Foodies Unite!

[Janet]

I'm into collecting and reading cookbooks right now, too.  My favorites are the Moosewood cookbooks, especially the original.  I've also been making my way through old family cookbooks.  You got any favorites LucyLew?

My favorites right now (they do change!) are Sunday Suppers at Lucques by Suzanne Goin, The Zuni Cafe by Judy Rodgers and The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters.

I've recently gotten into baking (only because my game is weak in that regard) and have been totally inspired by Baking with Julia and Baking From My Home to Yours, both by Dorie Greenspan.

I'm pretty excited to take on some projects (for Christmas presents) out of the Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It book.   :)

 

I have zero baking game.  It's too mathematical and precise.  I know that isn't an excuse and I should start trying. :-[

Baking is all about being mathematically precise, because for the most part you have to follow the recipes more than in cooking.

I've been reading Alice Water's Simple Food cookbook and picking out recipes from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking recently.  We made her Cauliflower au gratin in mornay sauce.  My god, it was delicious!  

My wife has cut me off on cookbooks because I went a little overboard on ordering cookbooks off the internet the past month or so.  I'm also making my way through Martha Stewart Cooking School.  We made our own Butternut squash ravioli a couple nights ago. Wow!

I love Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking.  Everything I have tried has been phenomenal.  Ahh, soubise!

I'm in charge of desserts for the family dinner tomorrow.  Have a sugar free lemon chiffon cake in the oven now.

I've been working on some sugar free receipes since there are diabetics in my family and in my husband's.  It amazes me that as prevalent as diabetes is, it is really difficult to find good sugar free desserts.  

[aMillionDreams]

LOVE baking. It actually relaxes me, when I get to do it.

Old cookbooks is a great hobby Dylan. The kitchier the better.

I love going through old cookbooks. My grandmothers have amassed a rather large collection of cookbooks; there are church cookbooks, Junior League cookbooks, Electric Cooperative Cookbooks, and tons of cookbooks from various fundraisers throughout the years...

In fact, my earliest memories in the kitchen are centered around a particular cookbook, Calling All Cooks: Volume One, which was published by a local telephone company. My grandmother would select a recipe; she would make hers and then set aside all the ingredients for me to make my own "mini" version.

Her copy and my mother's copy have been so well-used and well-loved that they've fallen apart on several occasions; the cookbooks are now bound together by Scotch tape.
;D

You can buy copies of all the Calling All Cooks series on Amazon. If you like Southern cooking, this is as good as it gets.

Thanks for the recommendation, Meg.  Maybe I can get away with ordering one more cookbook off the internet.  :-/

Old church and community cookbooks are awesome, you can find some great family recipes in there.  I've been keeping an eye on ebay for some but this one looks like a winner.

[megalicious]

not to get you in trouble, but... i stumbled upon this yesterday:
http://www.gritlit.com/

:o

it's like the internet version of my grandmas' cookbook collections!

[mjkoehler]

Snap!

[aMillionDreams]

I made Eggs Benedict for the first time.  I made the English muffins from scratch.  I poached eggs for the first time (it wasn't as difficult as I expected it to be) and I made my own hollandaise sauve.  I'm pretty proud of myself.  Today I'm making my own chicken stock for my own homemade soup (I think I'm going to make Butternut squash and White Bean soup).  

I ordered Calling all Cooks, Vol. 1.  Can't wait to get it!

[mjkoehler]

I'll be over in a few hours for that Dylan!

Nice on the homemade English Muffins. My mom used to make them and they are yum, and actually fairly easy to make.

[Ruckus]

I made Eggs Benedict for the first time.  I made the English muffins from scratch.  I poached eggs for the first time (it wasn't as difficult as I expected it to be) and I made my own hollandaise sauve.  I'm pretty proud of myself.  Today I'm making my own chicken stock for my own homemade soup (I think I'm going to make Butternut squash and White Bean soup).  

I ordered Calling all Cooks, Vol. 1.  Can't wait to get it!

Niiiccccceee!  Poaching eggs isn't bad at all if you got a thermometer.  I don't know if anyone has ever cheated with the vinegar method but it's not terrible even though I would never recommend it.  I used to cook at a couple of restaurants back in the day and I always hated having to do Sunday brunch.  My arm would always be sore from whisking up a large batch of Hollandaise praying it wouldn't break.

I'm actually going to the store sometime this week to make my own dark stock with whatever bones I can scrounge up at the Asian market.  Getting Bourdain's Les Halles book has motivated me to learn to make the basic French sauces.  Good luck with the chicken stock.  I just wish I had more room in my freezer to store more than a gallon of stock. :'(

I love butternut squash

[Ruckus]

I just ate at Roy's this weekend.  Although I am typically averse to eating at any chain restaurant, I thought I'd give upscale Hawaiian fusion a chance.  Plus it wasn't my choice.

I did the fall pre fixe menu with a choice of one app/salad, one entree, and one dessert.

I had the beef carpaccio, braised beef short rib, and pumpkin and chocolate mousse.  I asked the server if she could appropriately pair a wine with each course as seen fit by their chef and beverage manager to which she asked if I wanted red or white?   :-?  Anyways, I ended up choosing the wines by the glass for each course.

The food was bland and disappointing.  Nothin more to say other than the place was packed and people seemed to be loving it.  I say poo poo.  At least the pre dinner Balvenie 12yr was tasty

[Sassbox]

Signing roll call for Cookbook Junkies Not So Anonymous! My favorites are the old Creole cookbooks from Louisiana, or anything with a Southern bent.

I actually have six or seven recipes in the Junior League of Annapolis'  Thyme To Entertain - ps, no longer a member...those women are nuts  :D

I got The New Best Recipe from the editors of Cook's Illustrated for Christmas this year.  Love how clear and concise all the Cook's recipes are. I made the Pasta e Fagioli yesterday and it was quite tasty.

[weeniebeenie]

I made a chinese dish for dinner today. It was steamed chicken with hot and sour sauce served with rice noodles. It was so good and I was really proud cause everyone liked it.

[ALady]

Mmmm...that sounds gooood, weenie!

I made lentil chili the other night and thought I really messed it up (way overseasoned) but now that it's had a little time to mellow in the fridge, it's pretty good.

[weeniebeenie]

I made lentil chili the other night and thought I really messed it up (way overseasoned) but now that it's had a little time to mellow in the fridge, it's pretty good.

Lentil chili? That sounds nice.

[miss gradenko]

Mmmm...that sounds gooood, weenie!

It was very good. So good I almost missed out Because everyone else got there first!

[Ruckus]

My friend who is Mexican American, brought back home made tamales from Arizona while she was home for the holidays.

Just steamed up a couple of them and WOW!, they were awesome :D

[vespachick]

Where'd the "Recipe" thread go?  I couldn't find it on a search. :-/

Anyhoo,  for all you peeps who love soup like I do, do yourself a favor and make this Shrimp Chowder I found on Epicurious.  It is so fantastic I can hardly stand it!!  Seriously. DELICIOUS!!

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Shrimp-Chowder-with-Fennel-105202

[mjkoehler]

Coffee rubbed bone-in KC Strip steak with hazelnut butter, cream cheese mashed potatoes, beer cheese soup, with a semifredo for dessert. Drank Unibroue Trios Pistoles. Good grief what a dinner.

[ALady]

Mmm, Trois Pistoles is some good stuff.

Going to Mixteco Grill for dinner tomorrow.  I've never been before, but it's supposed to rival Frontera.  We shall see...

And bacon and beer pairing Sunday.   :)

[Ruckus]

Speaking of local, sustainable sources...have you eaten at Woodberry Kitchen yet, Ruckus?  Good grief, that place is amazing.  If you're willing to eat early, you can usually get a 5 or 5:30 reservation without a long wait.

Hey Sass!  I'm off to Woodberry right now.  Got a 9:45 reservation.  Lookin' forward to it! :)

[Ruckus]

Mmm, Trois Pistoles is some good stuff.

Going to Mixteco Grill for dinner tomorrow.  I've never been before, but it's supposed to rival Frontera.  We shall see...

And bacon and beer pairing Sunday.   :)

Hope Mixteco is great!  Those tamales my friend gave me reminded me of how awesome authentic Mexican done right is. :)

[Janet]

Made reservations at Cyrus (sonoma wine country) for my b-day in early March since the French Laundry was impossible.  I'm looking forward to it!