teapot

This probably doesn't qualify but I made it up tonight and it sure was good. I'm calling it a Dacricot: rum, freshly poached apricot, ice and tincture of cardamom:

These may not be mouthwatering images but they are eyewatering. Those sausages look like something out of CSI.

The pecan pie recipe from Cook's Illustrated is firm -- the nuts are distributed evenly through the filling (no "veneer"). Their trick is to cook the filling, add the chopped (not whole), toasted pecans and pour it into a warm prebaked pie shell, then bake. Really, this is the best pecan pie ever!

I made this up today - dill pickle soup finished with a blend of cream and Stilton. Sounds weird but it was really delicious.

I had leftover pumpkin pie and pecan pie fillings, as well as some whipped cream. Threw them into the gelato machine, swirling in the gooey pecans at the end. Fanstastic -- better than the pies!

God help me I bought Midori. I have an excuse. I've been asked to replicate a thai chili watermelon "martini" that was exceptionally good. The ingredients were thai-chili infused vodka, sweet and sour, Midori, and watermelon juice. It was a beautiful drink (with no hint of green so the Midori must have been really muted). I haven't quite worked out the ratios (but loving the chili-infused vodka). But now I have a (thankfully small) bottle of Midori. Besides the above mentioned drink, is there anything good to be done with it?

Flour tortillas! I do most of the cooking at our vacation home too but I pretty much stay out of the kitchen at lunch time. Even people who don't know how to cook can make quesadillas or burritos. Plus scrambled egg burritos are a handy b'fast item for when you want to get out on the road/boat early. It's nice to make up in advance your dry ingredients for fave cookies (in a bag with instructions, nuts, chips or whatever) Bags of lemons/limes and avocados. Fresh herbs Cream Parmesan

I recently bought a bottle of Buffalo Trace, a Kentucky bourbon - I like it a lot but don't know if it qualifies as a craft distellery, I had never seen it before. I think it would be fanstastic with peaches.

While not a museum in the formal sense, Dehillerin in Paris is like a living museum of cookware. It's been supplying restaurant tools since 1820. It's where Julia Child bought her copper cookware and other equipment. Highly recommend you visit it: http://www.e-dehillerin.fr/en/index.php

[quote name='pastrygirl' timestamp='1340850487' post='1882953

I just got four stitches in my hand from a glass blender jar that I bumped on the edge of the sink. So, yeah, poly might be better . . .

This really struck a chord with me. I used to date a fellow who would ALWAYS choose the moment I was serving dinner to go out and have a smoke. I jettisoned him but am still often frustrated when we all sit down to dinner but someone has chosen that moment to go to the bathroom or freshen a drink. Everyone else is sitting there awkwardly waiting to make a toast or start eating. Drives me nuts. I've decided that the next dinner party I will not just announce that dinner will be served in five minutes but say, dinner will be served in 10 minutes so if you need to take care of anything before sitting down to dinner, please do so now.

When I go camping I always bring some cold cooked rice and fresh ginger from home (nutritional mixed grain rice). Then I can add all the bits and pieces from other meals and make fried rice (topped with a poached egg). Save those soy sauce packets for this! Pack orzo, some boullion cubes and Swansons canned chicken breast meat for a good risotto style pasta dish (cous cous is also good). Those packages of Zatarains rice mixes are a good base for a meal (rice a roni will do) .. .I usually add some cooked sausage (Aidells Habenaro Chicken -yum). Tortillas don't have to be refrigerated and incredibly adaptable. For an amazing camp dessert, make quesadillas using cream cheese and canned fruit pie filling (Oregon brand actually tastes like fruit not sugar). They should also bring some canned pintos and small cans of salsa verde or salsa fresca. Oatmeal, raisins, brown sugar . . .

I understand your point but fresh green curry paste doesn't taste anything like Mae Ploy's, it truly is worth the trouble. Soy sauce . . .fish sauce . . . oyster sauce . . . you get the idea.

I'm reviving this thread in order to share this scary salad from a restaurant in Idaho: Beet and Poached Pear Salad: Mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, radish, feta cheese, candied peanuts, champagne mango vinaigrette.

We loaded up the car with golf clubs, fly fishing gear, sourdough starter and the cat and drove from Seattle to our cabin in Idaho. Surprise surprise it started snowing and we barely made it over the pass. We've got several inches of snow at the cabin. Our Memorial Weekend meals have started off with lentil soup and crusty sourdough. Hopefully there will be some sun and bbq in the near future.

I adore grapefruit juice cocktails (the Mother's Ruin Punch looks so refreshing). One of my favorite combinations is: grapefruit juice, gin, a splash of Pernod, served on the rocks. I haven't given it a name -- any nominations?

Well, if we're talking about attempts at genetic engineering . . .

Hey, I just downloaded Jean-Georges' home cooking book on my Kindle (free from the library) and I'm really enjoying it. The recipes are interesting and accessible. Last night I made grilled chicken marinated in miso, lemon, rosemary, mint, garlic, chiles . . . Delicious, and it frankly had not occurred to me to mix rosemary'with miso. I have been downloading a lot of cookbooks (all from well-respected chefs) and Jean-Georges' is the only one I can see actually purchasing for my collection.

They're very easy, adaptable and delicious. I've done them over a campfire grill with a cumin/coriander/fennel seed rub; snd I've broiled and pan-fried them. Just season them to your taste and cook them on the rare side of medium rare. I recently grilled some lamb (not loin) and glazed it with pomegranite molasses, which is terrific on lamb.

I just walked into the room and Sandra Lee was on the tube. Instead of turning off the tv immediately, I was transfixed by her black and white themed kitchen and outfit. EVERYTHING was black and white - white pots with black interior, b&w utensils, there was even a b&w cloth fetchingly draped over the white bread box. There were those old fashioned paper silhouettes pinned to the b&w curtains, and bouquets of white roses and black flowers. Her hair was piled up about 6" above her head - tied back with a black ribbon. She was making some sort of glop involving canned cream of mushroom soup and cream cheese, dumped it into a bowl and described it as: "Elegant, sohisticated, fancy and super duper delicious." That just says it all doesn't it? I realize this is an old thread but I had to process this with people who would understand . . .

I agree, it's one of those flavors that people don't immediately recognize. You could alway put a couple of popped corn on it. Or maybe peanuts and a prize . I just made some vanilla yogurt gelato (why has it taken so long to discover how simple and good that is to make) and I swirled it with the blackberry lime sorbet. Oh. My. God. About as beautiful and refreshing as a cold creek on a hot day.

How about popcorn ice cream? It's not in DL's book but it's a simple premise. Make a batch of popcorn, lightly butterered and salted, and then steep 2 cups of the popcorn in warm milk/cream for an hour or two (much like DL's coconut ice cream and other flavors). Serve it with some salted caramel sauce. DELICIOUS!!!

It's spring and time to revive this topic. I've had great success with DL's recipes but was less pleased with the blackberry lime sorbet I made last night. While it was gorgeous to look at, the lime completely took over ( recipe calls for 3/4 of lime juice). You bite into this gorgeous deep red sorbet and only taste lime. Also, I love tart desserts but this one was super tart (I adjusted with someagave while it was churning). Blackberry and lime are good flavors together but I think 1/2 cup lime would be ample. By the way, David's sorbet don't call for a small addition of vodka. I find adding a neutral vodka keeps the sorbet from getting to icy. I just has a taste of the sorbet I made yesterday and it still had a creamy texture. DL suggests that since sorbets are more icy, you need to let them sit outside of the freezer for 5 minutes before serving. Try adding a tbls of vodka and you won't have that issue.

Try using a scissor, snipe almost to the level of the pan - You should get a lot of oven bounce. RIf you're bread is deflating when you slash it, I suggest that it is a sign that you are overproofing the dough. To get good openings (grigne) the bread should be somewhat underproofed (about 85% proofed).