How do you know when sourdough starter goes bad? at Ask Metafilter

"The progressive wine list" organizes bottles from lightest to heaviest at Chow. The page mentions Napa Seasoning Vignon which looks interesting.

Coffee-Braised Brisket with Cream and Sugar at Hogwash

pasta with broccoli rabe at Shelteriffic, I've linked to this before (and this a re-post of theirs) but I wanted to note that I still like it, and if you like me cannot ever find broccoli rabe, kale works nicely

Fettuccine with Brown Butter and Sage at Splatgirl Creates

Which Whisk is Which? at the NY Times, via Chow

tofu tastings at GirlHacker

Pizza stone kits tested at Baking Bites

Homemade Girl Scout Cookies: Samoas at Baking Bites (added: !!!)

Help me make a tall cheesecake. at Ask Metafilter

how to make a quesadilla at Roots and Grubs, and Mexican Casserole at Gluten-Free Girl

Were produce and meat really better in the old days? How can we be sure? at Ask Metafilter

The Coveted Ice Cream Maker at Chow

Rigatoni with Eggplant Puree at Smitten Kitchen

In my annual effort to eat food made at home more often, I've started making large batches and freezing it into portions. I've learned a few new things, including that I need a larger pot.



So far I've made bolognese and Susie's Green Curry with chicken (which have both become standards here), and I've frozen them into flat zip top freezer bags, a tip from the Jan/Feb 2008 Everyday Food magazine. I also heard this tip ages ago on The Splendid Table by, I think, regular guest Sally Schneider. Last year I froze things into disposable continers, or sauce in individual muffin cups, but that still took a while to unfreeze (we are microwave-less). The flat bags store pretty efficiently in the freezer, and to thaw enough to get them back out of the bag you run them under a hot tap.



The other week I was listening to The Splendid Table and she gave a caller this tip: cook rice the way you would cook pasta. Apparently it comes out just as well, and cooks a bit faster. Last night I made a whopping amount of green curry but forgot about the rice, Lundberg Brown Basmati, so I boiled it. It turned out pretty well. I have a history of rice making trouble. Anyhow ever heard of boiling rice like pasta? What little Googling I did turned up a few suggestions, and one that finished by putting the still wet rice back into the pot and letting it steam for a few minutes before serving.



My favorite pasta to put the bolognese on remains the chiocciole (snail) from Bionaturae, they are nice and big. And I'm glad to know I can buy these on Amazon since I suspect they are going to disappear from my small local market at any moment now.



They look freaked out, don't they?

Whole-Grain Flapjacks at Hogwash

edible bowls and plates! at Chow

Chicken Chili with Black Beans at Hooked on Heat

Darlene Bakes from Jessica Seinfeld's New Book at The Kitchen

rainy night chili and real recipeless chili at Metroblogging Seattle

corn and bacon pie at Splatgirl

How to cook beans? at Ask Metafilter

seeking apple desserts at Ask Metafilter

the Pizzeria is a ceramic mini-oven at Popgadget

Make cotton candy from hard candies at Popgadget

make your own udon, these look lucious, at Cook & Eat

no-knead chocolate breat at Su Good Sweets, via The Food Section

The Hydrox Cookie Is Dead, and Fans Won't Get Over It at the Wall Street Journal, via The Morning News

homemade bacon vodka (bacon! vodka!) at Brownie Points

I did a little research on baking stones recently since somebody wrote to ask about them. We agreed we're too ashamed to pay for one from a kitchen store after all the "just buy a brick from Home Depot" advice we get. But, how do you not buy a toxic brick?! I bookmarked these: cheaper baking stone option, baking stone recommendations at Chowhound, pizza stone alternative at Techguy forums, and create a pizza oven for $5 at Curbly.

meat lasagna at Baking Bites

unlock the salad code at Miss Ginsu

Bake-In-Pie spatula at Baking Bites, I love these but had only seen them for the pricey Emile Henry pie plates before

My Bottled BFF, Cortas Pomegranate Molasses, at Chow

Chocolate Wafer Icebox Cupcakes at Smitten Kitchen, via The Kitchen

How does Heston Blumenthal create drinks that are hot on one side and cold on the other? at Ask Metafilter

Peanut-Free Peanut Sauce! at Domicile

Chestnuts 'Wokking' Over an Open Fire at Serious Eats

The Onion's A.V. Club has Patton Oswald taste test the KFC Famous Bowl, beautiful

Jeff Hertzberg's Simple Crusty Bread at The Wednesday Chef, compares it to the no-knead bread

Orzo Salad with Rosemary Almonds and Sun-Dried Tomatoes at The Kitchen

"Firm tofu has a pleasant texture, but firm tofu that’s been frozen, then thawed, then rolled in sesame seeds and seasoned flour, then pan-fried with a bit of sesame oil, has a SPECTACULAR texture." at Plate Tectonics

The Best Peanut Butter In The World, at Davenetics

adorable mini-donuts from that Williams-Sonoma donut maker, at JustJENN. If only I could justify making tiny donuts about once a week.

drop dead gorgeous caramel topping at Bake and Shake

Cereal Treat Wars at Cakespy

One Hundred Percent EDIBLE Googly Eyes! EEeee! at Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories

Eight Salty, Sweet, Mouth-Puckering Licorices at Cool Hunting

How do I get the first piece of cake out of the baking dish without wrecking the first piece itself? at Ask Metafilter

I want to make pasta, but it's oh-so-complicated... Making pasta in a college dorm kitchen, at Ask Metafilter.

Recipe: D.I.Y. Hummus at The Kitchen

Spicy Black Bean Dip at Recipe Bazaar

Trader Joe's Spicy Black Bean Dip recipe? at Ask Metafilter

grapefruit is making a cocktail comeback, via The Food Section. Bring on the Salty Dog!

Pretzel Pralines at Brownie Points

Zombie Punch at NY Times

real life test kitchen: jamie oliver’s lemon chicken at Shelterrific

food pyramid to remind you to eat more whole foods at Miss Ginsu

Silicone cupcake liners arent nonstick, at Ask Metafilter

The high-tech Clover, and two affordable alternatives, at Chow. See the map of coffeeshops using a Clover, there are a number here in Seattle!


too late for Christmas:

peppermint marshmallows at Serious Eats

Food-in-a-jar gifts at How About Orange

Cook's Talk: Short and Long Caramels at The Kitchen

jar cakes! at Super Eggplant

a slice-and-bake cookie palette at Smitten Kitchen


too late for New Years:

My Darling Clementine a nice champagne cocktail, at Imbibe

Meyer Lemon Champagne Cocktail at Bake and Shake

Today is the last day to get in on Menu For Hope, there are some outstanding prizes being raffled off this year. If you don't know what it is see the about page: "Each year, food bloggers from all over the world join forces to host the Menu for Hope online raffle, offering an array of delectable culinary prizes. For every US$10, the donor receive a virtual raffle ticket toward a prize of their choice. This year, the prizes include once in a lifetime experiences such as touring the elBulli laboratory with Ferran Adrià , dining on a historic British meal prepared by Heston Blumenthal, or joining Harold McGee on a lunch date to satisfy a lifetime's worth of cooking curiosity."

"This year for the 4th annual Menu for Hope, we are again supporting the UN World Food Programme. With a special permission from the WFP, the funds raised by Menu for Hope 4 will be earmarked for the school lunch program in Lesotho, Africa."

Menu For Hope raises a lot of money for a really good cause. Excellent all around.

You can see all the prizes and enter the drawing here at Firstgiving.

We were finally able to find time to put up a Christmas tree last night. Earlier in the day I bought bread from Lola's South City Bakery:



We used the baguette to make Toasts with Chocolate, Olive Oil and Sea Salt which I originally read about in Cooking for Mr. Latte. Our verdict was that we need to try again with a better quality bittersweet chocolate, Ghirardelli wasn't working out in this case. I think my local grocery might have some bittersweet Green & Black's, investigation to continue this evening.

The sandwich loaf in that picture is currently the object of my fascination. It's beautiful and weighty and I nearly couldn't bring myself to slice it. It made very, very good toast and there are grilled cheese plans for lunch. The little box contained a single slice of a dense Italian dessert which I forget the name of, but which combined fruits, nuts and a bit of cocoa. Here is the box when opened:



For dinner we decided to make Pork tenderloin roasted in rosemary salt with fingerling potatoes from the LA Times, which recently ran a much-discussed article on salt roasting. The potatoes did emerge too salty, you could see a salt water residue on the sides. Earlier this week I roasted some potatoes in barely-moistened salt and we didn't experience the same thing. Perhaps salt roasting is best left for things you'll remove the skins from - fish, a whole chicken? Otherwise, the pork loin was delicious and tender and juicy.



Here is the Kosher salt with fresh rosemary being mixed, it sparkled like snow and briefly made me wish fresh snow was scented with rosemary. The before and after pictures of the food encased in a mound of salt can be found here.

Peppermint Icebox Yule Log Cake at Craft

how to make your own bitters at Miss Ginsu

English Toffee at Food Chronicles

Top 10 Food and Drink Hacks at Lifehacker, via Baking Bites

Are pricey cupcake mixes worth it? at Baking Bites

How to Make a Lemon Twist at eHow

How to Make a Lemon Spiral at About.com

lemon twist at YouTube

The Kitchen on Trader Joe's One-Clove Garlic

!! - cupcakes baked in little jars!! at Angry Chicken

wrapping homemade candy at The Kitchen

salt roasting at the LA Times, recipe for Pork tenderloin roasted in rosemary salt with fingerling potatoes

How to chop lemongrass at Ask Metafilter

Pepparkakor, thin beautiful spice cookies, at Delicious Days

Baking Bites on the new book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, the co-authors were also interviewed on The Splendid Table on Dec. 15th, where they gave up their master recipe

Cakespy on how to (not) ship a cupcake

H.P. Lovecraft-themed foods? at Ask Metafilter