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Happy Passover!

Exactly. I have plenty of non-copper, non-Falk lids, which work just fine. And while I may hit the pan with some Bar Keepers Friend every once in a great while, I have to be feeling industrious to do so.

Those marinated beans sound great. Thanks for posting that recipe. I've got some Rancho Gordo limas that need to get used one of these years, so maybe I'll try that. Good use of all your need-to-gos!!

This is possibly probably the worst recipe I've ever found on the internet. Apart from being riddled with basic English errors ('loose' instead of 'lose'), it sounds like a recipe for disaster. Who the hell cooks chicken hearts for 2¼ hours? Who in hell puts carrots, parsnips, chickpeas, tomato and lard into anything described as chicken anything pâté?? And why does it take 4 hours to make when it cooks for 2¼? What do you do for the other 1¾ hours? I regularly make chicken heart pâté. No vegetation other than shallots and it takes maybe 20 minutes on a bad day!

What cake recipe would make the best and most successful tres leches cake - whipped egg white as raising agent or baking powder or self-raising flour, fat or no fat, etc.

@weinoo beat me to it, but I would second Falk. Several small Falk sauciers to choose from. No maintenance for Falk copper except don't run it through the dishwasher. If you're anal Bar Keepers Friend shines it right up. A copper lid is never necessary. Metric lids are standardized. You probably already have stainless steel lids that fit the Falk sauciers just fine. You may not need induction cookware now, but I suggest buying the Falk induction ready versions. You can thank me later.

Sweet Potato Moussaka - plating definitely needs much more work but this recipe from “essen & trinken” was as good as always. They tend to produce creative dishes on level with upscale restaurants. Here you make a few things in parallel to assemble later - roast red and yellow peppers under the grill until black and remove skin to create a nice smoky flavor. Cut sweet potatoes in thin slices and pre-bake in the oven with olive oil. The ragu is made with ground lamb, onions, garlic, tomato passata, thyme, parsley, 5-spice powder and chile flakes. Spinach is quickly sautéed with onions and garlic and squeeze dry. And finally one makes a nutmeg heavy béchamel sauce. Once you assemble everything you top it with a mix of feta, egg yolk and heavy cream before baking it in the oven

Good news. Late last night, I managed to track down an alternative supplier of the smoked herring in the same city as that mentioned in the previous post and ordered one to sample. They just informed me my parcel has been shipped. It is a long way though, so it'll take two or three days to get here.

A bargain! I love hummus but would be seriously challenged if I needed to make the tahini first. 🙂

This may not seem much to get excited about to most of you but I can explain. 1) Hummus is almost unknown here and difficult to find. 2) Because of its unavailability, to satisfy my hummus needs, in the past, I’ve made it from scratch. All the ingredients are available. However, I have to make the tahini, too. It is equally difficult to find. Although I’ve made the tahini and then the hummus many times, it’s a grind (literally). Hummus Ingredients So for me, it’s fun to just open a tub of this very good hummus imported from Lebanon. I buy the regular type but it also comes in a number of flavours: with za-atar; with red peppers; with red hot chilli. $3.50 USD / 215g a tub plus delivery $0.55 no matter how many tubs I buy.

So, here's what I did and how I went about it. I'll note first that I had some vague idea of following this recipe from Heartbeet Kitchen: Marinated Gigante Beans. Someday, maybe I'll try following her recipe. Today wasn't it. But I'll still give her credit for the inspiration! You'll have to look at the recipe to see what she actually calls for. I started with mushrooms, a shallot and garlic still surviving (really) from home, a can each of beans and tomatoes, the aforementioned Juusto cheese-now-become-croutons, ...some broccoli about to expire in the refrigerator, the Very Last of a bag of frozen corn from last year, before my darling died; dried oregano, and a cube of pesto from last summer or fall when I was busy saving basil at home. The rest of the steps, that I haven't already shown: Oh, there was also red wine. In the skillet, and now in me. The final result, with shredded Parmesan as a topper: Not bad at all. I doubt I'll ever try to reproduce it, especially with the dratted sweet corn, but I'll be able to feast on it for a few days. And I've finished the frozen corn (which would never have gone without my assistance, one way or the other) and the broccoli, which was on its way out unassisted.

Thanks for that! As it happens, I did something with it before I checked back in and found your post. As you can see from this photo, Option 4 was the way to go....this time, anyway. 🙂 Stuff was like nice, crispy croutons! I'll show what I did with it in my next post.

Pork tenderloin saltimboca

Fortnum's is my favorite place for tea; I absolutely adore coronation chicken!!

Thanks for the info. Ortiz Ventresca is 3.88 ounces for bout $20.00. St Jude is, at least on the surface, a deal. I like the idea of mixing smoked and unsmoked. 👍

@Shel_B, I answered your question over here in a tuna topic you started ages ago!

I mentioned St. Jude tuna belly in another thread and got a question from @Shel_B about their smoked tuna so I thought I’d answer over here rather than take the other one off-topic. Note that those cans of tuna belly are small. I’d say the regular St. Jude smoked tuna is moderately smoky. If I’m making a smoked tuna spread to put on crackers, it’s perfect. If I want to make a smoked tuna salad for sandwiches, I sometimes use one can of smoked plus one can of unsmoked tuna for a milder flavor. I noticed they also have some smoked tuna processed for them in Canada that includes other seasonings including garlic, black pepper and curry powder. I included a couple cans in my last order but haven’t tried them yet.

Halibut, potato salad, and baked beans.

@blue_dolphin Hi ... I'm about to order some tuna from St. Jude. Quick question: is the smoked tuna strongly smoked or more subtle? Thanks. And thanks for the link. The price for the ventresca is pretty good compared to what's available in the local markets here, especially the Spanish ventresca. The South American tuna doesn't excite me that much, so I'm hoping St. Jude will provide better quality and value.

This situation is too good to not ask AI for advice I was genuinely curious about the fix. If your Juusto (Finnish squeaky cheese) gets tough, try these fixes: Soften with Heat: Warm it gently in a pan or microwave for a few seconds to restore its soft, squeaky texture. Avoid overheating to prevent melting. Soak in Warm Water: Submerge it in warm (not hot) water for a few minutes to rehydrate and soften. Store Properly: To prevent further toughening, keep Juusto wrapped tightly in plastic wrap or an airtight container in the fridge to retain moisture. Use in Cooking: If it’s too tough to eat as is, grate or cube it for dishes like casseroles or salads, where texture matters less. Toughness often comes from drying out, so moisture and gentle heat are key.

Lovely lunch. What gives your egg salad the yellow colour? Just good yolks or tumeric or curry...?

broiled kampachi collars, seared belly, tuna tar tar w some fat tobiko.

That must have been disappointing. Lately have have given myself to just bin things that don't turn out as planned. No sense in chasing good money after bad!

And another confession, this one an "oops". This delightful Finnish cheese has been hanging around in the refrigerator since a dinner party before I left home. As you can see from the instructions, it's intended to be eaten warm. It can be heated in the oven (my preferred method) or microwave. I think I've even had it grilled. Once it's warm, it gets gooey although not as spreadable as a soft cheese like, say, Brie. It's salty and savory, not a stinky cheese. I like it. I decided to finish it today for lunch, with crackers. So I microwaved it. The first time, it wasn't soft enough so I microwaved it longer. It began to bubble. See? Well. I can't even cut it with a sharp knife! It's taken on the toughness of a Parmesan rind! I tried chewing it, to no avail. Good flavors come off it, but it isn't edible any more. I suspect it's more because of overcooking than because of age. As I said: oops! I'll try cutting it and putting it in a bean or other skillet dish, to see if I can coax the last bit of umami out of it the way one does with Parmesan rinds. I may need my meat cleaver to do it.