kayb

Bon Vivant, that choucroute is beautiful. One of my favorite meals. Did you add Reisling while it cooked?

No photos for either, but night before last, Day 3 of the pot roast, reincarnated as vegetable beef soup, possibly the best I have ever made. Last night, shrimp and grits per the recipe from Mr. B's Bistro in New Orleans. Bacon didn't get crisp enough, because I had no cheap, thin bacon and had to use the thick cut. I par-cooked it first, but it still didn't crisp by the time the shrimp got done. Good, anyway.

BK, can I come live with you? Or next door to you? Those were some LOVELY meals.

In a word: No.

I believe I have gained 30 pounds in the last 15 minutes, reading this thread. Kim and Shelby, your goodies look amazing, but I have to say Patrick S's caramel overload tart kicked my taste buds into high gear. I do love caramel anything,and this looked just astounding. I don't bake/cook a lot of sweets, except at the holidays, chiefly because if they're here, I eat them. But my daughter had been bugging me for a coconut cake -- possibly the best dessert I make -- so I gave in. It's presently in the fridge, waiting its requisite three days so it can be good and moist before it's served. You can use your favorite white/yellow cake recipe -- I use one from Cook's Illustrated. I bake in three layers, and use about 1/4 cup of coconut milk spread over the top of each layer. Filling between the layers is a mixture of 1 1/2 cups sour cream, 1 cup sugar, and 1 1/2 bags frozen unsweetened coconut. Use about half the filling between the layers and atop the top one; be generous. Whip about half a cup of heavy whipping cream and fold into the remaining filling; use that to frost the sides and top. Use the remaining half-bag of coconut to sprinkle on top and pat onto the sides. I will confess to sometimes using Cool Whip instead of whipped cream; it just seems more stable to me. I'm always afraid my whipped cream is going to liquefy. Then, as I'd put myself in the mood for something sweet, and I had a bag of apples in the house, I made a Dutch apple pie, from a recipe Cyalexa had shared with me. Quite excellent, particularly with a couple of slices of sharp cheddar alongside.

One more batch of preserving to be done. Arkansas Black apples are in season now, which means -- apple butter!

Day 2 of the pot roast, shredded in a thickened gravy (just the jus thickened with a bit of cornstarch in water), served over mashed potatoes with sugar snap peas (which had been the freezer a tiny bit too long, but were still tasty). Followed by a slice of Dutch apple pie, recipe courtesy of Cyalexa, with sliced sharp cheddar alongside. Day 3 of pot roast is today -- vegetable beef soup simmering now. ETA the pie pic.

Let me add mine: it's a favorite I've made for years. Boil 5 or 6 sizeable sweet potatoes (you're aiming for 4-6 cups of mashed sweet potatoes) in the jackets until tender; when they're cool enough to handle, peel and mash with 1/2 stick softened butter, 1 tsp vanilla, and 1/3 cup granulated sugar. Spread in bottom of a 9 x 13 casserole dish. For streusel topping: Mix 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, 3/4 cup brown sugar, and 1 cup pecan pieces in a bowl. Melt 1/2 stick of butter and pour over. Mix to make a crumbly mixture. Scatter on top of sweet potatoes. Bake 40-45 minutes at 350, or thereabouts; they're forgiving,and can share the oven with most anything at any temp. Just make sure not to let the streusel burn. I see no reason you couldn't add a bit of cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, et. al. to the potatoes or the topping. My family prefers the sweet potato flavor to stand out, so that's what we do.

What about deep frying? Can you deep fry in it?

Shelby, I can see I'm going to have to break down and get an Instant Pot. Am I correct one can discard one's slow cooker and rice cooker in favor of this do-it-all vessel? Edited to fix typo.

No photos (we were starving and fell upon the meal like the Visigoths on Rome), but the first pot roast of the fall. Seared off a shoulder roast (grass-fed, grain-finished, locally farm-raised), surrounded it with carrots, potatoes and onions, poured a cup of red wine and a half-cup of water, along with a couple of tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce, over all, covered tightly with foil, and into a 300-degree oven for five hours. Meat was meltingly tender, potatoes (Yukon Golds) and carrots and onions all creamy, flavor perfect. Leftovers tonight, and vegetable beef soup tomorrow.

I found myself in this situation recently at a major hotel, which a meeting ran long and I headed for the deli to grab sandwiches and chips. The bill came to $92. I was undecided as to whether to tip -- the counter staff took my order and made the sandwiches, as well as packing up a collection of condiments -- but the service was good enough I thought I should, so I did.

Old: Cornbread dressing, sweet potato casserole with a pecan streusel topping, cranberry salad. New: I've ordered a farm-raised turkey from the local co-op where I buy my chicken. Picking it up fresh on Tuesday before Thanksgiving. I expect I'll brine it and then roast it with my standard apple, orange, stick of butter and handful of sage in the cavity. Also on the "new" list, green beans cooked with brown sugar, bacon and soy sauce instead of the canonical green bean casserole. I love Thanksgiving. My favorite holiday. Menu will also include a corn pudding, and homemade yeast rolls.

I wish we had a winter farmers market here. The closest one is in Memphis, an hour away. I think I may try to start making that trip on an occasional Saturday during the offseason. We had much more hoop-house vegetable growing when I lived in L.A. (that would be Lower Arkansas) than we do up here in the northeast corner of the state. I wonder if the temperature differential -- probably less than 10 degrees, but still noticeable -- is the cause. Huiray, thanks for the kind words. It was a stomach flu -- unpleasant, but not life-threatening, though I will confess to WANTING to die from it a couple of times. All better now.

It's my experience that either more people seem to be interested in a higher quality of food, or I have gravitated more toward people who are interested in a higher quality of food. I see a great many more people buying meat, for example, directly from the farm, and produce from the farmers' market, rather than canned or frozen veggies or meat from the supermarket. I see the growth in farm-to-table restaurants, and in CSAs and food co-ops. I see more people gardening or raising backyard chickens. But WalMart, which carries some of the poorest quality food I've ever seen -- I won't go there if I can avoid it -- continues to be one of top grocery retailers. I know I'm willing to spend more for quality food, and I have friends who shudder at the prospect of paying $12 to $15 for a whole farm-raised chicken. But it's worth it to me.

TFTC, I'd love to have the recipe/instructions. I cook some quasi-Asian dishes that would be improved by the availability of fresh bean sprouts. Plus, I love 'em in place of lettuce on a sandwich.

Love the coin tiles! I want to hear more about the procedure in making them, please.

I love beans. I keep several different varieties on hand, but I always tend to find myself going back to my standards of red beans, navy beans, Great Northern beans, black beans and chickpeas. I use a fair amount of lentils, as well. My favorite baked beans recipe starts with soaked navy beans, in a sauce of ketchup, mustard, sorghum molasses, assorted spices, and worcestershire sauce. With, of course, salt pork, or, in a pinch, cut up very fatty bacon. I make a very non-regulation red beans and rice with a tomato base, andouille sausage, chicken and ham. Black beans get cooked with garlic, pepper and bay leaves. Chickpeas fan out in a variety of seasonings and sauces. I do a lentil soup with Spanish chorizo that's pretty marvelous. And it's really difficult to beat a good ol' bowl of white or pinto beans with hamhock and fresh, hot, buttered cornbread. I bought some mung beans on a whim, and am trying to figure out how to use them.

ElainaA, thanks for that ketchup recipe. Saved it to use next summer. TFTC, now I am inspired to look for fresh water chestnuts at the international market next time I go. Day got away from me yesterday resulting in me heading home at 5:30 with nary a thought about what might be for dinner. That's my cue to pick up some kind of prepared protein as a centerpiece; usually either a rotisserie chicken from the grocery or pork barbecue from the local barbecue emporium. I opted for barbecue, because I had sweet potatoes, and could do this: Sweet potato and barbecue hash, with a drizzle of barbecue sauce thoughtfully provided by the barbecue place, with a side of arepas. Thirty minutes, start to finish. Just call me Rachel Ray.

That sounds marvelous.

Everything's better with bacon!

Johnsonville should be ok. If you've got a farmer or meat market anywhere close that makes them, that's usually better.

I think venison would work just fine. I browned them in the skillet over medium heat, added the wine and broth and seasonings, and then transferred to a 325 oven for about 2 1/2 hours. I turned the heat off, left them in the oven for two hours, came back and turned the oven back on for 15 minutes. That's plenty to get the round steak fork-tender. The quality of the bratwurst can really make or break this dish. Hope you've got access to good ones!

My skin gets dry and I get some cracking and splitting around my cuticles in the winter, especially. I came up with a moisturizer that's two parts coconut oil to one part Vitamin E oil, whipped up in my Kitchenaid and kept in various plastic containers in the kitchen and different bathrooms. I slather it on my hands several times during the course of a day, including after every handwashing, and it helps remarkably.

Cooler weather always turns my thoughts to German food, so yesterday, it was rouladen, braised red cabbage with cream, and German potato salad. Good stuff, though I didn't get enough mustard in the potato salad. Rouladen, ready to cook. Grassfed beef round, jacquarded and then beaten with a mallet to thin it a bit more. Brats from a local farmer. Bacon is Wright's; dills are Claussen's. Cabbage, sauteeing in bacon fat. Complete dinner, with potato salad and crowder peas.