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I put ____ in my yogurt
Fage yogurt (usually full-fat -- I need the dairy fats) over a large bowl of seasonal fruit and berries. Sometimes a little drizzle of honey on top, depending on the sweetness of the fruit. Yesterday it was peaches and a few late raspberries...mmmm....
Parmigiano Reggiano rind in soup
I actually did this with a chicken/vegetable soup yesterday. It came out very, very well. Tonight I'll serve tortellini in the soup so as to play up the slight cheese overtones.
Good Brunch in NYC with not too long of a wait!
@kathryn -- isn't almost anything "out of the way" unless you live in the neighborhood?
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Store-Bought Chicken Stocks, Reviewed: Which Are the Best?
I would agree with the plea to do a round of organic/free range stocks. To my mind, they actually taste better than the other products in addition to the health benefits.
I'm a great fan of Imagine Organic Free-Range chicken broth, as well as Organic Chicken Better Than Bouillon, which I always keep in the fridge. I use both of them along with water to make tricked-up chicken stock -- boiling up the frame, skin, juices of a leftover bird with vegetables, herbs and aromatics like so many others who have already commented.
I know it seems like double duty -- using box stock to make your own. But I guarantee, once strained, this stock is incredibly rich in flavor, and then it's a snap to make the world's most delicious comfort soup -- a handful of rice cooked in this broth along with leeks, carrots and celery, and then whatever diced cooked chicken you have left from the bird, added at the end.
I put ____ in my yogurt
Fage yogurt (usually full-fat -- I need the dairy fats) over a large bowl of seasonal fruit and berries. Sometimes a little drizzle of honey on top, depending on the sweetness of the fruit. Yesterday it was peaches and a few late raspberries...mmmm....
Parmigiano Reggiano rind in soup
I actually did this with a chicken/vegetable soup yesterday. It came out very, very well. Tonight I'll serve tortellini in the soup so as to play up the slight cheese overtones.
Good Brunch in NYC with not too long of a wait!
@kathryn -- isn't almost anything "out of the way" unless you live in the neighborhood?
Good Brunch in NYC with not too long of a wait!
I really can't stand Sarabeth's, to be honest. I make much better eggs at home, and don't have to pay $25 for them. I do love Clinton Street Baking, but the wait is really long. Balthazar is the luck of the draw -- sometimes it's long, sometimes not.
But the best-kept brunch secret in NYC is -- c'mon uptown! I had a great brunch the other day at Kitchenette, on Amsterdam between 122nd and 123rd. Homemade biscuits, cheese grits, delicious eggs, yummy blintzes, and everything else looked great too. In addition, there were about three other attractive places open for brunch within a two-block radius, so even if they'd been crowded, we would have found something.
Hot Weather Food Ideas
I have to do a dinner party on Thursday, and the heat has got me so befuddled that I'm really going to stick with almost entirely cold food. Cold sorrel/cucumber soup to start, cold shrimp platter on butter lettuce with sliced tomatoes, cukes, hard-boiled eggs and a rich curry/scallion mayo dressing, maybe potato-green-bean salad as well, warm garlic bread. For dessert, cold cherry soup with a scoop of frozen Greek yogurt, and some of those NY Times chocolate chip cookies (dough's already made, and I'll bake it off early in the day, before it gets too hot).
Slow cookers
I'm all about the slow cooker. I think it makes the best barbecued baby-back ribs ever, with not a whole lot of effort.
I like to improvise too, as long as I'm using meat that can stand up to long, slow cooking -- any kind of ribs, brisket, any cartilaginous cuts.
The other night I browned floured and seasoned meaty country-style pork ribs, sauteed onions, leeks and green garlic, and put it all in the slow cooker with lots of carrots and fresh herbs and about half a bottle of white wine wine -- no other liquid, since the slow cooker doesn't need much. About an hour before we were ready to eat, I buried a bunch of little new potatoes under the meat. A delicious, reasonably healthy and not heavy meal (the country-style ribs are not particularly fatty), making use of seasonal produce, too. And I didn't have to light the oven or stand over the stove. Lots of leftovers for another meal, too.
I'd love to see the recipe for brown rice and chorizo -- sounds like something we'd love!
Beyond the chocolate chip cookie...
@PerkyMac - Sometimes I feel like a large part of my culinary energy is devoted to recreating remembered flavors, especially ones I associate with my mom. I love the idea of folding cookie dough over a chocolate mint wafer -- one could try it with After Eights or Andes or something -- like a Girl Scout Thin Mint cookie only much better. I hope these either evoke good memories, or create new ones --
Chocolate Chip-Mint Cookies
adapted from Mollie Katzen, "Still Life With Menu"
Ingredients:
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 ½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp peppermint extract
2 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt (sometimes I go with more, but I like a salt kick)
1/2 cup of unsweetened cocoa
3 cups a.p. flour
12 oz bittersweet chocolate chips (I like Ghiradelli 60% here) or chopped dark chocolate as you prefer
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line baking sheets with parchment. Sift dry ingredients together, and set aside. Cream butter with the sugars in mixer at high speed. Beat in eggs one at a time. Stir in vanilla and peppermint extracts. Mix in dry ingredients and chocolate chips or chunks until everything is lightly but well-combined.
Drop by well-rounded spoonfuls (depending on the size you like your cookies onto prepared baking sheets. Bake 12 to 15 minutes, until set and browned (hard to tell, because the dough is so dark). Rotate and reverse sheets from upper rack to lower midway through baking for even browning. Remove from sheets after a minute or so, and cool on a rack (or eat while warm…)
Hot Weather Food Ideas
Today I hauled out the slow-cooker. Great alternative -- you're not standing over it, and the stove and oven are off. You do have to do about 1/2 hour of prep work. I browned country-style pork ribs, sauteed all the vegetables in the fridge that needed to be used, and put it all in the slow cooker with lots of green garlic, fresh herbs and a generous splash of good white wine. I'll throw potatoes in later or cook up some grain, but for now I'm relaxing away from the kitchen, knowing dinner will be ready when we want it several hours from now...and I made enough for several meals, so that leftovers can be eaten as-is or transformed into something else...
Beyond the chocolate chip cookie...
@Perky Mac -- I remember that long ago, Nestle's used to make a mint chocolate morsel -- but those are only moderate-quality, considering the sorts of chocolate many of us have become accustomed (addicted?) to using for cooking and baking. If what you're looking for is the makings for a mint-chocolate chip cookie, I think your best bet is to add real, natural peppermint extract or oil to your cookie dough. The mint is such a pervasive flavor that the regular chocolate chips will taste like minted chocolate. Every holiday season I make a much-requested recipe for mint-chocolate-chocolate-chip cookies, which comes out of Mollie Katzen's great cookbook, Still Life With Menu. Will find it for you if you wish...
Beyond the chocolate chip cookie...
If you or you friends are deep dark chocolate lovers, there are no better cookies than World Peace Cookies:
http://splendidtable.publicradio.org/recipes/dessert_peacecookies.shtml
That being said, I made the above-mentioned NY Times chocolate chip cookie recipe this week, using excellent 70% dark-chocolate disks instead of chips. Seriously, one of the most phenomenal cookies EVER. All other chocolate chip cookie recipes are now consigned to the waste-heap.
But for something different -- my favorite browned-butter oatmeal cookies with chewy fruit, yummy chocolate and crunchy nuts are always a serious crowd-pleaser:
http://fingerineverypie.typepad.com/my_weblog/2005/03/comfort_me_with.html
Hope this helps!
Homemade Chocolate Pudding
Eggs are SO unnecessary in chocolate pudding, and honestly create more hassle than they're worth. Old-fashioned chocolate pudding is a cornstarch pudding, and the best one I know is adapted from the Scharffenberger cookbook recipe:
Creamy Chocolate Pudding
serves 6
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 cups whole milk
8 ounces 70% bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
Combine the cornstarch, sugar and salt in a heavy saucepan. Whisk in 1/2 cup of the milk to make a smooth paste. Then add the rest of the milk slowly and bring to a slow boil over low heat, stirring occasionally, scraping the bottom and sides. Use a whisk if lumps begin to form. After 15 minutes or so the mixture should begin to thicken and coat the back of the spoon. At that point, add the chocolate. Continue stirring for 2 or 3 minutes, until the pudding is smooth and thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Strain if you wish (although I never do this) and pour into a serving bowl or into individual ramekins or serving dishes. If you hate the thick chocolately skin on pudding, put plastic wrap on top and smooth it down against the surface before refrigerating. If you like pudding skin, pull plastic wrap over the top of the serving dish(es) before refrigerating. Refrigerate for at least half an hour and as much as 3 days. Some people love this with a big splash of cold milk -- I'm decadent, so I make vanilla-scented whipped cream with heavy organic cream to serve with this -- yum.
Big Apple BBQ Thoughts?
I was lucky enough to accompany my husband, one of the Serious Eats prizewinners, on Ed Levine's tour of the festivities. Hoo boy, can't remember the last time I ate 4 lunches in one day...I wrote it up on my blog, so for details and pics take a look here:
http://fingerineverypie.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/06/serious-pig.html
Win a FastPass to the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party—By Writing an Acrostic!
Bright coals of hardwood sweet, turn to
Ash: smoke-tender meat.
Ribs and rubs and sauce, outstanding!
Brisket’s coming in for a landing.
Ending up right on my fork:
Crisp yet melting, luscious pork.
Underneath the meat’s sweet crunch
Every mouth cries out “Great lunch!”
I am getting married - but I need a menu
I had a fantastic wedding party about a year ago -- mostly wine and champagne with a signature cocktail (vodka and strawberry lemonade) and a sort of light, buffet-style meal. There were about five passed apps, and then some simple buffet foods -- unusual cheeses, breads and dips, lamb meatballs with yogurt sauce, cous-cous salad both with and without chicken, poached salmon with several different sauces, new potato and green bean salad, lots of beautiful fresh veg, and fresh fruit, with a multi-flavor cupcake tower for dessert. Everyone loved it, had lots to eat, and it came in WAY under the expense of a usual wedding meal.
Birthday Cake
Wow. I can barely imagine not loving cakes, pies, tortes -- all kinds of pastry. I'm known among friends and family for the cakes I make. For my dad's last birthday I made a dark chocolate mocha fudge cake, an orange-chocolate chunk cake, and an almond torte with lime cream icing.
My last birthday brought a slew of cakes baked by friends for a party I threw for myself -- Dorie Greenspan's chocolate gingerbread (recipe posted on this site), a pistachio nougat cake and chocolate Trianon cake, as well as a lemon icebox cake I made myself, and another bakery-bought chocolate raspberry cake. I'm getting hungry just thinking of all those cakes...
Win a FastPass to the Big Apple Barbecue Block Party—By Writing a Limerick!
A proselytizing young veg
Made her sister-in-law finally pledge:
"Give me good barbecue
Or this family is through --
I need meat just to take off the edge."
Best Marinade?
Savory Asian -- tamari soy sauce, lime juice, garlic and sesame oil -- I'm so in love with this fast and easy flavor profile that I have a hard time using anything else.
Turkish -- Garlic, cumin, smoked paprika, oregano, red (aleppo) pepper, black pepper and salt, with enough lemon juice and olive oil to make either a paste for rubbing, or more liquid to make a marinade for soaking. And actually the so-called Turkish flavor profile is very similar to Mexican, with a good chile powder swapped for the aleppo pepper. This is fantastic on lamb, but great with chicken as well.
How do you eat your hot dogs?
Hebrew National or other kosher dogs, grilled or broiled till the skin is snappy and brown and crispy. I don't keep kosher, not at all, but there is nothing to compare with the flavor of a kosher dog. Serve it rolled in a slice of fresh rye bread (even better than a bun) with fine-grained Dijon mustard. Grey Poupon works.
Would you eat...People?
Dee, I too thought of Alive, since that's a much more recent example of cannibalism by necessity than the Donner Party. I think they were Chileans. They had plenty of water because they were in a snow-covered region of the Andes. I'm not sure I remember correctly, but they may also have had fuel for cooking...
Memorial Day eats.... let's hear the line up!
Mmm. Barbecue in the country last night: chicken and burgers on the grill, little new potatoes with olive oil and chives/mint/tarragon from the garden, big tossed salad, french bread. I brought dessert: World Peace Cookies and strawberry pastry cream tart (http://fingerineverypie.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/05/sweets-dont-fail-me-now.html)
Today it's urban apartment barbecue: baby back ribs in the slow cooker, mac 'n' cheese, collard/mustard greens with ramps and green garlic, more strawberry tart and cookies, maybe some ice cream...
Left over French Fries - yeah, I know I'm cheap!
I also agree with mrsbao -- if the fries are good in the first place, the toaster oven can work wonders.
But the other thing I'm thinking is, since you have a deep fryer, why not re-fry them to heat them up? The reason Belgian frites are so famous and so delicious is that they've been twice-fried...
Cold Soup?
Two favorite cold soups -- sorrel soup with scallion and cucumber and sour cream, aka schav, and cold sour cherry soup, also served with a dollop of sour cream...
Jury Duty in Manhattan
Great Vietnamese food at a whole bunch of places, right near the courthouse -- Centre Street, Baxter Street. Inexpensive and always good.
Cool retro party punch recipe??
I had a birthday party in February, and wanted an old-style retro party punch. I made this champagne punch, and everyone thought it was great:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/drink/views/241174
Whatever you end up making, have a wonderful birthday!
Store-Bought Stuffing Mix Showdown
to turn a store bought stuffing into gourmet (best with pepperidge farms)
saute some sausage pieces till brown
add onion till soft or light brown
then add celery and thyme
add butter if necessary
add to store-bought mix as directed on the package.
use home-made turkey stock for best results.
if you prefer bacon to sausage that's fine.
you can also add walnuts and/or raisins.
happy thanksgiving.
Store-Bought Stuffing Mix Showdown
My stuffing changes from time to time, but at Thanksgiving family demands particular one. It involves Pepperridge farm or similar dried bread crumbs, saute'd celery, onion, carrot and lot and lots of mushrooms, finely chopped. Some sage sausage, finely chopped apple and additional sage or poultry seasoning. A couple of eggs and turkey broth to moisten. Do not over moisten or over mix. Then cover and bake. (Or refrigerate until tomorrow- Thanksgiving). Remove foil in the last few minutes so the top gets light golden.
As my mom says-- Oh my. This is amazing. (Which means she likes mine even more than her signature and also very delicious stuffing.)
Martha Stewart's Macaroni and Cheese
@lemonfair, totally, if you imagine a 9X13 dish parcelled into 12 servings. It's really decadent.
I served this the other day with chili. In making the mac and cheese, I realised I was out of white bread, and substituted some jalapeno cheddar bread I'd bought on a lark at the grocery earlier in the week. The result was awesome! ANd the jalapeno flavour really echoed the peppers in the chili.
I was convinced this would be too much sauce, but somehow, those noodles drank it up.
Martha Stewart's Macaroni and Cheese
pdmako: ...sorry, this is not Ina Gartens mac and cheese recipe! Check your facts...recipes are all on line and available. Ina is terrific but MS's mac and cheese is an original and the best ever!
Store-Bought Chicken Stocks, Reviewed: Which Are the Best?
everyone see that "top chef" is using swanson stocks for most of teir challanges???
How do you eat your hot dogs?
Fewteeth.. I know you are probably long gone from here, but I'll ask anyway. What exactly is a "sewer beetle?" Something you invented?
Martha Stewart's Macaroni and Cheese
Well, right back attcha, Chiff. If you're using the Chat N Chew one, I'm going to try that now.
Martha Stewart's Macaroni and Cheese
Now you've piqued my interest. I always used the Chat N Chew Mac & Cheese recipe but with an endorsement like Adam's who can resist?? The C&C recipe also makes a ginormous batch and I frequently change up the cheeses somewhat.
Martha Stewart's Macaroni and Cheese
I'm surprised that 1 pound of pasta really makes enough for 12. Do those of you who make it think this is an accurate serving size?
Martha Stewart's Macaroni and Cheese
I have made this mac and cheese dozens of times. Several times, when I've had fancy dinner parties, I make this for the kids but the adults just can't resist it.
I also use it as a clean out my cheese drawer recipe and I've put up to 8 different kinds of cheese that were getting to the ends of their lives -- even goat cheese. And I totally agree with the nutmeg suggestion - and must add. I'm salivating just writing about this.
Martha Stewart's Macaroni and Cheese
I'm not surprised to hear that Ina Garten was the originator of Martha's recipe. I don't like watching Ina on TV, but I love her recipes (try her French Potato Salad, it's wicked good).
Once we tried this M&C, there was no debate--just a natural consensus within the family that this was The One. My wife's notes indicate she always substitutes Swiss for the Gruyere/Romano. She always uses freshly grated nutmeg (it really does make a BIG difference), If you like lots of crust (we do), cook it in a broad, shallow casserole dish. And regarding freezing, it can be stored in the freezer cooked or uncooked. It's so good, it'll make your tongue smack your mama!
Martha Stewart's Macaroni and Cheese
No blasphemy there, galadiman. Why don't you try both and let us know!
Martha Stewart's Macaroni and Cheese
Pardon my blasphemy, but would Shells be better than elbow macaroni?
Martha Stewart's Macaroni and Cheese
Try rolling your buttered bits of bread in Roquefort, Blue Cheese, Dolce Verde or Gorgonzola. Then bake for a bit before adding. These croutons also work great for soups. Add a little crushed garlic if you like.
Martha Stewart's Macaroni and Cheese
Off topic, but as regards the request for a crab recipe; try a seafood bread pudding. Butter your dish, layer buttered (crustless) bread and seafood (crab, browned shrimp, lobster all work well, as do salmon, tuna and any whitefish, smoked or unsmoked) with gruyere, and top with sharp cheddar after pouring a full pot of cream over the whole thing. Add pepper and whatever spices you like. You can add a few whipped eggs if you like to give it a more 'custardy' feel. Bake until brown and bubbly. And don't skimp on the cheese. You can add some grated parmesan as well, but then again, I regard most food as a parmesan delivery vehicle. Chuck in some veg, too, if you like...peas and cut broccoli work very well, but you can be creative.
Martha Stewart's Macaroni and Cheese
Tried the recipe yesterday. My husband and I ate it all. FABULOUS. Instead of using traditional elbow macaroni I used "cavatappi". It is a spiral pasta. Just super. I think the elbow mac is too small. Martha's sauce was heavenly.
Martha Stewart's Macaroni and Cheese
This is my go-to mac and cheese recipe - killer good and easy to make!!
In the future will everyone be a vegetarian?
I believe it is reasonable to imagine a future where the majority of human diets are mostly vegetarian. The only real argument for eating meat is the preference for it. Some people like myself like to drink beer, and even though it's not the best thing in the world for me, I will probably keep drinking it. We will probably have liquor forever, and I think we will have meat forever, too. I think meat consumption will become more like liquor consumption in that it will become a delicacy of sorts, and not considered a necessity, and many people with abstain from it most of the time if not always There are a multitude of reasons for eliminating meat from our diets which in the long run outweigh the fact that bacon etc taste good. There are a lot of good alternatives to meat, and there will only be more so in the future. It is much more efficient for humanity to consume plants than to consume animals.
Baking with Dorie: A Seriously Chocolaty Cake
Just wanted to second some of the folks who had problems. I'm an experienced baker. I've made a fallen chocolate souffle cake for years, but thought I'd try something new as my party pleaser.
Had the same problem as most. Baked for 30 minutes, and the middle was 'molten'. Poured back into the pan with relatively little damage, baked for at least another 30 minutes then unmolded. It's sitting in a fudgy puddle on my counter. It certainly tastes fabulous, but I can't serve it to the judging masses.
What went wrong?!
Possibilities:
1) Mistakenly boiled the whole 1 1/3 c sugar with the bourbon to start. So I only added a few tbsp of sugar to the eggs.
2) I noticed that the chocolate had nearly completely cooled half way through the first stick of butter. It took at least 10 minutes to incorporate all of the butter.
Could these be the culprit(s)?
Thanks all!
Store-Bought Chicken Stocks, Reviewed: Which Are the Best?
Thanks Michelle, you answered the question I had, quickly and efficiently, without going into a lot of information I did not need to know.
And while I can and do make my own stock, doing so for a simple last minute recipe for dinner, that calls for a small amount, to me, is a waste of time. While I am no Barefoot Contessa cook, I am quite good at it, but I have quite a full and busy life, a job and a family that don't always allow for hours in the kitchen babysitting my stock pot.....so try to remember before you tell someone they shouldn't be cooking that maybe you don't have all the information before you just give them advise on it.
Thanks again Michelle, you saved me from picking up the wrong stock at the store! Have a great day!
Good Brunch in NYC with not too long of a wait!
Don't go to kingswood....worst service ever and average food....had crab eggs benedict and the crab was straight out of can. There is a reason why the place is wide open....I am sure you newyorkers can figure out why
Martha Stewart's Macaroni and Cheese
This is Ina Garten's recipe! she wrote it for martha stewart magazine many years ago! Ina rocks!
Martha Stewart's Macaroni and Cheese
I worked in the test kitchen when this recipe was being developed. Sara Neumeier definitely has a way with cheese and starch. I'll eat anything she makes!! And I have!
Store-Bought Chicken Stocks, Reviewed: Which Are the Best?
Very interesting, I 'll be trying the new Swanson stock. I agree that the Progresso is good, but I also like the Wolfgang Puck stock flavor too. He has a broth and a stock product, but it's the stock that I prefer.
I'm also a user of Better than Bouillon. In a pinch that's a lifesaver!
Store-Bought Chicken Stocks, Reviewed: Which Are the Best?
Hope I'm not repeating someone, but re: space in freezer. I put some stock in bowls, but freeze a lot of it in my ice cube trays, then once frozen, put the cubes in freezer bags. You can shove them into smaller spaces in your freezer, in the door shelf, and control how much you unfreeze, especially if you just need a small amount. Just thaw a few cubes.
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About Julie
Website: http://fingerineverypie.typepad.com
Location:
About:
Favorite foods: I have a sweet tooth, a meat tooth, a fat tooth, a starch tooth -- and I love my fruit and veg as well.
Last bite on earth:
I would agree with the plea to do a round of organic/free range stocks. To my mind, they actually taste better than the other products in addition to the health benefits.
I'm a great fan of Imagine Organic Free-Range chicken broth, as well as Organic Chicken Better Than Bouillon, which I always keep in the fridge. I use both of them along with water to make tricked-up chicken stock -- boiling up the frame, skin, juices of a leftover bird with vegetables, herbs and aromatics like so many others who have already commented.
I know it seems like double duty -- using box stock to make your own. But I guarantee, once strained, this stock is incredibly rich in flavor, and then it's a snap to make the world's most delicious comfort soup -- a handful of rice cooked in this broth along with leeks, carrots and celery, and then whatever diced cooked chicken you have left from the bird, added at the end.