Deryn

That chowdah recipe looks delicious, Anna. Just the thing for a cold winter's day. Wish I could run right over to 'borrow a cup'. I could use the variety today. I am trying to eat up a sort of chicken soup concoction I made 3 days ago in the IP ... which now looks more like a stew - and getting more than a bit bored with it. The only good thing about this 'soup' of mine is that it doesn't contain a bit of salt (other than what might have been in the meat or otherwise naturally occurring in the vegetables I guess) but I can't tell at all. It started out as a sort of thai dish - but the store was out of ground pork so I tried to use ground (dark meat) turkey - and the taste was awful. So I loaded part of that back in the IP and tried to drown it in chicken broth (along with adding a bit of chicken breast meat) and kept adding more and more ingredients (baby bok choy, carrots, garlic, red and thai peppers, ginger, stalks of lemongrass, black vinegar, green onions, fish sauce, mushrooms, sriracha, even a bit of turmeric - for the health giving qualities - and black pepper - because of the turmeric mostly) and a bit of rice. Hit the soup button and voila, soup I found palatable - and it still is, 3 days later - but it is time for a change, even though I do feel virtuous.

I highly suspect this is a Bengali recipe. Wikipedia Pitha definition. Can be sweet or savory depending on what you put into it, and is usually made of rice flour I gather.

I found the needle in the haystack. Now to source banana leaves ... in rural Nova Scotia ... in the middle of winter. I too though would like to know what 'tribe' the OP belongs to.

Veal (or chicken) piccata/scallopini is a last minute dish but it is really fast if you have the meat already pounded thin and the lemon slices cut up, etc. If you have a rolling cart (or kitchen island open to the dining area) and a plug in griddle you could even make it a la minute at the table for a bit of a show - and, I think it is also light enough for a summer indoor dinner. Likewise a shrimp scampi meal can be thrown together a la minute. Pre-boil (slightly under) some egg noodles and dip into a pot of boiling water for a few seconds (use a slotted scoop so you are not fishing for the strays). Add a salad for garnish/the vegetable component. If you are looking for something a bit more ethnic and oven-centric but a bit different than just your basic stew, perhaps a tagine of some kind might fit the bill. ETA: Fondue, hotpot, hot stone cooking is a great way to prep ahead and enjoy all your time with your guests over a good long dinner. Everyone just cooks their own dinner - and it can be done winter or summer.

Welcome to the eGullet IP 'club', Tere. I am sure you are going to love your new purchase!

I often freeze dry or dehydrate fresh mushrooms, especially the more exotic varieties when I am lucky enough to find them, and then grind/crush them up to make mushroom powder. I love the umami the powder adds to some dishes (even those which do not call for mushrooms) - and, like Anna, when using mushroom powder I find I often need less or no salt. Mushrooms are very nutritious and this way I get to add in that nutrition without added salt which may be in a commercial dried mushroom preparation.

I've seen that Heston show, Okanagancook, but, I was enjoying this thread and it had me thinking about making some form of a meat pie - hand or 'potted' - in the very near future ... till I read your post. Oh well, maybe in a few months when I have forgotten about their British origins again.

I hope Liuzhou or Huiray will chime in here but I always steam Chinese buns (over an inch or so of medium heat water, for about 15 minutes or so) - at least as a first step. If they are savoury, I have also then occasionally used the frying pan to add a crisp bottom to them (a la potsticker method) but I don't know how that would go with a plain bun.

Welcome to eGullet, carolinagirl - and more particularly to our freeze-drying fanatics corner of same! Thanks for the oil filtering idea. I will have to try that. Did you cut off the bottom of that bottle at the top so you could pour the oil in that end? Your picture doesn't quite reach up that far.

Sounds like a terrific dinner, Tere, and I am sure you will do fine making it all - even if you have never made several of the dishes (or components of same) before. If you have an immersion blender, I recommend keeping it handy for the béarnaise. Not sure if you are determined to follow Heston's recipe exactly but if not you can use the same ingredients and have much less fuss I think if you use a jar and an immersion blender. Regular ganache is fairly straightforward - Heston's not so much - but I am sure you will have fun and it will all taste delicious in the end. After all, if you have a sous chef, the evening is probably as much about having kitchen capers together as much as it is the end result I would guess, especially on Valentine's Day.

Beautiful cakes, cakewalk! Is there a baby hidden somewhere in them?

It was not till a few years ago that this northern gal found out the connection between what I had always known as Pancake Tuesday and Mardi Gras/Fat Tuesday ... or Shrove Tuesday. However, I have wonderful memories of my mother keeping track of what day it was (we kids didn't have a clue I am sure) because once a year she would announce it was Pancake Tuesday and we would feast on pancakes (sometimes at more than one meal that day). The type of pancakes served varied throughout the years as I recall. When we moved to the Yukon sourdough pancakes entered our lives ... and remained there from that time on, even after a move back to Ontario - and were served more regularly (to keep the batter going probably) than just on Pancake Tuesday - though that was the only weekday pancake feast each year. Prior to the time that sourdough was introduced into our lives, pancakes were more usually of the fluffy thicker less tart variety but I do remember at least one year when my mother experimented with crepes. All were smothered with real maple syrup though. I have never even tasted an Aunt Jemima product - and I don't think I ever will. I also say ... thanks for the memories.

Thank you for posting the brightly coloured hanging toy (piñatas?) picture in particular. Having just gone through our latest blizzard - thankfully this time of the light white stuff, not the heavy variety - and with the winds having just died down enough for the world to begin to emerge this morning to start on the digging out process and to dust off what now looks like a hamlet of igloos up and down the street - I sorely needed something cheerful to perk up my spirits. I certainly 'get' why you are there. I look forward to hearing much more about your eating adventures in Oaxaca.

I have never made Pannukakku but, aside from noting that the LCBO mags often have some very wonderful recipes and I wish I could get them in Nova Scotia - miss picking them up, the picture brings to mind a thinner than normal clafoutis perhaps, a bit crispier but similar. It certainly looks delicious and easy to make. Thanks for bringing it to our attention, Darienne.

Smithy - You may be able to find one like this one - Mario Batali 10.5" Reversible Grill Pan and Griddle (without handles and oven-safe). Would that size fit in your trailer oven? Edited to add that I think your pita bread looks absolutely wonderful and that sandwich makes me very hungry! That kind of cooking/baking is the sort of thing I used to attempt years ago while camping but the outcomes were not always as successful as yours usually are. You inspire me.

Could you soak a cloth in the lye solution and lay it gently over the surface of the pan and pat it equally as gently?

Looks like fish to me. Perhaps they were running out of red dye to feed what looks like an east coast-type 'farmed' salmon. It is a bit pale even for the salmon around here but I don't know the salmon in con delight's part of the world. I doubt it is arctic char or trout but I could be wrong - looks a bit thick for those. Smoked cod and haddock around here has that colour exterior but the interior is not pink. I hope he comes back to tell us more soon.

I agree as well. I said 'red I presume' just because the title and intro says it is red - but it does look green.

That looks and sounds delicious, con delight. If you are passing the recipe around though to any novice cooks, while you did mention cabbage in the procedure portion, you may want to add the kind (red I presume) and quantity to the ingredients list.

I am certainly no expert on these two cultures (and their influence on food, etc.). I look forward to hearing more on this subject myself but here is a thread from way back where this seems to be discussed. Might be a good place to start. old thread about malaysian indonesian food differences

I think what you are probably talking about is Duck Breast with Red Cabbage and Spaetzle - which may be Czech but also quite common in Germany I believe (spaetzle is a specialty there). I would try searching for the dish/recipe by that name or look for recipes for the component parts ... i.e. Duck Breast, Red Cabbage with Apples, Spaetzle. You can make your own spaetzle 'by hand' very easily or you can buy it dry and just boil it up like pasta. I prefer the first option as I think it is much more authentic and delicious but ymmv.

The one 'fast food' establishment that does, on occasion, get a (very little) bit of my business is Subway - but only when I am on one of my long road trips and desperate for anything that may be even a week from fresh (and can't find a grocery store easily). I get the simplest (which is always the cheapest anyway) sub version - plain turkey - on something that is not pure white (even though I know it is no more nutritious or tasty), toasted with a slice of fake provolone, and have them load it up as much as possible with every veggie and pickle 'garnish' in the bins - including the hot peppers so I can't really taste the rest. They are usually at least palatable to me when done that way and I figure at least I got some veggies and maybe a bit of protein mixed in with the bad carbs. Years ago I tried one or two of their more exotic (supposedly hot) options but none of them struck me as tasty, or worth the money or suitable for my particular purpose - getting me through a long night of driving where it is hard to juggle a sloppy meatball sandwich and the wheel safely at the same time. And the plain turkey subs usually sit better in my stomach than anything from MickeyD's. However, not all of these roadside Subway joints seem to have the same level of cleanliness or quality of ingredients. You takes your chances!

Welcome to eGullet, Jim. What an amazing culinary background you have! I wish you well in your new business venture. I look forward to reading about all your culinary adventures.

You could cube up some prosciutto or bacon and crisp that up separately and throw it over the top of the chili (or the linguine dish that precedes it - since you have two 'soft textured' dishes in a row, that would at least add some crunch to one of them).

Have you had a look at this 'fabric', on Amazon? - Food Safe ProCare Waterproof Barrier Fabric (Made in Canada, sold by the yard) (36" wide, White)