blue_dolphin

Thanks for the tip on Herbdacious + Brussels sprouts, @Shelby. I'll give it a try. I was debating between LGD and Herbdacious for the potatoes below. Went with LGD but will try Herbdacious next time! Small potatoes and sugar snap peas tossed with LGD to make kind of a warm potato salad, topped with a soft boiled egg.

After @scamhi had chili crisp on ice cream over here in the dinner topic and referenced Kenji's NYT article: Chili Crisp is Even Good with Ice Cream, I went ahead and made the Sichuan Peanut Streusel, subbing in cashews and enjoyed the sundae. Now, in possession of enough streusel for 11 more sundaes, I embarked on the first of what I'm sure will be multiple attempts to use it. Sweet potato came to mind so I put one in to bake, thinking to blend the pulp with some coconut milk and fresh ginger and top with the streusel for a casserole-type thing. Went through a few other ideas in my head but decided on the version below. Sweet potato slices with spicy chili crisp, Sichuan cashew streusel and yogurt Oh, and here's the sundae. I really liked it.

Not exactly, but every time I see the thread pop up, I'm more and more tempted to stop by a local bakery that's selling them and pick up a couple!

Egg sandwich on sourdough I've been making various iterations 🙃 lately. This one had Vivian Howard's Little Green Dress on both sides of the lightly toasted bread, TJ's Unexpected Cheddar melted over that on one side. I'm not there yet, but no complaints either.

I do eat breakfast every day. Sometimes they end up in another thread. Sometimes I forget to take a photo. This morning, there was a bit of cacio e pepe discussion in a pizza topic that got me thinking in that direction but I also wanted some vegetables so I made the Pasta alla Gricia with Slivered Sugar Snap Peas from Six Seasons. No guanciale in the house so I diced up a handy biscuit slice of country ham.

@Chris Hennes did something quite similar following the recipe in Marc Vetri's Mastering Pizza and shared his result just upthread here. He had much more success than I did when I tried it. The ice is supposed to melt into hot, starchy water which turns into a cheesy sauce when you add the grated pecorino Romano cheese. Much of my crust blistered up, pushing the water into a small, deep pool in one corner. I sprinkled the cheese on and shook the pizza as directed but just got a glob of thick cheesy stuff in that pool surrounded by hills topped with dry cheese. I think I'd need a lot of practice to get it right! Edited to add this photo of my sorry attempt. I made it last year but I was too embarrassed to post!

I think eBay is the best source for a replacement. I bought mine around 1979 - 80 when they were still being retailed in the US. It's orange and has 5 metal disks. I believe the same model was also sold in white plastic. I've had to repair the plastic knob on the end of the crank and need to do that again. I used Sugru and it lasted a few years. The disks are still in good shape. I use the thing all the time. The one I grew up with was an older, all-metal version. The "hopper" area was smaller, which is somewhat limiting, and the knob was wooden.

I have learned that some sort of Aussie meat pies are available in my area. I will attempt to link the photos but sensitive readers may wish to avert their eyes or avoid scrolling through to the end as ketchup was applied. https://www.instagram.com/p/CIWoEPOnvSe/

The Gas Station Biscuits p 14 keep catching my eye. Basically, squares of a thinner than usual biscuit dough get sandwiched with a mixture of Parmesan & Fontina held together with a bit of mayo. A tablespoon of Little Green Dress is added and the sandwiches are then baked in little foil "boats" to contain the melty cheese. If I had @Ann_T-caliber biscuit skills, I'd have made them already! Sadly, I've never made nor been served a biscuit that I wouldn't happily trade for a nice slice of toast. While I'd love to try the real biscuit version, I know my limits, so I translated this into a grilled cheese. No complaints 🙃

@Smithy's right, you can make candied citrus peel from those butt ends. I've used David Lebovitz recipes for candied grapefruit peel and candied orange peel. I used the orange recipe for lemons, too. Alternatively, you can strip off just the zest (no pith, use a vegetable peeler) from those ends before you slice them. Slice them thinly and cook in syrup. Some recipes blanch them first, though they are less bitter than the whole peels as used above. Edited to add: here's a link to an Instant Pot method that I've used with lemon and limes

Different strokes, for sure. The narrative is very likely what inspires me to cook something a little different. An author's story or philosophy is what draws me in. I've got lots of recipes I can modify but I love spending the time you can't bear to waste to read other perspectives and take inspiration from them.

I've never signed up to get emails so I don't know how that compares but I totally agree that the overall site isn't as good as it used to be. I still check in every 2-3 weeks or so and peruse the recent posts. I usually read a couple of them. They lost me to some extent when they revamped their reviews to only identify top picks and stopped pointing out any "cons," which I usually find to be the most helpful points. I can't remember if that was around the time of the previous sale or not.

Dang. I was not aware of that. His last podcast episode just announced a return from hiatus. I guess that didn't last!

Any particular reason why now? As compared with September's email deluge of eggplant recipes? I appreciate that amongst the sites that re-post past content, it's easy on Serious Eats to scroll down to the bottom and select "Latest" to see newer content. Still too many older recipes on the site that are go-tos for me to give up on checking in from time to time.

I thought it looked familiar!

@rotuts, as a lover of soft, ripened cheeses, this one is for you. I saw this Fromage Pavé mentioned in the Fearless Flyer so I bought one yesterday. $5.99 for 7 oz. Mine has a "best by" date of 12/24. It's nicely soft and buttery now. Still a bit of firmer cheese in the very center. Might benefit from a little more aging in your specialized cheese cellar. I'll pick up another one or two if they are still available on my next visit. I enjoyed some for breakfast today on crusty bread with the cranberry caponata I made from the Pasta Grammar recipe.

I went to TJ's today as well. No waiting. Save for very early in the pandemic and last week with all the pre-Thanksgiving stuff, I haven’t experienced waits of more than 5-10 minutes if I go fairly early on Monday thru Wed or Sundays. Often, like today, there was no line. I still try to limit my trips as much as possible. One day, I had to wait about 10 min. As I entered the store, the staff member manning the door asked the guy behind me how long he’d been waiting and the guy said, “35 or 40 min.” Sheesh! I know there are longer waits at times but some people have no concept of time! i appreciate the heads up on the maple syrup as I missed out last year. It's now on my list. The TJ's Reserve Brut Rosé North Coast Sparkling wine that makes its appearance around the holidays every year has been back for a few weeks now, along with its non-rosé sibling for the usual $9.99/bottle. They also had the “Platinum Reserve” brut sparkler for $14.99. Nice, but not head and shoulders above the $9.99 “Reserve,” at least to me. Both usually disappear after the holidays, sometimes before New Year’s, so if you are optimistic about having things to celebrate next year, now's the time to stock up! They also had the calvados that shows up seasonally. $19.99 and not a bad bottle at all. Quite satisfactory for a batch of Réveillon cocktails. I've been looking to try these thin dark chocolate bars with salted caramel and finally spotted them today. Very nice little nibble.

Sounds like you have perfectly controlled conditions. My kitchen can be anywhere from mid 80's on a summer afternoon to around 55°F on a cool morning. I guess that's why I need to let the dough be my guide!

Oh, I totally misunderstood and thought your dough was pulling back and didn't want to be shaped. Forgive me for going on so much 🙈 As long as the dough is elastic and happy to be shaped, I just keep working it in the direction I want.

If the dough starts pulling back, give it a rest. Pour yourself a glass of wine or go for a walk around the block so both you and the dough get to relax for 10 or 20 minutes. Pulling and tugging a stiff dough is just frustrating. I'm not an expert at all, so take this with a grain of salt. I usually make a 12 - 14" circle with a 225g ball of dough that's usually 70% hydration and I don't have a bread machine but I do let the dough balls rest in the fridge for a few days. If the dough's been in a cold fridge for several days, it could take a little more than 2 hrs for 500g ball to warm-up/wake-up and be ready to shape, particularly if the kitchen happens to be cooler than usual. If the ball seems stiff, especially if it feels cool, let it sit longer, maybe in a warmer spot. I found Ken Forkish's videos that accompany his Artisian Pizza book to be very helpful. I learned to let the weight of the dough do the stretching work. The dough he's working with in this video is particularly supple and elastic so he's barely lifting it but I find that the method works well even if I'm letting all the weight of the dough do the stretching. I don't throw anything, but I sometimes drape the dough over my hands to let it stretch. If it gets tight, that's where everyone needs a break to relax! Hope your next crust won't fight back!

Sorry that was such a tough job! I often steam dates for a while to soften them up if they are older but it's always a balancing act as that can make them more sticky, too. I hope the end product was worth the effort.

Nuts.com has a good reputation around here. Have you checked their site?

I keep waffling on the kindle version (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) of Thomas Keller's new French Laundry, Per Se (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) cookbook. The list price of the hard copy is $75. That is currently selling on Amazon in the US @ $48. I am unlikely to pay either of those prices and I can't say I'm all that likely to actually cook from the book but still, it tempts me. The kindle version is presently $9.48. Not quite as "Crazy Good" as the title of this topic indicates, but still a good deal. And I have enough credits to push the price under $5. What to do, what to do....

I like to use scissors

I've made the recipe for Grandma Alice's Chipotle Chorizo in Josef Centeno's Amá (recipe available online at this link) using pork and pork belly. It's quite tasty and I highly recommend the recipe if you don’t already have your own favorite.