Alex

Dijon mustard (Maille) Horseradish Dijon mustard + horseradish Bacon jam (Serious Eats recipe) Mayo + oil-packed sundried tomatoes One sliced of smoked ham

I finally heard back from Greg Massa. This was his distressing reply:

Let's raise a cup of espresso today in his honor.

Nearly everything you read, even from reputable sources, says that before frying or sautéing most foods you should heat the pan before adding oil. And nearly all of those folks say it's because the cooking surface has microscopic pores that close up when heated, ergo less opportunity for sticking. This notion might have been debunked somewhere, but I can't seem to locate it at the moment. Harold McGee does indeed say to preheat the pan, but that's because "The longer the oil spends in contact with the hot surface, especially metal, the more time it has to be broken down by the extreme conditions and exposure to oxygen. Broken-down oil gets viscous and gummy, and even a slight degree of this can contribute to sticking and residues on the food." However, Kenji López-Alt says, "You may be asking why you can't preheat the pan, then add the oil, and the answer is that you can, technically. The problem is that without oil in it, it's very difficult to determine how hot a pan actually is. Starting with oil in the pan is a good indicator of how hot the pan is. We know that shimmering oil is hotter than pooled oil (it starts shimmering at around 300 to 400°F), while smoking oil is hotter still (depending on the type of oil, this begins at around 450 to 500°F). The oil is a built-in temperature indicator."

Still no reply from Massa Organics. That's not good.

Those pans taste much better with some sort of strong seasoning, e.g., berbere. If instead you decide to cook with it, seasoning the pan isn't necessary. Re caring for it, remember that it's not a hammer. Oh, and don't hit people or objects with it.

I often have to do a bit of tweaking (not twerking—that would be terrifying) of proportions or baking time to get the result I want, but I've had good success adapting some recipes to be gluten-free. These are my general guidelines: Instead of a-p flour, use a mix of almond flour, coconut flour, and Bob's Red Mill 1:1 g-f flour If measuring flour by volume, use more mix. For example, my original recipe for brownies called for 1/2 cup + 1 T a-p; I now use 1/3 c each almond and coconut plus 1/4 c 1:1. Increase eggs (for the brownies, 3 instead of 2), decrease butter (3 oz instead of 4), and increase the leavening (¾-1 t instead of ½ t baking powder)

Michigan cherries are wonderful. Their peak season is all-too-short, alas.

I've used it many times to make kheer via a recipe from this book (eG-friendly Amazon.com link). I sauteed on medium instead of high, often used a little more cardamom, and occasionally added other sweet spices.

Sent an email last week. Left a voice message today. Still no reply.

Thanks for posting the video. The Rice Factory is located in Scarsdale, just north of NYC. They have a retail shop and do mail order.

I second that recommendation. In fact, I'm down to my last cup and need to re-order. Unfortunately, the two-pound bag is out of stock; I'll have to call them later and see when it's due back. The 20# bag is still there. I usually buy 6#, then vac-pack and freeze most of it.

From The Onion, of course: New Dannon Blue Agave Yogurt New Crab-Stuffed M&M's

At some point pre-pandemic I had investigated Pastries By Randolph, in Arlington, but never bought anything there.

Yeah, my mother got into white wine, too! Oh, wait... (I could go on like this forever. But I won't. You're welcome.)