snowangel

The chest freezer in the basement is well organized (filled mostly with venison and stone-fruit pie fillings). Funny that everything down there is well labeled and, well, like I said, organized. The side-by-side freezer is another matter. I can't even imagine what horrors reside within said compartment. But, back in the day when fifi was still alive, I'd always call her when I came upon an "accidental" meal -- we called them toe busters. Something would fall out of the side-by-side freezer and hit my (or her) big toe. This evening, a kid looking for an ice cream bar brought forth a few frozen tomatillos. Underneat was the last of the smoked pork. Guess what we're having for dinner tomorrow night? (Clue: I have canned hominy.) Thanks, Dave, for the reminder that I should really clean out my little shop of horrors.

Chris, do take the dishes (pick out the most odd sized ones). I was lucky when I bought the dishwasher. They had a demo kitchen, and I used their dishes, plus my oversized things to load it. They looked at me like I was crazy! If it looks like it will fit the bill (in more ways than one!), just buy it. If you are running loads per week, you'll regret having debated the decision to death. Have you decided to install/replace it yourself?

So, Chris, have you made a decision? In my experience, when you think you need a new dishwasher, you need it now (the one in this house when we moved in leaked FROM THE TOP!!). If you've made a decision, do tell, and report back a couple of months from now. (Oh, and to removing labels from jars. Wet thoughougly a paper towel, "paste" on the label, before it's dry, take the drywalling trowel to it. And, just because it won't chew up wet paper with glue don't assume it doesn't have a grinder thingee.

Not to digress, as this is not a soup swap per se. But, I'm due to get together with my friend Nancy tomorrow, and as we do every time we get together, the night before we each make a point of cooking more than we need, and exchanging the leftovers.

You could also go the route of Julia Child's kitchen (the one currently installed in the Smithsonian). Once she was happy with the placement of the various utensils and pots and pans, her husband Paul outlined them with a marker so it was always evident where the item belonged. As I recall, it is simply plain pegboard. Thank you, snowangel! That is where I got the idea, but I need to go and see it for myself, I think. The pegboard in my local building supply shop is brown and pretty unattractive. It's inexpensive - so I may just get a sheet and mess around with it a bit, try painting it as is, sanding it, see what works. If you want to paint it, try that spray-on enamel paint.

I have a feeling that the KA we used to have in our old house (some 30 years old), the one you speak of as well as the one Dave the Cook speaks of are/were Hobart KA's. Those dishwashers went/do the distance. Easy to repair, when one is needed.

If you are replacing (as opposed to installing where there was no dishwasher), it's a piece of cake. Cut the water and power, remove and replace. Although I can even install gas appliances, I did the dishwasher myself with no prior experience and it was simple once I'd "uninstalled" the old dishwasher. A question: what is Sear's policy on delivery and removal? If they charge for delivery and disposal of the old one, is there a place that sells a similar Whirlpool model that includes delivery and disposal? I know we went to a place for our newer dishwasher (KA) that is considered higher end, but they matched the prices and included delivery and disposal.

I should note that for my dinner parties of 8, most of us have known each other for eons. And I think that makes a difference.

Ideally 8-9, because that's what my round table holds. I love a round table -- it's ideal for entertaining. No one is too far from anyone else. Oh, and the table has a built in lazy susan, so passing is well, just a slight twist of the lazy susan. I've done as many as 35 for sitdown for a holiday dinner (just a month after we moved here!), so not all of the folks could sit around the Big Table at one time, so at dessert time, we did musical chairs. Now that the kids are older, they're happy to sit off on their own, so it's adults at one table, kids at a couple of others, and then we play musical chairs for dessert so the kids and adults can mingle more. I did a really cool thing for my mom's 70th birthday. She wanted more people than I could host, so we had two luncheons, each for 8 (actually 7 guests plus mom at each of them). I served and cooked. It was wonderful because she could spend more time with her friends, rather than fracturing herself into talking to more folks than possible.

Well, for one thing, these days there's nobody home to receive the delivery. Way back in the good old days, the neighborhood grocer did make deliveries to homes when no one was there, because no one locked their houses! My mom and dad both talk about being delivery folks (my mom's dad owned the store), and they'd just walk in the back door, and if the owners weren't home, they'd put the perishables into the ice box (that's what they called it then). I'm not sure why those places died off. Probably because the owners of the stores that provided those services died.

Low and slow. Vension does not work particularly well that way, but a woman cannot live on venison alone! One of my favorite low and slow cuts is a nice fatty chuck or oxtails. Always in the 7+Quart Le Cruset. I also like chicken thighs slow roasted. But, I'm recalling something in Paula Wolfert's newest Cooking of the SW France where she talks about roasting meat at an oven temp at which temp the meat will be done. My book is on lone, so if someone could provide more details, many would appreciate it. The idea was that if you were going to roast meat (and if memory serves me, I think she was not talking braising) to 180 degrees F, that's what the oven temp should be, and it's safe. I do know that if I have a pork shoulder, bone on and skin on, and I don't feel like a braised item, I'm more than happy to follow Paula's advice. And, if it's low and slow and meltingly tender, I want a crunchy side. Salad with croutons; a barely stir-fried green bean dish. Textural context. The low and slow fills a window-closed house, and provides warmth -- in terms of physical warms and well as the aromatic warmth!

Well, Diana has not needed coins for laundry, as her student card is one that can be used for the washer and dryer. Last care package: The light bulbs. OK, I'll give that they aren't that available (Tensor bulbs, which are now considered appliance bulbs, and trust me, she have to go a long way on multiple buses to get them). Detergent (the new Purex 3-in-1 sheets; low packaging and easy to use). Cookies (home-made). Biscotti (home-made). Artwork from Peter and Heidi. An old Xmas photo of the five of us. A few sample/hotel bottles of shampoo and conditioner I found (I just wonder how old they are). Two of those shelf ready Indian entress that I got at the supermarket for a song because they are discontinuing them. Those flat rate boxes from the post office are 'da bomb. You can get the boxes for free from the PO, and just print the postage (less than taking it to the PO!) on regular paper and tape them on, as long as you don't tape over the bar code and put them in your mail box. They are nice and sturdy. To totally fill the box, and keep the cookies from getting crushed, I put as much air in the ziplocks as possible. The package arrived to her (Tacoma from Minneapolis) in two days, and not a single cookie was broken. Oh, I also filled the empty spaces of the box with mini Heath Bars. But, what she most loved were the cookies and the pictures that Heidi and Peter had made. (another Oh, I also included a package of those gum-like things that you can use to put up photos and posters.) Although Diana has been gone from home for the last three summers as a camp counselor, that is much different, as her camp is on the way to the cabin, so I can take her packages with perishable items.

When I made muffins this morning and wanted to use the whisk to add the dry ingredients, I didn't. I used the Foley Fork instead (after whisking the eggs using the FF). What a revelation! No big glump of dry ingredients caught in the whisk! Easier to clean up, too.

At my local Asian market, I've seen them put fresh ones into the freezer!

This item ranks right up there with the Big Yellow Tupperware Bowl in terms of kitchen use. Neither are still available as new item; look on a used site. But, the Foley Fork. I found one in a box of stuff I took from my grandmother's house. I don't have counter space in the kitchen for a utensil crock, so I rely on my (tiny) drawers. A whisk takes up a lot of space. The Foley Fork doesn't. The Foley Fork does all of that, and can actually fish stuff out of water or broth. The Fork can also serve as a masher. Anyone else have one? Anyone else also use one? I've also heard them referred to as a "Granny Fork" or a "Blending Fork."

I'm lucky (or unlucky depending on how you look at it) to have a ton of storage space in my basement, so I have saved all sorts of once-loved items, but I am not a saver. Lucky, too, in that two very close friends have college age kids who have just moved into apartments, without much stuff. Lucky that the kids are also close friends (I'm the one these kids call when they need advice or are in trouble), so I have "lent" them all sorts of stuff. Feels good to get rid of stuff I loved, but don't use. It can always come back. But, there are a few items which I will never part with, whether I use them or not. My greatgrandmother's cookie cutter collection. Some 100 cutters. And, then there are the items you only use once a year, so I keep them. They aren't front and center, but then again, I have the remote storage space for them. Sort of like Xmas decorations, or those decorative holiday towels.

You could also go the route of Julia Child's kitchen (the one currently installed in the Smithsonian). Once she was happy with the placement of the various utensils and pots and pans, her husband Paul outlined them with a marker so it was always evident where the item belonged. As I recall, it is simply plain pegboard.

For my husband's recent birthday, we ate at a friend's house, but I was responsible for dessert. Due to time constraints, I made a German Chocolate Cake (Cook's Illustrated Recipe) and just held the cake separate from the filling/icing. Worked beautifully. The other thing I've done for a make ahead/take with recipe is profiterroles (sp?). Paate au Choux puffs, split, filled with ice cream (which you can get just down the street from almost anywhere you're going) topped with hot fudge sauce. My fav. hot fudge sauce is 1/2 c. cream and 3 T. butter, brought to a boil. Add 1/3 each brown and white sugars; stir til dissolved. Add 1/2 c. cocoa. Cream puffs are drop dead easy, hold well as is the hot fudge sauce. And, ice cream is easily available. What's not to like? And, there's something about pate au choux that makes folks think they are special!

Will you have a car? I do know that The Pickwick is considered an institution, but having gone there regularly over the course of about 30 years, the new management has been disappointing. We've never eaten at Fitger's, just had drinks there, and found them to be "hoity." Are you interested in eating sandwiches and hearing music? Heading up Hwy. 61? I'll call a friend tomorrow who lives in Duluth and get some recommendatation; advice on transportation and what you want would be good. Edited to add: if you have access to a car, I'd suggest two different places on Old Scenic Hwy 61 -- Nokomis and the New Scenic Cafe. And, if you go early (while there is still daylight), the drive is spectacular). Both have websites. And, if you head to either one, stop a couple of miles north on the east side of the lake at Knife River at Russ Kendall's for smoked fish. You won't be sorry!

Paul (husband of some 28+ years) has the day off, as do the kids. We've farmed the two that live at home (Diana is in Tacoma at college). Paul is taking the day off; we'd planned to go to the cabin (with the two remaining kids), but the idea of four in a tiny cabin when it's cold and rainy and if you need to pee at 3:00 in the am, it will be in the mid-20's and you'll have to don a rain coat to make the trip to the outhhouse was less than pleasant. So, we have a date tomorrow. We're off to a museum (our mutual choice). When the subject of a meal came up, we came up with all sorts of high-brow choices. Then, I said International Hmong Market. It's a chance for me to show him just a bit of what a market means to me (I grew up in Thailand many moons ago). Our best dates have not been at fancy places. They've been with homemade tuna salad sandwiches at spectacular state parks. On the dock at the cabin with smoked fish from Russ Kendall's in Knife River. They've been steaks on the grill, followed by dancing on the deck to tunes on my Nano with relatively inexpensive wine. Food plays a part in our dates, and we've discovered that it has to be meaningful food. I'm sure we're going to have a wonderful time as I show him some dishes at a Hmong market that we can't get anywhere else, nor dishes that I make, that are important to me. What part does food play in your dates?

Now that it's fall, I'm all over venison again. For some reason, I take a hiatus on it during the summer. Probably because it does not lend itself toward grilling. But, for all, we're all over spicy, and Asian seems to fit the bill. Last night was braised beef (vension is our case) and potatoes from "The Revolutionary Cookbook." This is truly and outstanding dish, and I'd try and make sure you have plenty of leftovers. Tonight was Fuschia's beef and cumin from the same book. Earlier this past week was Venison kao soi. Edited to insert link.

Chris, I know this is about masa, but you make tortillas (so to speak). What mechanism did you use to press them out?

Over here, Chris proposed a throw-down based on the number of cookbooks you own and actually cook from. What about those recipes you clip or post-it from magazines and newspapers? I'm pathetic. Any time one of kids is sick on the couch during a weekday, I intend to pull out my recipe box and/or magazines and go through them. I just did. Whatever possessed me to clip some of these? My recipe box has been full of recipes (had the sick kid at home yesterday), and me oh my, the recycling bin was full of all sorts of "what were you thinking?" clippings. On to the magazines.

Can I include the "Woman's Favorite Cookbook?" Circa 1900, and the only things I've used from this cookbook are dyeing and outhouse maintenance techniques. If not, I'm at about 72%. If the Woman's Favorite Cookbook is included, the percentage is just slightly higher.

Move to MN if you want a ton of quality butchers. They not only butcher their meat, they also cure and/or smoke it -- stuff it into casings, etc. We're planning a 100 miles road trip on Saturday that will take us past 8+ meat markets. Foley, MN (pop 2300 something) has three of them!