FrogPrincesse

The cheese with an ash rind is a (sliced) Sainte-Maure, recognizable by its cylindrical shape and hole in the middle where a piece of straw was. It's a great goat cheese. (Selles-sur-Cher is disc-shaped with a larger diameter than Saint-Maure. It's another great goat cheese.)

Thanks for sharing. I make marmalade and am always on the lookout for good marmalade dessert recipes. That one looks delicious! Did you also try it with butter or margarine as in the original recipe (link)? I just wonder how how olive oil changes it.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I have a second hand kitchen supply store nearby so I will see what they have. Maybe I will find my pot there, who knows.

Thanks for the info! It looks like a very nice pot (nice patina!). I do not have a lid close to that size, so I would need to buy one if I decide to go that route.

It looks nice, for sure. Would it be ok as an everyday pot? Why do you like it better than All-Clad? And how much maintenance is there with the copper exterior? It looks like it doesn't come with a lid, which is a bummer (the lid is an extra $89!).

Thank you. There are good deals in that sale but no small sauciers. I will keep monitoring eBay and the likes.

Thanks. I looked at eBay and other resale sites but haven’t found what I am looking for. I will check out Calphalon.

Well, some cheeses are sold whole, so they cannot easily give you a sample.

You are welcome. These can be hard to find, especially in good condition. It’s all about proper storage and affinage. French goat cheeses I have bought at cheese shops in my area haven’t been up to par, sadly. Ask for a sample first if they will give you one.

Hi everyone, I am in the market for a small pot (1 - 1.5 quart size max) to replace a very old revere. I have 2- and 3-quart all clad mc2 sauciers that I really love and am looking for something similar, just smaller. All clad discontinued the mc2 line and I don’t really see what I am looking for in the new lines. misen has this 1.5 qt pot that looks pretty good (although pricey at $99). Is this brand any good and is the design with a lip actually helpful? Any recommendations? I would use this pot mostly to reheat leftovers, make small batches of rice or lentil, or make sauces (beurre blanc and the likes). I don’t need something that is induction compatible (my cooktop is electric, glass-top). I wash pots by hand but having something that could go in the dishwasher would be nice.

Have you gotten more than in box with the incorrect product inside, or is this a single isolated instance? Errors are rare but can happen, and it doesn’t mean that the product has changed. My new design box (bought at Trader Joe’s) has exactly the same product as the old box. Link to an article about the box redesign 2 years ago.

@KennethT Does one have to choose? I love Valencay; the texture and tangy flavor are just perfect in my opinion, and the shape is striking. But I spent many weekends and summers in the area where Selles-sur-Cher is produced and used to buy it directly from a very small farm where I could see the small herd of goats who produced the milk, so it has a special place for me! Note that these 2 places are only 15 minutes from each other.

Tough one. I love goat cheese so I’d probably start with crottin de chavignol (fresh or aged, it’s wonderful with a glass of Sancerre). Humboldt Fog is nice but its inspiration, Valencay, knocks it out of the water. Also a good Pouligny-Saint-Pierre which has a truncated pyramid shape like Valencay, but without the ash. And a Selles-sur-Cher to rounds things off. It would be nice to have a couple of sheep cheeses too, Corsican brin d’amour or fleur du maquis with dried herbs, and maybe a really fine fiore sardo (a type of pecorino). This is making me SO hungry. Lastly I am adding a Mont d’Or so I can have some cow milk-based cheese in my selection.

I got Why I Cook, Tom Colicchio’s new book, from the library and have been enjoying it very much, not for the recipes (which don’t speak to me the way the ones from Think Like a Chef do), but for the autobiography. Very nice read.

Sure! There is Wayfarer in Birdrock (limited opening hours and frequent lines, but their baguettes are really nice). Con Pane in Point Loma is also quite good. Unfortunately my favorite bakery, Wildwood Flour on Garnet avenue, shut down at the end of last year after their landlord significantly increased their rent. See discussion here: