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Sorry, I don't have much to offer in terms of help. But, are you in the US? I've been under the impression that tonka beans aren't allowed in the US but are ok elsewhere in the world.

Wow, Carrol’s - that’s a blast from the past! There were two in my little Northern NY burg, well before McD’s came to town. I believe both locations are still Burger Kings. First food-adjacent job was really a babysitting gig for a couple who had a seasonal (summer) lakefront restaurant. When the kids were put to bed, I’d go help out in the kitchen with little stuff like salads and desserts. Other times, I’d get called over to be a spare pair of hands when the kitchen was in the weeds. I also worked as a dishwasher at the local golf course restaurant where I also helped out with plating, etc when they were catering for group lunches or dinners. Then I did my own fast food stint at McD’s. I continued to work there even when I was in college because they were happy to give me as many hours as I wanted and work around my schedule. They have corporate processes, training materials and templates for everything and we had a manager who wasn’t the sharpest crayon in the box and happy to turn tasks over to someone else so I volunteered and learned how to do the ordering, rotate stock, calculate waste & reject, man-hours and scheduling. I also did tours for school kids and scout troops, arranged birthday parties and donations to local nonprofits with insatiable thirsts for McD's orange drink. I also learned to do arithmetic in my head really fast so I could total things up while stuffing the bags, add the sales tax (I used to know 6.5% of anything without looking) and calculate the Canadian exchange for our guests who wanted to pay in CDN. Then I graduated, moved to California, and worked in labs where we weighed our ingredients but didn’t produce anything edible!

I'm starting... I think my first job in the world of food was in about 1969-1970. At a fast food hamburger joint called Carrol's. No inside seating, from what I can remember. In the idyllic town of Franklin Square, on Long Island. Carrol's became Burger King, and though Carrol's itself petered out, Burger King's parent company is called Carrol's Restaurant Group, which is now owned by Restaurant Brands International. Perhaps had I stuck around I'd now be a big macher...but I didn't, as that job was short-lived. When I worked in that ill-fated Carrol's, on Franklin Avenue in Franklin Square, one could buy a burger, fries and shake...and get change from $1!!! I moved on to work in the various food departments for the Hills Supermarket Chain - also no longer extant. But I worked in the butcher department ( those days called the meat department) which had real butchers and counter service if necessary, the fish department, which also had a counter for service and the deli department, which had the same. I was a "floater" going to stores which were opening or needed help. I worked in various Hills, located in, yes, Franklin Square, Malverne, Lawrence, Island Park, and maybe one or two others - all on Long Island, and all serving the demographics of their local population. Like in Lawrence, a heavily Jewish neighborhood, the deli counter had all sorts of smoked fish, and I learned to slice lox/smoked salmon there. That was the job I held until leaving for college - which didn't last that long. Moved to Miami for 8 - 10 months, where I got in a job in a classic Jewish deli on South Beach. Finally saved enough, after moving back and driving a cab in NYC, to move out to Santa Barbara and go back to school. I worked in another deli, as well as a 7-11, which was probably (still) the worst job I ever had, because the clientele on my overnight shift was somewhat scary. No more food jobs until I moved back to NYC, after 18 years in California, and went to cooking school.

It would be good if stores didn't thaw the flash frozen fish. I suppose they do it because most people think "fresh" is better

I remember the $3 hamburger as if it were...1972 all over again!

One of my favorite methods for swordfish is to brine in 1 quart water with 1/4 cup coarse kosher salt for 1 hour no more, no less. SV for 45 minutes at your desired doneness temp, then sear in a cast iron pan with brown butter for a min or two on each side. Plate, and pour the brown butter on top. I think its called blackened swordfish, although there is probably variations that use seasonings, but in my opinion salt and browned butter is all that is needed to let the swordfish shine.

same sort of dinner as yesterday , but w red wine : Motif from Tj's , @ about $ 5.00 0r so a bottle. dry-ish , big mouth feel , no Benzene [ flavors from duPont , not from the grape ] its my current Tj's table wine. delicious . I might have added a bit more wondra to firm up the sauce , next time. Im very pleased ( a bit surprised too ) that this dark meat chicken is Sooooo tender . no hint of tendons . a serious keeper. next time S&S has CkDrums on sale , Ill make more , and might start them in the IDS for an hour or two before SV.

yuppers - that's the good stuff... our Costco packs it in both 1 filet and 2 filets per package. two is a bit much . . . altho even with one side I divide it into 3 or 4 "meal size" pcs, freezing what we don't eat 'that day' ....which is why I don't buy their huge qty of salmon - it's not tasty to re-freeze previously frozen . . . .

@Smithy, I'm still a a hard-core Zinfandel fan. Can I ask what wineries were on your old list? Edited to add: I know you've gone off hard-core Zin, but I see Sunce does lots of Zin. Sacrilege, I know, but can you tell me what you used to think about their Zins?

I'm going to play around with tonka beans to make a dark chocolate ganache bonbon. I've looked on the internet and see a wide range of flavor strengths. Everything from 1/3 to 2 beans for 250 gm chocolate. Some people say go sparingly, other seem to think more is better. What's your experience with tonka?

I took one for the team. They are OK. A bit too tender...just a bit. I wouldn't compare them to burnt ends as there's no burnt part. Sort of like braised short ribs. Would I re-order them? Maybe.

a while back , I SV'd some plump CkLegs , from a S&S sale https://forums.egullet.org/topic/154537-what-are-you-cooking-sous-vide-today-part-3/page/87/ here they are , pre-SV. didnt take a pic p-SV. they look pretty much the same , except for some very flavorful gel in the pacs: one drum w some of the meat sliced off Note the chicken jelly . more meat sliced off . the upper L is for MC . he goes crazy for it. Ill scape off the bone later , and add that to MC's portion. Id give him the bone , which he would enjoy , but it coated w jell , and he would carry the bone around to find the exactly perfect place to enjoy it. A rug usually . My standard Campari // Spinach // pecan // EVOO plate , w Penzey's Pico & Fruta on the Campari's TJ's Coastal Chard // demi-glace // a little Wondra lower pyrex bowl . in a hot pan goes the wine/demi and the chicken. very briefly Placed : Eating this was very very good . the SV CkDrum meat was very tender , pick , and moist. a winner way for me to set up CkDrums. the wine/demi can be varied each time w other flavors : Curry powder ? etc ? etc ? the base of Campari // spinach is a staple of dinners here. Tonights dinner will be the same , but Ill try my TJ's red table wine .

Started a batch of dough Thursday and put it in the fridge until last night. Taken out around 8 and left on the counter overnight and baked 12 mini baguettes this morning. This was an 800g flour batch with just 1.5g of yeast at 70% hydration. Used the smallest baguette to make garlic bread to go with Pollo Alla Marengo with a side of pasta for Moe's breakfast. I'm working today so it will be my lunch.

Bay scallops, Merguez sausage, green beans, and baby butternut squash, each separately seared and removed. Deglazed the pan, sauteed onion, garlic, and bird chiles, then finished with roasted Poblano chile, black pepper, fish sauce, Mexican oregano, thyme, garam masala, a splash of half-and-half, and crumbled feta. Lovely, spicy, complex mix of textures and flavors.

@Duvel you passed on Ox Cheeks ? Ill light a candle .

I don't have a problem with Canadian ryes, when necessary, though they're definitely distinct from many American distilled ryes. And there's only one way to find out how the Australian-distilled ryes work!

White Bean Chicken Chili topped with sour cream, avocado, cilantro and green onion,

Not seen here at Costco in Tucson, but surprisingly the Costco in Guadalajara carries it. That Costco is less than an hour away from our MXN home). We bought it and it was excellent, similar to salmon but milder. Here's a picture of the steelhead I bought in early October at the Guadalajara Costco.

several states (west coast) and the Federal government list steelhead trout as 'endangered' - so one rarely find wild caught. at our local PA Costco it is fresh/never frozen - farmed in Norway. most/all? of the salmon Costco carries is farmed, from Scotland - but "previously frozen' pricing is similar tho....

Another cookie via bon appétit, this time the Chocolate Chipless Cookie by Shilpa Uskokovic (Tickety-Tok, and possibly paywalled recipe)... Again, a portion of the flour is toasted, but this time in brown butter. For me, this was much more successful because, errrr, butter. I experimented with the thickness and preferred less spread than their version. The chocolate chipless moniker is perhaps a little gimmicky, but as a brown sugar cookie I liked it.

I'll connect you both through e-mail.

Stopover in Munich … of course including a visit to the Hofbräuhaus. Wanted something from their seasonal menu for lunch, but was still too full from the breakfast sausages … Luckily, they had something “light & liquid” 🥳 Good times !

My supply of American rye is dwindling, not to be replaced, but I understand that some Canadian rye, like Alberta Premium are a reasonable substitute. Some distilleries are producing rye in Australia but I have no idea how they would work in Manhattans.

Don't know your particular situation, but you probably should be aware that vanilla extract contains approximately as much alcohol as rum. I believe they do make non-alcoholic vanilla extract, which I think is glycerine-based. As a side note, some people don't mind a few dashes of alcohol-based bitters in mocktails, but others avoid them all together. Fees Brothers make glycerine bitters.