tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17422713.post116854334999497849..comments2024-02-17T12:47:30.703-05:00Comments on Beyond Salmon: Polenta with Green Bean and Mushroom RaguHelenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12271344371852988017noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17422713.post-70739390219215653002019-03-19T07:53:18.090-04:002019-03-19T07:53:18.090-04:00I Just stumbled on your site and have to say I LOV...I Just stumbled on your site and have to say I LOVE how you write about your ingredients talking to each other and to you.<br /><br />SO COOL! My mom's name is Helen too, I also love to cook - did even cook for Bob Marley's family once - but now just usually just for myself. (for the time being)<br /><br />SO look forward to checking out some more of your recipes. And if needed will consult my ingredients if something is missing, on what they have to say about improvising...<br /><br />:-) to you<br />Jillene LuceJillene Lucenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17422713.post-1169038545593955862007-01-17T07:55:00.000-05:002007-01-17T07:55:00.000-05:00Hi Giacomo,Join anti-tradition club! I only obses...Hi Giacomo,<BR/><BR/>Join anti-tradition club! I only obsess about traditional taste, how you get their doesn't really matter to me. I'll try your polenta technique next time I make it. <BR/><BR/>Thanks!<BR/>-HelenHelenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12271344371852988017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17422713.post-1169016351392920182007-01-17T01:45:00.000-05:002007-01-17T01:45:00.000-05:00A heretical suggestion: making polenta turns out t...A heretical suggestion: making polenta turns out to be quite a bit easier if you pour the polenta before the water boils. You can pour much faster, you can use the wooden spoon since the beginning, and you get no lumps anyway.<BR/>I know, I know: that's not what Tradition says. But then, Tradition also says polenta is made in a copper pot over an open fire, and I don't do that either.<BR/>At least, heresy is worth a try!<BR/><BR/>Giacomo<BR/><BR/>P.S. Congratulations about everything, and best wishes: I read you're on to a great 2007!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17422713.post-1168872246343013772007-01-15T09:44:00.000-05:002007-01-15T09:44:00.000-05:00Hi Cyndi,You are not the only one new to polenta. ...Hi Cyndi,<BR/><BR/>You are not the only one new to polenta. I've had it in restaurants many times, but haven't started making it at home until about a year ago.<BR/><BR/>Enjoy!<BR/><BR/>Cheers,<BR/>-HelenHelenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12271344371852988017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17422713.post-1168810426711079432007-01-14T16:33:00.001-05:002007-01-14T16:33:00.001-05:00I'm probably the only one here who hasn't had pole...I'm probably the only one here who hasn't had polenta. Guess I have to try it - you've made this dish look delectable.Cyndihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08485300845528483642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17422713.post-1168810404817369062007-01-14T16:33:00.000-05:002007-01-14T16:33:00.000-05:00I'm probably the only one here who hasn't had pole...I'm probably the only one here who hasn't had polenta. Guess I have to try it - you've made this dish look delectable.Cyndihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08485300845528483642noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17422713.post-1168790530108709512007-01-14T11:02:00.000-05:002007-01-14T11:02:00.000-05:00Hi Lydia,It's funny -- I do that too -- create lef...Hi Lydia,<BR/><BR/>It's funny -- I do that too -- create leftovers intentionally. When I interned in a restaurant, that's what restaurant cooking felt like. You had all these different containers with different side dishes, sauces, marinades, drizzles, and prepped veggies. When a customer ordered something, you simply pulled it all together into one dish. It looked like really sophisticated, New American cooking that had all these different components, but when you see it in its little containers, it totally feels like cooking with leftovers.<BR/><BR/>Cheers,<BR/>-HelenHelenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12271344371852988017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17422713.post-1168736424103872882007-01-13T20:00:00.000-05:002007-01-13T20:00:00.000-05:00What's more fun than playing with leftovers? Somet...What's more fun than playing with leftovers? Sometimes it's fun to cook a bunch of stuff on the weekends just to create leftovers, to stack up little containers in the fridge, and to pull them out at random and invent new dishes all during the week.Lydia (The Perfect Pantry)https://www.blogger.com/profile/18005372315838352874noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17422713.post-1168632033644423562007-01-12T15:00:00.000-05:002007-01-12T15:00:00.000-05:00Hi China,This sounds excellent. I'll sign the pet...Hi China,<BR/><BR/>This sounds excellent. I'll sign the petition. Didn't sous-vide (sp?) technique originate in science labs too?<BR/><BR/>Cheers,<BR/>-HelenHelenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12271344371852988017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17422713.post-1168631565226206852007-01-12T14:52:00.000-05:002007-01-12T14:52:00.000-05:00i don't know why they don't make these for kitchen...i don't know why they don't make these for kitchens, but they make a self-stirring device for labs. there's a hotplate with a spinning magnetic bar under it and you just put a magnetic stir bar in the pot, put the pot on the hotplate and it stirs and cooks at whatever temperature and speed you want.<BR/><BR/>we need to start a petition or something to get these sold at target.<BR/><BR/>-chinaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17422713.post-1168624604898053722007-01-12T12:56:00.000-05:002007-01-12T12:56:00.000-05:00Hi Terry,I think you hit the nail on the head with...Hi Terry,<BR/><BR/>I think you hit the nail on the head with "having a pretty good idea what it would taste like before I even started cooking it." It's the ability of conjure up a taste in your head that is so necessary for cooking experimentation. <BR/><BR/>Cheers,<BR/>-HelenHelenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12271344371852988017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17422713.post-1168623641782359772007-01-12T12:40:00.000-05:002007-01-12T12:40:00.000-05:00Turning leftovers into something this wonderful is...Turning leftovers into something this wonderful is an art. It's also a big step in the evolution of a cook.<BR/><BR/>For me, the first big "Aha!" moment when I started getting more serious about cooking was looking at a recipe and having a pretty good idea what it would taste like before I even started cooking it. Next came, "I bet it would be better if I..." That was followed by borrowing a technique learned from a recipe and applying it to a completely different set of ingredients. And now, one of my biggest pleasures [and accomplishments, I think] is to be confronted with some ingredients, leftover or otherwise, and actually come up with a couple of different interesting approaches to cooking them, possibly adapting the plan as the dish progresses, as you did.<BR/><BR/>This polenta dish is a shining example of that kind of satisfying cooking, Helen.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17422713.post-1168566379236964812007-01-11T20:46:00.000-05:002007-01-11T20:46:00.000-05:00Ah yes, I hear you well Helen. I am also the queen...Ah yes, I hear you well Helen. I am also the queen of leftovers ;-) Ask P. ;-) Lovely dish! Can I come to eat your leftovers? I know my way...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17422713.post-1168562611078590482007-01-11T19:43:00.000-05:002007-01-11T19:43:00.000-05:00BipolarLawyerCook: wow, who knew that was a pot st...BipolarLawyerCook: wow, who knew that was a pot stirring device. It does looks too good to be true, particularly with "as seen on TV" label. But you never know -- immersion blenders were first "seen on TV" too. I guess I'll wait until Cook's Illustrated evaluates a few of these things before I consider buying one.<BR/><BR/>ByTheBay: thanks for adding me to the gluten-free foundup :)<BR/><BR/>Cheers,<BR/>-HelenHelenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12271344371852988017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17422713.post-1168561478472952832007-01-11T19:24:00.000-05:002007-01-11T19:24:00.000-05:00That looks so excellent! Making polenta from scrat...That looks so excellent! Making polenta from scratch is hard work, but worth it (sometimes). I will add this recipe to this week's gluten-free roundup!ByTheBayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06670549761665347741noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17422713.post-1168560024763527602007-01-11T19:00:00.000-05:002007-01-11T19:00:00.000-05:00There actually is a pot-stirring gadget, believe i...There actually is a pot-stirring gadget, believe it or not. It's called StirChef. Pesonally, I tend to be wary of anything whose primary container label says "As seen on TV!" <BR/><BR/>http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/index=blended&field-keywords=stirchef&results-process=default&dispatch=search/ref=pd_sl_aw_tops-1_blended_13205177_2&results-process=default?tag2=amd-google-20BipolarLawyerCookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00718892727028970068noreply@blogger.com