DCP

So, are you going to leave us hanging, or share the recipe/technique? I'd been awaiting the promised progress report over on the Limoncello thread, before realizing here that success had been reached. So: is it JAZ's recipe? Something else?

I really like the pitter (KitchenAid, I believe) we have. It is an indulgence, but particularly a time-saver when doing things like mango lassi fro-yo or sorbet. Just line it up with the mango lengthwise and push down. When done right, it gets all but perhaps 1 cubic inch of flesh (at the bottom and top corners).

So I'm headed off to class last night and the only thing even close to the school is a McDonald's. I begrudgingly pull in not even thinking about a FOF sandwich until I get up to the microphone. I think I have to agree with DCP here, this thread must be subliminally affecting me because I open my mouth and out pops "FOF combo please". ← I knew I wasn't the only one whose food 'choices' were being subconsciously manipulated by many a prior eGullet browse. Next thing you know, you'll be looking all over for a McRib fix. So much for avoiding fast, mass-produced food.

After putting in a request many months ago with my go-to source for hard-to-find bottles, said source came through. Last Saturday, at least 3 bottles of Marie Brizard Apry were on the shelf. Picked up one; haven't had a chance to get into it. Perhaps MB's production issues are finally being resolved.

I wouldn't consider that a flaw, per se. I use a bit of juice for cloudiness in 'cellos. I was asked by one Italian recipient of a bottle last Christmas (whose family has made it many times before) "Love it! How'd you keep it from looking like a 'sample'?"

If there's a Trader Joe's near you, they have been a quasi-reliable source of Billington's Muscovado for me. (That is, reliable when they're not sold out.) About $2.39/lb, if I recall correctly.

I know I should be reacting to the lovely food shots, but must admit that the refrigerator really captured my interest. I've wanted a fridge with multiple temperature options like yours for some time, but didn't know they existed below the super-high-end! Tell us, are these sorts of fridges the norm in Japan?

Another vote for the caviar. It's shockingly inexpensive and will do surprisingly well, particularly when being used as a garnish. (However, my SO loves it as a focus - on whipped cream cheese and crackers/bread). The roes in the tube did not go over particularly well for either of us, although I made some use of the smoked herring roe (Kalles) in leftover mashed potatoes for a bastardized rendition of taramasalata. We just discovered the lingonberry preserves and are thoroughly enjoying them - not too sweet. The Elderflower syrup I've heard of, but not yet seen in my local store. Particularly interested in this after trying St. Germain elderflower liqueur, discussed here. Finally, the D'aim 'Almondy' tortes are guilty pleasures, though it's been years since I've had one. Same thing they serve in slices in the café, whole in the frozen section of the food area.

My sister and her husband are both in the Air Force and based in Oklahoma City - although both presently deployed (Jordan and Brussels, respectively). I went last December for their wedding, and had a difficult time finding much beyond chain food. The wedding party all went to Carlito's in New Castle for what was purported to be good Mexican food, but we found it sorely lacking. I'm sure we'll be back to visit, so I will also watch this thread with interest.

I like the way you think. I am pretty sure I need a pre-breakfast as well. Reminds me of that quote from Lord of the Rings: "I don't think he's heard of second breakfast, Pip." ← It's so nice to know there are others with this particular quirk. My SO and I also can't eat much in the mornings for the first meal, but another small one a little later suits well. (She's much more sensitive - only a few bites for the first one.) We've taken to calling the latter 'second breakfast,' in complete seriousness.

I'm not sure whether to blame it on the extremely late night volunteering after work, or the nagging subliminal suggestions originating from this thread, but... I had an FOF last night. I had to wait several minutes for them to make it fresh (which they were quite nice about) as it was just prior to closing. First impression: liquid hot magma. Yes, I was told it was being made fresh. No, I did not stop to think about that before sinking my teeth in. The processed cheese was a little strange, and the tartar sauce not evenly spread - I had to let it gush out of one portion, then dip a dry one in the fallen blob. Somehow, it all tasted decent enough, but made me crave a fish sandwich I had about 6 years ago. (A 'motorcycle hill climb' in rural Pennsylvania to which a friend dragged me - absolutely incredible fried fish sandwiches stole the show from the main attraction.) In any case, if memory serves me (it rarely does) this may be the first time I've had the FOF. Pretty good for McD's food, but I still think I'll go back to avoiding the place now.

The Can Opener Gourmet by Laura Karr. Yes, I have cooked a couple things from it. They were actually good.

Yes, but... using them as breading would require me not to dispatch my entire supply (1 bag at a time, for sanity reasons) in one sitting. If only they came in smaller bags... The Caesar flavor is excellent, though a bit salty. I like them both for snaking out of hand, though I have to travel farther for the Caesars.

Reminds me of Otto van Bismarck's quote about the law and sausages. I've been monitoring local McD's since this thread first showed up, to no avail - the vaunted McRib does not seem to have returned to this market.

Very true, though if anyone's tempted to sand the surface to turn a wrecked nonstick pan into a plain metal one, you should wear a dust mask. No telling what's going to be in the dust, so you should probably avoid breathing it. ← Seems to only be an issue when overheated, at which point it changes to the dastardly perfluoroisobutene.

Shame, that. I just finished the dregs of a bottle a couple days ago and had it on the list for a next visit. As others have noted, products can be hit-or-miss. When you have a hit, though, it's often cheaper and/or better than what you get at other grocery stores. Their no-questions-asked return policy (didn't like it? No problem.) goes a long way toward helping find the hits. The Tuscan Pane is also our go-to bread when not baking homemade. Frozen 10-20 count scallops are also shockingly good, and more consistent than the local supermarket. Without a good, accessible fishmonger nearby, we find much of the IQF (individually quick-frozen) fish indispensable. For what it's worth, their standpoint on house-brand items is that they are one of two things: either private-label versions of products they like without the branding and associated markup (in other words, same thing as the grocery store but cheaper) or reformulated versions made without trans fats, artificial colors/flavors, or GMO.

The thymus is preferred, but harder to get. Here is an opposing view http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-sweetbreads.htm ←

Like others, I can't stand whole-wheat pasta. However, I have found certain 'enhanced' multigrain pastas (such as Barilla Plus and Trader Joe's house-branded version of same) to be an excellent compromise - very little flavor difference, with notably better nutritional changes. More details at the Barilla site - in brief, legume flour is mixed in for protein and flax/oats for fiber. I've turned several friends onto it as well - all of us now seek it out consistently and only get other pastas if 'Plus' is unavailable in the format we need. YMMV.

A friend won't eat any dishes containing mushrooms because "they're grown in shit". And other crops aren't, effectively? One Thanksgiving after bringing home a couple of wrapped chickens from the butcher, my mother shrieked from the kitchen - the feet had been left on. She wouldn't continue with prep until her husband removed and discarded them. A cousin by marriage (lest anyone think I have these strange genes ) won't eat sour cream or mayonnaise, yet happily devours my mother's Jell-O mold (with a layer of sour cream in the middle) every holiday he can. He assumed it was whipped cream, despite the texture and flavor difference. I threatened for years to tell him, but was guilted into not doing so - when he was told he ate mayo by mistake some years prior, he got violently physically ill. He finally asked for the recipe last Christmas, and was told honestly what was in it after some hemming and hawing. "Dang. Really?" he said. Go figure. My SO's mother cooks pork until it is shoe leather. The reason? "Trichinosis." It took a long time to convince my SO to eat pork - and it was a revelation when she did. Same mother won't eat crunchy things in salad, a neurosis which was also inherited and has taken some time to remove.

Your dedication to this foodblog was inspiring. Loved the photos, and your willingness to explain the unfamiliar. Thank you!

I've heard of crushed wasabi peas being used as a breading for tuna steaks; it sounds tasty to me. Pretzels are something I'd like to try - particularly the cracker-style (Pretzel Slims) to avoid excess powdery innards.

A quick steam to reheat really is the best preparation method I've found. Because they're nearly always processed (cooked and flash-frozen), the round in the microwave (or steamer) is really just to warm. To echo the other response - simple; a little lemon melted butter makes a perfect accompaniment.

Just under 2 weeks ago after grocery shopping, realized that a massive butternut squash still needed to be used. Defrosted some mystery sausage from the freezer (from a friend's farmers' market around Harrisburg, PA, but the label disappeared - tasted a bit like a sage-y breakfast sausage, only in full-size links) and loosely based the rest on this recipe. Somehow, it came out smashingly, and I'm not tired of it yet - had it for ~8 days' worth of lunches and still 3 quarts in the freezer. Departures from the recipe: 1 ~5 lb. butternut squash; roasted in the oven at 450 F first with salt/pepper/curry powder/EVOO until tender; 6 C vegetable stock and 4 C chicken stock (less squash, less soup, I reasoned); 1 lb. sausage - not smoked; no onions - but about 1/2 C dried mirepoix to simmer in; no wild rice; 3 generous cups corn (canned); replace half & half with milk; add red pepper flakes and some seasoned salt. Doesn't bear much resemblance to the original save inspiration, but mighty tasty - silky from the squash, sweet from the corn, spicy and rich from the sausage.

I'll be quick to echo the historical complaints about BWI, but would like to add that renovations a couple years back made it notably more palatable. Still lots of TGI-McChiliBees-type chain dreck, but with a couple more local options (Phillips, Obrycki's, Fells Point Brew Pub, Bill Bateman's Bistro, etc.). Last time I was there, we hit the Silver Diner - nice since their Towson branch closed some years back. As I said, it's not fine dining, but it's a huge jump from before. More about food options for terminals A/B and terminals C/D/E/Main.

Liquid lecithin is my homemade salad dressing must-have - the slightest dribble helps emulsify vinaigrettes with just some shaking. This is particularly important to me as my vinaigrettes tend more toward 2:3 than the usual 3:1 ratio of oil to vinegar. Plenty more about this topic in Challenging the oil-to-vinegar ratio.