Alex

It's also a cool shop. During my last visit to NYC I picked up some Kyoto dashi, which was the base for the first course of last week's Feast of the Seven Fishes.

We still have some wild char roe and creme fraiche from our Seven Fishes dinner, so our first course will be those two on Simple Mills almond crackers. The second course will be Ottolenghi's Linguini with Miso Butter, Shiitakes, and Spinach. The adult beverage of the day will be Mawby's Talismøn sparkling wine, from Michigan's Leelanau Peninsula. Dessert probably will be a good friend's outstanding chocolate-covered peppermint patty.

Have you done the A-B test with anything other than scrambled eggs? Maybe something blander or less distinctive, like stir-fried bok choy thickened with a light cornstarch slurry.

Here's our slightly updated Seven Fishes menu from last night. Even after taking two hours for the first five courses, we were so full we decided to postpone the cheese course finale to tonight. In fact, given what we'll be eating for brunch, it might be the only thing we'll eat for dinner -- which is fine by me. Dashi-mushroom broth Wild char roe, avocado-oil potato chips, crème fraîche Caesar salad (no egg), boquerones “Gefilte” fish pâté, lime horseradish, crackers Most definitely not kosher seafood chowder Gulf shrimp, bay scallops, lump crabmeat potatoes, bacon, Penzey’s Sunny Paris seasoning Verterra Brut 2019 (Michigan) Époisses, Fuji apple, Idaho snowberry honey, baguette La Fleur d’Or Sauternes 2009

It's a tough job, but someone has to do it.

Mixed citrus slices

We all are, TS. We all are.

A local bakery is making a traditional one, for $40. I think I'll be just fine if I die without ever having eaten a panettone (at least one that I remember; maybe there existed one that was so regrettably bad that I've wiped it from my memory, or at least efficiently suppressed it) -- but do you think it'd be worth the $40 to try it, just this once?

The Atlantic chimes in: "The Luxury Makeover of the Worst Pastry on Earth"

Me, three

Crush some of the potatoes (that I assume you're using)

Ms. Alex often was in DC on Christmas Eve and would partake of the Feast of the Seven Fishes at a favorite restaurant, but she'll be home this year, so I thought I'd make one for her. It's not seven courses, but there are indeed seven different fish or seafood ingredients. (BLiS, Big O's, and Field & Fire are local purveyors.) BLiS char roe, avocado-oil potato chips, crème fraîche Caesar salad, boquerones “Gefilte” fish pâté, lime horseradish, crackers Most definitely not kosher seafood chowder Gulf shrimp, bay scallops, lump crabmeat, Big O’s smoked salmon, potatoes Verterra Brut 2019 (Michigan) Époisses, Idaho snowberry honey, Field & Fire baguette La Fleur d’Or Sauternes 2009

Follow-up: They're not as risky as previously thought -- the researchers miscalculated.

How about an amazing assortment of decent-quality chocolate bars? For example, I don't know if Vitacost ships to Canada, but with the current discounts they're offering I can easily get a dozen for about US$31 plus shipping (or free shipping if I buy $49 of product).

With a thick batter like cornbread or brownies, I push it to be higher in the sides and corners of the pan than in the center.

@Dr. Teeth How many diners?

Hey, Madcap Coffee, from Grand Rapids!

In Australia, it's not just the venomous animals (and sharks and crocs) that are out to get you. Yes, this is a food-related story.

What is it? The link took me to my Yahoo sign-in page.

And from the day before the sourdough article, a reminder about lime-related phytophotodermatitis: https://arstechnica.com/health/2024/11/man-suffers-chemical-burn-that-lasted-months-after-squeezing-limes/

Over Tg weekend, to accompany warmed leftover turkey, I love making risotto with turkey stock, adding chestnuts, sautéed (reconstituted dried) morels, and parm-reg. Some filtered mushroom soaking liquid is good to add to the stock, too.

I usually use some sort of gluten-free bread and often add chestnuts. (I buy 1# packages of peeled, frozen, and vac-packed Michigan chestnuts.) I intended to deal with some gluten this year and make Melissa Clark's Brioche Chestnut Stuffing, more or less, using challah. However, I forgot to go out yesterday and buy a loaf, so I'm going to sub in cornbread (Bob's Red Mill g-f mix) that I'll make today, then forego the oven-browning step on Thursday.

Ms Alex *requires* two starches for Tg. This year it'll be cornbread and chestnut dressing and mashed sweet potatoes with maple syrup and bourbon. There'll also be a spatchcocked local turkey (no, not the one that's been visiting our back yard), browned Brussels sprouts with dill, and cranberry-apple chutney. The next day will be leftover turkey with a pipian rojo, buttered carrots, rice pilaf or leftover dressing, and a green veg tbd.

A class action suit was filed this week in the US over alleged price-fixing by four potato companies that control 98 percent of the frozen potato products market in the US. Full story

Posh Spice