of thin/thick for the rest of us.

Could you please tell us more about the thick omelet? How is it prepared?

Are you going to be totally redoing the kitchen (new cabinets, etc)? If not, and if the appliances have a certain space they will go into, that may dictate which brands you can select from. I know that when we bought a new fridge and stove, to a certain degree, I was limited as to what brands I could look at because of the size of the openings (I was not willing to sacrifice any counter or cupboard space). Before you start shopping, measure everything twice, and be sure and measure the doorways and windows so you know that the appliance will actuallly be able to make it into the house!

I love that you will be talking about home-style cooking! And, assuming that your children are in school, will you please tell us about what they eat for lunch at school? Do you prepare a lunch for them, or do they purchase lunch at school? What do they eat for lunch on school days? Do your children help in cooking?

Arne, they were actually drawers, not shelves. For the shelves in the cupboards, I have replaced all of the ghastly harvest gold and lime green contact paper with new contact paper, but did go with the LifeLiner that Jennifer recommended (I had a whole mess of 20% off coupons from BBB and the stuff comes in nice wide rolls so there was barely any waste) in the drawers because I didn't want stuff to slide around. And, with this stuff, I can just empty the drawers and give the liner a good bath in the tub when it gets gunky.

I'm hoping for better growing weather this year, too, and I'm going to use the wall o water's for the first bit, and plant them in tires this year, as well, which should help especially at night. I think I'm going to print out a list of what they have, and choose some for general eating (sandwiches), something for freezing (which I do consider "putting up") and a cherry for lunches when I'm weeding in the garden! Any favorites for salsa anyone?