patrickamory

Franci and BKEats : in totally different keys, yum!

Aha! Thanks CatPoet, Michaela and Andie! I did the cook-separately-combine method and the guests seemed to appreciate it. I will try your methods next time. I love barley and want to eat more of it.

Two good cheddars of course!

Hi CatPoet, fair enough! Sorry to generalize. I was thinking of some broad similarities in ingredients such as Baltic shrimp, various kinds of herring, meatballs and so on, but of course there are national cuisines and regional variations everywhere. Thanks for the reminder and please keep posting.

I'd like to cook a mixture of pearl barley and basmati rice for dinner tonight, but I'm worried that the time (and extra liquid) that it will take to cook the barley will overcook the rice. The pearl barley ratio to water is 1:3 and takes 45-50 minutes. The (soaked) basmati rice ratio is 1:1.3 and takes 25 minutes plus a 10 minute rest. I could have sworn I've eaten this combination before but googling turns up no useful information. There is an interesting kitchn article on mixing grains, about quinoa and rice, suggesting that you can average out liquid ratios and times… and apparently Koreans often cook short or medium-grain rice with barley. But basmati is different, and it seems to me, could easily get soggy and cakey in the time it will take for the barley to finish cooking. Any advice?

Slow-roasted chicken legs and a tagine of chickpeas and carrots.

CatPoet, thank you so much for this. I love Scandinavian food, especially the traditional sort, and your posts are fascinating and mouthwatering. Please keep them coming.

Loving this narrative - please keep it going!

My first experience with white teparys, a very interesting bean, doesn't really taste like anything else - assertive but very different from other white beans (and not at all lentil-like despite what I've read)… HERE I tried the John Thorne 6-hour method in a clay pot in a 200 degree oven and the beans didn't cook. Moved it up to 225 for 45 minutes, and then finally 250 for 30-45 minutes and then they got perfect. Very simple Tuscan prep. What I did like from Thorne was keeping them "fed" with only a minimum of water (and olive oil), just barely enough to cover, for the entire process. I'm used to using a lot more liquid. I think the beans were more infused with the aromatics and oil, and the broth richer, via this method. But back to 250F for me I think… in any event, a big vote for RG white teparys!

Tepary beans with parsleyed rice.

"Beats the hell out of kale" and I like kale!! Thanksgiving leftovers… this one shot on film

Okanagancook: I used ground lamb this time - I agree it's best, though not always easy to find quality ground lamb around here! Chana dal would have made a nice accompaniment...

The wine was a necessary accompaniment to cutting that amount of onions. Kheema mattar with (clockwise) lime pickle, yogurt, basmati rice with garam masala and parsley.

Steamed green beans and fusilli with tuna.

Five deer, oysters and other assorted fowl and seafood at the original Plymouth Thanksgiving in October 1621 I believe, which involved the 100 surviving English colonists led by Edward Winslow, plus king Massasoit and his followers, and 3 days of feasting. I like the challenge of trying to make roast turkey good (and it is possible)… but it's so about the stuffing (pork sausage, bread, onions, celery, sage, thyme, butter, paprika, apples and chicken stock), the gravy, cranberries, squash, beans, multiple fruit pies and the other goodness of the New England land. I'm so full right now and this is still my favorite meal of the year. Pictures in the Thanksgiving 2014 thread.

For me, Thanksgiving is like Christmas without the consumerist elements… Xmas was great as a child, but for an adult, Thanksgiving is a better holiday. All about food and extended family (many of whom I only see at this time of year), without the pressure of exchanging presents, and a really welcome 2 1/2-day break in the middle of the highly stressful fall. Here are some photos from today. Dry-brined 18-pound turkey about to be loosely sealed in aluminum foil rubbed with paprika butter. Then some serving and plate shots.

franci WOW!

Just make sure you're talking about the right type of bay leaf.

I recommend yellow eye beans, also known as butterscotch beans or Colonel Steubens. RG has them sometimes; Purcell Farms also has an excellent version.

After the dry brine, I do a combined steam-roast as follows: I stuff the turkey and rub it all over with softened butter, tying the legs together. I then it seal in a heavy-duty aluminum foil bag with air around it: Lay two sections of heavy-duty foil out in a cross, and rub the inside of the foil with plenty of softened butter. Wrap each segment loosely around the bird and crimp tightly so that no steam can escape. Roast at 450F for 2 1/2 hours; remove foil and reserve drippings for gravy, return to rack in pan and continue cooking for about 30 minutes at 375F until thermometer in thickest part of the thigh reads 155F. Remove bird and rest under tented foil for 15 minutes, then carve.

Don't know the cookbook, but enjoyed the memoir, and love the restaurant. An enduring favorite in NYC

and Paul, here is the 17th-century artichoke recipe. From François Pierre La Varenne, Le cuisinier françois, translated as The French Cook, third edition, 1673: Bottoms of artichokes Take off all the leaves, and cut them as far as the choke, then seeth them with broth, or with water, butter and salt; after they are sod, take them out of the broth, pick them, and take out the choke; then put them with butter and salt, and when you will serve, make a sauce of very fresh butter, one drop of vinegar, nutmeg, and the yolk of an egg to thicken the sauce; then serve so that they may be very white.

Paul: what kind of beans?

I always dry-brine my turkey and I highly recommend it. My method is: 12-14 lb turkey Remove giblets and reserve; melt any bits of ice crystals inside with lukewarm water from the sink Dry thoroughly with paper towels inside and out Rub 4 1/2 tbs kosher salt (David's Salt) (1 tbs / 5 lbs, plus extra if you like) all over inside and outside, by Tuesday at 6 PM, concentrating on the thickest part of the breast and thighs Leave in the fridge, open, on a rack over a roasting pan until 10 AM on Thursday morning