Need a great Bechamel for creamed onions. Got a recipe?

I'd been waiting to try this epicurious recipe for Gratineed Mustard Creamed Onions for a year (we already had too many things going on last year at Thanksgiving), and just tried them this past week. I enjoyed them, though my creamed onion repertoire is not vast, so I'm not sure how they'd compare to other possibilities. And I used frozen onions. Next time I would try them with fresh. But otherwise, I thought they were delicious.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Gratineed-Mustard-Creamed-Onions-240574

kdcs in Home Cooking

Non-traditional pies that are worth it... Thanksgiving

Also don't know if these qualify as hipster, but I'm thinking about making the nutmeg maple cream pie from the New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/15/dining/155crex.html and the cranberry almond tart from City Bakery -- the recipe can be found in a few different places online.

Ina Garten's pecan bars are very good. I love pecans, but am never satisfied by pecan pie. This ends up being a great riff on the idea, and nice because you could just eat a small square (or five). The recipe is up on the food network site, but I didn't go the extra step and dunk them in chocolate. And I'm thinking about an apple galette as well -- again, to keep with the overall idea of Thanksgiving tradition, but in a slightly different form.

kdcs in Home Cooking

Any help with a simple spread for 80?

We have a monthly meeting over lunch for about 80 people, featuring stale, overstuffed sandwiches and gloppy deli salads. I'd like to make something a little better, but don't want to go too far out of the way in terms of prep time or expense. Everything would need to be made in advance, at least a day, and be able to be served at room temperature (though I could possibly use a Crock Pot for an item or two).

Any thoughts on what would be good choices?

Initially, I was thinking about a few salad/vegetable choices:
-roasted green beans and cherry tomatoes
-mediterranean salad
-pesto pasta salad
-simple green salad with dressing
-maybe a bean salad of some sort

A few roasted meats:
-turkey breasts
-roast beef
-ham, or pulled pork in a Crock Pot

A few desserts:
-cookies
-brownies

With simple accompaniments like chips, fruit, drinks, perhaps rolls or biscuits or something.

Any thoughts on good menu choices? Good inexpensive options? Things you would definitely do? Things you'd rely on the store for?

Thanks in advance.

kdcs in Home Cooking

Garbanzo beans. I have a 1lb bag of dried beans soaking. What can I make?

Besides hummus and falafel, I'm in favor of making a salad with butternut squash and tahini (I used this version: http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/01/warm-butternut-squash-and-chickpea-salad/). This sandwich sounds good, too: http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/01/smashed-chickpea-salad/. And I did an appetizer of fried chickpeas a while back, I think using a recipe from chow's site: http://www.chow.com/recipes/11203.

Have fun.

kdcs in Home Cooking

Trader Joes coffee + espresso machine

Our espresso maker's instructions specifically say not to use flavored coffees or especially oily beans. I don't know quite how the flavor-adding process makes a difference, but you might try steering clear of the flavored blends.

kdcs in Cookware

Chocolate cheesecake recipe?

Sorry. I forgot to include the link:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/SMORES-CHEESECAKE-WITH-SUMMER-BERRIES-242718

kdcs in Home Cooking

Chocolate cheesecake recipe?

Epicurious had a recipe in their buzz box last month for S'mores Cheesecake, and I've made it twice so far, both times without the summer berries. It turned out very well both times; it has a bit of the 'wow' factor because of the marshmallow topping. I made it with bittersweet chocolate instead of milk chocolate the second time, and we much preferred it, but it was very rich that way -- even my father-in-law, who normally devours huge pieces of any sort of cheesecake, could only have one medium slice. Good luck!

kdcs in Home Cooking

Too much cream cheese frosting, what to make, besides carrot cake?

Coconut cake or Red Velvet cupcakes, I'd say.

That Meyer lemon coconut combination sounds delicious.

kdcs in Home Cooking

What are your tried and true favorites from Epicurious.com

"Buzz box" was my favorite there, too. I've had some luck going to the "most popular" section of recipe central, but it's not quite the same. "Buzz box" did lead me to one of my all-time favorites, Island Pork Tenderloin Salad -- but most of the time, I end up leaving out the salad and vinaigrette part, just making the tenderloin and its glaze. It's really simple, delicious, a bit unique. And every time I make it, I get asked for the recipe.

kdcs in Home Cooking

Steingarten's meyer lemon granita

I made this lovely granita about a month ago, but stupidly returned The Man Who Ate Everything to the library without copying down the recipe. I recall that it was about a cup of meyer lemon juice, and the zest from six or so of the lemons, but I don't remember the amount of superfine sugar or water used. Does anyone have the recipe, and would you be willing to share the quantities? Thank you.

kdcs in Home Cooking

Does anybody use really old cream for baking?

My mother-in-law told me a few months ago that old heavy cream is great for using in pancakes. So I have a bunch of really old cream in my fridge, which I can no longer throw out, but also can't bear to use in anything. Now, she's no longer around to ask more questions of.

Has anyone else tried this? Do you sub it in for milk, cream, sour cream, buttermilk? Use it in pancakes, biscuits, scones, coffeecake, . . . ? And how old is too old? Thanks in advance.

kdcs in Home Cooking

I need a pizza that will knock 'em dead!

I made a hoisin duck pizza inspired by chow.com over the holidays, and it was delicious. Rave reviews. Use hoisin sauce instead of pizza sauce, layer on some duck breast and some sliced red onions, top with jack cheese, bake. Then garnish with fresh cilantro. Unique, and very satisfying.

kdcs in Home Cooking

Seafood dinner for Christmas eve (what do I make?)

Oh my goodness! I hardly feel as though I'm going overboard when I look at your menu. Sounds delicious -- thanks.

kdcs in Home Cooking

Seafood dinner for Christmas eve (what do I make?)

I've been asked to make dinner for Christmas eve for the in-laws, and I've been informed that tradition dictates seafood. Not an Italian family, so it's not the feast of the seven fishes, but there's supposed to be a lot of seafood. Some things I'm thinking of (or have been told to include):

fried calamari
shrimp w/ various sauces (cocktail, peanut, aioli)
crab cakes
mussels w/ chorizo and beer
and possibly stuffed clams

I have a couple questions, though -- what do I serve with this? I'm thinking some sort of salad, perhaps some sauteed broccoli rabe, and some crusty bread, but does anybody have any other thoughts and suggestions? And how would you serve all of this -- just throw everything out all at once or progress in some sort of fashion? Currently, everything feels a bit haphazard.

Another older tradition for the family was french fries and lobster -- should I even attempt to incorporate those in some way or is that bordering on ridiculous?

Finally, does anybody have a great stuffed clam recipe?

Sorry for so many questions -- thanks for the help!

kdcs in Home Cooking

Best icebox cookies recipes

Earl Grey tea cookies are one of my favorites, for keeping in either the refrigerator or the freezer. I'm thinking I need to make another batch soon. One of my friends made them for wedding favors in Singapore. I've made them with green tea, too, and they turn out well. I might experiment with English Breakfast soon, or perhaps even more exotic options.

Here's a link.

http://atourtable.blogspot.com/2005/04/earl-grey-tea-cookies.html

kdcs in Home Cooking

Gougeres - help!

I'm planning on making the same thing for Thanksgiving. I have a friend who highly recommends Terence Brennan's recipe (from Artisanal in New York), and I'm going to try it out. She says that you can make them in advance, freeze them, and reheat similar to the previous poster's method. You can find the recipe here.

http://www.freshdirect.com/recipe.jsp?recipeId=rec_tb_gougeres&trk=srch

kdcs in Home Cooking

Spiced nuts

I had no problem with it. I made them and kept them around for a couple of days at room temperature, and they were fine. The butter didn't get at all weird or anything. And I wouldn't characterize them as any more messy than any other type of spiced nut. I mean, you don't end up with popcorn-butter hands or anything.

Also, there's a new thread, http://www.chowhound.com/topics/460457, where the poster is having problems with the coating sticking, so you might want to follow that thread to troubleshoot, if you decide to go with that recipe.

Hope that helps.

kdcs in Home Cooking

Thanksgiving BREAKFAST

The only Thanksgiving that I wasn't in a home for was a couple of years ago, when my family all stayed on the Queen Mary for my grandmother's 90th birthday celebration. We ventured forth into Long Beach for breakfast, and ended up at a deserted Mexican restaurant. The most delicious and memorable Thanksgiving breakfast any of us had had. I'm thinking about trying to replicate some of the feel this year, with chicken chile verde tostadas, using the chicken chile verde recipe from this website -- we tried it out on another occasion and enjoyed it enough to make again, even for Thanksgiving breakfast. I think part of the joy that year was that it seemed to fill a completely different part of our stomachs, so we still had plenty of room left for Thanksgiving dinner (although _that_ turned out to be quite a lackluster affair, unfortunately).

kdcs in Home Cooking

Spiced nuts

I recently tried the Union Square Cafe bar nuts recipe from food network. I liked it very much, and I'm thinking I'll make them again to have them out at Thanksgiving.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_36718,00.html

I've also made an epicurious recipe for spicy nuts -- they were a hit at the party I had. I used cashews, though.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/109771

And a sweeter take is another epicurious recipe, with slight modifications:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/102242
I used pecans only, and used forks to fish them out of the egg-spice mixture, so that the pecans stayed separate and didn't bunch up.

All can be made in advance. The recipe says to serve the Union Square nuts hot, but I found they were just as good, if not better, at room temperature.

Have fun!

kdcs in Home Cooking

Interesting mussels?

I know there are Rachael Ray haters out there, but I saw an episode of hers and improvised upon this recipe. (http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_33154,00.html) It was great. My husband loved it, and it never fails to impress. I also like the coconut milk and red or green Thai curry combination. You can also check out Monk's menu, in Philadelphia (http://philadelphia.menupages.com/restaurantdetails.asp?areaid=51&restaurantid=28260) for inspiration.

kdcs in Home Cooking

Convict Lake or Nevados in Mammoth?

Haven't been to the Mammoth area in a while, but I'd recommend checking out Skadi's or the restaurant that's up at Tamarack Lodge. And for breakfast, Schat's is a fun one to get stuff from.

Good luck.

kdcs in California

Montreal area -- near routes 15/40 (with kids)

We thoroughly enjoyed Smoked Meat Pete's. Perfect hearty fare after being in the car all day. We had the sandwich special, which was delicious -- thick, warm, juicy. The accompanying latke we ordered wasn't all that special, but we didn't pay it any mind. We also got the ribs, which came with the grilled liver (good for liver, but still liver, so not our favorite) and a hot dog, which our son was excited to see. If I had been in a less generous mood, I might've thought the ribs ended up too sweet and a bit too fatty. But they were very good, with nice crispy bits -- they definitely worked. The fries were good, too -- didn't order the poutine, though, and I feel like we missed something. Thanks for the recommendation.

kdcs in Quebec (including Montreal)

Montreal area -- near routes 15/40 (with kids)

Thanks. I had actually already pegged them as one to try, based on a suggestion you posted last summer! I'm not familiar with Schwartz (though it seems to be the standard), but I'm excited to try Pete's.

kdcs in Quebec (including Montreal)

Montreal area -- near routes 15/40 (with kids)

We're planning a road trip up to the Vaudreuil-Dorion area, and we'll be nearing the Montreal area at dinner time. I'd love to find a good place for us, without veering too far off of our route (heading up 15, then west on 40). We'd need someplace kid friendly, in terms of atmosphere, but not necessarily food (the kids are young, but they'll eat pretty much anything). Any thoughts?

And if anyone has suggestions on anything necessary to try in Vaudreuil-Dorion or thereabouts, I'd welcome them (especially a great coffee/pastry place for breakfast).

Thanks!

kdcs in Quebec (including Montreal)