Comments on: Housekeeping

By: ann

ann — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 12:13:54 +0000

Yay Carol, thanks for stopping by and assuring me that it’s not just my crazy family that eats ice cream with pretzels! I HEART the idea of pretzels and coffee ice cream. I know what I’m having for dinner tonight! ;-)

By: French Laundry At Home

French Laundry At Home — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 03:52:09 +0000

As a former Amish country gal (York, PA represent!), I can attest to the goodness and loveliness of pretzels with ice cream. In the summertime, we did pretzels with peach ice cream, and in winter, my dad and I ate bowls of coffee and chocolate ice cream, and dipped our pretzels in to scoop out the bites of ice cream. There’s really nothing better. I served pretzels with ice cream at a dinner party a few years ago and my friends thought I was crazy…. until they tried it. Now they have it all the time. How wonderful to read about it here. You made me a little bit homesick just now. :)

By: ann

ann — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 14:38:09 +0000

WillB — I love the kneading too. It’s very theraputic and I can’t wait to get back to it once the weather cooperates and gets cold enough to bake again! I’ve heard of that lard and milk loaf. I have a recipe for something similar in one of my Shaker cookbooks I think. Thanks so much for stopping by. You’re so kind to say such nice things!

Julie — It’s funny, I had reservations about making the fromage blanc, it seemed too simple and too run of the mill, but then I read Year Of The Goat and all these cheesemakers talked about it in such hushed tones as being the best expression of milk’s terroir, and we did find that. It’s delicious!

By: Julie

Julie — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 16:11:30 +0000

Lots of wonderful things here but the thing that really catches my attention is the fromage blanc. That picture makes me hungry.

And I agree, the Manhattan Bridge is beautiful. You have some good pictures of it on your other blog.

By: Will B

Will B — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 02:34:03 +0000

Terrific reading! Thanks for your insights. After almost fifteen years, I decided to try my father’s bread recipe, remembering back to being a young boy watching him kneading and kneading away - but it was all worth it! And I found, now that I have the recipe figured out, that it’s not that difficult to make bread. Mind you, this is just plain ol’ white bread - nothing european or artisanal about it! The flavor comes from using milk instead of water, and good old fashioned lard (can I use that word these days?) and lots of patience. I think it takes about four hours to make, with the active time being only about forty-five minutes. The remainder I spend reading recipes and trying to figure out what’s for dinner. Anyway, thanks for the great reading and interesting meals.

By: ann

ann — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 11:35:50 +0000

Toni — I’m just here to help ;-)

Virgina — I’ll be expecting a delivery of homemade pretzels today.

TerryB — Looks like we were on the same culinary wavelength this week. Your beautiful post was so nice and simple too. As the Shakers say, “tis a gift to be simple…”

By: Terry B

Terry B — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 16:07:12 +0000

For me, it’s often these deceptively simple foods that are what cooking is all about. Sure, it’s fun to do showboaty meals sometimes, but good food simply prepared is hard to beat. The first time I had caprese salad, we were staying in a friend’s Paris apartment. I leaned on her kitchen counter, a glass of wine in hand, watching our hostess slice tomatoes and mozzarella and arrange the slices on a plate. A little basil, a little olive oil, some salt and pepper and it was done. The taste of these few simple ingredients was a revelation to me. Thanks for reminding us that simple works.

By: Virginia

Virginia — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 02:02:58 +0000

There is a good pretzel recipe in the new King Arthur Whole Grain Baking Book. Soft rather than hard, but they satisfy a pretzel craving nicely. As for the peach ice cream, try Applegate Farms in Montclair. And thanks to Christina for the bread variation!

By: Toni

Toni — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 23:53:20 +0000

As an ex-New Yorker, I love the way you always include the city in your posts. It’s like a character in your ongoing story - love it! And, of course, what could be simpler or more pleasing than bread and cheese and onions, followed by a simple dessert?

By: ann

ann — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 13:04:02 +0000

Kevin — much nicer than the turmeric stained one, right? ;-)

Lydia — I bet you’d love it. It’s so simple. Ben & Jerry’s Chubby Hubby is kind of the same idea, but done way (too far) over the top.

Christiane — I was thinking about the balsamic… Good thought! So they still eat this down PA Dutch Country way? Too cool!

Christina — Thanks. I love that top one, the light is just perfect :-) I love the idea of adding rye flour. I’ve been thinking of toying with malt too. The semolina also works well as the dusting element on the towels. Makes for great crust!