What's cooking?

The recipe called for 4 cloves to be boiled with the potatoes. I used 12. No flavor whatsoever.

I like oven-roasted but that takes a long time on a day when the oven is heavily allocated. Maybe use that garlic press hand-tool thingie? Or, as you suggest, a quick saute to bring the flavor up and mash them in.

Jeff,
I don't think you necessarily want raw garlic in your mashed potatoes -- go for the roasted garlic. Rosted garlic is how I use up the garlic that looks as if it's about to sprout. I just cut off the tops, pour on a little olive oil, wrap in tin foil and roast in a very hot oven for about 40 minutes. The thing is, I usually always have it on hand. I squeeze it into a jar, cover with olive oil and a sprinkle of cracked pepper. When it's time to make garlic mashed potatoes, that jar is waiting for me in the fridge. I just scoop out a heaping tablespoon or so, olive oil and all, and whirl it all together with lots of butter and any cream needed for desired consistency. The flavor is unmistakably garlicky! Roasted garlic keeps well in olive oil at refrigerated temperatures. Hope you give that a try next time.

Made gravy! (Not a big deal for most folks but I don't know a single Jew who can make gravy. As far as I know, it's a religious imperative to buy it from the deli.)

Congrats! Did you use a slurry or a roux? I go back and forth... It's so much easier to regulate the thickness with a slurry though.

Roux. I stirred it a long time to get it dark and nutty before building it out with a strong turkey stock (that I made a couple days earlier using some wings and veggies).

Tonight's dinner was Home Made Turkey Soup made from the carcass of the turkey, plus a salad made with Cranberry Stilton Cheese and burgundy lettuce greens from our garden. Very nice combo.

Jeff,
I don't think you necessarily want raw garlic in your mashed potatoes -- go for the roasted garlic. Rosted garlic is how I use up the garlic that looks as if it's about to sprout. I just cut off the tops, pour on a little olive oil, wrap in tin foil and roast in a very hot oven for about 40 minutes. The thing is, I usually always have it on hand. I squeeze it into a jar, cover with olive oil and a sprinkle of cracked pepper. When it's time to make garlic mashed potatoes, that jar is waiting for me in the fridge. I just scoop out a heaping tablespoon or so, olive oil and all, and whirl it all together with lots of butter and any cream needed for desired consistency. The flavor is unmistakably garlicky! Roasted garlic keeps well in olive oil at refrigerated temperatures. Hope you give that a try next time.

Thanks very much, Jo Ann. I like the wrap-in-foil approach and I agree that the flavor will be good.

My hesitancy with roasted garlic is that the recipe I know calls for trimming the base, then setting the head in a bit of broth in a loaf pan or some other smallish pan and baking it for a solid hour. Your way sounds much easier and, as it doesn't really take up much shelf space, can be cooked in an oven with other things.

At the end of this week, we'll have 12 guests for Dinner. All my wife's girlfriends. Since they know a lot about good food, it will be a great challenge for me, So I did some tests today, because I hadn't made already decisions what to serve as a main dish.

1. Fried stuffed chickenbreast with noodles and cilantro sauce. The stuffing was shrimps farce with prawns.

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2. Roast duckbreast with blueberry crêpes and pepper sauce

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Because both dishes are not sufficiently good I decided to make "hare loin sous vide with blueberry crêpes and sautéed brusselsprout leaves on thyme-balsamico-sauce"
So the menu will be:
Amuses:
salmon tatare and cucumber relish in phyllo dough cones
1st course:
Cream of foie gras with quince salad and candied apple slice
Main dish:
hare loin sous vide with blueberry crêpes and sautéed brusselsprout leaves on thyme-balsamico-sauce
dessert:
chocolate terrine on mocha cream sauce

I'm not sure, what wine will fit best with the main dish. What do you think about Penfold's Bin 23 Pinot Noir.

Main dish:
hare loin sous vide with blueberry crêpes and sautéed brusselsprout leaves on thyme-balsamico-sauce
...
I'm not sure, what wine will fit best with the main dish. What do you think about Penfold's Bin 23 Pinot Noir.

Agreed that you need a light or mid-weight wine. The trick, I think, is not to overwhelm the delicate rabbit meat with either the sweetness in the crepes or the bitterness in the sprouts (or balsamic). Perhaps a cab franc from the Loire?

[Robin Garr]

Fresh fennel and onion cream with fennel pollen and Pecorino Romano on corn-quinoa linguine. No judgin' on the offbeat pasta,please! I was checking it out so I can competently respond to people with gluten-free food questions. (It actually tastes very much like the real thing, but requires very frequent stirring for the first few minutes as it tends to stick together.)

The gluten free pasta thing came up tonight at our house. I was wondering if quinoa flour could be used to make such a thing. Nice to hear that you can get a decent version of it.

Tonight is frozen tomato soup from the summer tomatoes. quesidillas with 2 % cheddar and jack, scallions and home made salsa. Plus a mix of cukes, tomatoes and garden radish salad.

Home all day working with repairmen. Made bacon mac & cheese (bacon left over from breakfast) to go with my husband's steaks he grills every Wednesday. I inherited a large head of cauliflower, which I am using to make cauliflower, potato and cheese soup for my lunch the rest of the week. Yum!

Tonight it is brisket browned on the grill, then marinated all day in a Texas homemade bbq sauce. After a slow roast in the oven for about 4 hours, I am serving over a mix of mashed cauliflower and Yukon Gold spuds. I love the mashed cauliflower but the texture is greatly improved with the addition a potato.

I was given some beautiful broccoli by a grower at the Farmer's Market, so that will be on the menu, as well.

[Jenise]

Tonight it is brisket browned on the grill, then marinated all day in a Texas homemade bbq sauce. After a slow roast in the oven for about 4 hours, I am serving over a mix of mashed cauliflower and Yukon Gold spuds. I love the mashed cauliflower but the texture is greatly improved with the addition a potato.

I was given some beautiful broccoli by a grower at the Farmer's Market, so that will be on the menu, as well.

Sounds so good! I'm dying for a real home-cooked meal. Since the stove in my tiny little studio home-away-from-home is less than four feet away from my bed, I've avoided cooking meats or anything that would leave lingering odors as I'll end up living with it for days. IoW, I'm a temporary vegetarian. Maybe its time to give in to Chinese takeout.

Sounds so good! I'm dying for a real home-cooked meal. Since the stove in my tiny little studio home-away-from-home is less than four feet away from my bed, I've avoided cooking meats or anything that would leave lingering odors as I'll end up living with it for days. IoW, I'm a temporary vegetarian. Maybe its time to give in to Chinese takeout.

Oh my, may I be so bold as to ask - are you on vacation? I think I'd hate being a vegetarian.

[Jenise]

Oh no, wish I were. I'm here with my cat while she's going through radiation, and bob is holding down the fort back home. I was lucky to find a furnished studio cottage. Lot less room than I'd have in a hotel, but more options for meal prep and for a lot less money.

Oh no, wish I were. I'm here with my cat while she's going through radiation, and bob is holding down the fort back home. I was lucky to find a furnished studio cottage. Lot less room than I'd have in a hotel, but more options for meal prep and for a lot less money.

Oh golly, I wish your kitty the best of luck, that is a tough ordeal you and Tammy Faye have been through. Sorry you have another round of radiation.

Today's menu was as previously posted.
Amuse bouche: Salmon Tartar in a phyllo dough scone

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First course: Foie Gras Mousse in a glas with portwine jelly, apple confit and candied apple slice

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Main dish: Hare fillet sous vide with brussels sproutes leaves, blue berry crêpes and fine pepper sauce

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Dessert: Chocolate mousse on mocha cream sauce

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I'm scared o' you, Hienz. Got any leftovers?!

...Made bacon mac & cheese (bacon left over from breakfast) to go with my husband's steaks he grills every Wednesday...

Carl has a great plan! Better than a fish fry every Friday or wings every Sunday (during football season).

[Jenise]

At the end of this week, we'll have 12 guests for Dinner. All my wife's girlfriends. Since they know a lot about good food, it will be a great challenge for me, So I did some tests today, because I hadn't made already decisions what to serve as a main dish.

1. Fried stuffed chickenbreast with noodles and cilantro sauce. The stuffing was shrimps farce with prawns.

1.jpg

.

Heinz, that first dish looks like two great ideas that should be two separate dishes. Would love the chicken with something like a fried rice or snow pea stir fry, and would love the pasta with sauteed shrimp, maybe with an chili element, but the combination seems a bit forced.

[Jenise]

Oh no, wish I were. I'm here with my cat while she's going through radiation, and bob is holding down the fort back home. I was lucky to find a furnished studio cottage. Lot less room than I'd have in a hotel, but more options for meal prep and for a lot less money.

Oh golly, I wish your kitty the best of luck, that is a tough ordeal you and Tammy Faye have been through. Sorry you have another round of radiation.

Thanks for the sympathy! It has been just one round of radiation, but it is a long round made up of many short sessions. One more week to go.

Oh no, wish I were. I'm here with my cat while she's going through radiation, and bob is holding down the fort back home. I was lucky to find a furnished studio cottage. Lot less room than I'd have in a hotel, but more options for meal prep and for a lot less money.

Oh golly, I wish your kitty the best of luck, that is a tough ordeal you and Tammy Faye have been through. Sorry you have another round of radiation.

Thanks for the sympathy! It has been just one round of radiation, but it is a long round made up of many short sessions. One more week to go.

Hang in there! Thinking of you throughout the ordeal. Enjoy your Chinese takeout!
I've found an awesome Vietnamese takeout restaurant near us and a nice bowl of Pho has become my go-to dinner on Len's hockey nights. Love it!

Heinz are you a professional chef? Your dishes are always so beautiful and look absolutely delicious!

[Jenise]

Hang in there! Thinking of you throughout the ordeal. Enjoy your Chinese takeout!
I've found an awesome Vietnamese takeout restaurant near us and a nice bowl of Pho has become my go-to dinner on Len's hockey nights. Love it!

Pho is one of my favorite things, too. There IS one pho place in town, too, which I walked by last night (I'd already eaten) and saw a number of Asian clients in which is a good sign. Was initially worried, since its Pho/Teriyaki. But come to think of it, there's a lot of combo restos here, a Korean BBQ/Sushi and all the Italian restaurants serve some Greek pastas. Guess its too small a town to be too specialized.

Jenise, are you and kitty in Davis, CA