eG Foodblog Tag Team: slkinsey and Marlene - A tale of two kitchens..

[chromedome]

...and let's not forget Ben Heppner, the heldentenor's heldentenor.

A real quandary for me, since I love his voice and singing but detest most of the German repertoire.

[rjwong]

rjwong,

First of all, I am not a "hussy" of anything, but I am a braising queen. 

Secondly, we have whole chicken scheduled for Tuesday

you are so right when you note we haven't featured baking although I  have an awesome dessert ready to go for tomorrow night.

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I sit corrected. Chicken is for dinner on Tuesday. Thank you, your Braisiness.

there's nothing a Canadian likes better than watching an American lose ... cruel but true. 

So true. Gringo arrogance will get whupped by the True North Strong and Free. You never heard of Jon Vickers, Tenor Man?

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Actually, there's nothing most Americans would like better than watching a New Yorker lose. Mind you, I (Californian from LA-LA land) will still support Samuel Lloyd Kinsey in his cooking efforts. Go Sam!!

[jhlurie]

The title says Tag Team, that implies you are on the same team

When we came up with the idea that's what we had planned. But if the children want to play rough, so be it.

Honestly, though, the underlying concept is still mostly that we want to see variations on a theme. We took some inspiration from the popular Cook-Off threads, but we also wanted the "vibe" of our Foodblogs present as well, so as always there will be also be talk about restaurants they visit or any other nonsense they want to spout off about surrounding their eating experiences of the week.

Based on the early response here, I'm pretty sure our fearless leader, Foodblog Czar SobaAddict70, will be working diligently on a sequel. We knew the Foodblogs needed some renewed energy, and well... I smell ozone. That said, if you are an eGulleteer who's been here for at least a few months and you're starting to feel comfortable in the spotlight, make sure you PM Soba and let him know you're available for a potential Foodblog appearance (probably the singular version--I think the Tag teaming will most likely be reserved for repeaters).

[Pan]

[...]We took some inspiration from the popular Cook-Off threads, but we also wanted the "vibe" of our Foodblogs present as well, so as always there will be also be talk about restaurants they visit or any other nonsense they want to spout off about surrounding their eating experiences of the week.[...]

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Now, now, Jon. Do you really think these two venerable site managers will be spouting off nonsense?

[Silly Disciple]

So is there cooking involved, or will it be mostly name calling?

You're talking loud, but you ain't sayin nothin...

SD

[Marlene]

Good morning! I'm sure my worthy opponent is still sleeping, but I tend to be up early even on weekends so I'll get us started this morning.

There will indeed be food. Lots and lots of food. You will have all seen the list that soba posted at the beginning of this blog. The idea is that Sam and I will do several meals during the week comprised of the same ingredients. As well, we will each detail the rest of our meals just as we would if we were doing an individual blog.

I have a healthy respect for Sam's talents in the kitchen, but I'm no slouch either.

If you've read my previous blogs, you'll know that there is nothing more important in the morning for me than coffee. The rest of my household is still asleep so I'm working on my coffee and enjoying the quiet. Breakfast this morning will be waffles once everyone is awake and I'll of course be taking pictures and posing them along the way.

The main component of our "competition" today is "braised something". I don't know what Sam has picked, but I've decided to do the Caribbean Pork Shoulder from Molly Steven's book. That will be accompanied by Carnival corn and rice. I'll also be making a Phyllo Strawberry Shortcake for dessert.

Tomorrow's component includes a dinner party, so I'll be doing some prep today for that as well.

Sit back, relax and enjoy the fruits from our two kitchens!

[Swisskaese]

Since my mother-in-law is a famous singing teacher and people in the music world are such incredible foodies, I am going to root for the underdog, Sam.

The other reason is that I am afraid of my mother-in-law and she would not speak to me again if I didn't root for a fellow musician.

I think we should call this the The Battle of the eRon Chefs.

[bergerka]

I'll give you a hint, folks (is this cheating?). If you REALLY want to challenge Sam, make sure the mystery basket includes something that should be used in a dessert. He's one of these guys who is perfectly happy with just a nice piece of cheese and a digestivo, but *ahem* I LIKE SWEET THINGS AFTER DINNER.

And hey, I figure making him cook something I want is exactly in the spirit of this kind of foodblog.

K

Edited to add that um...he's not still sleeping, actually. I think he must have gotten up and gone to the green market without my hearing him, which has pretty much never happened before.

Edited May 28, 2005 by bergerka (log)

[Swisskaese]

In that case, the mystery basket should include:

Apricots, Peaches and Pistachios

Edited May 28, 2005 by Swisskaese (log)

[Pan]

In that case, the mystery basket should include:

Apricots, Peaches and Pistachios

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How about rhubarb? Bonus points if used in something savory, as I seem to remember there was a thread about savory uses of rhubarb that had trouble finding much.

[Marlene]

Kathleen, I'd have to agree with Sam. I make desserts, but I almost never eat them. I adore cheese after a meal, and I'm always disappointed when a restaurant doesn't offer a cheese plate.

My lad is still sleeping and my husband has gone to work, but not before making the coffee for me. What a guy. At this rate, the waffles will turn into lunch instead of breakfast!

[Swisskaese]

In that case, the mystery basket should include:

Apricots, Peaches and Pistachios

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How about rhubarb? Bonus points if used in something savory, as I seem to remember there was a thread about savory uses of rhubarb that had trouble finding much.

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Okay, so add Ras el Hanout to my list above.

[Jinmyo]

Yada yada yada.

Photos n such, please.

[rjwong]

When is the deadline for suggestions to the mystery basket? When will Sam & Marlene be told the contents of the mystery basket?

Some more suggestions:

Tofu

Cheese & Wine (for cooking)

Chile peppers

Chocolate (for a savory dish)

and here's something different: choosing a mystery recipe or cookbook. Perhaps the focus should be on mystery INGREDIENTS. Just an idea.

[Marlene]

Ryan finally rolled out of bed at 12:30 today, so breakfast became lunch:

Pecan waffles with Canadian Maple Syrup of course. Made in my trusty little waffler.

Two of my cats begging for treats:

Treat time!

The pork shoulder marinating for tonight's dinner:

I'm off to do a bunch of stuff for tomorrow's dinner. When I entertain, I like to get as much made ahead of time as I can so today I will make simple syrup for cocktails, a vodka cocktail sauce, a bleu cheese dip and a three cheese cheese ball. Oh and I'll make the potatoes madelaines today as well.

[SobaAddict70]

When is the deadline for suggestions to the mystery basket?  When will Sam & Marlene be told the contents of the mystery basket?

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We'd like to have a consensus by Thursday so as to give Marlene and Sam time to procure the ingredients as well as coming up with a meal that uses them.

Ideally, the basket should contain five or six ingredients that the meal focuses on. Staples such as oil, salt/pepper, onions and garlic don't count.

I will be keeping track of the suggestions as they appear on this thread and will post a list in the next three or four days. PM me as to which batch of suggestions gets your vote. The batch with the most replies will become the mystery basket.

Soba

[M. Lucia]

Finally, pictures!

No really, this is already awesome even without photos. I think this blog will win for best banter.

(P.S. I have a good supply of the same maple syrup that my neighbor brings us every year from her summers in Canada. We had to start collecting maple syrup recipes to use the stuff up.)

[slkinsey]

Okay. I'm back now. Went to the Union Square Green Market and a few other places (more on this anon), and came back to have a little something before I venture back out to pick up a few more things. Around here, this is breakfast:

That's a double cappuccino straight from the Rancilio, made with Sweet Maria's Liquid Amber Blend roasted a few days ago by yours truly. The milk is from Ronnybrook Farm Dairy, bottled on the farm in Ancramdale, New York. Their milk is not homogenized; they don't use pesticides, hormones or antibiotics; and it comes in returnable/reusable glass bottles. I've talked them up before, and will continue to do so. This milk is so much better than even the most expensive "grocery store organic" milk, that it's almost an entirely different product.

Now I'm off to the butcher.

[tejon]

I've had milk from Ronnybrook Farm Dairy before, and agree with your comments. Truly delicious and worth seeking out.

[ludja]

Ryan finally rolled out of bed at 12:30 today, so breakfast became lunch:

Pecan waffles with Canadian Maple Syrup of course.  Made in my trusty little waffler.

...

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Yum, one of my favorite "sweet" breakfasts; and we know the maple syrup was good!

What grade do you usually buy? Or does that depend on the intended use?

edited to add: slkinsey's cappucino looks perfect and a perfect way to get your morning dairy...

Edited May 28, 2005 by ludja (log)

[slkinsey]

So. . . as mentioned above, I went to the Union Square Greenmarket this morning. I've either been out of town or otherwise engaged for the past few weekends, so I wasn't sure what they would have. Well, it was pretty disappointing. I was hoping there would be more Spring vegetables -- baby fennel, baby turnips, little carrots, shell peas, snap peas, asparagus and that kind of thing. All they really had was the asparagus and the turnips. One person was selling sugar snap peas. Oh well. The asparagus was lovely, and there were some good herbs.

After stashing my greenmarket loot and slurping down a cappuccino, it was off to the butcher for tomorrow's steak. One thing we are lucky enough to have in NYC are a number of real, full-service butchers. You know, not a big display of pre-cut meat. The kind of place where they cut all the meat to order. One of the best places in the City that doesn't get enough attention is Oppenheimer Prime Meats on the UWS, my local.

I told them I wanted prime porterhouse, and so they brought out a prime short loin so we could talk about how much I needed and how thick to cut the steaks. This is how it's supposed to be done.

We settled on two big steaks for approximately 8 people. I think it says something good when one of the other butchers walks past the table where your steaks are being prepared and says, "Whoa! Whose are those? That's awesome!" And, I hope we'll all agree, they are an awesome sight indeed.

Here is a picture with a ruler for reference, just to give some idea of the scale:

I'm salting these babies and throwing them into the fridge until tomorrow PM.

[Safran]

Oh Sam!!! I LOVE asparagus, but $8 US for a bunch!?!! Yikes! The steaks look absolutely divine!

[Daddy-A]

You're not playing fair Sam!! Coffee (nice crema BTW) and meat before lunch! And Marlene counters with waffles???

Can't wait to see what happens to those steaks! I'm a meat newbie (went off it for 5 years ... then I met eGullet ) so I'm wondering if there's a reason for getting them so thick? 3"?? Yikes!

A.

[Swisskaese]

Oh Sam!!!  I LOVE asparagus, but $8 US for a bunch!?!!  Yikes!  The steaks look absolutely divine!

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They cost 3 USD per kilo (2.2lbs) here!

Edited May 28, 2005 by Swisskaese (log)

[bergerka]

I'm just pissed off that I had to leave too early (was getting a haircut so if I inadvertently show up in any of these pix I'll look all stylin', instead of like a bad hair week) to partake of a Samuccino.

FYI, I stopped at Fairway on orders from the maestro on the way home and bought:

lemons, limes, granny smith apples, 1 lb of ricotta cheese (I love the Fairway cheese guys), some Fresca (life is nothing without Fresca), parsley, and some assorted things for ME, like Grape Nuts.

K