hjshorter

You know, mags, I may end up agreeing with you. I'm generally a cheesecake purist. I like New York cheesecake, with none of that strawberry syrupy stuff. Any additions or gimmicks make me suspicious. But in the spirit of the holiday I thought I might give this a try. I made a cranberry cheesecake one year that was pretty good. If you're interested I could dig up the recipe.

What didn't you like about it? It was the first panini that required a steak knife that I ever had. Didn't taste good, either. OK, thanks. I was just curious, since Rosie really liked her meal.

What didn't you like about it?

I was pleasantly surprised to open my deep freeze today and find a largish hunk o'beef, perfect for braising.

I have a 15 year old photocopy from a friend, with "My favorite potatoes!" written on it. The potatoes are not precooked, just thinly sliced and tossed with EVOO before layering with the parsley, garlic and whole milk mozzerella. Topped with breadcrumbs and a drizzle of more olive oil, then baked. This has been my experience too.

Seth, I somehow missed that plum cake thread. Plums will be on my grocery list soon. Tuesday dinner, preparations interrupted by a 4:15 trip to the pediatrician : Sauteed pork chops Roasted brussels sprouts with EVOO, S & P, a little balsamic Garnet yams, cubed and roasted with a little butter Joseph Drouhin Pouilly-Fuisse 2001 Halloween cupcakes decorated by Emma & Mommy for dessert.

Heather, there is one in J&J and another in Dessert Circus... I like DC's directions better, but am willing to go with J&J for consistency's sake. Does anyone else feel like messing around with puff pastry sometime soon? I have my eye on the pithiviers recipe in DC (or, as I refer to it, Just Jacques). I'll go with J & J's recipe. I checked DC out from the library and really like the looks of it. It may be one to buy if I can find it used.

Sounds easy, right? Edited to add grin, in case anyone thought I might be serious. Uh, yeah. I don't have a vaccuum sealer. Although the garnish sounds mighty good. And I will confess to not liking rare duck. Or rare lamb.

Yay Chad! There's always room for another cookbook. And I second the Guigal Cote de Rhone.

That gratin looks delicious. Let us know how it turns out. And what creme brulee recipe should we use? I'm buying a kitchen torch. Scott has a blowtorch for jewelry making, but I don't want it in the kitchen. Matt - that is hilarious.

Those are fantastic. If the kids like fish, how about twice baked potatoes stuffed with dill, flaked salmon, and a little sour cream?

It was the Frontera Foundation, right? Curiosity got the better of me the other day, so I tried the Sante Fe. It wasn't bad for a fast food sandwich, but as I said on another thread it strikes me as the kind of thing that could vary wildly in quality from place to place. Mine was fresh and the bread was crusty. I could taste the poblanos and it wasn't drowing in sauce. It's a reasonable fast food alternative when traveling and a Mcdonald's salad isn't an option.

If you shop at the Dupont Farmer's Market, then order one from Polyface farms and they will have it for you the Sunday before Thanksgiving. It's very good turkey.

Right on! Dean and Priscilla, you are more than welcome to join in. Chicken and fish are OK for Mrs V, right? What about duck? J & J has lots of fish recipes. Matthew, why do you have to mail order duck? To recap: this week, Beef Bourgonionne (or however it's spelled ), mashers, green veggie of your choice, and creme brulee. Sound good?

There's also a duck and parsnip saute that looked delicious. I'm embarrassed to say that I have never cooked a duck at home, not even duck breasts. You sautee the duck pieces (another chance to dismember poultry) for 20-25 minutes until all the beautiful fat renders out, then put veggies in to cook in the fat. Take out of duck fat and serve. I don't know what to tell you about reasonably priced Burgundy. There's none around here either. Does everyone have Mastering the Art? Jules et Jim (LOL Seth) is light on dessert recipes, so we could supplement with recipes from that.

I was taught to use the butt-end of my chopsticks to serve myself from communal plates if no utensils are provided. Does anyone else do that?

OK good! Bourgonionne it is. What sort of sides would everyone like? The garnish for the meat is pearl onions and mushrooms. I vote for mashers to put the yummy gravy on, and the glazed carrots/turnips. Would anyone like to try a dessert too?

I had the leftovers for lunch today. Delish. Ok, beef. If the stew doesn't do it for you, how about Steak au poivre? Steak Diane? I need to work on sauteeing more than stewing. And I'd like to try some of the vegetable preparations too, like the glazed carrots and turnips, or maybe the tomatoes. We could try the other potato recipe just to compare one with the other. I am going hunting for A New Way To Cook tonight, so maybe we can add some of those recipes next week. Seth, the pate makes 20 portions. Scott made it for a party a few years ago so I didn't pay attention to how much the recipe made. Unless we're having company it would need to freeze well.

But I picked the last menu and look how it turned out.

Jonathan, how did you restrain yourselves from beating him senseless? I roomed with a dear friend from high school for several years who was a moralistic vegatarian. He was convinced that his diet made him a better person. The universe got revenge on him by making him fall in love with a determined carnivore. They've been together for 13 years.

I'd like to try the Beef Bourgonionne, or maybe one of the veal recipes. I've never cooked veal at home. Scott made the pate a few years ago, but I will like to try it this time. Anyone have any suggestions?

I used plain old yellow onions too. Matthew - score! Ok, so what's next? Beef?

This is great, everyone! I agree Dave, these potatoes might be good with an already rich meal. I left the garlic cloves whole in mine. It added garlic flavor without overwhelming. As far as why cook the chicken this way... I like roast chicken too but it is better the day of. Like Dave said, this would keep for a couple of days with no loss of flavor. I took the chicken out at the end of cooking and boiled the sauce for a couple of minutes and mounted with butter. It helped A LOT with the raw wine aspect. And the boned breasts were perfectly done after the suggested cooking time, so maybe I did it right after all. Although like you guys I am partial to bone-in usually. Next time I will skip cooking the wings and save them for stock. We wished for a loaf of bread too. I won't forget that next time. I used an unoaked Chablis (Domaine d'Elise 2001) in the dish, and we drank the same wine with dinner.

If it's in January, I might be able to come. I'm planning a museum trip up there sometime in January.

I thought they were supposed to be deboned. Maybe I read the directions wrong. OK, good, I wasn't the only one! I want to try the other recipe too. Another menu? Do we want to try this weekly or biweekly?