slkinsey

You can always make the dressing ahead, then moisten with stock and reheat.

Tin is the traditional treatment. Stainless steel lined is much more expensive, and there are some technical limitations in terms of sizes and shapes that may be produced with the stainless/copper bimetal. For making delicate sauces where high temperatures are not a concern, it is possible that tin's greater thermal conductivity may offer even more control.

- Crumble and render some sausage. Set aside - Saute medium dice of onion and celery in the sausage fat until translucent. Add butter to keep moist. Can add small dice of carrot and a little garlic if you like. Set aside - Toss cooked ingredients with equal parts cubed cornbread & sturdy white bread - Mince equal parts parsley, rosemary, sage, thyme and toss with bread mixture - Add pecans or other such things, if you like (I like pecans, and chopped sun-dried tomatoes can be really good too -- some people like slices of apple) - Moisten with stock and heavy cream -- add a few beaten eggs if you like the dressing more bound together - Put in baking dish, cover with foil and bake in oven ~30 - 40 minutes. Remoisten with stock to the wetness of your preference and bake with the foil removed ~10 minutes to crisp the top.

That sounds great, Seth. I especially like the gravlax. I used to make gravlax every year for Thanksgiving. Maybe I'll get back to that next year now that you have inspired me.

Sounds great, ludja! I'm glad you revived this thread. Maybe more people can share their Thanksgiving menus with us. C'mon people... this is a food web site and there aren't more people who want to brag?!

What, exactly, do you think grilling would add to this soup? In your two examples (pureed grilled vegetables and shredded grilled duck) it doesn't strike me that anyone could tell the differnce between grilled and, say, oven-roasted or pan fried. In re to saving some burners, I think it's a good idea to make the soup course 90% the day before and then reheat it for service, adding herbs or other fresh ingredients at the last minute.

I am definitely going here soon. Like, maybe tomorrow around 1:30. Anyone interested?

Hmm... I've heard people order ristretto, although admittedly not terribly often. If what you say is true, then no bar in Italy of which I am aware sells what you and Owen would call a "caffe ristretto." My knowledge of Italian bars is not encyclopedic, of course, but I do have coffee around 5 times a day whenever in Italy so I think I have a fairly good feel for the lay of the land. Can you think of any bar in Italy that adjusts its grind on the fly for ristretto shots? If so, I want to go there. I'm curious whether you think most, or many Italians would differentiate between caffe corto ("short coffee") and caffe ristretto ("restricted coffee")? Or might it perhaps be the case that certain bars serve all their coffee ristretto and others normale? If the latter case is true, then the "adjusting the grind" definition would make more sense to me, as the bar's grinders would simply be calibrated a bit finer than normal. Some places in Italy -- and I can't remember exactly where -- also ask whether you want your coffee liscio, which I remember thinking was strange.

Hee! I was there for the same reason today! I bought 1.5 lbs. They must be wondering why they sold more Cope's today than they usually sell in a week.

This is, IMO, one of the major benefits of roasting deboned poultry. I almost never roast poultry without pulling out at least the backbone and breastbone.

For another perspective... I differ with our well-informed host on this one. I think the idea that a ristretto shot is made by adjusting the grind finer is an American, coffeegeek.com-inspired one. Personally I go by what I observe in Italian bars as practiced by experienced barriste. I don't think it makes sense to take an Italian coffee term and change it so that a "real ristretto" is something different from what they do in Italy. In Italy, there is no adjusting the grind because the coffee is pre-ground into the doser. The only difference I can discern when I order un caffe ristretto is that they run around 1/3 less water into the cup. This manages to produce all the characteristics (thicker, richer, etc.) one desires in a ristretto shot. If there are certain grind adjustments of the grind one needs to make in order to compensate for the limitations of home machines, that should IMO be noted.

Very cool pictures, Poots. I especially like the use of chestnut stuffing. I've made around 4-5 turduckens in my day, and enjoyed them. They are certainly impressive when you slice them up on the table, and practically foolproof once you get them put together. There is another extensive thread on turducken here to which your interesting remarks and pictures will probably be appended for further conversation. So... what did you think about it? Did you like it? Was it worth the trouble, or more of a novelty? I have to say that I'm personally glad I made them. I found it an interesting challenge and I thought they tasted great. But, that said, I doubt I'll be making another one.

I second Craig's choices, adding four of my own: 4. Pecorino delle Marche (semisoft young sheep's milk cheese) 5. Burrata (fresh mozzarella "sack" enclosing a semi-formed filata cheese made with cream) 6. Shropshire Blue (like Stilton on steroids) 7. Epoisse (king of the illegal raw milk cheeses)

I have had much the same reaction to Japanese malts myself. The telling sentence in the article, IMO, was ""This was a group of average whisky drinkers..." Well, one could take a group of so-called "average sherry drinkers" and they might prefer cooking sherry on average. By and large, "average" drinkers tend to prefer flavors that are simpler, smoother, sweeter, etc. It would not surprise me in the least to find that Laphroaig, for example, was not rated very high by this panel. I've tried a few Irtish single malts myself, and while I found them interesting and quite excellent, they were a little too light and not quite smoky/salty enough for my personal preferences.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports:

Drink cocoa instead. It contains more antioxidants and phenolic phytochemicals than either tea or wine.

I haved seen a sign stating that the restaurant served, among other things: shrimp ribs

Cool, Mark. Many thanks. Would the last one then be: Sonoma Valley Red Wine “Albarello,” H. Coturri & Sons., 2001 So, I gather than you don't think it's a good idea to list the producer first? Also, I'd be interested to hear whether the system you propose is an "official one" and, whether it is or not, why you think this is the best way to list wines.

OK, so I'm going with the nomenclature suggested by Katie Loeb and others. It makes sense to me, and it's the closest to what I was already doing. So, would it be something like this: Nino Franco – Prosecco Rustico di Valdobbiadene NV Clos des Briords – Muscadet de Sèvre et Maine sur Lie "Cuvée Vieilles Vignes" 2002 Domaine Saint Vincent – Saumur Blanc “La Papareille” 2002 Domaine Alain Hudelot-Noëllat –Pinot Noir “Bourgogne” 2000 Rivetti – Moscato d’Asti “Vigneto Biancospino” 2002 Mas Foulaquier – Pic Saint-Loup “Le Rollier” 2001 Coturri – Sonoma Valley Red Wine “Albarello” 2001

Actually, your way of saying it would be the same as mine: Nino Franco = Maker Prosecco Rustico = Name of Wine (prosecco = name of grape) di Valdobbiadine = Region of Origin The prosecco's actually the easy one... it's the others that perplex me, although I think I have largely followed your convention.

Not yet... but I will be. Perhaps I'll be able to replicate my earlier "can't tell the difference" result.

This assumes, of course, that Asimov even wants the job. He has a pretty good gig going with "$25 and under."

Take a look at the class for some beginning ideas. For just about any serious home cook's budget, it's hard to go wrong with Paderno Grant Gourmet and Sitram Profisserie.

Greg, at those prices you can hardly go wrong! I say you should be the test subject, buy the set and report back. Seriously, though, Sitram is one of the best-known and most respected manufacturers of cookware for the professional kitchen. The reason they are not as well known to home users is that I think their outlook (and perhaps their main profit base?) seems more geared towards professional use. Unlike All-Clad, Calphalon, et al. they don't spend a lot of money on slick advertising for home users. But, then again, neither does Mauviel... and they are perhaps the oldest, most legendary and most respected manufacturers of cookware out there. All this is to say that I wouldn't be concerned that you haven't heard of them as much as some other companies.

For our Thanksgiving dinner, I usually make a "menu" on the back of the place cards listing the food and wine served. In doing this, I have always been a little mystified as to what I should be writing down for the wines. After all, there is a lot of information on the bottle. I bet I am not the only person who has met with this problem, so I thought some of the resident wine experts might give a few pointers. As a starting point, I'll show what I have written in my notes and hope for some concrete feedback. But perhaps we might hear about some general rules of thumb, if any exist for this kind of thing. 1. (with crudites) Nino Franco – Prosecco Rustico di Valdobbiadene (there is no year on the bottle) 2. (with raw oyster and cucumber granita) Clos des Briords – "Cuvée Vieilles Vignes" Muscadet de Sèvre et Maine sur Lie 2002 3. & 4. (with cauliflower puree and curry oil, then continuing into mixed herb salad) Domaine Saint Vincent – “La Papareille” Samur Blanc 2002 5. (with roasted corn/stilton soufflés, Brussels sprouts & guanciale) Domaine Alain Hudelot-Noellat – Bourgogne Pinot Noir 2000 6. (with lemon thyme sorbet) Vigneto Biancospino – “La Spinetta” Moscato d’Asti 2002 7. (with turkey breast roasted, legs braised in red wine/port + cornbreda dressing) Mas Foulaquier – “Le Rollier” Pic Saint-Loup 2001 and Coturri – “Albarello” Sonoma Valley Red Wine 2001 These are more or less direct transcriptions of what I wrote down when I bought the wines, and I have no basis for knowing what is pertinent information. Help?