Anna N

In the book Relae: A Book of Ideas, there is mention of cooking romaine lettuce in butter using sous vide. However, there is no discussion whatsoever of time or temperature. A Google search provides a single link to sous vide lettuce that I believe is in German and that cannot be played on anything but a computer. Link. I don’t have a computer anymore so that is out and my basic German is very, very rusty. Has anyone tried poaching romaine lettuce in butter using sous vide? Or if you were to attempt it what time and temperature would you begin with in your trials?

I am so sorry. Generally I am more than happy to share a recipe but this one is from Modernist Bread and they are not available online. Its colour comes from black cocoa powder which is what I had on hand so it probably doesn’t even come close to the pumpernickel of your childhood In texture or flavour.

Butternut & Nutbutter soup The soup credit belongs to Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall but the garnish is mine all mine — homemade pumpernickel bread croutons spread with St. Agur blue cheese.

For $1.99 Canadian I sprang for the cookie book. I do hope I am not morphing into a baker. Thanks.

Classic brownies from The Artful Baker. I have little doubt these will go over well with the brownie lovers.

Grilled ciabatta scraped with garlic, rare roast beef from the freezer with caramelized onion and horseradish all accompanied by roasted broccoli and carrots

I can live with the blades but those unmatched spice jars...

this rather simple dish exceeded all my expectations in terms of taste and texture. It is based on a Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall recipe from Hugh’s Three Good Things. In this case the three things were tomatoes, bread and eggs with the option of adding some mozzarella cheese and I decided to add some parsley. The tomatoes are seasoned and drizzled with olive oil before being roasted in the oven. While that is happening, some day-old bread is torn into chunks and also tossed with oil and seasoning. As the tomatoes begin to take on some colour the bread is tucked in among them so that part of it is soaking up tomato juice and part of it is becoming wonderfully crunchy. When things seem to be coming along nicely an egg is broken into the centre and the optional cheese added here and there. The egg I chose happened to be a double yolker and wouldn’t you know it? I broke both yolks. Cooking continues until the egg is done to one’s satisfaction.

Of course. Click.

Homemade Jamaican patty, chutney and some of @HungryChris‘ marinated mushrooms.

Potatoes pan roasted in spiced butter, broccoli and cherry tomatoes roasted with shallots and garlic and lamb chops sous vided for about 45 minutes at 54°C and then seared in the spiced butter left from the potatoes.

Cinnamon buns. For my granddaughter. I made them and assembled them and she baked them and ate them. Not all of them. She complained bitterly that she had no more room for more cinnamon buns. Oh to be that young, active and healthy again.

I am so with you. I love Scotch in many forms except the ones that smell and taste like Dettol.

Definitely not. Onions are very prominent in many vegetarian dishes. One must remember that India is a very large continent and I believe that even Madhur Jaffrey pointed out that there is not an Indian cuisine but many, many Indian cuisines.

Between the conception and the execution something went terribly wrong. The idea was quite simple. Take the leftover mashed potatoes with caramelized onions from yesterday, add some grated cheese and some green onions and make some potato pancakes. Of course to hold together such a mixture one needs some flour or something. But I was feeling quite cavalier and proceeded without any regard for silly rules. Naturally, my carefully formed potato pancakes melded together into a potato lake. Still tasty when topped with some seared cocktail tomatoes.

Duck breast, lingonberry sauce, mashed potatoes (instant) with some caramelized onions folded in.

Indubitably! Life itself is a series of compromises.

Wow!

For those who are interested in learning more about her recipes but don’t have the book, there are quite a number on-line. Many are from reviews of the book by very reliable sources.

Very nice. I’m not much of a fan of fennel. And Taleggio has so far eluded me even from a very well-stocked cheese store. On the other hand I do love cooked carrots so I may attempt that recipe some point. You have obviously been very busy and I am thoroughly enjoying your hard work vicariously.

Well it’s not a matter of being an ex-pat — click that is what they are called when I buy them. This is my preferred brand. The pastry is flakier (so flaky they are impossible to eat without making a big mess!) and softer than what I was able to produce and the filling is much more of a paste.

At this time my favourite supermarkets all seem to be out of stock or have perhaps stopped carrying my favourite brand and flavour of Jamaican patties. With my new- found confidence in making pastry I thought I would attempt to make my own. I used this recipe adjusting it as needed since I didn’t have the appropriate peppers. Not quite there but getting close. Still a very tasty snack that I can freeze and reheat for a quick meal. And I know exactly what is in it.

I always love the “cook the book” topics so I am a little disappointed that this book is not on sale in Canada. I still might spring for it but I am not a bit keen on lentils and such so I wonder if this would really be something I could get into. It’s a puzzlement. Think I will follow along for a while and see if I’m really tempted. Thanks for posting even if Amazon.ca is not cooperating.

Two dinners from a couple of lamb shoulder chops done in the Instant Pot. Last night with carrots, potatoes, tomato and onion. Tonight I had the remains reheated in the Cuisinart Steam Oven with the addition of some caramelized onion and some baby bok choy.

Planned over roasted squash mashed together with some caramelized onions and then drizzled with some spiced butter. All of it topped by a crispy fried egg.