fifi

Whoo Hoo! I have a cooking-for-one discovery. I am sure you have all heard that I am in love with gratins. I am in love with my LeCreuset gratin pan, the enameled cast iron one as recommended by Steingarten. I have perfected his potatoes dauphinoise (sp?) and gone on to gratin everything else in site. The problem is, the large gratin is required to make anything for 4 or more because the secret to the technique is a shallow layer of whatever in the pan. But that is still a lot for one to deal with and I only did it when I was having company. Then some friends found the individual size pans at the LeCreuset outlet in San Marcos, TX. I ordered four. Well, today I put one of them to the test. I figured that the potatoes would be the hardest to scale down. I used one medium sized potato and it fit perfectly. Then I scaled down the cresm. Now the biggest departure... I put it in the DeLonghi convection oven. 1 hour 15 minutes later at 325 on convection, I had a perfect miniature gratin. The crustiness was the same as in the larger pan and longer cooking time. Now I can gratin to my heart's content without throwing out leftovers. I think I will go get an eggplant. Whoo Hoo!

How about a sweet potato gratin of some sort that has ginger in it. Ginger is good for the digestion.

Oh, yes... River Oaks Grill. That brings back memories. A very dear friend (now deceased) and I would dine there on the average of once a month. As he was a "regular" it was always a warm and welcoming experience. I haven't been back, but you remind me that I should.

Yes indeed, you'll find that bottle gone in no time - and you too. Great stuff. Oh dear. This reminds me of a memorable night in Martinez, California. With some dear friends, we went to a wonderful Chinese restaurant for dinner. Our host knew the owners very well. At the end of the meal, we started sampling various plum wines. Delicious stuff. But deadly. The hangover was memorable.

First cold snap here I am going to tackle this dish. My biggest worry is getting the dried beans that aren't too old. Paula's book should be here tomorrow so I haven't read it yet. FoodMan... What are you going to do for beans and confit?

Oh. My. God.

You are absolutely right. Plastic is permeable to varying degrees depending upon the plastic. For instance, the Tones containers are made of PET and may be specially treated to further reduce permeability. For home purposes, glass is the best bet. It isn't a matter of being air tight but allowing the aromatics from herbs and such to permeat out. My sister once flavored her whole freezer with dill when she put up a bunch from her dill crop in Sears polyethylene containers in the freezer. I use the small jelly jars to freeze pestos, Kaffir lime leaves, bay leaves, whatever.

I never really got into the soda thing because I really don't like sweet drinks that much. I do like diet Coke ok because it isn't as sweet. You get used to it. I did get hooked on LaCroix sparkling water in the cans, though. When it is hot out, I like something with the carbonated zing but not sweet. AH-HA! Beer! Well, too much of that isn't good. Then I got onto LaCroix since that is what they would serve on Continental flights when I would ask for sparkling water. Great stuff. It has a little different fizz that I find nice.

These are the top of my list... Add the boxing thing. I often need to get a go box because I can rarely eat all of my meal. I HATE doing it myself. What I usually do is ask... very sweetly... "Would you mind boxing this for me?"

I don't use it much for cooking. It is a popular ingredient in Mexican cooking and is one of the components of Tres Leches cake. I just use it in my coffee for the most part. I just happen to like the cooked milk flavor and it doesn't spoil nearly as fast as regular milk.

The few times I have made the curry pastes, (I am a lazy, Mae Ploy slug) I have frozen them. I don't really see a difference. One warning... Freeze them in a glass canning jar, I use the small half pints, otherwise the whole freezer will start to smell and taste of the stuff. (The same thing goes for pestos, roasted garlic etc.) Plastic is permeable and that hurts the quality of the product you are storing as well as the contents of the freezer.

I am not opposed to well done burgers. I am not opposed to med rare burgers. I am opposed to rare but that is a personal preference. My favorite hamburger starts with a rather thin patty, cooked on a really oily griddle, pressed with a spatula so that the outside edges have a crispy brown component. Then it is served with fresh and cold lettuce and onion on a toasted bun that has enough substance to hold up to the mayo or salsa that I prefer as a condiment. Sesame or poppy seed on the bun, please. Melted cheese added to the top of the patty after the last turn doesn't hurt either. And, I won't hold you at gunpoint to keep you from adding some crispy bacon. No E. coli worries there. The med rare comes only from places like steak houses where they grind their own meat or from places like Fuddruckers where you see them grinding the meat. However, my "diner style" burger off the griddle is still my favorite. I just know that the "former" BK burgers from a few years ago used to approach, not duplicate, the diner style burger and it no longer does that. McDs lost me long ago with the steamed meat.

I have the same problem as tommy. I think I have found a solution. In my new pantry, I intend to find some plastic rectangular "baskets", similar to the commercial bread "trays" but with shorter sides. (You can get them at The Container Store. My sister has some to fit our collection of Nero Wolfe and other mystery books.) They stack. I will then arrange all of my bottles and such on their sides so I can read the labels, maybe separate the savory from the sweet, I probably won't get so anal that they are in alphabetical order. Then I will stack them up on one of the pantry shelves. That is my dream, anyway. I also had, in my previous pantry, some wire shelves mounted on the wall that had some shelves the perfect height for my big Tone's containers (from Sam's) of those large volume things I use for dry rubs and such. edit: ACK... I hit the wrong button. Could a mod please move this to tommy's thread on dry spices? Thanks. edit again: OOPS. I am not nuts. tommy just started another thread. (I thought I was losing my mind.) Might be a good idea to move this anyway. Thanks.

That makes sense. Thank you for the explanation. I have driven through that area when the trees were blooming. You are right. The perfume is like swimming through a sea of orange flower water. God, I want an apricot from a hundred year old tree. I will plan my next trip to achieve that goal. I haven't had a decent apricot in 30 years. The last one was from a roadside stand in West Texas. We actually made ourselves sick we ate so many. Thanks again.

And THAT, me dear, is a noble calling. Thank you for attempting it. You do it very well.

For some reason, a technique similar to bacon candy comes to mind. Pack some sugar on the lemon slices and put them on a rack over a bacon sheet in the oven at 375 or more. (Be sure to line the sheet with some foil or you will have a helluva mess to clean up.) Bake until the slices are glazed like the bacon. I am not sure if this would work because I haven't tried it. I don't know if the water content would interfere with the candy like texture you get with the bacon. If it DOES work, then I start thinking about orange slices treated the same way. Dip in chocolate? Kumquats? I may also try this with salting and seasoning. If I get around to it I will let you know what I come up with. (Hmmm... lightly salted lime with a sprinkle of Chipotle Tabasco.)

Canned beans. I see those Goya cans on the shelf in the grocery and I just know I need some of those. I am always prepared for whatever bean salsa I could dream up. bloviatrix... Sounds like you have the making of a high rise for weevils.

I have never participated in a cooking club but I did read about a local one here. They had an interesting concept. They met at each other's home's, usually. The program was varied. Sometimes they would focus on a particular cuisine with members contributing a dish, maybe cooking on premises. They would include sharing what they had learned about the culture and the history of the dishes that they prepared. Everyone brought their source books so that questions that arose could be researched and discussed on the spot. Another activity was focusing on a particular ingredient. Another was using a particular book with members selecting a recipe or two to cook, then critiquing and discussing the book. They had other great ideas as well. Excursions to markets or restaurants was not excluded. One great idea was keeping a club diary so that as members came and went (excellent suggestion in your situation) the history and experience of the club could be shared with newcomers and previous member's contributions lived on. This particular club had been going for over 15 years! I always thought that if I ever joined a cooking club, that would be what I was looking for. They went far beyond getting together for a pot luck once a month. I would suspect that holding a group like that together would require some strong leadership and organization but it sure sounds worth it. Best of luck and let us know how it goes. Some of us may be able to offer organizational suggestions as you proceed so feel free to bump this thread up as needed. Please allow me this opportunity to personally thank you, your family members, friends and neighbors for your service to our country.

OK... So I am a little dense. You roasted the lemon slices for 10 minutes. At what temperature? How thick are the slices? What should they look like? Do you salt them before roasting? That implies that not everyone eats the peel. That sounds kind of messy on a pizza. Sort of like having to get those stupid tails off of a shrimp in a pasta sauce. Echoing kpurvis... What the hell is a tapas pan? (That is my place, kpurvis! Move over!)

Terrific post, Andy. Anyone that wants to sell a book should hire you to write a review. But... DAMN YOU! I just got the notification that my last Amazon order has been shipped. It was actually instigated by Paula's Slow Food article. Then, that "also bought" got me and two more Paula-books were added to the order. Now you remind me that I really want some of Madhur Jaffrey's work. That one got me. Book review porn! I can't wait until my copy gets here! Zarela Martinez is one of my favorites. She really does write from the heart about her native Mexico. And Diana Kennedy is certainly an in depth study of Mexican cuisine. The ladies have a pretty fair representation in my collection.

I travel to LA area on business a couple of times a year. I usually try to time the trip so that I can spend the weekend poking around. I noted on one of your posts that you sometimes write about agriculture. One time, I drove up the coast to Santa Barbara. On the way back to Pasadena, I took a more inland route. I drove through MILES of orange groves. Most of them appeared to be abandoned. Oranges were everywhere, rotting under the trees. I have been curious about that ever since. What was going on? They appeared to be abandoned. Any other interesting information on agriculture in the area? Many thanks for your participation on the Q&A and for your many excellent posts.

Getting creative with leftovers saves money. Two favorite things to do with leftovers... Boil some pasta. Make a sauce either cream based or tomato based. You can get really creative. Keep canned whole or diced tomatoes in the pantry. They are cheap and make a good base. Frizzle some onion and garlic in a little olive oil. Add the tomatoes or cream and cook down to whatever consistency you like. Add meat and veggies and cook just long enough to warm them up. Add the pasta and toss. I do a similar trick with Thai curry pastes and coconut milk. The Mae Ploy brand is really good and it keeps forever. I don't know about Vancouver but here in Houston the Asian markets are the place to shop. The coconut milk is often 50 or 60 cents a can. Serve with rice, of course.

*fifi crawls out from under her rock* This is probably a really stupid question and I may be living under a rock. What is a roasted lemon slice? More precisely, how do you do it and how do you eat it? Is it a slice of peel and all? *returning to the netherworld of the rock*

Come to think of it, some years ago, I remember looking behind the counter and seeing the flame broiler things with real flames and a conveyer belt thing. I don't remember seeing that now. My recent patty sure looked like it came out of a drawer!

I think it depends on what the test attempts to prove. Maybe a subjective and anecdotal positive test of the clip is actually more than sufficient to validate its efficacy - in a subjective sense. If I perceive a difference in my subjective experience of the taste of wine when using the clip, does it really matter an iota whether that perception is, scientifically speaking, illusory? I agree with you. If you are subjectively pleased with the results, who cares. When I say "true test" I mean that in the highly objective scientific protocol sense.