What are you eating?

[Jay F]

My wife makes cooks lovely. We had a really good spag bog last night. The recipe she uses for the mince is out of this world!!

What are spag bog and mince?

[jlaurson]

What are spag bog and mince?

Spaghetti Bolognese & ground meat? (If so, then "spag bog" must be the most unfortunate abbreviation for it.  )

Omelet:

I think I may have figured out what makes the Viennese Omelets so darn fluffy an mine so... solid.

Whip the egg white--or at least part of it--until it's a foamy mass twice, trice the volume of the raw egg-white.
I'm still not quite at that level of light and airy simplicity of those Omelets at Cafe Central, but I got pretty close this morning!

[Sergeant Rock]

Had a rare (for me) vegetarian lunch: leftover (from Saturday's dinner) potato and onion gratin and a can of kimchi. Weird, I know    but it hit the spot. (I became addicted to kimchi during the 13 months I spent in Korea.)

Sarge

[Brünnhilde forever]

I'm still not quite at that level of light and airy simplicity of those Omelets at Cafe Central, but I got pretty close this morning!

Did you put your Pfannenkuchen in the 350° oven? That's where it will puff up and come out fluffy, not on the stove top. At least it does for me! 

[jlaurson]

Did you put your Pfannenkuchen in the 350° oven? That's where it will puff up and come out fluffy, not on the stove top. At least it does for me! 

Well, it's not a Pfannkuchen... but I should try. In any case, the whisking of the eggs strikes me as mandatory to reach maximum fluffiness.

[Benji]

Spaghetti Bolognese & ground meat? (If so, then "spag bog" must be the most unfortunate abbreviation for it.  )

Exactly right! Except it's traditionally abbreviated by us Brits to Spag Bol, so Spag Bog is either a typo or a Freudian slip letting us know what he really thinks of the missus' cooking. 

And yeah mince is what we call ground meat. It should be called mincemeat, but that would confuse us as mincemeat is now only used in reference to the gooey stewed fruit used to fill mince pies, which should in turn really aught to be renamed mincemeat pies, despite there being no meat in them...

You know what, it's better if you just accept British idiosyncracies and not question them. 

[Brünnhilde forever]

Well, it's not a Pfannkuchen... but I should try. In any case, the whisking of the eggs strikes me as mandatory to reach maximum fluffiness.

Aha! Mistake on my part, a misunderstanding, t'schuldigens, was thinking of the egg concoction containing a small amount of flour.

If you ever get your omelet to come out fluffy, do let me in on the secret! I usually end of with scrambled eggs because the bottom is done and on the top floats the raw liquid, especially when I use mushrooms. 

[jlaurson]

If you ever get your omelet to come out fluffy, do let me in on the secret! I usually end of with scrambled eggs because the bottom is done and on the top floats the raw liquid, especially when I use mushrooms. 

No problem with the latter... and I almost always use mushrooms.

Key is a non-stick pan... a lid... and a plate that fits the pan. After a the top's solid (which happens reasonably fast at mid-hi heat with the lid closed), you put the plate on top of the pan, carefully flip it over and let it slide back in, top side now bottom. Just a minute or so like that and you flip it back (because the original bottom side doesn't look as good) and serve it. With the egg-whites beaten, it's super fluffy...

If I get the key to the extra fluffy LIGHTNESS, too, I'll let you know.

[Brünnhilde forever]

The secret ingredient then is the lid and the plate! 

Thank you for teaching me how to cook an omelet - after all those years! 

[Brünnhilde forever]

Experimenting with something new: Maccaroni and Cheese! 

Basil flavoured oil in he bottom of the casserole, small layer of Francis Coppola Ricciolini, lightly steamed broccoli and baby boc choy smothered with freshly grated Ibérico Cheese. That's the new discovery in my market: Cheese from Spain! Tastes a bit like parmesan but more robust. Over that a generous layer of freshly grated nutmeg - love that spice! -, a bit more pasta, lots more cheese, a sprinkling of chopped fresh parsley and in the 375° it goes.

You'll have to wait until it's done and at least tasted, until you find out if it's something worth repeating. 

[Brünnhilde forever]

Looks and tastes delicious! Maybe a pat of butter here and there would improve it. Gotta have butter, don't we, Toledobass? 

[Jay F]

[toledobass]

Looks and tastes delicious! Maybe a pat of butter here and there would improve it. Gotta have butter, don't we, Toledobass? 

hellz yeah.  Looks like a nice lunch.  Iberico cheese sounds very interesting.  The deli here has some Iberico ham but at about $100/lb,  I don't think I'll ever get to try it.   

And the Gabbiano label brings back wonderful memories.  When my wife and I first started spending time with one another we drank a ton of that stuff.

Allan

[Brünnhilde forever]

Digging out from the garbage the labels of the cheese - curiosity made me do it! - Brand name of the cheese I think is García Baquero® and it is prized at $23.99 per lb. I bought 0.46lb of it for $11.04. Figured I might get four meals out of this chunk, close to half a pound, I won't have it every day, but it's a great discovery anyhow.

The Gabbiano is also an exception to my shopping habit! I was at a loss as to what Pinot Grigio to buy - didn't write down Dave's recommendations! - their attractive label got me, and reading it is from around Venice, a city I am in love with, and I bought it. Two mistakes in selecting a wine, but I kinda like it! 

[toledobass]

Here is the some info on that ham from the deli I frequent:

Jamón ibérico


Allan

[Benji]

No problem with the latter... and I almost always use mushrooms.

Key is a non-stick pan... a lid... and a plate that fits the pan. After a the top's solid (which happens reasonably fast at mid-hi heat with the lid closed), you put the plate on top of the pan, carefully flip it over and let it slide back in, top side now bottom. Just a minute or so like that and you flip it back (because the original bottom side doesn't look as good) and serve it. With the egg-whites beaten, it's super fluffy...

If I get the key to the extra fluffy LIGHTNESS, too, I'll let you know.

Or if you don't have a lid just stick it under a hot grill (broiler?) for a minute or two so it's cooked top and bottom.

[Jay F]

Spaghetti Bolognese & ground meat?

Mmmm...Bolognese. I like it with cavatappi or angel hair from the box, or with lasagne or tagliatelle/pappardelle if I roll my own (which hurts like hell as I get older--rolling, not eating). Fresh P-R grated on top in any (and every) case. That's about my favorite meal in the world.

[Brünnhilde forever]

Here is the some info on that ham from the deli I frequent:

Jamón ibérico

Allan

Spanish Bellota in the US, can French Camembert be far behind? No matter what brand I try, it just isn't the real thing. All because 'raw', unpasteurised milk is prohibited in the US and it's the raw milk the cheesemaker in Camembert are using. The European Union tried to ban the use of raw milk, but the people won, a victory over European bureaucrats!  0:)

Next country to conquer: United States of America! Vive la France! - and French Camembert! 

[Dr. Dread]

Tonight, four-cheese ravioli with Classico spicy red pepper sauce.

[jlaurson]

And the Gabbiano label brings back wonderful memories.  When my wife and I first started spending time with one another we drank a ton of that stuff.

...and I sold that stuff at the first restaurant I worked at. Memories, indeed.