TheExperimentalGourmand's Profile

I wonder if I'm the only one who opts for breakfast food for dinner sometimes? I always keep eggs on hand for the last-minute fritatta or omelette or leftover hash of some sort with a poached or fried egg on top. Also, when it gets really hot outside, sometimes just a granola-yogurt parfait with seasonal fruit is enough.

Ha! @chunky_charlie - I've never hit the mustard on saltines level, but cheese on toast has been an option from time to time when the pantry has been really bare.

I agree with the practice part. Trying to pick up grains of rice or peas is a good way to build dexterity. Remember how you learned to point & click with a mouse? It's sort of the same thing, awkward at first, but then it becomes natural.

I learned when I was really little, as each weekend more or less we used to visit a Chinese woman who had looked after my mom when she was younger. I don't remember being 'taught' exactly, but there's definitely a muscle memory there.

This sounds really neat.

I love to eat good food, and there's something satisfying about the process of creating a wonderful meal. When something turns out absolutely perfectly (gougeres, gratin dauphinoise, a pie), especially when it is the first time you've made it, I get a huge feeling of accomplishment.

Baking is also one of those things that just seems to soothe the soul, and gives satisfaction to others around me. I think cooking is just an integral part of my being, which is why it is hard for me to understand those who are phobic about it. I'm also not afraid to make mistakes and figure out how to fix them, which I find others often don't seem to want to deal with in the kitchen.

Here's two that I've made with success:
http://theexperimentalgourmand.blogspot.com/2010/01/spiced-pecan-and-pear-salad.html
http://theexperimentalgourmand.blogspot.com/2008/11/potluck-standby.html

Also, what about green beans almondine? The way my mom made it was straightforward with beans, toasted almonds, a bit of butter. Got us kids to eat our greens on Thanksgiving and Christmas (the only two times in the year that we'd have it).

I bet this would be perfect on roasted squash. It would save the extra step my mom used to do by putting butter and sugar into a half of a squash while it was in the oven.

Ronnybrook Farm is great. I try to buy almost all of my dairy products straight from the farm vendor at the Greenmarket, as the prices are much better that way. You can also see their products used in Food Network shows, too. Oh - and be on the look-out for seasonal products like pumpkin ice cream!

How funny! Last year was the first in ages that I'd made toffee for the holidays, and it went like hotcakes. I was just working out who would be the lucky recipients this year. Check out my recipe:
http://theexperimentalgourmand.blogspot.com/2009/12/almond-butter-crunch.html

Anything by Fred Plotkin is always great. "The Top 100 Pasta Sauces" by Diane Seed (Brit who has lived and taught in Rome for many years) is my go-to book for delicious, easy-to-make pasta dishes. This is a great gift, too, to pair with other Italian goodies, and I have given it as a wedding present, too.

Also, Claudia Roden "The Good Food of Italy" has some great recipes, broken up by region. For a super regional cooking reference, "La Mia Bologna" by Loretta Paganini is close to my heart, as it brings back wonderful memories of eating in La Grassa!

I completely agree with the above, having just gotten back from a trip (these apply to any trip, not just vacation). So nice to get back and not to have to do laundry or clean anything right away.

I love poached eggs! They are so simple to make, and I like that they are easy to throw on top of a salad or bed of lentils. I prefer these to cooking eggs in fat, as I think you get more of the essence of the egg with the soft, creamy yolk all wrapped in the white's cushiony blanket of fluffiness.