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good to know

I was waiting to hear about your stinky nuts!

Thanks. I looked at eBay and other resale sites but haven’t found what I am looking for. I will check out Calphalon.

I'm putting this here, instead of in the Cocktails thread, because of his approach, but it would fit just as well over there. https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/04/is-there-a-grand-unified-theory-of-cocktails-maybe/

I've bought several AllClad original Master Chef pans on eBay. Great price and in great shape. I'd do it again. If you want new, Calphalon makes a small pot that I'm very happy with too

Well, some cheeses are sold whole, so they cannot easily give you a sample.

If it is a store devoted to cheese and they won't give you a taste... I'd leave.

@Smithy, this is matzoh farfel, little broken up bits of matzoh used in lieu of oatmeal for the topping. It was delicious with some vanilla ice cream.

I'm stocking up on 'open-hearted nuts', the literal translation of the Chinese name for pistachios. Trying to maximise my hoard before the price doubles. 99% of our pistachios come from the USA.

Yesterday, my beer delivery company threw in the strangest thing yet as a freebie. According to the product name it is "泡椒臭干子", which translates as 'Pickled Chili Stinking Nuts'. It is two slices of something - about the size of one of those nori pieces you get on some sushi. It doesn't smell of anything. Fortunately, it has to list ingredients. Here's the list (computer translation) Straight into the trash. No nuts. I'd be nuts to eat it!

You are welcome. These can be hard to find, especially in good condition. It’s all about proper storage and affinage. French goat cheeses I have bought at cheese shops in my area haven’t been up to par, sadly. Ask for a sample first if they will give you one.

Hi everyone, I am in the market for a small pot (1 - 1.5 quart size max) to replace a very old revere. I have 2- and 3-quart all clad mc2 sauciers that I really love and am looking for something similar, just smaller. All clad discontinued the mc2 line and I don’t really see what I am looking for in the new lines. misen has this 1.5 qt pot that looks pretty good (although pricey at $99). Is this brand any good and is the design with a lip actually helpful? Any recommendations? I would use this pot mostly to reheat leftovers, make small batches of rice or lentil, or make sauces (beurre blanc and the likes). I don’t need something that is induction compatible (my cooktop is electric, glass-top). I wash pots by hand but having something that could go in the dishwasher would be nice.

Thanks for mentioning those cheeses. I'm not a cheese maven by any standard, but I enjoy experimenting. I'll look for these cheeses ... we have a couple of great cheese shops in the area and maybe I can find one or two locally, which would be ideal.

Love this Yes, I know. We spent about a week in the area and sampled lots from small farms. By the time we flew home they had to roll us on the plane.

Have you gotten more than in box with the incorrect product inside, or is this a single isolated instance? Errors are rare but can happen, and it doesn’t mean that the product has changed. My new design box (bought at Trader Joe’s) has exactly the same product as the old box. Link to an article about the box redesign 2 years ago.

@KennethT Does one have to choose? I love Valencay; the texture and tangy flavor are just perfect in my opinion, and the shape is striking. But I spent many weekends and summers in the area where Selles-sur-Cher is produced and used to buy it directly from a very small farm where I could see the small herd of goats who produced the milk, so it has a special place for me! Note that these 2 places are only 15 minutes from each other.

@lemniscate I also like these . thank you for reminding me . Ill stock up.

Apple Blossoms. May have been mentioned in this thread earlier, but these are so nice. A muffin shaped pie, I find the ratio to crust and apple filling just right, but I like the crust on pies if they are quality. You can bake or microwave. I like my pie room temp, so I just leave one out on the counter for a while and it's delicious. If I can't get the apple tarte seanonally, this will more than do. I also bought a jar of TJ's unsweetened apple sauce, probably eat that with my TJ's cottage cheese.

ooohhhh that's a tough choice - Valencay or Selles-sur-Cher?

Cake and IceCream : not an outstanding pic , but an outstanding bowl : TJ's Chocolate Sheet Cake , TJ's Vanilla bean ice cream . I can't remember the last time I had C&IC. if you can't remember either , get some tomorrow. It's as good as it always was. I have a new refrigerator/freezer . Ice cream now comes out hard as a rock. Im going to have to dig out my ice cream scoop-per w the anti-freeze handle.

I best get my you know what in gear…..

P. T. Barnum was so right.

Tough one. I love goat cheese so I’d probably start with crottin de chavignol (fresh or aged, it’s wonderful with a glass of Sancerre). Humboldt Fog is nice but its inspiration, Valencay, knocks it out of the water. Also a good Pouligny-Saint-Pierre which has a truncated pyramid shape like Valencay, but without the ash. And a Selles-sur-Cher to rounds things off. It would be nice to have a couple of sheep cheeses too, Corsican brin d’amour or fleur du maquis with dried herbs, and maybe a really fine fiore sardo (a type of pecorino). This is making me SO hungry. Lastly I am adding a Mont d’Or so I can have some cow milk-based cheese in my selection.

I got Why I Cook, Tom Colicchio’s new book, from the library and have been enjoying it very much, not for the recipes (which don’t speak to me the way the ones from Think Like a Chef do), but for the autobiography. Very nice read.

If you haven’t made your hotel reservations yet, our special rate goes off on April 25.