chezcherie

oooh, i hope you got some gochujang! it's my new favorite condiment!

thanks to you both. after some searching, i think the term i was looking for is chiqueter. refers to crimping, not necessarily, but possibly with the back of a knife. that may not be it, though...i still have that "unscratched itch" feeling about this term.

gahhhh...i hate this sign of aging. can't for the life of me recall the french term for scoring the edge of dough with the spine of a knife to create a decorative border. anybody?? tia!

charleston?

that is one of my must-do stops every visit to sf. the family of sons who runs the place is friendly and the seafood is so freshly sweet--love swan oyster depot! thanks for the post/reminder. usually a line out the door, but it moves acceptably fast. used to be cash only--not sure that's still the case. i struck up a nice friendship with a french couple who didn't know it was cash only, and were a few dollars short. (including a tip, which i liked, because i think a fair number of europeans, in the same situation, would have just skipped the tip, as it's not customary there.) i fronted them a few bucks and we kept in contact for a few years after that.

scrambled scallops seem to fit the creative and unique bill. even though i wonder if it's a smart move to confess at judge's table that "i meant to do one thing, but that didn't work out so i turned it into this other thing."

re:hazan--i believe the reasoning is that boiling water will dissolve the salt faster, so it won't sink to the bottom intact and pit the metal. (i use kosher salt, myself, which dissolves on the way down anyway, but i think that's the rationale.) i agree that the whys are important.

these were great. please post the link to the remaining (6?--another poster indicates that there are a total of 16 chang episodes) when available. thanks!

trader joe's sells pasteurized, not ultrapasteurized heavy cream with carrageenan added. i like the cream (and its dairy taste) but would prefer it without the carrageen. just sayin'.

just noting that the gorgeous foie frogprincesse posted is a product of canada. until we californians get this thing overturned, i believe we can still obtain lovely-looking foie from there and ny and other areas.

i wonder why so few recipes are rocking us in 2012? this has been one of my fav eG threads for several years, but it seems underposted upon in '12. here's one that has recently rocked my kitchen. http://www.food52.co..._caper_dressing. it's april bloomfield's lemon-caper dressing from "a girl and her pig". (emphasis on the LEMON, as it employs whole supremes). used it on grilled pork chops, on sauted fennel, red onion and green beans, and on fish. it's just so tasty! will def be a summer staple at our house.

saute with a little garlic and shallots. pour in a little cream and reduce. maybe top with a little chiffonaded basil. serve over grilled or sauteed fish. yum!

what type of cell phone are you using? photos look great. what are the silver handled things in the first two photos? they look like forks, but i see the bamboo skewers seem to protrude from them--skewer handles??

haha--this may be the ol' creamy vs crunchy peanut butter preference thing--i love the little crunchy bits in the tj cookie butter. (and i used to carry biscoff home in my suitcase, before tj copied it!) so, one vote for crunchy here.

i've been making blackberry curd recently, to use as a tart filling, or spread on toast. i believe the original recipe was from cooking light? 3 cups blackberries 3/4 c sugar 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice 2 egg yolks 2 tablespoons cornstarch pinch of salt, several grinds fresh black pepper 1 tablespoon butter place the berries, sugar and lemon juice in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. cool slightly, then puree in a blender. strain and return to pan. stir the cornstarch into the yolks, incorporating well. over medium heat, whisk the yolk mixture into the puree. simmer 1 minutes. add the salt and pepper, and stir in the butter. when butter is incorporated, transfer to a storage container, pressing plastic wrap onto the surface of the curd and refrigerate. made a batch yeterday, which i used on a puff pastry/turbinado sugar base, with glorious nectarines, plums, black and blue berries. used the left over whites from the eggs to pipe a meringue border around the edges. purty and tasty.

best foods. the best best foods, in my opinion, is a variety found at latin markets, with an orange top. made with lime juice. (i know--the orange top is confusing. but they chose green for the olive oil variety.) i buy the biggest canisters they have, and i buy 3 at a time. i don't use a lot of mayonnaise, but it's always that slightly tangy, bright-flavored lime best foods when i do. http://www.bestfoods.com/product/detail/96415/mayonnaise-with-lime

grill them. make a big bowl of romesco. dip. eat. repeat.

i'm trying to understand this--if the wok is nestled into the coals, aren't the coals in contact with the sides as well as the bottom? not seeing how this makes for a hotter bottom than sides? please help me understand, as i'm interested in trying this over the weekend. tia.

That recipe sounds very similar to one posted on The Kitchen last year. Maybe their inspiration came from that book- Difference was that they used skinless, boneless chicken thighs, Meyer lemons and no thyme. I've been making it using thighs with skin and bone and sometimes even substituting preserved lemons. You're right- love the ease of this and the results-so tasty.... Thanks for mentioning this book. Now I have to go find it- not that I need another cookbook but, if the recipes are as good as this one it would be a keeper. i make a very similar dish, but stovetop (braised)--i toss in a handful of black and/or green olives, which looks festive, and complements the other flavors really well.

forgot to add--i usually drizzle with a little olive oil, and crisscross roasted red pepper strips across the top.

i just use bocconcini on individual leaves. the bite-sized pieces sit atop the lemon leaves, and i dont grill them long enough for drippy mess-age.only takes a few minutes. i think i may have gotten the idea from sunset magazine.

grilled mozzarella on lemon leaves. pretty, and imparts a subtle smokey citrus flavor.

there are so many reasons i won't buy pre-ground meat. E .Coli (i like my occasional burger rare in the center), and now pink slime. sorry--it may be perfectly safe, but i don't want ammonia-washed beef by-product in my beef. when i want ground beef for something, i either buy it someplace where they will sell me a hunk of chuck and grind it for me right then, or i will either use the kitchen-aid grinder or just pulse it in the food processor, depending on its intended use. just my solution.

consensus seems to be that you don' need one. if, on the other hand, you are looking for permission, permission granted! i can't imagine my happy kitchen life without a stand mixer and a food processor. yeah, i'm good with a knife and a mortar and pestle, but the tools make things so streamlined. i enjoy the process more with the tools, and don't mind washing the pieces and parts one bit. i find that theraputic!

i love the name bird seed brittle, and may have to steal this basic idea, just so i can use it!