Just in case you missed this treat tucked in to Sunday's paper, we're rounding-up the best of this special supplement to The Times. There's a fun blend of the fantastic and the practical in this issue.
• Preheat Oven...: A review of the top new baking cookbooks with recipes for Brown Sugar-Pecan Shortbread Cookies and Apple and Quince Tart.
• The New Staples: My staple supplies aren't nearly this sexy, but this story has me convinced I should re-consider. Any rose petal jam fans here?
• Room With Ado: Look around some high-end kitchens in an online tour.
• Mystery Meat: Find out what happens when you try to cook a quarter of a cow over the course of a summer. "Eating our cow and entreating our friends to eat our cow became our mission."
• Pot Thai: Beautiful kitchen gadgets from Thailand. There's some affordable gifts for the cooks we love here. Can the $14 Miracle Zig-Zag really work as well as they claim?
• Food for Arts Sake: Artists inspired by food, jell-o and donuts. You're going to love their work and laugh too.
• Thank You for Smoking: Don't let the cloying title stop you from reading the article. Toby Cecchni take us to Schaller & Weber, an old-world style butcher in the Upper East Side. He says you can't beat their bacon. Has anyone tried it? He says the smoky bacon won't work with eggs, but shares a recipe for Linguine With Smoked Bacon, Leeks and Clams.
• Mood Music: Must we have a customized soundtrack for every meal? "Many believe it to be an essential aspect of party decor, and unlike with flowers or candles most heterosexual men have no qualms about arranging it."
re: mood music. Yes. Every meal or event hosted at my place (and long roadtrips) has a soundtrack. But I'm a little on the obsessive-compulsive side when it comes to music...
okay, i bought rose petal jam when i was in paris (also lavender jam, special k with chocolate, porcini boullion cubes & loads of kinder eggs -- i tend to go a little wacky in european grocery stores!) but other than the usual -- spread on toast, as a layer in an otherwise all chocolate cake, melted & brushed onto fruit tarts, sweeten tea -- i'm not sure i need to search out another jar. can anyone recommend any must try dishes using rose petal jam?
i'm just about finished my jar of rose petal jam. it's lovely -- i used it on toast & tea breads of course, also as the jam layer in an all chocolate cake and a glaze on fruit tarts and to sweeten tea -- but i'm not sure if i'd consider it a staple...
oops, posted twice. this is what happens when you and your computer get less than the alloted amount of coffee in the am.