kayb

A lovely, lovely little appetizer -- tiny redskin potatos, boiled, halved, topped with a dab of creme fraiche and a spot of caviar. I could eat a dozen. Make that two dozen.

I make a marinated carrot salad with cauliflower and occasionally raw turnips that I like; I suspect you could can it and it would serve as pickled carrots. You'd need to fiddle with the quantities, to get enough brine to cover the carrots. I use this brine for cole slaw as well. 1/2 cup cider vinegar 1/2 cup water 3/4 cup sugar 1 teaspoon dry mustard 1/2 teaspoon turmeric 1 teaspoon celery seed 1/4 teaspoon white pepper Heat to boiling and pour over whatever veggies you're using. Keeps forever in the fridge, and as I said, I expect you could can it.

Haha. They're not really chips per se. I carefully peel all of the layers off the onion and I cut them into little rectangles. Then they're put into a shallow bath of extra virgin olive oil mixed with red wine and a few pinches of salt. That is then heated in the oven at 350° for about 25 minutes, until they've darkened a bit and look crispy. They're quite tasty. Oh, now THAT sounds good! I must try that one. Bruce, how do you do your smoked sweet potatos? Kim, if you, like me, grew up convinced pork must be cooked to death or you would get trichinosis and die, isn't it wonderful to learn how to cook it RIGHT? My camera is AWOL, and I have been on the road and cooking very little. I did make a pretty good pot roast last night, and my son has asked for lasagna today, so that's on the agenda. I'm also contemplating butternut squash ravioli, so I was glad to see that thread as well.

I do dry rubs and low-slow roasting (at 250 degrees, an hour per pound) to get pork butt to the proper "pulling" consistency. I find that if I add maybe a half-cup of liquid to the pan, in addition to the juices that cook out, it stays moist enough. I don't put mine on a rack, unless I'm actually grilling with coals on either side, as opposed to in the oven.

Kim, I am of the "less is more" school of thought when it comes to French toast. 1. I always, always use challah, about an inch and a half thick. 2. I dip in a mix of one egg and about 1/3 cup heavy cream. That'll do about four to six slices. I press them down a bit to make sure the egg/cream soaks up into the bread. 3. I fry them in butter over medium high heat. It is NOT cholesterol friendly. And I don't care.

I discovered champorado (Filipino chocolate rice porridge) earlier this year. I love it. I think the next time I try it, I'll do it with coconut milk. And while the recipe calls for glutinous rice, I used brown last time and it worked fine. Recipe I use is here: http://www.food52.com/recipes/3055_champorado_chocolate_rice_porridge

Percyn, the risotto looks fabulous. Did you toast the walnuts and toss them in at the last minute, and were they seasoned with anything first? They almost looked as if they were toasted in a sugar glaze. Kim, I'd love the recipe for that Italian pot roast! RobirdsTX, love the chicken burrito/tacos. DCarch, as always, gorgeous presentation. I envy all you people who still have figs -- our fig season is so short here. I've been on the road, and had one evening at home to cook in the last couple of weeks. I made chili and bean/sausage soup for the kids to have while I'm gone on the current trip, and pork chops with Jezebel sauce for me, inspired by the recent thread on here re: Jezebel sauce. Had it with sweet potato latkes and sesame green pea salad on which I forgot to sprinkle the sesame seeds. And I had a photo of it, but I can't find it!

No, but if you're up in that area, if you get a chance, please go to the Austrian Village in Rockledge and then tell me about the homemade bratwurst, the German potato salad, and the red cabbage, so I can drool until I get my next chance to visit up there in December.

It not being lunch time yet, I'll detail yesterday's. As I live in one of the barbecue havens of the world, I indulged: Purity Barbecue's lunch special, a choice of ribs, beef, ham or pork shoulder, sliced or chopped, with two sides (I chose baked beans and slaw)and iced tea. For $7.75. And it's enough beef and beans (I did eat all the slaw) that it served for dinner that evening. Can't beat it.

I cook big meals on the weekend, and then warm or "repurpose" leftovers; i.e., leftover pot roast and veggies become vegetable soup. A good grilled cheese sandwich, maybe with some bacon if you need a protein infusion, pairs well with most soups. I couldn't function without my crock-pot. Prep happens the night before, all is stashed in bags or bowls in the fridge, combined in crock pot that morning. I also have been known to do the prep for a pot roast -- brown the meat, peel the veggies, everything in the pan -- and stick it in the fridge, then into the oven with the timer before I leave for work. That would work with braises as well. The key to quick weeknight dinners is truly the ahead-of-time prep, no matter how you're cooking the next day. Leftovers get incorporated into pasta sauces or thick soups that go over rice, or get wrapped in tortillas. As long as ONE dish is new, the rest doesn't feel as much like leftovers, particularly if disguised in some different presentation. If I'm grilling on the weekend, I'll typically grill a bunch of extra burgers or chicken breasts. Burgers can be just burgers on a bun during the week, or a chopped steak with onion gravy. Chicken breasts can be most anything -- topper for a salad, in a wrap, in a sauce over pasta or rice, or wherever your imagination takes you. Frozen tilapia filets, moved from freezer to fridge in the morning, broil or pan-fry in minutes. Leftover grilled tuna makes a great addition to a pasta salad. Finally -- fried rice! The ultimate repository for leftovers. Chunk 'em all in. Hard to beat.

Darienne -- try this link and order them. Dried, true, but better'n nothing. http://latinmerchant.com/productlist.asp?cat=Peppers&SubCat=Dried%20Peppers&subCatID=20

French toast (from challah), and bacon yesterday: And bacon, fried egg, and bran muffin with walnuts today:

Make a pear upside down cake in a springform pan. My damn cake pans were too small for the amount of batter. My springform may never be the same; fortunately, I caught the error and stuck a cookie sheet under it before it incinerated the bottom of the oven. Cookie sheet may never be the same, either.

I have a syrup pitcher (or, as my grandmother and father called it, a sorghum pitcher) that dates from somewhere prior to the Civil War. It's clear glass, quite plain, and the glass has a few random bubbles in it, dating it, I've been told, to the 1820s or so. It lived in our refrigerator with sorghum in it as long as I can remember; I like to think of it sending many of my ancestors out to work with a bellyful of biscuits and sorghum in the mornings....

There is nothing in the world better than pork loin chops, sliced about a half-inch thick, salted, peppered, fried in a hot-hot-hot iron skillet for about two minutes on a side, and served with Jezebel sauce, scalloped potatos and green beans. It was my Very Favorite Sunday dinner as a kid. And I believe I will go to the grocery and get the ingredients and make some Right Now, as I had not thought about it for ages. Also, you can use the el cheapo apple jelly and pineapple preserves. They're merely vehicles for carrying the horseradish-and-mustard combo.....

Chef Boyardee pizza kit in a box. I begged for them, ate them like they were candy. Last time I tried one, when my kids were younger, it was revolting. I'm not even sure they still make them.

That would explain the pink foam on my latte. Seriously though, it sounds rather good. A big step up from the Depression Era ketchup-and-water soup. Bloody Mary mix with yogurt works, too.

Quite ashamed of my presentation skills, but at least the food was good. Chuck eye steak, garlic mashed redskin potatos, purple-hulled peas. Meat loaf. I make mine in my deep dish pie plate, because I like a larger portion of the crusty outside (though I overdid the ketchupy topping and this one didn't get so very crusty). A pound of ground beef, half a pound of ground pork, half a pound of ground veal, sauteed onion and garlic, oregano, basil, thyme, salt and pepper, cracker crumbs, an egg. Topping of ketchup thinned a bit with Coca Cola. Meatballs. Same 2:1:1 plus other stuff mixture as the meat loaf, with the addition of about 3/4 cup grated parmegiano. Roasted and bagged, to become meatball sandwiches for my 15-year-old, who loves meatball sandwiches more than life itself.

Oh. My. God. That is absolutely gorgeous.

Toss it in olive oil, spread on a baking sheet, sprinkle with salt and pepper, roast at 425 for about 15 minutes, squirt with juice of a lemon, toss again with half a cup of grated parm. I also love the salad Darienne references; I leave out the onions, add a tad of lemon juice and a tablespoon of sugar to the mayo. (also works with slightly plain yogurt, sans the added lemon juice)

Creamy gazpacho with chicken quesadillas. Quick, easy, good. The last two nights were street-vendor food at the blues festival -- corn dogs, funnel cakes, et. al. And beer. Lots o' beer. Must have beer with the blues!

One -- Saute some onion, some garlic, some cubed butternut squash; add some chicken broth and simmer until squash is soft. Either mash it up with your potato masher or whiz it with the immersion blender; stir in a couple of ounces of goat cheese. Toss with hot pasta and sprinkle fresh basil and crumbled bacon over the top. Two -- Dice some raw shrimp and quickly sear them in olive oil; add a healthy shot of lime juice and as many shakes of cayenne pepper as it takes to get it to the seasoning level you like. Toss with hot pasta and orange sections. Add more olive oil if you want. top with minced cilantro. Three -- Make a quick curry sauce with one ripe, peeled, chunked tomato; garlic; onion; peppers of your choice; turmeric and a little cumin. Add a can of coconut milk. Throw in cooked shrimp or chicken if you have some in your fridge. Toss with hot pasta. Four -- saute diced squash and fresh rosemary in olive oil; just as it's softened, hit it with a splash or two of balsamic vinegar. Toss with pasta. (I like to throw a diced fresh tomato in when I'm tossing, too; looks pretty, especially if you've used both yellow and green squash.) Top with grated parm and fresh basil. Hard to beat just a plain ol' carbonara when you're tired and home from work late, though.

Making my first beef stew of the season today; cubed round steak, floured and browned; onions and garlic, sauteed; carrots and potatos, chunked up; two cans of petite diced tomatos and 2 cups of beef broth, all dumped in the slowcooker. Leaving town this afternoon and that should keep the thundering herd fed until I get back Monday evening. Thinking while I've got the slow cooker out, I'm going to do a pork butt in barbecue rub later this week.

Baking yeast bread is my all-time favorite, followed closely by pot roast, bouef bourguignon, and Chinese roast pork.

dcarch, I don't know what you do for a living, but you need to set up shop with Prawncrackers as professional food stylists and photographers. I'm contemplating making a collections of y'all's photographs to post on my kitchen bulletin board to inspire me. Beautiful, beautiful meals! Everyone else's dinners had me drooling as well. Particularly since I've been on the road and in the midst of a hectic work schedule with no time to cook. However, at least one trip did take me to New Orleans, where I did my dead-level best to hit as many of my favorites as I could in 2 1/2 days: Mother's, fried shrimp po'boy washed down with Dixie beer Mr. B's Bistro, bacon-wrapped shrimp over the most impossible creamy cheese grits I've ever tasted. Cafe DuMonde, cafe au lait and beignets, of course. With nine gazillion other tourists. Acme Oyster House, chargrilled oysters, red beans and rice Palace Cafe, grilled redfish with crawfish etouffee Restaurant August, gnocchi with truffle cream sauce, poached figs with fresh ricotta, rabbit sausage with fennel I think I gained 10 pounds and it was worth every stretched seam of it. Lord, but I love New Orleans.