SethG

Saturday night: Half a boned leg of lamb from the freezer, rubbed with a mustardy preparation from Mastering the Art, and cooked Boulangere-style, with sliced potatoes and onions underneath; and leftover rutagaga puree. This definitely did not taste better the next day. I'll try one of Bloviatrix's tricks next time.

That's absolutely right, Fat Guy. When I go late, I skip the bread entirely. But I don't find it practical to go in the early a.m.

It's been said before, but it bears repeating. Either branch of Fairway is a nightmare at peak hours. But if you have the luxury of a car, you can drive to the uptown store either early or late and have an incredibly pleasant experience. Go on a weekday around 9:00 p.m.- you'll be very surprised. There's nothing like walking right up to the cheese station and tasting six cheeses before you buy. And having no one waiting behind you. One exception: the meat counter in the big refrigerated section. They seem to recruit folks who want to seem intimidating, so you'll just buy the stuff they've packaged and not ask any questions.

I missed that juicer bit. I don't have one either. I'll try the blender method too.

Friday: Streets covered in snow, no motivation to go far to shop. What to do? Default to roast chicken, of course! Made my default way, with rosemary and garlic rubbed all over, pushed under the skin and thrown inside. Half a lemon squeezed over the top and half thrown in the cavity. Don't truss, don't baste, 400 degrees, done in about one hour and ten. And pureed rutabaga, part of my ongoing exploration of every root vegetable. Not bad, but there's that turnipy bitterness underneath that never goes away entirely. I think I prefer turnip wedges roasted-- they get all creamy inside on their own, and seem less bitter to boot. And steamed broccoli.

It's snowing pretty heavy here in NYC, too! I'm not sure when I'll be doing the menu either.

That's the exact puree, G. We really liked it. Okay, you want a New Way menu? Here's an idea or two. I'm thinking about simple oven-seared thick fish fillets (page 222) with a sauce-- say, the red pepper-juice sauce (page 649). Along with that, some steam-roasted leeks vinaigrette (page 56) and one of the buttermilk mashed potato recipes, maybe the roasted garlic ones (page 78). Or a squash dish instead of the potatoes. All three things I proposed involve use of the oven, but the garlic puree can be made in advance and stored in the fridge for a couple weeks (pages 37-38). And you can put the leeks in the oven for their approximately twenty minutes of roasting en papillote, then stick in the fish while the leeks rest (the fish only takes about ten minutes), and you're done. My menu planning sucks. Maybe the vinaigrette and the red pepper sauce are too acidic to be paired with each other? You tell me.

I'm thinking it might be time I met some of y'all. May I come to the pie potluck? Has anyone proposed making some sort of quince pie or tart? My new interest in quinces should still be in force a month from now. Count me as tentative.

I haven't read any of her novels, but I thoroughly enjoyed both of the Home Cooking books. Her experience of food as a comforting presence, grounding the cook in his or her culture and tradition, is something I'm very jealous of. I hope to attain this kind of relationship with my cooking someday. For now, however, lacking a family tradition of cooking to fall back upon, I'm more of an indiscriminate student of all styles and techniques. I don't know anything about her very untimely death, but you really feel the loss as you read her essays about feeding her husband and child. Edit: and thanks for the link, Adam!

That was a beautiful testimonial, Adam! I wish I had a yard in which to grow a quince tree. So I happened to see a used copy of Schneider's Uncommon Fruits & Vegetables yesterday, and of course I couldn't just put it back on the shelf, so now I own it. Having looked over the chicken/quince recipe, I see that I used way too much apple juice, which may have sent the sweetness of the dish over the top. Oh, well, don't look back, as Bob Dylan said. About someone else. Whatever. Onward to membrillo! I plan to pick up a bunch of quinces this weekend if I have time, and some Manchego. Some other interesting facts from Schneider's book: 1. You can buy a large number of quinces when they become available, and they will keep for months in the refrigerator. 2. Even if a quince is bruised, it will probably not matter once the fruit is cooked. 3. The word "marmalade" is derived from the Portugese word for the quince. 4. The quince used to be very well known and widely eaten here in the U.S.A.; it is the decline in home canning that has led to its current marginal commercial status. This morning, I was on the subway (in NYC) headed to work, reading Laurie Colwin's More Home Cooking, and what should I come upon but a chapter devoted to making jam. Colwyn's chapter is devoted to plum jam, but still I had jam so much on my mind that I missed my stop and had to turn around and take another train!

Sorry. I brought my library copy of New Way to my office, thinking I'd look it over and propose something, but I've just been too busy the last few days. I may take a look this afternoon. Anyone care to report on Steak Diane?

I won't deserve any cookbooks for Christmas (or its deprived stepchild, Chanukah). I've been buying too many lately. Yesterday I picked up a used copy of Schneider's Uncommon Fruits and Vegetables. The book contains hundreds of recipes, so it's one more cookbook for me.

You're thinking of Lidia's Italian Table, Heather, which is a different book. I have that one out of the library, but I haven't really delved into it yet.

Wednesday night: I tried out another recipe from Amanda Hesser's uniquely trivial little work: Sauteed Scallops with Wild Mushrooms and Frisee. It's still scallop "season," right? Anyway, what could go wrong with sauteed scallops? They were good. But the seperately sauteed mushrooms and frisee served mostly to make the meal expensive. I'm going through a little crisis of confidence with Hesser, since I've defended her journalism a few times here, but didn't much like the book. It's filled with recipes that sound great, though my two attempts so far haven't been entirely satisfactory. I also made a Jacques Pepin eggplant, tomato and zucchini gratin. It's still tomato season, right? This was entirely satisfactory, although I cut the recipe in half and miscalculated the olive oil, putting in a little too much (if such a thing is possible).

So? What did you get? You could probably guess, Heather! They are: Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen, Cooking at Home with The Culinary Institute of America, and Sally Schneider's A New Way to Cook.

Tuesday night: Friends returned from Kansas City bearing pulled pork. From a place that has "garage" in the name, I forget the rest. Man. Seriously good stuff. I made mac 'n' cheese to go with. I used Amanda Hesser's recipe from her uncommonly silly little book (which I just finished, I'm embarrased to say). But Hesser calls for just Monterey Jack cheese, which just won't do. So inspired by SuzanneF's example a few days ago, I made it with a mix of Jack, Cheddar, Romano and Parmesan. Hesser also includes ham and some tomato, both of which were good. And we heated some frozen okra, and doctored some canned baked beans with a little mustard and some chipotle chiles. This was a spontaneous dinner; we went with what we had. The beans actually tasted pretty good, considering. Back to the pulled pork. It was fantastic.

Oh, I eat it usually! Julia and Jacques advise you to trim it off (I think-- I don't have the book with me) for Steak Diane because it impedes the pounding. I'm guessing, really. And Julia encourages you to cook it tableside, if you have the equipment.

I used a ribeye (one big one, split between the wife and me), and it worked out very well. But Jacques is right, there is a semicircle of fat within the meat that you have to trim away, sacrificing a strip of meat in the process. This one steak, by the way, provided adequate portions for each of us, but we definitely could've had more. Please, Erin, propose away, as Heather said! I'll be looking at New Way tonight.

I made Schneider's Chicken Baked with Quinces last night. Thank you, Suzanne! The quinces were great. I was a little underwhelmed by the pairing with chicken. I think they would make a great combo with pork chops, though. Now on to the jam.

Anyone else planning on Steak Diane? (I could be convinced to make the liver dish as well. I'm down with liver.) That celeriac dish from New Way has got me itching to make a full menu from the book. I'm going to propose something a little later.

Monday night: Chicken baked with quinces, and roasted root veggies (parsnip, carrot, turnip, fennel, and mayan sweet onion). I never tried quinces before. They were very tasty. But I wasn't sure I liked the sweetness paired with chicken. I may try it again with pork chops instead.

It appears that the Saveur jam from the November issue has not been posted on their website, but the website does provide a big spread on the quince from 1996, along with several recipes.

Last night (Sunday): Steak Diane, celery root and apple puree, and leftover asparagus and creamed corn from Thanksgiving!

Great article, Mamster. Several of us here at the "G" have been cooking together from her book with Jacques Pepin, and it has been noted that Julia has reduced the butter in her recipes quite a bit since the Sixties. Yet whenever I read an interview with her, she vigorously defends full-fat, all-the-time cooking. Did you and she discuss whether her cooking has changed at all (besides the pans, I mean) and why, given her stated positions on the fat issue?

Hey Barb, the more the merrier! Heather, go ahead and make the salad with fruit. I was wrong. The celery root dish functions as mashed potatoes with a more interesting taste; my wife wasn't aware that apples were in there until I told her. I think the salad you proposed would go well, and add some texture and color contrast to the menu. As it happened, I just made the steak and the celery root. I relied on Thanksgiving leftovers to provide our third dish, and (I add, regretfully) there were several choices still in our refrigerator. But the steak and celery root were terrific. As I began the steak, I thought "this is really boring and dated." I briefly considered just chucking the recipe, and pan-broiling the steak as I usually do, then deglazing with wine. Besides, I thought, I don't have any real beef stock. But then I reconsidered, and went ahead using Better Than Buillon, which really worked out fine when the other stuff was added. It was tremendous fun pounding the steak with a skillet, which I'd never done before, and I was surprised how much this tenderized the meat. And the sauce was really good. Of the optional ingredients, I added a good squeeze of lemon, some fresh thyme and a dash of port. As for the celery root, once I had it in hand I was afraid I'd accidentally come into possession of the Continuum Transponder. And I wasn't really that sure how to go about peeling it. I just went at it with a paring knife. But the dish was great. The creaminess must be seen to be believed. White rice and two-percent milk-- who knew what they could accomplish? There's a good-looking salad containing both raw celery root and fennel on page 422 of New Way. I'll have to try that soon.