Anna Blume

Kishka? Does Jamie make it?

^Ymmm! After finding Montasio Medio at the WFM at Friendship Heights, frico w leftover spare rib/smothered cabbage dish, sage, parsley and both pink-fleshed (Quaker Valley Farm & Orchard--so pretty) and one white potato. Bed of watercress.

T.H., you know I love Marcella, too, right? Nonetheless, I wonder if you've ever tried preparing any more complex, nuanced recipes for ragu in Lynne Rossetto Kasper's The Splendid Table. They range from rustic to refined and are wonderful for lasagne.*********** Leftover carcass from a roasted chicken is in the freezer along w necks from Eco-Friendly, a raw carcass from Evensong and feet from both farms. Stock!

I suppose it's a matter of portion control since all those lessons would go directly to my waist were I at your table! Happy birthday, Fishinnards!

The company now has an app that instructs the team in the cheese department on the various qualities of cheese so they can, in turn, educate the public on what to expect. Very misleadingly, it turns out. For example, they were sampling a ribiola described accurately as "delicate" and "mild" on the identifying card. Because of the app from WFM, however, the descriptors on the card behind it said it is "extremely sharp" or words to that effect. Same goes for a Brie and Gorgonzola Dolce. I don't get it. Related but separate: When I used to shop at the Tenleytown, P St. and G'town stores, I could depend on team leaders who clearly had strong backgrounds in cheese. Not so in Silver Spring.

Mushroom ragu (funghi in umido) with whole milk added at end for slow cooking--sort of like what's done in making a pork stew w broken milk sauce, only the mushrooms soaked up all the creaminess, instead Tossed w pigtail-shaped dried pasta since not enough polenta at home Carrots wilted in butter w Parm Salad of cress and mixed lettuces w toasted walnuts, dried apples and yogurt-vinaigrette Leftover dessert Sources include Safeway, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Quaker Valley, Endless Summer, Our House at Sligo Creek, Toigo and Chicano del Sol.

Braised spare ribs finished in large pan of smothered cabbage w juniper berries, sage and garlic, served atop steamed rutabaga mashed w lots and lots of butter, flecked w wizened shards of mahogany-hued mushrooms and plenty of black pepper. All gold and brown, waiting for Bosc pear roasted till the summit of the fruit seizes just below the stem and wrinkles. Lacquered w nearly equal parts of red wine and sugar to consume mostly cooled w honey, the wine syrup and Parmesan stripped from a wedge w a potato peeler. Way too much wine syrup for just two pears. What should I do w leftovers?

^ I used Deborah Madison's recipe in Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, though the one on epicurious meets a lot of approval, too. Froze 6 individually wrapped balls of dough after the first rise, baking four loaves only. Each takes about 3 minutes. Trick is not to roll them out like cookies or pizzas, but use a gentler touch in thinning out flattened dough.

Something I've never baked before: perfectly poofed whole wheat pita bread, warm w homemade falafel, butternut/kabacha hummus, tahini-yogurt sauce and slivers of red onion.

Some of the most beautiful Brussels sprouts I have ever seen in my life were on sale at Farm at Sunnyside this Sunday, Dupont Circle. New variety for the farm manager. Tree and Leaf was selling the "greens" this weekend, too: the leaves from the top of the stalk.

Ruth Stone who invited a high-school Junior to join her graduate-school seminar, held Sunday nights at one of the many homes that American poets create in nomadic lives that, for her generation, lead inevitably to Vermont.

^Thanks for info since I've got two limes in the fridge w no plans for use at the moment. *************** Country paté that Pedro Matamoros makes for Evensong Farm, w pistachios and dried fruit Cornichons, mustard, red wine and bread Dorie Greenspan's Poutine Farci (link is to early version; final version is in Around My French Table, epicurious, etc.) which I made w cranberry-walnut bread and brioche, shallots, thyme, Taleggio, bacon and creamy, local whole milk whisked into creme fraiche. Highly recommend and easily adaptable as Thanksgiving main for vegetarians and Harry Potter fans. Green salad of Boston lettuce, radishes and grated carrot Pink Lady apple

^Sur La Table, too, but call location first. Let us know what you think of vanilla paste vs. using beans (another good source for small amounts of beans now and again: Marshall's or TJ Maxx). FWIW, the paste's available at KA Flour online.

^Gu(t)s, I never thought of freezing kaffir limes whole! Did you use just the peel, or...? And Zora, cool! ********** Weisswurst Turnip rosti w tesa (like sausage, from N. Mt. Pastures), rosemary and baby leeks Turnip greens sautéed w garlic Pink Lady apple

(No time to restore content that disappeared bizarrely during a revision.)

Food Drive today from 3 to 7 PM! Those of you who receive the FRESHFARM Market enewsletter know, but it bears repeating: non-perishable food will happily be accepted to augment the day's gleaning from farmers and producers. Food goes to the kitchen of ThriveDC, the organization that is the official gleaner of the market. Monetary donations will also be accepted to be used immediately at the market to buy fresh, seasonal foods for ThriveDC to collect. Hot apple cider should be on hand. José Andres and folk from nearby Jaleo also present to serve small plates (or tasting cups) of something warm and nourishing as a note of appreciation to donors.

Update while I am waiting for giblets, etc. to simmer sufficiently to transform them into gravy for mashed potatoes and leftover chicken; collards made w tesa vs. ham hocks on the side. Film career of the chef continues: Lars von Trier put him behind one of the cameras for "Melancholia".

Rosemary and Meyer lemon-stuffed chicken roasted atop a slab of cranberry-walnut bread, ultimately joined by cipollini, Romanesco broccoli florets and leaves, small head of garlic, carrots, slices of Gold Rush apples and sunchokes Chilled British-style rice pudding made w Carnaroli, Meyer zest and golden raisins

North Mountain Pasture's weisswurt Baked sweet potato w cultured butter Turnip greens and kale braised w onion and apple cider

Here's the Union Square Café version as mentioned in the other thread: Hashed Brussels Sprouts w Poppy Seeds.

MsDiP repeats what's written upthread and you'll find lots of useful information in earlier posts, too. I'll add that it's a shame Cowgirl Creamery was closed since they keep a glass pitcher full of delicious creme fraiche. Cf., too, my most recent request for advice and exchange w Zora in Kitchen 911. I'm not going to bother w that link. I'll give you this from Food in Jars, a 21st-century refinement of the late 20th-century North American practice of mixing store-bought sour and heavy creams together. (The blog also provides simple instructions for turning one's results into cultured butter.)

Thanks, Zora. You are right. When I got home around 5 yesterday, the cream had thickened. Sure enough, the glass surface of the jars was a little cold despite the fact that the oven was on much of the day. Took one jar out of the fridge this morning to stir contents and taste. Amazing! Pale yellow. I plan to reserve a small portion as is because it's so good and will use smoked Maldon to lightly salt the rest. (Sometimes you gotta split infinitives. And write sentence fragments.)

So, I added 2 T of Vermont-Something-or-Other's creme fraiche to a pint of heavy cream from Clear Springs Creamery in one sterilized jar and 2 T of same to a cup of said cream. Cheesecloth around opening. Out on the kitchen counter, around 65 degrees, average. About 30 hours have lapsed. Not all that much thicker than before. Trying to make creme fraiche as first stage towards whirling up some cultured butter in my food processor. Okay, so how much longer do I wait for the magic to happen before I produce something that will kill me? Second, was I wrong to try to do this with [such a paltry amount of] creme fraiche instead of cultured buttermilk which I just didn't have around? N.B. I used to make my own yogurt. Did that for quite some time and never had to throw out a batch. Of course, when you make yogurt, you heat up the milk which was not the case in this process. I've frequently made a semblance of creme fraiche by stirring together 1:1 proportions of sour and heavy cream, but not for a while since we've come a long way from the days of Silver Palette. I seem to recall it all sometimes takes longer than planned. I'm really more interested in recommendations for this particular batch than anything else. Thanks!

Similar. Forgive source, but I had this once on a farm where the chard was just picked and it was one of the only times I really loved the (yellow vs. red-stemmed) chard: Ume Greens. You could omit dill if you think it wouldn't go w other flavors on the plate but the lightness of the dish is a refreshing break from everything else and having bought the plum vinegar just to recreate the dish, I find the macrobiotic staple delicious in salads, etc.

b. As a guest of omnivores last year, in the morning I put together a very large dish full of roasted Brussels sprouts that I tossed into a pan w caramelized red onion, a little garlic, perhaps, [diced and cooked separately, first] pancetta and ultimately, some cider. Brought it out to the countryside where it got reheated while the turkey rested. Just fine and received enthusiastically since what's old hat to us is novel to many. a. Don't need to bother w the chestnuts, really. They're a pain unless they are that rare, super fresh commodity like the ones I got from a local orchard a couple of weeks ago which peeled pretty quickly. You can find all sorts of chestnuts, though, that don't require shelling and I'd have to leave it to someone else here who could steer you in the direction of a reliable brand/source.