maggiethecat

Thank you Mr. Cutlets---I'll never be again ashamed of my reluctance to eat Trigger. If a Confirmed Carnivore and Goat Guru like you says horsie is horrible, I'll gladly take it as Gospel.

Oh yes indeedy-do, Megaira! These were the first "Christmas Cookies" I ever made, and I doubt that even half the recipe made it past my mouth and into the cookie tin. Baker's Coconut. Yum. I haven't eaten one in thirty years, but I just might have to whip up a batch --though it would be quicker, I suppose, to simply mainline the sugar.

Dear Mr. Cutlets: I can't believe all dead horses go to the glue factory. What happens to our equine friends? I haven't seen any Boucherie Chevalline signs here in Chicago. And what does horsemeat taste like? Seems to me the fat/lean ratio on a horse is not high enough to prevent it from being tough.

A Canadian original. God: Chocolate, coconut, custard powder---a serious sin. Post your recipe, ling!

I think you're right, Woody. We cooked from the Southern volume last week. And we're simmering the pistachio studded stuffed veal breast from "The Cooking of Italy" tonight. These books never disappoint.

Edsel: It makes me very happy to welcome you to eGullet. In the year I've been a member I've learned so damn much, and met so many truly great people. 49, 398. Wait for awhile before you open your mother's collection. It can't ever be easy, but with the tears you'll also feel very close to her. And please: count and report back.

Welcome to eGullet, Barb. I'd love to pretend that you've misplaced 69 cookbooks, but I'll curb my enthusiasm and wait for a legit 50,000. 49,041.

Great Balls of Fire! As my mother visits MF about three times a week she doubtless has a fridgeful. Good God, folks: that's a huge cabbage for about 3 cents US.

Coffee splattering my monitor. When will men ever learn? Samosa, ice cream and donuts, what a great PMS trio. With the addition of a big slab of red meat, and subbing red wine for the Dr. Pepper ...

Actually, Jimnyo, I have one in the fridge. But five cents a pound? No way. I'll ask my mother to mail a few from Ottawa.

Bless you JAZ! That's why I love eGullet---smart people who not only come up with good ideas, but actually remember the cookbook libraries of fellow eGulls! I will be making this dish. Thanks, Janet.

I beg to differ. This is a doctoral thesis on hash (you could transmogrify this and sell it five places, Steven!) I am so there about using cooked potatoes in hash; it's really the only way. Baked is best, but leftover boiled, or even spuds nuked till done will make a huge difference in the quality. And I have crowded the pan a few times and learned the hard way. If I need a lot of hash, I'll use two pans. I had one leftover tilapia last night, and it will be combined with a tin of canned salmon from the pantry , leftover mashed potatoes,onions, herbs, etc. Fish cakes in the freezer!

The financial situation couldn't be much more dire right now, but thanks to Valli's Market on Golf Road in Des Plaines we won't starve for awhile---if we can pay the gas bill, that is. It's proof again: If you live in the Chicago area and shop at a chain supermarket, you are a chump. For $34.79 I have: One liter of EVOO (not looking too closely at the sex lives of these olives) 28 oz. can of (Italian) San Marzano tomatos 1 head (1 1/2 pounds) cauliflower Ditto broccoli 2 lbs. semolina 1 pound loaf of "Italian" bread 1 head celery 1 Fuji apple (deceased) 1 1/2 pounds Sara Lee smoked turkey breast Veal breast (about five pounds) 1 1/2 lb. ground veal 2 whole (gutted, scaled) tilapia 1 1/2 lb. Barese sausage 1 lb. Mezza Rigatoni At a busy deli counter ask the guy for the ends...the bits too small to be sliced. 1 1/2 lb. Krakus ham 1 lb. smoked ham 1 lb. Meunster cheese Thinking about posting the family silver on eBay, checking the pantry, and doing menu planning off the top of my head, I envisage: -Pasta v/tomato vodka sauce -Veal breast stuffed w/ground veal, spinach and pistachios -(Veal stock with the bones and some sad shrooms from the bottom of the vegetable drawer.) -Meatloaf with 1/2 pound of the ground veal and the pound of ground chuck in the freezer -Quiche with some of the ham ends and odds and ends of cheese -Ham loaf. Snicker not! "Cooking from Quilt Country" provides a recipe for Ham Loaf it says is astonishing, and this book is 100% reliable. -Two meals at least from the sausage. with lunch leftovers. -Gnocchi alla Romana, with the semolina. -Jim Dixon/Amanda Hesser Baked Cauliflower (See eGra) -Any suggestions appreciated for the damn broccoli. Probably there will be a soup with the stems and some of the choufleur. We have ten pounds of Idahos, onions, garlic, etc. The tilapia is marinating in EVOO, lemon juice, the last of the garden herbs and red pepper flakes as we speak. It will be baked at 500. I know you guys can do better. Can you give me some sterling ideas on how to strech this thirty-four bucks worth of grub over a few weeks? Sterling. Sigh. That Hester Bateman serving spoon should fetch a couple of hundred dollars. Surely.

48,784. You're a Woman of Steel, JAZ. I admire your resolve--and I suspect you're using that employee discount on other cool stuff.

Come to think of it, the French word for jam is confiture.

What! No office copy of "Larousse!" To be fair, Schneider calls this method "a radical departure." She also makes the point that the legs are cooked in their own fat. Storage: Five days in the fridge, two months in the freezer.

No added fat? That is revisionist. But is it confit? I'm not sure, Archie. She does, however ,give instructions on how to store the rendered fat, so you'll have it around next time you make real confit. (She has a recipe for "homemade margerine" that sounds pretty good. Sorry...back to confit.)

Kangkong kangkong kangkong. It's fun to say! (Might be the new "spatchcock.")

Miscellaneous Confit Chat: Has anyone tried Sally Schneider's "Revisionist Confit" from "A New Way to Cook?" She seasons the duck gams, then seals them tightly in a foil package (hm...aluminum cryovac?) and bakes them at 350 for two hours. She "guarantees a lean but tender confit."

48, 729. Yes, Hannah...it's got the cooking intellect and the cooking juices bubbling. Thanks to MatthewB, who was so enthusiatic in showing me his copy of "A New Way to Cook" last weekend. Her confit duck method sounds fascinating. Geoff: What the hell, renew those familial connections! I've found my cousins have become very interesting grownups.[Moderator note: This topic continues in Cookbooks – How Many Do You Own? (Part 2)]

Amen! I remember lurking here waiting for Les Chevres to open. I'm delighted in your success, and promise myself a meal there next time I'm back in Montreal.

Geoff: How cool...I remember your grandfather's show. And what a kick to find a family recipe is his cookbook. One more for me: "New Way to Cook." 48, 718.

Welcome, mfk. I'm honored to have this gem be your second post.

What passes for a BBQ pork sandwich here in Illinois sports a sauce like Open Pit. Gee, I always liked them just fine. But I've been introduced to the tart glories of vinergary pulled pork in the last six months, both here and at Varmint's Pig Pickin', Now I can understand just how partisan folks get about their local version of Q. I find--not surprisingly-- that the NC sauce lets the flavor of the pig shine through, and yes, cuts the delicious grease a tad. Help me out, thrack. I'm just a Yankee Gal longing to know more 'bout Q. Tell me how you folks do it in Memphis.

Vital: Thank you. I love the food court at the Diho market too. Otherwise, these are mostly new to me, and mostly unknown. I especially appreciate the mention of Bybys, which should be within a five minute drive. I knew that (duh!) there must be good Mexican in West Chicago, but I didn't know where to find it. And I'll definitely be checking out Loung Loi.