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My previously scheduled Zoom happy hour has been pushed back a week so it will be Doce de Mayo for me. The delay won’t keep me from making at least a margarita today!

It's quite good. Now that it's getting warm, this appeals to me more than a big bowl of meaty beans. The method of sautéing the beans with well caramelized onions, garlic, thyme and a bit of tomato makes for a super flavorful toast-topper mix whether you have the duck confit or not. Obviously, the confit and crispy duck skin put it over the top but a meatless version would be delicious. I think I'll cook up a Toulouse sausage to include in the next round.

More cassoulet toasts Leftovers from yesterday's lunch

Beans on toast, cassoulet-style David Lebovitz recently shared this recipe for Cassoulet Toast on his blog. It's from Susan Spungen's new cookbook, Open Kitchen: Inspired Food for Casual Gatherings. Luckily, there was no actual gathering here because I nibbled away half of the confit duck leg meant for 4 servings while I was taking the meat off the bones.

My first thought was, "Ouch, that's kind of a waste of a special ham!" My second thought was, "...or the best ham salad ever!" 🙃

Yes, welcome home and thank you for taking us along! I always enjoy trips in the Princessmobile and will be looking forward to our next one!

I was wondering about that, too. The Paragon induction burner is loud enough that I have to turn up the radio if I want to keep listening. It's not a particularly annoying sound but I appreciate the quiet when it shuts off. I agree with checking favorite pots and being aware of what will and won't work but the ~ $3000 price difference would fund a few new ones if needed.

I have an Echo Dot in the room next to my kitchen and use it primarily as a timer. I like that I can state the time any way I like and Alexa confirms. Egg timer for six minutes and thirty seconds, Washing machine timer for 112 minutes (she confirms this as 1 hour, fifty two minutes), bread proof timer for one hour, etc. There's no visual display but you can ask to check any timer to find out how much time is left. I really don't like speaking to inanimate objects but I'm sold on this function. The Dots and other Echo speakers are often heavily discounted for Prime Day (will that happen this year), Black Friday and the like. The timer that @JoNorvelleWalker mentioned above was always my go-to timer in the lab and I was quite fond of it. They are sturdy but don't last forever. I always had a backup or two. The Amazon price seems rather more than what I used to pay for them, but it's been a while 🙃. They do indicate which channel is ringing but it's up to you to remember whether that's an egg, bread proof or the laundry while Alexa will announce that, assuming you remembered to tell her when you set the timer. Even though it's a 4-channel timer, you can't see all 4 at once. However, for the channel you are viewing, the numbers are nice and big and can be read easily at some distance.

Maybe post a screen shot of what you are seeing and indicate what device/browser you are using. It is working for me with Safari on an iPad running iOS 13.4.1

That looks similar in size to my little All-Clad half quart “butter warmer” saucepan. Very frustrating that it’s not what you wanted but mine is one of the handiest pans in my kitchen. Perfect for reducing small amounts.

Leftovers here as well. A slice of pissaladière from last night topped with a soft boiled egg. Yesterday's egg recipe dressed them with a mix of lemon, olive oil and za'tar. I had some left so I mashed an anchovy into it and drizzled that on today's eggs.

Baking is banned? Why is that? Especially now.

I thought to make this for lunch but it’s almost 6:45PM so I’ll call it dinner. Pissaladière, with a chilled French rosé Melissa Clark adds tomatoes in her new book so I put them on half. Fine either way.

Good job having nephew cook for the group as well as for his own separate preferences. Not that grilling a couple of pre-made burgers is a ton of effort but it's extra effort still!

Hassan's easy eggs with za'tar and lemon from Sami Tamimi's new cookbook Falastin. The recipe says to roughly quarter the eggs by hand so they aren't too neat, and arrange yolk side up. A rather fiddly operation to obtain a casual looking plate! Tomato and homemade pita on the side.

Leftover tarte flambée, carrot salad with preserved lemon, both from Dinner in French, asparagus and fresh tomato

From the LA Times: Everyone is cooking on Instagram. These are the best chefs and celebrities to watch I have to say that José Andrés cooking with his kids while singing along to songs from Hamilton is pretty hilarious!

Peanut butter & banana on homemade whole grain toast, tangerine and coffee Listening to David Lebovitz interview Sami Tamimi about his new book, Falastin

A couple of other perspectives. Gabrielle Hamilton, writing about Prune in the NYT: My Restaurant Was My Life for 20 Years. Does the World Need It Anymore? Related podcast episode of The Sunday Read: Closing the restaurant that was my life for 20 years An interview with Chef Edward Lee who pivoted his Lee Initiative young chef mentoring program into an operation supporting out of work restaurant staff across the country: US restaurants band together to feed out-of-work staff

A (not) classic tarte flambée Starting with a recipe from Melissa Clark's Dinner in French, I used a mix of whole milk ricotta (homemade) and crème fraîche (organic heavy cream that was not so fraîche anymore and had thickened of its own volition), nutmeg and white pepper. Diced Broadbent's country ham, thinly sliced red onion and asparagus.

A couple of Marisa McClellan's (of Food in Jars) preserving books are current Kindle bargains on Amazon.com. Preserving by the Pint: Quick Seasonal Canning for Small Spaces from the author of Food in Jars is $2.99 is one I've had my eye on for some time for small batch preserving. Naturally Sweet Food in Jars: 100 Preserves Made with Coconut, Maple, Honey, and Moreis also $2.99 Both are $3.99 on Amazon.ca

Polpo is a favorite of mine. Lots of ideas for crostini and other small bites in the Cichèti chapter.

Yes! These are from Freyr Farms in Oxnard and I believe they grow them in hoop houses to get them this early. When I went out to Roan Mills for bread and flour, they had a big basket of Cherokee purples, reds and golds, marked as the first heirlooms of the season. Five bucks a pound, but I couldn't resist getting a few and was happy that they have good flavor and texture. The nice baby romaine lettuce is from Kenter Canyon Farms, the parent of Roan Mills. The bacon is completely non-local 🙃 hickory-smoked pepper bacon from Broadbent.

BLT Edited to add that I made a mess when I cut this in half and an even bigger mess eating!

In my local area, the majority of fresh lemons go to the food service sector and that's almost completely shut down these days. Some growers are selling for juice (at lower prices) and others are picking less or not at all. I'd suspect that would affect retail prices in many areas. From the local paper: With restaurants closed, Ventura County lemon growers see reduced demand That's the bigger growers. At my local farmers market, prices have been steady. Lemons generally 4 for $1. Limes 6 or 8 for $1 for both the small Mexican or large Persian limes. It's getting close to the time when supply shifts from Northern to Southern hemisphere. Still lots on my tree if you'd like to come out and pick. They are fully ripe (yellow) and super juicy.