Alex

As gfweb said, the chosen focus of the brief and undoubtedly highly edited article was how Batali's behavior affected someone vis-a-vis their friendship -- which is a perfectly valid topic. I mean, what if you were in a situation in which you learned that a trusted friend had been doing similar things? Highly inappropriate behavior, whether or not it's deemed criminal, can affect a variety of victims, obviously with varying degrees of severity. How can you assume she's unsympathetic to the abused women when that topic wasn't even addressed in the article?

Goo Gone?

After nearly ten years! You should be nominated for sainthood, because you certainly have the patience of one. So if I'm really, really fond of texture like that for my ice cream, am I barking mad?

Very, very cool. On the leftmost bottom shelf, the book furthest right: is that Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts? That was my gateway drug, er, book to torte-making.

We do, indeed. One of these is tucked away in a drawer somewhere. There even was a picture of it on eG that I took back in 2003, shortly after I joined, but it disappeared after the infamous software changeover. And here's an apron that @maggiethecat made for us in 2004.

I have no idea per se. However, looking at the situation while wearing my logician's hat, and especially because it's MC, I have to assume there's a specific reason for those particular ingredients in those quantities. Do they say what that reason is? I'm guessing (but logically ^_^) that you've posted this question not just as an intellectual exercise but also because you don't routinely keep those ingredients in your kitchen and would rather not buy some just for this recipe. Either way, the more ingredients you omit, the less it becomes MC's version and the more it becomes kostbill's version. I'm also guessing, based on what I know about cooking in general, that the malt, for example, is designed to contribute to the intended flavor profile and not necessarily stand out on its own.

Wacky Recipe Testers

xkcd is an all-time favorite of mine

I agree. I suppose you could have tasted some of the bits before deciding what to do with them. However, if the thought of doing that induces even a moment's hesitation, then definitely ditch them.

From nerdsnacks.io

As is true for nearly every global problem, at its root is TMP -- Too Many People -- in combination with the same brain we had 50,000+ years ago, one with a default setting that's tribal and emotion-driven.

I use a Blendtec. This is what they say about their blenders. You might be able to find a similar page on Vitamix's site.

Egg bites! I use four large eggs, a half-cup of cottage cheese, an ounce or so of Jarlsberg or whatever else is handy, salt, white pepper, Penzey's Sunny Paris seasoning or equivalent, and a few handfuls of the clamshell baby spinach or "power greens."

Me, too, although in olive oil and w/o the MSG (I'll have to try that). I'll sometimes use garlic-infused olive oil instead of the actual cloves. And if it's spinach, I'll sometimes add toasted pine nuts (the good ones ^_^). I'd also add raisins, but Ms Alex isn't a fan.

And looking at the keyboard, I'm guessing you like gaming.

That's the one I use!

To be honest, I understand where the writer is coming from, it's just that the quality of her writing leaves a lot to be desired. For just one example, any time someone describes a food item as "full of flavor," I'm pretty sure they're a hack at best.

Yep. Death by a thousand cuts.

I wonder if the target audience is "wedding present."

I know why you posted the article.

I love shiso. I wish we had it in abundance around here. I'll have to start growing it next year.

Been there. Done that. Done that. Done that. Done that. Done that.

Not to mention that "andouille sausage" is redundant and either ignorant or condescending. It's like writing "kielbasa sausage" or "challah bread" or "po' boy sandwich" or "bocce ball."

Here's the non-paywalled article