maggiethecat

Well, 1/23 or 3/14 -- let's celebrate both! I made a savoury pie this summer, loosely based on Jamie Oliver's Fish Bake. You layer caramelized fennel and onions with salmon fillets, top with mashed spuds, bake. It was a crowd-pleaser. I can't believe I'm out of apples and pears -- maybe I can find some frozen fruit. I'm sharing the same snowy Chicago day as Anna, and pie sounds some good.

I agree, but not for the same reason. I find that big old handle clumsy -- too hefty in the hand. I have a few cheaper Y peelers I prefer.

Nancy, you're a trooper. Your logistics stagger me. Off the top of my head, why not some give them some Chicago cookin'? An Italian Beef sandwich, with "Sweet and hot" of course. It could be a lunch or a dinner.

I'd never had a Bugle in my life until about a month ago. I say this with some certainty because I'm sure I would have remembered them if I had. Salty, crunchy corny Paradise. So addictive I decided on the spot that Bugles would be a once a year treat. I fear their allure.

Macy's is running a sale on Fiesta Ware.

I remember that Sidecar, Alex. Divine. (And to think I was introduced to the Sidecar by my abstemious and girly mother-in-law!) I get really tired of pre-prandial wine, though the patio scenario always works. I just have reservations about cocktail culture -- it seems owned by the same kind of peeps who were sound equipment geeks in High School. I loved those geeks, bye the way. I should probably start a different thread, but here seems a convenient place. Cocktails change my drinking habits, sure. If they're good I drink too much. If they're complicated, I get to hear the mixologist drone on. (I'm married to a former bartender -- I know!) I understand the artistry and craft that goes into the creation of a cocktail: The Violet Hour knocked my hose into the bar sink. I think in the end, I prefer a martini or a sidecar or a great margarita. I'm a three -four ingredient girl. I guess I just want my delicious hooch, whether it be gin, bourbon, scotch or rum. I love you guys, appreciate what you do, but having to parse six ingredients before dinner is exhausting. To respond to the topic: my kind of simple, hooch-ful cocktail of choice is a friend or an enemy. And yes, a real martini before dinner is better than a glass of Sauvignon Blanc. But I pay. And all that muddling makes me sleepy.

May I gently suggest that you're depressed-- post holiday let down and a long winter ahead.? Here is my chronicle of many of your symptoms: I Hate to Cook. Your food is good -- it just tastes like ashes right now. Failing the beach, the Mai Tais and Raoul the pool guy, I suggest you buy a cookbook from a style or cuisine you've never tried. Thai, English, Latvian. Just trying the new will make you appreciate what you can do.

Please take one for the team, give it a go, and report back, Parsley and gin -- that sounds like herbal overdose, but how could it be bad?l Helen, i love all things tempura, and that's a terrific idea.. I'll buy more parsley tomorrow.

Yikes, I just found this bella -- Marcella's first book. In my twenties and thirties I was teaching myself to cook, it seems.

Pierogi, I love all of them. And I love that there's some kind of gastronomic DNA in your books. Duct tape, is it? Brilliant.

I found this recipe, Italian Winter Herb Pasta, while cruising epicurious.com for other reasons. I printed it out because it had a high parsley content (one cup) and I had the thyme and rosemary growing on my windowsill, and the noble sage still soft and alive through the snowdrifts. I'm also partial to buttered, garlicky toasted breadcrumbs. At first bite it was "Oh, too herbal --maybe too much rosemary." On fifth bite I was regretting we hadn't made more. The pic doesn't show how much parsley laid down its life in this bowl, but it was lots. I'm bursting with health.

Thank you, highchef. I felt the same way when it got tossed in though the virtual transom. All true, andthe writing!

Yes, MizD, that was my intention. If I added my collection of , er, vintage pre-owned books, it would get a lot uglier around here.

That's quite the cocktail of erotic double- entendres and euphemsim, Toby.

Wow - I am really outing myself here, but that's how my grandmother always made her fruit salad. Actually I am the one who does it with cut up fresh fruit, miracle whip and walnuts. We all love it ! She made it with canned fruit salad and miracle whip. Not as good, but we all scarfed it down every Christmas. Kim ← Well, I suppose Waldorf Salad falls into this mayo niche, but I love it,

Hey, Cour: A limerick's typically a one-off verse, but I can't imagine why it couldn't be as long as Beowulf. In fact, I think B would have been improved in limerick form. The rhyme scheme isn't iambic pentameter -- just check out the example. I think maybe trochees are involved. But just think : Duh duh duh duh duh duh duh duh. And send us a limerick!

Yeah, I had "Joy" in paperback for years and realized that I might as well use it as a disintegrating doorstop, so mangled and messed up it was. Got the hardcover 15 years ago, and it's intact, but filthy. You can only turn to the biscuit and popover recipes so many times before the book solidifies.

OK. I'm still thinking about this amazing recipe. Are the slicks separate when you serve the dish, or are they in a sorta lasagna layer? Or are they dumpling-like?

That's 12 cups of flour? Wow. I've never come across a recipe just like this. Whence it's origin -- sounds vaguely Amish or Jewish. And congratulations on getting your mitts on a treasured family recipe. (And may your mother make a speedy recovery.)

Great jumping jellybeans! (Um, did you get a taste?)

Funny you should bring up my adored Jane Grigson, Helen. Her "Food With the Famous" has no back cover and a few pages missing. I love that book. (The "Vegetable Book" is still in decent though splattered condition.)

I decided to check out my cookbooks to find something blush-making to report on the Most Embarrassing Cookbook topic. To my surprise, I couldn't find anything truly squirm-inducing (We sold a bunch of books to Half Price Books before Christmas, and did some strict winnowing.) But boy, did I find some ugly books -- and I'm not referring to their design, but to their condition after spending twenty-five years in my kitchen. Below are but two of my victims; one cover between two books (the back of Vol. II. )It would be kinder just to shoot them, and replace, but the pages are still stuck together at Paris-Brest. It was the first dessert I made my mother-in-law. Do you own cookbooks that should be slouching towards the knacker's yard? I'd love to see your pictures and hear your stories.

I've been working with a chipped paddle for five years. We live.

It is, and I think it's unusual at this high level. Call me paranoid and out of touch, but I can't imagine Keller and Kunz swapping roles for a week. What is it about you Cocktail Gods that makes the free and fair exchange of information so natural and desireable?

Agree with almost all, Maggie. I just don't get the cold mashed potatoes thing - but I guess I gotta try them...I normally form cold mashers into patties, and fry 'em. I do, however, love a cold baked potato, cut in half and sprinkled with sea salt. Great, healthy snack food. ← Well, of course hot mashed potatoes in any of their delightful life forms are better than cold mashed potatoes. But, at one in the morning, dipping my finger into the leftovers ... s'good.