OliverB

I won't renew my F&W sub when it runs out, it just doesn't click with me. Too old fashioned in some way, too snobby in an other, and really not that much about food. As Gourmet just folded, you have room for two magazines, I'd get Fine Cooking for sure, my favorite, and Sauveur, which is probably my 2nd favorite. I most likely won't renew Cooks Illustrated anymore, I kept it for it's goofy old fasioned look, but I never cook from it and it's just a bit too dusty. And I actually like ads :-) Cuisine at home is an other one I like, I've made quite a lot of their recipes and they always worked. As far as I know you can cancel Fine Cooking as well as Sauveur and get the money for not yet sent issues back too. In general, if I find myself buying a magazine two or three times a year I just sub to it, as that's often ridiculously cheap and you can always find something of interest, even if the cover story does not speak to you. LOL, if it were for covers, I'd never buy any food magazines from Sept to Jan I think ;-)

kind of ironic, I just pulled my subscription confirmation to Gourmet out of my mailbox... I'm sad to see it go, maybe they'll bring it back some day.

it's always sad when a great magazine folds. I liked gourmet as I like many others that are still out there. I'd never have thought Gourmet would be the one to fold though. As for their (and other magazine's) website, I don't know if I ever looked at it. I like magazines as I can read them in comfort anywhere, I can make notes, cut things out, etc. I spend a ton of time online, but reading magazines or news is not high on my to do list. I prefer my paper in the morning with my cup of coffee. Maybe once I have a screen built into the table, otherwise no thanks. If I look for a recipe I google and might end up on gourmet's site, otherwise I can't see the site alone being a business that will be around much longer, once the magazine (that actually does try to send you to the site) is gone. Sad, no matter the personalities etc. It was an icon. Oh well.

I'd just get the BBA (or any other book by Reinhart). I'd suggest to - for now - stay away from no knead and 5 min books, if you're really serious about learning how to make breads. I see them more as a thing to get into once you made some great loafs, but are in a hurry for some reason. they ARE all good books, but if you start out with a 5 min book, anything else will seem like a mountain to climb while there seems to be a perfectly fine and well lit tunnel going through it. Baking bread is fun, and I don't bake anything else (except x-mas cookies) as I don't have a sweet tooth.

I have to get me one of those with legs, I want to do more open fire cooking (that 7 fires book does that to you...). I have some LC knockoffs from Target that work great and cost a fraction, I find LC way overpriced for what they are. They are pretty though. All the Lodge stuff is really good quality and works very well. I'd not put an enamel one in the fire, not so much for fear of it coming off, I doubt that, but I could imagine that it might discolor and stain, which would be sad, especially with an expensive LC pot. Open fire cooking is so much fun :-) without having time to google right now, anybody know why it's called a Dutch oven, if it's from Texas?

as for freezing cheese, I'd only do that with hard cheeses that I intend to use in sauces, pizza, pasta etc. Not something I'd plan to slice and eat on a sandwich or serve on a cheese plate. I have family in Regio Emilia where all the good stuff comes from. When they visit they usually bring a big piece of the best parmesan with them. We used to shred it all up and pack individual packages in baggies to freeze, that seemed to work well and you had instant cheese to put on your pasta. I have not done that in years, as you can't bring cheese into the US without a hassle, I now buy it at Costco. they have the real stuff, though it's much harder than the one my uncle used to bring us, and they also have one made in the US (Wisconsin I think?) that's quite good and a lot cheaper, but you have to buy a much larger piece. Might try this shred and freeze thing again with it, see if it's actually working as well as I remember from way back when :-)

I used to use hot water from the tap until I read in one of Andrew Weil's books that hot water might contain all kinds of things picked up in the heater or the pipes, which made some sense to me. Our house was built in 1950 or so, who knows what pipes they used. He also suggests to let the cold (standing in the pipes) water run out first, which I don't always do, but since I read that I only use cold water. Aside from the fact that it takes a good while for the hot water to get hot in the kitchen, the plumbing seems to do a round about under the house (the water heater is only maybe 20ft away from the kitchen sink) or something. As for the original question here, I never measure the water I use, I use my "large" pot and fill it up to maybe 2/3, bring that to a boil, pour in salt, and throw in the pasta. I always find that the instructions on the packages overstate the cooking time so I cook pasta several minutes short at times. I don't really see a point in playing with the amounts though, or to get all scientific about it? I did not see McGee's article, but this almost seems a bit like he's running out of ideas? Pasta would probably get soft just fine if you just soak it in cold water for an hour or so, but does it matter? Sometimes he seems to overcomplicate things a bit, as much as I love his work :-)

well, of course I forgot to take some pictures once our friends were here. I thought it was one big fat steak, but when I opened the bag there were actually two in there not quite an inch thick. I put a bit olive oil on, some salt and pepper and a an herb rub I had around. Put it all on the hot bbq and then moved it to the cool side. Turned out great! Nice tender meat. Lots of fat on there, I actually cut quite some off and froze it before working with the meat, no way it would have rendered in the short time it took to grill. All turned out well, wish I'd have thought of the camera. I think I'll buy a cheap digital one just to keep around in the kitchen one of these days... That Sülze came out great! I just had the revelation to make the gelatine with a broth instead of just water and vinegar, that should taste even better. I'm gonna make a chicken one soon I think. It's fun, and a tasty reminder of home :-)

thanks! I was not sure if this is a long and slow cooking piece of meat. I'll put it on the bbq, it's such a nice day today. Have some baby red potatoes to roast and some salad, a rustic sour bread, that should be just fine :-) If I don't forget to take pictures (again) I'll put some on my blog.

great ideas, thanks! Might just put it on the bbq if it stays as nice as it is right now. I've never seen this cut, it's pretty big! And yes, it has a round bone in it. Thanks!

As part of my 1/7th of a Berkshire pig I received a big piece called a ham steak. I want to make that tonight, but I'm not familiar with this cut. It is fresh, not cured. It being called steak I'm thinking of searing it and then maybe finish it in the oven? Or put it on the bbq? google did not give me any good ideas, so I'm hoping to find some input here :-) Thanks! Oliver

wouldn't any meat slicer work for this? I don't own one, my parents have one for decades and mostly use it for bread. Might use a special blade but I think they just have on there what ever the unit was shipped with. Small and sits in the corner. And can be used for other things too :-)

thanks, that would bother me no end, even if I won't use that thing much. I'll look for a used one or get one like the Chef's Choice for $299. Not exactly cheap, but I can't deal with flimsy things, just a personal hickup. Not sure I'd have the time (and patience) to restore one of those nice old ones, though I'd probably like it in it's banged up and used state more anyway. Gotta check craigs list I guess :-) Oliver

I sometimes add it to salad dressings and always on the occasional frozen pizza (plus some Italian herbs). Rubs etc of course. I used to use it a lot more but I love cutting garlic and mostly use fresh nowadays.

I just looked at the Waring Pro at Costco where it sells for around $50 or something like that. But I found the display model to be rather flimsy and the tray was not moving all that well on the gliders, they seemed a bit sticky. Anybody that owns it notice that too? You never know what kind of abuse a floor model had to deal with. I sure like the price and the small size of the machine, as I'm running out of space, but I know myself, if it does not work 100% well I'll be throwing it out in a heartbeat and get something else. Well, I'd return it to Costco, but I'd rather safe myself that extra trip. Those old slicers look so neat, wish I had a big kitchen that's all mine (away from the regular kitchen) where I can put on the counter what ever I want w/o getting into trouble about all that clutter :-)

thanks all! I cut it into steaks but left the tail end in one piece (from where the belly was opened) and will make that whole one day. I put two on the bbq with a simple soy/honey/pepper marinade, turned out very tasty! Wow, living close to a stream with Salmon sounds great! Thanks for the links, I'll def. check those out.

thanks! I have not pulled it out of it's bag, but it is cleaned out and they kept the head (for Halloween decorations?). I've never fillet a fish, I'm afraid I'd make a mess. I think I'll make steaks from the thick part and maybe keep the end in one piece to make whole some day. Yes, a whole poached salmon is awesome, which is why we had it at our wedding :-)

I just got back from Costco with a fresh whole chinoc salmon (sans head), I think it was 6.50/lb or so, the whole thing cost me $35, a steal compared to what this usually costs! Now I'm just wondering, should I filet it or cut it into "steaks"? I think I'll do the later, at least with the thick part, but I've never had a whole salmon, curious what some of you that have experience with such a big fish would do? We're not gonna eat it all at once, some tonight, rest goes in the freezer after a good vacupack. Thanks for any hints and feel free to mention your favorite way to make salmon too :-) Oliver

we have two kids, 6 and 2 and my memory of those days is fading fast, but I did not cook anything in advance. Both kids were good sleepers, mom was tired too so she hung out with baby in bed or on the couch and I had more time to cook than ever. Especially with #1. We had the good fortune that my wife could take quite some time off after each baby, and that both were such good sleepers and otherwise just happy campers. Sure, in the beginning you're up several times for feeding and all that, but nobody says dinner has to be at 6pm either, just work food into your schedule where it fits. Of course, that's just our story. For freezer, I'd see that I have enough chicken breast, one or two per pack. Those thaw in no time in a sink filled with cold water, if you forget to pull something out the day before. Pasta sauces of all kinds Pesto! Costco sells a really good one, I'd suggest to pack it in smaller portions in ziplock bags and freeze those. Ravioli etc (again costco) can be thrown into the boiling water while still frozen. Yes, I'd have frozen pizzas in there too. Stock, make a bunch of chicken stock, freeze it in portions. Great for almost anything. Fish can be great too, super fast to cook. (but there was plenty time for one of us to go to the store for fresh fish) Soups? I don't know. We had some and never made them, my wife wanted more light stuff than heavy homey things. Also be prepared NOT to like certain things anymore all of a sudden. My wife does no longer like red or green peppers (the sweet ones) anymore, nor does my son who was born first. She did not have odd cravings (chocolate dipped pickles etc). Different for everyone. I'd make sure you have the basics, have some comfort foods from the past (mac&cheese, chicken-noodle soup, gummy bears, chips) in boxes, bags, and cans and get delivery/take out menus if you want to treat yourself or are just too wiped out. And it'll be nice for your of you to go run the occasional errand too. But unless you really like casseroles, I'd stay away from them. We got some as gifts and did not find the idea of them very appealing. Oh, and congratulations and good luck! Enjoy the time with your little one, it's special and way too short. S/He will be asking for car keys sooner than you can ever imagine :-D

Butterflied leg of lamb, leapfrog (kind of a funny way to cut and flatten it) chicken, whole fish on spits or in those fish or vegetable holders for the bbq (just made two red snappers in a square one, a large red snapper earlier this year in a fish shaped one - these are nice because they have handles and you can move them away from the heat. Work for meat too of course) Rabbits on a spit, any small game birds. Yes, onions just in the coals works fantastic, just don't pop them in the hottest part ;-) Same with potatoes in heavy duty aluminum foil. I often make small red potatoes that way, throw in some garlic cloves (can be unpeeled), some rosemary, s&p and olive oil. Wrap up tightly in two layers, make sure no openings. turn occasionally. Corn in the husk was mentioned already. I just soak the corn in water before I do that. I read a recipe where they take those hair things out first, I've never bothered doing that. Turn those too, you'll get wonderful fire roasted corn with a bit of char/darkening here and there. But, if you still have the time and option, run to the book store and get the book 7 Fires by Francis Mallmann and you will never have to wonder what to do with a fire again. You might want to buy welding equipment though.... Get a cheap camping dutch oven for anything you want to boil/steam/simmer etc, I think Lodge is the brand. And if you have any, bring fireplace tools or at least very long tongs and maybe gloves, a mister bottle with water. Wow, now I'm hungry! Have fun at the cabin! Oliver

thanks, maybe I'll make a nice soup with that bird instead of roasting it then. Seems to be the way to go.

while they keep their color, I found browned purple potatoes to look a bit odd, I'd definitely do a test run. The current Food & Wine has a risotto with beets towards the back, that's also quite purple. I think I'm gonna make that next week.

I'm looking for La Varenne for a while now, it's out of print and most copies for sale are over $100. From all I read it's a great book well worth looking for. I'd love to hear from someone here that has it. I have Pepin's book (I have Complete Techniques, which is La Technique and La Methode in one book (isbn-13: 978-1-57912-165-5). All photos are b&w and some could use a bit more contrast or better printing, but that's a minor thing. There must be thousands of photos and as far as I know they all show Jacques doing the work. Must have been an astounding book back when it came out, and still is a great resource. If anybody has both, would be great to hear what you think!

there are 3 different recipes in the book Home Cheese Making by Ricki Carrol. Cream cheese cooked-curd method, French style and Swiss style cream cheese. All use mesophilic starter and liquid rennet. All pretty straight forward. It's a great book and she also sells all the things you need to make cheese at www.chesemaking.com I have not made cream cheese yet, looks like they all need to be made at least a day before you want to use it. I've made great mozarella with her recipe and supplies. I rarely use cream cheese, but I'm sure I'll try to make some eventually. Cheese making is fun :-)

I'm sure you can find some online, but I'd suggest to get the charcuterie book by Ruhlman, it'll be nice to have anyway. I don't have it handy right now, but I also think it's not ok to post recipes from books here (copyright and all that) You also need the right curing salt, I'd suggest butcherpacker.com to buy that (and a ton of other things you will probably want soon). Great prices, fast service. Lost of good info on their site too. You can make the bacon sweet or savory, which ever you prefer, I usually add garlic, bay leaf, pepper and sometimes rosemary. Happy smoking!