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NYT had a roasted cabbage parm recipe. Cabbage seemed awkward so I did cauliflower. ..big slice roasted till well-browned on both sides then red sauce and shredded cheddar and mozz melted on top. I will do this again

I put this over in the dinner topic but might as well add it here as well. 2008 Ridge Lytton Springs Zinfandel blend: 74% Zinfandel, 21% Petite Sirah, 5% Carignane Excellent! Still tons of fruit even at this age. Very dry, just the right touch of tannin and a really long finish.

Don't care for lamb, but that looks delicious!

Anchovy Lamb Chops with Capers and Garlic from Melissa Clark’s Dinner Changing the Game, with boiled new potatoes dressed with Pancetta Vinaigrette from Six Seasons, spooned over baby kale. The lamb recipe calls for lamb shoulder chops which I haven’t cooked before but lamb shoulder was on sale for $5.99/lb and I needed some to make the lamb ragu in Six Seasons of Pasta so I had the butcher cut me a few chops so I could try it out. Melissa says the key to shoulder chops is to cook them either fast and furious or low and slow. This was the fast and furious version and 3 min/side in a screaming hot pan gave a nice crust and a pink, medium rare interior and a loud smoke detector! That was a big chop, 15 oz before cooking, so I have leftovers to play around with. All washed down with a nice zin…

For Valentine's Day I'm picking up Mrs. C at the airport. Assuming she sends me her flight info.

We aren't planning anything. In our younger days going out for dinner was the big thing but our interest in that faded as we grew older.

The crust can puff up like a balloon, either the whole thing or in pockets. When you add the filling, those sections will crack, the custard will run out and accumulate under the crust. Docking should prevent that but can also leave tiny holes behind that can let the custard leak through, something I like to avoid but do go ahead if that’s your preference.

Mainly just for information, what happens to the crust if it's baked without weights? Would docking be helpful in that scenario? Tks!

I'm not sure where I came across this product (maybe here on the gullet?), but I saw it originally listed a year or two ago for about $170-180. It went on sale last last spring for $130, down to $70 over the summer, and then all the way down to $30 in Oct as a clearance item. Shipping was about $25, so I pulled the trigger. Shortly after I bought it, it was no longer offered online, but was available in stores for a few more weeks (I don't have any Maynard's in the states I live in). It does not appear to be in stock at all anymore. The build seems totally decent - on par with other comparable countertop consumer appliances. Searching online, I can find pretty much nothing about it. Even using very specific search terms and qualifiers doesn't turn up much. The only matches I was able to get were a couple random facebook marketplace ads for used ones in other states. With that said, I have had my hands full with work, family matters, and other house projects over the past few months so I have yet to make a proper pizza with it. I have used it for various toaster oven and air-fryer type tasks (chicken wings, toast, reheated various things, baked dinner rolls, etc.) and the oven performed as expected. All the items turned out as well as they would have in any other comparable product. The one pizza I did cook in it was a Safeway Select rising crust frozen pizza. There is a frozen pizza setting on the machine, but I chose to follow the package directions. The oven runs a circulation fan whenever it's on, regardless of the setting/cooking program. I will add that the fan is a bit noisier than I think it should be and has a kind of high pitched tone somewhere between a whine and a hum. Anyway, the pizza turned out decent, but not ideal. I rotated it halfway through because the fan is on the left wall and it blows hot air. I took it out a few minutes before the timer went off and the crust was a quite brown in the two spots that were directly in front of the fan during the cook and the cheese was pretty well browned with a lot of splotching across the entire top - like a well done lasagna. I suppose these results were to be expected because of the convention feature of the oven. As far as frozen pizzas are concerned, I think a thin crust would probably do well and I will stick to my full size oven without convention for rising crust varieties. I did wonder about the stated ability to reach 750 degrees though. One evening, a friend and I decided to test that claim. I set the oven to the neapolitan setting and after about 10 minutes of pre-heating and another 5 minutes of stabilization (the heating elements had enough time to cycle on and off a couple times after the initial pre-heat) I used an infrared temp gun to read the pizza stone inside and it registered at 706 - not bad! Not 750, but better than I actually expected. I think if I let it run another 10 minutes or so, the stone probably could have reached 710-715. https://www.menards.com/main/appliances/small-appliances/all-small-appliances/onix-reg-indoor-pizza-oven/ky515as/p-1642874319965775-c-9488.htm

No - you're spot on,.

Last night there were a couple of Austrian winemakers pouring and discussing their wines at Cafe Katja. I enjoyed. The Furmint was sparkling and delicious. And the "Strange Traminer" was ostensibly orange, but not crazily so. Enjoyed all 5.

Back to the pan: Per Ken Forkish, and his overnight pizza dough. Sure is easier, and way less frustrating (for me), than dealing with a pizza peel. Nice crust, both crisp yet tender where you want it to be.

This is from Katie Parla's current book, ROME: (eG-friendly Amazon.com link)

Does anyone have a tried and true recipe for pinsa?

And I always use silpat, I think the batter spreads more evenly 🤷‍♀️ Agree that egg whites need to 'age' and the batter needs to dry. Adding additional non-whipped egg white might be part of the problem. Good luck!

Seared shrimp and zucchini with two roasted chile Poblanos, served on leftover basmati rice. Serrano and Holland chiles, garlic, fish sauce, cumin, and Mexican oregano for flavor, heavy cream and feta cheese for balance. I was very happy with how this turned out.

I forgot to say that the boxes used were given to me by the lady who manages the food pantry/fridge. They were donated to the church, but aren’t particularly convenient to use. They’ve got to be folded into shape and they won’t stay closed without tape. My husband loves details like this! 😜 This was our second time using them and they worked out fine. Fully folded and taped.

Thank ya ma’am! I did it low and slow and did it for six hours. Wanted to be sure it was easily shreddable. Plus, ten pounds of chicken! This was a much smaller meal than I usually do. Hopefully, the recipients felt nourished and full.

Like you we don't eat out any holidays but especially Valentine's Day! We're having friends over for gumbo tomorrow night and my daughters are taking me out for brunch on Sunday - so Valentine's dinner for us will no doubt be leftover gumbo! I haven't decided on a dessert for tomorrow yet but there will likely be leftovers of that as well.

Yes, you want to be able to use the parchment paper to lift out the weights.

Well done once again Patti!

@blue_dolphin That information was very helpful. The cheese fixing holes trick is fantastic ... I can envision using it in other situations. Should the parchment paper come up the sides?

It was quite nice. The recipe follows Jeni’s Splended Ice Cream’s standard recipe and is credited to her. I made a fennel and black pepper ice cream in the past but most of the fennel flavor came from the fennel seeds. No seeds in this one, just the stems so the flavor is more subtle but the lemon zest and vanilla complement it nicely. Coincidentally, a friend of mine just made a roasted fennel ice cream for a plated dessert and said she roasted it until it was quite charred around the edges. Sounds interesting!

Another stellar week! How long did you do the chicken in the slow cooker?

I prefer to pre-bake before filling to minimize the soggy bottom issue. I don’t dock the crust. I do use pie weights - same dried beans and popcorn I’ve been using for 20 years or more! I put parchment paper in first, then beans. I bake at 400°F until the crust is just starting to turn brown. If you note any holes or cracks in the crust before baking, press them back together with moistened fingers. If you note holes or cracks after the pre-bake, you can patch them up with small slices of whatever cheese you are using. Pop it back in the oven for a minute so the cheese melts and seals the cracks.