snowangel

John, I have not made the herb stuffed leg of lamb, but it is reminiscent of Judy Rogers Mock Porchetta (except that one is roasted not braised, but that's giving me ideas of trying that one braised!). I would definitely follow the advice of stuffing it and putting it in the fridge. I noticed that Molly gives you som options of herbs, and I know that the the Mock Porchetta uses sage and rosemary, which is a heavenly combination. But, I would definitely follow the advice uptopic about lowering the temp. I'd start with 250 -- it's easier to raise than lower the heat. And, since this will be served sliced, I probably wouldn't do that "braise the day ahead and reheat" technique. Be sure and let us know how this one turns out.

Welcome to part two of our Fine Cooking, Digest with a Difference from the May 2006 issue of Fine Cooking. Some notes on articles. They reviewed Today's Top Toasters. One of their top picks was a KitchenAid toaster (a new product not available until May). They commented that this particular toaster did very well on even toasting when toasting just one slice, but that "with two slices you get one side that comes out a little lighter than the other." I can't recall the last time that I only toasted one slice. I loved the article on Asparagus, and it prompted me add it to the grocery list! Our menu for the second part of this digest includes: Goat Cheese Spread with Herbs & Olive Oil Crispy Breaded Tilapia with Classic Tartar Sauce Risotto Caesary salad (not in the magazine) Chocolate-Raspberry Cookies and Cream Mid-afternoon, I got the Goat Cheese Spread with Herbs & Olive Oil ready: Everything is set out. I used a Wisconsin goat cheese that I really like. For the herbs, I chose chives and parsley -- I knew that would be the most friendly to the kids. The little plastic container that is peeking out has white wine in it. I'm not a big white wine person (it gives me a pretty fierce headache), so when we have extra, I freeze it in two tablespoon amounts. Minced herbs: Mixing the goat cheese, cream, olive oil and wine. I opted not to use the food processor, but stir up in a bowl. The recipe says you might need a bit more cream, and I did. Mixed in the herbs (reserving a teaspoon for a garnish), lemon zest (reserving some for the garnish) and salt and pepper to taste. Tasted and adjusted the pepper up a bit (no measurements specified for s/p). Lined a custard cup with plastic wrap (as per the recipe) and spooned in the spread. Now, there should have been a bit more of the goat cheese mixture than this. Diana walked in the door as I was finishing this up, and before I got it into the plastic wrap, I had to get Heidi off the bus. When I got back inside, a portion of it was sitting atop half a toasted bagel -- Diana's after school snack. This stuff is absolutely wonderful. I liked the chives very much. The lemon was very much in the background, we were aware that it was there. This is definitely an easy-to-spread mixture. Very nice mouthfeel. If I made this again with chives, I would up the quantity of chives. In fact this stuff was so good that I'm thinking of putting it on a menu for a 50th anniversary open house I'm hosting for my parents in June. I also got the tartar sauce ready before the kids got home from school. First, gather ingredients: The recipe did not specify brined or salt-cured capers; I had the latter so that's what I used. The flat-leaf parsley at the market was a little limp, so I snipped off the ends and put the bunch in a glass of water, and it perked up nicely. Mis: Mixed and ready for plastic wrap and the fridge: A quick taste of this makes me very happy! Knowing that the risotto will require a lot of attention, I started to get things ready for the tilapia: Plain country style white bread, crust removed, and made into crumbs in the trust KA. The two eggs and flour container are out. Then, on to the risotto. More ingredient gathering: Hiding in the background is extra-virgin olive oil. I neglected to pull out the salt and include it in the photo of the ingredients. The Rubbermaid Takealong container has very concentrated stock, which I diluted. This is an interesting recipe, because it is more of a technique, offering different suggestions for layering flavors. Given the potential pickiness of my kids, I opted to go with shallots as a base and finish with scallions. Dried mushrooms or saffron had the potential for an "eeww, I'm not touching that" factor. I opted for Romano on the table with the risotto since my kids prefer it to Parmesan. So, I chopped shallots and sliced scallions. One thing I appreciated was a measurable quantity of the shallots. I'm always puzzled when a recipe says "1 medium onion" or "3 large garlic cloves." What is medium or large to you might not be medium or large to me. I set the stock on to heat, and opened the bottle of wine. Then, I sweated the shallots in olive oil and when they were translucent, added the rice. The directions say to toast the rice for about 3 minutes, and that you "should hear a clicking sound when you stir it." Well, mine had that clicking sound from the beginning, so I went with the three minutes. I added the wine: And when it was absorbed, ladled in (actually, scooped out of the stock pot with a 1 cup Pyrex liquid measuring cup) 2 cups of stock, as per the instructions. Now, I've never made risotto before, but I don't remember my brother-in-law adding that much stock initially when he made it. But, I forged ahead. About now, I realized that I had the potential to be in trouble. Risotto doesn't wait, and needs attention, as did the fish, so Diana to the rescue. She read her honors English assignment while stirring risotto, while I got busy with the tilapia. Now, try as I might, I couldn't find four 4 oz fillets, so I opted for five fillets which totaled one pound, and give that we are a family of five, it worked out great. In the above photo, I have everything in place, and the fillets have been salt and peppered. This is a messy process. Meantime, the oil is in a pan and heating, and I test the temp as they suggested (and I usually do) with a few crumbs: It's sizzling, so it is time! Someone during this, I had Peter come in and tear up some lettuce. He took over stirring the risotto so Diana could dress the salad and grate some romano for the risotto. Dinner! Comments: That tartar sauce was absolutely fabulous. Neither Diana nor I generally like tartar sauce, and this was perfect. The red onion added a crunch, the capers a nice salty edge, lemon juice (next time I'd not do 2 t. but 1 T.) just made this right, and kept the sweet pickle relish from making it too sweet. Peter wished I'd doubled the recipe because it would make a great dressing for tuna salad. The fish. We often fix fish, especially when we're at the cabin or ice fishing and catch it ourselves. Normal prep is dip in egg wash (I use one egg beaten with some water, which this recipe didn't call for -- they just used egg). I think cutting the egg with water is a good thing -- the egg doesn't seem so "glumpy." I usually eliminate the flour step (which I didn't think added anything). And, until now, I've done what my MIL always did -- breaded in crushed up saltine crackers. Quite frankly, I'm going to revert to the saltine crackers. This particular might have been easier with drier bread crumbs. The bread crumbs also "glumped" up and didn't provide nearly as crispy a coating as my typical method. Plus, I had a dirty food processor instead of a plastic bag (I crush them in a plastic bag with a rolling pin, which doesn't get dirty) to toss. Further to the fish. A 3-4 oz. fish fillet does not fill up, even with sides, a 10-year old boy who has spent the afternoon racing on a bike for 2 hours, nor does it satisfy a 15-year old girl who has weight training and volleyball practice after school. Depending on who's eating, adjust quantities. The risotto was perfect. I was glad I made it so "plain" because I have leftovers which I will patty and fry. This is not a recipe per se, as I mentioned above, but a technique, with all sorts of suggestions for modifications, which might put some people off -- those who want precise amounts and prescriptions. My one annoyance was that in the introduction, they refer to you to page 72 and their Test Kitchen section for a discussion of rice, when actually, the discussion is on page 74 (the third page of the Test Kitchen section). But, that Test Kitchen section does discuss using leftover risotto to make fried patties. Just after lunch, I got the dessert ready. Actually, I had started on this a couple of days ago, because they suggest creme fraiche (noting that you can use all whipping cream if you'd prefer). Since my market often doesn't have creme fraiche and when they have it, they want an arm and a leg for it, I made my own: Creme fraiche is so easy to make; I wish they'd had a little note about how to make it. But, a quick google reported that I needed to mix 2T of buttermilk with 1 C of cream in a glass jar, let stand at room temp for 12-24 hours -- or until thickened -- and then refrigerate. I had not thawed the raspberries, so I measured out what I needed and gave them a quick defrost in the microwave. The instructions tell you to add sugar to 1 cup of raspberries and sugar to 2 cups -- in separate bowls, and let them sit for a few minutes before mashing them up with a fork. Then, for the sauce (the 2 cups of raspberries), you strain through a sieve, pressing with a spatula to extract all of the juice. Normally when I've made a raspberry sauce, I have combined the raspberries in a saucepan with the sugar and cooked it for a bit. I think it's easier to get every bit of juice when you do it "my" way. I added a bit of lemon juice and kosher salt and had a tasty sauce. The cream and creme fraiche: Whip together with a bit of sugar. They say to use a medium bowl and a hand mixer. I don't have a hand mixer, and my medium bowl seemed too tall and narrow. Whip to tall, firm peaks. Fold in the remaining 1 cup of mashed raspberries, "leaving streaks." I crushed up 15 of the chocolate wafers and folded them in. I transferred it to a different bowl after that and pressed plastic wrap to the surface prior to refrigeration. They suggest scooping this out with an ice cream scoop, but the one I have doesn't have one of those wire things for releasing the scoop. So, the stuff stuck to the scoop and I just used two big spoons. I must admit I was a bit hesitant about this dessert because I am not a big raspberry/chocolate fan, but when I think about it, most desserts with this combo are pretty heavy and there isn't much to cut the intensity of the chocolate and raspberry. But, this dessert was absolutely outstanding. I was hesitant about the instruction to let it sit in the fridge long enough for the cookie bits to soften, but since there is a cookie on the side, it was wonderful. The silky of the whipped, but somewhat more substantial of the softened cookies...divine. This would make an outstanding dessert when entertaining because other than plating, it is all done in advance. It's so pretty and so unusual -- different than the cakes, tarts, etc. which are so often served. One of the neatest things about this meal is that the combo of dishes I chose made this a sort of "a la minute" menu that required more than the two hands I have. So, I called on the kids and we had a lot of fun doing this together.

Oregano is very invasive. I planted a 1/2" pot in the middle of the garden one Memorial Day weekend and by mid-July, it had moved out into the yard. Some 6' away.

I found parmesan flavored gold fish a good idea to keep by the bed -- less crumbs. With my second pregnancy, I was sick the whole time. Carnation instant breakfast was one thing I could stomach. BTW, for many, it ending with the first trimester is a myth, my doctor said that it is often more tied to the half-way point. Most of my friends found this to be true as did I for numbers 1 and 3. With them, once the nausea passed, smells still got to me. To this day, the smell of microwave popcorn popping just about sends me to the bathroom.

No. We made the offer on our house on Christmas Eve. The yard was covered with snow (and little did we realize when the listing said "wait til you see the yard" they meant just wait and see how much work you'll have to do on this neglected piece of property) and when I took breaks from getting ready to move, it was all about planning the garden. I even arranged with the buyers that I could go back in the spring and split some perennials -- both herbs and flowers. My chives and rhubarb came from my folks house and they came from my grandmother's farm, so I can't begin to guess how old they are and how many times they've been split.

Tis the season when I take my first cup of coffee out in the yard, down on my haunches, peering for the sites of spring. I have rhubarb nubs, and my chives are poking through. I need to clear some debris away. I never clean out the garden in the fall except for tomato plants, preferring to enjoy any winter interest some of these plants provide. It is an exciting season, and will get even more exciting over the next few months, but I'm not likely to plant many plants until Memorial Day weekend when we are out of frost danger. But, my fingernails are screaming for dirt!

There are a few appetizer topics on cooking. Here, and here, for example. And yet more! here and here. You could also search in RecipeGullet by course.

Some not so great photos of the ribs, smoked for quite some time in the trusty Kettle with applewood. These were the best ever, and I think that the applewood was a real plus. I typically use hickory, but a pickup load of split applewood arrived on my doorstep a couple of weeks ago, so... I took these a bit further than I normally do because Paul needed me to help him bleed the brakes on my car. I snatched them, wrapped in foil, and stuck in a barely warm oven. The rain but the fire out, so there was no recrisping, which was actually very good. Although I have recently cured and smoked my own bacon, which is hands down the best bacon I've ver had, there is something unbelievably succulent and sensual about uncured, "naked" smoked pork. It speaks to me. I smell like smoke. My family is happy and sated. I will wakt tomorrow morning and the sun room (right off the deck where I smoke the meat) will smell faintly of smoke, as will my pillow and sheets. Yum. My husband finds this very beguiling.

Steve is right. With butter, it's tolerable. With a mess of black pepper, it's slightly more tolerable. With a whole mess of sirichai sauce, well, it just sort of disintegrates into the sauce. And, I would suspect, as Steve does, that if there is lutefisk pie, it involved a tuber or root crop and white sauce. But, no pepper. That's a serious spice to the Minnesota Norwegian's I know.

I hate smoking when it is pouring rain. Edited to add: Fire goosed up so we eat before the kids go to school tomorrow. My most recent attempts at ribs have been vexed.

Bruce, I'm always disappointed when there isn't much curry leftover! It makes such a great easy breakfast or lunch. BTW, I put my kaffir lime in the shower and it looks great. I just realized it's home in the sunroom is very close to a heat register, so I've moved it. BTW, this stuff disappears in the summer when the plant lives in my garden, so I am suspecting that perhaps it was it's proximity to the register. Susan, only here would people be delighted to see a pot of rice!

I got a late start because it was absolutely pouring. I can do the smoking part in the rain, but starting the chimeny had to wait until a break in the showers. Holding steady at almost 225. Struggling to keep the temp up.

Not forgetting for a moment that I missed the March ribfest, a nice rack of spareribs jumped right out of the meat counter and into my basket at the market today. Ribs tomorrow.

I followed your advice.

Friday, March 31, 2006 From the Strib's Eat+Drink section: Small Bites, Big Flavors This includes a few recipes. Also, a nice review of Magraux, new to downtown St. Paul. Let's hope this one succeeds; so many restaurants seem to flail in our capital city. In Counterintelligence, good news of take and go from Tria. Reminder to self. Get there soon on a day that is so busy it prevents a home-cooked meal! Somewhat food related (hey, what goes in must come out, right), an article on The Best Nightclub Bathrooms. Over in the Strib's Taste section: An odd article titled Spring Break, celebrating tropical fruit. Now, when I think spring, I think of racing out to the garden to see if the strawberry and raspberry plants are setting up shoots, but since I can find nice, ripe mango, why not? In the Spoils of the Hunt... a reminder that that game in the freezer needs to be used up. The freezer, after all, is not a safe deposit box! Over at the Pioneer Press's Restaurant section: Kathy Jenkins does Sandwiches, picking the 10 best in the Twin Cities. She includes ones from Magraux and Tria, both of which were mentioned in the Strib this week. Over in Restaurant News, belated news that People People Eatery is gone, but VERY welcome news that Taste of Scandinavia is opening another location, but about a mile and a half away from me, and between my Cub and Costo. It is just making me smile. Over at the Citypages, Dara talks about March Madness -- something that is familiar to all of us. But, Dara takes us to Peninsula. I am off to lunch at Peninsula this week, and will report back. Mpls. St. Paul magazine has yet to update their web site, so no report from them. <><><><><> Media Digest Notes... Updates from some Twin Cities media outlets, which do not 'go to press' by Friday each week, may be edited into each week's post as they become available. Please do not reply on this thread. For discussion of any stories which are linked here, please feel free to start a new thread or contact the forum host or the "digester" who will be happy to do it for you.

The skin is cook's reward. Sort of like the heart and liver of the chicken. I'm not sure my kids know these things exist. Chris, I don't want to hijack this topic, but please tell me there's a butt in your future. This gal is about to tell The Man that for the 25th anniversary, no power tools (which is my typical gift request) for a more sophisticated smoking machine.

Yes, skin on, unless you want an exceptionally dry turkey breast! And, keep us updated on the Bradley and how you like it going forward.

This is a wonderful soup. There are nice textural contrasts, and the black pepper just makes it pop. And, this soup is fast. Sweat the onions, add the stock and rice and while that is cooking, crisp up bacon or pancetta, slice the asparagus and give it a quick toss with the bacon, add to the soup and voila! Dinner. Start to finish 45 minutes tops, including chopping and gathering ingredients. Plus, it's really pretty.

Aspagus and Rice Soup with Pancetta and Black Pepper. I substituted some of my own home cured and smoked bacon for the pancetta.

Chris, paper clips are even easier! Time to lay in a box of the big ones. Please give us a blow-by-blow on using the Bradley, the temp regulation, etc. I have a rather major wedding anniversary coming up (25) and am wondering if it's time to treat myself with something a little fancier than the trusty Weber Kettle (although I have a huge attachment to the Kettle and am very proud of what I can finesse out of it!).

Austin, could you take a picture of the vegetable? That dish looks wonderful (and like something that would be a conversation piece for my son at school)! One of the problems I have is that my Thai is rusty (at best) and I didn't pay much attention to the names of ingredients, so photos of the raw ingredients are very helpful. I have great access to fresh ingredients, but there's the whole communicating with the market staff problem.

Yes, several times a week (I am in Bangkok after all!). Why do you ask? Austin ← Just curious! Want to give us a few sample "home meal" menus?

Congratuations! I'm so thrilled for you! But, don't just think that butt is for sausage...you'll need to smoke a naked, brined butt so you can have some Pantry Gold. (er, that should be Freezer Gold)

Austin, do you often cook Thai at home?

In your initial post, you noted it was an amazing dish. Why? And, was the quantity of slaw to pork about right?