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Good simple recipe for summertime fennel salad?
I usually just sprinkle thinly sliced fennel with coarse salt and marinate in a bit of lemon or yuzu juice for a few hours in the refrigerator. It's surprisingly refreshing with almost no work.
Are you finicky about...
I'm not finicky or picky, but I do put a lot of emphasis on my dinnerware. My habit of collecting Japanese ceramics means that I sometimes expend as much effort picking the right plate for dinner as I do thinking about what to cook.
In most French-influenced cooking, the food decorates the plate... but in Japanese cuisine, the plate decorates the food. I prefer this latter style of presentation, generally. The plate can mute or emphasize the colors and textures of the food on it.
Many Japanese also think that food tastes different when it's served on the right plate.
I certainly feel that wayt when I take leftovers to work in plastic containers for lunch....
Question of the Day: Favorite melons?
This time of year, I'm a fan of the variety labeled "tuscan melon"... very aromatic and sweet. Though the ones I could get last year tended to be frustrating.
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Recent Comments | Response to Comments
Cooking With Kids: Eat Your Veggies
Actually, I had an early aversion to red meat, but I, like many children, feared many, many vegetables. I blame this on the 70s-era tendency to either overcook everything or serve it completely raw. Either one could inspire morbid fear in even the most hardcore vegetable lover. Also, I partially blame the 70s era style of parenting that said not to force any foods on your children that they rejected.
For about 4-5 years I ate few vegetables other than corn, potatoes, onions, and well-disguised broccoli (80s style quiche, cheese sauce), along with the occasional thousand-island drenched iceberg lettuce. Ah, and artichokes. I could be convinced to eat steamed artichokes, but probably because we could drench it in lemon butter.
However, starting in my teenage years I started to realize that not all vegetables were terrible, and cafeteria meat in the Midwest generally is, so by 19, I was a full-blown vegetarian. Now I'll eat anything, including brussels sprouts, as long as they're prepared decently. And most restaurants have learned how, and even some home cooks have figured it out.
Good simple recipe for summertime fennel salad?
I usually just sprinkle thinly sliced fennel with coarse salt and marinate in a bit of lemon or yuzu juice for a few hours in the refrigerator. It's surprisingly refreshing with almost no work.
Are you finicky about...
I'm not finicky or picky, but I do put a lot of emphasis on my dinnerware. My habit of collecting Japanese ceramics means that I sometimes expend as much effort picking the right plate for dinner as I do thinking about what to cook.
In most French-influenced cooking, the food decorates the plate... but in Japanese cuisine, the plate decorates the food. I prefer this latter style of presentation, generally. The plate can mute or emphasize the colors and textures of the food on it.
Many Japanese also think that food tastes different when it's served on the right plate.
I certainly feel that wayt when I take leftovers to work in plastic containers for lunch....
Question of the Day: Favorite melons?
This time of year, I'm a fan of the variety labeled "tuscan melon"... very aromatic and sweet. Though the ones I could get last year tended to be frustrating.
Anyone have a good gelato recipe?
I don't have a precise recipe, but I've made a musk melon sorbet a couple of times before.
One thing I learned when making a melon sorbet that turned quite icy was that I needed a bit more sugar than I expected, because the melon is mostly water. Balance that sugar with a little lemon juice. You can also use a splash of alcohol (neutral like vodka or complementary in flavor, like perhaps a white rum) added to the ice cream maker in the last minute or two.
Anyone have a good gelato recipe?
I love gelato, I havent found a shop in my small town in S.C that makes it so I have to make it myself when I get a craving. I appreciate all of the recipes I can get my hands on.
Check out this "cool" article at "www.foosita.com
Are you finicky about...
I must have my coffee in a certain size mug, so apparently I'm not alone. I also must have my table look inviting for guests, even at a barbecue. It is usually simple- appropriate dinnerware, silverware, linens, candles and great flowers. When I serve, the platters must look like art- pretty colors arranged with thought.
Are you finicky about...
I hate tablescape. It is so SLOP(some of you know of whom I speak).
I was taught from Amy Vanderbuilt's book how to set a table. I still do it that way today. Glasses, cutlery, napkins, glasses and a (1) centerpiece, which is either flowers or candles but never both unless it is a baby shower, wedding or christmas.
Nothing looks more appetizing than a clean crips table cloth, a small bunc of flowers or a few nice tapers ablaze and your china and glassware gleaming. It says bring on the good times.
Question of the Day: Favorite melons?
Watermelon!
I HATE cantaloupe. The smell of it makes me sick, and I can't eat anything that it has touched (ie, fruit salad or a fruit bowl) because its pungent juice gets all over everything else and the taste of it makes me gag. I think this is a result of having eaten bad cantaloupe a few years back and now I'm scarred for life.
Are you finicky about...
My husband brought a cheap set of forks and knives with him when we married. I hate those forks! They bend very easily, look ugly and just in general sort of ruin my meal so I never use them. I also only want a glass wine glass with wine, not an ordinary water glass. And I hate getting some sort of cold drink, such as a chilled wine, in a glass just out of a dishwasher still hot. I've had that at several restaurants lately.
Are you finicky about...
I'm picky about drinking cold liquids in a glass. It's nauseates me to drink cold juice, water, or soda in a mug. Don't know why.
Are you finicky about...
I don't like drinking out of tall thin skinned glasses. Too much condensation and I feel as though I might break the glass when I pick it up. Heavy plastic is what I drink out of only, unless I don't have a choice.
I always only use the salad fork to eat everything with, our dinner forks feel too big for my mouth to handle.
I guess I am picky b/c I love to eat out of the deep and heavy ceramic bowls.
Are you finicky about...
I agree with DocChuck----heated plates for pastas, chilled bowls for salads, ice cream, frosty mugs for rootbeer floats. Yes! All foods served with spotlessly clean utensils in likewise vessels.
Question of the Day: Favorite melons?
Cavaillon are delicious.
Are you finicky about...
(I was going to cite that very episode, Annmarie, but decided I was being too negative about a show that I never, ever miss an episode of. But you have to know that those carpenters were probably thinking she was totally nutso.)
Question of the Day: Favorite melons?
Fresh Cranshaw melon with a squeeze of lime...Oh, heck, just combine all the fresh ripe melons you can find. That works on a hot day!
Are you finicky about...
I think the best Ina Garten moment ever was when she created a centerpiece of tools and paintbrushes for her husband's construction worker employees.
Honestly though, every time someone says "tablescape" I want to puke. Clearly, I'm not picky at all, although I wouldnt use paper plates unless it was an outside bbq or something.
Are you finicky about...
Like many folks, I have a favorite coffee mug, and, I suppose, certain plates/bowls for certain dishes.
But to best answer the question "Are you finicky about . . .", I would have to say:
First, I am finicky about spotlessly clean dishes, glassware, and utensils, and
Second, I expect a hot meal to be served on a heated plate!
Are you finicky about...
I hate drinking out of plastic glasses...especially non-disposable ones...blech! The disposable ones I find perfectly fine for soda or lemonade OUTDOORS. I drink my coffee from a mug that I like the looks of but drips horribly, because of the giver of the mug. I do like serving old family recipes on old china that reminds of the person who gave me the recipes.........
Are you finicky about...
I can drink water out of plastic glasses, but for anything with flavor, glass is the way for me. Otherwise, like Sarah, I only use a couple of favorite mugs, especially the one from Hell's Backbone Grill in Utah.
Question of the Day: Favorite melons?
I, too, live in a region that is hot and dry in summer. I think that cantaloupes are my favorite, but all VINE RIPENED melons are great.
Are you finicky about...
I sometimes laugh at the extremes that Ina Garten goes to when she sets her tables on her Barefoot Contessa program, but I understand the point of it all. Doing what she does turns an ordinary dinner into a memorable event.
Are you finicky about...
I understand and agree. But you knew that. I grew up in a home where we only used paper plates for kids birthday parties. If my mother ever served anything to my father in a paper plate he would have went bananas. I am a firm believer in serving dishes too. Soup tureens. Gravy boats with ladles. I go to so many people's homes where their pasta sauce or meat gravy is in a bowl with a spoon. Or they serve a great roast chicken in a pyrex dish. I always give serving dishes to newly weds, housewarming and christmas gifts. HINT HINT. I like to set a nice table. I think it is an old art that is being overlooked.
Are you finicky about...
I can't eat with a fork that has even slightly bent tines. Otherwise, it doesn't matter in the least.
Question of the Day: Favorite melons?
Ice cold Baby seedless watermelon.
Question of the Day: Favorite melons?
Ice cold watermelon, with or without seeds.
Question of the Day: Favorite melons?
I am very lucky to have grown up with Pecos Cantelopes (the dryness of the region in west Texas is perfect for growing really sweet ones). My grandma used to cut them in quarters, spoon out the seeds and put a scoop of vanilla ice cream in the center. It cannot possibly get more perfect than that.
Question of the Day: Favorite melons?
Ooo - crenshaw has to be the favorite. Have also had good luck with Casaba. Grew up with cantalopes (known as "mushmelons" in our family) and watermelons - they are okay but I've tired of them. Already know what to expect in terms of flavor, and they don't excite me much, like the others do.
Question of the Day: Favorite melons?
I'll tell you the truth. I avoid buying melons in the supermarket. I can't tell you how many times I buy a whole melon, only to cut into it and have it be bland and tasteless. I've tried knocking. I've tried shaking. I've tried smelling. I've tried poking the place where the stem was. I've tried looking for melons that are heavy for their size. I've tried looking for the yellow spot. I've tried everything.
That said, there's a little place in Chicago's chinatown that makes watermelon smoothies to die for.
Question of the Day: Favorite melons?
Count me in for watermelon. I don't mind the seeds. Reminds me of my childhood -- seed spitting contests with my neighbors. However, I don't spit them out now, just nudge them out or cut around them.
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Actually, I had an early aversion to red meat, but I, like many children, feared many, many vegetables. I blame this on the 70s-era tendency to either overcook everything or serve it completely raw. Either one could inspire morbid fear in even the most hardcore vegetable lover. Also, I partially blame the 70s era style of parenting that said not to force any foods on your children that they rejected.
For about 4-5 years I ate few vegetables other than corn, potatoes, onions, and well-disguised broccoli (80s style quiche, cheese sauce), along with the occasional thousand-island drenched iceberg lettuce. Ah, and artichokes. I could be convinced to eat steamed artichokes, but probably because we could drench it in lemon butter.
However, starting in my teenage years I started to realize that not all vegetables were terrible, and cafeteria meat in the Midwest generally is, so by 19, I was a full-blown vegetarian. Now I'll eat anything, including brussels sprouts, as long as they're prepared decently. And most restaurants have learned how, and even some home cooks have figured it out.