Maison Rustique

Lisa, I always want hardcovers when it comes to cookbooks (unless they're really old). I will indeed let you know if I can't find it anywhere. Now that this has all come up I've hit on a great idea. Don (DH) and his daughters (who live the SF/Bay area) are always trying to think of things to get me for BD and Christmas. They all love to browse book stores (online and storefront). So I think I'm gonna make a wish list for them!! That will make all of us happy and I won't have to send back any sweaters that I'll never wear! And now just a little aside. When DH and I decided a good many years ago to take our French (language) to a much higher level, we enrolled in classes at a local JC for several semesters. As we advanced and had to write essays, no matter what the subject matter--art, history, literature, etc.-- I always turned it to food and made a recipe from that era/area. Do I need to say that I always got good grades?

Pick all of 'em up for a song via ABE.Every one of them is well worth having, though the Tannahill book is a bit of a dry read. Here is the historial food thread that I was referring to. (I think!) Thanks for the tip on ABE. I'll check it out. I also just remembered reading that you had written such a book. I'll definitely add that to my list!!

A couple of years ago I went to a (by reputation/review) very good French restaurant. It was highly recommended by my sister's in-laws. When we arrived I was dismayed to see a helth-dept. notice in the front window that they had failed inspection. I questioned our server about that before ordering. He said something about grease on the floor and that it had been corrected. I ordered one of their specialities--a pork dish. It arrived swimming in blood. There was no way I was going to eat it. I sent it back for further cooking. Apparently I'd been a bit too pesty, because when I got it back it was so tough and over-cooked that it was inedible. I picked at it and ate bread and dessert. Needless to say, I've never gone back and wouldn't.

That looks fabulous! The recent thread here on historical cooking encouraged me to rummage through the cookbooks and pull out a couple to re-read. I'm also on a quest to pick up a couple of the other books that were mentioned in that thread--Food in History, Much Depends on Dinner and Near a Thousand Tables.

Long-cooked the southern way with new potatoes is very yumnmy. But as said in the badly prepared thread, my favorite way is burned.

Milk toast (made with nice buttery, cinnamon toast) served in the red bowl (Melmac?). My sister and I are already fighting over who gets the red bowl when Mom goes...

The really funny thing is with Granny's burned green beans.. Before the Depression, Granny owned a restaurant. (When everything went beserck, she walked out of the place and never went back.) I just asked Mom recently if she burned them when she had the restaurant. Mom said she didn't know as she wasn't yet born. So then i asked if she burned them when she was growing up in Granny's house and she said she can't remember! How the heck can you not remember something as tasty as burned green beans!!!!

You have got me crying with laughter!!!!! I wish you lived near us. We could have some great times!!!!

Oops! Sorry wrong thread.

My great-grandmother could never make green beans without burning them. My sister and I always like them burned now. I've actually taken to frying them in bacon grease until they are dark brown. I've even converted my DH!

Here's my Mom's recipe: CORN CASSEROLE ½ cup (1 stick) butter 17-oz. can corn with liquid* 17-oz. can creamed corn* 8 ½-oz. box Jiffy corn bread/muffin mix 2 eggs, slightly beaten 1 cup sour cream** 1 cup grated cheddar cheese** *I have never seen a 17-oz. can of corn. I think they’re usually 15-16-oz. Works fine. **Mom & I both usually use more than this of the sour cream and cheese. Melt butter in a 9x13 dish. Add whole corn, creamed corn & corn bread mix. Gently mix with a fork. Add eggs and mix in with fork. Drop sour cream by tablespoons over the top of the corn mixture. Dunk them under a bit. Cover top with cheddar. Bake 20 to 30 minutes at 350, or until it is firm. Let cool slightly before serving or serve at room temp. Everyone always loves this!

bleu cheese mayo red onion* the bun must be lightly toasted *Why do they call it red onion when it's actually purple?

Thanks, G-G. I'll be studying before the dinner.

Uh-oh! I must admit that I've never heard of this person before. I guess I just don't watch enough TV (not just FoodNetwork). I will be there for the eG dinner, but if he is there do you think he will be offended if I don't recognize him (yes I've seen his pic that you posted but don't have a clue as to what he does on TV)? If so, can someone give me some pointers--something to ask about/discuss?

I asked my daughter the biologist/botanist about this, as I'd never heard of anyone eating cattails. Here is her reply: So, eat them at your own risk!

Bravo! I wish you the best and will be waiting to hear of your success!

I'm sticking my oar in here even though I have little experience with chard. What if you wash it, then stick the stems into a bowl of ice water, as though it's some herb or flower? Would it keep? The approach works well in the refrigerator with herbs, but I've no idea whether it would work on chard out on the counter. If I had access to chard and limited refrigerator space I'd give it a try. Maybe it would keep for a day, anyway? Think of the centerpiece it could make on your dinner table! Failing that, maybe you should invest in an ice chest or two? Wash it, wrap it in damp towels, lay it in the ice chest with something frozen? I'm no expert either, but I did this recently. I got a lovely fresh bunch of chard and had no room in the fridge. So I filled a pitcher with cold (not ice) water, trimmed the stems about an inch, stuck it in the pitcher, set it on the counter (out of the sun) and it kept very nicely for 3 days! The bonus was that it was red chard and looked absolutely lovely!! Edited to say that this was just last week. I made a lovely chard, bacon and potato chowder and still have some left-overs in the fridge. That is gonna be my dinner tomorrow night when DH is gone. YUM!

That is fascinating! Thanks for sharing it.

YUCK! That's worse than buffets!!

Thanks! I've emailed the Tierra Miguel Foundation to see if they serve my area--none of the others do.

I'm not clear on how I can support the farms directly. We have some "farmers markets" around here. The ones in my area are not on days/times that I can go to them and make reasonable purchases. For example the one in my city is on Friday afternoon. I work during the hours it's open. There is another that is actually closer, but it is on Sundays. I do the bulk of my cooking Wednesday thru Saturday. That means I'd be dealing with old produce. Organic Express delivers in my area on Thursday. And I can get some grocery items from them, too. It just seems to work out better for me timewise. They do say that 90% of it is produced in California. Is that bad? I'm happy to ask them questions about the farms that supply them, etc. What should I ask? Clearly you all are in areas that know more about this. In my area we no longer have "local" farms. We just have concrete and buildings. Ther are still a couple of small farms that grow strawberries and corn, but not much more than that. I loved it when I could walk across the street in San Juan Capistrano and buy from the farm directly. Unfortunately the land was sold (it's now a community center) and we moved out of the area.

Ned, try here. It's not a very big picture, but maybe it will jog your memory!

Sounds a whole lot like the Noriega Hotel in Bakersfield. A fabulous place! Dinner is better than lunch and you can meet some real characters there. Once sat next to an ancient Basque sheepherder--toothless and had great stories! On Saturday nights you'll often see limos bringing groups of people from LA.

Has anyone tried or heard anything about these folks? I got a flyer from them in the mail today. The prices don't seem that much different from Henry's Marketplace or the regular supermarkets. I'm thinking of giving them a try but thought I'd see if anyone here had tried them.

Roflmao!!!!! That sounds like something I would do!