Alex

Hey, I also used to have a Taylor & Ng mug (or maybe two or three)! I wish I still did—even though for the life of me I can't remember which ones.

As much as I like cats (most of them, anyway), I'm unpleasantly allergic, and Ms Alex has been very kind about not insisting we get one. (When we met, Katie the Cross-Eyed Kitty was her companion.) We also both like dogs (ditto), but neither of us is willing to dog-walk no matter what our Michigan weather throws at us. However, we've compensated by collecting, and being given, a menagerie of stuffed and otherwise inanimate animals—including some of our very favorite mugs. So, before I post the pics, I'll ask: What are your favorite mugs? (Photos, please, if you can.) Is there a story, even a short one, behind any of them? Weird Kitty and Silent Kitty Atomic Kitty and Jiji (from Kiki's Delivery Service) Wistful Kitty So they don't get bored, they can chase birds and fish. Action Kitty, Pusheen, and Hello Kitty (yes, I know she's a little girl) approve

A further reply:

He replied this morning: I sent an appreciative reply.

I also read this today. I promptly sent a message to our local fish and seafood wholesaler; they supply our major supermarkets: Their marketing manager promptly replied: I then replied with the URL from the Guardian, and asked: That was about 1:30 this afternoon. No response yet.

I prefer my legs untied. I tend to trip and fall otherwise. Shoelaces tied, though -- but not together.

FWIW, here's the Washington Post's top 14 cookbooks of 2025.

$6 at the Little Italy Mercato in San Diego

Welcome, Michael. As you can see, we're only a few hours' drive from Chicago. It's been a long, long time since we've had actively participating members from there. I think a couple of them are still active on LTH. We used to have "Heartland Gatherings" that members would host and/or coordinate. They were in Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor multiple times, Chicago/Evanston, Cleveland, and Kansas City. Please forgive me if I've forgotten any. Just to give you an idea of what they were like, here's the eG forum about the Chicago gathering. And if you're up for it, you could read all 33 pages of the planning forum.

At that price, I decided to take one for the team. It was, shall we say, interesting -- although I picked up more funky herbal notes than the WE reviewer noted. It paired surprisingly well with a Niman Ranch apple-gouda sausage. Also, I felt buzzed after only about 5 ounces, which led me to accurately predict that it was 15% alcohol. I'll stay out of that issue for now.

I sent this to friends in Massachusetts who have six sheep.

This will be with good friends of ours. We've been making dinners back and forth for 35 years. "BYO" = Build Your Own. The first two wines are from Michigan. BYO BliS char roe, Terra potato chips, crème fraîche + sour cream 2 Lads Sparkling Rosé 2020 Alaskan coho salmon sous vide, lemon dry brine Carnaroli risotto with butternut squash and sage Brussels sprouts à la plancha Bluestone Chardonnay Reserve 2023 Pear-caramel ice cream Bayley Hazen Blue (+ a little sour cream) on challah croutons Cockburn’s 20 Year Tawny Port

From Nextdoor, an odd question indeed:

Today's A.Word.A.Day: opsomania PRONUNCIATION: (op-so-MAY-nee-uh) MEANING: noun: An excessive longing for a particular food. ETYMOLOGY: From Greek opson (delicacies) + - mania (excessive enthusiasm). Earliest documented use: 1857.

Well, foo. I see that here, too, so it's not one of those individualized pricing things.

Duke's mayo is $4.20 for 48 oz at Amazon. No indication how long it'll be on sale.

It certainly looks like fat. If there wasn't much skin attached to the bones, I'm wondering if it could somehow have leached out of the marrow.

Despite the purple prose, I drank a glass of this last night, and probably will again tonight:

I've had an account for decades; chromedome is correct about the absence of spam.

Full story here (no paywall)

Oster French Door Countertop Oven

Definitely no mayo -- I don't use it on its own in sandwiches anyway. I'd consider a little bit of Dijon mustard or, even better, some fig jam.

In the not-too distant future I'm planning to make a sandwich that will be wrapped securely but kept at room temperature for probably between four and six hours. I'm wondering if there are any sliced cured meats that would keep safely for that long. I'm thinking maybe proscuitto or serrano. I know that a hard cheese like manchego should keep, but what about a soft cheese like brie?

Perfect cacio e pepe, decoded: an Ig Nobel prize-winning research study. Here's the original journal article. From the original article:

For a sweet red, Lustau is good and widely available. I'm also a big fan of Contratto. I very seldom used a dry white, but when I did, I used Dolin.