mktye

No self-respectin' Southerner uses instant grits.

Click (Hopefully this link works.)

But from a taste and texture standpoint, I wonder what would happen in a blind taste test.

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Mmmm, grits and bacon!

So, how do you like your grits: regular, creamy or al dente?

Just regular, I guess.

What is the difference between grits and polenta, other than the color?

Click.

Home made lentil soup

And that is what we ate for dinner last night.

(even the aggies were cheering for us)!

Next time, if you are as far north as Sherman Oaks, consider driving about a half an hour further up 101 to Thousand Oaks and going to Marcello Ristorante (140 W Hillcrest Dr., 805-371-4367) for their Ravioli de Zucca.

Anybody here ever make marshmallows?  They're sloppy but really fun, especially when serving to friends who didn't know home marshmallow making is possible.  I usually flavor them with vanilla, but recently had the idea of using rosewater or orange flower water.  Any thoughts?

There is an 11-page thread regarding homemade marshmallows on the eG Pastry and Baking forum (click) with extensive of discussion of various flavors. My favorite flavor is strawberry (using nightscotsman's recipe, found here in the thread).

Pralines.

Our new favorite Christmas dessert is destined to be the Bourbon Pecan Steamed Pudding mentioned by Barbara here. I did a test run in October and everyone loved it. I am pretty sure she'd share the recipe if you PM her.

Cookies.

That's my recipe except for the tablespoon of brown sugar.  Not sure how that got in there - maybe it's part of the online recipe and not the one in The Best Recipe?

Yes, it is from the online recipe. And I always wonder about that tablespoon of brown sugar. Does it really do all that much for the cookies? Unless I already have the brown sugar out and handy, I rarely add it.

I'm in search of a really, really good basic sugar cookie dough,

For plain cookies or rolled out and cut into decorative shapes?

My favorite plain sugar cookie recipe is the same one Heather used for the cookies she brought to the DR.com last picnic. Here is a copy:

SUGAR COOKIES

Makes 2 dozen cookies

It's better to use Land O'Lakes, or similar supermarket butter; Plugra and the like make the cookies too greasy.

2¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

¾ teaspoon table salt

16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened but still firm

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon light brown sugar

1 large egg

1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

large crystal sugar or granulated sugar, for rolling

Adjust the oven racks to the upper- and lower-middle positions and preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium a bowl and set aside.

In standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment or with hand mixer, beat butter, 1 cup granulated sugar and brown sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl with rubber spatula as needed. Add the egg and vanilla, beat at medium speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Add the flour mixture and beat at low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds, scraping down bowl as needed. Chill dough thoroughly.

Place sugar for rolling in shallow bowl. Fill medium bowl halfway with cold tap water. Dip hands in water and shake off excess (to keep dough from sticking to your hands and ensure that the sugar sticks to dough). Roll a heaping tablespoon of dough into a 1½-inch ball between moistened palms, roll ball in sugar, then place on prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, moistening hands after forming each ball and spacing balls about 2 inches apart on the prepared backing baking sheets (you should be able to fit 12 cookies on each sheet). Butter the bottom of a drinking glass; dip into remaining sugar and flatten dough balls with bottom of glass until dough is about ¾-inch thick.

Bake the cookies until they are golden brown around edges and just set and very lightly colored in center, 15 to 18 minutes, reversing position of cookie sheets from front to back and top to bottom halfway through baking time. Cool cookies on baking sheet about 3 minutes, transfer to a wire rack and cool to room temperature.

Recipe adapted from: recipe in Cook’s Illustrated magazine, November 2002

I just bought a Whole Foods bird last night.  Anyone have recommendations on a relatively low-maintenance but still effective brine recipe?  The one that Alton Brown suggests is a little too elaborate IMO.

A couple of simple brining recipes (one same-day, one overnight) I've used with success:

Brining Method 1: Place the turkey in a pot (or heavy plastic bag or clean bucket) large enough to hold it easily. Pour ~2 pounds kosher salt into the neck and body cavities and all over the turkey and rub it into the skin. Add cold water to cover the turkey, rubbing the bird and stirring the water until the salt dissolves. Set the pot with the turkey in a refrigerator or other cool location for 4 to 6 hours. Remove the turkey from the salt water and rinse both cavities and skin under cool running water for several minutes until all traces of the salt are gone. Pat the turkey dry with paper towels.

Brining Method 2: Dissolve 2 cups kosher or 1 cup table salt in 2 gallons water in large stockpot, heavy plastic bag or clean bucket. Put the turkey into the brine solution and refrigerate, or set in a very cool spot (between 32 and 40 degrees), 12 hours or overnight. Remove the turkey from the salt water and rinse both cavities and skin under cool running water for several minutes. Pat the turkey dry with paper towels.

Any recommendations for basic baking books?

For American style baking: "The Baker's Companion" from King Arthur Flour

For "fancy" desserts: "The Secrets of Baking" by Sherry Yard

I've found imported "00" flour at La Cuisine in Old Town Alexandria.

I'm in the camp that buys the standard bird...

I attend the same camp as crackers... especially when my voracious in-laws are all coming for dinner. But I do try to find "natural" and "minimally processed" birds that have not been injected with saline solution, since I like to brine my turkey (and then grill it ). And I usually buy a frozen bird because I am more confident it has remained frozen and not cycled in that frozen/not frozen/frozen/not frozen purgatory that some large grocery stores inflict upon their "fresh" turkeys.

However, due to a carefully negotiated agreement, the in-laws are taking a break from visiting this Thanksgiving and we will be having one of those small, intimate, civilized dinners, so perhaps I'll give one of the "fancy" birds a try.

This is my first post. 

Welcome NotQuickDraw! It was nice meeting you the other night and thank you for the capon idea, I had not realized they were that readily available.

there is a very logical reason for a woman by herself or a small group of women to not wish to be at the bar.  unfortunately there are too many predatory men in the world who view women at a bar as targets.  i am sure that women at a bar occasionally receive unwanted attention, and that is not something that i would want to interfere with my meal.  a quick wit and the aid of a good bartender can usually diffuse even the most boorish of advances, but still...

Thank you starfish!

When I traveled a lot for work, I would much rather sit by myself at a table for the exact reason outlined above. After dealing with yahoos all day long, all I wanted was a relaxing, quiet dinner without any more hassles.

Thanks everyone for your recommendations!!!

Based on a tip from a little birdie (a Salpinctes obsoletus), we are going to try Ceviche.

I just called Sergio's and was told there is a large party dining there Friday evening so they don't have room for us.

Is downtown SS too far?

Nope.

Before going to Hollywood Ballroom this Friday with a group from our dance class, eight of us plan to get together for dinner.

The dance place is ~4 miles outside the beltway, north on Rte. 29/Colesville Rd. and we would prefer to eat not too terribly far away from there. We're all pretty adventuresome when it comes to food, we'd like a restaurant where we can linger over dinner until 9:00 p.m. or so and, because we are going dancing, we will be a bit dressed up (the ladies in skirts & heels, the men in sportscoats).

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!!

Pictures!!!

A few of the dozen or so pieces of bread I consumed

Crab Florentine (left) & Curried Eggplant Purse (right)

Torchon of Artisan Foie Gras w/Autumn figs (top), Mishima Style Beef Tartare with capers and mustard oil (left), Escargot Bouche with wild tarragon (right)

My favorite of the evening... Scottish Langoustine Cassoulet with creamy grits, pickled ramps and baby vegetables

... ta dum!

Miso Marinated Sable with confit of spahetti squash and yuzu jus

Venison Loin and Wild Boar Rack with forest mushrooms, fingerlings and salsify

Ginger Pumpkin Soup with pistachio feulletine and floating meringues

Chocolate and Chestnuts, chocolate chestnut mousse and cognac sabayon with brandy caramel and chestnut tuile (and a truffle)

(Oops, I got so excited about the chestnut mousse that I forgot to take a picture! )

Banana Gerbet Macaroons, Chocolate Mints & Chocoate Spice Tarts

Grape Cotton Candy

The Waterfalls (as best as I could capture with the available light):

Candy, candy, candy! Specifically:

Pralines

Pistachio Brittle

5-Spice Cashew Brittle

Florentines

Caramels

Buttermints

Truffles

(And what is wrong with fruitcake?!? )

And what should I say when that somebody is a part of the couple and his very own lady is right next to him obviously grinding her teeth behind her tight smile?

Look past him, smile and say to her: "Don't men say the most juvenile things when they are feeling insecure?"

Well, I got the fruitcakes baked last Saturday. Since the recipe I'm using (which, unfortunately, I do not have permission to share ) is written for professional use, it makes a lot! I thought about scaling it back but decided that I'd rather have too much fruitcake than too little.

My mixer bowl was barely big enough to beat together all the butter, sugar and eggs. And my largest kitchen bowl just allowed for the incorporation of the dry ingredients into the batter. But to mix together the batter and the macerated fruit required the "big guns"... a 14 qt. stockpot.

The author of the recipe advised me to use clean hands to mix it all up. That was good advice. And fun! Maybe it was because I had been sampling too much of the boozy fruit before I started mixing, but sticking my arms, halfway to my elbows, in batter and fruit was a blast!

After washing all the batter off my hands, I managed to find enough suitably-sized pans to hold all the fruitcake batter and squeezed them all into my single oven. So now there twenty fruitcakes are sitting in containers, brushed with bourbon and aging. I've decided to follow my friend's recipe with no deviations this year, so I am not wrapping the loaves with cheesecloth, but just sprikling them lightly with bourbon as directed. I am still undecided on the whole marzipan/royal icing issue, but I have at least a month to figure out that aspect.

(And I did have to do some quality control testing on one of the less pretty loaves... not too bad, even without being aged! )

One I make is a bourbon/pecan pudding with a bourbon/pecan sauce that one friend described as being like "liquid pralines."

Barbara was kind enough to type out the recipe for this steamed pudding for me so I could make it last week. Her friend is right. It is delicious!

Have nominations for DonRockwell "Member of the Year" been opened yet?

Don't forget crackers, JG & hillvalley! It was definitely a collaborative effort and this recipe collection would not have been possible without them.