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Duralex USA is having a 50% off sale on their glass storage containers until Jan 1. Some items are out of stock and shipping is on the high side unless you hit the free shipping target of $120 but I thought I’d mention it here in case anyone is interested. I’m a big fan of the little 4 3/8”, 10 oz square glass bowls. I use them for everything from mis en place to bringing dips to parties. The lids snap on very securely and they’re attractive enough to put on the table. One of the items in that Duralex sale is a “Baby” set with 4 of my 10 oz square bowls, 4 smaller 5 oz square bowls and 2 larger 13 oz rectangular containers for $25. For comparison, Amazon has a set of 6 of the 10 oz size for $73 They also have some larger 2 qt square bowls @ $40 for a set of 4 but unfortunately nothing in the 2 cup - 1 qt range. Here’s the $25 “Baby” set:

Baked two pizzas early this morning. Moe's breakfast and I'm working today so will take the same for lunch. One topped with Italian Sausage, Pepperoni, mushrooms and green olives. The second one was the same minus the pepperoni. I had a dough that had been in the fridge for 6 days and decided rather than bake bread I would bake pizza.

Another sign that Christmas will soon be here!

I tried a different brand of tortillas for the new batch. Definitely more like want I want my tortillas to taste like! Not a hint of sweetness. Pliable (as were the first set). And yes, I think I have the technique down although I didn't try trimming to reduce excess tortilla -- and I should have. This thing that looks like a sock puppet was dinner last night. I seem to have forgotten a picture of the interior, probably because I wasn't crazy about the filling I'd concocted. Scrambled eggs with feta cheese and shredded cheddar with roasted red pepper that was the most nondescript cheese I've ever bought. I won't get it again. I added sour cream and salsa at the table, but I think this filling could have had it rolled in at the outset without falling apart. I'm making progress on the tortilla flavor, anyway.

Finally had some of the pork I made.

Went shopping at Trader Joe's yesterday and was thrilled to see cheese blintzes in the freezer aisle! After being a staple at TJs for years, the blintzes disappeared a few months ago. Going to try some of the blintzes for breakfast and if they are still tasty, I will stock up.

Pyttipanna - Swedish fried potatoes with “small things” - here the fried potatoes are made with kassler, leeks, mushrooms, red onions and thyme. Topped with fried egg

There is no such thing as a worst crab cake 😉

Yesterday, today, and tomorrow (Ms. Alex is out of town), to accompany g-f penne with a simple ragu. (Yes, all three days for that, too. I made a lot.) Also nibbled on a little Parm-Reg before the pasta. ETA: The 2020 vintage was Wine Spectator's #9 wine of the year. This 2021 is one of Binny's (Chicago mega-retailer) Top 50 Under $50.

Gertie's crab cakes, tartar sauce, and green bean salad. Mine was the first (and worst) - I swear the other crab cakes looked better. Served with croissants for those who wanted a crab cake sandwich.

If you are serious, message me. My new house needs many window coverings!! We'll talk $$$.

Another “things in a bowl” night. It was the same marinated chicken but this time with bok choy and spinach over sticky rice with broth. Not sure why the chicken looks so undercooked, tricky light perhaps.

Yep, those are on my list 😊

Another gorgeous label fom España. Tastes great, too.

Picking up Real Food, Fake Food from the library next week. Currently making do with Invitation to a Banquet, by Fuchsia Dunlop.

They also have all sorts of shapes and sizes. I like a deep dish pizza but don’t necessarily want it for days so I freeze smaller dough balls and bought a little 4” x 12” pan I can use for a couple of servings. Like these.

Thank you! It sounds like we both enjoy salads as the centerpiece of the meal. I grew up with a salad served separately, before the main dish but these days, I’m much more inclined to make the salad the main and add something like a flatbread or cheese toastie to round it out.

Serious Pig, followed closely by Outlaw Cook.

I’m so sorry Goûter is having to deal with this issue! i understand Purolator not wanting to deal with the shipments but they shouldn’t have accepted the packages if that was the case. Ah well, I guess this landscape changes by the minute!

Here’s the pasta (I used creste de gallo) with green beans, tuna and mushrooms from Six Seasons of Pasta by Joshua McFadden: I thought this was a skillet version of tuna noodle casserole, especially with the breadcrumb topping but the header notes say it’s inspired by the traditional green bean casserole. If so, why not use those French fried onion rings instead of breadcrumbs? No matter, this is a delicious bowl of comfort food. And he does have a tuna noodle casserole with asparagus, so there’s more of this Midwest vibe to come.

They are professional pizza pans. They make them for all types, and I have the pans for a Sicilian style and Detroit. Being a dark metal, the bottom browns so much better. I baked a Spanokopita in it since I’ve had the worse time getting the bottom to brown and not be soggy. So brown and crunchy! Lloyd’s

New equipment this year! Small vibration table https://a.co/d/eA5CzzP It works great, is small and easy to store. at 13.78 x 13.78 you can fit a larger (4 across) mold and a smaller (3 across) but it releases bubbles fast enough that doing one at a time is still quite efficient. Perhaps my favorite use is leveling out the super sticky fillings. My family LOVES toasted coconut cream but they are really difficult to get capped without pulling the coconut out. Sadly, I already struggled with those this year before the table showed up, but it will help with the rest of my Dubai bars which have a bit of the same issue! I finally sprung for a Martellato Meltinchoc https://www.bakedeco.com/detail.asp?itemid=51974 and I wish I had done this a long time ago. Having something that keeps chocolate in temper for long periods of time is a game changer. In addition, if you make sure to get the 103 or 104 there is a rack that sits over top of the tank. Only thing is, I use it differently than the way they designed it. Rather than putting the mold IN the rack, I just set it on top. It's much easier to scrape and you don't run the risk of the mold going for a swim by slipping off of the tiny ledges when you are trying to pick it back up! Hope everyone has been doing well!

From Goûter: "Turns out Purolator returned the packages as they are no longer willing to ship items that might be held back by FDA (being food, it falls under the category). I am re-sending out via FedEx today and the tracking number is . . . " They will be charged import taxes which I will repay them. "It's a 3-day shipping so it should still make it for Christmas :)"

@blue_dolphin You do post the most beautiful salads. They look so delicious. Your plating is so well executed. Like us, you must eat a lot of salad. We have a large salad plate two out of three nights with a romaine based salad plus other salads such as Tabbouleh, mixed beans, avocado, smoked salmon for me and canned corned beef for Ed, etc. Hearty and tasty...but never picturesque I'm afraid.

Another salad from Good Things. This is a shaved fennel, apple and celery salad with aged Gouda and toasted pecans, dressed with a creamy lemon-miso dressing. The “creamy” element in the dressing isn’t mayo or dairy, it comes from aquafaba. Recipe available online here.