hannahcooks

Ooh. Marcella's stovetop roasted potatoes are currently my favorite potatoes ever, but those sound delicious, as well.

So if y'all had the choice between this KitchenAid or this Cuisinart, what would you choose?

Sur La Table does it for 50 cents per inch, I believe. I take mine to the locksmith in the 3rd and Fairfax Farmer's Market.

I'm in for the chicken and potatoes from J&J- in fact, I'm up for trying anything from that book. I've already cooked a ton of the recipes from ANWTC, but would gladly do any of them again, as well.

I (pre-strike) was always having a battle with the Ralphs clerks about this. Ralphs, like Whole Foods, will give you a 5-cent per bag credit for bags you bring in. However, I've had Ralphs clerks claim that it's only for paper or plastic bags, not canvas; that it's only for Ralphs bags (my canvas bags say Trader Joe's on them); that it's 3 cents for canvas bags, 5 cents for paper or plastic; that it's 3 cents for canvas and plastic and 5 cents for paper... The last cashier told me there was a written policy on it (he was the 3 cents for canvas and plastic guy) but was unable to produce it. Whole Foods has their policy clearly written at every checkstand, and part of me thinks it's a conspiracy on Ralphs' part to support the paper bag industry. The rest of me, needless to say, knows the whole battle makes me officially a Crazy Lady.

Skooby's is on Hollywood Blvd, right across the street from Musso and Frank's. The fries are a mix of fries and more potato chip cut potatoes, well seasones, and served with a mayonnaise based sauce. SO good.

Have you been to Skooby's yet? They'd be my new nominee for best hotdog in LA- and best fries. Where do you get the best carnitas?

Well, it was a pain in the rear trying to track down cake flour, which neither Bristol Farms, Whole Foods, or TJ's carries, without crossing a picket line, but I did. I have a lot of sympathy for the grocery workers. Less for the transit mechanics, whose troubles aremore (in my opinion) due to their union's mismanagement of their healthcare fund than the lack of MTA contribution.

I tried the wheat bread again this weekend- still couldn't find "malt extract" but both Whole Foods and the natural food store carried this, which I used instead. The bread came out delicious, so I'm not complaining. I also made my first batch of puff pastry- had some difficulty on the first turn, as the butter pushed right through the dough, but I think/hope it will bake okay. It was a lot hardy than Judy Rogers' "rough puff", that's for sure. I'm using it to make the alsation onion tart tonight.

MatthewB, how did your bastard loaves come out? I made the white bread recipe yesterday. The bread has a really crisp crust, but is somehow oddly both salty and tasteless. It's much better toasted than plain.

Last night I mixed up some (leftover) roast chicken with grated (leftover) jack and cheddar cheeses. Added some (leftover) scallions and some (always stocked up on when it's on sale/I have a coupon staple) Ro-Tel. I sprayed some Pam on both sides of a flour tortilla, put 1/4 cup of the chicken mixture inside, folded it into a packet, repeated until I had 4 and baked at 415 for 11 minutes. Served with sour cream. Total time under 20 minutes. Due to judicious use of leftovers, total cost for new ingredients $2.79. And it made enough for 2 people plus even more leftovers.

I think you can eat healthy AND eat well very easily, actually. Just cutting out processed and packaged foods from your diet lowers your sodium intake enormously- and the high fructose corn syrup, which is in everything packaged, it seems, but is not metabolized like real sugar is. Using a small amount of butter or olive oil for flavor instead of loads of margarine is actually better tasting and lower in calories, not to mention the dangers of partially hydrogenated oils. I eat small snacks throughout the day- a small green salad (with just a tbsp of homemade salad dressing), a serving of carrots, celery, edamame, a banana, an apple, etc. and a small sandwich on homemade bread with homemade mayonnaise- which gives me my five servings of fruits and vegetables a day, keeps me sated, and allows me to have just about whatever I want (in moderate portions) for dinner.

Two- if Elizabeth David's An Omelette and a Glass of Wine counts (it has recipes, and all). Also Marcella Hazan.

Thanks! I'll check there. I wonder if there's a lot of crossover between the brew your own beer types and the grow your own, er, weed types. Based on the ones I know, I'd say yes, but that's a small sampling.

Well, I omitted the malt extract, since I couldn't find it anywhere, and warily kneaded it by hand (there were no by hand instructions after all, but the dough seemed okay anyway). And then my fiance inadvertently turned the oven down from 375 to 275 midway through baking. After turning it back up and baking a little longer, the bread came out great, despite it all.

What do you think about the whole wheat sandwich bread? I was going to try that Sunday, since I've been baking sandwich bread every weekend for the past few weeks.

I picked up Baking w/ Julia last week. I've browsed it & it looks great. I'll be working through it so commiseration & celebration will be on our agenda. Now I just have to get out of this cooking rut that I fell into this week. So, y'all. My Baking With Julia arrived yesterday- any suggestions for where to start, considering that my KitchenAid stand mixer (and hopefully a food processor, as well) won't arrive until Christmas? Also, Sherri, re: Jacques Pepin's Techniques- don't be intimidated. I use it as a reference- for instance, I was cooking leeks, and even though I was using a different method, I still looked up leeks in his TOC. Which led me to learn how to clean leeks. I always learn something. I also just got Jacques Pepin Celebrates, which covers some of the same territory, but in color. The omelet section in JPC alone is well worth the price.

As someone raised in a household whose pantry contained special canisters for Flour, Sugar, Rice, and Grits, that's practically blasphemy. Mmmmmm, grits.

As soon as my copy arrives, I'll join y'all. I love Jacques Complete Techniques, too- not that I ever plan on making a cucumber turtle, but it is nice to know I could if I wanted to.

Last time I was there I saw some balsamic glaze in the New Products section- anyone tried it?

They sell them at Dodger games...

37 at home. On the way from BOMC and thegoodcook.com are six more: Jacques Pepin Celebrates, Baking With Julia, The Penguin Companion to Food (not really a cookbook, though), Cooking At Home With the Culinary Institute of America, How to Cook Everything: The Basics and The Minimalist Entertains.

Ah, see, I love the mezzaluna, which I coveted after seeing Nigella's. I've learned how to use a chef's knife, but the mezzaluna is just more fun.

We're headed there this weekend- is La Super-Rica open for dinner? And also, any breakfast recommendations?

Whenever I'm back in SLC, I always, always, always go to the Training Table for cheese fries (with fry sauce).