A friend wrote a cookbook

[Johnny]

A friend of mine (who stayed in my house when I was back in L.A. for a year, and who was my roommate for a while after I got back) wrote a cookbook.

Colombe's Cooking in Your Kitchen.

He worked nights, and I worked days; but I did manage to eat some of his grub and man, was it good!

[Hatshepsut]

Looks good; the recipes are exactly the sort of thing I like to make.

Also, judging by the cover, your friend is pretty hot (although decades too young for me).

[Johnny]

Also, judging by the cover, your friend is pretty hot (although decades too young for me).

I'll let him know!

[Sarahfeena]

Looks yummy!

[vison]

I'm wondering why he has a picture of a very young Elizabeth II?

[Johnny]

He's in Canada, eh?

[Johnny]

The Cajun Salmon recipe has been posted on the Mellophant home page.

I've seen Dave use that grinding bowl. I thought it was so neat, I bought one for myself. But lacking his training, I've ground up barely more than peppercorns. The salmon recipe will give me a reason to use it.

[Johnny]

I've made the Cajun Salmon... and I've eaten nearly a pound of fish! Quite tasty.

[Inner Stickler]

I'm going to call my hors d'oeuvres appies from now on.

[Johnny]

My dad called them whores' ovaries.



.

[Hatshepsut]

My dad used to call them "horse doovers" just to see my mother wince.

[Zuul]

Yeah, I had a friend who thought he was being funny by calling them "horse de overs".

This cookbook looks fantastic (and I agree with Hatshepsut, your friend is very cute, Johnny). I've been thinking about what I want to eat for my birthday dinner and I do believe it shall be salmon!

The book looks very cool.

[Johnny]

How are you with 'spicy'? Next time I make it (and I'll definitely make it again!) I think I'll put a little cayenne into the rub. A bit more salt, too. (I used a measuring spoon labeled 'pinch', which is pretty small.)

[Zuul]

I love spicy food. When I cook for other people I usually have to tone it down a bit. I think I'll let you experiment with the recipe first before I try doctoring it up, though.

[Johnny]

Go ahead and try it as Dave wrote it. As I said, once I had a taste I couldn't stop.

But I too, like spicy food and think it will be even better with some cayenne. I don't know when I'll make it again. I made gravlax a couple of months ago, and stored half of it in the freezer. It's defrosting now, so I'll be eating smörgåsar for a while. And I'm overdue for some hot-smoked salmon.

[Johnny]

The cookbook arrived today. I haven't had a chance to read it, much less try any of the recipes (aside from the salmon I made a couple of weeks ago). But I did flip through it. LOTS of nice photos; many of which show preparation, in addition to the finished dishes.

I won't have a chance to cook until this weekend, but I'll let you know when I make something.

[Johnny]

I'm munching on some cornbread, hot out of the oven, made from the recipe in Dave's book. Very tasty! In the past I've only made plain cornbread. This is the first time I've used whole-kernel corn, cheddar cheese, and chipotle chilis. I was going to make another one to take to work tomorrow, but I'm feeling lazy. Anyway, I work with a bunch of Washingtonians. They might be frightened by the peppers. (I only used two, so it's very mild. But some people have low tolerances.)

[Johnny]

So I made another cornbread a few weeks ago to give to friends. I doubled the chipotles and cheese. (My friends are also from California, and like spicy.) Unfortunately, one friend had given up cheese for Lent. His wife said the bread was perfect. Just the right 'heat'.

Saturday I made the Cajun salmon again. Instead of appies, I made fillets. This time I added a little more salt, and also a teaspoon of red pepper flakes. (Everything was ground together; not just mixed.) Good stuff.

[Zuul]

So I made another cornbread a few weeks ago to give to friends. I doubled the chipotles and cheese. (My friends are also from California, and like spicy.) Unfortunately, one friend had given up cheese for Lent. His wife said the bread was perfect. Just the right 'heat'.

Saturday I made the Cajun salmon again. Instead of appies, I made fillets. This time I added a little more salt, and also a teaspoon of red pepper flakes. (Everything was ground together; not just mixed.) Good stuff.

Johnny! Good to see you.

That sounds delicious. One thing I've found with making cornbread is that whatever I'm adding to it, I usually want to add more than I think I'll really need. It just seems to mellow flavors out a lot.

[Johnny]

The recipe in the book has to appeal to a wide audience, and I've found that people up here tend not to like spicy foods as much as people in L.A. Following the recipe, the chipotle chilis add a great taste to the cornbread but the 'heat' is mild enough for my coworkers to tolerate. My friends and I agree that doubling the chipotles makes it better -- for our tastes. I like doubling the cheese, too.

I won't be making any cornbread for a while. I've decided to lose some weight. That Cajun salmon I made last week? I added it up, and the fish, broccoli, and Kraft mac'n'cheese came out to 700 kilocalories. I was surprised that one serving (260 Calories) of the mac'n'cheese was so large. Hey, there's no reason not to eat good food just because I'm watching my intake! But alas, breads and cheese have to be somewhat limited.