Margaret Pilgrim

I remember a family care giver waxing euphoric over the bastard eggs her mother used to make. Whaaaat? Yeah, she says, they were fried eggs but she used to spoon the fat over them to lightly cook the tops. That is what I thought basted eggs were. My grandmother would fry them in the same pan that she'd fried the bacon in and baste the hot bacon grease over them with a spoon, no flipping. Am I wrong? That is how my mom and grandmom cooked eggs. They had a stamped steel skillet, cooked bacon first then added the eggs and spooned ( with a spatula) over the tops of the eggs until they were white. When someone asked for basted eggs, that is what I thought they meant. I agree. Basted eggs are different than steamed eggs. Adding a liquid to a flattop or pan and then covering the eggs so the steam will cook the top surface of the eggs is steaming. Basting is the spooning of hot fat over the egg which cooks the top surface of the egg. When making omlettes, my mom would use the steaming method to cook the little bit of egg left on the surface of the omlette that hadn't cooked, yet. Saint Jacques would not be happy with her. If you steam it too much, the omlette get puffy and doesn't taste as good, in my opinion. Sorry, Ma! All correct, AFAIK. It was the slippery slope from "basted" to "bastard" that delighted me. The care giver was wide eyed, saying that she always wondered why they were called bastard.

I remember a family care giver waxing euphoric over the bastard eggs her mother used to make. Whaaaat? Yeah, she says, they were fried eggs but she used to spoon the fat over them to lightly cook the tops.

I'm reminded of a favorite vignette. I had gone downtown to pick up something for my husband, only to find that the target shop didn't open for an hour. I looked across the street to see Zuni Cafe. Woohoo! What luck! I found a table in a sunny window, a copy of the morning paper and ordered two poached eggs on rye toast and a pot of coffee, feeling indulged indeed.

It also depends on if you use many foreign recipes, most of which use dry weight and metric liquid measure. It takes a bit of re-thinking, but becomes second nature. As in most cooking, if you are consistent in your procedure, it doesn't matter which measuring system you use. There is a well known cake recipe that calls for a carton of yogurt, then calibrates all/most other ingredients by how many yogurt containers worth of flour, butter, etc. And many French recipes call for a "glass of wine" or such. It worked for Grandma. Should for us.

Halibut hash: Flaked grilled halibut, browned onions and par-boiled potatoes, parsley; drizzled with creme fraiche/mayo tarragon sauce, chives. Lovely browned bits. Extra sauce on side. Actually, this was quite good! For heavier meal, would add a poached egg, but this stood on its own nicely.

I don't know, now, how I lived without one. Life is short; a digital scales tares out after each addition, making add-ins no brainers. You probably don't need one for potato salad. But if you bake....

I believe in very few specialty pieces, preferring multipurpose pieces. Does anyone really have space for a different piece of equipment for every process? I can't overstate my preference for scavenging the second hand market, from thrift stores to garage and estate sales. Much of the time the quality of the old stuff is better than new products; this is certainly true of cast iron. The grain, or texture of the iron, is vastly superior in dutch ovens and pans from the early to mid-1900s, and they can be resurrected and will last forever. What really amuses me with the WS catalog is the seasonality of colors. Did I know that I need a green or orange or blue stand mixer? or set of silicon spatulas? I am so out of the loop!

It is also important to define your wife's vegetarianism: will she eat milk product and eggs? will she allow animal/poultry broth or fats in the preparation of her otherwise meatless dishes? And, surprisingly, some avowed vegetarians eat seafood. If she allows any of these deviations from vegan, she has an excellent chance of being satisfied almost anywhere...providing you make these specifications known when you reserve and again when you are seated.

I would think that Christophe might be the most difficult fit for your wife, while KGB might be the easiest. Were it my problem, I would email both KGB and Papilles and present your question. Either should be happy to respond. mail : lespapilles@hotmail.fr

Thanks, Panaderia! You've enriched not only my table but my shopping!

Until you've seen puree of purple potato given the back of the spoon treatment, then left under a heat lamp while the rest of the plate was readied, you don't understand the ultimate travesty of this trend.

Oh, please!

The best lamb stew we have ever had was also the simplest, enjoyed at b&b in the high plateau of Provence, surrounded by an enormous band (thousands) of sheep. The next morning at breakfast I asked for the recipe. Lamb Garlic Thyme White wine Water Salt and pepper Carrots added in just enough time to cook through It was served in a soup plate with mashed potatoes piped around the edge. My husband has yet to tell me that I have duplicated it. Simplicity is elusive.

Good tip, Andie. Alternatively, I slice yellow onions and soak the slices in cold water for about 10 minutes. This seems to take the worst of the heat out of them, particularly for using raw. But I really have to agree with Kim. We have stopped buying anything but sweet onions, switching variety as seasons dictate. The yellow onions sold in our area are just too "hot" for our taste, possibly useful cooked but killers of salads and other cold presentations. It's just easier to stock one kind that is (close to) all purpose: raw as well as in soups, braises, roast beds, etc. I smile, however, at the OP's dilemma: I seldom buy less than 5 pounds at a time to prevent running out, we use so many. They do, depending on the season, cost a bloody fortune, however, but we find them worth every penny!

I would think that they are for table salt and pepper. The hats keep dust out when not in use. Here is a similarly sized Bacarat "salt" that I picked up for a couple of dollars at a flea market. The indentations are just large enough for pinching out quantities, not for tiny spoons.

First, I wonder how much you have. For lamb or pork or even beef of braising quality, I usually sear, add onion, garlic, herb sachet, appropriate wine and broth and move to the oven, with a paper lid, where I let it go at 275F for 4 hours or until it is fork-tender. Then I serve it up. Or you could have your way with it in the many treatments you suggested. Think of ox-tails or osso bucco. The bones, fat and connective tissue are not drawbacks but plusses in the final dish.

Oh, my! Thanks so much for this, Darienne. I feel myself humming "Take me home, country roads..."

You know all of those "I left my heart in San Francisco" sweatshirts you see on the street? They should say, "I left my warm clothing in St Louis."

Or to pull up spilled wine from a carpet! But not too coarse for this purpose; kosher is fine.

Everything changes over the years....

Truc: superb results with instant when you use a two-tined fork, like a carving set fork, for fluffing. Much better than a table fork.

Well said, kayb.

Brilliant!

Won't anchovy paste in tubes do the trick for you? Or anchovies in olive oil. They seem to last "forever", for better or for worse.

I couldn't agree more, but am also realistic on the expense of replacing a spice/herb collection. I remember being in a ski cabin and buying a small bottle of dried tarragon and having the other aa4 couples practically go on strike because of the unnecessary expense. Or the shock of stocking the kitchen when we bought a week-end place. It's not a small expenditure. Maybe replace very basics, several each week?