maggiethecat

(Sorry...stupid double post due to confusion caused by cat walking on keyboard.)

Acht-ooly, had one last night. At a great little roadside joint in Blanco, Texas - the Sunset Restaurant & Bar - on the way back from Mexico. Yum. Ah hah! I think that we have decided what round steak wants to be when it grows up! BTW Jaymes...did you get that bean recipe? Would they go well with Chicken fried steak?

Vengroff: Thank you so much for your detailed description of CFS, the recipe and its raison d'etre. Next time the hated round steak is on sale, we definitely going to try this. Buttermilk. Hmmm. Jaymes: Any comments/additions, darlin'? Have you eaten one recently? A girl has to keep her strength up when debating a certain immovable object!

Lesley: I agree with you completely, including what you have to say about her take on weddings. Remember Life Before Martha? "Womens" and cooking mags were uninspired, ugly and blah. Her influence on simply the look of a magazine, let alone the contents, has been wonderful. My husband is a huge fan. We have almost the complete set of the mags, but he decided to use a couple of dozen to level the ground under the patio. Within a week he remembered something he wanted to check out. Under the patio. Apart from the food, we are gardeners, collectors and people who like to "do things with our hands." What a treat. She has an enormously talented staff. Lou almost had me talked into repapering the powder room with the monthly "what to Have for Dinner" insert cards. Almost. BTW: If you have young children I recommend Martha Stewart Kids. It is so enchanting that I actually buy it at the newstand, although my only kid is herself of childbearing age.

Dave: You utter wretch! I will be humming "Downtown" for at least three days now. However, as usual, you made me laugh, so all is forgiven. (Sorry about the mandoline wound. My husband wears its scars proudly. But then, he has run an index finger through a table saw.) Project: Thanks for reminding me of the uses of vinegar for tenderizing. Hmmm...perhaps a "Swiss Steak" sauerbratren-style? Ignorant Northener asking...and yeah, I'm sure there is a thread out there somewhere but I'm lazy. Chicken fried steak. I have never seen or tasted one. Is it breaded and deep fried? Can it ever be good? I'm assuming the good steak cuts are not used for chicken-fried steak.

Tonkatsu? You got it in one, Suzanne! That is the one and only purpose we have found for the thin-sliced pork chop.

Thanks you all for your great suggestions. The problem we've had using round steak in Asian dishes is that the meat has to be well nigh frozen in order to slice it thinly enough. FG mentions this and we'll give it another shot. And the marination. Jaymes: Your post brought my girlhood Thursday night dinners back to me. My mother called it Swiss Steak, and indeed, it was a big favourite with us kiddies. She always cooked carrots with the steak and served it over mashed potatoes. (It would take thumbscrews to make my Foodie Mother admit it now, but I believe a pack of dried Onion Soup mix was part of the sauce!)

True, dat! Perhaps it's because I tend to drink beer with food and I get full sooner as a result.

Thanks, Taboni. Maybe Salisbury Steak?

The whole pantry. When was the last time we used that cornmeal? May? Even if the check for bugs was negative, out it went. Ditto wild rice, cake flour, honey, ancient oatmeal. But I still hang on to twenty year old candied mimosa. Go figure.

Schwartz's was the scene of many a student meal for me. God, that smoked meat was good! The flavour. The crispy edges. The large selection of canned fruit nectars. Service? Well, grumpy. Ben's used to have a sign that proclaims that there Everybody was a Somebody. My sister-in-law observed that at Schwartz's the sign should read: Where Everybody is a Nobody. Sorry. Just a little nostalgia from an ex Montreal girl.

I've read all you Big Smarties going on about Aesthetic Theory, the Big Bang, Leni Reifensthal, The Sopranos. Now for something Really Hard. We were enjoying our braised short ribs (coffee, anchos..January "Gourmet") over polenta and started to talk about the meat one really sees daily at a (yes, some of us shop there!) Supermarket! The loss leader is frequently round steak. Big red lean bloody round steaks. What the heck do you do with a round steak? Can't broil it, fry it, grill it, sautee it, boil it, roast it or daube it. We have found only two acceptable uses. Pound it like mad and make oiseaux sans tetes/bracciole whatever. Or chop it with a knife for chili. I would be fascinated with any eGulleteers's suggestion for cooking this inedible but wildly popular cut. And while you're at it...how about the "Thin sliced"pork chops?

Many years ago (we drink a tad better now!) I dropped an empty two gallon Gallo bottle on my foot. Dinner party going on. Broke three toes. Difficult to explain at work the next day. Also difficult to walk.

Negronis...Yes! And I admire your courage in coming out for the smoked oyster. In the laste sixties/early seventies my mother's favourite bridge party/cocktail party nibble was smoked oysters wrapped in bacon and grilled. This is still an addictive and delicious Cocktail Treat! Be sure to have toothpicks on hand to skewer the oyster/bacon wrapup.

Funny, witty, charming, intelligent. I've read it twice and laughed twice. I'll accompany you to BlueHill next time if you don't want to dine solo. We can talk French, as all the Real Ruskies did!

Hensonille: thnks for your evocative post. Although my culinary upbringing was different, you have captured perfectly the experience and foods of your time. All that milk. I still say it's not a bad idea! And the red jello with fruit cocktail..THAT I remember!

Patrice: Excellent! I will recommend it to my Ottawa/St. Sauveur relatives. If you can find the time during an Opening (whew!) keep us informed, send us a menu, etc. Mykonos is gone? I've had fun there.

Excellent set of choices here. Add, perhaps, the fragrance and colour of my rose garden in full bloom, the softness of a baby's skin, a full choir singing Tallis. Or bacon and eggs! I would hate to have to choose among your examples. I can't believe there is a heirarchy of the senses. It's too personal, and too immediate to call. But I really love the triumverate of oysters, Callas and orgasm! I'll start shucking and crank up the CD player immediately.

Vengroff: Thanks for the lesson and the pictures. Very beautiful and informative, a veritable primer for this dish. We've done the tater crust on salmon with our mandoline, and it has been superb. What I especially want to thank you for is the idea for the mustard sauce. What a terrific idea. Thanks again.

Kim: We do a very close approximation of this without the braising. Cook the halved sprouts until done the way you like them. Saute your bacon and shallots, crumble bacon and drain all but a couple of tablespoons from the (largish) sautee pan. Add sprouts, a pinch of sugar and a splash(sorry I'm not specific about the quantities..it's really up to you) of vinegar. We like sherry vinegar. Add the bacon and serve it forth. As a matter of fact, my mother made this Christmas day. The braise sounds intiguing, but like you, I think the timing on the sprouts would be iffy.

This paragraph seems amazingly inept, if the author is trying to prove that food is not art. I won't weigh into the art vs craft thing, but Ms. Korsmeyer can't be eating very well. Food can express all those emotions and can move us the way music, painting, etc. do. Ephemeral, yes.

Thanks, Jin. I'll be rendering and chilling from this day onwards.

Now this is XXX Hard Core bacon love. You go! Does anyone have any other ideas for using leftover bacon fat? My mother tells stories about how bacon fat was hoarded like gold during rationing during the war.

I am really rather ashamed to admit this but: No Asian food that is not 1)deep fried or 2) involving lots of noodles. Raw fish (except oysters!) Scallops in any way, shape, or form. Unfortunately, they are my husband's favorite and he can prepare them in Recipes From Many Lands. Danish.

Bacon! Now We're talking! One of God's most perfect foods! And like Fred and Ginger, Antony and Cleopatra or Laurel and Hardy...its soul mate, the egg. Sunday breakfast/lunch is one of the most reliable and pleasureable things in my existence. (Yeah, well, I don't get out much!) The fresh squeezed OJ, the Sunday Times, the three strips of bacon, one egg sunny side up and two pieces of toast. In season, a grilled tomato from the garden. His Handsomeness abhores eggs. But if he's up first, he will oven-cook the bacon and pour off a bit of fat into a little frying pan so I can cook my egg. That's true love! I had forgotten about micro cooked bacon until two weeks ago when I was making a lunchtime BT(death to lettuce on sandwiches!) Works great for a couple of slices. And although Jin is undoubtedly right about seeking out the best butchershop bacon (as my mother in Ottawa does) I love bacon so much that whatever is on sale at the supermarket makes me so very happy on Sunday. Bacon slut, I guess!