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lots of places in Chinatown have Ataulfo mangoes for $1 each, sometimes less. We've been addicted to the large Vietnamese mangoes right now, but they're not really a bargain per se.... but they're fantastic. Some are still green (which my wife prefers), some are just about fully ripe and some are in that in-between time that I prefer.

The cleanup lunch: There was some leftover variant of Hazan's sauce in the fridge, an onion sitting forlorn in its bowl on the table, and some Bionaturae whole wheat spaghetti taking up more space than needed. Since Hazan's sauce is made with an onion, I browned some of that lonely allium and added it to the sauce which was used on the spaghetti. Mixed in some Pecorino-Romano as well. Most folks don't seem to like or appreciate WW pasta, but I clearly enjoy it every so often. I made too much to eat at one sitting, but that was the plan ... into the fridge for a future adventure with leftovers.

While we take refrigeration for granted, at one time the idea of refrigerated food scared people. On October 23, 1911, some 400 guests sat down to one of the most pivotal meals of the 20th century. The setting was the Louis XVI room in Chicago’s Hotel Sherman, a “luxurious meeting place for the elite” that catered to swaggering politicians and mafiosi alike. There, under the cavernous, molded ceilings resplendent with gilt details, the mayor of Chicago, the city’s health commissioner, and other bigwig bureaucrats steeled their nerves for the world’s first-ever “cold-storage banquet.” Neither the eggs in the egg salad, nor the apples in the apple pie were fresh from any farm. “Everything but the olives in the dry martinis was refrigerated,” says Nicola Twilley, who wrote of the banquet ... Click Here to Read the Full Article

@ElsieD as I suspected, the crumb isn't much different, still quite fine but it does have a definite sourdough type flavor. I will be making it again and probably will leave the preferment for a longer time before I bake.

The 4-packs of Ataulfo mangoes are nice quality (so far). And not bad at $6, as they are a nice size.

It's been a long time since I made a classic brioche à tête (translation: big-ass brioche). So when I saw a mould for a few bucks in a local store I couldn't resist a trip down memory lane... I tore off chunks of buttery goodness and dredged them through a dipping sauce made from Nutella thinned with a splash of cream... Too. Damn. Good.

I always thought pasta was clean, no? Last night: Seared ahi tuna (saku block) from Great Alaska, ikura, avo, cherry tomato, gari over trfny rice (koshihikari).

Hongos con crema with chile Poblano rajas, shallot, garlic, sliced jalapeno, crushed tomato, and Mexican oregano. Served on corn tortillas.

So I made batter on Saturday, half of which got a 24-hour rest and made the last half-dozen on the previous page; the other half I gave an extended 96-hour rest to see if it made any difference to the final results. SPOILER: not particularly. Before we get there, I thought I'd take a few photos of the process in case it's of any use or interest. Coat the moulds lightly with beeswax... Fill... At this point if I notice any bubbles on the surface I'll give them a flash with a torch, but these were all good... After 10 minutes at full-blast (250C/480F) they've risen a little above the moulds... By 15 minutes they're hopefully as high as they're gonna go... ...and the tops are 'set'... (Incidentally, when souffléing happens and they rise higher than this, they expand horizontally a little, which means the canelés can't sink back into the moulds properly and cook evenly. You can remove them from the oven and try to get them to slip down before it gets too bad, but it's far from ideal.) At this point the tray gets a turn and I drop the temperature to 180C/350F. After 25 minutes there's some nice colour on the tops (bottoms)... And at 35 minutes they're starting to edge their way back down... Until by 45 minutes they're almost settled... At the 50 minute mark I'll grab one and turn it out to see how it's looking. I was happy enough... It's the one in the top left, below; the two next to it on the right were also fine for me... The bottom row needed a little more time in the moulds to get a better colour on the tops. From right to left, they took 55, 58 and 62 minutes. I could've left the last two in a bit longer but I think chasing an even colour is to their detriment. After a 40 minute wait for them to cool down and crisp up... For anyone who's made it this far, as an added bonus here's an alternative cross-section of the internal structure...

Catalan comfort food (for the Catalan part of the family): pilotas amb pesols - or meatballs with peas in a tomato sauce. No fuzz, but happy faces guaranteed 🥳

I'll let you know in a couple hours when I cut into it.

I'd be interested in knowing how much difference it made.

I seldom have time to cook these days, but when I do I keep coming back to steak tacos. Walmart wagyu strip loin with salsa verde, charred spring onions and jalapeño, boujie Truf green hot sauce (don’t judge me).

Two small loaves of white bread. I used a 12-hour preferment because I wanted to see if it changed the texture and the taste of the bread that I usually make. I'm happy with the crust so I'll see what the crumb is like when I cut into it.

I seem to be stuck on a mini muffin kick. But they are really good to have just for a quick treat or to put in a lunch. Today's muffins are date nut muffins. Not as moist as some of the others that I have made but they are delicious. I would post the recipe source but I tweaked it quite a bit so it's not really relevant.

Beans & greens topped with fried eggs and goat cheese. Warmed up some leftover borolotti lamon beans, stirred in baby spinach to wilt and topped them with these burnt butter eggs and goat cheese from Georgina Hayden's book Greekish. I unintentionally broke both yolks but still managed to have breakfast 🙃

I love John's Grill. Old school SF

I (we)will not return to HOPR. Our last experience there was unsatisfactory. The place was very crowded with noisy and boisterous customers to the extent that there was literally no place to sit while waiting for our table. My dear sweetie was pushed and jostled as she tried to find a comfortable place to wait. We were on time for our reservation yet had to wait more than 45 minutes to be seated. That would have been acceptable were there a place to sit, talk, have a drink. But that was not going to happen. As for our meal, well, it too was disappointing. The Yorkshire pudding was grossly overdone and one of the four baked potatoes we ordered was cold. The prime rib was pretty good, but not to the standard I remembered it to be. I've been a multi-time visitor to the restaurant and think I've a pretty good idea of what their quality and standards have been over the years. Overall, it was an unpleasant dining experience. @MetsFan5, if you go back to the restaurant, I hope you have a more enjoyable experience than we had.

I smoke after , as the items are ice cold , but fully cooked. try both and report back !

Woops! The result of Rodney's sugar panning

Bob making his fantastic popcorn Elizabeth panning black current pate de fruit with Guittard 31% white chocolate Ruth's awesome toffee with almonds and sea salt

I also smoke first - I find it makes a rounder smoke flavor as some of the smoke winds up in the bath water.

I smoke first and am happy with the results.

Appreciate it. Opinion on cold smoking before or after the bath?

Ruth, thanks for that very helpful information. I know you use CR transfers as well, and your Christmas reds were beautiful. I will have to give CR another try--in the ones I got a couple of years ago the colors are definitely not opaque: the blues turn gray, the reds turn brownish, etc.