Smithy

Sorry if you explained this before and I missed it...was this an infusion of a fig leaf in the cream / crème?

This really makes me regret traveling right now. There are actually good nectarines in the Duluth grocery stores right now. i've been enjoying them -- and, to my chagrin, I left the last one in the refrigerator the day I left! (I notified a friend to go enjoy it.) The good news is that I'm going through Colorado and New Mexico. Maybe I'll be able to score some good peaches along the way. I still dream of the lug of Palisade peaches I picked up one year.

@Kerala but you must admit you've made a wonderful case for buying the full-sized BGE at this point. 😉

Not deliberately funny, but this is the best place I can think of for last night's story. The scene: a Super 8 hotel in Story City, Iowa. I note at check-in that you have to ask for a coffee maker for the room, and ask for one. The clerk notes that there's coffee available 24/7 in the lobby. I ask for the coffee maker anyway, the way I won't have to get dressed for my first morning cuppa. A half-hour or so later, I go back down the hall to ask about the coffee maker. She'd had to send her partner to the storeroom, wherever that is, to find one. She produced it. Me: "What about coffee packets to go into it?" She: "You mean there aren't any in the room?" Why she'd think that, when the coffee maker isn't already kept there, I don't understand. I never did get any packets.

This is valuable information, and something I'll try next time I get around to cooking chicken. Thanks!

Post pictures when it's set up! If you have your sense of humor about you, you can also show in-process photos. 😀 (That's probably a bridge too far, I realize.)

I'd forgotten about Wayfair, though I should have remembered because my darling and I bought an item or two from them. We had a few laughs assembling the furniture after it arrived, but were quite happy with the products. Thanks for that reminder. There are some nice-looking options in there.

Followup: actually, these hearts and gizzards (no liver in this batch) have an odd aftertaste that's gotten more unpleasant as I've eaten. I don't know whether it's something in the marinade or something essential to the organs themselves. I can see a case for the fine chopping and soaking suggested in some of the other recipes. A good rinse, even, to get rid of a grittiness in the gizzards. Thoughts, anyone?

Some good ideas here! I opted for a more-or-less yakatori style this time, loosely based on this NYTimes recipe. I say "loosely" because my marinade was simpler; I didn't have all the ingredients they listed. Soy sauce, mirin, brown sugar, lemon, ginger, garlic. I had nothing resembling sake or even sherry. Note: do not try substituting brandy! That batch of marinade went down the drain. Marinating while I did other things: Skewered (with the sacrificial blood -- those gizzards are tough, and my skewers skewered me once too) Finished, after just a little grilling: I won't show you plated, because it's boring: meat and peppers. It needs rice, and I couldn't be bothered. A salad would have been good, but I had that earlier. Oddly enough, I like the gizzards better than the hearts. When my mother fried chicken bits, hearts were my favorite. Have my tastes changed, or is this not a good treatment for the hearts? I'll have to experiment with it. Speaking of experimentation, I appreciate all the other ideas and am glad I have another container of these things to play with for some of the other recipes. I'll make sure my friend knows to keep saving these for me. Thanks, folks! Keep the ideas coming!

@Maison Rustique is being pretty quiet about these photos, and we don't know her budget. I fear, however, that "relatively inexpensive" may preclude these beautiful works. Then it comes down to getting a "relatively inexpensive" rolling cart that will fit the space and the budget, then put a cutting board atop it. Have I got that right, @Maison Rustique? In that case you might even be able to find a suitable candidate at Home Depot or a similar local store.

There are some nice-looking islands in there. I still have the drop-leaf butcher block rolling cart I used as an island, way back before we remodeled our kitchen and put in a full island. However, the manufacturer of my cart seems to be out of business now.

Oh, I understand that. I just have no idea where I'd find maltitol syrup, and right now I'm on a "use stuff on hand" kick that may not last long. As you note, honey is also a possibility. This NYTimes recipe for energy bars looks like it might be a good starting point, based strictly on appearance. The recipe should be unlocked.

*mega-bump* I have 2 pints of chicken giblets, collected by a friend who saves them but whose wife won't touch them. I've finally gotten round to thawing one of the containers, and now I'm wondering what to do with them. I love fried chicken hearts...but am not likely to fry anything, any time soon. Up here @ChefCrash mentions chopping the gizzards finely, sauteeing with oil and butter, then braising in their own liquid until they're tender. That has some promise. Another idea is to stir-fry some or all of the giblets, along with some red bell pepper, onion and broccoli. But with what sort of sauce? What should I do with this stuff, now that I've committed to cooking it? I'm reasonably sure that a sheet pan roast in the oven is the wrong way to go. I'm also reasonably sure that I won't go to the trouble right now of wrapping the firmer giblets (hearts and gizzards) in bacon and then grilling them. Maybe next time around, with the second pint. Ideas, please.

Cabbage rolls are a real labor of love, even more so than meatballs. I applaud you, @Ann_T!

My neighbor, who runs a small backyard farm and sells at the local farmers' market, went camping for the weekend. Her raspberries are coming ripe, and she graciously invited me and another neighbor to come pick the ripe ones rather than letting them fall to the ground. The other neighbor was busy, so I picked 2 buckets' worth -- one for me and one for her. They aren't as sweet or tart as I'd expected. Is my sense of taste going off? Maybe, since I've been battling a cold and a general loss of appetite. But...today, I tested my own backyard's wild rasberries. There's no comparison. I'm torn between selfish relief that it isn't me, and sorrow that my neighbor's farmed berries just aren't good this year. I don't plan to tell her.