hjshorter

This is sounding just a wee bit elitist. So those of us who can afford a good restaurant are allowed to dine out, while those who can only afford BK should stay at home and cook instead? Even low income people (and I have been there) want a meal out occasionally. Perhaps we should be complaining about the lack of quality restaurants in the BK price range?

We would be in, provided we could get a babysitter.

Campero has pintos, right? If they are as good as Rio Grande those would be the side of choice for me. Rio Grande's beans are the best thing they serve.

Yes! The sauces at C&J are terrific! I always ask for extra sauce. And I like their sides of black beans and fried plantains too.

I forgot the lemon juice in my method. I add that after the cooking and before the mashing. What kind of apples are they, Mr G? Mutsus and Ginger Golds are my favorites for applesauce.

Don't sugar it. I use a very small amount of water, and cook the pared, cored apples slowly for about 15-20 minutes, then hand mash for a chunky texture. For a finer texture put it through a food mill. Add a cinnamon stick or two while the apples cook if you want that flavor. Some recipes recommend a few whole cloves, but I find that cloves overpower the apples. Edit: spelling

Nice report! Sorry I couldn't be there. Do you have a Crisp & Juicy, or another Peruvian chicken joint near you? That's my go-to place if there's one anywhere near me, but it's not fried, it's rotisseried.

heather - hope you did better than i did on friday night. lost a tooth off my denture on a crusty mac and cheese Yikes! Ours wasn't that crusty. We had the leftovers for lunch. Still tasty, but the microwave takes all the crustiness away. Sunday dinner - we're all sick now, so didn't feel like cooking much Crispy panko-breaded sauteed chicken breasts Bittman's pasta with gorgonzola and spinach, with a few differences. I sauteed shallots in butter until brown, added the spinach and cheese, then dumped the hot spaghettini on it. We were underwhelmed by this and may not try it again. It needed something else. Water, water, and more water Extra vitamin C Small piece of bittersweet chocolate for dessert Hot tea

That's good to know. I haven't made any recipes from Cookwise, only read it for reference.

The expedition will have to go on without me. Scott and I and both kids have terrible colds. Maybe I will do a consolation run to Crisp & Juicy for chicken, plantains and beans.

Macaroni and cheese, made with extra sharp aged cheddar and a buttered panko crust. Mmmmmm. Steamed broccoli. Milk for kids and grownups. Vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce and sliced almonds for dessert.

Seth, many of the issues you had with CT were things I was imagining. OK, shall we go with Cookwise instead? Shirley is cool and she definitely gives you the "why" of everything. J&J Cooking At Home would be my first choice, then Cookwise. And Erin, we'd be honored.

We have Think Like A Chef, but to be honest, I don't care for it. Seth, please report.

Hmm. There goes that idea. Dave, I don't have the Bittman/Vongerichten book. Worth getting?

It's worth buying. Beautiful and useful. It's one of my go-to books and has been since the day we brought it home. One of the (many) loveable things about it is the variations. Many have Julia's version on one page and Jacques' on the other, with explanations.

Do you have Julia & Jacques Cooking At Home? That might be a good place to start, instead of CT. The recipes are fabulous, and it covers many of the techniques in CT, without the more esoteric Garde Manger stuff.

I admire your dedication to the cause.

I'd go with Discover.

Sure thing. I also think the step-by-step photos in CT are a plus. Cookwise has the benefit of giving different methods for different results. Let's just jump right in and pick something.

In my house, this is often followed by, "Good Heavens, Ms Sakamoto! You're beautiful!" Same here Dave. Geez, we're goofy. (When he still had hair, Scott bore a very slight resemblance to Thomas Dolby.)

Me! Me! Oh yeah.

Eh, I think I'd like to play in my own sandbox for a bit. Things will be a little less formal that way. I have been poring over Complete Techniques for the last two days, and there really are not many recipes in it. Shall we each nominate a dish/technique and spend a week or so on it? That would give everyone several days to work it into their schedules, instead of all preparing the same dish on a given day. We would also benefit from each other's mistakes that way, because if I eff up the hollandaise on Monday, there's time to analyze my dismal failure so that it isn't repeated by others in the group. The alternative would be to switch to Cookwise or a similar tome, that covers technique, recipes and science. (Or as we say in our house: SCIENCE!)

That's tempting. I might be up for it. We have nothing planned this weekend, and I have to go to Annandale to visit my dad, so I would be in Virginia anyway...

Here's the story. Has anyone tried it? If not I think there should be an official egullet report.

Eat First is our favorite restaurant in Chinatown. Have fun!