SylviaLovegren

If you're out by Midway, Boback's Sausage Co. is wonderful. They have a huge buffet with wonderful pork products along with lots of Eastern European vegetable dishes. Don't know if they serve breakfast, though.

Where does this number come from? This isn't the first place I've heard it, but it's about twice the strength I've been making my coffee at. When I tried a cup the other day at this ratio (20 grams of ground coffee for a 10-ounce cup), I found it to be unpleasantly intense. (Not bitter, just very strong.) Not to mention how expensive it is! Even the Specialty Coffee Association of America recommends only 1.6 grams per ounce in the cupping guidelines. So what gives? This seems to be the new thing in North American coffee brewing -- using way more coffee/cup than in the past. I find most coffees now much too strong. It drives me crazy.

I grew up in Western New York and we had them many times. Many times after boiling would put them in a frypan with some butter and lightly brown the skin, that made them really delicious especially with brown butter over them! Now this sounds like something worth trying!

Last week romaine was at $.99/head at our market. Yesterday it was $2.99. Got to get creative with salads.

This was the first year I tried letting the dough "age" (because I needed to make it ahead of time and then bake on a different day). I found no difference in the taste or texture, although perhaps part of the quick softening came from the aging rather than my overnight storage? Now that I think about it? Shorter me: no clue!

Lebkuchen needs to sit for a few days to soften up. If you try to eat them right after they're made, they are like rocks. You can use a slice of apple or something juicy enclosed with them to speed the process, but the honey is hydroscopic and will gradually absorb moisture from the air to soften the cookies. When I made them this year it was late and I couldn't muster the energy to pull out tins and put them away, so I just loosely covered the baking pans with foil and stored them in the cold oven overnight, planning to tin them in the morning. I was amazed to discover the cookies were already nearly soft enough to eat -- apparently covering them tightly immediately slows down the hydroscopic process. Sometimes laziness pays!

Wolfert's recipes are always good and well developed. I haven't used this particular book of hers but have tried many others and she is absolutely dependable.

What don't the customers like? Off flavor? Weird texture? Dried up?

Wow! I never saw anything like THAT in the Washington woods. Brobdinagian morels grow in the midwest! Are they tougher than smaller ones?

Strong Irish Breakfast with buttered oatmeal on the side. Or toasted buttered muffins.

When I was a kid my dad would get morels in the woods every spring. My mom never made them WITH anything, we just had sliced morels stewed in butter. All by themselves and served on a plate all by themselves. Every now and then, mom might stir a little cream into them but mostly it was the mushrooms all on their buttery lonesomeness. Eating them was a holy rite of spring. Not sure I ever ate anything better.

Try new things! I cook all the time -- for family, not for profit -- but have gotten into a real rut. And most stuff I make takes 30-45 min to go from zero to sitting down at the table. Surely, in these thousands of cookbooks I own, in the recipes I read online, there's gotta be something worth trying. egullet is certainly full of intriguing ideas -- the Manitoulin blog alone could be the inspiration for culinary fun and adventure!

Fat is lovely to keep to use to add flavor to other things. It's not lovely in the stock. I mostly always keep the fat from beef, chicken and pork -- it's yummy!

What does banana blossom taste like? And is "encocado" anything to do with coconut?

That's what I used to think. There's something funny about the insides of Limas -- the interiors will seize up into those "little rocks" if treated badly. But if you gently braise them in a bit of chicken stock or water, very very gently, they will be meltingly tender and luscious. Finish with good olive oil and lots of fresh pepper. Pretty yummy. But boil them hard and they'll be...hard. And astringent.

We don't eat out much except at pubs or ethnic restos, so I don't see a lot of trendy stuff. But a friend took me out to lunch today at a trendy bistro. Every dang course was sweet! i had a squash soup -- that came with candied pecans and sweet potato chips and tasted like warm pumpkin pie filling. Next we had ricotta fritters -- which came with raisins and were drizzled with honey. Then a salad of arugula and goat cheese, which had candied grapes and glazed pears. I don't mind an occasional sweet touch, for a change, but this felt like dessert with vegetables. A big miss.

You use beet for flavor? Or just for color? Can't imagine beet flavor with chocolate, but maybe I'm small-minded!

And I want to know what it is!

What happens to gelatin when it's cooked? How would you add it?

Agree that the Turkey Hill is surprisingly good for store bought. Whole Foods has a brand in glass bottles that was really good, but don't remember the name. I've been making homemade in the blender with raw but washed, free range eggs. 4 eggs, 1 cup cream, 2 cups milk, splash of brandy or rum (my men folks don't like booze in their nogs, the big sillies), 1/2 t vanilla, couple scrapes of nutmeg, 1/3-1/2 cup sugar. Blend well, then chill. Stir or reblend when serving, top up with choice of booze and a bit more nutmeg. I'm very pleased by the taste and texture. I'd like a bit more alcohol in it, both for taste and to make me happier about the raw eggs, but no reason YOU couldn't add it.

Would love to see it! Thanks! I came up with this years ago because all the commercial brands are too sweet and fake tasting for me. Basically, it’s a thin crème anglaise (stirred custard). The lightly-whipped cream finish is what makes it work. eggs, 4 lg sugar, 3/4 c (divided) nutmeg, 1-1/2 tsp (divided) salt, 1/4 tsp milk, 5 c (divided) vanilla extract, 1 tsp bourbon, 2 tbsp (or dark rum, southern comfort, amaretto, etc.) heavy cream, 1 c (divided)Beat eggs; blend in sugar (reserving 2 tbsp for Step 3), salt, 1 tsp nutmeg and 2 c milk. Measure out another 1 c milk. Cook egg mixture over a heat diffuser or double boiler, stirring constantly, until lightly thickened, 170 to 175 degrees. Remove from heat and stir in third cup of milk. Pour into a two-quart bottle. Add vanilla, liquor, 1/2 c cream and remaining 2 c milk. Chill overnight, stirring occasionally for the first few hours. When ready to serve, whip remaining 1/2 c heavy cream with remaining 2 tbsp sugar until thick and frothy but not stiff; stir into eggnog. Sprinkle servings with a dash of nutmeg. Makes about 1‑3/4 qt. Spiked Eggnog: Chill a bottle of bourbon, rum or other spirit and pass separately. Each person may then add as much (or little) as he or she desires, a pony shot (2 tbsp) being typical. Extra Rich: For an even richer eggnog, increase eggs to six. Reduce milk to 4 c and increase cream to 1-1/2 c. (I reserve this version for Christmas eve.) Thanks! Will try it directly!

In the 70s there was a big fad for making Tom & Jerrys from a homemade mix that was kept in the freezer, based on ice cream, eggs, brown sugar and spices.

Sounds yummy! I'm interested in the N.S. fruitcake -- would love to know about it. We discussed it a bit in the Traditional Foods of Nova Scotia thread. This is what mine looks like (and that's bourbon vanilla ice cream there with it.) This year's cakes are aged in Ron 2300, which comes from a small distillery in Cuenca. 2300 is the altitude in meters of the ageing caves; it's fabulous and more similar in character to a slightly sweet brandy than it is to a rum. Beautiful picture, delicious sounding recipe -- and the thread is tantalizing. Can't wait until I have some time to really look through it. Thanks!

Sounds yummy! I'm interested in the N.S. fruitcake -- would love to know about it.

I find that if you cook pea soup with the lid on the pot, the peas puree themselves. I don't know why, but it works. It works to some extent with other legumes, but split peas just seem to disintegrate very quickly with the lid on