Smithy

Thanks for this recommendation! I clicked on the link and discovered I'd bought it already -- and I'd forgotten about it. I'll have to dive back into the book again.

@rotuts, you're exactly describing the attraction my husband and I would have had for this new programmable Crock-Pot. When we married, we brought identical units to the marriage: the original models with "Off" "Low" and "High" settings on the knobs and the warming elements built right into the crock itself. He'd used his frequently as a set-and-forget slow cooker: load it with the goodies, turn it on Low in the morning, go to work, come home to a delicious perfectly cooked set of ribs or beef or whatever. We got rid of both pots in exchange for a 6-quart cooker with a removable insert, and have never gotten quite the same results. Even its Low setting is too hot. I've lost track of how many smaller, original cookers I've bought at thrift stores. None has worked quite the way his did. We've been on the search for a programmable slow cooker that truly holds its temperature for a number of hours. Most of the cookers we've looked at would cook until the desired internal temperature of a food had been reached, then turn themselves off or set to "keep warm" mode. That wouldn't allow a continued low-and-slow cook needed to turn tough meats tender. This until looks like it would be just the ticket. Sous vide without the bags and water bath, or else sous vide in the usual way. What's not to love?

It's hard to know whether to laugh or cry or "huh" at that. Thanks for the photo and story. Glad you escaped with your skin intact!

There are some wonderful-looking recipes in there! Thanks!

That tea table might seem over-the-top to some (how do you pass things across that large table?) but I can imagine it being fun in the right setting. It reminds me of one of the most interesting bars I've even seen, made from an old tree root system. There are more pictures of it here.

My take was completely different -- no surprise there -- but this treatment was good, despite its less than artistic appearance. 🙂 It wasn't an appetizer for more than one person; it was my dinner (in addition to a small green salad). I thought I'd drizzle it with the dipping oil shown -- which I bought a few years ago in Yuma and still haven't opened -- but I'd already added so much olive oil that it wasn't needed. The beans were mashed onto slices of toasted sourdough. It all needed more acid, and I ended up drizzling some of my salad dressing (lemon vinaigrette) onto the toast for that purpose. There's more of the bean/cheese/garlic dish. I'll enjoy polishing it off in the next few days.

It has a little bit of give and springs back, as an old dinner roll would be expected to do. It doesn't feel spongy-nice like a fresh, soft roll, but it also doesn't crumble or cave in when I squeeze gently.

@curls, those are great thrift store finds! I remember that sort of deviled egg platter from my childhood. Well-appointed households had them and they featured heavily in parties and picnics. I'm glad you're giving new life to one. As for that Corningware -- perfect!

...and here it is, apparently unchanged, in July. When/if I get around to opening that bag, I think I'll do it outside just in case there's some sort of noxious spore growing. But I can't see any changes in it. I'm really curious about how long it will hold like that.

That sounds tasty. Last winter I discovered for myself how useful, versatile and generous a rotisserie chicken can be. Twice I bought a rotisserie chicken when I really wasn't in a mood to cook at all or eat much. Each chicken lasted me about a week, with identifiable parts (thigh, wing) featured in some meals and the remainder cut or shredded into salads. Chicken salad sandwiches would be good at this time of year, but so would a few shreds of meat atop a good green salad such as you describe.

It never fails: when I finally have time to cook a dish I've had in mind for days or weeks, I can't find the image or the recipe that inspired me. So it was today. I finally thawed one of several ribeye steaks that have been hanging around in the freezer for far too long. I can still see in my mind's eye the inspiring image of slices from the steak -- rare in the middle; seared on the surface; drizzled with a delicious herbaceous sauce. Was it on a salad? Tacos? I've no idea. It looked wonderful: seared outside, rare inside, drizzled with that marvelous sauce. It didn't come out that way. I overcooked the steak in my zeal to try out our new charcoal grill. Nothing rare about it! But -- the steak tasted good anyway. In the absence of the inspirational recipe, I winged a chimichurri sauce, and the sauce took flight. The salad was the no-brainer I've been enjoying lately. Ths was a good dinner. There's more steak left, and sauce, and the salad greens. I'll work toward getting the timing right for the meat doneness, but even slightly overcooked it's good. Maybe eventually I'll find the darned recipe that inspired this dinner.

Thanks so much for the reminder about quesadillas, @Shelby! I dug out the package of tortillas I'd found in the freezer. It turns out there were both corn tortillas and flour tortillas. Both, er, a bit long in the tooth from all that time in the freezer, and more crumbly than flexible. Still, they were good for proof of concept. I sandwiched cheese between both sets, and pepperoni inside the flour tortillas. Brushed both sets with oil, and pressed both until done. Then I had to wait...and wait...and wait until they were cool enough to handle and eat. Nice crunch. Nice flavor, although one of the cheeses is something I won't buy again. I think I preferred the flour tortillas to the corn tortillas for this purpose, but they both worked. The only problem was that I really didn't need BOTH those tortillas AND the salad I'd made for dinner. Serious excess. Good, though. I'll remember the quesadilla trick. Cleanup won't be bad.

Thanks for some great ideas, folks! I can see I'll have to use all this batch and then keep a bunch of already cooked beans in the refrigerator, stored in their liquid, per Joe Yonan's cookbook Cool Beans (eG-friendly Amazon.com link). Thanks for the reminder, @blue_dolphin. I bought the book last March, but have been a bit too preoccupied to remember it until you asked.

You're busted!!

I am soooo glad to get your news! Rockport and Aransas Pass both crossed my newsfeed. I've been worried on your behalf about storm surge. Let's see your celebratory dinner! Perhaps a potluck with guests who stayed, if any?

I had never heard of these before! I wonder if they truly are grown in Egypt. I saw plenty of onions bundled together for sale in the souks, but never saw the gardens. Fascinating growth pattern. Thank you for this!

I chose expedience in Getting A Package Out Of The Pantry yesterday, and used the Instant Pot to cook an entire package of RG Royal Corona beans. They were at least a couple of years old, and probably deserved something more careful than I did. Seasoning, for instance! But no. I put those beans into my 6-quart pot, added enough water to cover them plus about 2", pressure cooked for 25 minutes, allowed natural release. Decided when I opened them that they weren't done enough, so I just relocked the IP and used the same cycle. This time they were cooked, maybe a little overcooked. But they're soft, and who cares if some split? Now I have all those beans to eat. These beans are huge, and each bite carries a lot of bean flavor. Unfortunately, it's bland. This morning, for breakfast, I plopped some onto toast, mashed them, nuked them, and sprinkled the warm assembly with feta cheese crumbs. First lesson: that spread was dry. Second lesson: nuking a heel of toasted whole wheat bread guarantees tough bread. It wasn't even edible using a knife and fork! I ate the spread, ditched the bread, then started again. Nuked some beans, sprinkled with feta afterward, then dressed the whole assembly with part of a sardine and its oil. Better, but still not wonderful. I need to make plans for the rest of these beans. I've reviewed enough of this topic to re-find the bean confit recipe here. I'll try that with some of them. What else can I do with them? Who has some good uses for giant white beans that were cooked to softness with no seasoning?

That's the way it looks in the photo.

Oh no, @rotuts, I find appliances in other countries to be fascinating. My first trip to The British Isles, and then continental Europe, was quite the eye-opener. Here's hoping that one of our Australian connections can shed some light on you question about the stove. @haresfur? @Captain?

I wonder if that might be a wok ring atop that particular burner. My best friend's gas stove has one. The configuration is different, but maybe a flat-bottomed pan atop the wok ring would look like that.

By the way, what sort of humongous fish is that in your profile photo? Looks like a nice catch. I'm looking forward to reading about your fish preparations!

Thanks for that! I enjoyed reading the history of the restaurant and the area. I was surprised to read that anchovies weren't part of the original. I'm going to have to try making Caesar Salad for myself sometime soon, after company leaves. One thing, though: it may not be as showy as the original, but I'll probably chop that lettuce into smaller pieces before tossing. Is that heresy? 😉

What sort of preparations do you have to make, and how soon do you make them? I'm thinking about storm shutters, but maybe not in an RV park? Do you advise your guests to leave? How far inland and how quickly would people have to move in an evacuation? Do you have water stored, a standby generator or three? What, if anything, can you do with your garden? Is there anything left of fresh produce, sandwich fixings, bread etc. (food that doesn't need to be cooked) in the aisles of the local HEB?

They certainly look good. Did you have ingredients aside from the pureed fruit? Dairy, for instance? I haven't put my CreamI back in action yet but may get around to it this summer.