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uhmmm, defining the acceptable / per-determined 'parameters' is rather a really bad / totally inane approach to finding anything 'original'

Line them up between a pair of chopsticks, little bit of pressure to hold them in place and gently pop the skewer through them

That's effing brilliant use of that pan. I've done egg bites and meatballs. Never occurred to me to try cake things.

@gulfporter that looks Outstanding , 5 ***** , if not more. you must have the patience of Job , w that skewering . it reminds me of a grill-grate contraption , I brought back from FR a long time ago I was there visiting my parents , and low and behold a grill basket , flat , that had long handles and could be turned on a grill , grilling each side perfectly I use it for swordfish wrapped in bacon , and the like. no idea where it is now. but Id bet you can find something, that's height adjustable , for those tommats and other things , saving the skewering

This was my best attempt yet at a decent char on grape tomatoes; skewering made them sit still (when loose, I picture them dancing around the grate when the grill hood is down). Pasta was surprisingly a French import (from an Italian family so the story goes). We get a lot of EU goods at our MXN stores; I had assumed the pasta was from Italy as most are. It was a good pasta and I'd buy it again. Easy meal to put together since I had grilled the shrimp earlier in the day.

Yes, roasted Poblano chiles over the gas flame on the cooktop, wrapped in a dishcloth to steam, and then the skin slips right off. Sorry you don't have Poblanos nearby. We can usually get good ones at the international market down the street, but these Mrs. C picked up at a farm stand.

These are interesting standards, taken from the stated guidelines: I'm sure I've read on these forums that some folks prefer a bit of blistering on their pizza crusts. Maybe those aren't intended to be Neapolitan style pizzas? For instance, here is a reference to leoparding. Maybe that isn't the same thing as burnt spots...?

That was my other choice!

I frequently make a dinner starting w my usual Spinach / Campari salad , room temp then I add on top of that , one of Tj's Fz Indian-ish dishes . usually a Vindaloo , lamb or chicken the hot rice goes on top of the salad , followed by the Vindaloo . I add dried cranberries // cherries // toasted pecans // MajorG chutney. what I found doing this is that the spinach // hot rice interface is quite delicious , and worth remembering for the futiure thus : plain spinach . chopped w a little EVOO , for mouth feel freshly cooked hot rice , buttered. sorry for the focus. sometimes my iPhone just doesnt focus well this is a RocheBro service meat counter burger , 1/2 lbs. pan charred a bit , w RB's coleslaw ( nice horseradish bite ) and Campari w a bit of Penzey's Pico seasoning pan reduction of table wine du jour over the burger quite delicious half way through the plate so you can see the burger is Rare , just past FR ' blue ' delicious. so , try fresh hot rice , over the sturdier room temp greens of your choice . you wont be looking b back .

First of the season at the FM, Italian prune plums were used in ricotta cakelets. A tender and moist crumb from the ricotta but a fine and delicate texture, adapted from Yossy Arefi’s blue and blackberry ricotta cake.

Vegetarian Singapore style noodles with roasted broccoli and peppers

I remembered I had a long lost bottle of Knudsen organic concord grape juice that I thought would be a good place to start with my experiments. Once I found it I froze 500ml in the machine... As may be seen the texture is light and airy, not like a sorbet and not like a granita. More like frozen flakes of popsicle. But at 13.9 Brix the taste wasn't sweet enough for me. If the color looks brown, that is because it was. As one might expect from grape juice that is old enough to drive. Clean up of the device was easy: just run water through it.

@Kerry Beal they have a very appealing menu , including Vol-au-Vent , one of my very favorite dishes , and difficult to come by .

Missing @Anna N today. Out to lunch by myself while waiting to take my sister to an appointment. Her retirement home is right next to ‘Saving Thyme’ - a little bistro that Anna and I enjoyed. It was packed with lunching ladies! One empty table upon my arrival. opted for the confit chicken leg - so many options but hard to choose wrong.

@C. sapidus you roasted that green Poblano ? ie not from a jar ? sadly , no fresh green Poblanos in my easy to get to area.

Poblano chile and swordfish sausage tacos with thyme, Mexican oregano, garlic, half-and-half, and (non-traditional) shallots. Some (not pictured) were jazzed up with feta cheese and jalapeno salsa. Roasted Poblano chiles are a positive force in the universe.

@Smithy Great writeup and useful pics. I've a TJ's run planned for tomorrow, and I have freezer space and a freshly loaded card in my wallet ... I've wanted to try the Chiles Rellenos, so that'll definitely come home with me. You mentioned salsa ... I tried this one a few weeks ago and was quite pleased with it. Taste, heat, and texture were to my liking. Generally, I don't buy salsa, but it's always nice to have a jar in the pantry. It made a nice salsa rice side for a mild chicken dish I made, and it goes well with TJ's dipper corn chips. I'd like to try the green chili chicken and the chicken mole as well. Maybe the birra, too.

Very clever. I hate soggy wontons. Our take-out Viet restaurant packages pho similarly. Broth in one container, noodles and everything else in a separate one. When ordering pho in a restaurant I always appreciate it when they bring the thinly sliced beef on a plate so you can add it in yourself and it doesn't get overcooked.

I blame @JAZ for yesterday's extravaganza. Her post above got me thinking about how much I like Trader Joe's and wish I had access to them. Then I realized that from Iowa, where I was reading her post, I'd be driving home right through the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area. And I needed groceries. And I really love chiles rellenos but hate trying to make them. I think I knew ahead of time that it wouldn't be just the above-mentioned chile relleno package. I think I knew that. It was still a challenge to find freezer space for all that when I got home. Not shown: the predictable groceries (salad greens, bread, yogurt, etc.) I broke into one of the chiles rellenos packages for dinner last night, and it's every bit as good as she described. I don't have an air fryer but I used my Cuisinart countertop oven on convection mode at 425F for 30 or 40 minutes, flipping the chile halfway through. She's right that the sauce is thin. I'd forgotten that the chile is supposed to go atop the sauce when I took this photo. I had some of my good salsa set to go, but decided I didn't really need it. Thin sauce was good enough for me last night. The layers were good, the cheese was good. The spicy heat was just at the top end of my preferred range. The coating was crisp, and I'm glad I took a hint from her to use the convection setting. I can't decide whether to be glad I don't have to share any of this purchase or sorry I don't have anyone nearby to help with the taste-testing! My usual dinner companions include one who thinks catsup is hot, and this would be too spicy for her. So it goes. I won't need to cook for quite a while, if I don't want to.

I say take it home today...early gift. Give him a card and some broccoli on his birthday.

Gino had a place in NYC, opened in 2017 or so. It closed.

@JeanneCake Patience wrap up dome fresh broccoli to go with the RC .

It just got delivered and I so want to just bring it home today lol; but then I'd feel obligated to get another gift for the actual birthday

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20250801-italys-undercover-pizza-detectives interesting.

I eat my soup with chopsticks! Seriously. The local way is to pick out any solids with your chopsticks, then pick the bowl up and drink the liquid part. I haven't seen a soup spoon in 30 years. 🥢