Hosted by Barbara J Nosek
& Misty the FoodieCat
CS friends, help yourself to tasty resources!
♦ CatChat – Misty previews this week’s salon ♦
♦ TIDBITS – kitchen oopsies / mac salad, classic & more / where the chefs go ♦ CS MARKETPLACE SPOTLIGHT – food as fiction star ♦ FEATURED RECIPE – simple tasty stew {M – I’ll have some, hold the veggies} ♦ TIP – soda bread & other buttermilk delights ♦ THE WEEK – combine the three subjects and you have cocktail hour & entree
Misty’s History ♦ Misty’s Gallery
♦ Tidbits ♦
Newsy, schmoozy stuff for cooks
♦ Yikes, could any of us really be making over 100 mistakes in the kitchen. For CS-ers, probably not, but we might be making some of them. MyRecipes shows us how to mend our wayward ways with this roster of “130 Extremely Common Kitchen Mistakes and How to Fix Them.” Could browse the whole list, or maybe just use your page’s search function to see if a particular problem is covered.
♦ Probably nowhere in the world is mac salad as revered as it is in Hawai’i. The basics are
overcooked mac, Hellman/Best mayo, and finely grated onion. Where it goes from there determines if it’s tasty or just filling. The Taste newsletter has an interesting story on the island view, some restaurant variations, accompaniments, and then a recipe for a classic version. Btw scroll to the bottom of their page if you’d like to sign up
♦ The food is reportedly first rate, progressive yet traditional, and most of all “unfussy” according to this nytimes article about Yardbird – Hong Kong birthed by Canadian-born owners – soon to bring its vibe to the USA, starting in Los Angeles. Two reasons you might care – first because you just may want to try some of these simple preps at home, and second because you just might find yourself tableside or barside chatting with – and drawing secrets from – top level chefs who apparently flock {sorry!} to Yardbird.
♦ CS MARKETPLACE SPOTLIGHT ♦
Rhys Bowen’s “The Twelve Clues of Christmas”
Calling on the lexicon of the book’s 1930s setting, this is a dashed good tale, alive with characters you’d like to join in the drawing room for afternoon sherry. Including – yes – Noel Coward.
Are there some narrative gliches? I’d say a few, but what do I know. Bowen is a hugely successful mystery writer whose works often reside on best seller lists.
More to the point for CS-ers, it’s rich in detail about the many fine meals served during the 12 days of a holiday get-together of family, friends and strangers in a large mansion in a small English village. The plan is a “perfect old fashioned English Christmas,” but – oops – pesky murders get in the way.
As another bonus, when finally the perps are unmasked and the ends tied into a pretty bow – recipes! Mincemeat pie, sausage rolls, Christmas pudding, brandy butter and more. Plus blurbs on the parlor games played and holiday traditions observed.
First found Bowen in a mystery writers cookbook {12.14.18 Salon}. Would I read her again – you bet!
“The Twelve Clues of Christmas” ♦ Bowen’s other books
“Mystery Writers of America Cookbook”
CS Marketplace – Cook-friendly books, videos, tees & sometimes more
♦ FEATURED RECIPE ♦
Still time to make Irish Guinness Stew for St Pat’s
It’s actually a pretty simple prep. Some chopping of course, but then it’s just a matter of 
simmering until the beef is fall apart tender.
If you hate fat as much as I do, you’ll want to buy a piece a bit more than the required 2 lbs so you have that much after trim. Not talking about just marbling – that’s good stuff.
Also, I did add peas & carrots. And looking at their pic {Salon, just below}, though the recipe doesn’t call for the latter, looks like they did too.
All in all though, this was a pure dish that let the beef and beef flavor shine. Need some other Irish dishes in a hurry? Browse the instant Kindle choices at the second link.
Recipe ♦ Irish cookbooks on Kindle
♦ TIP ♦
“Eurekae!”
Eureka – I found it! – I’m guessing is singular So . . . calling on my Latin classes of {censored} years ago, taking a leap of faith that my title is plural.
Back story – I certainly don’t dislike bottled Ranch dressings and use them quite a bit. But every now and then would like one that tastes more like the fresh-made versions found in some restaurants.
Accordingly, embarked on a quest to make my own {still ongoing}. Problem, though, what to do with the leftover buttermilk. Turns out – lots of things.
Thank you google for this page of possibilities. One was a recipe for slow cooker oatmeal, which I applied to a regular batch and yay one more way to make the cereal more palate-friendly. The recipe I did use was for Irish soda bread, on The Kitchn website, and I think it was just as good as the one I usually buy at Sprouts. Loooooove it toasted, and a bit of apricot preserves can’t hurt either.
Getting rid of – eh, that is using up – buttermilk
Irish Buttermilk Soda Bread recipe
♦ A PEEK AT MY WEEK ♦
Welcome to my kitchen and living room
♦ Do you like tequila? I sure do like not-too-sweet margaritas, and occasionally a little glass of a nice tequila. Nice? For me that means smooth and rich, just enough sensation on the throat to know you just had a sip of the yield of the blue agave. Have for now found my number one fave – El Padrino. And nope, not a sip or cent in compensation, likely don’t even know of the mention.
♦ Sometimes you just don’t want to cook. And sometimes a serendipitous thread leads
you to tasty alternative. So in that article linked in the 02.22.19 Salon on ube, there was a mention of Jollibee, which coincidentally recently opened here in town and which had garnered woohoos on our Nextdoor app.
– Now, tried it. Seems extra juicy, maybe the citrus marinade google shows for most recipes? And when paired with a bit of crunchy breading, a good bite indeed. Misty? Hoovered it!
♦ Actually finished those rye croutons some time back, but just remembered something else I wanted to mention about them. Great just on their own! Afternoon munch, cocktail companion, late night snack. {caution on the latter, morning garlic breath}
So far next week: Guinness donuts, another mug cake, Martha’s wisdom, Thin Mint/banana cream pie w/pb, cheese tips, upgrade your morning toast, culinary lesson
Looking for something in CS? – scroll and check Misty’s previews OR enter the item in the search box OR email me at bjnosek@gmail.com
Any transactions are solely between the direct buyer and direct seller
Photo credits: book pix/Amazon, all others my own
All pages ©2019 CooksSalon.com
Cook with passion and a party spirit, whether for a crew, or for two, or just for you
We all pretty much know how to cook bacon. But . . . do we know the best way to cook bacon. Food 52 gives us the benefit of their research {oh, the sacrifice!}, for turning out perfecto strips. But . . . the answer has a bit to do with your preferences. In that regard, still helpful. Tune in 
look? Shown here, just a couple of the many artsy possibilities available.
& kitchenware, collages & sayings.
with pecans and bleu cheese, chicken grilled with ham & cheese, there are ethnic classics including saganaki, raclette, queso fundido and fondues. Great tips too for selecting, measuring, cooking, serving and storage.
After trying different methods, this is what I’ve found works best . . .
Leave it in the store package, which you’ve cut along the top on three sides. After each use tuck the wrapper tightly around on all sides, and then place it in a zip bag, wrapping that tightly around after squeezing out as much air as possible.
in the rest of the meal with roast chicken, sides, brown bread & dessert. But the same source, Irish Central, not surprisingly also offers us a prep for 
balance within our waterways. In a story in the beautiful “Saveur” magazine, celeb chef Eric Ripert has some ideas about how to fully enjoy the bounty of the seas in a responsible way.
newsletter, am I forgetting anything, probably. But now there’s one more.