Margaret Pilgrim

I know that baby vegetables have a bad rap, "so '80s, infanticide, done that", but baby summer squash, even pattypans are good eating. Again, split and flash grill/fry/blister, shower with Maldon salt, pop in mouth, enjoy.

Heck, i can't even get food agreement at the dinner table! eG is a Victorian dinner party in comparison.

Re the migration most of us have undertaken, and how many of us have enjoyed multiple simultaneous relationships, I think back to the Plot’s assertion, “If you weren’t kicked off eG, you are a nonentity.” Oh, well, I knew that already.

The fruitcake of my life was gifted from a new bride from Georgia. It was a white fruitcake, young and fresh. Not at all boozy. Just a ton of excellent fruit and mega ton of pecans. I begged for and was given the family recipe but confess that my efforts never challenged hers.

Hey, they’re a veg! But I fall back on my mantra that there’s a cook/peasant mama out there who knows how to make it sing.

Always reminded of shopping on Kensington Church Street in London. We entered an antique shop mid-day and met the most amazing aroma, not bee's wax, but...what? I couldn't help commenting on it to the elegant dealer who shuffled a bit and apologized. "I'm just heating a little ratatouille for lunch." I could just picture him, putting out the closed sign and drawing the blind, then tucking into a plate at one of his gorgeous dining tables.

Have you read the instructions for how to use the Therapen? They seem pretty comprehensive.

Years ago Sunset Magazine published a recipe for "creamed pattipan" that I use for all manner of summer squash. Essentially, grate, salt and drain in a strainer. Rinse and squeeze dry. Saute in butter, add some sour cream mixed with a little flour. Cook until mixture is thickened and flour is cooked. Or, mix the squeezed dry pattipan with a beaten egg, minced garlic and onion, spoon of flour or breadcrumbs and fry as "cakes". Or, as suggested above, split in half, dredge in EVOO, salt and cracked pepper and grill.

No, seriously. It is a very easy way to convey a distinction. “All black cats are felines; not all felines are black cats.” “All fish live in water; not everything that lives in water is a fish.”

This logic is one of my favorite explanations.

FWiIW, I cheat and avoid the problem of rolling rice by making nori rolls. Very easy to construct using a reed mat, and the kids love the nori. Neat and tidy.

Excellent. Your wording had me worried there for a minute.

You're not saying that you used actual "sticky rice"...

Don't ya just love those invitees who insist on hanging out in the kitchen "'cause you make it look so easy!" "NO! Go sit down with dh in the living room and I'll join you in 5 minutes. Stay here and distract me and you'll be lucky to eat tonight!"

Thanks for this revival. It's certainly the season. No pics or specific recipe to share, but one of the best and most beautiful that I've made was for a lamb-centric dinner party. To "prettify" the dish, I diced everything finely and carefully adjusted the cooking so that each veg would remain intact and identifiable. it resulted in a lovely spoonful of jewel colors and facets. Worth the effort for q special presentation.

I seldom complain while cooking, even though I secretly dislike cooking. (Particularly those "15 minute recipes" that call for 10 cups of different and differently cut up ingredients.)

I have never cooked a beef tongue, but lamb tongue is a favorite for cocktail or first course plates. Poached in a court bouillon and dressed aggressively, like Gribiche sauce and you'll have them swooning.

Will never forget the time I brought my school roommate home without notice. My mother saw us coming in the door and blanched. It was dinner time. She gasped and said, "Oh no, we're having tongue!" My roommate beamed and said, "Great! I LOVE tongue." After that, she was always one of my mom's favorites.

What??? You actually meet face to face? You really have an in!!!

WANT this. It's hard to make "bread" look so luscious.

I was active on RecTravelEurope on Usenet in 2001 when internet friend Robert Buxbaum told me that this guy, Steven Shaw, was starting a forum on food. "What's a forum?" So he described how special interest groups were going to take the place of cumbersome usenet. I joined in August, as member #80.. (Steve was the real pioneer. The progression was, AFAIR eGullet -> OA -> Mouthfuls and, separately, Chow.)

I'm reminded of the evening husband and I were finishing dinner when son dashed through the house, stopping long enough in the kitchen to snatch a piece of meat from the platter, calling out as he left the house, "Great steak, mom, thanks." I called after him, "Thanks. It's ostrich." Choke.

Can only plea, please try this with real anchovy. Confession, I have always hated anchovy, actually wretch over anchovy on pizza or prominently lazing on a salad.. But there were recipes where the real, whole, thing is really not only appropriate but essential.

Entirely agree. I usually start with a splat of mayo, almost as much sour cream, handful of green onions, similar amount of jarred cocktail onions, spoon of dried or fresh dill, handful of fresh parsley, salt and pepper. Mix with an immersion blender, then taste. If it lacks ooomph, I add a spoon of that HVR powder. And or a few spoons of juice from the cocktail onions. The batch I made several days ago is really prime, one of our best. Last night on asparagus was luscious.

Totally agree. However, there was a taverna in the Plaka of Athens that taught me a dish where it was quite lovely. Asked what he recommended, our waiter replied "Lemon Eggplant". I ordered it. Hm. No lemon. Light bulb! LAMB and eggplant! A simple braise of big chunks of lamb shoulder, similar size cubes eggplant, onions, garlic, tomato, oregano. Divine. We returned several times and that was always my order. So when stuck with a jumbo eggplant and not hankering for eggplant caviar, Lemon Eggplant is the end game.