Ilaine

We would like to ring in the New Year with raw oysters at home. I see that Rappahannock River Oysters ships fresh oysters via Fedex overnight, but my husband has asked me to source Raspberry Points, which grow off the coast of Prince Edward Island, available via Marx Foods and Farm-2-Market. Has anybody ordered oysters online? Which vendors have you used? Were you satisfied by the results?

Latkes fried in goose fat are marvellous things. Used the video recipe from America's Test Kitchen, which is somewhat different than the written version that accompanies the video. It has an excellent premise, squeeze the liquid out of the shredded potatoes and onion into a big bowl or measuring cup, heat the mixture in the microwave to change the structure of the starch, pour off the water on top of the accumulated starch (we squeezed into a two quart pyrex measuring cup), incorporate the potato starch into the mixture rather than something like matzo meal, add eggs, fry at 350. I determined that the recipe has a flaw. Nuking the mixture caused the potatoes to release more liquid, which should have been squeezed out after nuking it. My body builder son squeezed the first time, and they were plenty dry, but after I incorporated the eggs and the starch, the mixture was very runny. I put it in a colander and squeezed some more, and still had to squeeze every individual latke before frying. I grabbed a small handful, squeezed it by hand, shaped it and fried them in hot goose fat. I used the induction cooktop I bought from Dr. Xmas, because it is very good at maintaining a set temperature. I selected the very deep cast iron pan designed for frying chicken because I thought that would hold the heat best. I did not wait long enough for the entire pan to heat up, but eventually the heat was even and the latkes cooked evenly. Even so, I found I could only fry three at a time in the very center of the pan, and only by making them smallish, less than three inches across. Next time I will use a shallow cast iron frying pan, probably the ten incher, because that is less metal to keep hot. We don't own an electric fry pan, which, as I understand it, is ideal for making large batches of latkes. It would be a unitasker for us. The latkes were, indeed, crisp, and, thanks to the goose fat, transcendent, if I may say so myself. The texture from using a box grater was, in my opinion, superior to that when using the food processor. Bodybuilder son did the grating but I would do it myself rather than use the food processor again. The goose fat came from steaming a 12 pound goose the night before Christmas, which rendered out almost a quart of beautiful goose fat. The goose, roasted the next day, only rendered between a quarter inch and a half inch of fat. We are saving that separately.

Edit: I am moving this post to Shopping and Cooking.

First attempt. Tried Ruhlman's method. Should have listened to Dean. Probably put in too much water. Forgot to chop up the skin before it started rendering. Took it out, chopped it up, put it back. Did it on single burner induction cooktop in a big cast iron chicken fryer. Probably added the onions too soon. Kept the temp at 210. Not much going on. Bumped to 250. Started having dark brown bits in with rawish skin, started to stick. Poured off schmaltz, about a cup of lovely gold fat with undercooked onion taste. Transferred skin and onion to Calphalon skillet on electric stovetop, put a chair next to the stove, stirred and watched it like a hawk. Eventually decided that there were always be undercooked bits if the rest of it wasn't going to be burned. I could try crisping further in the oven, but afraid that paper towels will burn, and parchment paper won't absorb fat. At any rate, while I tasted enough that I don't want dinner, I am not having the mwahaha effect. Of course, I have no idea how they should taste. But I do have schmaltz. Edit: son's girlfriend really likes the gribenes.

Hersch, the boxes contain Panni potato dumplings. My brother-in-law enthusiastically described how before they started using this, his Omma would have to spend hours and hours grating fresh potatos, and this was so much easier and just as good. Me thinks not. Anyway, getting off early today, 1:00 p.m., Christmas eve. Going home to finally make a batch of schmaltz with gribenes, and steam the goose. Found a Julia Child recipe where you put the goose in a rack after pricking the skin all over, pour an inch of water in the pan and cover it all with foil and steam the goose for an hour. Pour off the water and fat into a heat proof container so you can separate the fat and save it, put the goose uncovered in the fridge overnight so the skin will dry out, and roast Christmas day. We are having goose, the dubious dumplings, authentic latkes, and some version of red cabbage. Haven't figured out the red cabbage yet. Some red wine, some onions, some red sauerkraut, maybe juniper berries. Feeling very fortunate, a co-worker gifted me this morning with a ham bone with meat on it! They got tired of ham and he doesn't know what to do with the bone. This will make ham broth for pois pigeon (Hopping John) for New Year's Day. I told him he should use it for ham broth and he rolled his eyes at me, so I asked him to give it to me, and he did! Glee! First edit, phase one. Goose pricked and steamed, no rude comments please, now resting on baking sheet in fridge, drying overnight. Rendered out about a quart of goose fat just by this. No wonder when we roasted goose before, it looked like a fat bomb went off in the oven!

Haven't made it yet but yesterday spent a long time researching recipes. Came across one that looked interesting, did not use water but calls for pouring off the fat as soon as it renders, then browning just the skin and onions. Many of the recipes don't call for using water, but the Ruhlman method does. Now I am wondering, why water? And would pouring off the fat early obviate whatever problem the water is meant to prevent.

Three of us went there last night. Waiter handed us three American menus and one Chinese menu. I asked for a couple more Chinese menus. My husband and I ordered from the Chinese menu, brother-in-law from the American menu. When we came in, the tables were mostly full, and we were the only non-Asians in the room, which I thought was a good sign. The decor is somewhat formal, red walls, tall carved murals, crystal chandeliers, heavy carved wooden chairs, white tablecloths. I ordered the Mao braised pork, Chinese cabbage, bitter melon, and from the American menu, hot an sour soup. Husband ordered cumin lamb, brother-in-law, twice cooked pork. I was tempted by some of the more adventurous items, such as pigs blood, but wanted to stick with the basics. The Mao pork was the best version I've had in a restaurant, although I like the way I cook it at home, from Fuchsia Dunlop, better. My husband said the cumin lamb was not very spicy. Well, it's Hunan, not Sichuan! I really liked the bitter melon, tender and garlicky and gingery. Bitter melon is a dish you better really like bitter to eat. I would have used more fermented black beans. We will go back, and I want to eat more adventurously there, but I am thinking that the main virtue is that it's probably the best restaurant in close driving range to home, which is, unfortunately, faint praise. Towards the end a couple of tables filled up with Anglos, but they must have lived nearby because they only ordered from the American menu. The Chinese menu is translated in very good English, only a couple of typos, and almost everything has a photograph of the dish. I want to try some of the special order "nourishing diet" dishes, which appear to be medicinal soups, probably the steamed chicken with red dates, longan and tremella, or maybe steamed baby pigeon with ginseng, but probably not the ginseng pizzle soup. The wait staff was swift and competent, and the waiter brought a printed paper summary of our order for our review before submitting it. The food came quickly, empty dishes were taken away quickly, water glasses were refilled. Oh, right, water. No beer!

For Christmas, sort of German style: Christmas eve, cold cuts from the German Gourmet. Christmas day, Roast goose Dumplings Red cabbage and sauerkraut Latkes fried in schmaltz Chopped chicken liver with gribenes (will also try the goose liver and maybe the turkey liver left over from Thanksgiving) Russian rye bread, 100% rye and approximately the density of plutonium My mother-in-law was from Lauf, Germany, near Bavaria. She and her mother immigrated to the US after she met my father-in-law working at AFN, Munich. Her mother always used a German mix for dumplings. Brother-in-law loves them. When we decided to roast a goose for Christmas my husband went to the German Gourmet and happily picked up a couple of boxes of dumpling mix. I am sure they will taste ghastly to me, but that's not the point. The two men will play German music after dinner and watch old family movies and become sentimental and weepy. I will play on my iPad and remain detached and amused. Hey, it's Christmas! It's that time of year.

Goose. Going to cook a goose for Christmas. Never cooked one before.

Zora, please tell your friend, Laura, that, IMHO. the best natural remedy for SAD (seasonal affective disorder) is SAD lights. I use a Philips goLITE. keep it on my computer desk at work, turn it on which I sit down in the morning and keep punching the button every time I notice it went out until about noon. I actually use it year round. Helps a lot with mood.

Last Sunday, sweetbreads. One heart sweetbread from Fields of Athenry, half a pound total weight, at $6.99 a pound it cost $3.50. Never made sweetbreads before, so spent a long time researching preparation. Soaked for hours in cold salted water in the refrigerator, changing the water several times. Lightly poached in salted water with a Meyer lemon squeezed in, not that it needed Meyer but that was what we had. Cool until able to handle it, then remove membrane and extraneous matter. Julia Child says that removing the membrane is "quite time consuming." Darlin', if JULIA thinks it's time consuming, yours truly thought it was maddening. But, it's Sunday, and I don't have anything better to do. Put resulting pieces on a pile of paper towels stacked on a plate, cover with more paper towels, another plate, weight with a #2 can, someone said. #2 can is 20 ounces, approximated with three cans of tuna. Chill. Salt. Pepper. Dip in gluten free flour, then egg wash, then gluten free panko. Saute in butter. Put on paper towels, squeeze more Meyer lemon juice into the now browned butter, add capers. Plate, top with pan sauce. Actually, quite good. I think gluten free breadcrumbs would be better than panko, but my husband liked the panko. Would I make them again? Hmmm. Maybe. I did like them, a lot, and doubt I can find anybody else willing to use gluten free breading, but taking off the membranes was TEDIOUS. I used Joyce Chen scissors, which snip at the tip, not the base, and a crab knife, and it probably took me half an hour.

Bought it! Only $2.99 on Kindle. Been stuck in a chair with my iPad for 11 weeks since foot surgery, 3 weeks to go, and desperate for readng material. Looks like just the type of thing that would amuse me over the course of an evening or two.

Splendid Table article suggested to try a kosher butcher. I called Shalom Market, in Wheaton, and they saved some for me. When I picked it up, the man who got it for me, I think the manager, acted surprised that the butcher was giving it to me no charge and seemed to question him, so I wouldn't expect to get it no charge again, but who knows? Far more than I was expecting, the pack was at least a food long, eight inches wide, and stacked high. Since it was Sunday night (we also made a Penzey's run since we were sort of in the neighborhood) when we got home, split the pile in half and froze both. Will make one batch Saturday, then use the gribenes for chopped chicken liver and the schmaltz for latkes. Yeah, Hannukah is tomorrow, but we're not Jewish. One of the guys who works with me is Jewish, when I told him of my projects he was horrified by the idea of all that artery-clogging fat. I sent him some of the recent medical journal articls debunking the artery-clogging myth, but he continues to shake his head in horror. I will bring him a latke anyway. Bet he won't turn it down. Yeah, when I first started eating saturated fat again, I was afraid that I was going to go to cardiovascular hell, but all my lipid markers improved. Husband's, too. Go figure.

Where can I buy chicken skin? Recipes recommend removing skin from chickens you buy, but I prefer to cook chicken with the skin on. Recipes also suggest asking your butcher to save you some. I emailed Fields of Athenry but was told that they do not have extra skin, I assume because they use it in their chicken broth. Hankering for latkes fried in schmaltz. BTW, Michael Ruhlman's book, Schmaltz, isn't available in Kindle format. He sells an iPad app, which I dowloaded. It crashes every time I try to open it. Grrrrr. Don't know how I will get a refund.

Zora, amazing! The Pacific Foods website says you can buy their bone broth at Safeway, Giant and Harris Teeter! I wonder if that's Paciific Foods in general, or bone broth in particular? I wouldn't mind trying it to compare. Hillvalley, I think it tastes good once you add some salt to it. Cook it without salt because it concentrates down. I add sea salt, tamari or miso.

Hillvalley, the type of bone broth I am describing and making may not be suitable as a flavor builder in a regular recipe. The long cooking time makes it taste intense. The vinegar ratio is one tablespoon per quart of water so it's not very sour, but it cooks for a long time (24 hours or more) and has a lot of minerals. I mostly just drink a mug of it a day, with a little tamari. We do sometimes use it for cooking but something with a strong flavor like beef stew. It's really medicine for your bones and your skin. Minerals, collagen, glycine.

Matt, I am in, as long as it is accessible. Walking in a cast using a cane. Most modern places in Fairfax are accessible. It's not very far from my house. I like that the Chinese menu is in English, with photographs of the dishes. Whoever wrote the menu has an excellent command of English. As Tyler Cowen says, the best ethnic food is in strip malls. Go as soon as they open, before they realize how much money they are losing by using the best ingredients and dumb it all down. Unfortunately, that area in Fairfax is Where Restaurants Go to Die.

I like the term "foodie" - a term which encompasses gourmets, gourmands, conscious eaters, those who eat for fun, and everybody in between. Looking for stocking stuffers for sons and their girlfriends. #1 son and girlfriend are moving in together. Girlfriend has had her own apartment for years, son had his own apartment for a while and has been living with us. They have the basics, although maybe not really good kitchen knives. #1 son just realized he likes parmesan. He never would eat parmigiano reggiano, I never knew why. Turns out he assumed it tastes like the stuff in the little green cans, although I have never had a little green can in my house. Think I will give girlfriend a Microplane grater, not sure what else. Maybe tuck a block of well wrapped parmesan in his stocking. But would like more suggestions. What is a very good kitchen knife as a starter knife? What other little gadgets do you think are nice and also useful? #2 son loves freshly roasted Kona coffee. His girlfriend is giving him a drip press for Christmas. Are there any good coffee roasters around here? Any local chocolate makers?

I like eggs scrambled in a little of the bacon grease left over after pan frying bacon. I like them scrambled with butter. I like them scrambled with excellent olive oil. Just depends on my mood. Fried eggs I'd rather fry in bacon grease, all the grease left over after pan frying several slices of bacon, like, say, six slices of bacon. Rather have these over easy than sunny side up, but for sunny side up, definitely baste the top with the hot fat. Basting in this case meaning spoon hot fat over the thicker circle of white around the yoke to get it to cook as fast as the thinner outer ring.

There was the annual turkey disaster this year but it really wasn't so bad. Heritage bird from Whole Foods, picked up Monday, dry-brined using LA Times recipe (I laugh at language cops, so don't snark about dry brining). Followed a new recipe from Serious Eats, put a baking stone on the oven shelf, preheat oven at 500 for an hour, put the turkey in the pan directly on the baking stone, use a RIMMED BAKING SHEET, NOT a roasting pan, and a v-shaped rack, turn the oven down to 300 and guess when it's going to be ready, with all those variables. The beauty of the method was, unfortunately, undercut by the instruction to cook until the breast was 150 and the legs 165. Done, and done, and it made a beautiful presentation, but it was still a little bloody. So after everybody oohed and aaahed had to put it back in the oven and wonder some more. When it was done, it was exceptional. Very moist, meat dense and more turkey tasting than ever before, in a good way. The skin was delectable, even days later. I rubbed half a stick of butter under the breast skin and brushed the whole thing with melted ghee and Bell's poultry seasoning. Did not need to baste it. The big success was something I could not find a recipe for anywhere, so I winged it. Wild rice dressing made like bread dressing, eggs and all. While the rice is cooking, cut up and saute all the veggies in butter. I used 2 bell peppers, three bunches green onion, one large yellow onion, enough celery to equal the volume of the above, one bunch flat leaf parsley, stems removed, leaves chopped. Salt, pepper, about half a box of Bell's poultry seasoning, three eggs. Cup and a half chopped toasted pecans. Smooth it in the pan, pour melted butter on top. Don't need broth, the rice is moist. Cover with foil, bake at 350 for half an hour, then remove and bake until done. I tested it by tapping on top, and removed when it felt firm. A big hit. Gluten free bread always comes out gummy. This is the first dressing I actually liked since giving up wheat. We always have both roast beef and turkey, and make both beef gravy and turkey gravy. If you don't like giblets or neck meat in your gravy, have beef. The dry aged bone-in rib roast from the Fair Lakes Whole Foods was well worth $22.99 a pound. Have the butcher cut it from the bone and tie it back on. Cooks better that way, tastes better that way, to serve cut the strings and carve, boneless.

Barrate beurre? Where would one find that? i am a big fan of fermented/cultured butter but that's hard to find, too. Edited to add, actually I think I would like to make my own cultured butter. Melissa Clark had a column on that in the New York Times. I also saw something on making butter just a day or two ago on one of the food sites I've been reading, can't remember if it's Serious Eats, Food52, Ideas in Food or what. Clark cultured her butter with yogurt but I think I'd use creme fraiche. She also washed the butter by hand but the other site directs you to wash it with water in the food processor. Anybody tried either of these methods?

Progress report. Peppers ground down yielded about 12 ounces. I am still in a wheelchair, so husband did it. He used the Cuisinart and they are chunkier than I would have done. I watched a Discovery channel video on the Tabasco plant first. They use 10% salt by weight. We used 8%. After a few days, no visible fermentation, so he poured in enough liquid from an old jar of Bubbies lacto fermented pickles to cover the peppers. Three days later, still not much going on, so he's pouring in more sauerkraut juice from a newer jar of red cabbage and beet sauerkraut. At least it's not rotting. Maybe too much salt, maybe kitchen too cold. House is about 67 degrees at night, 64 during the day. Considering grinding it all to a slurry in the Vitamix. Bought some jar tops with air locks, but not sure whether to use one.

You have inspired me to make my own, or, more accurately, coach my husband into making his own. Yesterday I did some googling, and, while the recipe you used was toward the top of the search results, I was more interested in the ones that have a result close to Tabasco. Pick, wash, destem peppers. Weigh. Add 2% non-iodized salt by weight. Grind. Pour into a sterile canning jar. Cover the top with cheesecloth, Ferment. Eventually, you do something else, but that is as far as I got. I vaguely remember visiting the Tabasco plant and going on the grand tour of the operation on Avery Island years ago, but I became ill (not related) and we cut it short. I was hoping we could try half the batch with just salt and half the batch with some liquid from lacto-fermented sauerkraut as a starter, as well as the salt, but many of the peppers had gone bad on the bush so not all that much volume.

Once upon a time, on other sites, I would use handles. Decided to use my real name as a way of keeping myself in line. Surprising how it restrains me when I am drunk and/or irate, knowing that I can't hide behind a handle. I no longer engage in flame wars. As Well, an online community has it, we own our words.

Reporting back on Fields of Athenry. I put in an order on October 23, and my husband drove us there the next Saturday to pick it up. Turns out that the order needs to be made on Monday for a Saturday pickup, but they had most of what I wanted on hand. Bought chicken necks, backs and feet, one pigs foot, beef marrow bones and knuckle bones, all for bone broth. Also hamburger meat, steaks, and chicken thighs to eat. Husband made two crockpots of bone broth, both with the same amount of chicken necks and backs, one with chicken feet and one with pigs foot. Both very tasty, but the one with the pigs foot was a little tastier. He also baked the chicken thighs on a bed of sliced onions, sliced lemons, and peeled whole garlic, drizzled with olive oil. We make this dish often. This meat was superior in flavor and texture to any others we've used, rich in chickeny goodness. The pigs foot was interesting. I was expecting just the bony end of the peg, but this had maybe eight inches of the limb, as well. Would not fit in the crockpot so husband cut the foot off with a hacksaw and put the rest back in a freezer. The shop is in the farmhouse, around the back, on the right side. There are multiple coolers and freezers with meat, broth, prepared food, butter, eggs, and more. They sell local wine, by the bottle, and by the glass. You can sit on the patio and drink wine and eat cheese but it's not really a restaurant. Although they say they are in Purcellville, it's actually midway between Aldie, on Route 50, and Purcellville on the Snickersville Turnpike. Route 50 was the shortest route for us, but the traffic was so bad on 50 on Saturday that next time we will try the Greenway. It is worth the trip.