Weekly Cooking (and related issues) Thread

[Yaelle]

My big kids do that, forget the covers and just sleep in the duvet. And yes you can launder your duvet normally. Stay away from commercial softeners and dryer sheets (always because they are toxic and enter your bloodstream through the skin), and know that the wet duvet may smell like a wet duck, and will take 3-4 rounds in the dryer to get fully dry. But there is no reason to dry clean them. They wash well. And smell fresh when dry.

[Yaelle]

Every Christmas time I miss being in Zurich. That is one city that looks beautiful at Christmas. Bahnhofstrasse, Kerzenziehen... all the special foods.

It is on my bucket list to see NYC at Christmas. I’d so love to.

[Yaelle]

Sigh... I worked all kinds of departments in a hotel kitchen, was planning on going to cooking school, but married a chef instead. Dang. ;)

[Yaelle]

Wow! What a story!

[Yaelle]

(Glad frog legs aren’t kosher)

[Yaelle]

Oh, flunking is nicer than what your future boss will do. Yell and humiliate you in at least two languages! Flunking is easier! ;)

[Liz]

In Leslie Caron’s memoir she tells the story of running out of bottled mayo for a glitzy Hollywood party.

Her maid panicked. But Leslie was cool as a cucumber....

She quickly made a batch of homemade mayo all by herself, remonstrating the maid that it is the easiest thing to make.

Seems French housewives make their own mayo all the time.

[miss marmelstein]

Oh, the sous chefs at school are vicious. Absolutely vicious. I have no plans on working in kitchens. I’m doing this for myself - and perhaps to earn my culinary certificate.

[miss marmelstein]

It’s not difficult; it just takes a lot of time and patience. The French generally get good training in their mother’s kitchens.

[miss marmelstein]

Last night was the lighting of the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center. This year, it was practically a monsoon!

[Liz]

Oh, go eat some Potage Chamonix, truffled Perigourdine sauce over chestnut-stuffed Napoleon Brandy-basted wild pheasant, and some Coeur ala Crème smothered in sugared fraises...... please.

[Liz]

The pols dined on J/G'S garlic soup with frog legs and scallops (ABOVE). For the main course, Trump devoured the prime sirloin while Romney ate lamb chops. For dessert they indulged in J/G's famous molten chocolate cake.Since both the real estate mogul and the former governor do not drink, they both had water.

Here's a nice Food and wine variation----garlic soup w/ scallops.... w/ a nod to JT.

Heat the olive oil. Add the coarsely chopped garlic and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the thyme and stock and bring to a boil. Simmer over low heat until the garlic is very soft, about 30 minutes. Strain the broth into a heatproof bowl and wipe out the saucepan. Return the broth to the saucepan, season with salt and cayenne and keep warm. (can do to here ahead)

Season the scallops with salt and cayenne and dust them with flour. In a large skillet, melt the butter. When the foam subsides, add the scallops and cook over moderately high heat, turning once, until browned and cooked through, about 6 minutes. Add the parsley, minced garlic and lemon juice to the skillet and shake to coat the scallops. Set 3 scallops in each of 4 shallow soup plates.

FINAL Return the broth to a boil. In a small bowl, whisk the egg with the vinegar; whisk the egg into the broth, whisking constantly. Spoon the broth around the scallops and serve right away.

ING Ingredients 1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 3 heads of garlic, cloves peeled and coarsely chopped, plus 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic 6 thyme sprigs 4 cups chicken stock or low-sodium broth Salt and cayenne pepper 12 sea scallops (about 1 1/4 pounds) All-purpose flour, for dusting 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 1 large egg 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

[miss marmelstein]

I thought I saw a wine bucket behind Trump. Maybe for Reince?!

I told my brother (back in NYC after 40 years in LA) that he shouldn’t be ordering bottled water in restaurants in NYC - it was considered gauche because our water is excellent. I’m not sure it registered.

[Liz]

Oops ...shoulda pinged you to post 132 garlic soup recipe.......

[Liz]

J/G’s prolly has those buckets all around the place.....though I didn’t see bottled water....maybe J/G decantered it for them.

[kalee]

As a young bride I taught myself to cook with a copy of The Joy of Cooking. I wore that book out, pages were falling out, the spine was broken in numerous places, and it had burn marks on the back where I accidently laid it on a still hot electric stove. After my husband’s grandmother passed away I inherited her pristine copy. Her’s had a clear plastic cover over the dust jacket. I don’t think she ever used the book.

Judging from the condition of her cookbooks, Helen Corbit of Neiman Marcus was the most used.

[Jamestown1630]

Running a restaurant seems very daunting; I think I read that most fail within a year or so.

I don’t see any alternative to starting at the bottom - washing dishes! - and moving up, learning every aspect, to have hope of success some day.

[Jamestown1630]

I have two different editions, always hunting for more in the thrift store because they change it every time a new edition is published. I’ve used it mostly for very basic things.

The turkey casserole was served by a friend many years ago on the Saturday after Thanksgiving; so of course I eventually had to have the edition in which that recipe appeared ;-)

[miss marmelstein]

That's how it's done! Although if you graduate first in your class from the CIA, I imagine you get a nice interview at top restaurants. I suspect when people are chagrined that I'm learning to make mayo and roux, they think culinary school is just a two year version of a cooking class taught by Marcella Hazen. In fact, it's a working class environment and most of the time I'm washing dishes - those kids always hand off that work to me somehow (because I'm diligent) and I'm reluctant to complain about it.

[miss marmelstein]

Joy of Cooking is the best! I have the infamous 1997 version that no one liked. If I had known it was going to become a cult object, I wouldn’t have messed it up!