maggiethecat

I guess some men get that far-away Look in their eyes when thinking of the Superbowl, a new riding mower, or the exchange rate on the Euro. Mine has it because: I can tell, because of all your kind input, it is going to be Sausage Weekend. With a little added wallpapering. God help me! I really thank you all for your input. You even who did the net research and pulled out your cookbooks. I've become lazy since becoming an eGulleteer. I could have done all that stuff you kindly did for me...own a couple of the books, even. But a spoiled eGulletteer assumes (usually correctly) that someone else will automatically know the answer. He's got his nose buried in Jane Grigson now, checking salt proportions. If I survive the weekend, I'll post our findings. Hmmm...some recipes red wine, some white. Some cumin, some not. Again, I'm touched by your generous help.

Vent away. That may take the cake for "Worst Service of the Week"...possible thread, with prizes? I absolutely have no idea why they did what they did. None.

Thanks all, particularly Dave, for the recipe and advice. Yes, it was the Mexican version we are looking for. Last time I looked, the casings in the fridge looked OK. The shelf life of casings is pretty much forever, right?

Exactly. Everything and nothing. Just something that tastes like something is now fine by me!

Susan.. What an absolutely beautiful post. That is, no irony at all, what life is all about. We sit on our patio every day weather permits. Smelling the flowers. Counting the fireflies. Saying hi to our friendly neighborhood skunks. Checking out the constellations. Talking. Grilling. Having coffee in the morning or a cocktail at night. Discussing the roses . We call it "Sitting Out" and it's almost sacred. The worst part of winter is not being able to "Sit Out."

Sparrowgrass; As I have indicated before, you have nothing but my respect and affection. But say it isn't so! Turtles? Poor frisky and doubtless, worm ridden squirrells? I am actually afraid to ask what pinkeye purple hulls are! Turtles? Gack!

We have desperately trying to purge Stuff to make room for more Stuff. Grabbed "The Silver Palate Cookbook" from the shelf, deciding it might be a good candidate for The Purple Hearts. First page I flipped open included a couple of good ideas. Oh well, back to the shelf. Does anyone else have a stack of "The Pleasures of Cooking" magazine, published by Cuisinart, Carl Sontheimer Publisher? If you do, you are admitting to une certaine age. His Handsomeness thought they might be candidates for the garbage until he flipped open a copy of the September/October 1985 issue. (I was wearing my hair in pigtails then.) POTATO MADELEINES He made them tonight to go with the pork tenderloin and brussel sprouts gratinee. Go pull out those madeleine pans you haven't used in yonks. Make garlicky mashed potatoes and throw in an egg. You have previously buttered the madeleine pans and pressed a thin layer of buttery fine breadcrumbs therein. Stick in the freezer for at least 15 minutes. Press the potatoes (one pound makes twelve) in little humps in each madeleine mold. Drizzle with butter. Bake at 400 until puffy and browned...about 25 minutes. Crispy, buttery, garlicky and cute as all get out.

Sorry, but your post reminds us that nostalgia is alive, kicking, and better than ever. Thanks, Jude.

My husband isn't an avowed Luddite...in theory, quite the opposite. But he's still mastering the touch-tone phone, so he asked me to post this. Anyone have a good choritzo recipe? Anyone actually made it? We've got all the equipment. If anyone has made it him/herself, we would love to benefit from your experience.

Steverino....Ba ding! Right on. Dave: Me? Tease? Moi?

Way to go, Snowangel! That's a monster job you accomplished. Virtuous you!

Welcome indeed. Keep us posted.

Yes! We scooped the Times. (Reading it, I did actually wonder if Big Eyes are watching us!) Now, if we start seeing articles about Georgian Cuisine and folkdancing, or beet vs. cane sugar, we'll know for sure!

Then, e opens it for you, I presume? Welcome! (Back!)

What I learned in college: Pitchers! (And yeah, I was an art history minor too!)

ROTFPWMP! Jim, I am very experienced in the phenom you describe. Ah well, chalk it up to culinary serindipity, a dinnertime Shangri-La, and wait for the next time. It sounds really good.

Absolutely spot on. I've gardened for years, and with the arrival of all the seed catalogues over the last couple of weeks, I am really itching to start! But by the middle of May...the weeds. The days to maturity guide on the seed packs seem mostly to work, at least here in Zone 5. Get your greens, peas and sweet peas (Floral. Don't eat! Poisonous!) early. Control yourself and let the soil really warm up for most of the other stuff. It actually seems to hurt, not help, if you plant too early. (And I break this piece of advice at least once a year! )

Have you tried Delia Smith's? I haven't, but my mother swears by it.

Splain, please. This Episcopalian wants to know.

Vengroff: Creative solution! But I have to say that few guests would brave our kitchen when my husband is in the midst of meal-making. "Off the purple!" is the family code. My mother has a (came with the house...not her choice!) prunely purpley kitchen floor, which is open to the breakfast room. White tile there. When she yells "Off the purple!" we scatter. Christmas dinner she relented somewhat. "Only three people allowed on the purple at any given time!" And when she says "Off the purple!" you had better believe she means it.

Um...Paul, Sweetie. Not that I disagree with you or anything, but which of us has had too many cocktails? Don't get how this follows. Or is it the Wayans reference? Don't remember who he is.

Carrots. Boiled /roasted /steamed /raw/ cake. Closely followed by Swiss Chard. I am declaring potatoes and onions hors de concours. Beets are always a royal PIA to prepare, any way you prepare them. Oh, the ruined aprons and tea towels! I buy a jar of pickled beets once a year , Christmas Eve, to accompany my tourtiere. I like them in a good vinegary salad. Otherwise, too bland and sweet. But not dirt tasting. BTW, we stopped growing and cooking beets after we read...somewhere, wish I could give the attribution, that beets have fewer nutrients of any kind of any vegetable. Even celery. The nutrients are in the greens, which I do like. Kim: Good for you anyway!

Simon: This is the first topic I read this morning, and it was if you were reading my (not that well-furnished)! mind. It's taken me all day to semi sort it out. Lord, the wonderful/terrible food waves I have lived through. Remember Adele Davis...all that wheat germ and blackstrap molasses? Blech. Then old style Cantonese, decidedly "non-Northern" or even close to authentic Italian. Steak houses. Bistro French and trattoria Italian, and yes! English food during the Grand Tour. Still love Scotch Eggs and Bangers and Mash. Marriage to a man even more food-obsessed than I. Making sausage and gallantines. Truite au bleu and Pithiviers. Ravioli without a pasta machine. Then, as my cookbook shelf attests: Cuisine Minceur. Books without number on Chinese and Japanese food. Charlie Trotter. Eric Ripert. Thomas Kellar. I can no longer eat Asian food..(except maybe an eggroll.) Those decades where we made it four times a week, and practically learned Mandarin from our conversations with the greengrocer! Bok choy makes me gag, as does the scent of sauteeing ginger...or even soy sauce! Tragic, and I mean it. I want a hanger steak and frites and a good salad. Potatoes in any of their delightful guises. Vegetables that are actually cooked. A duxelles omelette a la Elizabeth David. Montreal smoked meat. Oysters. Pea soup. Roast chicken. Rhubarb pie. I don't feel good about this. In our cooking prime my husband would arrive from the shops with a mystery basket and announce, beaming: "This week we will sample the foods of Upper Volta!" Or Albania. Or Lappland. Or B through C in Escoffier. And I would be terribly happy and excited. He is still that way, God love him. But for me, for awhile...just fresh, plain and lovely

This sounds relly good. Will give it a try at earliest possibilty. A question as to shape. Biscotti-like? Or would cutting them in petticoat-tail style wedges work?

Got that right! I probably won't get to it tonight, but if you should....you do know that your first duty is to document your experience here immediately!