Toliver

Even with jarred sauces, the addition of a 1/4 cup of a good wine (I use red) will add a new dimension of flavor.

I agree. It was an amazing issue with a slew of good recipes. I think I got carpal tunnel typing up everything in that digest.

Just make sure the gasket (the rubber ring in the lid) is in good condition and there shouldn't be any problems. The cooker is pretty easy to use. I posted this on another thread but my mom received her Presto pressure cooker (with the little rocking doohickey) as a wedding present in 1955. Two years ago the gasket finally wore out. She called Presto and they still had the replacement gaskets in stock! She ordered two, in case they run out (Mom is always thinking ahead). Did you receive the cookbook/instructions along with the pressure cooker? If not, call Presto and they may have copies you can purchase.

As a kid, I went through a phase where I didn't want any sauce on my spaghetti (Mom insisted on adding mushrooms to the sauce and I was anti-mushroom at that point). I loved the simplicity of butter and parmesan (it was even the stuff from the green can ) on the pasta. There's a chain restaurant called The Old Spaghetti Factory. They serve a dish of spaghetti with just browned butter & Mizithra cheese. It is simple and delicious. I was able to find Mizithra cheese at my local market and I use it on pasta with just butter whenever I can. As for sausage, I prefer the hot Italian kind when I have a choice. The hotter the better for this chilehead.

If you don't use some sort of bread crumb/cracker crumb (filler), you will end up with dense all-meat meatballs. They'll be heavy enough to use as shot puts. I also imagine the bread is a budget-stretcher, too, so you'll end up with more meatballs for your familia. Milk is used to soften the bread (usually day-old & not fresh) so it will mix in well. I made a meatloaf once thinking I wouldn't bother with any sort of bread crumbs/bread in the mix...I could have used the finished product as a door stop. It was very dense and heavy and was tiresome to eat. But that's my opinion. Perhaps Sam or a SSB will weigh in to the purpose of bread crumbs/bread as a filler in Italian meatballs.

Try posting this in the Pacific-Northwest board (look at the board first...your question may have already been answered). They are a helpful bunch up there: Click Here edited to add: Welcome to eGullet, vanillabean!

Add Angelina Jolie to the list. From MSN Entertainment News:

Oh MAN, I want this book! Do you mind saying where you found it, and how much (yikes!) you had to pay for it? Thanks, Squeat Well, I really shouldn't say, but, um...dark alley....midnight...unmarked bills.... Or, eBay, $76 (+ shipping). Earlier this year I made it one of my Favorite Searches, with e-mail notification. I entered the $76 proxy bid four days before the auction's end, and fortunately it held up. Someone else wanted it, too, but ended his/her bidding a few hours before the end at $75 (whew!). I wonder if I was your competitor. I was outbid a while before the auction's end and I think that's what the ending price was. Hmmm. I took solace in the fact that I immediately stumbled onto a used copy at Amazon for about $25 less than what the eBay auction sold for. I scored, to say the least.

Jack-in-the-Box has already dipped their toe into that deli-market. They've been doing a hard sell on the Pannido Sandwiches for a while. Frankly, if I go to a fast food burger joint, I want a burger. If I'd wanted a deli sandwich, I would have gone to a deli. I agree with some of what's already been said....why dilute the product?

"The Great Sabine River Biscuit Battle" will make a good read (It has to have "great" in the title or it's not worth writing about ). I look forward to the front line coverage. As for mixing the dough, I watched one of Emeril's TV shows where he showed how little you work the dough for a good biscuit. He cut the fat and flour together and then added the rest of the ingredients and blended them in the bowl by hand, one two three four turns...it's done. It didn't look done but when he poured the dough out onto the cutting board, to my amazement the dough was mixed and ready. He gently patted the dough into a thick square and used a ring cutter to make the biscuits. As you've pointed out, he said to never twist the cutter. He made it look so easy it made me want to try it...haven't yet, but I am certain I will, thanks in part to this thread. Good luck with your undertaking!

I am utterly fascinated by the whole vinegar/mother affair. Now I am wondering if Alton Brown has tackled this sci-fi experiment-in-a-bottle on his show. Between you and andiesenji I'd love to see a condiment class (vinegar, mustard, ketchup, chutney, etc) in the eGCI. But I know how busy you are. Thanks for taking the time to post the pictures!

Perhaps this thread on the Pastry & Baking forum might give you some ideas. edited to add: If all else fails, I like jgarner53's suggestion of freezing them. Imagine blueberry muffins in the middle of winter made from your frozen summer stash.

I was hoping others would chime in here but since no one has responded... Your plating is obviouly great...the food looks very good! So that just leaves your composition and your lighting. Although I like the redundancy in the photo (showing two plates of food...what I don't see clearly on one I can see on the other) I'd personally like to see more of just the plate in the foreground. By shifting the focus from both plates to just one plate, it also gives your photo a center of attention. It will go from being "A Study of Dinner for Two in the Library" (with the book in the background) to "Here's What I Made for Dinner Last Night", if that makes sense. You are already shooting down from a slight angle. I'd suggest shifting up to a little higher angle so we get a better view of the food on the plate. The focus of the the photo is soft. I'm guessing your camera has an auto-focus. Practice mastering your auto-focus. Most auto-focus cameras set the focus when the picture-taking button is depressed half-way (of course, consult your camera manual for exact operation instruction). Suppose your were going to shoot a photo of two kids standing side by side. You'd set the composition so it looked balanced and snap the photo. But because your auto-focus sets its focus on what is in the center of the picture, the bush in the background that was dead-center in your picture between the two kids is in perfect focus and the two kids are blurry. What you need to do is move the camera until the center of focus is on one of the kids and depress the picture-taking button half-way to set the focus. While the button is still half-depressed, move the camera back over until both kids are centered and the composition is correct and then depress the picture-taking button all the way to snap the picture. It sounds like a lot of trouble but with practice it will take mere nano-seconds for you to do this. As for the lighting, if it's possible bring the lighting closer to your plate then do it. You have some good highlights in the beans and not much in the way of shadows. A little stronger light will help bring out the vividness of the colors and make us drool even more. I am looking forward to seeing more of your cooking...I mean, photos!

Well, earlier I asked the question "So what makes a restaurant great?" and haven't really gotten a clear answer from anyone. I, too, have had some great meals in San Diego, and was taken aback by everyone saying that they're aren't any great restaurants in San Diego. So what's your yardstick? What is the benchmark? What makes a restaurant "great" versus "good" or "so-so"?

Lucy, Thank you so much for sharing. It was very moving to read.

Thanks to your wonderful blog and great photos, we were! I am green with envy over your beautiful herb garden.

Relax, kids. She would have been www.JuliaChild.ORG (my emphasis), not a dot-com since she wasn't into selling or shilling. And I don't think JuliaChild.org is taken since my IE can't seem to find the website and there is no re-direct on the URL. Anyone have some spare change to buy & register a web name? Maybe we should take up a collection and then donate the web name to whatever organization arises to honor her memory.

Awww...take one (or two) for the team! The Del Mar Fair (actually called the San Diego County Fair) went through mid-June to July 5th this year. It's great to go with a large group of people so you can get a taste of everything but you're not eating it all, since it's shared. Consumed this year: Australian Battered potatoes (sliced potatoes, battered then deep fried, topped with Ranch dressing or cheese sauce...we also steal malt vinegar from the fish and chips booth ) Sticky Bun with cream cheese frosting and chopped walnuts Falafel Burger with a side of deep fried garlic-battered artichoke hearts on a skewer Ice cream on a stick, dipped in chocolate then rolled in crushed Oreos Indian Fry Bread topped with butter & garlic Colossal Burger - Two beef patties on a bun, plus the usual tomato, lettuce and onion, along with sliced cheddar, strips of bacon and finally slices of pastrami on top of it all. A heart attack on a bun! Deep pit BBQ beef on a roll Spicy beef jerky from one of the booths in the vendors' hall Kettle Corn And if you bought the large sized "Fair" drink cup you could get refills at half price at any food booth at the fair. Such a deal! The local Kern County Fair will start at the end of September so there will be more consumption to report at that time.

I found the recipe by going through all of her episodes on the FoodNetwork site. I blame my hunger pangs on you! Jalapeno Cracklin' Corn Bread

melonpan, Thanks for the report and the photos. Another great place for dim sum would be just down the street on Convoy at a place called Jasmine. The JBX restaurant looks totally cool, which is, I guess, the reason they built it. I am eager to "take one for the team" and try the food to see how different it is from the usual JITB fare. Did you happen to notice if Porkyland sold t-shirts? If ever there was a t-shirt that had eGullet written all over it, that'd be it.

Anyone hear from Lucy? I was wondering what the response was in France of the news of her passing.

Costco tracks your purchases. This last Spring, they sent me a notice in the mail stating that the Kirkland almonds I bought in January (and served at a SuperBowl party) were possibly contaminated so I should bring them back to the store for a refund. [HOMER] DOH! [/HOMER]

I'm not a Bamba person. Bissli all the way. YES! Bisli or Bust!! I'm with you guys on this. But, someone's gotta sacrifice their tastebuds for the cause. Thank you for taking one for the team!

Last night on her birthday I cooked a rather nice rare porterhouse steak, a baked potato slathered with butter and a side of sliced garden fresh tomatoes dressed simply with balsamic vinegar and evoo. Gin martinis before and during the meal.

Some other tuna discussions: Tuna Fish Sandwiches!, Well....do you or don't you? Pickles in tuna salad, One of the many things I don't get (yes, I add diced dill pickles )