JAZ

Sorry I haven't had time to get to everyone's questions and comments. Abra, take a look at this Absinthe topic from the Spirits and Cocktails forum, and I'll get back to you with some specific suggestions later. Chris, I promise I'll have some cocktail book suggestions too, but in the meantime, you could check out this topic. I was planning to post about making gingerbread this morning, but a series of, um, difficulties arose, and now I'm running really late for my book club, to which I'm supposed to be bringing the little mini-bundt gingerbread cakes. We'll see if they turn out, and if not, well, thank god there's a really great bakery on the way to BART that makes wonderful individual tarts. I will explain, in detail, with photos, the disastrous morning I had when I get back this afternoon. While I'm gone, I wonder if I could ask everyone for some suggestions about the rest of the week. I've got the ingredients for Sara Moulton's Smoky Salmon Chowder, which she mentions here in the Chowder Cook-Off, so I'm planning on that tonight. I'm also planning to try Russ Parson's "Cowboy Cassoulet" (discussed here). But I still have a few extra days to account for. I have a Hearthkit insert in my oven, and I keep swearing that I'm going to work on perfecting pizza crust, so that's one possibility. I just got a Kitchenaid pasta attachment, although I'm not sure I can make pasta and take pictures at the same time. Earlier in the thread, someone asked if I was planning to get marrow bones -- I love them, and it wouldn't take much to talk me into getting some. Anything else? I wasn't really planning on a restaurant, but I could stop on the way home from work at someplace interesting. Anything else? (Please, no baking requests. I've had my disaster for the week!)

They're Demeyere -- Sirocco line, and yes -- I love them. The sautepan and saucepans in the pictures have a thick copper disk bottom, with stainless inside and out. (There's also a layer of something magnetic in there, so the pans can be used in induction burners). With the copper disk, they're very responsive to changes in heat, which is great, but I think it's the little things that put them way ahead of, say, All Clad. Both the pan handles and the lid handles stay cool, and everything is welded on instead of riverted, so you don't have rivets to collect crud and make them impossible to clean. They have a sharply defined lip, so you can pour from them easily. And if you need to remove the lid while you're cooking, there's a slot in the handle where the lid handle fits so you don't have to lay it down somewhere (I'll take some photos so you can see what I mean). Sorry! End of commercial. I got them as a set (a special deal from the manufacturer when the rep came to the store for a demo). There's a 5.5 qt. stockpot shape, and a 2.5 sautepan shape. Honestly, I don't use the small one much at all, but the great thing about the set was that it came with an extra lid -- not for pressure cooking, but just a glass lid that fits either pan. So if I make soup, for instance, and want to reheat it before serving, I have a plain lid. And that also means that I can use either pan without using the pressure function. The 5.5 qt one, for instance, is a good size for pasta. I wish I were better at that (cleaning as I go). I try, but it always seems that the closer I am to dinner time, the less time I have for cleaning, so I put it off. The sink is usually completely full of dishes by the time I'm done. And that's one disadvantage of having so much cookware and kitchenware -- I hardly ever have to use the same thing twice, so I usually don't, which means twice the dishes at the end of the night. However, the way my kitchen is laid out makes it a little easier to get prep stuff organized. I prep at the long yellow counter because that's where the light is best, and then as I get ingredients ready to go, I set them on the wood counter by the stove. If I have something that needs to set or rest, I can use the breakfast bar at the end of the kitchen, so it's out of the way.

While I did the preliminary prep for dinner, I had a variation of a Lillet-based drink from an old Martha Stewart Living magazine. It's a nice aperitif -- lighter in alcohol than most cocktails. 2 oz. Lillet Blonde 1 oz. gin 1 oz. orange juice dash bitters small handful of basil leaves Place all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with lots of ice and shake hard. Strain out into a tall glass filled with ice and top with soda. Dinner started with short ribs sprinkled with salt, smoked paprika and a little ground chipotle. After they sat for an hour or so, they went into a low oven (275 degrees) for a couple of hours. I've almost always braised short ribs, so learning about slow roasting them was sort of a surprise to me. But it's a great way to cook them. Toward the end of the cooking time, I made a glaze of demi-glace, Dijon mustard and maple syrup. The glazed ribs went back in the oven for another 45 minutes or so, while I finished the rest of dinner. But first, another small cocktail. The Alfonso Special from CocktailDB. Again, with more vermouth than gin, it's a lighter cocktail, but very well balanced. Not as sweet as I imagined. To go with the short ribs, I decided on sweet and sour cabbage, which I haven't made in ages. I watched my mom make it so often I don't need (or have) a recipe. Start out by sauteeing some onions in butter. Add red cabbage, vinegar (I used apple cider and port vinegars), brown sugar, salt and pepper. I also added some diced apple because I had it around. Cover and simmer until tender. With some chipotle-laced mashed sweet potatoes, that was dinner.

Okay, here's the first round of kitchen pictures. (Maybe later I'll take pictures of the insides of the cabinets.) The cabinets at the end are my pantry, for the most part -- I use the upper shelves, which I need a stepladder to reach, for storing some seldom-used dishes and other things I don't need very often. The breakfast bar and stools are a set I bought for a previous really small kitchen that had no counter space. It doesn't get too much use now because the light isn't great there and it's so far from my kitchen tools, but it's nice to have a place to set the stuff I pull out from the cabinets. The cabinet on the left by the stove holds about two thirds of my cookware -- saucepans, skillets, stockpots, saute pans and a few miscellaneous pieces. Almost everything, actually, except for my Le Creuset. For the size of my flat (less than 600 sq. ft.), my kitchen is pretty good sized. As you can see, it's long and very narrow in parts -- galley style, I guess. It's great for one person (or the right two people), but with the range and sink across from each other in the narrowest part of the kitchen, you have to like your kitchen partner pretty well. Here's a better shot of the range area: When I moved in, the range was all alone there; a friend helped me put together the counter next to it, which is just a John Boos cutting board on legs, with brackets attaching it to the wall. You can't see it, but there's a shelf underneath where I store cutting boards and my pressure cookers. I also have a microwave cart, which hasn't actually ever had a microwave on it but does hold my trio of appliances -- the blender, Cuisinart and Kitchenaid mixer. Behind it, you can see my spice shelves. I have a theory about San Francisco houses. It seems to me, from very unscientific observation, that probably half of the houses in the city were constructed with built-in ironing boards in the kitchens or laundry rooms. And my guess is that only a very small fraction have kept them intact with ironing boards. All the rest now only have an alcove like the one here, which most people seem to use for spices or display shelves. I use mine for spices. Overall, I'm pretty happy with the kitchen -- I've lived in places with bigger kitchens that still didn't work as well as this one. Sure, it has really ugly yellow 60's style countertops, but I can live with that. The floor is also ugly, but it's mercifully soft -- I've dropped bowls and even glasses and they've survived. The rest of the kitchen, and the dining nook. I love the shelf that runs the length of the dining nook, because it holds a lot of my cookbooks -- they're far enough away from the kitchen that they don't get greasy and dirty, but close enough to get to easily. The reference, research and "literary" food books live in this bookcase, near my desk, which is right outside the kitchen (the beauty of having a small place is that nothing is very far away from the kitchen). But I think I either have to find more space, or stop buying books. That's the end of the tour. I have to go wash dishes, and then I'll post about dinner. And cocktails!

After a quick stop at the corner market (that's actually in the middle of the block) for a bottle of wine, it was time for the produce market. They carry a lot more than produce, as you can see from the pictures. Today I didn't have too much to get -- potatoes, milk, half-and-half, lemons, limes, and a small red cabbage, along with some lighter items like herbs. Between the butcher and the produce store (with the non-corner store for a small selection of things like paper towels, soap, cat food and other grocery items as well as beer and wine), I can do a lot of my shopping close by. The main constraint is what I can carry up the hill, and somehow I always seem to push it to the limit. These shops, however, close by the time I get off work, so on work days, they're not an option. ON work nights, if I need to pick things up, I go to the stores on the other side of the hill, which I'll show you tomorrow. Now, though, it's time to finish getting dinner ready.

Some background on my shopping strategy: San Francisco, like most densely populated cities, is divided into neighborhoods that usually have their own shopping area -- some are better than others, or maybe just focused differently. Some of the larger neighborhoods have several small shopping areas in addition to the main one. And regardless of where you are in the city, there are usually numerous "corner stores" (not always on the corner, but that's what I call them anyway) -- they vary in size and merchandise, but all of them rely primarily on liquor, wine, beer and cigarettes to make it. I live in between Noe Valley and Glen Park and can walk to either shopping area (although it's a long walk to the main shopping area of Noe Valley, 24th Street). I'm near the top a hill that divides the two neighborhoods, so the walks are mostly downhill on the way there and uphill on the way back, which pretty much sucks considering that I'm always walking uphill laden down with shopping bags. Oh well, I guess the views count for something. I can also walk either way to get to public transportation that takes me downtown to work -- it's a shorter walk down the Noe Valley side, but a much longer ride, so I almost walk up over the hill to take BART to work. Occasionally I'll take the Noe Valley route home if I have a particular errand to run that I can only do on that route. But when I'm not working -- just shopping -- I usually walk down to the butcher shop and produce market that are a few blocks away on that side of the hill. That's where I went this afternoon. First, the butcher. Drewes Brothers gets mixed reviews in the California forum, but I like the shop. The quality is high, and although they don't have a huge selection, they'll order anything. They're always willing to cut meat to order for me, and will also do things like cut up roasts into stew meat for me. Plus, you have to love a place with stuffed birds of prey. And PO boxes as well. You can also see that they carry a few additional products. They have their own line of sauces, which I haven't tried. They have some wine, a few perishables, and charcoal briquettes, which you can't see in the picture. They sell frozen marrow bones as "dog bones"; I'm not sure if I'm the only one who buys them for dinner (the bags next to the bones are full of ground scraps -- also sold for dog food). Today, I just picked up a piece of salmon for tomorrow's dinner, and some bacon. Then, it was on to the produce store.

I got the bar second-hand from a friend of mine (and my guess is that they also bought it second hand). I'd always coveted it when I'd visit her and her husband, and told her that if she was ever going to get rid of it, I wanted right of first refusal. So, around eight years ago, they were remodeling. She called to say it just didn't fit in with their new look and to ask if I was still interested. Took me about 2 seconds to say yes. I'll definitely give you some cocktail recipes. I work part time at Sur La Table, near Union Square downtown. I don't know about photos of the store, but I can give you a tour of some of my cookware and gadgets, certainly. I'm off to a couple of my favorite markets while it's not raining. When I come back, I'll tell you more about work and shopping, and show you some pictures of the markets and my kitchen.

Thanks, everyone. Let's see: I'm not sure how much of the city I'll be able to explore with you all -- the weather has been wet and nasty, and I don't think slogging around in the rain would be fun for any of us. But I'll do what I can in between downpours. The cats are not particularly camera shy, so I might be able to get a few more shots of them. (The dishes are cool, aren't they? I thought I had the only cats around that ate out of Kotobuki dishes, but I guess I was wrong. I can't believe Johnnyd's cat used to have the same dish.) As for shopping, I'm lucky to be pretty close to some good markets and have several options for larger grocery stores that are fairly convenient. Since I'm only shopping for myself, it's not as difficult as it would be if I were shopping for a family. I'll get to shopping strategies in a minute, but first, brunch. It's a day off for me, and after a couple of not-great days, I decided to treat myelf to a Bloody Mary. To be precise, I suppose I should call it a a Caesar since I use Clamato. But then again, because I use gin, a Red Snapper might be a better name. A Snappy Caesar, maybe? Oh course, if I called it that, no one would know what I was talking about. I'll stick with the Bloody Mary. All mixed up and ready to go. The finished drink (not a very great photo; my apologies). On to the food. Nothing too exciting -- some leftover carrot soup, half a cheese twist I got yesterday at a little farmers' market a couple of blocks from where I work, and some smoked salmon spread from the same market.

I thought about calling this "Meet Me at the Bar" because, well, I do have a bar in my living room, but I don't want people to get the wrong idea, and besides, my Mom might be reading this. (Actually, my parents know I have a bar in my living room. I've had it for years.) Then I thought about calling it "A Girl and her Cookware" because, having worked at a cookware store for more years than I can believe, I have collected a frightening amount. So why "Park and Shop"? People of a certain age (women, probably) might remember the old board game by that name. Or maybe not -- maybe my sister and our friends were the only ones who played that strange game. In brief, here's an overview. You had two markers: one car and one pedestrian. You drew cards that told you which shops you had to visit. You started out with your car, and "drove" to one of several parking lots, depending on where your shops were located. Then you used your pedestrian to visit all the shops. (I know, we're not talking the excitement of buying property on Boardwalk, but hey, we liked it.) Of course there were squares you could land on that sent you to jail (I don't remember why -- jaywalking?) or otherwise set you back. But mostly, the strategy involved trying to find the shortest, most economic way of visiting all the shops on your list, and that's why I always remember it, because in many ways, that's my shopping life today. Back when I worked in an office and had a civilized hour for lunch, I often used that time to run as many errands as possible, and that's when it first came to me that I was living the "Park and Shop" game (without the parking, but close enough.) Now, since I am without a car, much of my food planning revolves around trying to figure out exactly that same thing -- how to get to all the shops I need to without making unnecessary side trips, taking impossibly long bus routes, or ending up with so much stuff I can't carry it. But "Public Transportation and Shop" doesn't quite have the same ring, does it? So "Park and Shop" it is. I'll talk more in a while about the shops I visit, how this whole process plays out day to day and how it influences my cooking style. But first, here's the way I start all my mornings, feeding the boys. Damien, Mookie, and Felix having breakfast. Max generally prefers private dining. Once they've eaten and I've let them out, I can concentrate on caffeine. I have a 10-cup programmable Krups machine, but I've found that my little one-cup Melita, which started life as a travel coffee maker, is more manageable for just me. I drag out the big black machine only when I have company. So, if you'll let me drink my coffee, I'll be back with more about the week ahead (kitchen pictures, too).

Chenery Park in Glen Park has a kids' night every Tuesday. In addition to the regular menu, they offer a kids' menu with smaller portions of their popular dishes (lower prices too). They try to set it up so that parties with small children are all seated in the upstairs section, keeping the rest of the tables a little bit quieter. (You can check out their "Kids' Club" on the web site.)

For dinner last night, I made a caesar salad with seared scallops. The scallops were great; the salad was good, but not great. I think I need help with my caesar dressing.

I guess I don't see an overwhelming reason to discount these boards based on those threads. There are basically three comments there from people who don't like them, without much to back them up. Most of the comments are actually on bamboo boards. My personal experience with the Epicureans has been that they don't dull my knives. My feeling is that if your knives scratch or cut your boards, then the board is softer than the knife and, thus, it's not hard on your knives. My Epicurean has as many scores as my wood boards -- more, probably -- although not as many as my poly board.

I just made the "Winter Greens Gratin" from Fine Cooking magazine. It's a little time consuming, compared with my usual methods for greens, but it's worth it for something a little more special. I used rainbow chard (the article suggests several varieties, with cooking instructions for them). Here's the blanched chard, along with the buttered bread crumbs, grated Parmesan and a mixture of bacon and pancetta (which you can barely see, because I can't frame a photo to save my life). The recipe calls for only the leaves, but I used the stems too, because I like them. I just cooked them for 10 minutes or so before adding the leaves to blanch. Here are the gratins assembled and ready to go into the oven: I made two -- one for tonight and one to reheat tomorrow or the next day. Here's the one for later -- I took out it out early, so I could reheat it without drying it out:

I've had one for quite a while and haven't noticed it being at all hard on my knives. It seems about the same density as a wood board. My only complaint about it is that because it's so light, it slides around a lot unless you put down a damp towel first.

What material is your grill pan? From the picture, it looks like cast iron, which in my experience heats pretty evenly -- although it can take a long time to heat up the section not over the burners. I have the two-burner reversible Le Creuset grill pan, which heats up well if I'm patient enough to wait for it. One trick I've read about but not tried is to preheat the pan in the oven and then move it to the stove when you're ready to cook. Way more planning than I'm capable of, though.

Several years ago I assisted at a cooking class taught by Anne Willan, who made a similar cheese and herb "twice-baked" souffle. The texture is not as light as a regular souffle, but they're still very good.

I do use pennies. They work beautifully and they are cheaper than pie weights. (It's surprising how quickly you can collect enough for several pie shells. But if you don't want to wait, go to the bank and buy three or four rolls.)

A friend of mine and I decided to check out Swig a couple of months ago. We got there around 10:30 on a Thursday. We were carded at the door (not awful at our ages, actually), and walked into a crowded, throbbingly loud room. Under the right circumstances, it might have been okay, but we wanted a place where we could talk and not have to wait in line for drinks, so we left and went across the street to Cortez.

You might also try Cortez in the Adagio Hotel on Geary. I've heard good things about Bix but haven't been there in years.

Echoing what others have said, as advice for a beginner, I'd avoid trying something new -- when you're an experienced cook and thrower of dinner parties, you'll be able to gauge pretty well how something will work, what kind of time is involved, etc. But when you're new at it, and nervous, it just adds to the stress. Marlene's advice to start out with small groups is great -- maybe even just two or three friends, or one other couple (if you're half of a couple). Then you can move on to bigger groups with more confidence. Cocktails and appetizers are a lot of work, and I'd never suggest them for someone who's new to entertaining, and who's going to prepare dinner on top of that. It's different if you just want to have a cocktail party (I have lots of advice on that, but that's another topic), but if dinner is the focus, a few snacks and a glass of champagne is a great way to start. And I'd never be embarrassed to buy premade items for snacks, as long as the quality is good. Some hummus and olives, or spiced nuts, or a good pate or terrine, is a nice and easy way to start. I'd stick with no more than four courses, including dessert, and only that if most of them are all done ahead. I've found that soup is a great first course -- it's all ready to go, requires no last minute work except for putting it in bowls (and maybe a simple garnish), and can go with all kinds of menus and all seasons. And people don't expect soup -- it's really very impressive that way. Then, depending on the type of meal, you could follow up with the main course and finish with a salad, or follow with a composed salad and finish with the main course. Then dessert, and you're done. A few other things that bear mentioning. Depending on your guests, make sure you have something non-alcoholic to serve, even if it's just sparkling water. If it's a long party and guests are drinking a lot, make sure there's lots of water available before and during dinner. For some menu-planning advice, here is an eGCI class on the subject. It's not specifically for party menus, but might contain some information you can use.

I never meant that keeping a kettle on the stove is illogical for everyone -- if I made tea every day, or even a few times a week, it would make some sense. It's just that I've been doing it all this time only because it's what I grew up seeing. So, Brooks, you can keep your kettle on the stove.

Isn't there a Hirsch rye out there, too? I would swear I've had Manhattans with it.

A friend of mine was visiting recently and we spent quite a bit of time cooking. Several times, we needed all the burner space, so I moved my tea kettle off the burner where it normally resides to make room; then, when we cleaned up, I moved it back. After a couple of times watching me do this, he asked why I keep it on the stove, since I rarely seemed to use it. The only answer I could think of was that it's what my Mom did. I grew up with a tea kettle on a back burner of the stove pretty much all the time. It was natural; it was the way things were. But here's the thing -- my Mom makes tea every day; I make tea about once a month, tops. The kettle has no other routine uses for me, so it occurred to me that for the past 20 years, I've essentially taken up a burner with an item that I use a lot less than any of my pots and pans. All it does is collect grease and dust from sitting out. It's an especially stupid habit given that I don't like unnecessary clutter in my kitchen. So, after all this time, I've moved it to a cupboard. But since then, I've tried to identify other habits I have that make no sense and have found a couple more, mostly storage related. Anyone else have any habits like this?

I've been thinking about this for a few days, and the best I can do in one sentence is that the best bartenders will make you feel like a regular, even if you aren't and even if you never can or will be.

Brooks is right -- it's because the colder the water is, the more carbon dioxide will stay dissolved in the water. For the same reason, you should always chill soda bottles before opening -- you lose much less CO2 so you get less spurting upon opening and end up with soda that stays fizzy longer.