Improving my cooking skills (2003)

[Mottmott]

...  (I found out last night that the J & J binding is broken.  )

Do try to return it. And if the bookseller won't deal with it, contact the publisher directly because there's a good chance they will replace it. It's outrageous how shoddy some books are these days regardless of how expensive they are.

[SethG]

Hey, Erin, Heather? I never got that potato recipe-- if one of y'all could PM me, I'd appreciate it. I hope it doesn't involve too much typing. I think I will be making these dishes Friday night, but I'll reserve comment until Saturday or Sunday. Or whatever you want me to do. Is that okay?

[Dave the Cook]

In all seriousness, it is a good skill to have.  I have never purchased chicken parts (other than feet for stock), nor have I ever purchased a pre-cut up bird.  I have much easier access to great whole chickens than cut up ones.

I rarely purchase parts either. Once in a while, though, whole legs (thigh and drumstick) go on sale for 15 to 25 cents a pound, as long as you buy ten pounds or more. Those are weeks I make stock and confit.

[hjshorter]

Hey, Erin, Heather?  I never got that potato recipe-- if one of y'all could PM me, I'd appreciate it.  I hope it doesn't involve too much typing.  I think I will be making these dishes Friday night, but I'll reserve comment until Saturday or Sunday.  Or whatever you want me to do.  Is that okay?

Sorry! Ian has a sinus infection and Emma is having the vapors or something, so last night was hectic. I will type it out tonight and PM you.

I picked up Dessert Circus At Home at the library. I love Jacques Torres. His instructions are wonderfully thorough and everything looks delicious. I found a recipe for a blueberry tart that I would love to try, but it's going to be a long wait until blueberries are in season again.

[snowangel]

In all seriousness, it is a good skill to have.  I have never purchased chicken parts (other than feet for stock), nor have I ever purchased a pre-cut up bird.  I have much easier access to great whole chickens than cut up ones.

I rarely purchase parts either. Once in a while, though, whole legs (thigh and drumstick) go on sale for 15 to 25 cents a pound, as long as you buy ten pounds or more. Those are weeks I make stock and confit.

I shouldn't have said "never" -- as I also purchase the leg/thighs for stock when they are on sale, too.

I've never confited (sp?) them. Just do it as you would duck confit?

[SethG]

Sorry!  Ian has a sinus infection and Emma is having the vapors or something, so last night was hectic.  I will type it out tonight and PM you.

Ach, don't bother. It sounds like a hassle. I'm the one who ordered it instead of buying it in the store. I can make it to the bookstore tomorrow to take a peek at the recipe. Seriously, forget about it.

[Dave the Cook]

I've never confited (sp?) them.  Just do it as you would duck confit?

Yup.

Here's how it works: at some point in your life, some wacko from North Carolina may ask you to concoct a stew recipe that calls for large amounts of duck meat. Since you'll have to go through three versions of this stew to get a recipe that will satisfy his crazed vision of what a stew is, you'll end up with a lot of duck fat. At least, that's what happened to me.

You can use up only so much of this fat by roasting potatoes or smearing it on cooled grits for subsequent broiling. Believe me, I've used duck fat on everything. Still had cups of it left over. Then Maggie suggested: confit! It's yummy, and it keeps practically forever.

So ask her how to spell it. Besides, she knows French.

[guajolote]

at some point in your life, some wacko from North Carolina ...

I've met a guy just like this

[hjshorter]

Sorry!  Ian has a sinus infection and Emma is having the vapors or something, so last night was hectic.  I will type it out tonight and PM you.

Ach, don't bother. It sounds like a hassle. I'm the one who ordered it instead of buying it in the store. I can make it to the bookstore tomorrow to take a peek at the recipe. Seriously, forget about it.

You sure? Actually, it would be a help. I have a sinus infection too and spent all day at the doctor for me and Ian, then standing in line at the pharmacy.

It's basically scalloped potatoes with stock instead of cream, onions, and some garlic. If you have a similar recipe, go for it. If not, the chicken's the thing we're all trying. If you've got it, Mastering the Art of French Cooking has several potato gratins.

[SethG]

I'm sure, Heather. I'll be fine. I hope you feel better... especially so you can focus on the lesson we're all sharing!

No one picked up on my suggestion that I could hold off on comments until we've all cooked the menu-- I don't know if you want me to do that or not, but I raise it again to ask a different but related question. What do you guys think we should be looking to achieve here once we've cooked the menu?

Should we evaluate whether we...

... learned a valuable technique?

... liked the dish?

... were satisfied with the book's presentation of the dish?

Will we be troubleshooting the recipe for those of us who might experience an unsuccessful night?

Should we talk about our own different ways to make a similar product?

I'm not trying to limit what we can talk about. More the opposite. I want to hear things we might want to think about that I haven't come up with myself.

[edemuth]

Hey, Erin, Heather?  I never got that potato recipe-- if one of y'all could PM me, I'd appreciate it. 

Done.

[hjshorter]

I'm sure, Heather.  I'll be fine.  I hope you feel better... especially so you can focus on the lesson we're all sharing!

No one picked up on my suggestion that I could hold off on comments until we've all cooked the menu-- I don't know if you want me to do that or not, but I raise it again to ask a different but related question.  What do you guys think we should be looking to achieve here once we've cooked the menu?

Should we evaluate whether we...

... learned a valuable technique?

  ... liked the dish?

... were satisfied with the book's presentation of the dish?

Will we be troubleshooting the recipe for those of us who might experience an unsuccessful night?

Should we talk about our own different ways to make a similar product? 

I'm not trying to limit what we can talk about.  More the opposite.  I want to hear things we might want to think about that I haven't come up with myself.

Thanks Seth.

Those sound like good suggestions. For myself, I know a lot of techniques but need to refine them. I'm interested most in succesful execution. Whether we liked the dish is important but secondary, unless it totally sucks, in which case I will know never to try it again.

We should evaluate the cookbook's directions and presentation. If anyone thinks of a way to make a dish better I for one want to hear it.

And I don't have a problem with saving comments until everyone has cooked the menu.

[SethG]

Hey, Erin, Heather?  I never got that potato recipe-- if one of y'all could PM me, I'd appreciate it. 

Done.

Thanks Erin-- I did also take a look at the book this morning at the store.

While I was there, I saw that Sally Schneider's A New Way to Cook is out in paperback. I don't own this book, but I have read some very earnest testimonials about it here at the "G," and after flipping through it today I can easily imagine myself working through it. It seems like such a sensible, non-puritanical approach to cooking both for good taste and good health-- and page after page contained dishes I wanted to make.

I'm not proposing that we replace Jules et Jim, but it's another book to think about for the future.

[MatthewB]

I highly recommend A New Way to Cook.

Looking forward to doing this dinner tomorrow night.

And, Seth, keep talking. You're a refreshing voice.

[maggiethecat]

[ Jules et Jim

Nice, Seth!

Matthew: I haven't forgotten your glowing testimonial to "A new Way." It's on The List.

THis is a very, very interesting thread; I can hardly wait to hear all the reports after the virtual cookoff.

[edemuth]

Should we evaluate whether we...

... learned a valuable technique?

  ... liked the dish?

... were satisfied with the book's presentation of the dish?

Will we be troubleshooting the recipe for those of us who might experience an unsuccessful night?

Should we talk about our own different ways to make a similar product?

Those sound like good suggestions. For myself, I know a lot of techniques but need to refine them. I'm interested most in succesful execution. Whether we liked the dish is important but secondary, unless it totally sucks, in which case I will know never to try it again.

We should evaluate the cookbook's directions and presentation. If anyone thinks of a way to make a dish better I for one want to hear it.

And I don't have a problem with saving comments until everyone has cooked the menu.

What Heather said.

My personal plan of attack when cooking, if I'm not making an old standby, is to think of what I want to make (i.e. coq au vin), then read all the coq au vin recipes in my cookbooks. I'll pick and choose ingredients and techniques to create my own synthesized recipe. I sometimes search online recipe databases to augment my research, if I don't already have a few recipes on hand or I want to try a new approach.

When I make a recipe exactly as written, as we will be doing here, I think about what I liked/didn't like about the process and the finished product, then come up with alterations for next time. I will be particularly interested to know from everyone how they would change the dish, if at all, when made again.

[edemuth]

I highly recommend A New Way to Cook.

Matthew, what do you like about it in particular? It grabbed me at the bookstore for the reasons Seth mentioned, but I've yet to make anything from it.

Dave, you spelled confit perfectly.

Edited to say: nevermind, I found the NWtC thread... should'a searched BEFORE I posted. As we were!

Edited October 24, 2003 by edemuth (log)

[MatthewB]

Thanks for bringing up A New Way.

I've been trying to think of a soup for dinner tonight.

I'll do the curry-fennel broth from A New Way & add roasted root veggies. Yum.

[hjshorter]

Hm, I forgotten about the New Way and I started that thread in the first place! I liked it, but hadn't bought it yet. Now that it's out in paper I will probably spring for it and I agree it might be a good one to cook through. Maybe not everything in the book, but perhaps a few menus from it.

[SethG]

I honestly didn't remember who was involved in the discussion of New Way. You all must think I'm a flatterer! It was actually Torakris' endorsement I remembered in particular.

[hannahcooks]

I'm in for the chicken and potatoes from J&J- in fact, I'm up for trying anything from that book.

I've already cooked a ton of the recipes from ANWTC, but would gladly do any of them again, as well.

[SethG]

I did make the menu tonight (including the salad and everything), and I'll reserve comment for after the rest of you have also done it, but I do want to point out for anyone else who uses this link for the chicken recipe that garlic is NOT in the list of ingredients. Then in the narrative of the recipe, you are asked to add the garlic.

Garlic, you say?? I quickly diced up two cloves and added them.

[Dave the Cook]

Garlic, you say??  I quickly diced up two cloves and added them.

I'd probably have done the same thing. But for the record, it was eight large cloves, peeled.

[SethG]

Garlic, you say??  I quickly diced up two cloves and added them.

I'd probably have done the same thing. But for the record, it was eight large cloves, peeled.

Really.

Between the chicken and the potatoes, that's a lot of garlic for a French meal!

[hjshorter]

Ian and I went to Whole Foods this morning, and bought a lovely 3 1/2 lb bird that is waiting to be dismembered.

One thing I did not write down is what kind of potatoes to buy. We got russets, the recipe calls for boiling potaotes. Oh well. I'm sure it will be lovely baked potato mush by the time it's done.

I looked for ANWTC, but Barnes & Noble had five copies in hardcover and no paperbacks. Maybe it's time for an ecookbooks.com order.