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Mrs. C pan-fried sablefish for me, and trout for her Stir-fried broccolini and green beans with a sauce of garlic, roasted chile paste, fish sauce, and chicken stock. I had fresh basil leaves ready to go and forgot to add them. Oh well, there is always breakfast . . .

Jarred hot dogs are just strange, and yet I see them all the time in European videos about American food. Has anyone ever seen a jarred hot dog in America? Edit: And 'saucisses pour Hot Dogs'? They ARE hot dogs! The buns et. al. are just obligatory. Trader Joe's... C'mon man..

Arthur is indeed from Brooklyn; from what I know of Arthur (via some personal connections), I don't believe she is.

I wonder if Amelia Schwartz is related to Arthur Schwartz (food critic & cookbook author.) I think he's from Brooklyn, too.

Lamb tagline adapted from Nigella. Sautéed onions and cubed leg of lamb, bay leaf , red wine , cooked at 300* for one hour and fifteen minutes, then added carrots and artichoke hearts for another 45 minutes. Some oil cured black olives were added for the last ten minutes. Served over couscous, this made enough for lunch a few days later. Made a hit with several family members who intended to make their own subsequently.

Perhaps they call it sauce to aid in non-us searches

Some open faced sandwiches I’ve made for lunch using the simple bread from “ Modernist Bread”. Radish French Butter Radish sprouts Roast beef mustard broccoli sprouts Egg salad and bacon Tuna salad with preserved lemon and olive salad Egg salad with pickles Buttered bread for the sardine pâté BLT Egg salad

I go to a local butcher whom I trust and buy raw meatloaf by the pound. Not cheap today, about $14 a pound, but totally reliable and delicious. Husband has told me not to quit my day job after eating most of my from-scratch creations. Not bad but not as good as Bryan's. My method is no-fail!!

Monte's website tells me that it's available in my area at Erewhon, the fancy health food/grocery that morphed their clientele from hippies to celebs. I generally avoid the place but maybe I'll pop in for a jar of Monte's. Or not. Either way, I will NOT be purchasing Kendall Jenner's Peaches and Cream Smoothie for $23!

I don't think so...they have two different, both interesting, backstories: https://montessauce.com/pages/our-roots https://www.montestrattorianyc.com/montes-legacy

I was curious if anyone knew if this Monte's sauce had anything to do with the Greenwich Village restaurant Monte's Trattoria? https://ny.eater.com/2023/1/31/23576729/montes-trattoria-greenwich-village-review BTW, my parents had their first date here - and they were married in 1960! When we were kids, they would take us here a couple times a year. The owner at the time, Giovanni (I think he's the father of the current owner) used to greet everyone at the door and he always remembered us. Many years later, I remember taking a date there and he still remembered me.

A couple of bakes from “ Modernist Bread”. From the workbook on page 38, The Van Over Method for Lean Bread, intended mostly for baguettes but there are suggestions for a batard and a boule. The batard was half of the recipe, the boule was 500 g rather than 605g. These are made in the food processor, I did a little hand kneading to achieve a window pane. My Cuisinart struggled with the 500g. amount as I rested it at the 30 second mix with intentions of resting 5 minutes and running for the additional 45seconds. It wouldn’t run properly so I split the dough in half and then proceeded. Both breads were baked in a Granite Ware, the batard in a hot oven on a stone , the boule in a cold oven on a stone. This is a simple lean dough that is at its best on day one. To the boule I added 1T ~ rye flour and a very well olive oiled container in an effort to increase the shelf life. I have Van Over’s bread book but haven’t baked from it in a very long time as I have pretty muched switched to sourdough. This bread can be made in about five hours and I found it very enjoyable.

you know.... I wonder about that . . . not too long back French bakers were very upset with the cheap machine produced baguettes - the mass produced low price threatened their business... because . . . yes, people are price sensitive. that sort of thing happened in USA long long time ago - today there are very very few local bakeries - it's all mass produced in a cello wrap inside a LDPE bag . . . . we have one, exactly one, European immigrant still doing a patisserie type business - no bread, just really good (and really expensive) pastries. anytime I drive by I stop and buy - stuff I should not be eating . . but I want to support that business . . . went to school in Germany in the mid-60's. went back, with family & dog, for a multi-year 'foreign assignment' in the 80's. the changes from butcher-baker-candlestick maker 'small shop' to chain "everything" set one abashed. visiting friends/etc 90's-2000's weekends (during business trips....) shopping was still 4-5-6+ shops on 'long Saturdays' - really, it was one shop for "toast bread" and a different shop for Broetchen, and . . . and it only got worse up thru the 2020's . . . hardly any small artisan shops/products remained - those that remained shifted from 'own products' to vacuum sealed sold in plastic 'massed produced' offerings. we've lost a lot - but "progress" just does not give a hoot . . .

Not only can you buy the Monte's tomato sauce, but there's plenty of merch to go along with it! https://montessauce.com/collections/shop

I'm pretty sure everything is available, one way or another. I've only tried jarred tomato sauce once, and it was when I saw Rao's on sale. It was certainly not an improvement on sauce made in this kitchen, using a mixture of Bianco diNapoli and DOC San Marzano.

very true. from a practical standpoint many smaller companies that produce really excellent products . . . don't have the where-with-all to mount a 'national distribution' and then there is a 'production capacity' issue. example: get a Walmart 'contract' - yer' gonna' need a whole lotta' the stuff . . . the effects of which show up at places like Costco: they have it, next week they no have it. . . .

IMO, that's a very good thing. There are numerous great products that, for whatever reason, don't get national recognition, but that doesn't mean they're not worth seeking out. Nor does it mean that their distribution might not grow, perhaps as a result from inclusion on a list such as F&W's.

(sigh) . . . just like every other "10/100/1000 Best XXXX" the two mega-issues: #1 - definitions are not the same everywhere. tomato sauce, marina, pizza sauce . . . all on the same shelf. #2 - "preferred" tastes are not the same for every person/group/dish/cuisine/culture. for pizza I prefer my home-froze 'semi-stewed' tomatoes, de-watered. very fresh sparkly flavor. DW is current swooning over brand "Classico" for pizza - they have multiple 'flavors' and as a total-blocking issue.... many of the brands are not nationally/widely available! e.g. Monte's - never seen/heard of it . . .

Blanched radish tops in black vinegar, soy, sesame oil and sugar.

Marinara is Italian for mariners, aka sailors,

I always thought, and I'm sure read, that marinara had something to do with, well - the sea. Here's what Carlo Middione has to say about marinara sauce, in his classic tome The Food of Southern Italy (eG-friendly Amazon.com link):

First of all, have you seen the bio of the article's author? Seven fucking years! A qualified expert!! Practically Elizabeth David, or M.F.K. Fisher.

Oxtails for dinner last night. Served with mashed potatoes.

Breakfast this morning was fried eggs on a buttered and toasted milk bread roll: I got the egg slightly overdone, but it was still good: It would have been especially good with a slice of country ham and a little béarnaise! 😁

😄😄😄 Many of my pantry items are less reliable it seems.