I'm dying here.

[cjsmith]

Of bliss; I'm dying of bliss. Fresh-baked rye bread and gruyere/emmenthaler Swiss fondue. I can now authoritatively state that dying of bliss is not a bad way to go.

(No, I didn't make fondue yet. This was the very last bit of the previous batch of fondue. I'm not at all fond of my cheese grater right now.)

Comments

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Fifty-fifty. Garlic, nutmeg, cracked black pepper. I toss the grated cheese in some flour and gradually melt it in white wine.

I would have absolutely no idea what to do with lamb. You have me well and truly outclassed! :)

[klwalton.livejournal.com]

Compared to fondue, lamb tagine is *easy*. You could do it with one hand tied behind your back whilst making fondue!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

You've got to be kidding. There is nothing in the world easier than fondue, unless it's bread! (Well, fondue is effortful, what with all the cheese shredding and all, but not tricky or complex or difficult to get right.)

What is tagine?

[klwalton.livejournal.com]

Tagine is meat braised with onions and garlic and spices and usually includes a bit of fruit. I have a lamb and pear tagine that *rocks*. A classic tagine is chicken with green olives and preserved lemons.

http://walton-eats.livejournal.com/tag/tagine

If you need preserved lemons, I make them :).

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

So tagine is sort of like a stew, maybe? Except for the fruit? (I don't know what makes something a stew, technically, either.)

The first entry I see for that tag is the lamb and pear one. The photo makes me want to lick my monitor.

I realized something weird about myself when reading the recipe: long ingredients lists intimidate me. (I suppose there's a tiny bit of this that's rational: I don't own most of the stuff on such a list.) I scan down the list and my brain goes "This Must Be Hard" and I find my eyes wandering off to some less scary part of the page!

Forcing myself to read through it, though, it doesn't look like anything is particularly tricky. There's a bunch of chopping to do and you'd get multiple dishes dirty, but that's it. Yes?

[klwalton.livejournal.com]

There's a bunch of chopping to do and you'd get multiple dishes dirty, but that's it. Yes?

Exactly.

And the secret to making a recipe with lots of ingredients (or even a few) is to measure and chop and have everything ready to go before you ever turn on a burner. mise en place - set in place - is Restaurant Cooking 101 and it is the thing that makes most cooking much easier.

And a tagine *is* a stew. Or some would call it a braise. I just call it delicious :).

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

So that's why you have lovely pictures with every vibrant spice in its own teeny little glass bowl! (Don't you wash a LOT of dishes that way?)

I bet measuring ahead of time helps when you're dividing a recipe, too. I almost doubled one of the ingredients in my rye bread -- actually dumped it in, and had to go fishing, measuring what I got back out -- because I momentarily forgot I was halving the recipe.

[klwalton.livejournal.com]

(Don't you wash a LOT of dishes that way?)

Yes :). But they all go in the dishwasher :):).

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Dishwashers are wonderful things. Dishwasher-safe crocks and stick blender parts are wonderful things. I adore having a dishwasher.

I was wondering where I could store a dozen tiny glass bowls, but now I'm envisioning new uses for my muffin pan. :)

[deege.livejournal.com]

I am lazy when it comes to fondue. I grate all of the cheese in the food processor. It also saves my fingers.

I like to throw a drop of Kirschwasser (cherry brandy) into my Swiss fondue also. Try it!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I'm thinking I should probably get a food processor. Modern ones are pretty easy to clean, right? Most parts dishwasher-safe?

I've had fondue with Kirschwasser, but never added any myself. I don't think I've ever owned any Kirschwasser. :)

[deege.livejournal.com]

Super easy. I throw everything in the dishwasher (ok, not the electrical base but everything else). I have a small Braun one, not one of the giganto models. It's perfect for this kind of thing. If you're lucky, you'll find someone getting rid of one on FreeCycle.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Awesome! Yeah, I should keep an eye on freecycle. Good idea.