scottmcl

Thanks to all on the suggestions and comments. I live in Woodley Park, so I really need to motivate and check out the Asian grocery stores in VA. From what I've read here, I'm sure to find many other yummy treasures there. Wow, I've never thought that fennel bulb was a specialty item - all the grocery stores nearby carry it. It's quite tasty and just a root vegetable, IIRC. If it is some "luxury" item, we've got a real problem here in the USA. Man cannot live on just potatoes + tomatoes + carrots + broccoli + onions + ice berg lettuce! (not exhaustive, I know) Now that i think of it, I've also been really po'd that shallots and leeks seem to carry an unreasonable premium over other types of onion - they're yummy, essential for many dishes (like shallots in a simple deglaze pan sauce) and in the end just vegetables eaten all over the world. I've even read that the ancient Vikings grew leeks in the unforgiving Scandinavian soil. Oh well, maybe my son will be able to make tasty food at a reasonable price when he grows up

I bought two large fennel bulbs yesterday - cost me over $7 !!!!! I intend to use them in a oven slow braised (sweet spice rub, wine, stock, capers, herbs, mirepoix, dried cherries, etc.) largish pork shoulder. The big pork shoulder itself only cost about $11 !!! So the total vege/herbs/wine/etc. "condiment" component of the dish is going to DWARF the protein component of the dish? Wasn't this the other way around once upon a time? What's going on with produce prices? What the hell gives? Scott

Yesterday I made a tasty apple juice reduction to baste/glaze a roast chicken (bottle of juice, 2 chopped granny smiths, 1/2 lemon sliced, ~1-2 tbsp cider vinegar, 1/2 cinnamon stick, 4 cloves, 1 tsp corn starch). Came out lovely - the sauce and the chicken - but it took hours and hours to oh so slowly reduce the sauce to about 3/4 cups once strained. Hence my question. Can I make larger batches of juice reduction sauces or fruit gastriques and then freeze them for later use? This sure would make using these types of sauces in everyday cooking a lot easier. Scott

Great reply. Thanks! But what would my college grad use to boil up 1/2 to 1 pounds of pasta? I have a 4 qt. sauce pan, but I thinks it small for a pound of pasta. Thanks! Scott

Thanks for everyone's responses! I'd like to add a few variables or alternatives to consider. First, what about a large saute pan with high sides and a cover. Oven safe. Good for a tomato sauce, or stove-top to oven roasting or braising of small cuts of meat (say, chicken thighs). If the large iron skillet had a cover, might this be a suitable substitute for such a saute pan? Second, I'd like to put in a vote for some kind of Le Creuset style dutch oven. Again, stove top to oven, and good for old pot roast and like dishes. Third, what about a slotted spoon? I find I use mine frequently. Finally, what about a classic 13x9 bacing dish? Gratin dishes come to mind, but also roasting potatoes, other veges, small chickens and other fowl. I've shattered 2 pyrex dishes like this, and am currently unhappy with my (admittedly cheap) non-stick version. I find if I place it on a stack of 2 baking sheets it does the trick (no bottom burn). Again, any and all feedback appreciated. Thanks! Scott

So what is "minimal essential" (to use an engineering phrase) cookware for a new college graduate just starting to "nest" on their own? Pots & pans, casseroles, baking sheets, knives, spoons and spatulas, colanders, graters, thermometers, etc.? Any and all feedback appreciated. Scott

Of late, I've become an unabashed bargain hunter. I enlarge my All Clad LTD set slowly with 2nds from Cookware and More. I buy cookbooks from Bookcloseouts.com when possible. I recently needed a large sautee pan with cover (stove top to oven and back) and sprang for a modest $60 Cuisinart on sale at Macy's with a thick aluminum bottom (perfect for this sort of pan). You get the idea. Well, after ruining my best chefs knife (German, gift of 15 years ago) by using it as a makeshift cleaver (broke the steel), I started researching the oodles of chef's knives and cleavers out in the marketplace. The ATK *very* positive review of the Forschner Victorinox knives definitely caught my bargain hunting eye. Amazon reviews were glowing as well. From Amazon, I ordered a 8" chefs knife, a pairing knife and a 7 inch cleaver, along with a few knife guards for storage. Haven't tried to cleaver yet, but these knives are both comfortable and sharp right out of the box. A simple honing with a sharpening stick brings them right back to true. They are lighter than my aforementioned broken knife, but I'm a big guy - my leverage and weight more than compensates for a slightly lighter knife. The handles are as non-slip as I can imagine. Definitely worth a purchase. Even if you hate them (you won't), then just save them for backup or for added hands in the kitchen. At this quality/price ratio, it's very hard to go wrong. Scott

Last night was 1 pot red curry pork w/eggplant and onions bachelors meal (2 pots if you include the rice). Sautee some sliced onions; remove. Sautee seasoned (pepper/salt) sliced pork loin; remove. Sautee chopped eggplant adding more oil as required. Deglaze pan with a little white wine. Add onions and pork back to pan. Add coconut milk, Thai red curry paste, fish sauce and sugar. Bring to low simmer. Add a fresh chopped tomato and basil and cilantro. Season to taste. Serve over jasmine rice. EZ and yummy. Scott

As with Thanksgiving, I was again preparing a small feast for my son, his mother and me. I cooked a few nice brined and pomegranate glazed ducks to send to my relatives in Upstate NY (a tradition), but by then I was sick of birds. So I decided to prepare an Italian inspired Christmas feast this year with a lovely pastry wrapped pork loin as the centerpiece. Here's the menu for this year. * curry/cumin/chile powder/sugar spiced almonds * zucchini/carrot/red onion/ginger/lemon zest/serrrano pickles * roasted squash/onion/hazelnut/nutmeg/cream soup * penne/fennel/sweet red pepper/shallot/garlic/oregano/pepper flakes/tarragon /wine/stock/tart goat cheese/cream/fresh tomato/aged parmesan * rosemary rubbed, prosciutto wrapped pork loin/olive+anchovy tapenade/puff pastry * spinach/garlic/shitake + button mushrooms sauteed in duck fat * traditional Christmas sugar cookies with icing The soup was a big hit. My 15 month old son seemed to enjoy a sampling of every dish excepting the spinach (although my personal favorite). He even liked the somewhat spicy pickles, favoring the red onions! His mother bitched about having to diet for a month, but seemed to eat her fair share :-) A good time was had by all. I just like seeing my son eat my food :-) A very merry Christmas indeed. Scott

Last night was pasta, tomato sauce with lots of spinach and homemade ground turkey meatballs - a bit of fridge cleaning: celery, leeks, garlic, fresh oregano and parsley and a little sage, a few green onions, pecorino romano, bread crumbs, an egg, salt/pepper, etc. Baked 'em this time around, but I think I prefer them sauteed in olive oil. Still yummy

Thanks for the suggestions. I have a 7 quart Lodge enamel dutch oven, so I guess that might do the trick. Will the enameled cast iron stand up to the heat of the oil? A smaller (volume and diameter) (non-enameled) cast iron dutch oven might be better for me, as I usually cook for only 1 or 2 folks. I'm not a gadget head in the kitchen, but an electric dedicated fryer also seems appealing somehow. Thanks again. Scott

I'm interested in trying deep frying - fritters, maybe chicken, etc. What is the best stove top mechanism? I'm predisposed toward cast iron, but what shape and size of pan? Or are there better options. Any and all suggestions welcome. Scott

My sleep schedule is all whacked out, so I made another dinner around 6:00 AM! I made a tasty Thai red curry turkey with eggplant. 1/2 a large onion sliced, 1/2 a large eggplant cubed, a minced serano chile (seeds and all), some turkey broth to deglaze the pan after cooking the veges, two cans of coconut milk, 4 tbsp or so of fish sauce, a small jar of Thai red curry paste, all the leftover turkey I had in the fridge (glad to be rid of that), fresh basil and parsley (unfortunately no fresh cilantro). Serve over some fragrant jasmine rice and voila - a nice (very) early morning dinner Scott

Sort of a clean-out-the-fridge salad. Fried a pile of lardons until crispy and plenty of pork fat rendered. Fried up some croutons in the fat, and then fried a ton of sliced mushrooms with parsley and basil. Lay down some lettuce, seedless cucumber and a roma tomato. Pile on some left over turkey meat, the croutons, the shrooms and the crispy lardons. Surprisingly scrumptious - miracle of pork fat, I suppose Scott

I had turkey leftovers for lunch, which threw me into a 4 hour nap :-) So my late night dinner tonight was baguette rounds, egg salad with sour cream, mayo and fresh chives and caviar on top. Salty, yummy and just what the doc ordered (NOT!). Scott