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Having some friends over at dusk for pica pica & Flammkuchen … We started with the usual suspects: potato crisps, several types of olives, fuet (a small salami-type sausage), octopus mixed with furikake and some grilled sardines … Then the Flammkuchen. Always tricky to work with a different oven, but I managed. Classic (creme fraiche, onions, bacon) in the making … Followed by blood sausage, apple & crispy fried onion variety … And finally soprassada (spicy spreadable sausage from Mallorca), walnuts, thyme & honey version … All consumed with several bottles of Gewürztraminer we brought from Germany. All drunk, none pictured 🤭 Not so regional, yet very tasty ice cream for dessert ! And - no complaints

Billions + Bored = fake butter.

@ElsieD when did you get the ' ball - maker ? ' Id love to have one , for a reasonable price. that's why I got the A4 for . its still in the box. was looking to make meatballs , as balls , no pucks as I used to do. As ive said before , no one orders Spaghetti w Meat Pucks.

It reminded of the time an Australian cheese maker made parmesan and became a meme when his comments were filled with furious Italians (channel here, it's well worth your while as the chap knows his stuff and is quite a relaxing watch - https://m.youtube.com/@GavinWebber) We humans are a silly bunch at times. 😁

This put me in mind of a recent article on how the "authentic" form for carbonara came to be.

The topic's title is misleading. It isn't the BBC's take. The BBC is merely reporting the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana's take.

Fair point, but Italians don't necessarily prioritize originality over tradition, and there's a government body that specifies in detail the way many ingredients and dishes must be sourced or made, and this does include Neapolitan pizza (In English, here, https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2022/2313/oj). MASAF rulings concerning how DOP, IGP, STG, and PAT products are defined (https://www.masaf.gov.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/IT/IDPagina/2090) are a source of endless, highly enjoyable arguments all over Italy.

Lentil-Feta Frikadellen with Creamed Mushrooms - frikadellen are made with cooked and drained red lentils, onions, garlic, thyme, feta, egg and breadcrumbs and afterwards pan seared. Button mushrooms are sautéed and cooked with onions, white wine and heavy cream. Finished with some parsley

No. Most XLB aren't. Soup filled are more correctly called "汤包 (tāng bāo, literally 'soup buns').“ I wrote more about this here.

Ooh are those the soup filled ones?

I feel Anna's absence here very often. Not just in this topic though it very much belongs to her and Kerry. I also miss her when I submit a post about a new cookbook and realize it won’t initiate an entertaining discussion with Anna. When I was lucky, I might enable her into getting the book, too, and the discussion could continue even longer! I miss her reactions to my sometimes offbeat breakfast choices and admit to baiting her a little by including beans in something she would otherwise love and waiting for her witty response. Curious how much I miss someone I never met!

Home made 小笼包 (xiǎo lóng bāo), Xiaolongbao. Served with a soy sauce and Zhenjiang black vinegar dip. Usually served in eights, that being Chinese culture's luckiest number.

I too, often think of Anna. I was fortunate enough to have met her in person and she was a wonderful, warm human being.

I miss Anna too. My heart skipped a beat momentarily when I saw the "Ladies Who Lunch" post come up.

Leoparding refers to small dots of char over the outside of the crust (Cornicione). Like leopard spots. It is a desirable trait in a Neapolitan pizza, but a big spot of char would not be. (as I understand it)

I respect them for trying to protect Neapolitan Pizza, but not Pizza in general. Looking at the menu Weinoo posted, I suspect that many Italians would object to them claiming that their pizza represents the whole of Italy based on the toppings (e.g. speck in the north, nduja in the south). I think proponents of Roman pizza would have quite a bit to say about the idea of adding guanciale and pecorino and calling it a Roman pizza.

I’ll have to give the Chiles Rellenos another try. I tried them a couple of months ago and, although the flavor was good, I found the coating to be overpowering (as in 75% coating, 25% pepper and cheese). Maybe I’ll use the air fryer on them as well.

I often miss Anna. I looked at the Saving Thyme menu and saw the first item Breakfast Sandwich • 9.5 soft poached, bacon, aged white cheddar, cayenne aioli • add avocado 3.5 My old eyes missed the comma after 'poached' and I thought for a moment they were offering 'soft poached bacon'! I was just about to ask what the hell that is when the fog cleared and it clicked. The joys of decrepitude!

For some reason, a lot of the dried pasta here comes from Turkey. Not bad; not great. I do look for Italian but it's not always clear.

If you've been thinking "Gee, aren't we overdue for another enoki mushroom recall?", well, you're right. Affects Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia. https://recalls-rappels.canada.ca/en/alert-recall/enoki-mushroom-recalled-due-listeria-monocytogenes-4?utm_source=gc-notify&utm_medium=email&utm_content=en&utm_campaign=hc-sc-rsa-22-23

Bacon and scrambled eggs for breakfast

All around the world the male octopuses ( or octopi ) are breathing a big sigh of relief..

That's interesting. I've never had phở served that way in a restaurant in Vietnam, but for delivery or take away it certainly makes sense. Perhaps, it's because in Vietnam phở is always made to order.

I bought a book called The Little Book of Takoyaki" Kindle Edition. Some recipes from that book that I want to try include Shrimp and Scallion takoyaki, Pancake and Sausage Pops, Blueberry Muffin Balls, Arancini and Lingonberry Aebleskiver. Should be fun.

I managed to hold 3 to 4 lined up in my palm at a time to skewer. Didn't take that long, but worth the effort.