chezcherie

i hardly ever soak dried beans. i pop a can. tonight we had a grilled skirt steak (marinated in garlic and tequila) on tortillas with fresh guacamole. the side was fresh corn, off the cob, sauteed with butter, cumin and canned black beans. it was tasty.

have you thought about injecting? when we roast a pig, we inject a mojo-type flavoring agent into the meat all over......mmmm, roast mojo pig!

and i adore your book, as well! are you still barging, or have you settled on terra firma?

she has a new book--cooking at home on rue tatin.

along with patricia wells, i long to try susan hermann loomis' school, on rue tatin. www.onruetatin.com

I do shock the green beans in cold water after cooking, but even then the color fades a bit in the oil and vinegar dressing so that they look more the color of canned green beans. I'm not sure if that's what you're describing. I've never had a salad like this stay bright green as if the vegetable were just steamed... ← if i recall correctly, it's the acid. so, to prevent the khakis, you have to dress at the last minute....sometimes i like the "marinated" effect, so then i just let 'em turn color. that way, some people won't like them!

last night we grilled and green bean-ed. the beans were fab, and here's what i did. steamed them til tender, and topped them with a compound butter with chopped (raw) shallots, pernod, salt and white pepper. if there were any of those left, i would eat them for bfast! taragon would send them over the top, but i had none....next time!

here's a link to the eg thread, which contains a link to the (tufts) study.click

what a coincidence...the computer place is...in glendale. no lie.

Now THAT is brilliant. I just love it when an idea is great AND easy! If you don't mind, I'm going to save that in my "idea" file. It's a keeper. Hey Cherie..... howcome you didn't utilize the husband before calling the computer guy? I woulda been in a load of trouble if I'd called in outside help.....although no matter what my hubby says, I will ALWAYS call the plumber....... ← good question---he is pretty damn handy, but knows his limitations...doesn't "do" cracked motherboards..so he told me to take it in, and where to take it. the computer guy said it was terminal, so we were having him transfer the data from the dead laptop to the new one, when the tricky file issue came up. i think i'll bake some for that handy husband, too.

oh, this i love! they're all good...but this i love.

or, more precisely, please be creative, and let me take the credit. i suffered a computer crash recently. my computer guy was attempting to recover some lost data (recipes are data, right?), and i promised him some cookies (from one of the lost recipes, n'est pas?) if he was successful. it appeared that he was not...but he saved what he could, and lo and behold, my husband was able to take it the rest of the way (which the computer geek---i mean guy--was not...but in that case, time is $$). so, i feel that some cookies are in order for the computer guy. (the husband has been compensated...) what clever computer-related shape (other than "cookies", which i already thought of...) shall i fashion from this roll-and-cut sour cream sugar cookie dough? i thought of mouses..or mice, and motherboards, but that seems kinda hard, and my piping skills are limited. ideas? come on, you guys are brilliant. i can't wait to see what i---i mean you--come up with. thanks in advance!

on our first visit to beautiful new orleans, we had a moment that really brought the whole "go cup" point home for us. sitting in our hotel's lobby bar, waiting for a couple of friends to go to dinner. i ordered a glass of wine, my husband ordered one of those daquiris...my wine is just okay, and he says his daquiri tastes "off", and asks me to taste it. well, you know that after a sip of his drink, my wine tastes awful...our buddies arrive, and we are about 5 steps out the hotel door, when we hear hurried footsteps behind us, and turn to see the barman approaching us...(i think my husband has forgotten to pay the bill.) the barman says "excuse me, folks, but you left your drinks behind!" yes, we know..."but, don't you want a go cup?!" no, it's okay, really. then he kinda shakes his head, as he's walking back to the hotel, like he's never seen anyone leave liquor on the table on purpose before... on my recent trip to uglesich's, i enjoyed one of miss gail's marvelous bloody marys while standing in line...i love new orleans! edited for spelling

can i just say that i would never-ever-never bake a wedding cake, not ever, but i am finding this riveting. the drama. the anticipation. such fun! thanks.

i believe it's called cynarin. makes things (even water) taste oddly sweet (only to a certain segment of the population, but a significant percentage). throws off the balance of flavors.

just found kurobuta (sp?) pork loin. looks gorgeous...tonight's dinner.

i thought they closed....no?

"jack" bourdain?....oh, that's sure to throw them off the scent!

he cooked the fish first, before sauces and veg, and let it sit....

i got them at a local middle eastern market, where they have lots of cool things i would never get a chance to try---cardoons, all manner of herbs, etc.

once they were yummy, did you just gobble them up, or keep them in brine, or ? that's where mine are now, but i have too many to eat this week! thanks

and lemon curd.

(bump) my green olives are now tasting wonderful, after weeks/months in a brine cure. i want to keep them at this level of flavor now (not milder, by further brining)> can i cover them with olive oil, and if so, are they okay, covered at room temp, or must they be refrigerated? i'm excited about my "house cured" stash. thanks!

surfas does carry foie gras, but i believe it's all frozen. if you are closer to south pasadena, nicole's gourmet imports always has it. nicole's edited for lousy typing

oh, wonderful! congratulations! i love the place, and the book. the macarons! the croque monsieur! i hope it is a terrific experience for you. after cooking school is when the learning really begins!