patrickamory

re: beans. Certain beans I think are better in a pressure cooker - e.g. chickpeas. There's a level of creaminess that I'm not sure can be attained by any other method. However (even though I do use the Russ Parsons non-soak method sometimes), I think you should always soak beans before pressure-cooking them. Add a tablespoon of oil to the water before closing the PC. Cooking time is then 7-9 minutes depending on the bean, followed by slow release.

I will absolutely not scream and run away! My mother started off her mac and cheese with a roux and then added Velveeta!

Shelby those three dishes look perfect in every way Care to share any mac and cheese secrets? (and I've made a note of your bierocks recipe… also curious about CatPoet's recommendation to leave out sugar entirely from the dough… hmm, I will experiment)

(re: marinara) - probably all stuff that everyone here knows but: 1 heat up the garlic and basil in the oil from room temp, rather than adding them to hot oil 2 do not allow garlic to brown 3 cook sauce no longer than 30 minutes 4 add a little starchy pasta water to the sauce toward the end of the pasta cooking 5 finish the pasta in the sauce 6 pecorino romano instead of parmigiano essentially some lessons learned from the polpette di nonna (2, 3 and 6) combined with recommendations from other sources (1, 4 and 5).

I think I've figured out this marinara thing. Pasta was vermicelli from Molino e Pastificio in southern Switzerland. Despite the last photo this was devoured to the final drop.

The phone / camera thing sounds completely plausible. We've all seen it in action - we've probably all been responsible to a greater or lesser degree. There's no question it has to change the dining experience for everyone involved, often for the worse. But… what restaurant is this? As a New Yorker my over-rationalization radar immediately went up. There are precious few restaurants around in 2014 that were good in 2004 that are still as good now as they were then - sadly. That's the way this city's restaurant scene works. I'd love to know who this is.

CatPoet too fragrant! You don't hear that complaint too often. Have you tried the kheema with fried onions from Madhur Jaffrey, An Invitation to Indian Cooking? A regular in this household. Best.

In New York, you can also get goat at Eataly. But there are many purveyors. In Boston, it is available at one of the Haymarket butchers.

When I lived in a small town in England 1980-81, there was a stand that boiled the burgers. They were mysteriously tasty so I wonder if they were actually deep-fried and my teenage self wasn't paying close enough attention to the liquid from which they emerged.

Crumpets and (English) muffins are very different things.

Sea Island red peas. Soaked overnight and drained. Simmered an equal mixture of ham stock and chicken stock, added the drained beans along with onion, celery, garlic clove, bay leaf, a pork neck bone and some homemade Jamaican curry powder. Back to a simmer, then into a 250F oven for about 2 hours. Removed, seasoned with salt and about half a finely chopped habanero, returned to oven for 20-30 minutes. Blended a portion of peas and liquid and returned to pot. Removed and discarded vegetables and aromatics. Added sliced serrano ham and freshly minced habanero. Served on buttered carolina rice. It's hard to overemphasize the depth and complexity of this dish - earthy but with the subtlety of bitter chocolate and the aroma of juniper. That only scrapes the surface actually. Anson Mills does it again, or maybe I'm still just learning about the intensity & levels of flavor of legumes. Please try it.

I find vin jaune closer to dry sherries, while amarone has a sweeter quality - let us know how it goes next weekend!

I don't know. To me these wines are the complete opposite of one another!

If the corn is fresh (ideally within an hour of being harvested), the less done the better.

Norm what is the Japanese fried chicken recipe, if I may ask? Paul stunning pork belly.

dcarch thanks - and I had to laugh! brilliant. Paul I tried not rinsing the meats this time and it was just as good. so I think that part of the recipe can (thankfully) be discarded.

William Colsher incredible looking pizza. Il Casale meatballs on Ternetta vermicelli.

I went recently and was not impressed.

CatPoet I'm pretty happy with my system but you've got me intrigued. I will give it a try next time!

If you have a car, you're 10 minutes from Flushing which has an incredible variety of authentic Chinese restaurants from every region.

CatPoet I roll the lemons hard on the countertop to make them loose and juicy inside, then puncture them all over about 30 times each with the trussing needle before inserting into the chicken.

Beautiful meals everyone. Roasted pepper salad again (orange pepper this time - the different colored peppers do taste different when roasted), no anchovies. And roast chicken.

Doesn't like Wensleydale! That ruined the relationship in Wallace and Gromit

Soba - best eG FoodBlog that wasn't officially a FoodBlog! The bookstore reminds me of Bonnie Slotnick's in the Village btw. Look at that shelf of Good Cooks!

Soaked scarlet runners overnight. Sautéed onions, crushed garlic, fifel puma, chopped sage and hyssop in olive oil in clay pot for about 8 minutes. Added beans, salt and soaking water to cover, brought to a simmer, then put covered clay pot into 250 F oven for 3 hours. Removed most of the beans with a spider, boiled down the remaining liquid while crushing the remaining beans to thicken, re-added the rest of the beans with more salt and back into oven for 20 minutes. Served on top of dilled rice, with habanero puree and more hyssop leaves: Marinated Murray's chicken thighs in a mixture of chopped shallots, salt, dried Greek oregano, sage, hyssop and sweet paprika for about 4 hours. Removed marinade and sautéed in an enameled Dutch oven in plenty of ghee until shallots were soft. Removed shallots, then added thighs and browned on each side for about 5 minutes. Re-added shallots, turned heat to very low, covered, for 30-40 mins. Removed food from pot, poured off the fat, returned to high heat, added some vermouth and deglazed, scraping and boiling the juices down to a syrup for the sauce.