FrogPrincesse

One technique I have seen used in restaurants is dry brining the fish briefly (10-15 minutes) with a salt and sugar mixture. This draw out some of the surface moisture, which makes it easier to crisp out the skin (just rinse and dry before cooking). It also firms up the flesh slightly.

I also really liked the other dish I made from this book, the figs with Spanish ham. I had these really nice black mission figs (so called because they were first planted in San Diego by Franciscan missionaries). They are peeled and seared at high heat in Spanish olive oil. This made them even more delicious, and then they are simply served with Serrano ham, with a drizzle of sherry vinegar & olive oil vinaigrette, and sprinkled with chives (and chive blossoms if using). I will make this again for sure; I love these little dishes that are easy to make and fun for cocktail hour. I didn't get a great picture, but you get the idea.

How do you make coq au vin in 30 minutes? Is this an instant pot version?

I didn't love a cobbler I made from another cookbook (here), but really liked this one from Dining In. It also has the advantage of being a lot less finicky, and quick to put together. It is presented as a strawberry shortcake cobbler which is an accurate description. It was a good use of strawberries that were starting to be past their prime, and I liked the use of cornmeal which gave some texture and a nice flavor that went well with the strawberries. Strawberry shortcake cobbler Before the oven After Plated

A friend had a tapas party and I thought it would be fun to cook from this book that I borrowed from the library. I made two dishes which were very well received. The first one was the classic roasted bell peppers with sherry vinegar. I have had lots of versions of this dish in the past; what sets this one apart is its attention to detail with the careful build of layers of flavors. The bell peppers are roasted (I did mine on the barbecue), peeled and deseeded, cut into strips. The Spanish olive oil is infused with sliced garlic for 1 minute until the garlic turns brown. Then the bell peppers are gently cooked in a covered pan in the garlic-infused olive oil with a little bit of water for about 30 minutes. The sherry vinegar is added at the end as well as some parsley (the picture in the book shows rosemary for some reason). It's delicious as is, on a slice of bread, or in sandwiches. and the oil/vinegar mixture is great in everything.

I tried the chicken mole and like @Smithy, I didn't care for it. It wasn't anything horrible but I did not especially care for the flavor. Also the meat was completely shredded and almost melted into the sauce (not as chunky as the illustration on the package). The birria is far superior.

No recent experience to share, but I will be monitoring responses for ideas. My 20-year old Miele convection oven is about to die, and I am looking for a replacement. I am thinking another Miele convection oven, plus their combi-steam oven (smaller model) to replace / upgrade my warming drawer (I don’t use or need a microwave). Sinilar to @ElsieD, the steam oven will not be plumbed.

I am not Smithy but I tried the beef birria yesterday and it’s very good. I reheated it from frozen on the stove. I made corn tortillas and served it as tacos, with the consommé on the side for dipping. I added pickled red onions and cilantro to the tacos (I would have added cotija cheese if I had had any). It was super flavorful and satisfying! Only complaint - it says two servings on the package and there is only enough for one person.

I also love chocolate croissants. The frozen ones are much better than these.

Same here. I like them and get them during the short summer window when they are available.

The Bear is quite good but I would not call it a "comedy", especially not the first two seasons which are rather intense!

The point is indeed the deeply caramelized flavor (it also goes by the name burnt basque cake). I like it with vanilla and a small touch of almond extract. The texture is typically a lot more set (creamy but not runny), at least based on what I have been served in restaurants and what I have replicated at home, but I don’t find that to be detrimental. It’d be way too rich for my taste if served runny since it’s mostly cream cheese.

I also love apricots. Cooking them intensifies their flavor so it makes even mediocre apricots taste good. I made these individual galettes last weekend. The apricots were a bit tart (I added only a minimal amount of sugar) but I didn't mind.

I have had Bulgarian feta and agree that there are good ones. I honestly never had a truly awful feta when it was sheep or goat milk. All the terrible (dry, overly salty, tasteless) fetas have been cow milk based and therefore not authentic feta. I have a few middle Eastern stores nearby. Last time I shopped there was to get goat to make birria. When I go back, I will make sure to check out the feta offerings for you.

The parsley crackers aren't awful but they aren't great either. They taste mostly of garlic, with a hint of dried parsley (which doesn't have much flavor to begin with). Here they are with the parmigiano reggiano stravecchio (which is a favorite). Lately, the cracker offerings at TJ's haven't been that great, I used to love their beet crackers (which also happened to be gluten-free) but they disappeared from the shelves a while back.

I prefer the Greek feta (in the white tub), it has a lot more flavor than the Israeli. It's also cheaper as you pointed out. About "cow feta" - in Europe, feta cannot be called feta unless it's made from sheep or goat milk. Cow feta lacks the distinctive flavor of feta.

They take a few weeks to ripen once the fruit has reached its full size (like the one in the picture). This variety turns purple when ripe. At that point, they can be harvested but they will continue to ripen and get a bit wrinkly as they do. That’s when they taste the best, with the skin still supple but no longer smooth. It’s not hard to grow them here once they are established. I was warned by someone at the nursery that it will take over my yard but we are not quite there yet.

I also have this on a fence. It took many attempts but seems well established now after a few years. As of this morning, there are more than a dozen passionfruit on the vine.

Correct, I have some nasturtiums in there too. I will probably move a couple of them to the backyard where they will have more space to spread out! I do not know the variety of cherry tomatoes. This was from Walter Anderson, a local nursery, and it was the only one they had (although they had dozens of varieties of regular and heirloom tomatoes). It’s my first time ever growing tomatoes so you can imagine how excited I am! I looked for snap peas when I was there but they didn’t have any. Probably a good thing as my space is very limited! i just harvested some chard, parsley, and sorrel for my lunch. It’s so nice to have all these fresh greens available.

I got a raised planter which I am having fun with. I started in February with various herbs, plus arugula and chard. I made a few small salads and sandwiches with the arugula (it was fun to harvest it for my lunches). The chard produced more leaves over the weeks but has not grown taller for some reason (I suspect overly compacted soil). Here it was shortly after planting everything in February: The arugula is gone now (I got rid of it after it bolted and stopped producing new leaves). I planted a cherry tomato with a variety of basil last weekend, together with more herbs (an assortment of basil varieties, summer savory, more parsley). The cilantro from February bolted and I planted its seeds; fingers crossed that I will get a second generation. It's been fun and gives me an occasion to spend more time outside enjoying nature and listening to the birds. It's usually the first thing I do in the morning and it brings me a lot of joy!

Oyster shell infused gin and vermouth is a thing, and it’s actually very nice.

I use the plastic bowl of my oxo salad spinner on top of a cake plate. It is not the most elegant, but at least it doesn't take up additional space in my kitchen.

@Pete FredI am very jealous of your abundance of cherries. Cherries are somewhat of an exotic fruit in southern California where I live. I have seen them at the store, but at $15/lb decided to pass. I made a strawberry-rhubarb biscuit cobbler recently (this was for a cookbook club event where we were cooking from Carla Lalli Music's That Sounds So Good). I love rhubarb and strawberry so I enjoyed this dessert. The biscuit dough used hard boiled yolks which is supposed to prevent gluten formation. It was my first time making or eating biscuits, so I am not sure what the texture is supposed to be like. They were soft and moist, but I think I prefer the texture of a crumble because it provides more contrast with the soft fruit.

I bought my Anova for the specific purpose of making duck confit. I use 77C for 12 hours (after a 24 hour cure in salt etc) based on a recommendation from the app (recipe). I have made it countless times and have been very happy with the results.

We have a Kura revolving sushi in San Diego (Convoy) and I like it too, it’s fun place and the quality is pretty good for the price.