maggiethecat

Lots of butter, big lashing of gorgonzola, maybe some sauteed chopped spinach (tiny hint of nutmeg), half a cup of heavy cream. Bake the sucker. If you can find any decent tomatoes, they would look pretty and taste good baked or broiled. And parslied.

No time like the present!

An excellent point. Yeah, sure I prefer hardcovers because of their sturdiness and permanence, but softcover is just fine if there's a big difference in price and it's a book I'll read through once, use as reference, and cook from only occasionally.

53,387.

53, 268. No we're not there yet. My thirty miles to Trio hasn't happened. But I have bigger plans: a trip to the moon on splattered-paged wings.

I opened the food section first thing this morning---pre coffee!--and the first thing I read was Grimes's review. Even if I'd never heard of Suvir, or tasted his tomato chutney, I would still have thought: "I want to go to this restaurant. This week!" Warmest congratulations.

This is one of the places where I've found that the microwave is indeed your friend. After years of thet salting and draining routine, I now set the slices on paper towel and nuke them a little. Fast and effective.

Check out "Mastering" Volume II, page 296. "Saucissons de Foies de Volaille, Pate de Foie de Volaill, Farce a Gratin." "This all purpose liver mixture is so versatile it can sarve as a sausage, a pate, a spread for sandwiches and hors d'oeuvre, a filling for poultry or meat, and can generally be used anywhere tou need the depth and strength of a liver accent." I know what Mrs. Child means, but "liver accent" .....Shiver. Quiver.

55,264. 10.46 miles!

I too am delighted that you're this week's bloggeur. I've been interested in your Iowa Food Project, and it will be fascinating to see how it plays out day-to-day. And I second the beverage exemption, not being able to instantly conjure Iowa vintages. But if there's wine in Iowa, I'm sure you know the best.

Matthew: What about Pepin's indivudual Yorkshire puddings? I think they're in JandJ.

GG: Thanks for taking on the Thanksgiving Blog-Week challenge. Great writing, great food. Chocolate mousse; haven't made it in yonks. I will now!

I was privileged to witness this performance: He's damn good! New Year's Eve he'll do the Twist. Dunno about the boogaloo. I've been to a whole lot of Thanksgivings. This was Best Food Ever. Edited to Add: HH is fine with dancing as long as he never has to dance himself. All you guys cooked like heroes---and it's kinda eG fellowship: Varmint sent grits to Chicago and Dean sent pickles to Raleigh. I love that.

Have Haiku Fun here!

Our Founding Father, Jason Perlow, has a near Zen affinity for haiku. I reprint one here, from the Mos Burger thread: Rick Bayless Baguette Artificial salsa crap rots in my stomach Or, from the same thread, by user smallworld: hot jalapenos nestled on processed cheddar cheesy harmony Here's a quick refresher on the haiku, that venerable Japanese verse form. Take five syllables Then add seven syllables Come up with five more Three lines in format Mention a season, (maybe) All about food, please. A Burger King Rodeo Cheeseburger deserves to be immortalized in verse; likewise an Italian Beef sandwich from Al's #1 on Taylor street. But for those of you who are sticklers for the seasonal reference, we've got a season with a gonzo food theme, so I'm expanding the Smackdown to include Thanksgiving Haiku. Maybe something like: Oh late November I thank you Great Creator green bean casserole. You can do better Post your entries over here Entries: Round Fourteen Greasy and salty.

You are a strong and wonderful woman! I wonder, and please let us know: Will the green beans be canned or frozen? I'm enjoying your blog immensely, and congratulations on the closing.

Spicy herby cheesy gougeres, prebaked and frozen. They reheat brilliantly.

54, 050. Welcome, Miss T. And Suzanne, if you and Bloviatrix both endorse Foley, I'm checking it out.

Yeah! 53,935.

I'm officially closing this competition, and reluctantly, because you have been so stinkin' clever and funny. Feel free to scribble a new shopping list here---please do, in fact!---but you won't be eligible to win a coveted competition, or receive a fabulous prize. Start counting to seventeen.

The Young and the Restless are still whooping it up at a wine bar, but Willie and we have wended our ways home. I didn't have to bribe anyone or fling my body across three sixtops. I got there early, explained what we needed and the management said "No problem." (The management also tactfully mentioned to me on the way out:"Wine and beer is fine, Senora, But next time, no hard liqour. We've had problems in the past with hard liquor." Well, so have I. Recently. Props to Nero for pouring shots for perfect strangers at adjoining tables.) We were sixteen. Welcome to JimInLoganSquare and his lovely wife Susan, who got their first taste of a Chicago eGullet gathering and fit right in. Also welcome to Sarah and tenor25, friends of the Birthday Girl, Lady T. And we were really delighted to have Alex, one of our Grand Rapids Confidential hosts with us; he popped the cork on a delicious botle of "Spanish Sparkling Wine" when there were only four of us at the table: Willie, Alex, Dean and me. More for all of us, before the greedy guys got there. The BG and Sommeliere of the Heartland arrived with four bottles of the Veuve, which were inhaled at scary speed, accompanied by many toasts. (Fresser doesn't drink and Aurora hadn't arrived yet.) Beer abounded, as did tequila. Guajolote said that Ronnie Suburban's bottle was better than his, but heck, they were both better than what I drink. Guajolotes's original subtitle to this thread about homemade flour tortillas still stands. They are amazing, and Nero , Culinary Student and Babe Extraordinaire was planning all kinds of "stacked hors d'oeuvres" using them. Seriously, it's as if you've never eaten a tortilla before; they're that good. And Nightscotsman's chocolates were hors de concours. The man is a genius. Others will discuss the food in detail---I'm sleepy. Dean gave me a slice of his tongue, and it was the best I've ever eaten. (Yeah, yeah. )I ordered 15 hors d'oeuvres, (including two of what Nerissa once dubbed the PMS Special) and we each had our own plat principal. The bill came: $191.00 for sixteen people, almost more than we could eat, and just outstanding Mexican food. We left a very, very, generous tip. Oh, it was so good to see my Peeps again. The usual eGullet Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes happened. We took a case of beer. We returned with eight bottles of beer, half a bottle of tequila, a pound of Dean's sublime coffee ---meant for Ronnie, but Lou thought it was for him and stole it. Sorry, Ronnie! A bottle of Ferrand cognac, and a pound of Vosges hot chocolate---thank you Sue. And best of all, the company of fifteen extraordinarily smart, kind, funny bon vivants. We missed you, Matthew and Michele, Art, Bruce, Susan, Matt, Ann and eGulls everywhere. The Heartland rules, but Chicago Rocks the Hardest.

Ted: Yes, the entertainmnt level will be high and the food will be good---we can always pull up another chair. You won't have any trouble spotting us.

Do we pity or envy the other customers? The other customers will envy us. Actually, the other customers are a great slice of Chicago life, and everyone loves the food and the homey, laid back atmoshpere and inclusive clientele at NL. The fact that there are so many charming Mexican families there bodes well for the cuisine. Plus of course, the usual disaffected teens (eating the fries that the G man has recommended) cops on the beat, Chicago schoolteachers (a tough bunch) and assorted gringos and gringas like us. Wish you could join us.

OK, guajolote and His Official Girlfriend, Aurora. And Nightscotsman! Good grief, Neil, how could I have forgotten the Bearer of Chocolate, nice guy and Pastrychef to the very appreciative Heartland? (You other folks, eat your hearts out. Seriously. The man is an Artist and a Craftsman. You'll say you knew him when.) Yikes. Eighteen.

Dean kindly provided the address and phone number for Nuevo Leon on the very first post of this thread. Time: Shooting for 6:00 as a unfurl the napkin time. Because we expect the restaurant to be crowded, some of us will gather earlier to visit the liquor store, the pastry shop and to get us a table. For seventeen: We will be: His Sweetness Nero Fresser plus 2 Lady T. plus 2 Aurora Alex Dean Jim and Susan The Suburbans Us I hope I'm not leaving anyone out. If so, please shout. Manana!