Nyleve Baar

Update on this year's Ferret Roll. Delicious and thankfully ferret-fur-free BUT when we left the dining room to clear up after dessert, our dog had her way with what was left of the cake which was still on the table. Oh well.

Unclear. Must consult a rabbi.

Ok. Fine. But you have to know that we no longer have ferrets and we will never have ferrets again. I believe the statute of limitations has passed, since this happened years ago when my kids were, um, kids. Those kids now have their own kids. And neither of them will have ferrets either. So I'm the kind of person who doesn't like to keep anything in a cage. So our ferrets - we had two at peak - had the run of the house, like cats. They would find different places to make their nests - in the couch springs, at the back of a bathroom drawer, in my pantry and in my dish towel drawer. I knew this. But somehow managed not to really think about it very much. You can only deal with so much when you have kids. Anyway, as you probably know, to make a rolled cake you bake the thing on a large flat baking pan, then turn it out onto a dish towel and let it cool slightly before rolling up in the towel. Then you unroll it, spread with filling and re-roll. Well. When I unrolled the cake, it was horrifyingly obvious that this dish towel had been a ferret nest. The cake was completely covered in fur. Passover seder was mere hours away and I had no time to make a replacement cake. So my sons and I spent about half an hour picking as much fur out of the cake as we could find. I think we got most of it. Probably. I filled it, rolled it up, and we served it. I'm not proud of this. The cake, formerly known as Banana Cream Roll is now known as Ferret Roll but we have never told anyone in the family why. They just think it's one of our silly names. No one died.

Passover is the one time of the year when I make all the traditional things. I mean, I really can't get tired of something that I only make it once every 12 months. So in the freezer right now are my mother's Passover chocolate hazelnut torte and two whole Ferret Roll cakes. (I'm sorry but I can't tell you why our family calls this Ferret Roll - a flourless banana/walnut cake rolled with coffee whipped cream - because it's a disgusting and horrible story and I am mortified about it.) In the oven is new-to-me version of potato kugel, because I was never all that happy with the one I usually make. Recipe here: https://www.seriouseats.com/potato-kugel-arthur-schwartz-passover-recipe. Will report on results. Had to search high and low for a horseradish root in my local area because I had planned to use my home-grown horseradish but when it was dug up last week, it turned out to be all hollow and woody. Son does the grinding wearing ski goggles. All the other usual suspects will make an appearance - chopped liver, gefilte fish, matzoh ball soup, etc., etc., etc. I have my weekend cut out for me.

Have you checked Freshco? I've seen poblanos there in the past. But of course they may not always have them and they may also be a little seasonal.

Darienne I know you live in my neck of the woods. We've been in this house over 40 years and our well water tested perfectly until just a couple of years ago, when we got some coliform show up in the results. I started to worry that all the recent residential and road construction has messed with our water source so we put in a UV thingy. Water actually tastes better than it did before so I'm pretty happy. And no longer worry that we might kill some random houseguest.

Quite a few years ago we travelled in Kerala and spent a few days in Kochi. I was very interested to see the old synagogue there - in Jew Town - supposed to be something like 600 years old. We somehow ended up there on a Friday night and found ourselves at the sabbath services in the beautiful sanctuary, which was interesting enough. But then we were invited for dinner at the home of a woman who was at the centre of the Jewish community, just a short walk from the synagogue. We had already made dinner plans, having bought a fish that was going to be cooked by one of the vendors near the fishing docks. But we decided we couldn't pass up a chance to at least make a quick visit to her home. We stayed for a couple of glasses of wine and the blessing over the bread, and met some of the family and friends. And, a little reluctantly, we said thanks and left. Mistake on so many levels. The fish was terrible and I had my one and only stomach episode of a month of travel in India. We really should have stayed - it was a once in a lifetime opportunity to be in such a rare space, in such a fascinating Jewish home in a disappearing community. Only a few months later, Joan Nathan published an article in the New York Times about this very home, along with a recipe from Queenie Hallegua for Cumin Coriander Chicken. I now make that dish every year for Passover, kicking myself for not staying to really talk with her over dinner, but grateful that we ever met her at all. That article comes up if you google Cumin Coriander Chicken but I can't really link to it because I don't have access to NY Times cooking.

The likelihood that you're going to find a recipe that is exactly what you have in mind - lemon sponge with vanilla whipped cream, vanilla pastry cream and fresh fruit - is pretty remote. Only you know how that cake was assembled, and unless it's some very specific "classic" cake which are sort of formulaic (like a sacher torte or an opera torte) you'll have to put it together yourself from different sources. A good lemon sponge from one book or website; a vanilla pastry cream from another; whatever fresh fruit you remember...

I have the Epicurious iPhone/ipad app and it still seems to be working as usual. Should I expect this to be affected as well?

First time I had a Magnolia cupcake was from their original store in NY, when people were still lining up outside to get one. It was...nothing special. At all. I'm not saying it wasn't a decent cupcake but it was typical of a homemade type of cupcake that just about anyone would have had at a kids birthday party in the 80's. I think the popularity - never mind hysteria - around these cupcakes were strictly a nostalgia thing amplified by the fact that few young New Yorkers could be bothered to make a cupcake from scratch in those days. The recipe would obviously be something that any halfway decent home cook would be familiar with. If you're looking for something revolutionary, this ain't it.

I just saw one of these at a thrift store for $5! Had no idea what it was and didn't buy it. Might still not buy it but it's interesting to know what it is.

I am not an expert and I have not tried this myself. But years ago I read an article somewhere that said you can turn the cheapest nastiest vodka into something as good as the good stuff by running it through a Brita filter several times. So go ahead someone. Let me know if it works.

Yes! I think that's it! Very very NOT fancy.

If you only have a short time, it might not be worth it to try to fit in Catania. As a city, Palermo has more to see and plenty of great food. Catania is smaller and rougher but the fish market is unbelievable.

It's been a good long time since we were there but I remember a great seafood meal in a small restaurant beside the fish market in Catania. I wish I could give you the name - if it even exists anymore - but I'm sure there are many places in that area with excellent seafood. The one we went to was very rustic, run by a powerhouse Italian nonna who was probably there since the day it opened. Such a great town - weird and decrepit but great. The fish market is amazing.