Dave the Cook

What, pray tell, are "sorrell boots"?

Right! Until they discovered the magic of varietal marketing, Gallo made blends. I used to use a lot of Carlo Rossi, too. I also use a lot of vermouth, by way of St. Julia. But sometimes it's too herbal, so I steal from Mrs. Dave's stash.

Given a preference, I'll go for a blend over a straight varietal. Like tommy said, there's a magnification effect, and somtimes I notice a zin or an assertive Italian hijacking the flavor. Having said that, I'll also agree with tommy that you should avoid thin wines. For instance, there's almost always a bottle of Ca del Solo around, but I don't use it if the sauce will simmer for a while. It just gets sharp and acrid. Likewise for oaky wines -- sometimes I wonder if wouldn't have been better off just throwing a piece of firewood in the pot. This goes for whites as well; I don't cook with chards because they're almost almost always oaked. I'm not sure I wouldn't use white wine in red gravy, depending on the eventual usage. Time to stop preaching.

Crab Cakes Not the elegant simplicity of the very best crabcakes, but a good, slightly spicy variation. Great if you can't find or can't afford the very best lump crabmeat, because the seasonings not only create a fairly authentic Maryland version, but the preparation covers up for less than perfect crab meat. This was the situation when I devised this recipe for a niece's rehearsal dinner, and I had to make 96 of these things. This recipe makes 16 2-1/2 ounce cakes. 9 slices white sandwich bread 2 lb blue crab meat, picked over for shells 1 c milk 2 T mayonnaise 2 tsp Dijon-style mustard 2 tsp Old Bay seasoning 2 tsp baking powder 2 eggs, beaten lightly 2 T chopped parsley 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce juice of 1/2 lemon salt and pepper vegetable oil for frying 1. Put the four slices of bread in a bowl, pour milk over it, and let soak 15 minutes. 2.Take the other five slices of bread, tear into pieces and process to crumbs in a food processor or blender. 3. Squeeze bread until almost dry. Transfer to a large bowl and break it into bits with two forks. 4. Add crab meat, mayo, mustard, Old Bay, baking powder and parsley. Stir until well mixed. 5. Combine eggs, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice and a littel salt and pepper. Add to bowl and stir to combine. 6. Divide mixture into 16 parts and shape into cakes about 1/2-inch thick. Work gently, or cakes will be too dense. At this point, cakes may be covered tightly and refrigerated for up to four hours. They need to be refrigerated at least 20 minutes. 7. Dip cakes into bread crumbs and pat gently to make crumbs adhere. 8. In a large frying pan, heat 1/8 inch of oil over medium-high heat. Fry cakes in batches until golden, about 2 minutes per side. They will hold in a 170 F oven for a little while, but serve as soon as possible. Keywords: Appetizer, Seafood, Intermediate, American ( RG149 )

Black Bean Relish A simple but colorful side for grilled or barbecued chicken, pork or beef. It may seem like lots of ingredients, but it's really quite simple. 1-1/2 c cooked black beans, drained 2 c beef or chicken stock 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped medium 1 c whole corn kernels, fresh or frozen 1 medium yellow onion. chopped medium 3 large cloves garlic, minced 2 tsp whole cumin seed 1 tsp dried oregano (preferably Mexican) 1 T ground ancho chile powder 1/2 tsp ground chipotle powder 1/2 tsp salt 2 tsp vegetable oil 1. In 2-quart saucepan over medium heat, toast the cumin seeds until aromatic. Remove cumin to cool. 2. In same pan, repeat toasting with combined chiles. Remove to cool. 3. When spices are cool, grind cumin in a spice grinder and combine with chile powders and oregano. 4. Add oil and turn heat to medium-high. Saute onion until just slightly soft, then add garlic and salt. Saute for about three minutes until garlic is aromatic and soft, and onions are translucent. 5. Add half of red pepper and saute briefly until mixed. 6. Add beans, stock and spice mixture; reduce heat to low. Simmer until stock is reduced by 1/2, about 15 minutes. 7. Add corn and remaining red pepper. Simmer for five minutes, or until corn is heated through. 8. Adjust seasoning. Serve. Keywords: Side, Easy, American ( RG148 )

Everything Nightscottie said. But don't simply saute them in bacon fat, add the crumbled bacon.. Pretty good as well with some thinly sliced apple and/or pear sauteing along with them. This is exactly what I do, except I omit the Brussels sprouts.

I see a lot of Japanese rice here. It's in big bags that are impractical for me, so I have never bought any. What are some brands to look for? I'd like to compare prices.

Recipes, you bastard.

Men, too. We all -- men and women, and we were all old enough to know better, but it had been a very rough few months, and we needed to blow off some steam -- kind of walked around looking at nothing but our shoes for a couple of days. Figuratively, anyway.

1). It is an exceedingly enjoyable set of syllables, eminently suitable for the inevitable inebriated slur. 2). The female members of the contingent actually seemed to enjoy enunciating the name more than the men, who, up to a point, were rather sheepish about it.

Slippery Nipples, many of which were collegially consumed after the successful consummation of a particularly tortuous merger of clashing corporate cultures. Buttershots and something else that was never revealed to me. Made me forget to shave one side of my face the next morning.

I would do a Quik dip on the PB, then a dollop of Cool Whip, and a final dusting of more Quik. Double chocolate and a nice presentation to boot, even if it's just on the tip of your finger. Presentation is everything.

J'accuse, M. Klink. I am convinced that you guys got more than I did, and I am officially insinuating that Klink is sucking up.

Chalk it up to college-age hormones and that second-date over-the-top need to impress, and "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing." It involved canned tuna, fresh asparagus, hollandaise sauce and Rice Chex, baked in a cast-iron skillet. It actually wasn't too bad.

I am remiss in posting, as we had Klink's sausage late last week. First, I agree with Fat Guy that this is an exemplary product. I have never had sausage like this. And I mean that in the nest possible way. I agree with Jason that it is crumbly, and now I wish that I had saved some for a breakfast. However, what we had disappeared at dinner, with just a little left over for lunch the next day. (Raves over the aroma were heard from the next cubicle.) Actually, I think the pepper level was fine. If anything, I would say just a little less garlic. But I also find that pepper and garlic are difficult to segregate in a finished dish -- I think there is a complex interaction between the two. Fat Guy may be right. So I vote for further experimentation.

In practice, pretty much only salt and sugar end up flavoring the interior of the meat. If you brine a pork loin roast, then cook it and excise a bite from the center, you'll find that herbs, spices and oils don't seem to get inside.

ooo. open for debate. many suggest that anything other than salt and sugar won't make its way into the meat. i'm with them. if you want flavor, add it during the cooking process. brining is a chemical reaction of sorts that loosens up protein strands, and adds a bit of salt of course. that's my theory at least. Only water-soluble compounds will get past the cell walls. Anything else you add would act as a marinade -- not the same thing.

So Menard is gone? To where? And who has replaced him?

Since you mentioned a crockpot, I'll throw this in: on a recent thread, it was noted that root vegetables cook very slowly in crockpots. Not sure why. This is contrary to my (and others here) experience using conventional stovetop or oven braising. click-crock edit: something to do with time/temperature effect on lignin?

Why not?

"Long" is relative -- sorry if I was misleading. About 30 minutes at 300 F -- kind of a fast braise. But they have to be in a flavorful liquid. Oh, I see you've found something. Feel free to disregard.

I'm with the Colonel. Pork chops are like squid -- cook 'em real quick, or cook 'em real long. In between is usually disappointing.

One meaning of travel is simply to move or to pass from one point to another. Coincidentally, the OED cites Rutherford. Pfft! What's he know? Uncle.

No offense taken, G. It'll teach me not to think out loud, in public, after enough wine to make for sloppy thinking, but not enough to keep me from typing. Sorry to have snapped back. And "travel" is a useful expression, but also something of a pathetic fallacy, no? As for the question at hand, the answer seems to be, "Well, it's complicated."

Right. This is what I was after. Thanks, Janet As I recall, once heat is applied, the proteins coagulate in structures that are more net-like than they were originally, and this traps the moisture. And now my feeble brain recalls that I myself have already been through this: here.