I'm making piroshki tomorrow, but I'm going to have to try this soon.

Does it have to be _Campbell's_ chicken broth?

2 T. dry sherry

Boggled me for a brief moment. Like: "Huh, it comes in a powder now?"

What happened was that after Patrick tasted his dinner, he told me I had to write that one down. I typed out my best recollection of what I'd done. Happens it was a canned chicken stock kind of night.

Bob, I don't have to tell you how atrocious that was.

Stefan, you returned the favor; it took me several seconds to figure out what you meant. If there's any residual confusion, just remember: cocktail sherry, not Harvey's Bristol Cream.

Which reminds me of something I should have added...

Thanks for the added note, Teresa. If I don't screw this up I'll report back with the results. (Silence means abject failure and the cook has retreated in humiliation to the liquor closet....)

Couple of things: I probably put in too much spinach, but it certainly didn't dampen the taste. Also, having to shell the pistachios and then crush them up in a mortar and pestle worked out nicely too.

Everything coagulated perfectly. I had a close call on overdoing the bacon, because I had the bright idea of taking some digital snaps of the whole process which I briefly thought of posting; so I abandoned the stove for about 30 seconds. All for nothing since I forgot to bring home my Powerbook's Fireward card....

:)

I skipped the sherry and tried some brandy, as all we have is Harvey's and you had not recommended that. I wonder if this recipe would stand an extra egg? Mine turned out nice and rich, and I stirred like a maniac to make sure.

End result: delicious, especially on a cold, crisp winter day.

But, honey chile, can y'all really buy collards up this far north? And where did a Southwest girl learn about them? A great cultural divide has been breached.

Madeleine

Actually, I'm from Arizona, where it doesn't count. I forget where I learned to eat collards, but I know I learned to appreciate them in Brooklyn. Around the holidays, my local groceries ship in heroic quantities of fresh collard greens.

If you're ever looking for a place to eat around here, try Junior's, a long-established restaurant where the cuisine has evolved into a sort of deli/Southern fusion with a few Caribbean touches, and the cheesecake is by general agreement the best in New York City. They do great collards.