Smithy

@rarerollingobject, that is exquisite detail in the piping. At first I thought those were real cornflowers next to the roses for size comparison.

Pricey, indeed! It may be wonderful when it comes out, but it's designed for someone else's budget. I must admit that when I followed the link in RobertM's post and got to the photograph with the 3-step labels, the sight brought me up short for a moment. Item #2 ("June identifies the food with its in-ceiling camera, weighs it, and recommends a cooking program.") reminds me of the Nutri-Matic on the Starship Heart of Gold: --from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams (longer excerpt here at Good Reads)

This sounds delicious and delightful. I have a question about the shrimp. It sounds like you sauteed them while they were unpeeled, then mixed them with the spaghetti and mushrooms. At what stage were they peeled? Or did you leave that to the respective eaters? I have trouble persuading my DH to peel and eat shrimp without their being mixed in with noodles.

Dinner tonight was an interesting exercise that came out well, although not at all as intended by the recipe writers. The slaw was easy and delicious: reminiscent of @kayb's jail slaw, with a slight adjustment in the dressing. I had a large head of cabbage, and since half of it filled my largest bread-mixing bowl I stopped there. The hot dressing went on early this afternoon, and the slaw had the afternoon and evening to marry. I had no carrots. I didn't miss them. The pork was the more problematic. Whether because of its age or leanness, I quickly realized that the mixture as specified in the recipe would not hold together for burgers. I added an egg. I added bread crumbs. I added another egg, and more bread crumbs. At that point it held together enough to be fried in a skillet, but the patties looked far more like my mother's hash browns than burgers. Whoops! It was at about this point that I read the Food & Wine recipe carefully enough to see that I needed to have reserved some slaw mix for the soy/sesame/rice vinegar dressing. Oh, well. I used some of the slaw I'd made earlier in the day. Dinner! It's hardly the prettiest presentation, but despite miscalculations it tasted good. We'll be enjoying the slaw, and I'll try the burgers at another point when I have my brain fully engaged. I liked the flavor a lot. The bonus is that now there's only half a cabbage, and the ground pork package is gone.

I'm about to start mixing the pork burgers; I mixed the slaw earlier. Thanks to all three of you for the suggestions; @ElainaA, you're up either before or after @kayb reports on her success. I'll posts my photos later.

@ElainaA, please tell me more about this cabbage slaw:

Oh, you go to lovely places! Thank you for taking us along and sharing the food - visually, at least.

All good ideas, folks. Keep 'em coming, please!

Oh, I forgot the timeframe bit. AFAIK I'll be able to cook from this list tomorrow (Tuesday) evening, so rapid-fire on ideas works for me.

"Black swan events" indeed. What with a 5-day power failure, trading in our Princessmobile, and assorted other events that don't bear discussion here, I've had a bevy of 'em flapping around. I think the dust is starting to settle so I'll be able to participate again. The rapid-fire aspect of this topic as originally proposed is part of its charm, but as noted above 24 hours may be too rapid-fire for many. Offering a timeframe is a sensible way to manage expectations. Having people pop up with their own takes on the list of ingredients also sounds like a good way to keep the topic going. I've already seen a lovely group of suggestions crop up that I'd like to try. Since I got an honorable mention and a couple of pokes, I'll throw out a list. Like @kayb above, I have a freezer full of stuff (blessedly still good despite the power failure). Just to grab a few items: Frozen chicken thighs Frozen shrimp - raw in shell as well as cooked and peeled Frozen ground pork Frozen corn from last year Frozen tomatoes, ditto A mess of unused herbs in the garden: sorrel, basil, chives, lovage and parsley A large head of cabbage, purchased at a farm stand before the black swans arrived A large head of cauliflower that may still be salvageable Bell peppers (ripe, NOT green) Fresh snap peas I know I cheated slightly with the herbs and shrimp as far as the count goes, but it may help give someone ideas. Then someone can give me ideas!

@Mmmpomps, do you use your IP more in the manual mode than in programmed settings, or is that a coincidence of the last few posts? I'm curious about how your usage patterns have evolved, since I'm just now starting down the track.

That is very much a lesson I need to take to heart.

@Shelby, you just keep those eggplant ideas coming. I love the stuff and you're giving me some good ideas. :-)

Thanks for reviving this topic, @Bhukhhad. Although it's an old topic, many current members are interested in Indian food. It's interesting to read about your use of chile peppers available in the New World to cook traditional Indian dishes. I think, if you were to post in more detail about any of the dishes you list above, you'd have more than one interested reader. It would be even better if you were to post photos! (PM me if you aren't sure how to add photos, or follow these directions.)

Smoked tuna...as in, smoked in the can? I keep meaning to try that. I wish I could think of capers more often, too - those can perk up a dish nicely, and I keep forgetting that I even have them.

@FauxPas, I'm so terribly sorry! I'm called out of the house, quite unexpectedly, for a couple of days and won't be able to cook at all. It's too bad, because we have a bunch of stuff that needs ideas. @Lisa Shock, thanks so much for your elucidation on the food. Nicely done! I'm looking forward to trying fekkas for myself, soon.

A couple of days ago I tried "country style ribs" using slow-cooker mode. This happened because I'd rubbed and vacuum-sealed said ribs in preparation for sous vide, and then my new circulator failed. (A new one is on its way. ) We wondered how accurate the temperature settings were for 'low', 'medium' and 'high' slow cooker mode, and took measurements. When 'low' got too hot - that is, it cleared 180F and was still going up - I switched to 'keep warm' and probably still managed to overcook the ribs. Those portions of the ribs that actually had rib and fat in them were pretty good, but the leaner sections were IMO like cotton. Incidentally, my measurements say that at 'low' the IP holds the water in the pot at 168F. Still a bit warm for the sous vide I wanted. We ate what we wanted from the ribs, and saved the rest for leftovers. I wasn't wild about the prospect, but thought I saw an opportunity. The next day it was time for beans. Somewhere uptopic someone - @Mmmpomps? - waxed ecstatic and pronounced that she'd made the most 'righteous beans' using her IP. I can't find that post, but it lured me in. Following instructions I pressure cooked a cup worth of cranberry beans in the prescribed amount of water, fiddled around with the steam vent, then set the pressure cooker to 'more'. (I think I used that setting because of something I read, but I won't do it again.They were a touch overcooked.) I do very much like the 'set it and forget it' aspect. As the beans cooked I chopped onions, stripped the kernels off stray ears of corn, and cut the leftover meat into chunks. After the beans were done I emptied the pot, strained the beans, saved the liquor, and started sauteing: onion until golden and soft, then a small time for the corn, then the meat, and finally the beans and the liquor. Boiled it down. The spices from the original ribs were plenty. Dishes used: the IP, a measuring cup, a strainer, and the corn-stripper and onion-chopper. Time: less than an hour. This was a revelation; I'm known for covering the counter with stray dishes and taking hours to cook meals. It was so good we're having it again today. It may not be the most photogenic meal I've made, but it had the right amount of spice, a good thick consistency, light crunch from the corn and meaty flavor from the pork. We aren't sure the pork was needed, but the stew was a great way to use it to best advantage. OK, enablers: thanks, I think!

I had a wonderful salad dressing in May that I've been trying (unsuccessfully) to replicate. It was fresh and green, not oily. The chef said it was along the lines of 1 bunch of cilantro, finely blended with the juice of 2 limes and their zest and a bit of fresh jalapeno; then just a touch of olive oil blended to taste. He did not mention salt. He did say to be very careful to get only the zest and none of the pith, because it will make the dressing bitter. I've tried it as as told me, then tried variants (less zest, less juice, a mix of acids, entire cilantro bunch vs. leaves only, and so on). So far none of it has come close to what I had. Maybe I'm beating the olive oil too much and breaking it down to make that bitter flavor, and a different oil or less blending would be better. The idea of finely chopping a bunch of green herbs (parsley, as an alternative - and what else?) and blending them with a citrus acid appeals to me immensely, but I haven't had any success worth posting about. Maybe someone else has good recommendations.

Beautiful! @Lisa Shock, nobody has suggested a dessert for your diabolically intricate list of pantry materials yet. It looks to me like you easily have the fixings for fekkas, Moroccan biscotti. I first heard about them from this post by Franci. They're on my list of things to try, but since I haven't tried them I can't suggest a recipe. As for the other suggestions above - I'm glad I don't have to pick! I was thinking along the lines of a frittata or quiche, until the minestrone suggestion came along.

I was also taken with "42 eggs" in that post!

I think both of the suggestions above sound wonderful! I'm eager to see which you pick. This looks like a good way to get multiple ideas for ingredient usage. I've been thinking about that leg of lamb: cut into chunks, marinated in oil, vinegar, parsley and thyme, then skewered with mushrooms and (if you have them) onions. Grill the skewers, grill the tomatoes separately; serve all on a bed of rice. @Lisa Shock, I love the idea of the sausage in the vinaigrette. @gfweb, please expand a bit on the brussels sprout slaw? I need new ideas for that vegetable.

I'd love to come, but so far it looks like I'll be there in spirit only. If things change I'll ask you to add my name to one of the other lists; right now I'm just glad to see a gathering coming together after so many years.

Very nice, @BonVivant. If you've answered this before, please forgive the repetition. Is that roe atop the potted crab? If so, what type, and what's under that layer? If not, what is it? Please tell more about the scotch-cured salmon. A link would do nicely if you've already addressed this. I know someone - make that two someones - in our household who would think that salmon is bound to benefit from scotch and peppercorns. One of us adores salmon under almost any circumstance, but likes the novelty of this idea. The other needs persuasion about salmon but has never met a scotch whiskey or peppercorn that he didn't like.

@mgaretz, thank you for that information about the sous vide time and temperature. I have a tri-tip awaiting the arrival of my new Anova; now I have general tips on how to set it up! @Fava, I don't want to repeat all your beautiful photos, but they are well worth the look. That sounds like an excellent meal...and I have a serious case a Magnalite envy. That looks like one huge pan, and very well maintained.

It's on its way back at their expense, and they said they'd be sending a new one as soon as the FedEx tracking showed the old one to be enroute.