Alex

As you might have seen already, this one is rated 4.8/5 (from 367 ratings), has a sheath, and looks cool.

Airline meals for sale: The Guardian (Australia) taste tests for us.

Here's a nice array of pictures from Patrick Smith, of Ask the Pilot fame.

Is wine part of the occasion? If so, a spectacular bottle could be the focus of the meal, and you could choose your food accordingly. Otherwise, I recommend not overtaxing your neurons about this. It's such an ideal season for vegetables, I'd emphasize those. There's corn, tomatoes, eggplant, cauliflower, greens, summer squash, fresh herbs... A simple marinated, grilled flank steak, sliced thinly across the grain (and sprinkled with Maldon sea salt, if you have any at home you could bring), would set off the vegetables nicely.

Well, à chacun son goût. I think the s'more is one of the great inventions of the 20th century.

...aka the Prince spaghetti boy. This is one of the nicest obits I've ever read.

Today only at Woot -- Blendtec Classic 575 blender (black unit only), new, full warranty, for $189.99 + $6 shipping (free for Amazon Prime) + tax.

Thank you! For anyone who's interested, this is the page about their vineyards. That was an interesting comment about Enthusiast viz-à-viz Spectator. Another favorite Old Mission Peninsula winery is 2 Lads. Their Fouch Vineyard Riesling is excellent.

What to Drink with What You Eat (one of my favorite beverage-related books) says that seafood in general is a notable match, but especially sardines, and even more so if they've been grilled, which the authors deem a "Holy Grail" classic pairing. Other specific fish and seafood also were frequently recommended by their wine experts: fried calamari, steamed clams, crab and crab cakes, grilled or fried fish, mussels, and seafood stew. Salad (I assume with a vinaigrette) also was a recommended pairing, probably because of the wine's high acidity and light body.

Left Foot Charley is one of Northwest Michigan's best wineries. Their 2011 Dry Riesling was featured in Eric Asimov's January 6, 2014, article about "winter wines" (but go figure, it's not really about wines made for winter drinking). Last night, Ms Alex and I cracked open (literally -- it was a screw top) a bottle of their 2017 Dry Riesling (here -- scroll down a little bit) -- 89 points from Wine Enthusiast, $18/bottle. We had similar impressions of the wine when tasted w/o food, of stone fruit and citrus: peach and lime for me, apricot and grapefruit for Ms Alex. We both detected perhaps a scintilla of residual sugar, but fruit certainly dominated. It was an excellent match for our dinner of pork tenderloin with Nobu's black cod marinade, sautéed cucumber with garlic and dill, and rice pilaf.

It's August 10, 2003. I see a reference to eGullet in a long article in the New York Times, "A Laboratory of Taste," which ranges far and wide but focuses on progressive cuisine in Spain. In the second paragraph is a quote from Charlie Trotter -- OK, I know him -- followed by one from Thomas Keller (ditto). I keep reading, and at the end of the next paragraph is: (Here's a 2003 eGullet thread about Trio.) Trotter was the big dog in Chicago at the time, but I knew that Achatz had worked at both Charlie Trotter's and The French Laundry, so I say to myself, "Self, what is this eGullet of which he speaks?" I order it up via the intertubes and commence browsing. After a succession of "Oh, this is interesting!" threads, what should I see but this one, about the first Heartland Gathering, in, of all places, Grand Rapids. (Unfortunately, all of the pictures were lost in a software changeover.) I sign up that very day, send a PM to MatthewB offering my assistance, and the rest, as they say, is histrionic. Or something like that.

The article, with video

Looks like it'd be worth watching just for the soundtrack.

I have the book but not the cookbook. After I learned I was diagnosed with gluten sensitivity (actual lab test), about 4½ years ago, I bought some cookbooks, but now that I've learned how to adapt, I hardly ever refer to them. These are the ones still on my shelf: Artisan Gluten-Free Bread in Five Minutes a Day The How Can It Be Gluten-Free Cookbook, Volume 1 and Volume 2

...you use two hands to do a pan-flip, just in case.

From today's NY Times "Wordplay" column -- say this ten times fast: "crispy brisket bits."

Will it be wrapped in second hand news(print)?

That makes sense. I'd vote for asynchronous, too.

Are you thinking Zoom or some other platform, or just time-framed posting here?

Just placed the order. Please let me know the shipping cost via PM and how you'd like me to pay.

Ah, I see it now. However, the delivery option still shows as unavailable when I go to check out. Is there something else I need to do?

Rob, I don't see a link to order from the pantry. I assume it's not up yet, correct?

Apple works in mysterious ways. (I did notice that the patent was abandoned.)

Interesting. To me, scent is a fascinating subject. My detection threshold appears to be lower than many others' (i.e., I can smell things before others do, if they can at all -- I'm pretty sure I'm not hallucinating -- and I appear to react to odors more strongly than most others do). I also think it's the most underappreciated and least understood of our "traditional" five senses. I used to teach a mini-unit on olfaction in my intro psych courses. We'd cover how olfaction can affect mood, energy level, focus, sexual attraction, and, of course, appetite.

Thanks. Unfortunately, it's not being released in the US for general publication until October 20.