Mottmott

I love baking with Plugra. Others can speak to what the technical advantages are, why less water in the butter gives a better pastry, etc. But why do you ask "is it worth it?" Go to Trader Joes, it's $3/lb, which in my part of the country is as inexpensive as you can hope for.

That recipe for Mako shark sounds good. And I suspect it can accomodate other fish as well. As it's tomato season now: How do you store your roasted tomatoes? I think I might try that this year. Suvir's tomato chutney canned in 1/2 pint jars sounds like something we could add to our singles' fare repetoire. I do a variation of your tartlets but instead of making a final recipe I make up and freeze more basic elements such as the pate brisee, frangipane, caramelized onions (for pissaladiere), etc. Sometimes I will cut out the dough in rounds the sizes I think I will want, freeze them flat on a sheet pan, then store them in a zip lock separated with parchment or plasticwrap (like the flour tortillas I sometimes keep on hand) so I can access them one by one. Just be sure to put something firm on the top and bottom to protect them from breaking. (A piece of cardboard will do, or if you're compulsive about where things came from you can use the rounds made for cake bottoms.) That way you can whip up one little tart at a time. Also, when making a dessert just for myself, I'm likely to dispense with a tart pan, just fluting the edge of the dough to form a rim, then slicing up an apple (such as a Granny Smith which isn't too juciy), pear, etc. sprinkling with sugar, honey, grated lemon rind, a few nuts, and a pat of butter - whatever's about - or make a tart tatin. And if you keep some cake in the freezer, it can easily serve as the base for a quick trifle, drizzled with some sherry or liqueur, with a little fresh fruit, nuts, and creme fraiche. As you pointed out, making and storing elements that can be incorporated into various dishes later is a great strategy. For example, I never buy that (shudder) premade tomato sauce. Instead I make up a large batch and ziplock/freezer it flat. Even if I only need a few Tbs of it I can break it off. Another "ingredient" I tend to keep on hand is caramelized onions. Love em, love em, love em. They take more than an hour to make, so I do 2-4 or more lbs at a time and freeze what I don't use immediately - and I can give impromptu dinner guests an onion tart right out of my pantry and freezer, all homemade. Having a little store of frozen prerolled dough allows for whipping up a mini-quiche, etc. without any planning or last minute shopping. As I said earlier, I'm not at all organized enough to plan out menus in advance, though I'm capable of keeping things on hand that I use often by making up batches even when I haven't a specific menu in mind. It occurs to me that the Thai rice paper for rolling up all sorts of goodies might be a good area to explore. Do you do much of that? I'm not strong in Asian cooking beyond a stir fry or a spicy tofu dish I like. Perhaps I should start a thread requesting people's favorites. OTOH, when I go through the aisles at TJ, I begin to get the feeling that we may be in a minority of people who do a lot of scratch cooking for one. And have you noticed how few cookbooks there are for people cooking for one? Despite the large number of people who live alone!

Sounds like fun. I'll bring a vegetable tart, probably pissaladiere.

I'm kinda disappointed in this thread. Ya-Roo got us off to a great start, but so few are sharing their cook for one "trucs." So I'll share one: mussels. They're a great special everyday meal for one. Simple, quick, and even cheap (sometimes less than $1/lb). I don't have a particular recipe as they lend themselves to both improvisation and experimentation with the recipes of others (many on google and in books). The basics: -- buy at least a pound (cooked extras are great for using in salads the next day). Most of the farm raised are beardless, so they only need washing off. I believe they are pretty much purged already, so the cornmeal supper often suggested in recipes is usually unnecessary. (Of course if they are picked from the wild by you or others, then debeard them and give them a cornmeal treat before using.) Store them in the fridge (not in water) til ready to use, but I frankly never buy them before the day I plan to use them. Before steaming, go over them. Any that are open, tap against another mussel. If they do not close, throw them out Important, repeat, throw them out. For those that pass inspection. Pour a small amount of liquid of your choice into a pan. There are variations: you can first saute some shallots, garlic, etc., then pour in the liquid which can range from water or wine to stock or tomatoes with liquid). You can add all sorts of herbs, spices (don't forget to consider saffron), aromatics, etc. (even Suvir's tomato chutney, I'll bet) to flavor the resultant broth. The only thing that counts is to have some sort of liquid in there to create a little steam and broth/sauce to dunk your bread into. I prefer using a wide deep saute pan or an enameled casserole of at least 12" width (works up a speedy steam and you can see most of the mussels). Steam the mussels for only a minute or two and start checking. The instant they open up, pull them out with tongs. If you leave them in past that that they start to toughen. When most of the mussels are open, they're probably done and the remaining ones are probably not edible. You can give them another minute or two to be sure, but if they don't open, throw them out. The leftover broth should be delicious. You can use it straight or doctor it by adding stuff, cream to a shallot wine based broth, olives, capers, raisins to a tomato based sauce or whatever your fancy suggests (there's a passel of curry recipes out there). The important thing to remember is that any mussels that do not close before you cook them and any mussels that do not open when you cook them MUST be thrown away on pain of food poisoning. Beyond that, they're dead easy to make and delicious no matter what you do. I've had woodfire roasted mussels in Maine and highly recommend them to anyone with a woodfire handy. I've also seen recipes, though not yet tried them, for pan roasted mussels as oppossed to the steamed. Oh, and it's also very easy to scale up for any number of people, experimenting on yourself til you find the perfect way to make them. Talk about lovin' labor.

Maybe it would be easier to list foods that can't swing sweet/savory.

Add to the list: onions, squash, sweet potatoes, fennel, all citrus, all stoned fruit, pears. Sage leaves can be deep fried and dusted with powdered sugar. I've seen recipes that use various herbs as a flavoring element. Many foods open themselves to candying and crossing the sweet/savory line: fennel, citrus peel, ginger, grapefruit rind. Personally I'd experiment with some less familiar ones.

This is an example of the thin reusable and cuttable baking pan liner. It's not the same brand as I get, but the place I buy them doesn't have a website. The second url is the page the image is taken from. They don't last as long as a silpat, but unlike silpat, can be cut to fit your various pans. I doubt that they are much cheaper than parchment in the long run, but save having to cut parchment for your pans repeatedly. http://www.fantes.com/images/99037pan_liners.jpg http://www.fantes.com/pan_liners.htm#silpat As for a baking stone, if you do much baking get one. It makes all the difference. I use mine for pizza, some pastries (for at least part of the baking time), some cookies, bread. If you leave it in the oven, it seems to level out the temperature fluctuations as the oven cycles. If you don't want to invest in a large thick stone that can live on the bottom of your oven, you can buy inexpensive unglazed tiles (often called quarry tiles) and assemble them on a sheet pan. I keep my stone covered with foil. It keeps it clean and keeps the smoke detector quiet. without noticable deminution in effectiveness. Also when using to bake a pie or tart I often put it on a sheet pan so that I can move it higher in the oven for the final part of the baking.

Alas, FG, my Woodmode cabinets have no lip, the bottoms are completely flat, with flush doors (I think that's what they were called). I always seem to do it the hard way. This does, however, turn into an advantage if you want to use a continuous strip of lights along the front as the bottom of the cabinets are smooth.

Tamasin Day-Lewis' new kitchen is probably not quick, easy, or cheap, but I thought this might amuse. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/wine/main.jhtml...06/14/edtam.xml

Let's not forget sweet and sour cippollini. And pissaladiere may be my favorite tart.

If your cabinets don't have a sufficiently deep lip to mask the undercounter lights, you can get molding that will give you a lip to mask the lights. The cabinets I just put in don't come with a lip on the bottom (a design thing), but I was able to get a matching molding deep enough to mask the lights I have (yet) to install.

Has anyone used the protective glove I've seen advertised? Does it work? I've been tempted to buy one, then think, "one more useless gadget?"

Love this thread. My mother and I never cooked together. I did dishes. My mother was a very good basic cook with a relatively limited repertoire (steaks, chops, roasts, excellent swt/sour meatballs, occasional lemon meringue pie, etc. But the sharpest knife in the kitchen had a serrated edge. She was unusual in her generation for she was in business in an era when few women were. But the real story is my children. I'm the one who has good equipment. I have made sure that each of their kitchens has the tools I need when I cook there. But you know, you can buy them knives, but can't make them sharpen them. One son and his family are staying with me while relocating from another state and househunting. My DIL, a vegetarian, mostly serves things that come from boxes and packages, though she is scrupulous about the organic issue. We keep separate schedules and I've pretty much abdicated my kitchen during normal mealtimes because I don't want to create friction. (My other DIL says I've become wallpaper. ) I think were I to cook for them more often, my DIL would read it as being competitive, or trying to "take over"her family. Fat chance. My other son's family is different in that my DIL is not only an indifferent cook, she's indifferent about cooking. Much easier. My son enjoys cooking when there's time and her only complaint is that he doesn't have more time. If I want to make dinner there or bring it, well, bring it on. And here my granddaughter is learning to cook from her father and from me. They often watch the PBS cooking shows together on Saturdays.

I love zip locks, so that's the way for me. Zip locks and duct tape are contending for best invention of the 20th century.

FG, sorry to take so long to respond. My attention has been diverted, among other things to making my chicken stock. I'm trying to lose some weight and think that having a ton of demi-glace on hand will help, my theory being that with more intense flavors I can reduce fat in an overall way (5 lbs down so far). My reduced beef stock is a very dense jelly, about 2-3 qts from an original brew of 12-14 qts including the ingredients. It has NO fat on it as I was very careful about that. I've frozen up 2/3 of it in baggies and have the rest in the fridge in a ziplock. (Thanks for the advice.) I'm very happy with the result and have already used it in making sauteed mushrooms with a madiera sauce enriched to accompany small filet deglazed with some demi-glace, too. My question came from reading somewhere that to store the reduced stock in the fridge, it might be desirable to place a layer of fat over the demi/glace much as one covers confit with a layer of fat. I've also read somewhere about restaurants doing a second stock from the ingredients - it has some French name I've forgotten as well as where I read it. Wouldn't that result in an attenuated stock? Wouldn't it be better to simply simmer the stock for a longer time one time?

Is your name a clue, too.

This reminds me of the CEO who found a cockroach in his airplane dinner, sent a raging letter to the CEO of the airline threatening that no one in his company would ever fly that airline again. He received an abject letter in return, promising to fumigate the plane, retrain the stewards, fire the catering co, etc . And they enclosed a couple tickets. You get the idea. Of course he relented, and what did he find in his dinner? You guessed it. Well, the letter he sent was more enraged than the first. ...He received a letter in return more abject than the first, promising to get new caterers, fire the maintainence company, the stewards, and offering a dozen free flight tickets. But as he opened the envelope a little piece of paper fluttered to the floor which he picked up, reading the handwritten note, " Send the SOB another cockroach letter."

I use mint from my garden. In the fall I'll dry a batch to take me through the winter.

I'm curious. What kind of sides do you make that you freeze them? Mostly I just steam up, roast, or saute my vegetable sides, which doesn't take very long. Or just have a salad. Are they more complex and interesting than mine? Or is it that your work schedule is too arduous to shop during the week. I know not everyone has the luxury of food shopping several times a week. BTW: for those with microwaves, I've found that putting veggies in a plastic wrap covered bowl in the mw can give very good and easy results. It makes the best, sweetest cabbage I've ever had. I have no idea why it turns out better than steaming over water.???

Ya-Roo, thank you for sharing your strategies for cooking for one. Much of this will be useful for couples, too. It's helpful information that will inspire people who live alone to be more adventurous in the kitchen. Too many people who live alone do take-out, dine out all the time, or eat boxed dinners. I think we should all dine as well when we dine alone as when in company. I hope many of us will share what we do to dine well alone. My personal take on cooking for one is somewhat different from yours. Firstly, I'm way less organized than you on a day by day basis. I seldom plan meals until I see what looks good at the market the day I shop. And I seldom make a meal with thought of recycling it into another meal beyond a salad or omelet or fittata. Secondly I probably have more time and space for storage. Lastly I feel that few fresh foods improve by resting in the fridge, though it's great for keeping a wide assortment of condiments and the freezer is good for keeping some things you've cooked in advance. So my advance planning is of a muchy more general sort than yours. Instead of laying out a sequence of meals, I cook ahead and freeze many things that become the mis en place for undetermined future meals rather than a meal by itself. As I’m not wild about leftovers, I found your advice on how to deal with them particularly good, Perhaps I’ll try it: “My advice in reinventing old excess supply is to look for recipes from tropical places, where food spoils faster than in cooler climates. Leftover chicken cutlets may be turned into Jerk Chicken. Fish and shrimp can be tossed into a seafood gumbo. Vegetables can be tossed into chili or made into a vindaloo.” When they become part of another dish they’re no longer leftovers. :) I often turn leftover meat or chicken into such things as empanadas or pot pies that call for precooked meat . Otherwise my strategy has been to avoid having leftovers. Your advice to use weekends for cooking is great and need not be just for next week's meals. I use the freezer mostly for time consuming elements of more complex dishes, preparing them ahead to use later. For example, I make stocks and basic tomato sauce ahead, ziplocking and freezing them in 1-2 cup amounts (packed thin, you can break off a Tbs or so and/or defrost quickly). This makes needed elements for many different dishes. A butter/flour roux can be mixed ahead and stored to make a bechamel or veloute. Pate Brisee or other dough can be made ahead, packaged as desired and frozen for future use right next to a box of Dufour puff pastry. Mirpoix and caramelized onions can be made ahead and frozen in serving sizes (love onion tarts!). Soups and stews freeze well for future use, though I find that even those lose some oomph pretty quickly and will often add fresh elements when heating them up and serving them. A tub of miso can be kept in the fridge almost indefinitely and used for a quick soup (for example: simmer some seaweed, a couple veggies, a shrimp or two, etc. for 20-30 minutes, adding the miso at the end just before eating). And as Fat Guy so beautifully showed, a demi-glace made over the weekend takes up little storage space and is versatile. Phyllo and other dough can be used to make sweet or savory empanadas, turnovers, logs, etc. that can either be frozen raw or partially baked before freezing. I do the same thing with scones, logs of refrigerator cookies, and other baked goods. When finished off just before serving, they still have a fresh, just baked quality. Fortunately some cakes freeze well, pound cake in particular, and can be elements in many desserts. In fact, individual slices can be cut off still frozen loaf cakes that are then returned to the freezer. If you’re into making pasta, it (including ravioli) can be frozen ahead, and stored bagged. For such things I spread them out on a sheet pan to freeze them, then put them in ziplock bags. Most of all, though, I like to shop for foods as close to consumption as possible. It’s okay to store them, but most things taste best when the food is at its freshest. And even those soups and stews that need a day or two to marry can’t hang around very long without deteriorating somewhat. Of course, there are some things designed for storage: confit, some pates, pickles, etc. that can hang out for awhile and still be as enjoyable. Mostly, though with fruits, vegetables, meats, fish, etc., I try to buy just enough for 1-2 days (unless they need longer to ripen). Steaks, chops, chicken, fish can be bought in 1 serving sizes. Even though supermarkets may package them in multiples, they will break a package for you in most places. (I don’t really like them frozen before cooking, though I may keep one or two pieces for emergencies.) Farmers’ and ethnic markets, coops, and even many supermarkets sell fruits and vegetables that are not prepackaged and you can buy exactly what you want. One thing I did that was helpful was to buy a bunch of small casseroles, gratin dishes, heat proof bowls, etc. That allows me to make a small gratins, puddings (sweet & savory), or scalloped potatoes, lasagnas, etc. for just one meal (one potato makes a great single serving of it). Also, buy a scale. Using weight measurement makes it MUCH easier to scale ingredients down to a 1 or 2 servings, even such things as eggs and pieces of fruit or vegetables. Many recipes are now using weights. The BBC website for example has an extensive set of recipes that are in weight and volume. In restaurants, many of dishes you eat are assembled from stores of pre-made stocks and sauces, mis en place of cooked and uncooked vegetables, fruits, condiments that are used to saute up (etc) that piece of meat or fish that appears in front of you. There’s no reason the home cook cannot apply that principle if s/he wishes. I’d be interested to hear what you and others keep on hand in pantry and freezer to assemble meals impromptu with what they find at the market that looks good that day.

[Explain your Red Pepper Vinigarette to me? How do you make it? I like this idea a lot. ] 2 roasted red peppers (rough chopped) 1 clove garlic, minced 1 lemon, juiced 1 tsp honey 2 Tbs water 1 Tbs fresh thyme Cayenne pepper Salt Pepper 5 oz evoo Blend 2 roasted red peppers and a clove of garlic to a smooth puree. Add juice of 1 lemon, a tsp honey, a couple tsp water, a dash of cayenne, a Tbs thyme leaves, and s & p to taste. Slowly pour in 4-5 oz evoo. Of course you adjust the flavor balance to suit yourself. This emulsifies nicely and keeps a few days. The terrine itself: marinade: 1/2 cup evoo Juice of 2 lemons 1 Tbs soy sauce 1 Tbs honey 2 Tbs mixed fresh herbs Salt Pepper 1 zucchini 1 small eggplant 1 yellow squash 1 can roasted red peppers 1 lb spinach, lightly sautééed in olive oil assorted fresh herbs, (rosemary, thyme, oregano, parsley, marjoram) Balsamic vinegar evoo Salt Pepper Heat together olive oil, lemon juice and soy sauce. Whisk in the honey, herbs and seasonings. Set aside. Very thinly slice zucchini, eggplant and squash lengthwise. Place them in the lemon-soy marinade together with the roasted red peppers, marinating them at least 45 minutes. Grill over medium high heat in an oiled grill pan or barbecue grill. Line a pate mould with plastic wrap. Lay vegetables in alternating them; spooning over some of the remaining fresh herbs and spinach leaves between layers. Cover the top layer with the overhanging edges of plastic wrap. Weigh down the terrine and refrigerate. Chill overnight. This has a fair amount of liquid in it. I use 2 loaf pans of the same size,putting the second one on top of the filled pan and weight it with a couple cans. I find it best to turn this upside down on a deep dish that will catch the excess fluid as it drains. Unmould and serve with the Red Pepper Vinaigrette. (I found this some time ago on a food show, forget which now.)

I like to saute zucchini and onions, then scramble eggs over them. I've seen reference to candied zucchini, but never tried it. Try zucchini soup, tweek it with a splash of sherry vinegar. (I'll post my recipe if you'd like it) Anyone mention ratatouille? Also I make a terrine of eggplant, zucchini, red peppers that have been grilled, layered with a layer or two of sauteed spinach or chard, and pressed together overnight. Serve with a red pepper vinaigrette. Very tasty.

Oddly, no one has mentioned Charlie Trotter's series. It made some of his food more accessible than his "big" books. What I liked was how he'd ring changes on a recipe, showing more and less complex variations. Another show no one's mentioned is Bugialli'sl. I liked what he was doing, but (alas) his accent was so strong that it interferred. Personally, I prefer shows with more emphasis on cooking and less on the chef's "personality." If they're dorky, so be it. People like Child and Pepin are high on everyone's list because they've got the goods AND are charming, gracious people. Some, like Kamman, Stewart, Kimball, English, Weir have a lot to teach us, but may have annoying persona. (I think it's often the way they enunciate their words and their serious mien, looking and sounding like old fashioned home ec teachers. ) I can overlook that better than those with so much "personality" one can hardly see the food. I'm certain I'm a dork - when I watch a food show, I watch it for the food. Anyone with something to teach me is on my favorites list, the others I don't care to visit with. :

I'm looking forward to making consomme after the eGCI's hectic schedule is over. I hope this thread will not be sealed too soon as I'm sure I'd like some input. I've just had some dietary restrictions imposed on me and consomme seems to me an ideal way to healthful high flavor.

Thanks FG. I think I'll store it in zip locks in 1-2 cup amounts, keeping one in the fridge and the others in the freezer. Could you elaborate a bit on when one might use a glace? When I finish here, I'm going downstairs and make some egg drop soup. And in the spirit of give back, I'll share a kitchen hint. To infuse the garlic/ginger flavor, I'll use the stainless mesh 3" "tea bag" you can find in some Asian markets. It's easier than straining soup or making cheesecloth bags for stews and cleans up beautifully in the dishwasher.