We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.
Our menu from October, at the very nice place in Provence. This was just a one hour hike to Gordes (which is not a very interesting destination but it has a few shops and restaurants).
My main point is about the cheese board. They bring it around on a dolly with an expert cheese server, and you point to which ones you want to try. I need to do a post about the cheese course in nice dining because it is my favorite.
Mrs. BD had a tough week with four days and nights of meetings in NYC, then moving my in-laws to a new elderly place an hour away from here in the last 2 days (boxes and boxes of stuff, then computers, lamps, comfy chairs, pictures, and more boxes, big TVs, moving guys, hospital bed, etc).
So I asked her what might please her tonight. She said "Funny you ask, cuz Beef Bourguignon was on my mind". I like making stews, so ok. I make these things on the fly, no measurements. Always works. French chef taught me to cook soup and stew by instinct and taste. It should be ready by the time she gets home from the old folk's home tonight. Yes, I did send my father-in-law some more nice vino to keep the old guy happy. The wines they serve at the old folks home are disgusting, and old guys need the wine for good cheer.
- Around 1 or or 2 lbs. of chuck, cut into 1-2 inch chunks. Flour them, then brown quickly in butter and/or bacon. Toss them into a pot or crock pot with a container of beef broth and begin the long simmer.
- Grab a handful of thyme twigs from the garden and throw them in. I would have tied them as a garni but could not find the string. Then plenty of salt and pepper in the pot. Semi-chopped parsley too.
- Cut up a bag of carrots into roughly 1-2" lengths and throw them in.
- Sautee one or two chopped big onions with a bunch of garlic cloves, and throw them in.
- Throw in a bottle, of half-bottle, of decent red wine. The really cheap stuff does not work. My friend uses some port too, but why waste it?
- Throw in some good squirts of ketchup if you are out of tomato paste.
- Throw in a glob of grape jelly and a splash of wine vinegar.
- Quarter a big or small box of brown mushrooms, and toss in. I always always throw in a handful of dried porcinis too (affordable on Amazon). Wow - porcinis are a flavor for the kitchen gods.
- Keep all covered with more wine, stock, or water. Crock pot never needs that.
- Towards the end of simmering or crock pot (a few hours - too long is better than too little), I throw in a bag of frozen pearl onions. I love them.
- Really close to the end, I throw in a bag of frozen peas. For color I guess.
- Serve on/with rice or egg noodles. I like egg noodles but noticed that we are out of 'em. If the juice is too thin, thicken it a bit.
One of my kids went to the B&H last night. Unlike many sort-of Jewish delis in NYC (which are termed "Kosher style", serving dairy and meat - especially pastrami)), B and H is a kosher dairy joint. A famous East Village hole-in-the-wall place.
Decades ago, when I was dating the future Mrs. BD, we frequented that place. We aren't Jewish. The food was cheap and good. The challah is tasty.
Digging back in my memory, I suggested that my kid try the Matzoh Ball Soup. She liked it.
My siblings and I were fed boxed cereal about every two mornings, scrambled eggs every two or three mornings, and same with oatmeal. Pancakes or waffles on Sunday before church.
I fed my little kids pickled herring with sour cream and onions most weekday mornings, cut in small chunks. It comes in jars. Or hard-boiled eggs. I figured protein was good for kids' breakfasts, and I liked it too.
I later learned that pickled herring was considered "Jewish food" in New York. Schmaltz. I thought it was Scandinavian, but it's all sorts of things. Ukrainians love it. Who doesn't like pickled herring? It has a pow effect.
I am told that Jewish people like plain pickled herring on a bagel, with a schmear. Sounds good to me, but I would add a slice of onion. But I don't bother with breakfast anyway, other than coffee. Breakfast is for growing kids.
Do you ever wonder what breakfasts NBA players were raised on? Wheaties? Or steak? I should have had some of whatever they had.
I had thought that this speakeasy-type joint was still closed "for renovation", but nope. It is open again as The Campbell. As before, there is almost no signage, and a girl checks your attire before letting you in. You just have to know where it is. Cozy place. We have used it as a destination for a couple of our Maggie's Urban Hikes.
Located in Grand Central Terminal (aka Grand Central Station), this office of John Cambell in the 1920s had been abandoned for decades and used for storage. Here's what it looked like in Campbell's time:
Pancakes are for fun, not nutrition. Little ones like pancakes. So do adults - if with bacon and fried eggs on the side. Bacon just makes everything better.
Pancakes are no more nutritional than bread, but fun with real maple syrup. Fact is, as a kid, we sometimes used molasses instead.
We make them many ways: with a little corn meal and canned corn; with sliced apples, with our stash of frozen cranberries (best), or with blueberries. All good.
Kid-friendly, unfashionable, and not for weight loss. Reposted annually by popular request.
I've collected the posts on old-timey Mommys of America non-gourmet, comforting (eg filling), quick 'n easy (eg no lasagna or fried chicken), and sensitively-multicultural (even Shrimp 'n Grits) winter suppers here, in no particular order. Such foods mean family love.
I suspect some of our foreign readers - of whom we have quite a few - might be interested in what American moms (and sometimes modern dads) fix up for ordinary family suppers in Upper Yankeeland (with the exception of Shrimp 'n Grits which is real Southern food and suitable for breakfast, lunch, or supper).
A number of these are suitable to ye olde slow cooker aka electric crock pot.
As you may know, cassoulet is basically French baked beans with meat. The real original of hot dogs and baked beans. It is country home cookin, but it can be great stuff. Dutch oven cooking. Crock pot? Why not, as long as the meats are browned first, but it will not brown the top.
It's a good way to cook some wild game meat, especially the less-tender parts.
Any meat, but not beef - strong red meat is too strong for cassoulet. We have, over time, used various mixes of duck, snow goose, chukar, venison, chicken, pork, wild boar, and pheasant which we have killed. Mix the meats - it adds to the flavor. There should be some source of pig fat or duck fat in it. Some venison sausage, or any sausage, because it is a necessary traditional ingredient. The meat-to-bean ratio is supposed to be fairly high - 30% - but I like beans and prefer a lower ratio. I think every village in southern France has its own recipe and method. I figure roughly one hunk of sausage and one hunk of meat per person.
A few tips about Cassoulet:
1. Make it at least the day before. Like beef stew, it improves overnight. 2. Serve with salad, toasted garlic bread with a pile of stinky and gooey cheeses on the side, and then fruit for dessert. And a Cote Rotie or Cotes du Rhone. 3. You need to use large white beans, ideally French haricot beans. Use the canned beans, don't bother with dried beans. 4. Make sure you push the bread crumbs down into the surface of the mixture when baking. 5. Sprinkle chopped fresh parsley on top when done - it looks better that way.
With or without kidney beans? The classic is chunks of beef, but it's all fine with me as long as it is hot enough, has some sour cream, and chopped scallions or red onions on top.
If it's too mild, just put some hot sauce on the table or a bowl of chopped jalapenos.
I've visited Scotland a couple of times, and we are headed there again this year. May I say that Scotland (England too) is not known for cuisine?
OK, they do cook good fresh fish, and mutton. Clootie pudding is ok with ice cream, and kippers are fine but too big. Haggis is not terrible as part of a breakfast, but it's not the greatest.
Haggis Recipe. A chef friend recommends barley instead of oatmeal. Where do you buy a cow or sheep stomach?
It's Bobbie Burns' birthday. What's the Highland Fling?
This production should hold together tightly, almost like a firm 6-10" deep lasagna. Macaroni Pie. It's really a Primo, but could be a meal in the US, with a salad. You serve it in clean slices.
Meats in it? Any or all fowl including duck. Needs ham too. Chunks of mortadella are great. As for the eggs, you can include the cooked egg yolks as in this recipe, but it's good to throw in some whole hard-boiled eggs. The Quail eggs are not required, but Quail eggs are good things.
The recipe below is inspired by di Lampedusa's book , which I highly recommend reading.
The photo in the recipe below is not right - the thing should hold together firmly: Timballo recipe . It might get a couple of tries to get it right.
Eves of holy days are "fast" days for Roman Catholics, maybe for other Orthodox rites too. "Fasting" means no meat - but, conveniently, fish do not count as meat.
We had 22 for Thanksgiving. It's a cheerful chaos. Our prayer was for gratitude, of course, for family and friends. Little else matters. My only mistake was not getting the pianny tuned. Musicians are senstive about that.
Two turkeys as usual. Lots of leftovers. This is the one on the grill, cooked over firewood:
Fennel grows like a weed - and literally as a roadside weed - all over Europe. A celery-like thing, with a cool licorice flavor. You can munch on it raw, sautee it, or pickle it either as refrigerator pickles or real pickles. Fenuil in French, finocchio in Sicily and Italy.
It's perfect with simple seafood. Here's my first course (lousy photo): Warm salad of sliced octopus on a bed of sauteed fennel.
Main course (which was not really needed) - a rare filet of French beef with a jus with olives, not mushrooms. And usual Euroland runny mashed taters.
One of my kids went to the 
My siblings and I were fed boxed cereal about every two mornings, scrambled eggs every two or three mornings, and same with oatmeal. Pancakes or waffles on Sunday before church.
I mean game meat in your freezer. A Cassoulet is nice, if not exciting. But how about an 
Pancakes are for fun, not nutrition. Little ones like pancakes. So do adults - if with bacon and fried eggs on the side. Bacon just makes everything better.
Kid-friendly, unfashionable, and not for weight loss. Reposted annually by popular request.
With or without kidney beans? The classic is chunks of beef, but it's all fine with me as long as it is hot enough, has some sour cream, and chopped scallions or red onions on top.
This production should hold together tightly, almost like a firm 6-10" deep lasagna. Macaroni Pie. It's really a Primo, but could be a meal in the US, with a salad. You serve it in clean slices.
Parsnips are good winter food. They were more popular before potatoes took over. 
It's not just for turkey. I have a friend who will not eat chicken without it. Excellent with pheasant too.
The great
Of course, an array of pies are needed. We like squash pie. We like all pies.
