skippy66's Profile
Kaffir lime leaves for Tom Kha
I saw lime leaves at Idylwilde Farms in Acton yesterday.
Slow cookers: What do you think
The fascination with slow cookers escapes me. I've had one for quite a while now and every year or so I pull it out and give it a go, hoping the results will be more satisfactory than the last time I used it. I keep wanting it to be good, but every time I am disappointed. The food is almost always tasteless and it is almost always swimming in a lot of liquid. One of my attempts several weeks ago was a chicken dish cooked in a sauce made with quajillo chiles and Mexican spices. The sauce going into the slow cooker was delicious but the sauce that came out was nasty. I tried another dish just the other day that was made with sauerkraut, pork, potatoes and kielbasa. The only edible parts in the end were the kielbasa and the kraut, but they were fully cooked when they went into the slow cooker.
I know a lot of people are in love with their slow cookers and think the food that comes out of them is delicious, but I'm not one of them. Sometimes I wonder if people equate delicious with easy. That's only my opinion.
My slow cooker is going into the trash this morning.
Any great donuts in Metrowest?
Unless you're a fan of a Dunkin' Donut, you're pretty much out of luck trying to find a good donut around the Maynard/Acton area. Sweet Bites Cafe, 5 Spruce St in West Acton, makes a good donut muffin. It's sort of like a cake donut rolled in cinnamon sugar. They also sell them at Idylwilde Farms on Central Street in Acton.
New 'Menu Items That Need to Be Retired", 2012 edition...
Anything labelled as "comfort food…"
My Aplogies, but I Need to Vent About America's Test Kitchen
Take all those renewal forms and drop them in the nearest mailbox.
Seen Nueske's Liverwurst in Boston?
Roche Brothers/Sudbury Farms stores carry Schaller and Weber products.
Great homemade cracker recipes?
It doesn't get any better than these Parmesan Black Pepper Biscotti…
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Parmesan-Black-Pepper-Biscotti-236698
Leftover Turkey Redux
Your welcome. I sometimes make a double batch, fry them up, let them cool completely and then put them in the freezer for later. When you take them out, you can refry them briefly to crisp them up or you can nuke them in the microwave but they won't be crispy but they still will be delicious.
Leftover Turkey Redux
TURKEY CROQUETTES
This recipe is adapted from Craig Claiborne's "The New New York Times Cookbook" from 1979.
3 1/2 C coarsely chopped (no bigger than 1/4") cooked turkey, including skin
2 T butter
3 T finely minced onion
3 T flour
1 1/2 C turkey broth
Salt and pepper
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Tobasco sauce
3 egg yolks
Flour for dredging
1 egg, lightly beaten combined with 3 T water
1 1/2 C fine, fresh bread crumbs
Oil for deep frying
Melt butter and add onion. Stir until wilted. Sprinkle with flour and blend with whisk. Add broth, stirring rapidly with whisk. Stir in chicken. Add salt, pepper, nutmeg, Tabasco. Remove from heat and add yolks, stirring vigorously with whisk. Cook briefly, stirring and remove from heat.
Spoon mixture into an 8" x 8" x 2" dish. Cover with buttered wax paper and refrigerate over night.
Next day, remove paper and shape mixture into 12 to 14 balls. Roll lightly in flour, then dredge in beaten egg mixture, then breadcrumbs. Arrange on rack and chill until ready to cook.
Deep fry for 2 or 3 minutes in hot oil until golden and cooked through. Serve with mushroom sauce.
MUSHROOM SAUCE
1 T butter
2 T minced onion
1/4 lb mushrooms cut into small cubes
Salt and pepper
2 T flour
1 C turkey broth
1/2 C heavy cream
Wilt onion in melted butter. Add mushrooms and cook until liquid evaporates. Add salt and pepper. Sprinkle with flour, stirring with wire whisk. Add broth, stirring rapidly with whisk. Continue cooking about 15 minutes. Add cream and simmer another 5 minutes.
Leftover Turkey Redux
Other than a turkey sandwich, what's your favorite thing to make with leftover turkey? Mine is turkey croquettes with mushroom gravy. I think I like the day after Thanksgiving better than Thanksgiving itself.
Rolls/Bread for Thanksgiving?
I don't understand all the hand wringing about what's open or not open on Thanksgiving. I would buy the rolls ahead of time and put the in the freezer. There's nothing I can think of that freezes better than bread and rolls. Take the frozen items out on Thanksgiving, pop them in the oven frozen to reheat if you want and enjoy. Besides, who has time on Thanksgiving morning to go to the store? My vote goes to Iggy's.
Double Smoked Bacon source?
You can get Schaller and Weber double smoked bacon at Roche Brothers. It's in the cheese counter. I think I've also seen it at Russo's as well.
Favorite Banana Bread Recipe?
Chocolate Banana Bread…
http://www.godiva.com/recipes/recipe.aspx?id=530
Cooking for the season's first snow day
I just finished up a double batch of Lima Bean and Winter Vegetable Soup from The Greens Cookbook. Here's a link to the recipe I found online… http://cooksfrombooks.blogspot.com/2011/01/lima-bean-and-winter-vegetable-soup.html
I was going to make it yesterday, but I have an electric stove and was afraid that the power was going to go out while I was cooking. The power did go out twice, but only just long enough where I had to go and reset all the digital clocks in my house.
Wegmans to Open on Sunday, 16 October
I just got back from a trek to Wegman's. I was not impressed. Sure, it's a nice, new store and it's really big. But as far as prices are concerned, I think Market Basket has them beat hands down. I don't know who can afford over $14.00 a pound for a hanger steak or over $23.00 a pound for some kind of fish. When I saw it was over $23.00 a pound, I didn't even look to see what kind of fish it was. I know that these are some extreme examples, but even the price of boneless pork loin and turkey thighs was $.50 to $1.00 more per pound than I would normally pay. Yes, there was a large cheese selection. I took a quick spin through the food court. Personally, if I'm going to go out to eat lunch, I want the place to be nicer and more quiet than the grocery store. I don't buy already prepared foods, so I really can't comment on prices and quality of those. Should you shop there? By all means if it's your local grocery store. Is it worth burning gas and driving farther than you normally would? I say no.
any good bluefish recipes aside from mayo and onions?
This is a recipe from Marion Morash's "The Victory Garden Cookbook" that's very good.
http://www.yankeemagazine.com/recipe/for/bluefish-with-portugaise-sauce/11792
Wellfleet Oyster Festival
I went the first year they had it and it was a lot of fun. Good oysters, good music. But, the last time I went, there were so many people crammed into downtown Wellfleet that it was not fun. People were shoulder-to-shoulder. I couldn't wait to get out of there and Wellfleet is one of my favorite places on the planet. If you like crowds, I say go. If you don't, go to Wellfleet when it's not so crowded and you can take it easy. As a matter of fact, I'm there right now and the weather is perfect.
Weight of Sitram rondeau? Profiserie and Catering
I have the Sitram Catering rondeau. The one I have is a little less than 12-inches in diameter and is just under 4-inches deep. It weighs 7 pounds, 9 ounces.
Your best non-sweet pork tenderloin recipe?
This is one of my favorite ways to cook pork tenderloin. It's something that you can completely assemble ahead of time and cook when you're ready. Since I can't find fresh porcini mushrooms locally, I almost always use portabella mushrooms. I can't count the number of times I've made this.
http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/pork_tenderloin_stuffed_with_porcini_mushrooms.html
New Zealand Mussels?
I think I saw them in the seafood counter at Market Basket in Burlington several weeks ago. They were fresh, not frozen. You might want to give them a call.
Let's talk soft serve
I stopped at Dairy Joy this afternoon. I ordered a small Javaberry cone. The soft serve had a sort of gritty texture (ice crystals?) and the cone was very stale. And, it was $2.99 plus tax. I pass by Dairy Joy all the time but I won't be stopping again.
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Dairy Joy
331 North Ave, Weston, MA 02493
fregola, where to buy
Have you tried Salem Foods in Waltham?
http://www.salemfoods.com/
Recommend me a copper disc Rondeau / Stockpot
All my pots and pans are the Sitram Catering line. I picked them up piece-by-piece at Homegoods several years ago. I have a 12" Rondeau (I paid $14.00 for it) and a 14" Stockpot ($11.00). I had to buy the lids online. They were about $30.00 each. I haven't seen it Homegoods since and I do look every time I go in.
I use it every day and I like it a lot. Highly recommended!
"Farm-Picked" Broccoli…
I just saw a Stouffer's Lean Cuisine commercial on TV where one of the selling points was that it was made with "farm-picked" broccoli. Is there another kind I don't know about?
Does Stouffer's really thing I'm that stupid?
Boston Farmers' Markets
Have you been to Allandale Farm? It's not a farmers' market but an actual farm in Brookline. I used to go there all the time when I lived in the area.
http://www.allandalefarm.com/
Best grocer in or near Chatham
There's a fairly large Stop and Shop in Harwich, just a short drive from Chatham. For fish and seafood, try Chatham Fish and Lobster on Main Street.
I need a kick-ass potluck dish
This recipe for Emeril's Muffuletta Sandwich was a big hit last time I made it for an office lunch. And, it's a total do-ahead thing. No cooking involved…
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/emerils-muffuletta
Lard?
For the past year or so, I've been buying Stillman's leaf lard at the Acton Boxborough Farmers' Market. (http://www.abfarmersmarket.org/). I render it at home and then keep it in the freezer until I need it.
There's a special June Market Day tomorrow from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm. if you are interested.
