Basilgirl

I LOVE my new GE Profile gas range. It has a power burner for boiling water or whatever quickly and a simmer burner that never goes "poof" and blows out. The grate design is very pretty - the grates are gray. The oven is nice and big. I got the floor model at Best Buy and saved $400 off the original $1000 price. This replaced my 1972 Harvest Gold double oven piece of crap. I'd post a picture but I'm too stupid to figure it out. You can find it on the GE web site; it is model # JGB900 in white.

Sierra Nevadas. Many.

Rachael Ray will be the editor in chief of a magazine to come out this summer. Here's a quote from The New York Times: "Fans of Rachael Ray, take heart. If watching her 27 times a week on one of her three Food Network television shows or reading her 11 cookbooks is not enough, you will soon be able to get another dose from the newsstand. Ms. Ray has teamed up with Reader's Digest U.S. to publish a food and lifestyle magazine called Every Day with Rachael Ray. Kitty Morgan, the editor of the magazine, said the magazine's style and tone will reflect those of Ms. Ray." Wonder if she'll pose for the cover ala her spread in FHM

Braise it in chicken stock, saute in lots of butter first. A little red pepper flakes, S&P. White wine is nice too. I like it raw as a salad with olive oil, lemon juice or red wine vinegar, S&P, good olives or orange sections, Parmesan.

That's what sold me, too! Also, it was the prettiest stove on display (I thought). Fun to cook on/in, especially after 17 years with my 1972 Harvest Gold monstrosity.

bilrus: Is that a GE Profile stove I see? It looks just like the one I just got about a month ago.

Those are great prices on the Set It and Forget Its. I have one that I've had for several years and I LOVE it. I don't find it that hard to clean and any effort to do so is well worth it. On another note, I just received the Calphalon griddle that covers 2 burners from Amazon for $40 - list price is $170. I could not resist, as I have just gotten a new gas stove with grates that go all the way across instead of individual. Can't wait to make a big breakfast on it - maybe for dinner tonight!

How To Cook Without A Book by Pam Anderson (not that Pam Anderson). Really. What were they thinking with that title? I've never used it, that I can recall. Michael Chiarello's Casual Cooking - nice to look at, nice recipes, just haven't used it Eleanora's Kitchen by Eleanora Scarpetta Everything Tastes Better with Bacon by Sara Perry Tyler Florence's Real Kitchen - I've only made the meatloaf Cook's Illustrated restaurant cookbook Mastering Microwave Cookery

I've just been introduced to Potbelly Sandwich Works. The Italian is one of the best sandwiches I've ever had, worth every salty & cholesterol laden bite. The giardinera (sp?) really makes it.

The ham palascintas (sp?) at The Magic Pan - chopped ham and some other stuff I don't remember, stuffed in a crepe, breaded and fried. With a really good mustard sauce. I have the recipe in my old Bon Appetit Favorite Restaurant Recipes book, but I've only made it once, as it is a major PITA. I miss The Magic Pan

The other night we had very thinly sliced pork loin that had been cooked in the Set It and Forget It - stuffed with garlic and herbes de provence - with red onion and provolone (lots) on potato bread, toasted up in the sandwich maker thingy with lots of butter. Really really good.

Celery stuffed with blue or gorgonzola. Mmmmm.

Friday night: Black & Tans, no food Saturday: My mom bought me a new stove for my birthday! My 33-year old Harvest Gold stove/oven will soon be history! I got a beautiful GE Profile gas stove with gray grates, and saved $400 by getting the floor model. Saturday night: Chicken in sherry vinegar sauce from A New Way to Cook, Wild Pecan Rice and green beans in mustard vinaigrette Last night: Mario's Pork a la Perugina (with prosciutto, capers, anchovies, white wine, garlic), roasted fennel with parmesan, roasted garlic mashed potatoes with olive oil and scallions. Sliced pork loin 1" thick (3 slices), then rubbed the rest with olive oil and herbs de provence/Maldon sea salt & pepper and Setted It and Forgetted It for sandwiches this week. Can't wait to use the new stove to make a ham for Easter.

In honor of St. Patrick's Day: Big, fat, gloppy, messy, cheesy Reuben sandwiches. Beers. That is all.

Burgers from anorganic butcher, cooked in a cast iron skillet sprinkled with a ton of kosher salt. Topped with Smithfield bacon and aged white cheddar. Onion rings. Cheap red wine. Good times.

Ha ha. My boyfriend says that if Mario cut his finger he would bleed olive oil.

I heard recently that Stop & Shop is not happy with the Giant stores here and plans to renovate all of them. I wonder if they will redo my Giant in Burke, VA, which just underwent a renovation??????? I've started shopping at Safeway a lot, because they have much better produce than Giant and they always have fresh fennel. Also, the bakery rocks and the employees practically put you in a lip lock when you walk in the door. At my Giant they seem to be peeved that there are customers in their store.

Yesterday I went nuts in the kitchen, cooking all afternoon for the upcoming week so I don't have to deal with it when I walk in the door at 7 p.m. I made NeroW's One of Each Soup, to serve tonight with grilled bacon & cheddar on cinnamon raisin bread. I also made a white bean-chicken chili with lots of oregano & hot pepper flakes to be served tomorrow night with cornbread; a Crock-Potted beef roast ("Delta Doc's Garlic Beef" - you soak TWO HEADS worth of garlic cloves overnight in soy sauce & olive oil, then add your beef, onions, stock) - smelled great all day - for French dip sandwiches; Cook's Illustrated croutons for Caesar salad (now I know why I should have strained the garlic from the oil like they said to - duh); and I did a sirloin steak on the grill pan & Trader Joe's frozen onion rings for last night's dinner with the Caesar salad - then The Boyfriend came home complaning that he didn't feel good, so last night's dinner may turn into steak and eggs at some point.

I made this yesterday, and as Maggie and Priscilla have noted, this soup is amazing. I put in tons of curry powder b/c mine was kind of old and had lost some of its potency. I couldn't stop licking the spoon while I was putting it away for tonight. I'm going to serve it with grilled cheddar-bacon on cinnamon raisin bread, I think that will be a great combination. Thanks NeroW!

What about going halfway with a Boboli? Boboli is another heat and eat product that I am greatful for. ← Ahhh, the Boboli...I like the thin crust better. I load it up with garlic-herb-hot pepper oil and whatever I've got in the fridge. Always good. My grocery store sells another brand that is thinner & crisper, more cracker-like, that is good too. And their store brand is the best I've found, but they don't always carry it (?).

Vidalia-Os! I love those things, but they're hard to find in my area. I love all Ore Ida's products, especially the Tots and the Oven Fries (which are damn good deep fried - they really puff up - but that's another thread). Frozen honey battered chicken tenders go over big with kids (and me). The frozen pizzas from Italy at Trader Joe's are really good, as are some the Mexican things and the gzoya people have mentioned above. The frozen meatballs are damn good and make a fine meatball sub. I also like the Freschetta Brick Oven pizzas. With a little doctoring up they're not bad at all, especially the 5 Cheese. The California Pizza Kitchen frozen pizzas, especially the roasted garlic chicken with white wine-shallot butter sauce, is really good. Just today I tried Michael Angelo's pepperoni & ricotta cheese things in "focaccia" - like a Hot Pocket but tons better. A little greasy but tasty. Like most people here I love to cook, but sometimes you're just too damn tired or there are time constraints involved. One thing I REFUSE to try are those Crock Pot ready meals or any of those meals that come in a box. Also do not dig on Shake N Bake.

I have a fryer, but I put it down in the basement to avoid temptation. Before that we probably fried something about once or twice a month. Mozzarella sticks, onion rings, french fries, shrimp. Once in awhile I'll pan fry chicken and/or rings in a beer batter. I'm going to my favorite Chinese restaurant tonight for Salt & Pepper Eggplant, ovals of eggplant with a ground pork mixture that somehow stays inside the salty (soy sauce?) batter - they come out shatteringly crisp, showered with thin thin slices of garlic, ginger, some cilantro & hot peppers. And on the side - their scallion pancakes that look like balloons. Can't wait.

Like Mooshmouse, we did a chicken stirfry - for Chinese New Year - plus my boyfriend wants to learn how, so I gave him a lesson in Stirfry 101, even though I'm definitely no expert. He got to cut up the red peppers, onions, celery, carrots, asparagus, shiitakes & the chicken. He does not follow instructions well and cut them too small but oh well. He does play well with others and does not run with scissors. It turned out pretty good and he was really proud of himself.

Simple and great...I should of thought of this one...However, I like to add a bit of butter with the olive oil...more flavour! ← Hmm...butter does make everything better, so I think I'll try that

Aglio olio! My favorite version is from "Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen" - a ton (10 cloves?) of sliced garlic sauteed in olive oil, red pepper flakes, salt, a cup or so of pasta water, parsley if you have it. Done.