Thanks for the Crepes

Thanks Anna N, I just wrote it down on old-fashioned loose leaf paper to go into my permanent cookbook. I used to lose recipes every time a computer died. I'm not good at all about electronic backup, so now they go into binders. Some date back to the early 70's and the paper is quite yellowed. This method may not be hip, but it's more reliable for me. Thank you again for sharing your recipe.

Glorified Rice, That is exactly what I thought at first and was searching the labels for the word yogurt. Do you use this in your coffee or other things?

Anna N, Thanks for the recipe. How much water and vegetable oil does it call for? Were yours able to be rolled out with a reasonable effort?

Anna N, Your cheese quesadillas look like a very satisfying breakfast. Would you be kind enough to share your recipe and method for "whipping up" flour tortillas? The one time I tried it, the result was satisfactory from a recipe and method from the OLD Hillbilly Housewife site (now pretty much defunct), but I really worked hard for them. I had to exert so much effort at the recommended hydration that bench flour was popping up in static electricity as high as my face off of the silicon pastry mat I was rolling them out on. Also they were as good as, but no better then the flour tortillas available from commercial sources. I'd never make that recipe again, but would very much appreciate a recipe that could be "whipped up."

Dave W, Congratulations on your revenge on the bindweed, but as an older female, I'd love to hear the story about how you successfully manhandled 7-1/2 gallons of boiling water. I remember having some trouble with five gallon buckets of cold water for our stock as a kid and eventually grew into quite a strong canoe-paddling young woman, but I'm having a hard time picturing this scenario. I'm just glad you're okay. Are you really Arnold Schwarzenegger masquerading as Dave W on eGullet? Please indulge me with the story. I imagine I won't be the only one interested. If doable for us mere mortals, this could be an effective and eco-friendly method of weed control. I have copious amounts of poison ivy, for instance.

Paul Bacino, Your very respectable Crappie haul reminds me of one Valentine's Day in the late 80's when my then boyfriend and I went fishing on the Haw River here in NC. Both of us (and I'm not a skilled fisherwoman) pulled crappie out literally as fast as we could bait another hook. IIRC we used live minnows. That was the most fun I ever had trying to fish, with the operative word usually being trying. We stored the crappie in one of the pools in the abandoned hydroelectric plant that if I had to guess used to be coolant for the removed turbines. These cement pools had a little water movement through screened vents to the river, but certainly not enough to power the turbines or injure the fish. The turbines were probably below the old building we were in when they were in operation. When we had our mess o' fish, we caught the crappie with our hands and put them in a cooler. Unlike catfish, the crappie didn't stab us with their fins, although I wouldn't have blamed them a bit if they did. Then we took them home, cleaned and cooked them in a large shallow pan over charcoal with onions, butter and paprika. So good after a day in the beautiful wilderness where we saw a lot of wildlife including beautiful deer from across the river. Thank you for dredging up this great memory. jvalentino, I'm jealous that you can get skirt steak in your area to bring home and cook! Your dinner looks great. I managed to get some of my own skirt steak tonight for dinner at the only place locally that I know to find it: Torero's Mexican Restaurant in Cary, and oh boy, was it extra delicious. It was my birthday dinner so I ordered the most expensive dish on the menu Mar y Tierra. This is perfectly charcoal-grilled skirt steak and bacon wrapped shrimp on a bed of rice with melted Jack Cheese, refried beans, pico de gallo, lettuce, grilled green onions and a jalepeno pepper on a giant heavy pre-heated plate. We enjoyed the warm tortilla chips and perfect cilantro flavored salsa with a frozen margarita for me and a beer for my husband before the food came. I always bring a finely chopped jalepeno in a baggie with me to the restaurant to doctor the salsa because it has zero heat otherwise, which is fine with my husband but not with me. I can get chopped fresh jalepeno from Torero's, but when I tried, they first brought pickled (no thanks) and then real coarsely chopped fresh. I had nothing but a butter knife and no plate at that point to chop it finer, so I just bring my own now. It's easier. The husband had carne asada buritos made with more skirt steak, which he's hooked on now too. I shared the bacon wrapped shrimp, and I suspect I probably hooked him on those two. They are so crispy without being overcooked, we both crunched up and ate the tails. The burritos are so huge he can only ever eat one of them. Skirt steak's even more flavorful than ribeye, if that's possible? It could not have been a more perfect birthday dinner, and we both have lunch for tomorrow. I still don't have a camera, but if you care to see a photo of the lovely dish I ate tonight (and unlike fast food ads, Torero's serves up food that actually looks on the plate before you as advertised) click on the link, and scroll down to the penultimate image of Mar y Tierra for $16.00: http://www.torerosmexicanrestaurants.com/cms/wp-content/uploads/TOREROS1.pdf

Smithy, Thanks for the link to the Bavarian Inn Restaurant. I love exploring restaurant's websites and reviews. They never fail to inspire me, although it can take some time for me to act on that inspiration.

Thanks for the link Anna N, It's always lovely to revisit your mouthwatering posts, especially the fried calamari photos. Apparently I have been exposed to this idea at least once before.

Shelby, I've got to love a breakfast that includes just picked asparagus under a perfectly cooked farm fresh egg. Is that sausage gravy and a biscuit at the top of the plate?

I make corn masa tortillas without a special tortilla press. Make your dough according to package directions, roll into desired sized balls (golf ball-sized is typical), and press slightly flat between your palms. Take two heavy sheets of plastic cut larger than your want your tortilla. Heavy gauge gallon-sized freezer storage bags work well. Place one plastic sheet on your counter, take your flattened masa ball and place in the center of the plastic. Cover dough with second plastic sheet. Now I take a 10-1/2 inch cast iron skillet and press the bottom it down evenly on the top of the plastic encased dough until is as thin as you want, but you can use any heavy skillet of sufficient diameter. This is quite easy. Now peel off the top sheet of plastic and pick up the lower sheet and the tortilla. Invert the sheet and tortilla onto your palm and spread fingers, loosen and carefully remove the plastic sheet from the tortilla, leaving the tortilla on your spread hand, and flip it into a preheated griddle, comal or skillet. Cook for a about 30 or seconds per side. You also have the option of frying them for "puffy tacos" if you like. I don't think these are Mexican, more Tex-Mex, but I sure do like them, and you can't really get the puff to work with store bought corn tortillas. If you do opt for this, make sure to drain them and blot them well or they can be greasy. Flour tortillas are pretty hard to roll out thin enough, so I've only made them once, but if I couldn't get good ones otherwise, they are certainly doable at home with nothing more specialized than a rolling pin and a lot of elbow grease. It's a workout but worth it if it's the only option available to you. It may be possible to celebrate Cinco de Mayo without good tortillas, but why would one want to? ETA: To make it clear one should remove the second plastic sheet before flipping the corn masa tortilla onto your cooking surface. I got help with the process on YouTube, and I recommend anyone who wants to do this at home watching some videos, because it really is a lot easier than it sounds when I describe it with no pictures or video.

I'd love to cook for Cinco de Mayo, but may have to comfort myself with eating out at my favorite Mexican place Torero's due to lack of time. Sadly, 2 days after my birthday, I'm summoned for jury duty on May 5. Torero's is great but may be mobbed on Cinco de Mayo. If I can get it though, I'm looking forward to skirt steak. If it's too crowded, I always have stuff to make huevos rancheros, but will need to grab some cilantro, because it's a must for me. There's a lovely photo from Chris Hennes ' thread: http://forums.egullet.org/topic/151141-cooking-with-rick-baylesss-more-mexican-everyday/ at post no. 21 of huevos rancheros with the requisite cilantro, but I don't see any refried beans which I also want in the dish.

For dinner tonight we had Bass Farm sausage links. It's made a little over 47 miles from here east on US 64 in Spring Hope, NC. I browned it quickly on the stovetop, but didn't fully cook it all the way through. I thoroughly drained and blotted on paper towels, and then wrapped in bits of biscuit dough enhanced with cheddar cheese, sage, parsley and some crushed red pepper. The first wrapping didn't go well at all. I didn't realize how much bench flour I was going to need to pat out the wrappers, and my fingers became scary DOUGH MONSTERS. I really wish I had a camera to show you! I got the hang of it and the rest went quickly. Even though I was working with only a cup of flour for eight sausage links, I still would reduce the bread to meat ratio next time. My husband was extremely pleased though, and he has lunch for tomorrow from it. ETA: Of course I baked the wrapped par-cooked sausage for 8 minutes in a hot oven. We rounded out the meal with sweet, lovely honeydew melon from Guatemala and eggs.

I use lesliec's technique all the time in the kitchen when working with a "clean hand/dirty hand" breading meats or fish and such. Also when carrying a maximum load out to the recycling and still needing a free hand to unlock and open the door and lid of the recycling bin. It's very effective. I am also sorry to hear about your injury pto, and wish you quick healing. ETA: When you're injured is when you will need a cocktail the most.

Hey Anna N, I've been following the "Ladies Who Lunch" thread for years, so maybe it's you I have to thank for the inspiration that seemed to come out of the blue for the cranberry garnish. It's very pretty and very tasty to me, and your drink photo is gorgeous. Water is my favorite drink. In my defense against plagiarism though, the red garnish in your photo wasn't identified, seems large for a cranberry, and I probably thought it was a more common cherry garnish held on top of the drink by the ice.

Anna and Jess, I also was really taken with the mussels photo. We used to be able to get New Zealand greenlips at the chain Romano's Macaroni Grill locally, but sadly no more. I like the more commonly available mussels too, but they are no comparison to greenlips. I found some at our local seafood monger, but they were in the freezer case, so I passed. Thank you, Kerry and Jess, for sharing your European trip with us. I know it took a lot of time, and I hope you know how much we all appreciate that!

ElsieD, So glad for you that you get to experience TJ's for the first time! These are some things that I like to stock up on when I get to go: 3 buck Chuck (Charles Shaw wine) Chardonnay for cooking and Shiraz for drinking pita bread (from the fresh bread section) black olives (canned) garbanzos (canned) and other canned beans including cannellini dried spices and herbs (many are a generous portion for $2, I'm a fan of their $2 smoked paprika 1.6 oz.) pistachio and other nuts (cheaper than most sources) cinnamon raisin swirl bread (fresh bread section) quinoa (cheaper than other sources) imported Italian bronze-die pasta (again cheaper than other sources) ciabatta (this is touted as locally sourced, but look in the local bread racks for your selections) cherry juice blueberry juice yoghurt teas coffees dried fruits (cheaper than other sources, and some are available unsulphered) hatch chiles (canned) cheeses (including a great smoked gouda, and a mild and nutty Parmesan) Too bad you can't take advantage of their frozen stuff, but you might be able to purchase one of their excellent cheesecakes, which would thaw in your cooler, but might still be workable. The array of excellent hors d'oeuvres in the freezer section from cream cheese pasty stuffed with mushroom filling to spanakopita triangles will surely tempt you. They also offer cheap but excellent imported from Italy, word-fired oven pizzas in the freezer section, and an array of vegetables and frozen entrees and fish, and frozen rack of lamb. Happy TJ's shopping!

This is really lame compared to most of the gardening posts here, but I planted 3 green onion bulbs with roots that I had bought at my Asian market the other day in one of my flower boxes on the deck. They are already 5" high. And I'm still cooking with that same batch I bought. I have 1-1/2 green onions left, and used one of the tops in a marinated salad of chickpeas, diced cucumber, and sliced grape tomato for dinner tonight. I won't plant anymore from this batch. I want them as robust as possible when they go in the dirt because they have to contend with not nearly enough sunlight under the canopy of our deciduous trees. They get etiolated, which is a new word to me shared by our member huiray, that means pale and leggy due to lack of light. Very cool and succinct word for something that takes a while to explain without it. I'm still driving myself crazy trying to spell it right because I already knew the French word for star: etoile, but the French verb etioler means to blanch or wilt.

I had an idea for a drink garnish tonight that I've never seen in a bar or heard of. I keep a stash of cranberries in the freezer purchased fresh when they're in season. Usually they're used for muffins, coffee cakes, scones or apple/cranberry/orange compote. Tonight I was craving an enhancement to my favorite cocktail of vodka and seltzer that wasn't sweet, and that stash of cranberries popped into my mind. Wow! I had forgotten cranberries float. This made the sparkling drink even prettier than if they were resting on the bottom and made it easier to snag one off the top. Next fall, I can see I'm going to have to increase my allocated freezer real estate for more frozen cranberries. I can see cranberries as a garnish in many sweet cocktails that are more popular than my simple one, or in lemonade or even orange juice, or soda if you like that.

Hi scott123, You really seem to have the pizza cred, including a 7-page "The scott123 appreciation thread!" at PizzaMaking.com. I would value your opinion greatly on this issue with New Haven style pizza at home: can ascorbic acid or another acid like vinegar, which I have experimented with in my home pizza doughs, be substituted for potassium bromate? It seems that many countries have banned bromate as a food additive due to its possible carcinogenic potential. Oven spring is critical with this style of pizza, and anything that helps that to happen is very desirable to me. I love the thin crust style, but not cracker style which rises little. As for me I vacillate between lazy (KA Quick Beer Crust, awfully good for so little effort and time) and obsessive (spending years developing my own recipe with dated, detailed notes of any variations I tried).

Hey Bart! Your enthusiasm reminds me of my own when I first found the site! Welcome to eG

Dante, This is my home version of Pepe's white clam pizza. Please know that I've never been to New Haven or eaten at Pepe's, but many other people other than I have enjoyed this pizza and liked it a lot. This is my current favorite pizza crust recipe: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/quick-beer-crust-pizza-recipe It's only meant for 10" to 12 inch rounds, but I spread it very thinly on an 11" x 17" heavy oiled cookie sheet. Okay, here's the hard part. New Haven pizzas get cooked at 700 or 800 degrees F in coal ovens. I don't have one of those. What I do have is a lemonade out of lemons oven. My landlord refused to fix the broken furnace for a couple winters, so I used space heaters, and the electric oven to heat the house. I didn't know at the time that if you persisted in running the oven with the door open, it would burn out the thermostat. Wouldn't have done it, had I known. Now that it's done, I have an oven that must be tended like a wood-fired one (which is no cherry to me). The lemonade part is that this horrible 1970's GE electric oven can now be taken up to 700 or 800 degrees F. Definitely a fire hazard, but I can still cook a cake in it at 350 degrees with an oven thermometer and a lot of vigilance. After you ferment your crust ala King Arthur and spread it ultra thin, I use this guideline (not a recipe) to come out with a very, very good white clam pizza. From Roadfood.com's reveiw of Pepe's: "To this day, Pepe's premier pizza is made without mozzarella. It is called a white clam pie, and it is nothing but crust strewn with freshly-shucked littleneck clams, olive oil, garlic, oregano, and a dash of grated cheese." I toss my canned clams in some good olive oil before placing on the pizza, and I don't put them on until the crust has cooked a few minutes. You don't want them to dry out and become rubbery, and canned, clams are, already cooked.

Hello Pedro Miguel! Welcome to eGulllet, and please tell us about your interests in food and cooking that brought you to the site.

Edward J, Actually she says the "pins"/rivets are brass, but I agree completely with everything else you said. On the Mohs scale: Copper 2.5-3 Brass 4 Stainless Steel 5.5-6.3 Case-Hardened File Steel 7.8-8.5 According to this site: http://www.rockrollers.com/features/hardness.html When I was a very young bride we bought a set of high carbon steel Old Hickory knives. They have brass rivets, and in 40 years, I've not had a bit of trouble with this rivets. I knew nothing about knives at the time, but feel I lucked out in spite of my ignorance. They are all full tang, and to this day hold an edge better than the stainless I now prefer for ease of maintenance. There would be no way to prevent rust in the deeply textured surface of the $800 knife short of periodic sandblasting, which you'd probably want to do anyway to prevent the hygiene issues Edward J mentions. I sure wouldn't want to butcher a chicken with this knife and then use it to slice tomato for a salad. I think case-hardened file steel is a great idea for a knife, but it would need to have all of the texture removed in order to be useful in the kitchen. I feel sorry for Special K, though, he/she was so taken with this knife, and it hasn't gotten a lot of love here. Judging from dcarch's description of the video (which I haven't seen) though, I'm betting Special K is a he.

There's an active thread on roadfood.com about Connecticut pizza, and coverage of several restaurants in New Haven. There's information at post no. 35 that Modern Apizza may even ship, although this person picked their shrink-wrapped, par-baked pies up. http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/So-Much-Pizza-in-Connecticut-m801324.aspx Can you tell it is one of my dearest dreams to go on a New Haven apizza crawl? This quote from Michael Stern's review of Pepe's Pizzeria on the Roadfood website is what hooked me. "When the warden asks us what we want for our last meal, this is it: Pepe's white clam pizza." I have made the clam pizza at home trying to mimic the description of Pepe's but only with canned clams. It's very good to me, but I'm sure theirs is better.

Serious Eats guide to regional pizza styles is a great place to start learning about New Haven apizza and other styles. http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2008/01/a-list-of-regional-pizza-styles.html