MatthewB

What I mean by "one-off" is doing just enough of a sauce for one recipe. Sorry about the confusion.

Yes, I'm looking for a neutral base that I can make 4 quarts or so of & then freeze. Last night was the first time I tried doing this with a tomato sauce.

Thanks for the great info, Sam.

Ahhhhhh! Sam, you hit on some of things that I was wondering about. I'll backtrack a bit. I've been doing one-off tomato sauces--all too often as of late--from Lynne Rossetto Kasper's The Italian Country Table . Her tomato sauce recipes call for whole canned tomatoes or fresh tomatoes. So the sauces are thinner than what I dealt with last evening. For whatever reason, I'd decided to make a big batch but I used the recipe from David Waltuck's Staff Meals from Chanterelle. I've always had very good luck with his recipes. But as I assembled the sauce, I immediately wondered about the use of crushed tomatoes & how thick the sauce was. Perhaps a better question for me to ask is: Should I go back & look at Hazan (or someone similar) for a standard tomato sauce recipe? (I.e., a thinner sauce that doesn't utilize pre-crushed tomatoes.)

Slight sticking but no burning. I stirred fairly frequently. But simmers are hard to control on this stove. Just when you get it right, half the time the flames goes out.

Oh, this was a simmer! (Simmer for me is a 4 count between bubbles.) The gas burner was as low as it would go. Perhaps I should pick up a heat diffuser, too?

Heather, if you're going to try some of this--which I do from time-to-time but certainly not comprehensively--check out Helen Witty's books: Better Than Store-Bought Fancy Pantry The Good Stuff Cookbook

That's what I thought, but I wanted a sanity check. Thanks, Rachel.

I think I'll go back & do last week's menu this weekend. I will not get around to ordering duck this week.

I made tomato sauce last night from scratch. 8 quart pot was about 5 quarts full to start. The tomatoes were crushed (canned). Anyway . . . Made a huge mess as the burbling sauce flew all over the oven, the counter, the backsplash, etc. Is there an easier way to do this? Perhaps a splatter cover over the pot?

Varmint, nice work & great contributions to the thread! I guess I'm feeling a bit guilty about taking a "bye week" on our dinners . . . So I'm cooking . . . Big pot o' tomato sauce is making a huge mess on the oven backsplash. I butterflied a pork loin for the first time tonight. Quite easy really. Loin is nearly ready for the oven. Butternut squash & bourbon soup is in the first simmer stage. Anyway . . . FWIW.

Well, given that I didn't see any appealing fish & I had a busy weekend schedule, I cooked other stuff but not our meal. I'll look into ordering duck. FWIW, tonight I'm making 4 quarts of tomato sauce to freeze and for dinner I'm making butternut squash & bourbon soup plus a stuffed pinwheel pork loin w/ salad + bread and, of course, wine.

Willie Bobo recorded quite a few "food songs." For instance, there's "Fried Neck Bones and Some Homefries." And don't forget the album cover for "Spanish Grease."

Word. That's great bourbon at a very fair price.

If you're looking into more cast-iron, check out slkinsey's eGCI course on cookware. Look specifically for the information on enameled cast-iron. A covered enameled cast-iron "oven" is great for both stovetop use & oven use.

Do you know of any wine that works with artichokes? Appetizer with Cynar?

In the spirit of this thread--learning new techniques--should we be seriously considering an artichoke dish?

Yes, great post, marie-louise! You jogged my memory. (I'm starting to think my posts suck.) -- Bruce Aidell = Why did I forgot to check that book? I had it & everything I've done from it has been wonderful. -- Salt = Whilst reading Laurie Colwin's "Home Cooking" last night, she mentioned something like, "Beef stew never needs salt." Held true with this dish. -- Salt pork = I used pancetta, too. Picked up a half-pound end for $1.50. -- Cheesecloth thing = I noticed Julia's note about not using it, too. I almost went that way when I realized, like you, that I'd lose the lardons. And, actually, the cheesecloth packet seemed like less work, too. Glad I used the cheesecloth. -- Beurre Manie = FWIW, I liked how that worked as a thickener. New technique learned for me. -- Wine = Adding the wine at the very end was a big improvement over previous beef stews that I've made. Another new technique learned. Thanks, marie-louise, and keep coming with your posts!!!

What about ordering from Amazon?

Rice pilaf & baked tomatoes sound great. As far as the fish, it's not what I want, it's what I can get. Yes, the fish.

Perhaps I'm having trouble getting my head around not using imported Dover sole. I love that stuff. I'll go have a drink & beat my head against the wall, in no particular order. Perhaps that will get me readjusted on this issue.

Nope. I will find some other nice mild fish with a less inflated price tag. Seriously, like what? (I'm in Grand Rapids, Michigan & I'm fairly limited in decent fish choices.)

If we do this, are folks going to be using imported Dover sole?

Again, many congrats to Mr. & Mrs. Seth & Nate!!! Thanks to the tips & instructions here, the creme brulee crust turned out much better. I need to keep working on this though. I've now an excuse to make creme brulee somewhat frequently! As noted, the beef stew wasn't difficult. Just time-consuming but I enjoyed putzing around in the kitchen. Though a different recipe might provide less work & just as good results. I think I'll reduce the leftover stew sauce tonight after I finish off the last serving. So what's next?

Dinner tonight: Warmed beef stew Mashed potatoes (made tonight, not leftovers) Roasted swiss chard w/ grapes (Damn, Malawry, you rock. Great recipe!) Wine, of course Creme brulee, round two, coming up in a bit. The stew was even better this evening.