Smithy

My mugs are mementos, and many of them are museum pieces of a sort, due to their age. For instance: this little guy was a thank-you gift for donating to MPR, donkey's years ago. Bob Edwards, one of the founders, is long gone. My first flight instructors were invited to more than one Shuttle launch, thanks to a couple of their students who became astronauts. One time they gave me this mug, purchased at the Kennedy Space Center gift shop after watching Stan Love and his fellow crewmembers launch into space. This museum piece goes back to the company where I settled into a long-term North Woods career. The company has long since been taken over by another corporation, changed names, and changed culture as well. I think of happy discoveries and growth whenever I see this one. My father was an aviation enthusiast, and bought this at an airshow near their home. When Mom and Dad downsized, I claimed this mug. The oldest mug in my collection is this beauty from Taylor & Ng. I have a bunch more of their designs tucked away in storage, but this one stays out and gets frequent use. I love the pun. Finally, this mug is my most recent acquisition. I've been to the West Denmark Fiddle School in Wisconsin 3 years running, and plan to go again next summer. The last thing I needed was another mug! But for $3 I couldn't resist. It makes me smile. The fiddle school is like a weeklong musical boot camp: some 60-odd musicians, broken into sets according to accomplishment level, learn about a dozen pieces of music by ear. We learn those pieces in segments, bit by bit, and put them all together as an orchestra for public performance, from Sunday afternoon until Thursday night! The music is beautiful, the instructors excellent and funny. Truth is, the mug I use most is larger than any of these...a Friends of the Duluth Library purchase. But the decoration is fading from frequent washing, and the mug is dirty right now. I'm not going to show that one here!

I don't know when I'll get to it, but I've downloaded that recipe. It does look good!

As noted here, I started wondering about the source of the smoked salmon that I purchase here in Duluth. One of my favorite shops, Northern Waters Smokehaus, discusses the sources of their fish in their FAQs, but it was confusing: according to the FAQs, the salmon may be wild-caught or farmed. I wrote and asked them about it, and had an intereesting and nuanced discussion with their HR representative. With his permission, I'm quoting his writings: I followed up with: He responded:

A couple of nights ago I went to a party. One guest had brought smoked salmon from a local company. It was moist, tender, and better than I'd have expected; I have (had) firm opinions that the best smoked salmon in town comes from the Northern Waters Smokehaus. Another guest and I agreed that this was just as good. So I bought some yesterday, and had some of it for dinner. Mmm. Flaky. Oily. Maybe not quite as firm as Northern Waters' work, which is Atlantic salmon. This label suggests this salmon is locally farmed. (I need to call both of those companies and get more information about their sources, in light of this article.) Anyway, it's good stuff. I also finally had the ingredients to try a recipe from The Mediterranean Dish: Sauteed Mushrooms with Garlic. I overcooked the garlic and had to start over, but fortunately I hadn't added the mushrooms yet. This recipe's a winner. It's intended as an appetizer, but was plenty of dinner for me, especially because I'd been sampling the salmon. Edited to add: Everett's salmon comes from Alaska, according to their info sheet. According to the Northern Waters' Smokehaus FAQs, some of their salmon is wild-caught in Alaska but it isn't clear whether some of it is farmed. I've written to them to ask. Edited further to add: Northern Waters says their Sockeye Salmon is wild-caught in Alaska, but the Atlantic Salmon is farmed. They're careful to look for certain certifications for sustainability and best practices. We had a good email discussion about their practices. I've shared it, with permission, here.

@SLB, that tablecloth reminds me sharply of the "fancy" tablecloths I grew up with...can't remember now whether it was my parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, or all of the above. I think it's beautiful!

I love tablecloths, and have far more than is practical given my current circumstances. I think it's a harmless habit. As to the yellowing: the other day, I unboxed a crocheted...tablecloth? bedspread?...not really sure of its original purpose although it would work as a tablecloth. I don't think it's quite as old as the one you describe, but it also has yellowing that I don't remember. I'm not sure what to do about it. I know my mother tried to bleach the yellow out of some ancient piece of table covering and just made it worse. Stains or no, please post a photo! I at least would like to see this wonder!

I heard back from Goûter yesterday. They are shipping to the USA. The shipping cost depends on state, so I won't bother telling you the quote. Edit: sorry, I didn't see that ElsieD had already answered.

@rotuts, if your eyesight is good enough you'll see that the holder for the water trap has one open end, and the trap will slide into that slot without pinching. Eyesight can be an issue, though; pinching should take care of that problem.

Green salad and sandwich pressed in my panini press. The sandwich elements are all left over from a party here last night: brioche hamburger bun; mesquite-smoked turkey and picnic ham, from a local deli; slices of jalapeno pepper jack cheese. I'm not crazy about the texture of the brioche bun compared to an open-crumb bread slices as I generally use, but I waaay overbought for the party and will be able to use these buns as sandwiches. It's getting cold outside, so pressing them improves the texture and flavor. Here's the best "money shot" I could come up with. Not great, but you can see that the cheese was appropriately melty. The reddish color is the salad dressing I dredged from the bowl into the bun.

😅

@paul o' vendange, I don't buy lamb often but I have a meat shipment coming this month that will include ground lamb and a rack of lamb. You might look into ButcherBox.com. It's a subscription meat service, very flexible as to what you purchase and how often, and they claim that the meat is all sustainably sourced, humanely raised, no antibiotics, etc. Again, I don't know how much selection you'd have for lamb cuts, but you should check it out.

My new portable BBQ grill arrived today, to replace the ancient and doddering Smoky Joe my darling and I bought years ago. Will this one be any better after it's broken in? I dunno. I like the size and price ($20). Some assembly required, which will make it less compact when I get to that point. It's going into the Princessmobile for now. I won't be using it until I'm in warmer, drier climes. I hope this year I remember to pack charcoal!

My dear friends threw a full-blown Thanksgiving gathering with 3 couples and 3 singletons. Each of us brought something by prior arrangement. I forgot to take a picture of the appetizers, but they included a cheese ball, a country paté, clam dip, Reuben dip, probably some cheese, a wide selection of crackers and chips, and some wonderful lightly smoked salmon with baby pickles and fresh dill. That was just the appetizer set-up while we caught up on news and the chief cook kept coordinating kitchen chores. Then came dinner: 2 perfectly roasted chickens; gravy; green beans with bacon; scalloped corn; mashed potatoes; a cranberry-ginger chutney/relish that, I'm happy to say, is a NYT recipe that appears in my ancient cookbook!; cheesy rolls; wild rice dressing with water chestnuts; some sort of bready stuffing. Wine, of course. I didn't bring the scalloped corn, but it was my mother's recipe. Something the hosts did by accident made it taste much, much better than I remember my mother's version! A buttered breadcrumb topping, rather than the cracker crumb topping, was one difference. But I think having it spread out in a shallow baking dish made it taste better than the deep-dish serving she used to do. My friends did the recipe proud. The spread, before we all sat down and dug in: And here's my plate: Then there were the pies: pecan, pumpkin, apple. Urrp. Followed by after-dinner drinks. I think I ate more last night than I normally eat in a week, but it was a fine spread and an excellent evening. Better still, we all got to come home with leftovers!

Bumping this up to see if anyone's planning on panettone purchases again this year. I chose this photo series because it's what really pulled me into the splurge. Maybe @Alleguede or @Kerry Beal can tell me whether gouter.ca is making them.

Georgia Dunn's Thanksgiving greetings. I hope this link works for everyone, since Patreon invited me to share it. Screenshot added, from the link below. https://www.patreon.com/posts/happy-144532044/instant-access?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJyZWRpc19rZXkiOiJpYTI6YjliMWE5MzktOTc0Yy00MmU2LThkMjQtODI5ODQ0NjE5OTE0IiwicG9zdF9pZCI6MTQ0NTMyMDQ0LCJwYXRyb25faWQiOjk3NDQ5OTMyfQ.Fx2FhKbEU0iUIebTBNLsGPA3aemBFXwdmI-BrEGWjTY&utm_source=post_link&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=patron_engagement&utm_id=f2ed051d-f9cf-4836-acc9-facd8c4fcb24

Back in 2019, someone marketed the A4 Box Induction Cooker, and our champion eGullet members/enablers tried it out. You can read the initial discussions here. It's an interesting and fun gizmo: lightweight, heats by induction, small enough to fit into one's travel kit if traveling by car or trailer; easily suitable for a dormitory (unlike the electric skillets my best friend and I used, that nearly scorched the furniture and carpeting). What was especially wonderful about it was the variety of inserts available. It came with a flat plate and ridged griddle; there were also 3 inserts: for deep dish (as in, soups) and a couple of different inserts with indentations for pancakes or ball-shaped stuff or whatever. @Kerry Beal brought our attention to it here and Anna N, may she rest in peace, ignited the rage with her experimentations here. Trouble is, the darned thing was charming but cost as my as my full-sized kitchen stove. I couldn't imagine buying one for my purposes. I think a lot of people must have felt the same way. Then it went on sale! Cheap!! And I bought one, and several other people did as well. Without going into a lot of detail, I noted that mine was on the way here when it was on sale, and a lot of other people enjoyed the same bonus. Good news: my original package, in the blue I preferred (there was much discussion about color choices, back in the day) became available for $40 instead of the original $250 or whatever. Maybe it was more. Bad news: the extra inserts (pancakes, deep dish, aepleskiver or octopus balls, take your pick) were not available. They haven't been available for well over a year. So the company was probably blowing out inventory while they circled the drain. Upshot: this magic A4 box, which is quite definitely not related to a printer, is a fun toy that doesn't live up to its original promise. But I have one, and I'll keep it around. It is gratifyingly compact and easy to clean.

I've been roasting vegetables today: red bell peppers, carrots, red onion and eggplant. They're nice to have on hand as easy additions to other dishes. Today I excavated a smoked duck breast from the freezer and allowed it to thaw. Looked like a good accompaniment to the vegetables. The final result: linguini that I'd forgotten I had, put together with a sauce of butter, olive oil, cheese and half-and-half (not really up to Alfredo standards) and the ingredients in question. The duck breast had been seared first. Pretty good. Is it worth trying to reproduce? I dunno. Will I be able to finish the remains? Easily.

I think that's one of the most gratifying experiences in cooking / baking / confectionery and, for that matter, in any other skill. It means you're really getting a grip on the process! Congratulations!

On the surface of it, sandwiches sound easier to make and package than the hot cooked meals you've been preparing, packaging and chilling. But now that you've done it, what do you think? Might it actually be a more fiddly process for cooking in quantity? If not, maybe the doers like you are simply too busy getting ready for their own feasts.

...and at opposite ends of the world and the climate swings, I spent hours getting ready for the first winter storm of the season. By the time I was finished, I needed something warm but easy. I decided to try a quesadilla, more or less following @Shelby's instructions elsewhere. I was going to make it on my panini press, but then thought: the A4 box is stacked atop it. Why not try the quesadilla on that? See whether it's still worth the space it's taking in my cupboard. Step 1: start cooking vegetables first. I tossed the broccoli and cauliflower in oil and salt, loaded them onto the griddle, and slapped the lid on while I prepped the tortilla. Step 2: prep the tortilla. In this case it meant cutting open the bag in the wrong spot (WHEN will I remember that these are easy-open bags, with a zipper closure?) and then loading up some stray cheeses that needed to go. Step 3: load as much veg as possible into the quesadilla, fold it over, and make room for it on the griddle. Let the rest of the vegetables stay there and continue cooking. It was pretty good, and dead easy. The broccoli and cauliflower, by the way, steamed as much as cooked while that lid was on, so they turned soft. Not at all the same as roasting them. But those that didn't make it into the quesadilla and continue to cook developed a delicious crust. Yes, I'll keep the A4 box. And use it more.

@patti, you are truly a wonder! Generous, inventive, and a blessing to your community!

Thanks! I still have her book, so I'll check out the original!

Well, it all sounds splendid except possibly the world's best braised cabbage. In this neck of the woods, "World's Best" is a brand name for chocolate bars sold as fundraisers (school bands, football teams, and so on). I've never seen that brand applied to braised cabbage, so I suspect it isn't a brand name. It may deserve the hyperbole, even so. More info, please. I'm always up for good ways to treat cabbage. 😀

@blue_dolphin, what fun!!

That would make a LOT of Key Lime pies!! Or my mother's favorite dark-chocolate microwaved fudge!