fifi

The mushroom does enjoy a huge following. It all started in 2004 around holiday time. I was assembling "goody boxes" for my kids and was fishing for new ideas. I started this topic on gadgets to get ideas. Then the search for the mushrooms began. I even got so far as e-mailing then talking on the phone with a VP of product development at AMCO, the original producer. She said that they didn't have them anymore but we might look at some outlets like Marshall's. Then a member said he spotted them in Chicago. AH HA! My son lives in Chicago. The dear boy went on a two day hunt and came up with 8 of them I think. I sent some to special friends and family. Susan is a special friend. She got two, one for home and one for the cabin. (She didn't steal the picture. She didn't have one so I gave her mine.) If you have any clout with the AMCO folks, maybe you can put in a good word for the mushroom. Oh . . . It also makes a good pusher for getting chile paste through a fine sieve, too. That topic took on quite a life of its own and got considerably more action this past holiday. There are some great ideas in there. And, it gets "bumped up" from time to time as members find new things. You could bookmark it and check for ideas. I guess my favorite wooden impliment is the wooden "spatula" that is well scorched from stirring many batches of dark roux for gumbo.

One of these days, or four or five days , when you have nothing else to do, we had a lot of fun with beans in the Dried Beans topic. Russ Parsons weighed in on the science. I guess I had always put salt in my beans but now I don't even soak them.

While going through your new book, I was particularly taken with your use of the oven. I have depended on the oven for a lot of things for years. I put stock in there, chili, beans, and of course I am a big fan of braises. I always say that it really fits my inattentiveness. (I don't grill much.) The really new technique to me was your Oven Baked Chowder. I would have never thought to do that. I reported on my trial run in our long running soup topic. Ok, that was a winner. So you might expect that the Creamy Baked Polenta appealed to me as well. It came out beautifully and was a bit faster than some of the others that we discussed starting a couple of years ago here. Do you actively try to adapt recipes for oven cooking? Also, one thing I like about your recipes is that you invite fiddling. I usually do a recipe by the book the first time but I confess to fiddling from there. Are you a fiddler, too?

Dawn Power Dissolver is your friend.

I wonder if she could answer the eternal gumbo question? The American Century Cookbook is particularly intriguing. A whole history of American cooking in the 20th century. It was such a century of change in the kitchen, I must have it.

Just a note about the soft drink bottles, and the study I was involved with in Mexico, that applies to just about everything else. . . The big soft drink bottles, mayo jars, salad dressing bottles, more and more liquor bottles and a jillion more things are made of polyethylene terphthalate, PET or PETE. This is a polyester material that has a low enough permeability for such uses. It is also VERY recyclable. In Mexico, soft drinks are a very big deal both for clean liquid to drink and the sugar to add calories to the diet. (You won't find many diet drinks there.) They are almost always packaged in glass bottles that are washed and reused. You see these huge trucks all over the place hauling around wooden crates of both full bottles and empties on the way back to the bottling plant. Mexico is very big on recycling. For one thing, the very poor snatch anything of any value from garbage, usually before it hits a landfill. The PET bottles for soft drinks could make a huge dent in the energy cost (and pollution in Mexico City) now going to hauling around all of those glass bottles. And, the PET would not be lost to landfills because it has value as a recyclable material. That polar fleece you might be wearing could well come from recycled PET packaging. I guess that is why I have almost forgiven Hellman's.

Yeah . . . But when you are feeding 100 and have limited pot space, you make some compromises. Actually, I can't tell much difference and I do it both ways.

When the other oven methods came up before, I was intrigued and tried it. Then Sara's version was faster and really really good. You are right. I would expect that it wouldn't scale up well. But I am not entirely convinced. I am wondering if I used my big Le Creuset (9 1/2 quart) if it might not work. I am thinking surface area to volume ratio. Anyway, I am usually cooking for one, maybe two, so I might not get to test that any time soon.

I can't imagine deveining after cooking. It is just about impossible. We do shell on shrimp (usually heads on, too) for shrimp boils, obviously not deveined. We just ignore the veins. If we head the shrimp before boiling (to save pot room) there is a way you can pinch at the base of the head and pull out the vein most of the time. But for most other purposes, they are shelled and deviened while raw. a tool like this works pretty well.

I think I am tearing up. Especially the buying the flowers bit.

Sara . . . Both prospects are really exciting. But I am really looking forward to the educational one. This topic has been intriguing me lately . . . US raised Wagyu beef. I really covet a brisket from a Wagyu cow. (I do Texas style smoked brisket.)

Hmmm . . . Not sure that is right, unless they have changed the pots since a year ago, which is possible. My kids also cook at friends' houses with All-Clad and have reported that the Chefmate was really comparable. They are maybe a little lighter but certainly not enough to put performance off, especially at the price.

Bumping this up because I have recently made the best oven cooked polenta that I have done . . . ever. As many of you might know, we are having an eG Spotlight Conversation with Sara Moulton this week. A couple of weeks ago I took her recipe for Creamy Baked Polenta out for a trial run. Note that Sara graciously allowed us to include this recipe, from her new book Sara's Secrets for Weeknight Meals, in RecipeGullet. This recipe is a winner. I made it in my little 2 1/2 quart Le Creuset. I used some medium grind whole grain cornmeal, Bob's Red Mill brand. It was about the only whole grain that they had at my local grocery. I also used Boar's Head brand aged provolone. The method was faster and gave a good toasted flavor. I could maybe say that the toastiness was due to my little magic Le Creuset. But, I don't know about that. Anyway, the recipe just worked. I was a little worried when I went to do the stirring after 40 minutes. There was all of this liquid in the center and sort of a crust along the sides and bottom. But, with a few whacks of my small whisk and the last 10 minutes in the oven, all was well. The provolone is now my favorite cheese for this dish. And I can envision several variations on the recipe. But I think I will adopt the method. I didn't take any pictures because polenta is damned hard to photograph and make it look good. I probably should have photographed the nicely browned squares that I sauteed in butter the next day. That is the first time I have been able to do that without ending up with a pan full of mush.

Yeah . . . That looks like the set I bought the kids.

My Maverick remote works fine and has really improved my meat smoking and roasting. I did treat myself with the Thermapen a few months ago and found that the Maverick reads about 5 degrees low, well within the accuracy for that device that you would expect, so I just adjust the alarm temp by 5 degrees now. (The Thermapen is certified to + or - 0.5 degrees F. That is one reason it ain't cheap.)

Good question. Is the tri-ply set still on the site? I got those for my kids over a year ago. I will call one of them and see if we can figure out what they got. Their sets were definitely the tri-ply.

Sara . . . that roar you hear in the background is the eGullet multitude in a standing ovation. When my grown* son moved back in with me for a time to finish school, we had dinner just about every weeknight when we were both home. He is the one that insisted that the TV was off and the answering machine could pick up the phone. Our time in the kitchen together (he is a good cook) and at the table was sacrosanct. I was so proud. I even found myself asking "May I be excused?" if I needed to leave the table for some reason. Do you find that the dinner table tradition is sticking with your children now that they are getting older? * Warning: When it comes to male children, grown has to be assumed to be a relative term. I don't think they ever grow up. He was in his mid-twenties at the time.

As you guys have probably noticed, we are having an eG spotlight Conversation with Sara Moulton this week. A couple of weeks ago, we finally got a bit of cool weather and I tried this recipe for Oven Baked Chowder from her new book, Sara's Secrets for Weeknight Meals. (This is one of the recipes that Sara so graciously allowed us to put into RecipeGullet.) Most of you know me as an inattentive sort and, because of that, I gravitate to recipes that I can put in the oven and pretty much ignore. (I don't do much grilling.) I simmer all kinds of things in the oven. I have been doing stock that way for years. Same with chili. And I am in love with all kinds of braises. This recipe really intrigued me. For one thing, I would have never thought of using this technique on a chowder. I can see its versatility for all sorts of things. But . . . being true to the original cook, I did it by the book this first time around. I was a bit suspicious of the relatively high temperature (375 degrees F) as I do braises at 250 or less, but I forged ahead. I did use my thin slice disc in my food processor for the potatoes, celery and onions. The slices aren't as pretty as they would be with knife work but I wanted to see how well it would do and I was keeping track of the prep time as stated in the book -- 15 minutes. Thirty minutes in, the veggies were just right. I laid the fish filets on top (grouper was my best choice at the market) and another thirty minutes brought them to perfection. Final verdict . . . This is delicious! I will definitely do this again. I will also think of ways to adapt the technique to other ideas. Let's eat. Ok . . . I got a bit carried away with the paprika but I am a paprika freak. And I do have to confess that I actually didn't do the recipe by the book. About half way through that bowl of chowder, I realized that I had completely forgotten the thyme. I added some when I reheated for my next serving and all was right with the world. The only thing I might do differently next time is use heavy cream 'cause I ain't scared of no butter fat and my cholesterol is just fine, thank you. I was able to do the prep in 15 minutes but I had to hurry myself and stay focused. I am sure that someone more accomplished than I am would have no trouble. And there is that thing about liking to piddle and getting distracted.

I'm not doubting you, Marlene. I am doubting your rice cooker. What I haven't said very well is that it should work perfectly with the cup and the water lines. I am beginning to wonder if something is haywire with the sensors and the control chips if it doesn't come out perfect with cups and lines. For that kind of money, I would call W-S.

Marlene . . . You are going to a whole lot more trouble than I do. I don't rinse the rice. I don't mess with measuring anything. I have never checked with my knuckle. I use the little rice cup that came with the rice cooker and the water lines on the bowl. Your rice came out just lovely. Looks perfect. But I wonder at the labor involved.

Bless me, Gumbo Goddess, for I have sinned. I have a jar of Bootsie's "authentic cajun roux" way in the back of my fridge. No! No! I would not use it in a real gumbo. I would miss the wonderful aroma of the trinity hitting the hot roux. (And the two beers that you have to drink while stirring the roux.) But it sure is handy for making a quick dish when a bit of shrimp or crawfish tails land at your feet. Actually . . . Jarred roux isn't bad at all.

Oh my goodness. Chris threw out the bait and I can't resist snapping it up. I just can't stay out of this one. Here is where I finally came out on the gumbo question. To save the trouble of going back to that topic: The discussion actually split into two controversies; the initial combining of the sauce, and the oil break out over the long simmer. I think I can understand what is going on with the initial emulsification. In gumbo, a typical ratio is 1 cup each oil and flour for the roux to about 6 cups liquid. That is a lot of liquid. It is the factors with the final oil break out that I can't find anything on. Sara, I recall that you posted about the sauces and I don't disagree. But the Gumbo Goddess warned me about hot stock in gumbo. And she was right, dammit. (You can see where good ole eG donnybrooks can go.) We don't want to take up all of your time with this here, but if you join in with your considerable chops on that topic, it wouldn't hurt my feelings. ( I should warn you, that may have been Chris's sneaky intent all along. )

I, too, am short . . . just barely making 5'2". The kitchen in the new house has been designed with almost no overhead cabinets. I have windows instead and plenty of lower cabinet space (drawers) so I won't miss them at all. There are other advantages in the kitchen as well . . . you can't see the grungy dust on top of the fridge. When my 6'+ son visits he often says "Mom! The top of the fridge is gross." I just tell him that it couldn't possibly be gross since I can't see it. Sara, I didn't play basketball but we did have a girl on our high school girls' team that was about your height. Yes . . . She was a whiz at getting the ball around and underneath her taller opponents. I can absolutely picture you doing that.

It was either Barilla or Classico that I used to like for the jars. At one time, not only were they nice looking jars but standard canning jar lids and rings fit. I don't know if they still make them that way. I think decoration counts. After all, that is why I love those little tin boxes of pastilles. Now where is that mustard crock that my son brought me from France? I growled loudly when Hellman's went to plastic. Yes . . . I know . . . the reduced weight makes a big difference in the fuel needed to ship. (You would be surprised how much. I once participated in a study in Mexico on soft drink bottles.) And they don't break. No . . . I won't abandon Hellman's, especially since my local grocery carries the Mayonesa. But I still don't like it.

After reading about your History of Ideas degree in Chris's biography, my curiosity is killing me. How do you go from there to the CIA? And, what is History of Ideas anyway? (I am a science geek and know nothing of liberal arts type stuff. ) Lovin' this. Thanks for joining us.