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Thanks everybody. I didn't think of Ottomanelli - I used to go there all the time but haven't in years. When I clicked on the Mercato link, it looked like it was coming from Ideal foods in Brooklyn... I think my first stop should be at a couple meat markets in Chinatown. I've never bought from Ends Meat but they probably would be a good resource since they deal with whole animals.

Because the source remarks weren't included in the items @Smithy moved to this thread, I'm adding @Tropicalsenior's original remarks rewritten here: Tropical Senior said: Do not throw that fat away. It is the most flavorful fat for making roux. I mix equal parts fat and flour and brown it nut Brown. I then roll it into logs and keep it in the freezer. I cut it off as I need it to thicken stews and soups. (and thanks!)

My friend Michelle asked me to make her daughter a Creature from the Black Lagoon cake. She loves the old movie monsters. It turned out better than I thought considering I woke up and couldn’t raise my arm.

Just an example of what a wash can do. These two breads were made with the same recipe, cooked for the same amount of time in the same temperature oven. This bread was made without a wash. This bread was brushed with milk. The only difference in the two breads is that the second bread, that I baked today, is a little bit shorter because I wanted more surface area for sandwiches. I rest my case.

Just got a six-pack: (eG-friendly Amazon.com link)

Stir fried chicken, broccoli and peppers in a sweet and spicy sauce with rice

It was truly a dark day a couple of years ago when my quince tree succumbed to a strong gust of wind and toppled over. I miss that tree. I was at a friend's the other day and the topic of coings (quinces) came up. She said her deceased neighbour's house was up for sale, and it had a quince tree. The family aren't local so, deciding that nobody would care, we hopped the fence to plunder rescue whatever was there. Sadly, we were mostly too late, with the majority of the fruit too far gone on the ground. But there were a handful where the rot could be cut around and something salvaged. That something turned out to be poached quince... So delicious. I dug out some cake from the freezer and drizzled over a little of the poaching syrup... I really need to replace that tree. In the meantime, here's hoping the house is still for sale this time next year (minus a couple of weeks, of course).

TJ's had a mayo years ago . in a glass jar . it was very very yolk-ey and delicious. I wonder who made ir and what happened to it .

Brown shrimp and sausage and remove. Saute sliced shallot and jalapeno with minced ginger and garlic, cumin seed, and black pepper. Deglaze with chicken stock, then wilt equal parts spinach and cilantro with a splash of half-and-half. Return shrimp and sausage to the pan and finish with thyme, Mexican oregano, garam masala, and crumbled feta. I am told this smelled good from the basement, which perhaps is a subject for the "kitchen hood" thread. 😆

"I'll buy some msg to use less salt and help lower my sodium intake" 48 hours later, in Lidl "A kilo of prosciutto ham for half price?! GIMME!"

Wednesday's dinner. Burgers and twice fried fries.

Tom Yum Goong - made from scratch. Lemon grass, galangal, makrut leaves (from frozen), Greek shrimp with heads on, fresh chili oil (pul biber, avocado oil, soy sauce), cilantro, fish sauce, lime juice, coffee milk (the non-sweet kind). I took the pic after half the pot was gone.

thanks for that lead! edit to add: !! $1499 . . . ahhhhh, I think mebbe I look for alternatives....

I miss mayo that used to come in glass jars.

Met friends at our favorite local Italian place Osteria Bianchi. I did not take photos but had my favorite Mortadella pizza (stole a photo of it from their FB page to post here). They have new cocktails and are revising their wine list so had a few bottles listed at half-price. So, we shared a bottle of Montepulciano that was a good wine at a bargain price.

Yes, I no longer let them make substitutions on my orders. Some of the "pickers" do OK. Others clearly were raised in McDonald's.

Huh. In my own kitchen I can assure you there's no difference, because I buy the big jar and use it to refill my squeeze bottle.

Or, this being NYC, you could always just get it delivered https://www.mercato.com/item/beef-cow-skins/1533411?featuredStoreId=2376&srsltid=AfmBOoouSYiyo6SyBJ1Z8UpmChQpm7Pi9gCRmXLV6mxS2BPIasu0xazgWXY&region_id=01582862 i “think” that’s coming from ideal meat market on Mott Street

You could also try Ottomanelli’s on bleecker street. Those guys can usually get anything with a days notice https://www.ottomanellimeatmarket.com

Not sure how available they are in the US but we’ve just had a westin extractor installed in our new kitchen and I love it. We went for a bloque pro version which is built into a wooden cabinet and does around 900cfm on top speed. It’s excellent - a lot better than the wolf pro we had in the last place. https://www.westin.co.uk

My experience was the same

That's an interesting distinction. The Hellman's I wrote about above came from a squeeze bottle rather than a jar. I'll have to look at the ingredient lists on both the jar and the bottle. Maybe there's a difference?

...fail to review the substitution options. Did an online supermarket delivery. I ordered five spice and szechuan peppercorns. Both were out of stock and were substituted with garam masala. Only, I'd also ordered garam mascara, so now I have three pots of that, but no five spice or szechuan pepper. I wasn't home when it was delivered so my neighbour accepted it and understandably wasn't in a position to decide whether I actually wanted three pots of the same stuff. I feel like not making any curry for a year out of some sort of misguided spite.

It's been years since posting that TJ's was my favorite, and things have changed. Best Foods has moved to the #1 spot, but not the squeeze bottle version. Just the plain ol' regular version. I've heard that there's a thicker version that a lot of delis and commercial establishments use, but I've not tried it yet. I'm unclear if it's available under the Best Foods lable, but it is under the Hellman's name. Since my earlier posts, I've tried Kewpie, and ther's always a bottle (if you can call it that) in the fridge. My favorite use for it is for Japanese-style egg salad sandwiches, but it's used on other items as well.

I may be speaking out of turn, since I'm not rotuts, but I took this to mean that (a) you'd have another opportunity to enjoy those fine restaurant chiles rellenos and (b) with a photo, we might collectively see the difference between the TJ's version and the restaurant version and come up with a better preparation of the TJ's product. If I'm mistaken, I hope @rotuts will clarify his meaning.