tammylc
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Posts posted by tammylc
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I'm also somewhat limited by the FreshRoast, which roasts very quickly at a high temperature; thus, everything it produces is fairly "bright."
I may have something to break your plateau, Fat Guy! My husband also used a FreshRoast, and like you, has found it limiting because of it's high roast temperature (he much prefers medium roasts). As a computer and electronics geek, he likes to hack things, and has found a bunch of instructions on line for hacking your FreshRoast (adding a Variac to modify your household current, modifying certain other parts, etc). Apparently, once you've done all the mods, it will turn you FreshRoast into something as good or better than the most expensive roasters on the market!
I've been trying to use the coffee and tea forum as a means to suck my husband into posting to eGullet - I'll see if I can get him to post his plans here...
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I wouldn't buy an expensive bottle of wine for the sole purpose of cooking with it. But if I needed 1/2 c of something for a sauce, I'd use whatever I had on hand or was about to open up, and if that was something expensive, that's okay. I've used 20 year old Tawny Port (~$35/bottle) to cook with - but it was 1/4 cup here or there as needed before I'd finished the bottle.
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For the frozen mini-tarts & phyllo triangles, I don't think it is necessary to bake them before freezing. Just bake at same temp as usual, straight from the freezer, for a few minutes longer than if not frozen.
I don't bother pre-cooking the phyllo triangles - those work great from the freezer. I just wasn't sure about the tarts. But I just checked the recipe, and it turns out it's a moot point - it specifically says they shouldn't be frozen (but can be prepared up to 2 days in advance).
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Sounds brilliant, Maggie - recipe?
Tryska - I'll take both veggie and non-veggie eggroll recipes, if you don't mind...
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tryska and prasantrin - recipes?
hannahcooks - mmm, goat cheese, my favorite. And those sound easy enough to prep and make as I go.
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Thanks for the filling recipes, JAZ. And for the tip about how to mark them - that's a great idea!
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You don't even have to thaw them first; just pop them into the oven directly from the freezer. In fact, that's the best way to reheat almost any filled pastry item. Thawing first can make them soggy, and the reheat doesn't always recrisp.I usually make these little custard tarts with cheddar, mustard and leeks, and I'm thinking they might freeze alright. I'd bake them in advance, then thaw and reheat day of.Thanks for the tip. Should I still bake them before freezing them?
I wouldn't, if you mean rolled in nori. Just because the nori will sog. If you do them inside-out, though, that should be okay.The night before the party I'm planning to recruit my roommate's help to roll up a bunch of vegetarian sushi that we can slice and serve throughout the day.Darn, I was really hoping that would be an easy solution. Even the night before would be too long? I might have time to do some up in the morning, depending how everything else goes.
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1. Real parmesan, of course
2. Soft goat cheese (Coach Farm is a favorite, but most any kind will do)
3. Whatever tastes good at the cheese counter that visit. Lately I've been really grooving on a triple cream from Burgundy, but I'm trying not to get that _every_ time I go...
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I'm having a big housewarming party in about 3 weeks. The party will be an open house, with people dropping in throughout the day. When I've done these in the past, I've prepped lots of finger foods that I can heat up in the oven throughout the day to supplement the cheese, veggies, meat, bread etc. we'll have out for grazing. Due to my busy schedule between now and then, I don't have a lot of time to devote to food prep the week or weekend before the party.
I do have a day or two _this_ weekend that I can devote to prep, so I'm looking to the wisdom of eGullet for some freezable finger foods that can be prepared in advance. I'm already planning on prepping some spinach/feta triangles, and thought I might be creative and do some brie/jam/pecan phyllo packages, and maybe another with a mushroom filling. If I can get a couple friends to help this weekend we should be able to assembly line them together pretty quickly.
I usually make these little custard tarts with cheddar, mustard and leeks, and I'm thinking they might freeze alright. I'd bake them in advance, then thaw and reheat day of.
The night before the party I'm planning to recruit my roommate's help to roll up a bunch of vegetarian sushi that we can slice and serve throughout the day. And day of we're planning to do some little canape to highlight the really good smoked salmon from Durham's Tracklements.
Any other ideas/ favorite recipes/ suggestions?
Thanks!
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I've not really had a chance to try truffles in their native form. I'm looking forward to the Black Truffle Ravioli at Trio in two weeks for my first chance to get to identify the taste mostly on its own.
But... I've had dishes and sauces that included truffles, and the big difference seems to be that they add a depth and complexity that you just can't get from anything else.
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Wow! Thanks for the amazing write-up and pictures. I'm eating at the kitchen table in just 2 weeks, so this is a really good sneak preview for me, since I expect many of the dishes will be the same.
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Dinner turned out great. The stuffed turkey breast was really wonderful, and the fabulous built in meat probe in my fancy new stove helped me cook it to perfection. The stuffing had lots of mushrooms so was pretty moist (and the "cooked to perfection" meant the turkey wasn't dry), but the pan sauce still added a nice dimension. There weren't really any drippings to speak of, but I deglazed the pan with some homemade stock and some of the Beaujolais, then reduced it. Just before it was done reducing, I threw in a small handful of dried cranberries. Took it off the heat and whisked in about a tbsp of cold butter and a tsp of a grainy french mustard with grape must. Very nice.
I ended up just steaming the green beans, but due to an error in timing, they were done earlier than I the roast. So I set them aside, and right before serving heated up some EVOO and tossed them in it to reheat with some grey sea salt and fresh black pepper. Shaved some parmagiano reggiano on top.
Everyone raved about the meal, so definitely a win. Thanks for all the help!
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Thanks to everyone for the recommendations!
I'm leaning towards Guajalote's red wine pan sauce for the turkey breast - I think the splash of color will make for a nice plate, but I'll probably add a bit of mustard a la jackal10's Cumberland sauce. And maybe a few dried cranberries for texture and seasonalness...
As for the beans - I definitely want a hot side, so the salad is probably out, although I'll peruse Moosewood when I get home and see if I change my mind. Plus raw onions are about the only food that have made it onto my "pregnant, must avoid" food list. Perhaps the tomato concoction Dave recommends, or I may decide to not worry about the acid balance and go for Dano1's simple but classic butter, shallots, nutmeg and parsley. Or maybe I'll roast them with EVOO, sea salt and cracked black pepper and shave some parmesan on top to serve.
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Thanks all.
Guajalote - what kind of wine? I have a random red and an Australian Chard in the fridge that should still be okay for cooking with. Or should I use the Beaujolais?
Dave (or anyone else) - any bean dress-up suggestions? I was thinking of something vaguely almondine-ish, but hadn't gone surfing for recipes.
Curlywurlyfi - I don't really feel too bad. I've always thought that my greatest strength as a cook is knowing which stores to shop at...
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I'm having some friends over for dinner tonight, and in a demonstration of hostly laziness, bought a pre-stuffed turkey breast from Whole Foods to serve for dinner. It's stuffed with wild rice and mushrooms, and I'm thinking it might be a little dry. Anyone have any suggestions for a sauce I could throw together to go with?
The rest of the meal will be prosciutto-wrapped scallops as the appetizer (also purchased pre-prepared from Whole Foods -- I hang my head in shame), and green beans on the side. Served with Beaujolais Nouveau, cause 'tis the season and why the heck not? Dessert will be a cherry pie (and no, I didn't make that either).
Thoughts?
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I with Varmint - I wouldn't be without my garlic press.
I have a pretty useless garlic peeler as well - there's one brand that's pretty good for when you have to do a lot of garlic, but it's not the one I own, which I got as a freebie somewhere. The one I have sucks - I may even have thrown it away.
My garlic roaster is pretty useless. But I think the most useless thing I have is this little metal egg poacher thing. You stand it up in a pot of water and crack an egg in it so it stays together when poaching. There are little holes in the bottom to allow the water to drain out. At least, I think that's how it works - I've never used it and can't for the life of me remember where I got it.
After my recent move, it's been exiled to a box in the basement destined for our next garage sale.
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Oh, and perhaps not at quite the same level as the rest, but with the bonus of being local to Detroit, Jeremy Restaurant and Bar. Not an auspicious name by any means, but the reviews are very good.
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My list is much shorter than the rest - with a baby on the way I don't image I'll be doing much travelling, and there's only one destination restaurant in Detroit.
I'm doing Trio (again) in just a couple of weeks, so I probably won't make it back there next year. Maybe to Trotters, though, if I get to Chicago and have too much spare cash... Or Spring, or Naha.
Hopefully my friend Sarah will get an academic job, which will give us an excuse to go to Tribute (Detroit) to celebrate.
If I do manage to get in any spontaneous travel in next year, it will probably be to the DC area, where I have friends I'd like to see and restaurants I'd like to visit. Laboratorio tops the list, but I'd also happily go to Maestro.
The city I'm most likely to end up travelling to is Boston - any destination dining I should be planning for there?
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I'm planning to pick up some BN as well. We're having friends for dinner tomorrow night, and I figure it will be fun. If it really sucks, well, I have other bottles in the basement.
Any suggestions on what I should serve for dinner?
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Do you have a Cost Plus Imports near you? They have a Spieglau knock-off for $4.99 a stem:
There's one right across the street from where I work, in fact.
The look good in the picture, and are certainly in a price range I can live with... Have you used them?
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They are not particularly high end, but we got Waterford Marquis glasses (they are sold on Amazon as well) when we got married. They were the best option at the time for a large clear wine glass (Macy's registry). They have held up well over the last 3+ years (have only broken one.) I haven't yet felt the need to upgrade to Reidel or Speiglau.
What's the rim like? The thing I like about the high end glasses is the smooth, non-rolled rim.
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I bought a set of 6 Speiglau glasses last New Year's Eve, and I'm now down to 2. My husband (much as I love him) can't seem to wash them without breaking them, and I've even broken one myself. I keep looking at the Amazon "buy 6, get 6 free" deal and thinking I should order some, but I'm worried about their longevity in my household.
For what it's worth, the glasses I have are the Chianti glasses - I don't know if their design makes them less sturdy than other versions. In addition to being fragile, I've also found that they feel really top heavy to me, which is something I don't like.
Anyone have any suggestions for high quality, crystal glasses that are a little sturdier? Mark Sommelier mentioned Schott-Zweisel on another thread - anyone have experience with them? How do they compare to Speiglau or Reidel?
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Any range hood that's going to do a good job of removing smoke is going to require ducting to the outside. In our new house, we had planned for a high end, professional style range hood, but our spec got ignored and we ended up with the wrong kind of ducting to support it.
We ended up going with a Broan Allure 3, and we're very happy with it. It only requires a 10x4 rectangular duct that can go straight out the back of the hood, so if your stove is on an external wall it might be relatively simple to install the ductwork. The hood includes a "Boost" option which brings it up to 450 CFM or something, which is quite good. We can roast coffee under it without smelling it in the house at all.
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I have been known to use Instant Mashed Potatoes though.
IMO, instant mashed potatoes are spawn of the devil. I was at a "family" restaurant on Saturday and had a hankering for mashed potatoes and gravy. Always wary, I asked if they were instant or real. Turns out they were half and half - what the heck's up with that?
We've also recently encountered the condiment issue, when we moved to a new house with a new fridge, and acquired a housemate at the same time. Combining the sauces and condiments from two households of avid cooks was almost more than the fridge could handle! Using up and combining the duplicates will only make things slightly better...
Coffee Plateau
in Coffee & Tea
Posted
Well, my efforts to suck him into eGullet continue to fail (probably for the best - like we need _two_ people in the family spending all their time on the board!).
But here are some links to help you get started:
Good basic getting started guide (note that you'll only understand after you read this - my husband just bought a 20 amp variac instead of subsituting a 20 amp fuse into the 5 amp variac as the article suggests)
Short thread from CofeeGeek forums
Google search on "Fresh Roast Variac" in alt.coffee
Hope that helps!