kayb

I've fought the weight loss battle most of my adult life -- gained and lost the same 20 pounds probably 20 different times. I've found there are some things I can do that help, although as I get older, I find diet change isn't enough to do it alone, and I have to accompany it with some physical exercise, which I ought to be doing anyway. That's probably a function of hormonal changes as well as the fact my lifestyle is more sedentary than it was, say, when I was chasing toddlers about 25 years or so ago. But the things I do when I need to get it under control, which usually work: 1. Get away from junk food. Not too hard to do, as I detest most fast food anyway (I will eat McDonald's hash browns, and love Sonic french toast sticks). But I have a weakness for candy and potato chips and the like, particularly on the road. I try to replace those with fruit and nuts; a handful of almonds is still high-calorie, but at least they're loaded with protein. 2. EAT BREAKFAST! It's usually cereal or yogurt with fruit and granola, but it sets a good tone for me throughout the day, and I won't be hungry as much during the day if I start out with breakfast. 3. Lots of veggies. It's much easier for me to lose weight in the summer, because there's an abundance of fresh vegetables and I love them. 4. Lay off or cut down on the booze. I tend to drink more than I ought; three glasses of wine can add significantly to your daily calorie count, and I should school myself to stop at two. Or one. Or not having one at all. I have celiac disease, so gluten is out for me, meaning a lot of carbs (pasta, bread) are out as well. And I don't care for many of the GF substitutes for bread and pasta. But I love a potato, and grits, so those become my subs for those starches; I just have to be careful and eat them in moderation.

Call me another vote for Wright's. Flavorful, fries up well, not too awfully salty. I also like Petit Jean Meats, a local Arkansas firm; their products are available from their website, here. Their peppered bacon is particularly good. Off topic, but they also make a "peppered beef," which would be pastrami anywhere else in the world, that is To Die For.

It's been my experience that the worst breakfast sausage from an artisan maker is better than the best mass market you can get. I buy mine from the farmer from whom I buy all my pork and chicken (beef comes from a different guy). He vac-packs his in roughly one-pound packages, so you have to make your own patties.

Been enjoying sandwiches of late, after finally discovering a gluten-free bread that's worth making one. But I broke out of that rut for a brunch cooked for a friend -- latkes topped with an over easy egg, accompanied by some cubes of tenderloin (left over from Christmas), and the whole topped with hollandaise. With a baked pear and bran muffins on the side.

Tonight: rouladen, navy beans and ham, potato skins. No photos; we were all starving and fell into it before I thought to take a pic. Chocolate cobbler with butter pecan ice cream for dessert.

dcarch, I'll add my admiration to the rest. Particularly intrigued with the ham and black eyed pea pate. Details? They're neat-looking little things. Question on sous viding and holding meat. How long does it take a good-sized piece of meat -- say 4-6 pounds -- to come back up to temp in the water bath?

If I'm cooking with it -- Green Flash Double Stout. If I'm drinking it -- Boulevard's Long Strange Trippel. Yuengling Lager is also marvelous. I bootleg it on a regular basis.

Last night: Leftover blackeyed peas and jail slaw from New Year's, along with sweet potato and pulled pork barbecue hash. A favorite stand-by for a quick meal, as there's a good bbq joint less than a quarter-mile from my house.

New Year's Day breakfast was oeufs en cocotte, baked in a ramekin atop a layer of cheese grits, with the added attraction of some bacon jam dabbed around the egg yolk. Not terrifically photogenic, but awfully good.

I use my kitchen scissors when I'm chiffonading basil, but for chopping other herbs, I go with one of these that, in fact, a friend brought me as a souvenir from Alaska. It's called an ulu knife, and apparently was designed for the Inuit to scrape blubber out of whale hides. The blade is about 4 inches across, and it rolls through herbs nicely.

Beer candied bacon, and small potatoes, boiled, topped wit creme fraiche and caviar. Yes, it's cheap caviar. To my knowledge, it's the only kind you can get here in mid-America.

To find something I can make and take with me to keep me from eating junk food when I'm on the road.

No photo, but carbonnades a la flamande for 12 at a friend's house. In a departure from tradition, served over cream cheese grits as opposed to egg noodles. I would note that Green Flash Double Stout makes the best carbonnades a la flamande EVAH.

Back before I had to go gluten-free, I made a soft, white loaf that made just sublime toast. With butter and jam...or apple butter....yum. Gluten-free breads I've found are generally pretty worthless. However, I've found a brand call Rudi's, which at least bears a slight resemblance to ... real bread. The multi-grain is slightly sweet, and good for breakfast. The "Ezekiel" loaf is more savory, and makes great sandwiches. One with Broadbent country ham and Fontina is on my menu today.

Black eyed pea cassoulet with farm-made smoked sausage and pork rillettes. Crittenden County Jail slaw (that's where I learned to make it, and no, I wasn't an inmate!) -- vinegar and mustard based slaw, very tart and very crunchy. That takes care of my menu tomorrow, but I'll also have fingerling potatoes with creme fraiche and caviar, and beer candied bacon, because they are the two ultimate munchies in the world, and one should start off the year with good munchies. Tonight, my hot NYE date is my 18-month-old grandson, so we'll probably have grilled cheese and animal crackers. Which is Just Fine. The companionship makes the meal!

I have an aebleskiver pan. Can highly recommend stuffing with a small slice of banana and three Reese's Pieces.

A seven-pound tenderloin (cooked too long; the fam wants medium!, but still good). Mashed potatoes. Sweet potato casserole (Southern holiday requirement) with streusel topping. Cranberry salad (another Southern holiday requirement). Coriander carrots. Yeast bread that did NOT do well, not that anyone missed it. Baked pears with blue cheese and balsamic vinegar. And the piece de resistance -- a white chocolate cherry cheesecake, which, if I do say so myself, knocked it out of the park.

The kids wanted "some good knives." I found a three-piece set of Shuns on www.cutleryandmore.com's clearance section. 8-inch nakiri, 6-inch utility, 4-inch parer. I will no longer have to curse the bad knives when I cook in their kitchen. I'm lusting for a Breville smart oven, but I have a dearth of electrical outlets in the kitchen. What I'd really LOVE to have is a good, easy way to organize and store spices.

Judiu, I used self-rising corn meal mix, but mixed it 1:1 with milk for a very thin batter; oil and egg the same as called for. The tomato mixture was diced tomatoes, chopped scallions and garlic, tossed together with a bit of olive oil and allowed to sit for an hour or so. Next time, I'll use some roasted garlic; I don't care for the almost metallic taste the raw garlic roasting at the high temp in the cornbread yields. Here's the recipe as it ran in the newspaper in Memphis: Savory Tomato Cornbread Cobbler 1 pound mixed-variety sweet cherry tomatoes, halved 2 cloves garlic, minced ½ teaspoon hot chile powder ¼ teaspoon celery salt ½ teaspoon kosher salt, divided use ¼ teaspoon ground cumin Finely grated zest and juice of ½ lime ¼ cup minced green onion, PLUS 2 tablespoons minced green tops for garnish ½ cup all-purpose flour ½ cup yellow cornmeal 2 teaspoons baking powder ½ cup (1 stick) butter 1 cup milk Place a 10-inch cast-iron skillet in the oven; heat to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, combine the tomatoes and garlic. In a small bowl, combine the chile powder, celery salt, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt and cumin. Sprinkle mixture over the tomatoes. Stir in the lime zest and juice and ¼ cup of the minced green onion; set aside. In a separate mixing bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, remaining kosher salt and baking powder. Once the skillet is hot, add the butter. Watch closely; when the butter is melted and bubbling, stir the milk into the flour mixture to form a thin, somewhat lumpy batter. Transfer the skillet to the stove top just long enough to pour in the batter, spreading it evenly. Immediately top with the tomato mixture. Return to the oven and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the cobbler is crisped on the edges and has started to pull away from the sides of the pan. Cut into wedges; serve hot or at room temperature, garnished with the minced green onion tops. Makes 6 to 8 servings. Variation: Tomato-Bacon Cobbler. Add 8 slices cooked, crumbled bacon to the tomato mixture just before baking. We cooked the bacon in the same iron skillet we used for baking the cobbler and adjusted the amount of butter to incorporate the bacon drippings into the cobbler. I did a half-sized version, and ignored the call for lime juice and zest because I didn’t have a lime. And added the Parmigiano.

I have a "cheater" praline recipe I've used for years; it's very difficult to tell from the real thing. It involves (gasp) Jello pudding 1 4.6 oz box Jello non-instant butterscotch pudding 1.5 cups packed brown sugar 1/2 cup evaporated milk 1 tbsp butter 2 cups toasted pecans combine the pudding mix, brown sugar, evap. milk and butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Once the sugar and butter melt, cook without stirring until it reaches 238F on the candy thermometer. Remove from heat, stir in pecans. Beat until it begins to thicken and lose its gloss. Drop by tablespoonsful onto aluminum foil and allow to harden. Hard to tell from the real thing. This makes the thin, delicate praline that is not chewy.

I've been absent for, what, a year or more -- what a treat to open the thread and find many of the same fine cooks, and some new ones, posting! Wonderful dinners and recipes, all. A few recent dinners for me: Greek Beef: Recreated from what I had in a restaurant recently; good-quality deli sliced roast beef, topped with a relish of chopped artichokes, Kalamata and green pimiento stuffed olives, feta, balsamic vinegar and olive oil. I had it over salad; tried this over rice. Will use some of the leftover relish (a keeper!) with some leftovers from the Christmas tenderloin, if there are any. Fried okra, purple hulled peas, sliced tomatoes, chicken and dressing A Southern favorite. Yes, that's the canned cranberry sauce. I love it with cornbread dressing. Rouladen No photo of the finished product, but grass-fed tenderized round steak wrapped around a kosher dill spear and a farm-made bratwurst, wrapped in bacon, browned and then braised in wine and beef broth with juniper berries, allspice berries, cloves and caraway seed. Tomato cobbler Thin cornbread batter (equal parts meal/flour to milk/egg/oil), with a topping of diced tomatoes, garlic, green onions spooned over; the whole thing topped with grated parmigiano and baked.

Water chestnuts instead of celery -- absolute genius! Never thought of bratwurst in meatloaf, either; I have some good farm-made brats I'll try in that. I usually do a barbecue bacon meatloaf (lots of bacon, barbecue spice and sauce), but this would be a marvelous switch. Thanks!

Some of my favorites -- fig and olive tapenade -- equal parts chopped dried figs, chopped olive, 1/2 part chopped capers, chopped fresh rosemary, balsamic vinegar, olive oil to make it the right texture. Wonderful on crostini over goat cheese. Bacon wrapped dates stuffed with either almonds or manchego. Fresh figs, quartered, stuffed with Stilton, drizzled with honey, broiled. My own oven--dried grape tomatos, skewered with fresh mozzarella and a basil leaf, drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vineger. And those damned wasabi peas from the Chinese market!

I think I have added possibl 6 since my last post....

Ooooh. If you have not posted them elsewhere, may I please have details on pressure cooker risotto? I think I'm in love!