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Taste
My daughter who became an Mickey D-ite as soon as she got her own wheels is baaaack. What happened? She's pregnant and feeling queasy. "Mom, I've haven't been eating anything except fruit, salad and yogurt."
Some of it is not being able to keep greasy foods down. I hope some of it is thinking about her baby.
Cook the Book: 'Osteria'
Pork loin and sauerkraut with mashed potatoes.
Bodily Functions at Serious Eats
What bodily functions? Either they went over my head (poor choice of metaphor) or I wasn't offended. That said, we do love to laugh here and sometimes get a little crazy. In a good way. Let's move on!
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Recent Posts
I taste a new supply of _________ before cooking with it
Posted by Blue Iris, January 6, 2009 at 12:07 AM
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Dinner Tonight: Pasta with Olive Tapenade
Posted by Blake Royer, January 13, 2009 at 4:45 PM
What's your favorite way to use *Star Anise*?
Posted by sweethoney, January 2, 2009 at 10:38 AM
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Recent Comments | Response to Comments
Salad Dressing Help
I also make it one day at a time in the bowl the salad is going into. Give it a whisk and let it sit in the bottom. Toss just before serving.
You'll never buy the bottled stuff again and you'll save a lot of money even if you use fancy oils.
Taste
My daughter who became an Mickey D-ite as soon as she got her own wheels is baaaack. What happened? She's pregnant and feeling queasy. "Mom, I've haven't been eating anything except fruit, salad and yogurt."
Some of it is not being able to keep greasy foods down. I hope some of it is thinking about her baby.
Cook the Book: 'Osteria'
Pork loin and sauerkraut with mashed potatoes.
Bodily Functions at Serious Eats
What bodily functions? Either they went over my head (poor choice of metaphor) or I wasn't offended. That said, we do love to laugh here and sometimes get a little crazy. In a good way. Let's move on!
My bread dough is rising too fast(?)
Like dmarina, I wonder if you had rapid rise yeast. I hate that stuff.
Will you succumb to Girl Scout Cookies?
They aren't bad for mass-produced cookies. I ducked them this year because I don't usually have cookies in the house and when they are there I eat too many too fast!
Measuring Cups - Difference between wet and dry?
@db: mumble mumble MENISCUS. Saying it is fun for the tongue.
S.O.S. (...on a shingle): Way or No Way?
WAY! When I was little (40's in Pennsylvania) "creamed hamburg" on toast was one of our standard breakfasts (creamed dried beef less often). It is one of my standard comfort foods. Just had it for dinner (actually I still call it supper) two nights ago after a tough day.
@Karencooks: this in how I make it, and how my mother made it: Crumble ground beef in a cast iron skillet. I use 80/20 chuck for good flavor. As soon as it loses its red color sprinkle with flour (I use Wondra these days) and stir it until you see no flour. Keeping stirring to brown the flour a bit but don't burn. Add whole milk and let simmer for about 10 minutes to get rid of the raw flour taste. Add salt and lots of ground pepper. Serve on toast on a warmed plate.
With the dried beef, I use the kind from the jar, torn into bits. Because it is fairly lean, melt some butter in the skillet first. At the end be careful with the salt as the beef is pretty salty.
I never heard the SOS name until I was grown even though my dad had a foul mouth. Maybe that name came out of the military.
Relish Tray: Way or No Way?
I sometimes use mine on hot summer nights for various cut veggies with one pickle section. Serve with, say, crackers and cheese, or chicken salad, and sweet tea. And a forties floral tablecloth. My granddaughters find it very exotic and elegant.
Seal the Deal Meals
Homemade bread did it with my ex. The bread is a better deal than he was!
What are your everyday breads?
I make a half bread flour/half whole wheat bread and use it mostly for toast. Sometimes I add kamut (posts about that last fall), leftover oatmeal, cooked cracked wheat. Once in a while I make dinner rolls, the soft buttery kind for fancy dinners, more rustic ones for stews and soups.
You guys who don't make bread should give it a try, machine or no. The house smells so good. Just follow a good recipe to start. It doesn't take a lot of time but there are several steps separated by an hour or more, so do it on a day when you will be home anyway.
Does Coconut Milk Freeze Well?
I freeze it too, in ice cubes, and then store in a freezer bag. Not quite the same but does it's job in quick Asian sauces.
Slow Cooker Advice: What to Buy? Should I?
I bought a cheap huge one (Rival) about four years ago. It's "Low" means slow boil, even at this altitude. I should throw it out.
Restaurants Cook in Advance Secrets
Go, Perky. What a great question! I'm waiting too, for advice from all you pros out there. I have learned a lot from you already and appreciate it!
Go, Alice! Go, Alice!
Thanks, Chiff!
@juliebugsmama: don't be afraid to just start some veggies in bare spots in a flower bed for starters. A lot of new gardeners try too much the first year. Please don't discourage yourself.
Cook the Book: 'The New Mediterranean Diet Cookbook'
Anything lamb. So hard to find good lamb in most of the US.
Baking vs. Cooking
I hardly ever bake sweet stuff (birthday cakes once in a while) but love to make bread. I'm at 5200 feet. Don't be afraid to try yeast breads if it is something you want to do.
Green Bell Peppers: Way or No Way?
NO WAY! Like Jerzee it's no way only for the green ones. When I was a kid I used to eat the stuffing from bell peppers and then sit and stare at the yucky green pepper shell until my mother gave up and sent me to bed. Even the dog was not interested.
Weekend Book Giveaway: 'American Cheeses'
A nameless cheese I ate at Camphill Village where one of my nephews lives. He has Downs' Syndrome and is a dairyman for the happiest, most relaxed cows you can imagine. Wish they named and sold that cheese.
What to Do with Sunchoke?
lemons is right. The Jerusalem part of the old name came from someone mis-translating girasol which, as I remember, means "turn toward the sun" in Italian. As many know, most sunflowers follow the sun across the sky each day.
whats on your menu for the weekend?
I made chili con carne because my granddaughters have been craving Frito pies.
Also two big old winter squashes have been staring at me for weeks so I will look up some recipes and play with them tomorrow.
Ice Cream: Way or No Way?
I love coffee ice cream best. Breyer's is good flavored and seems lighter than the real creamy top of the line brands.
What to Do with Sunchoke?
@dmcavanagh: A sunchoke used to be called a Jerusalem artichoke although it has nothing to do with either Jerusalem or artichokes. It is a smallish starchy but crisp tuber, more like jicama than anything I can think of, but different, with a more earthy taste. They look like small, thin skinned new potatoes.
The plant is a tall and pretty sunflower. They grow wild around old farms in the Northeast and Midwest.
What to Do with Sunchoke?
The Pennsylvania Dutch pickle them. I never had a recipe but made them several times using a standard bread and butter pickle recipe with a little less sugar. There are a bunch of recipes if you Google.
I found they got mushy if processed so I just made them refrigerator pickles. You definitely want them crunchy.
Quick - Whadya Have For Lunch Today?
Two clementines and a pile of year-end financials!
50 Blogs from 50 States
Hello Wisconsin. Wisconsin comfort foodie blogging from http://www.simplecomfortfood.com The domain name pretty much states it, however no deep fried cheese curds. There is the Friday night fish fry though
In Gear: Flour Sack Kitchen Towels (An Old-Fashioned Staple for Modern Kitchens)
My girlfriend buys these in bulk from crafting stores and embroiders them for gifts. I received the "Happy Kitchenware" pattern, featuring dancing plates and cuddling spoons. She also found a pattern called "Tropical Babies". It's wonderfully/horrifically un-PC.
MOST favorite cookbook in collection
Hands down, my favorite cookbook of all time is Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan. It is brilliant, completely useful in everyday life and with one single exeption (the pear cake thing) every thing I've made from it has come out great. And I've made almost everything in it over the years. It is what I give new brides. It is what I give the young people I know who are starting out on their own.
MOST favorite cookbook in collection
If you're conserving "real estate" in your home, here are a few suggestions...
Martha Stewart's Cooking School
I'd also get books of your favorite ethnicities. They round out a cookbook collection nicely.
Bottom line - get books you'll USE. I love baking bread and have several books on the subject but if you're not interested in baking bread, skip it. I like Italian baking as well and have books by Nick Malgeri on the subject. (Baking w/Julia is an "all around" baking book it has a little bit of everything from some of the brilliant minds in baking.)
You might visit a library and/or bookstore and thumb through some to get an idea if you'll like them. Don't forget to visit USED book sites. Some things strike readers as "out of my league" so they bail and sell the book with nary a splat of olive oil on it. I beefed up my cookbook collection via used book sites.
Happy shopping!
MOST favorite cookbook in collection
Kenny Shopsin's Eat Me: The Food and Philosophy of Kenny Shopsin, hands down. Really changed how I think about cooking.
MOST favorite cookbook in collection
I would have to say Professional Cooking...the massive amount of info in it is amazing! lots of step by step pictires and detail instructions. Although you have to know some professional terminology to use it. Measurements both in metric and u.s.
Help me pack my lunch, please - a Super Challenge.
THIS IS COMPLETELY VEGETARIAN. (Fish, though...)
Main Lunch:
How about a tuna sandwich?
Buy a thermos and have soup in winter.
Take a large piece of cold pizza.
Salad with veggies and low fat dressing.
Peanut butter and banana.
Tupperware, tupperware, tupperware!
One tupperware container, have some tuna salad or cheese. A ziplock, have some crackers.
I hope this helps your situation!
Does anyone drink Tuaca?
Tuaca and A&W rootbeer is really good.
The verdict! Anne Burrell's new show - Did you watch?
I like Anne Burrell. I like her show. The only complaint I have is that the show is entirely too short. A note to Food Network; most formal classes last forty-five minutes to an hour. Why? Because it is hard for anyone to absorb a useful amount of information in a shorter period of time. It is VERY hard for a teacher to deliver a useful amount of information to students in a shorter period of time.
Those complaining about Ms. Burrell's style should go out and find out what it is like to actually live a real life. Most of what I have read has been limp-wristed twaddle.
Cilantro: Way or No Way?
Way, but it wasn't always so. I think the first time or two I didn't really know what I was eating. Then, one day, a bell went off and I realized I liked it. I really, really liked it. It took a few more months to convince my hubbs, who is now securely on the cilantro wagon.
Cilantro: Way or No Way?
Big time WAY, but I can't even keep in the the house, as the hubby is a HUGE NO WAY! I would eat it by the bunch if I could, but he can't come near me if he even smells it on my breath. :(
The verdict! Anne Burrell's new show - Did you watch?
cant keep straight what the h... she'd doing.
The verdict! Anne Burrell's new show - Did you watch?
watched this show for the first time today. it was the episode with grilled salmon and lentils. i was horrified. twice she dipped her spoon in the lentil pot, tasted, and then returned the drippings in the spoon to the pot. then she tasted a last time and returned the entire spoon to the pot. i will never eat anywhere she cooks. i do not understand how the producers would let that air. disgusting...
The verdict! Anne Burrell's new show - Did you watch?
Just saw this show for the first time today. The fact that I went to the internet to look up Anne Burrell and found this blog is interesting. The fact that I am actually taking the time to post a comment is also interesting. (I think this might be my second post...ever...anywhere.) Anne definitely has a presence and she seems like a very knowledgeable chef. Yes, I was mildly surprised by the phrase, 'cooking the crap out of it' and calling onions 'sweaty'. But hey you know what, not that big of a deal. Believe me, I've heard much worse in a restaurant kitchen, having worked in restaurants for 13 yrs. And 'sweating' the onions is a chef term. Sweaty - not so much, but whatever, no bd. She had incredibly helpful tips i.e. supreming grapefruit - something I had seen before but did not know the term. Great! And also about how to clean the mussels and prep before steaming. Again, very helpful, especially for home viewers. That's why we watch, right? To learn secrets from a restaurant chef. I don't know if the show I saw today was a new or old episode, but there did seem to be a little nervousness which is completely understandable if you are new to the camera. It takes time and with experience, it gets easier. Regarding the set/styling - I honestly think you should put it a restaurant style kitchen, industrial kitchen, or a cooking school kitchen. The show is called, "Secrets of a Restaurant Chef". I think perhaps it would be a more realistic, natural setting for both her and the show itself. Also, dress her in a chef coat or something more simple. The bright colors seem to be forced by someone's vision of ' hey she's got personality - so let's amp that up and put her in really bright colors to go with her bright demeanor and spiky hair!' It's overkill. Her personality comes through on its own - no help needed. The bright wardrobe and garish set actually make the show look cartoonish. Which some people might read as Anne looking cartoonish. Let Anne do her thing and what she is good at. The talent is clearly there. Let her do her thing, get her bearings, and do what she is good at. I will watch again. I really hope the directors take all of these suggestions into consideration. Try an on-location shoot at a restaurant kitchen or her teaching to young chefs. In chef coat, on home turf. It would be interesting to see the difference in presentation. And good luck!
The verdict! Anne Burrell's new show - Did you watch?
So I was reading back through the comments and noticing several posters who said to give this train wreck a chance, maybe she would come into her own. Ummm....nope. This is the weirdest, most annoying show I've EVER seen. The growling, grunting, freaky voice and the calling of oil "earl"? Gross. Her hair looks like she was electrocuted and oddly enough, I keep thinking it's Guy Fieri in drag?!? I find it odd that TFN hasn't looked at the comments here and on their own site and made some changes! I'm not advocating the woman(?) lose her job, but someone needs to help her out. And fast. I see potential if she just TONED IT DOWN about a million degrees. She is so over the top, that it's literally hard to watch. Some of her recipes actually look appetizing, but with all the "noise" and disturbing grandiose, I just can't watch. It's like running nails down a chalkboard. Harsh? Maybe. But....this is THE WORST show on TFN.
The verdict! Anne Burrell's new show - Did you watch?
Sorry, but she's an IDIOT. Yes, she does have some professional cooking techniques (perhaps even worthy of sharing with others) BUT, her one dimensional personality is very off-putting. And note......she NEVER seasons with pepper...you know, just plain black cracked pepper. She uses just tons of salt and red pepper flakes. Annoying to watch her butcher dish after dish. I'd never hire her. Hope her 15 minutes is over soon!
The verdict! Anne Burrell's new show - Did you watch?
I loved her program....I thought she was entertaining and a really great chef.. I would bet Mario Battalli thinks so too......so shes not very polished after what the Food Network has put on the past few months she is a breath of fresh/real chef air.....FOOD NETWORK!!! ATTN!!! if I wanted to watch a bunch of home cooks I could watch myself and my friends... I learned more from Anne than from any of these new supposed stars and have cooked a few of her dishes and they were wonderful
Measuring Cups - Difference between wet and dry?
Guys this is all well and good if you are from the US, and are happy to be a bit inaccurate. I live in australia, where we use imperial cups. If you are using more a than a couple of cups, volume starts to be important...so weighing isnt a problem. I am a serious baker, and hardly ever use less than 6 or 7 cups of flour or water. I f there is a cup by cup differnce, there can be a major discrepancy so weight is much more reliable. BUT, I also use Amreican cookbooks, and your cup is differnt to my cup. Can any of you help me work out out the differnce in size, or weight between the US and the Imperial cup?
The verdict! Anne Burrell's new show - Did you watch?
Okay. So she isn't Giada DeLaurentis as far as charm factor is concerned, but she is a great chef and terrific instructor. I have made her bolognese sauce many times for many people and it never fails to elicit a response such as "Oh my GOD, this is the best pasta I have ever eaten in my LIFE!" Just keep doing what you do, Ann. I'll keep watching!
The verdict! Anne Burrell's new show - Did you watch?
WOW... I found this blog looking for an Ann Burrell recipe. DAMN, I haven't seen a group of vocal HATERS this big since our Presidential election, and to think that I thought the Sandra Lee haters were pretty united.
Had to sigh-up to post, I can cancel my enrollment now.
Now to return to my favorite seal clubbing blog for a rest. 8~(
Sandra Lee
She's a hack and a snake-oil salesman. Sometimes her "russipees" do have potential, but then she'll add something ridiculous to them, making them sickeningly inedible.
But I have to watch. I don't hate her per se - I just see her for what she is and watch her for the snark value. That's pretty much all her show is worth.
Cook the Book: 'Osteria'
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If you had your own Food Network show, what would it be?
I would start a real-food revival.
www.americanfoodways.com
Cook the Book: 'Osteria'
Braised pork belly and fried turnips.
Cook the Book: 'Osteria'
Roasted root vegetables and nice warm tea just hit the spot when it's cold.
Recent Posts
I taste a new supply of _________ before cooking with it
Posted by Blue Iris, January 6, 2009 at 12:07 AM
Gourmet recipes back where they belong
Posted by Blue Iris, September 18, 2008 at 12:06 PM
"Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon....."
Posted by Blue Iris, August 14, 2008 at 5:55 PM
Does Where You Live Affect What You Like To Eat?
Posted by Blue Iris, May 5, 2008 at 3:37 PM
Recent Favorites
Dinner Tonight: Pasta with Olive Tapenade
Posted by Blake Royer, January 13, 2009 at 4:45 PM
What's your favorite way to use *Star Anise*?
Posted by sweethoney, January 2, 2009 at 10:38 AM
what's your favorite "get back on track" food?
Posted by pooch, January 2, 2009 at 12:37 PM
Alternative whole turkey recipe
Posted by franklindelanobluth, December 29, 2008 at 5:23 PM
Dinner Tonight: Spaghetti all'Amatriciana
Posted by Blake Royer, December 18, 2008 at 4:30 PM
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About Blue Iris
Location: Albuquerque
About: I work part time in my tiny house in Albuquerque. My granddaughters, eight and nine, come often on weekends to give my daughter, a medical assistant and nursing student, a break. My one-eared Corgi-Beagle rescue dog Cristina always makes me smile.
Favorite foods: Anything made with good ingredients and love. I learned a lot when my mom cooked her way thru Julia Child. At home (Pennsylvania) we gardened, canned tomatoes and applesauce and pickles, made bread every other day.
Last bite on earth: The very best of fruit and cheese, and a key lime pie made from the recipe in an old edition of The Joy of Cooking.
I also make it one day at a time in the bowl the salad is going into. Give it a whisk and let it sit in the bottom. Toss just before serving.
You'll never buy the bottled stuff again and you'll save a lot of money even if you use fancy oils.