Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

*blushing*
Hi everyone.
The holidays are here, so I'm back.
I'll attempt to not be such a spammer on the boards this time.
Thanks for the link to this thread, yayfood.

After starting the daily WFD threads back in September, I have found the "Recently Commented On" tab on the talk front page which seems to work similar to "bumping" a thread on the other forums I visit. So I leave the choice to you regulars: continue posting in this thread and hope others use the "Recently Commented On" tab? Or start a new WFD thread daily?

As for our dinner tonight, we're having an 8 lb. oven stuffer roaster. I'll "kasher" it by soaking and salting it (though it will not be a kosher bird it will finish up moist almost as if I brined it and takes far less time), rub with olive oil and my home made spice rub of kosher sea salt, fresh cracked mixed peppercorns, granulated garlic, Hungarian hot paprika, a dash of cinnamon (I put a little cinnamon in just about everything for the blood sugar regulating benefit), and dried dill weed. That then gets tied with kitchen twine and roasted for an hour to 90 minutes in my Showtime rotisserie. Baked potatoes in the toaster over, and sauteed broccoli (steamed broccoli florets than quickly sauteed in olive oil with minced fresh garlic and salt and fresh cracked mixed peppercorns).

So...
WFD at your home tonight? 8)

i second the chowders from cape cod. i like them condensed, adding milk.

as a quick snack, though, the lipton cup of soups (spring or chicken w/noodles) are acceptable. and dont require a stove if you have a electric tea kettle.

if you have a dorm stove, the kind in a big open space everyone passes by, if you get a chance, make a serious soup, with dried veggies and rice or barley or noodles... cause you will have people inviting themselves to your meal when they walk by. :)

old cape cod makes some nice chowders.

A Hole in One!!!! My grandfather used to make these for me when I was a very little girl, visiting him in Lancaster, PA. He was not a golfer. He was first-generation American of Swedish descent, who had grown up in Salt Lake City, Utah.

I dry thyme, dill, tarragon, sage, rosemary, marjoram, parsley, oregano and the basils that have thicker leaves (Thai, lemon, lime) by rubber-banding them by the bunch and hanging them upside down in paper lunch bags. When the leaves are completely dry and crisp, I shake and pull them off the stems and store them right in the paper bags with the tops folded over.

The herbs with more delicate leaves, like common and Genovese basil and cilantro, I chop/mince very finely, put them in jelly jars and pour in just enough light olive oil to moisten, so that it's like a chunky paste. The jars get stored in the freezer door and whever I need a jolt of cilantro or basil, I scoop out a spoonful and put the rest back in the freezer.

A couple years ago, I was looking for fresh cilantro in the middle of January and couldn't find any, so I bought a tube of it. The label show olive oil and cilantro as ingredients and said to store in the freezer after opening. I was pleasantly surprised at how bright it tasted--very close to being fresh--after a month in the freezer. So now I make my own.

I have a suggestion for the woody herbs - this won't work for the basils. I just put bunches of each herb in brown paper bags and hang them indoors, on a clothesline-like setup. As long as the leaves are completely free of surface water when I put them in there, they dry out before they would mold. The brown paper bag keeps the leaves from turning brown from exposure to light, and provides a nifty way to reuse those wine bags!

Even though I have a dehydrater I generally freeze herbs for the winter. I figure I might as well have as fresh a flavor as possible.

You could wash one of the window screens you no longer need to have in the windows, and then prop it up between chairs, or on a table between books, so the herbs get air circulation from below as well as above.

Alton Brown made an arrangement with furnace filters, tied together and attached to a window fan so there was air blowing through. He never said anything about filter material though, and I'd be a little leery of this. At least make sure you're using cellulose filters. But I don't see why you couldn't do the same thing with sandwiches of window screens.

The microwave is very tricky. I think you'd be cooking the herbs before they dried. The lower the temperature you can dry the herbs at, the fresher the flavor will be.

PoorOldMama--thanks! And your final comment made me laugh. I feel that way about dessert too.

Raw Apple Cake
4 cups diced apple
2 eggs
2 cups sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup chopped walnuts
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
Break eggs over apples, fork stir. Add sugar, cinnamon, oil and nuts.
Sift flour, soda and salt. Add to first mix.
13x9 pan buttered and floured (I just pam mine)
55 minutes at 350 degrees

It was my husband's grandmothers recipe-he LOVES it. I think it's not chocolate.

@bananamonkey - thanks for the shout out, i'm tickled.
(jealous of your malted milk shakes!)

@italiancupcake: no recipe persay, but it's really super easy.

for the miso broth i just add a cup of really hot water to a tablespoon of white miso paste (you can find tubs of it at whole foods) and let broth come together. slice up two leeks and 8 ounces of shitakes and sautee these in butter & olive oil (sometimes i add a little garlic) until leeks soften and mushrooms begin to brown. reserve these and juices in a separate bowl. wipe out your pan and then coat with olive oil for searing the cod (i did 2, 6 ounce fillets tonight). start with skin side up and sear for 3 - 5 minutes on medium high. flip the fillets so that the skin side is down, then return the leeks, mushrooms, and miso broth into the pan and cover. simmer on medium-low until the fish just starts to break apart. you can add more water, if you would like more "sauce" with your final dish. i also sometimes throw in a tablespoon of butter at the end, to round out the flavors.
the whole thing usually comes together in about 15 - 20 minutes, including prep and cooking, which is perfect for a busy night.

@pooroldmama -- please explain raw apple cake?

As for all of you whose plans were changed? The Bub and I were derailed--no honey curry chicken--that sits in the fridge. We got completely distracted by hotdogs, french fries and chocolate malted milk shakes at a burger stand not far from the house. This place was fantastic--and we found it two days before they close for the season! Prob best for our waistlines that we haven't discovered it sooner.

I never know until I get home and see what's on the stove.

Tonight it was pan fried chicken breasts an spaghetti.
Yummy

I'm ditching the meatloaf plans 'cuz it got too warm out, so went to the store to get the ingredients to make the Asian Beef Salad on Amanda Hesser's Food52 site. (So excited to be using lemongrass for the 1st time!)

That, and some mojitos (got extra simple syrup in the fridge!).