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If you like spicy peanut noodles you should try using Jade All Natural Sichuan Peanut Sauce. It's delicious! I make peanut noodles with it and also use it in stir-fry with chicken. It is indeed spicy. You can pick it up at the Bowl.

@billyhill your bacon looks delicious. what are the 4 smaller pieces ?

We're on the road home. Today is our 37th anniversary. For lunch we stopped in Seligman AZ. Little did I know there's a stretch of road leading off the main highway that is dedicated to preserving some of the places or at least the vibe of old Route 66, parts of which run parallel to I 40. We ate at The Roadkill Cafe/OK Saloon. Another discovery: Arizona isn't noted for rest stops, so really the idea was to order something small and use the bathroom. But it was quirky and everyone was so nice we decided to have an early lunch. My husband very much liked his burger (we rarely eat beef) and for a celebratory dessert we had Key Lime Pie. There was a mile high of whipped cream on top, which I scraped off most of, and wonder of wonders the pie itself was excellent. And I'm a harsh critic when it comes to pie. There was a dazzling round glass tower displaying the pies, and there were at least ten different kinds. So, a great anniversary lunch. Oh, and of course the motto of the Roadkill Cafe is "You kill it we grill it." There was an elk burger on the menu (and the menu itself is a hilarious work of literature) but we passed on that.

Bacon turned out fine. 1 3/4" 7 days of curing. Smoked with apple, cherry, and maple mix. I use a little water when I cure my canadian bacon to try and even out the cure. Most is absorbed during curing. In this case, I infused the water with bay leaves. Went light on the sugar and a little maple syrup.

when in doubt, temp it i don't bake cakes enough to tell you the temp to look for but someone here might have a guesstimate

Yes, a press can be a PITA, but sometimes it's the right tool for the job, as is every other way of dealing with garlic. Have you considered the shark skin and ray skin graters. I saw one in use recently and have become intrigued.

As an amusing aside, today I've been reading THE COMPLETE GARLIC LOVERS' COOKBOOK FROM GILROY, THE GARLIC CAPITAL OF THE WORLD (it's a bunch of greatest hits recipes). I suppose I first went to that festival in 1979 or 1980. Anyway, I mentioned to DH tonight that I was going to make a dish from the book (maybe 60 clove chicken) for our next Wine Time and wondering how much information I need to disclose to the (unwary) participants. I mean the cookbook says that after one cooks garlic for a long time, it's quite sweet. But what it DOESN'T mention is that the participant will be tooting for several days to come, and their sweat will be marvellous. I remember feeding a friend a roasted garlic head/toe with brie and baguette (dinner) and she went home to her husband (who had not attended). In the middle of the night he moved out of the marital bed to the couch because he just couldn't stand the toots!

+1, although it is a bit of a PITA to clean and I sometimes wish the hopper was bigger. But the results are quite good. I remember when ATK/CI did their review and commented that the holes and their placement were excellent, which waswhat motivated me to purchase it. It's also well-built and sturdy.

Every year in these parts, Carp, a village outside my city along with Perth, a place a bit further out, hold what they call Garlic Fests. All kinds of garlic is sold there there, all locally grown. Russian Red was one of my favorites.

Not recommended because the number and size of the holes makes it difficult to easily control the result. The hopper is somewhat small. I bought one and gave it away. YMMV

It can result in too strong, or intense, a flavor, but there are plenty of ways to control that. Likewise, the garlic being easily burnt. For example, we know that adding a small amount of water to the oil in which the garlic is cooking can eliminate the chance of the garlic burning. Or adding the garlic after other ingredients. There are times when I want the garlic to be as fine as that which comes from the press as it blends into sauces more smoothly and innocuously, almost disappearing. Other times I'll throw an entire clove or more into a dish only to remove it/them when the subtle flavor has been given up, other times I'll grate it, or make a paste, or add large pieces to a dish. Removing the core from the clove will temper its intensity. The flavor and intensity of garlic is easily controlled.

Pollo escabeche with carrots and potatoes, flavored with pickled jalapenos and the pickling juice, green olives, garlic, black pepper, and Mexican oregano.

@JeanneCake try Dorot , ( Fz ) you might like it . its constantly ' garlicky ' I was not very precise when I mentioned ' store garlic ' I meant fresh , unpeeled heads of garlic . I avoid it because Im never sure what Im getting. more often, at all the local stores I go to , its inconsistent . grew garlic for a time. several different types. I liked Russian hard neck , if that's what it was called . had real fire in each clove. can't find that at the supermarket . one caveat of the frozen Dorot : after you open it , and pop out a frozen small cube seal the rest as best you can from freezer flavors , or burn . like to hear if its helpful , consistently , in your kitchen.

I had one of those, and you're right, I lost the little insert!

My husband loves more garlic than the recipe calls for (Kim calls for 6 cloves, my husband likes it better when I double it LOL) and it's just easier to push peeled cloves through the press than to chop it myself. I chopped it by hand last night, and knowing that he loves to have this at least once a week (!) and I refuse to use that pre-minced stuff in a jar or the squeezy bottle (it tastes off to me) I'd like to have options I agree with @rotuts about the sad state of what's being sold as "fresh peeled garlic" - Market Basket in particular is guilty (at least the one near me) of selling soft, tasteless garlic lately. I'm going to look for this frozen stuff!

Harissa tofu bowl with farro from The Global Pantry Cookbook This cookbook is about cooking with "global" ingredients in different ways, using those ingredients purchased for one cookbook or recipe. I'm generally pleased with the recipes and the results but some of the recipe names irritate me. For example, this one is called Virtuous Vegan Harissa Tofu Bowl with Farro. Others use unnecessary superlatives - "creamiest" is included in the recipe name for grits, hummus and a curry. Obviously, I'm trying to get over it 🙃

Any pictures, by chance?

Beef Bourguignon with a glass of the same red wine used for the meat. Mashed potato and beans.

Eggs, Cumberland sausage, bacon, white pudding and a tomato, with a nice mug of tea.

Shepherd's Pie. Always with plenty of mash.

Mushroom tart. Shiitakes, creminis, shallot, garlic, crème fraiche and Gruyère on puff pastry. With a salad and Chardonnay.

@Rajala Yikes! Any idea how steep?

I have two or so garlic presses . one , from my mother , much older than I cleaning varied . it nice to have one w the tool that pushed out the residue for shure . but they all have on issue : you need to be able to buy good quality garlic that's not as easy as it used to be. some versions , possibly from China , are tasteless so , I now use Fz garlic , minced in little units : Dorot https://dorotgardens.com quite some time ago , only TJ's had the garlic , and other Fz herbs from the same maker now , it a bit more ubiquitous after all , Market Basket carries the line. basil is quite nice . parsley pretty bad . is this the same as fresh , you crush w your press ? , depends how good your fresh garlic is .

had one once. round, with lever. tiny holes. mega-PITA to clean . . . so, presuming one has a knife/knives, and a thick/bangable/smashable cutting board . . . (honest question!) why a press? one can chop, dice, mince - from "whole' to smashed, from smashed to knife pureed . . . I find 'chopping off' both the root end and the tip - followed by a nice flat smash - generally removes 99.25% of the skin. from there it's only a question of how fine-sized the garlic must be, for the dish.

That looks great! I should try some riffs on this. I’ve got a big package of seafood to work through.