Greetings, all, and welcome to today's chat! Hope you're enjoying all our recent coverage, including Tim Carman's gorgeous profile of the inimitable Joan Nathan; Julia Turshen's outstanding selection of recipes using our favorite spring ingredients; Paula Shoyer's take on pies for Passover; and more.
We have a real treat today: The wonderful Joan Nathan herself is joining our chat! Now's your chance to hit her with any question you might have related to Jewish -- or any other -- cooking! And the fantastic Julia Turshen will be joining us, too, and she can handle anything.
And we regulars are no slouches, either, but you knew that. ;-)
We'll have giveaway books for our favorite chatters: a SIGNED copy of Joan's new book, "King Solomon's Table," and "Everyday Seafood" by Nathan Outlaw, source of this week's Dinner in Minutes.
For you PostPoints members, here is this week's code: FR6226 . Remember, you'll record and enter it into the PostPoints site under Claim My Points to earn points. The code expires at midnight, so be sure to enter the code by 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday to get credit for participating.
OK, let's do this!
Hi! I bought a bag of shredded red cabbage to put on fish tacos last night. Made the tacos, but totally forgot about the cabbage until after dinner. Now I have a bag of unopened, nicely shredded red cabbage in the fridge and I have no idea what to do with it. Thoughts?? Thanks!
Sounds to me like a good excuse to make more fish tacos! You can also make a lovely, easy slaw or try substituting it for the radicchio in this 'All Red Salad'. I also love tossing shredded cabbage with olive oil and salt and then roasting it at 425 until it's wilted and charred and then serving it as a side dish or folding it into an easy rice pilaf (there's a recipe for this in Small Victories).
When I saw the article on spring vegetables and then saw asparagus, I immediately thought of risotto. Unfortunately I seem to be risotto challenged. I've tried multiple recipes - stir constantly, almost no stir,etc., and I've spent the money for real risotto rice but none seem to end up with the kind of creamy delight I can find in restaurants. Do you have any suggestions for my next batch? What are your favorite methods for making it?
Oh an asparagus risotto would be wonderful! I learned to make risotto from the great chef Jody Williams when I worked with her on Buvette cookbook. Here's her recipe which describes her technique. I would follow those instructions and then fold in thinly sliced asparagus at the end with the components of the Italian version of my Shaved Asparagus Salad (so, pine nuts and Parmesan cheese). I bet it'll be delicious. You can also stir in a big spoonful of creme fraiche or marscarpone at the end to make it extra creamy and really stir it in aggressively to get all the starch in the rice to make itself known.
Many, many thanks to Post staff and readers who answered my question last week about which models of kitchen aid mixer to purchase. I'm still pondering the possibilities and aspects I had not considered (such as whether a mixer will fit between my countertop and cabinets,) and your advice is more helpful than I can express. Free Range is more than an online discussion - it is a community for which I am both grateful and proud to be a part. Thank you.
