NadyaDuke

P.S. The issue with baking and weighing is that most American recipes call for ingredients by measure, as has been discussed elsewhere around here. I started baking cookies out of the Joy of Cooking almost 40 years ago, and have done all my baking my measure since with good results. I would suggest that we're trying to get this person to cook - so let him see that for the most part it is easy to get good results. Then if he wants to learn more and get more particular, awesome. Meanwhile, he's getting some tasty, cheaper, healthier food!

For a cookbook I'd recommend Pam Anderson's How To Cook Without a Book. Ironically, it's a book that lives permanently in my kitchen. She teaches you how to make easy, tasty weeknight dinners and then shows you how youc an take the basic formulas and expand on them. She's got a foolproof way to make tasty vegetables, pork tenderloin filets, boneless skinless chicken breasts, and my favorite, an easy orzo that tastes like risotto. I love Joy of Cooking but if I were starting it might be overwhelming.

In my experience people will disproportionately choose chicken over pork - so I'd cheat that up those proportions say 25% to cover that.

I finally made simple syrup for the first time last month - I'd never bought it, just avoided recipes that called for it! I think the main thing holding me back was having a proper container to store it in. Then I found I had an extra squeeze bottle and that pushed me over the edge. A year or two ago I started making my own croutons - I was tired of throwing out good bread that went stale before the two of us could eat it. So I cube it, throw it in the freezer and can make croutons in the time it takes for everything else to come together for dinner. Yummy and I can limit the amount of fat I use according to my current whims. Edited to fix typo

We're not rum drinkers, which apparently simplifies things! If I had to start over from scratch with 10 bottles, it would look like this: Aviation Gin Decent Vodka of some sort - Stoli perhaps, or Ketel One Sazerac Rye Sipping Bourbon: anything from Bulleit on up to Basil Hayden Black Bush Irish Whiskey Single Malt - rotating, probably starting with something big and peaty since there will be other whiskeys in the house. Lagavullin or Talisker Dry Vermouth - Martini & Rossi Sweet Vermouth - Carpano Antica Luxardo Maraschino Green Chartreuse If I was starting this up in the summer I'd swap out the Maraschino and Chartreuse for Tequila and Cointreau. It's causing me pain not to have Lillet Blanc or Campari, but this mix gives me good sipping options plus our normal house drinks of Martinis, Rye Manhattans, and my new favorite, a Last Word. I have friends who like Vodka "Martinis" (iced vodka served up), and who like Vodka and something drinks. (Like others, I'm not counting bitters!)

To send to my folks: Cornmeal Cranberry Cookies with Orange Zest, Cardamon cookies, Tuscan Rosemary/Pine Nut Bars and Spiced Pecans.

Gotta add liver.

I remember my Dad telling me that adding sour cream to anything was like cheating, because it made everything good. Not everyone agrees, but I do!

I think of this in two parts. First, the cookbooks that made me love cookbooks and reading about food. There are three: As a child: My mother's set of Women's Day Encyclopedia of Food, circa 1974. It was full of essays about particular types of food (Petits fours), or regional cooking. Gorgeous pictures, too. at 19 when I got my first apartment: The Art of Eating by MFK Fisher - a present from a friend who knew me better than I knew myself. I literally wore the covers off this book and had to buy another copy. at 22: I was in an antique shop and ran across two books from the 40's: The Women's Home Companion Household Book and Cookbook. They were $10 each, an large sum for this college student in the 80's. But I went home and obsessed and ate more beans and they were mine. That was the start of my vintage cookbook collection. The cookbooks that made me the COOK I am are a bit different. It might depend on the day but here's what I think today: The Joy of Cooking, 70's edition. The bible of my house growing up, we depended on Joy to know how long to cook a potato or roast a chicken. At age 8 I made my first batch of ginger snaps from it. It taught me that you can cook if you can read. (Which is, coincidentally, the name of one of the vintage cookboks I own!) The Frugal Gourmet. I got rid of all of his books after the scandal broke, but when I was first dating my husband we loved his show, and the first Christmas present my future In Laws ever got me was one of his cookbooks. He made me more adventurous, more willing to play and take risks with cooking. One of the only great failures of my culinary career was his peanut butter soup! Growing up on the Chocolate Diary by Lora Brody - this is the cookbook that made me try more elaborate baking techniques, and gave me results that made me very popular! Nadya

I'm torn between my first Joy of Cooking (70's era) because it has my gingersnaps recipe in it, and The Gourmet cookbook because it's a good modern basic cookbook that has yet to disappoint me. Gingersnaps were the first thing I learned to cook and so they have a special place in my heart!

I didn't really LIKE Manhattans until I discovered Rye. A bartender at El Gaucho in Seattle three or four years ago recommended substituting about 1/4 of the vermouth with Dubonnet. I liked it at the time but haven't tried it since I discovered Rye. Hmmm.....

My first thought was a soup with a smoked ham hock - you can a lot of flavor and it hearkens back to the soup kitchens of the Great Depression. And I'd price out yeast and think about making some bread - it's special for most people, but also old-fashioned in some ways. Depending on the soup it could be a starter or the main.... Sounds like fun whatever you do!

To celebrate summer weather, we made simple Pimm's cups: 1 part Pimms, 2 parts Lemonade, on ice with a slice of orange. A friend was visiting who doesn't like boozy cocktails, and this was a hit and perfect for a summer afternoon.

We are hosting two barbecues this weekend, and I'm keeping them both simple. Friday we're having a family over and I'm thinking I'll serve: Chips & Guacamole (Because I'm craving this!) Jicama and Celery Margaritas Ribs Potato Salad Undecided vegetable salad- Cole Slaw? Broccoli Slaw? We really won't want dessert but I may make homemade ice cream sandwiches on the excuse that there will be children present. And by homemade I simply mean ice cream between good store-bought oatmeal cookies. For the 4th we're hosting a barbecue for the neighbors. We're providing hamburgers, hot dogs & fixings, and the guests are bringing the rest. We're getting the hot dogs at place we just learned about: Otto's Sausage Kitchen, which supposedly is one of the 10 best hot dogs in the country according to Epicurious. We haven't been there before so that will be fun and we'll see if buy three times more than I need like the year we went to Gartner's meats - another great butcher. Fortunately sausages freeze well!

Cookbooks from the 40's and 50's recommend that for freezing sandwiches you butter both sides of the bread, and don't use mayonnaise. Of course, butter instead of mayonnaise on sandwiches seems to have been the norm then anyway. Supposedly this keep the bread from absorbing the ingredients, and of course helps counterbalance the dryness. ETA: Er, not both SIDES of the bread, but both pieces of bread. On the inside. Right. More coffee now!

Congratulations, Katie!

Food from fiction that you'd like to sample: A midnight spread from any of number of girls books about boarding school. A fictional meal you would like to have attended: Lunch, with Lord Peter Wimsey, at the Savoy. A memorable work of fiction set in a restaurant or a café: Not the same, but there's a great Lord Peter story that completely revolves around which of three gentleman can properly identify a truly remarkable series of wine. But it takes place at a French chateau, not a restaurant or café. Food you've tried that didn't live up to the expectations raised by a fictional account: Turkish Delight, from The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. Had it on my first trip to England, at age 16, and was so underwhelmed. An unappetizing food description from fiction: The biscuits with weevils from the Hornblower series. Eeeek. A recipe you've tried or a meal you've recreated from fiction: Can't think of one, though I have several cookbooks based on fiction (Nero Wolfe, Nancy Drew, Lord Peter, ....) Food you associate with reading: When I was a kid, rereading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory REQUIRED chocolate Your favourite food-focussed book/writer: Probably Rex Stout, with Dorothy Sayers a close second.

Percyn - That burger looks scrumptious! We are eating our way through our first farmer's market hall of the year. Saturday & Sunday was grilled asparagus. Tonight was a fritatta, with farmer's market leeks, and using up leftover Easter ham and half 'n half. On the side, a salad with pickled beets and an Asian salad mix, both from the market and grated carrots from the store. I'm not sure what made the salad mix "Asian" but it was yummy. The pickled beets were great - not too sweet, and still firm, not mushy. I made up a dressing with a bit of OJ (also Easter leftover since I don't usually drink it), beet juice, white wine vinegar, olive oil, salt & pepper.

Heidi - Here's what I ended up doing for the salad. I mixed blanched 1" pieces of asparagus with quartered strawberries. Tossed with barely enough bottled poppy seed dressing and topped with toasted walnuts. I was looking at the fridge for inspiration for the dressing, and saw I had the dressing - since it was similar to some of the recipes I was looking at I decided to keep it easy! It was a BIG hit with everyone having seconds or thirds. Snowangel - The ambiance sounds lovely! I used dinner plates from my great grand mothers china (purchased from Gump's: Epiag Powder Blue) for the grownups. The young children got pink Fiesta ware so that their parents wouldn't worry. I mean a three year old doesn't usually actually BREAK a plate in the course of eating, but people worry :-). I really wanted pink flowers on the table to echo the china, but couldn't find any decent looking ones on Saturday.

This salad interests me. I see both items separately as harbingers of spring but have not encountered them together. Can you describe the dish? ← I'm still making this up. I had the idea and did some googling to make sure I wasn't completely in an unknown country. I'm looking at these two recipes (yes, I know one doesn't have strawberries!) for inspiration: http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Asparag...trawberry-Salad http://splendidtable.publicradio.org/recip...agusorange.html So basically I'll blanch the asparagus, and make a dressing that's a little sweet, but perhaps with a touch of cider vinegar or mustard. No cheese. Any ideas?

I'm hosting an Easter Brunch - five adults and two small children. For pre-sit down munchies: Melon squares, baguette & assorted cheese (Manchego, Edam & Tumalo Rembrance) For the meal: Gartner Meats bone in smoked ham - probably with a thyme/honey glaze Rhubarb relish from my freezer Scrambled eggs Homemade cinnamon rolls (my first time - using the recipe from 150 Best American Recipes) Asparagus & Strawberry salad Everyone will get a chocolate animal from Moonstruck Chocolates as a favor.... Coffee, tea, orange juice, mimosas & screwdrivers available on request :-).

Clyde Common in Portland, OR has the biggest Rye list I've run into. Their web site menu only seems to list about 9, but in the bar they have a chalkboard with them all listed and I seem to remember more .... Sounds like I'll need to do some field research! http://www.clydecommon.com/drinks.pdf It was a bar tender there who first turned me on to Rye. We were asking about it, given their list, and he made us a small Manhattan with Bourbon, and a small one with Rye (Sazerac I believe). The Rye was a revelation and won hands down. I'd never liked Manhattans, but a 3: 1 Rye:Carpano Antica Manhattan with a dash or Regans orange bitters has won me over. I found the Rittenhouse bonded at one liquor store in Portland, but found we prefer the Sazerac.

I've found two that I really like and that people rave about. One is (I know!) a Rachael Ray recipe called Christmas Pasta. I do make a few modifications: I use all spicy sausage instead of spicy & mild, and I use 20% hamburger instead of veal. This makes a great "gravy" that we're considering trying in sloppy joes. http://www.rachaelraymag.com/recipes/30-mi...ta/article.html The other I found in 150 Best American Recipes (which I have thanks to raves on eGullet). It's for Tuscan Rosemary Pine Nut bars. These aren't FROM Tuscany but are rather inspired by Tuscany. I served this with an ice wine for dessert one night - great pairing. I found the recipe reproduced in various articles, citing its original source (since 150 Best is an anthology). http://www.thefoodpaper.com/recipes/tuscanbars.html

In New Mexico enchiladas are also often served stacked - and with a fried egg on top of the red or green chile. I'm new to eGullet - how long does a cook-off last? I'm trying to figure out how if my work schedule is going to let me play along!

I'm hoping that rumaki makes a comeback. We already have a bacon frenzy, can't we just add some chicken livers & water chestnuts? Of course that would imply that liver makes a come back - which I would also love.