chezcherie

i saw a martha stewart ham at costco at christmas...didn't try it, don't know what makes it particularly "martha" other than the brand. i would LOVE to find some duck confit at my costco!

ya beat me to it...and they are great (or should that be "grate"...sorry!!) i sell the food ones in my cooking school, but when i got a promo piece on the foot ones, i could not resist. they are amazing....and horrifying, at the same time. but never the twain shall meet...one stays home, one goes to the school. i'm glad they came up with a completely different design. otherwise, everytime i grated the zest off a lemon, i'd be thinking about...ewww!

financiers are the first thing to occur to me, as their shape is said to mimic gold bars...i've seen silicone pans for them in sur la table and other cookware stores, and i'm pretty sure dorie greenspan's great baking book has a recipe. if not, her "paris sweets" would. you might even wrap them in gold foil to make them look more "gold brick"ish..and charge more!

i'm also in so ca, and in my market it's 9:30 am saturdays. tivo is set, as the first episode i saw was intriguing.

got the cold from hell, so i've spent some couch time this weekend. i have been away from food tv for a while, so these may all be old annoyances, but (1) i watched tyler florence season and liberally oil some red bell peppers that he then proceeded to roast and peel, thereby removing all the seasoning he'd applied.... (2) just now watched bobby flay serve peel and eat shrimp with a nice garlicy, oily, sauce to his poker buddies....the show was about poker food, and they were not taking a break, but actively engaged in the game. i guess it's good those cards are plastic coated, huh? still, from the look of those shrimp (looked delicious, don't get me wrong...), the players were in danger of having their royal flushes fly right out of their hands! (3) on the plus side, i saw my first episode of the new jamie oliver show, which i think i'll tivo. most of the mtv camera shots are gone, so i don't have to have a dramamine apertif, and the show felt informative, fresh and watchable.

Do you know who else? I saw Steven from Season one is opening one and then winner, Harold. I havent really heard anything from Season 2 (which imo really sucked anyhow) ← during the holiday special, tiffani talked about her restaurant in LA being on the drawing board...

i recall reading something about this, where the subjects repeatedly failed to wash their hands before removing the gloves from the box, thereby potentially contaminating the glove beneath, if not the whole batch. of course, best practice would be to wash thoroughly, then retrieve a glove from the box, but that didn't happen. i think the over-reliance on gloves diminishes the importance of hand-washing in the minds of many.

boy, we miss those amazon deals a few years back, before riedel bought spiegelau...used to pay $4 per glass (sometimes buy one, get one!), free shipping...still have a few boxes stashed...those were the days! thanks, eG! (this is where we found out about the great deal.) i think the main difference is the shape at the bottom of the bowl. authentis have a more angular shape, while the vino grandes are rounded.

i hope i haven't missed a previous post, but was delighted to see the feb 08 issue of saveur feature eG's own rancho gordo:

make romesco. i use a food processor....piquillos, stale bread, almonds or hazelnuts, garlic, sherry vinegar. use it as a dip, or on grilled chicken or fish, even on pasta or rice.

if you don't want to use your hands, for whatever reason, a large slotted spoon works pretty well.

i want to live where you live. ← That's easy - turn off the TV! ← it's not just tv...can't look at magazine covers. or cracker boxes. or shop in cookware stores. not that easy to avoid rr anymore.

i want to live where you live.

thanks, dianabanana.

what's the deal with lighting the wrappers on fire and making a wish? i have seen this or read about it, but it is a dim memory...will someone please describe this tradition in detail? thanks!

i think you are referring to a chinois (or china cap) and pestle:here the only thing is, don't extract the very last drops with it--if you mash and press too hard on the solids, you'll get some bitterness in your stock. but other than that, it's a great tool.

this may be my "princess and the pea" issue, but i think a quick parboil changes the taste as well as the texture. from raw flour to cooked flour, i guess...even though the heat of the sauce cooks the pasta enough to make it palatable, i "think" i taste a difference, and so, i do.

i sometimes stick a couple spent vanilla beans in a bottle of (good but not fabulous) balsamic vinegar. doesn't make vanilla balsamic--just adds a subtle layer of flavor. so if you have tons of medium-good balsamic around...or if you want to start more presents...

so, at risk of sounding completely odd, i use resealable bags for this sort of thing, seal them nearly completely, and insert a drinking straw into the small unsealed portion, and ....~inhale~suck the air out through the straw. then quickly remove the straw and seal the bag......yeah, i know... but my question is: is this gadget better? thanks....i'll just go suck the air out of some brownies now...

yeah...happens. nowadays, while i am making recipe lists, shopping lists, and prep lists, i also make a serve list. takes 30 seconds. saves hours of fretting/regret. even though i laugh at myself while i do it...i do it.

just back from tuscany, i used a bag of great penne (martelli), a sage infused bechamel, with pancetta and leftover turkey, with a ciabatta-pecorino crumb topping. can't wait for dinner....and tomorrow? turkey gumbo. i love leftover turkey recipes.

another tip for an intense mushroom flavor is to use some dried mushrooms along with the fresh. reconstitute them in hot water, stock or (my fav) sherry, and saute them along with the fresh ones. deep, woodsy flavor and aroma.

well, let's see. i actually had a column for about a year and a half, for which i was paid, by a fairly well-respected news agency. but i don't do that anymore. and if i have a choice of being appointed by that agency, or appointed by FG, i choose the latter. appoint me, please?

now THERE'S an idea...

i don't know if it's a great idea...but the commercial made me laugh...and they are in COSTCO, for god's sake..they must have something going for them.