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I hesitate to answer this question for fear of not living up to my promises. But...

I think this is finally The Weekend Of the Gluten-Free Knish. I have been promising this forever, as no gluten-free knish recipe seems to exist on the internet (or, dare I say, in the world?) We shall see.

Good luck with that and let me know how you get on, my boyfriends sister has the gluten alergy and I'm sure would be interested to hear how yours turns out:)

I can't think of anything to cook this weekend. We were talking about what to cook at lunch time and neither of us came up with anything. Could be a bit of a blah weekend on the cooking front.

Roasted Chicken! with rosemary, shallots and potatoes. Yum...
http://www.anewwaytocook.com/Pages/ANWTC/recipe_b5.htm

Today, I had to stay home with my son who was sick and could not go to preschool. While he was watching Blues Clues I set up split pea soup in my slow cooker (using broth I had made from an old ham bone) and then when we went out for an "airing" I bought a chicken which is now roasting in the oven. I also stuck a Stouffer's mac and cheese in there to cook along with the chicken (hey, I've got a sick kid and need some comfort food). So that's what I'm cooking today1

Forgot to add I'm roasting the chicken for 2 hours at 350 (usually I roast one hour at 425), and I stuffed the bird with 1/2 a lemon, a rosemary sprig, and some thyme and tarragon. Washed the bird, patted dry, brushed olive oil over it and liberally salt and peppered that sucker. Also, for the first hour I roasted the bird breast down, like you do for a turkey. Makes a tender breast every time.

http://www.epicurious.com/gourmet/whats_new/recipes/236401

I did a riff on this recipe (in the newest Gourmet) for vegetarian bolognese tonight. And it turned out fabulous.

My version was only onions, carrots diced fine and cooked for about 20 mins on low heat with some pepperflakes I added some roasted eggplant, canned diced tomatos, did the mushroom thing as they described, and added some garlic.

I ran half of the sauce through my blender and reincorporated it into the pan to make it a little thicker/gooey-ier.

I was very happy and my guests seem to genuinely like it too!

it's going to be freezing tonight, so i am making pasta e fagioli to warm myself up...very simple:

2 slices of pancetta, chopped
half an onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 can of white beans
1 can of crushed tomatoes
4 cups stock (more or less, depending on if you like it soupy or stewy)
a glug or two of white wine to deglaze
1 bay leaf
oregano, basil, other herbs to taste
a few handfuls of spoon-friendly pasta (i have fiori)
parm!

i sauteed pancetta to render fat, then added onion and garlic, reduced heat and sauteed until transparent and sweet and little brown bits started to form on the bottom of the pan.

i deglazed with a bit of white wine, then added the bay leaf, tomatoes and beans. i warmed these up, then started adding stock.

that's where i stopped last night. tonight i'm going to cook the pasta separately in stock and then serve the reheated soup over it (adding herbs at the end), with lots of parm. that way i can store the leftovers separately and the pasta won't be mush when i have it for lunch on monday. (never tried it this way, but i'll let you know how it goes.)

Has anyone ever made home-made crackers? Like saltines or wheat thins? Kinda random, I know, but for some reason, I've recently become obsessed with making my own crackers. I tried a batch out today using the King Arthur Flour's recipe for basic crackers, but wasn't too happy with the results. The recipe was essentially pie crust but with less fat. I pressed thyme and sea salt into half the batch and a seed mix into the other half. The crackers came out super flakey--too flakey for any nice shmeers or dips--and not very flavorful. Disappointing, but I will try again!

Nicole, it sounds perfect for a stew base. Add some more chunky veggies and some cubed meat (browned beef cubes or chunked leftover chicken).

this may be outside of everyone's experience, but my oven door just flew open while i was making a cake! i had to prop a chair against it for the last 10 minutes of baking! otherwise, i am happy with our stove/oven. does anyone know anything about repairing oven doors? is it something we dare try ourselves? (my husband is pretty handy.) i was really looking forward to trying those earl grey cookies tomorrow!

um, i'd say if the problem isn't immediately apparent and easily fixable, call in a professional...that's not exactly a safe situation!

Let me preface this by stating that I am a cooking idiot…. Tonight we were making Lager Chicken out of the silver spoon cookbook. Yummy. After the cooking was done we were left with a skillet full of chopped veggies, beer, broth and browned drippings... it seems like a good base for a soup or sauce. It would be very rich as it is... Does anyone have an idea how to use these leftovers?

We had a fabulous food weekend--

Made a huge batch of butternut squash/celery root soup. Roasted 2 butternut squash with three celery roots, onion, white wine and fennel seeds (a Martha Stewart recipe, but played with the proportions). Roasted until tender, than simmered in chicken and vegetable stock. Puree--can put through a strainer, but I like the rustic texture. Froze half of the soup-- feeling virtuous!

Also just purchased the 'Sunday Supper at Luques' but Susan Goin, and well, had a Sunday supper:

Spicy Snapper over a carrot puree with gingered beets. Fantastic, love her use of spices. Also made a cranberry/walnut clatoufis, which was an adventure. Have never made that before. It was yummy, especially with the bourbon whipped cream.

There was a question about crackers-- I remember that Martha Stewart had some good recipies that I used a while back.

Wow JenNYC! Can I come over to your house for Sunday supper?

I made a hodgepodge of a dish last night...cleaning up random scraps in the refrigerator. Ended up w/ skinless chicken thighs browned and then slow "roasted" on a bed of quick sauteed onions, carrots, cauliflower, garlic...some white wine, a bit of tomato paste out of the tube, some herb-y goodness thrown in along the way. Turned out cozy and comforting on a cold Sunday evening...served with couscous and lima beans. I really love some of the dishes that come together when you're just winging it!

mfm--
My parents' oven door sprung open one day and the culprit was a spring that had broken or slipped out of place. From my recollection, Dad fixed it easily, but it required removing the warming drawer and getting his head under the oven to see what was going on. It was also a very old model, which I suspect is easier to repair than the newer ones. Good luck.

thanks, michelle of montreal! we couldn't look closely at it last night because it was still too hot. i will definitely check it out tonight.