Comments on: Right this minute

By: Kim

Kim — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 05:33:00 +0000

I just discovered your blog, and I’ve been reading it for hours straight over the past several days! I just had to tell you about my new favorite artichoke preparation, grilled and basted. First, trim and halve (?) them and cut the choke out, then steam them until done. Next, make the baste (I’m not sure about proportions): heat some olive oil and butter in small saucepan, add garlic and white wine. Cool, squirt in some lemon juice, s & p. Grill the artichokes for a few minutes, basting with the sauce. Delicious! Can’t wait for your book

By: Lisa

Lisa — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 02:38:00 +0000

Lovely lovely Molly – I have only just now managed to get myself to the library to read your mayo column. A little delayed gratification – such a treat! I wanted especially to thank you for reminding me of Laurie Colwin, who sits, ever ready to soothe and humor and enchant, over there on my bookshelf. But I hadn’t picked up her books in such a long time! I actually abandoned your piece mid-column to go pull both <>Home Cooking<> volumes off the shelf. Got a good and necessary laugh when I read her words “One of the greatest shocks you will ever have is to realize how much it costs to get married on the cheap.” Then proceeded to read her essay on lentil soup and whip some up for me and the fella. Then finished your column! I’m very excited to try my hand at some mayo or aoli when we’re not worn out from trying to teach 800 hens to roost.

By: Il Fornaio

Il Fornaio — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 16:09:00 +0000

I have never successfully emulsified anything by hand, but when I picked up some artichoke beauties this weekend, I figured what the hell, I’ll try again. I was the defintion of overly cautious– it took me 20 minutes to stream in all of the oil. But I did it and it was amazing. thank you for the inspiration and the recipe (ps. if any other east coasters are making this with regular lemons rather than meyers, I would recommend reducing the salt a bit. It was a tad too salty for me, but a little more lemon juice solved that problem easily).

By: Dragan

Dragan — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 03:39:00 +0000

Will give this aioli recipe a try with wild asparagus, it’s a season now..sounds great! Thanks for sharing!

By: Molly

Molly — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 01:45:00 +0000

Carol, I hear you! We’ve eaten artichokes a couple of times this week, and both times, the stalks have been NASTY. So stringy and gross. Now I wish we’d gotten to try the ones from our Berkeley Bowl artichokes, because I have a feeling they were fresher and would have been tasty. I think the shipping time to get artichokes to Seattle means yucky stems. Grrr.

By: Carol

Carol — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 17:34:00 +0000

hi molly! as is often the case, you inspired me, and i made the aioli for dan’s birthday. quite tasty with the artichokes, but the stalks were stringy. (i asked you earlier if you ate the stalks.) but a few days later i got some HUGE ole artichokes grown in castroville and their stalks were tender and delicious…with the leftover aioli! thanks again for sharing another yummy recipe.

By: Pille

Pille — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 11:38:00 +0000

Well, we get no artichokes at all here in Estonia (unless you count those wilted specimens in the supermarket that have been flown in from the other side of the world, where they were harvested many weeks ago). But luckily I visited Ximena (Lobstersquad) in Spain last week, and we had artichokes for dinner two nights in a row. Utterly delicious.(So much so that I brought some back home with me..)

By: Nancy

Nancy — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 21:02:00 +0000

Delightful blog. A propos of nothing, have you seen clocklink.com? They have a clock with an orange-slice face that would go beautifully on Orangette. Sincerely. Nancy http://www.atfirstglass.com

By: Molly

Molly — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 21:59:00 +0000

Rebecca, that's a really good question about the yogurt. To my palate, the yogurt in France tastes richer than what I can find here - even when it's low-fat - and it isn't terribly tart. It's <>wonderful<>. I can't say for certain, but I think the difference is mainly a function of the milk there, and of the bacteria involved. Dairy products in France are wonderful in general. (Although don't get me wrong: you can still get mediocre yogurt there, too!) As for brands of yogurt here in the US, I am a plain yogurt kind of person, and I often buy Brown Cow - low-fat or cream-top - which I like very much. It's not like French yogurt, but it's good. Also, when I'm on the East Coast, I always buy some < HREF="http://www.liberte.qc.ca/en/page.ch2?uid=Yogurt" REL="nofollow">Liberte<> yogurt, imported from Canada. It reminds me very much of the French stuff. So, SO good.As for what the French eat for breakfast, it's hard to say. I don't think there's any one answer. Everybody eats something different, just like us in the States. A very simple, everyday, traditional breakfast is what you've heard: a <>tartine<> (a buttered piece of toast or portion of baguette) with coffee of some sort. But lots of French buy cereal these days, and of course there are all sorts of pastries and other things...

By: EAT!

EAT! — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 21:40:00 +0000

My kids love artichokes with tons of melted butter. I think the leaves are just a mechanism for getting the butter into their mouths faster. I usually steam an extra few to have in the frig with a herb mayo dip. Thanks for the reminder.