blue_dolphin

No kidding! Years ago, I went on a food and wine trip to Italy. Every day featured multi-course lunches with wine pairings and even more elaborate dinners at amazing restaurants. In between, there were visits to wineries, olive oil mills, balsamic vinegar makers, cheese makers, etc, etc, etc. Truly wonderful but also overwhelming. On one of the last days, we called ahead to the lunch restaurant and asked if we could just have a big salad instead of all the courses. They readily agreed and when we arrived, they proudly presented us with a gorgeous salad. We were delighted and enjoyed it thoroughly. Then they trotted out the rest of the courses...and the wines....🙃

Half a monstrous Kouign Amann and black coffee I was out running errands this AM and decided to stop at a bakery that has a branch near by in the "soft-open" stage. That's the half I didn't eat...yet. I swear it didn't look that big in the case!

This morning, I went for a longer than usual walk during which my Fitbit recorded 104 flights of stairs so I felt I deserved a big breakfast or maybe it's brunch. Crispy cornmeal & scallion waffle, leftover corn salad, soft boiled egg, sausage patty. Lunch surely won't be necessary.

I had to look up both turophile and Ossau-Iraty so I've been doubly edified. Also not horrified, only jealous!

A few farmers market vendors in my area bring in unripe green tomatoes and the local farmstand I frequent most often will pick them on request if you call a day ahead. Not quite year-round, more like May - Dec.

Interesting collection of author affiliations, too.

Or what my grandmother called, "the part went over the fence last"

Same leftover red curry braised pork as yesterday, thinly sliced, warmed in the CSO and piled on a crusty TJ's take & bake roll with a drizzle of the sauce.

An old favorite made to use up some leftover sweetened condensed milk. David Lebovitz's Vietnamese Coffee pops.

A plate of leftovers from a dinner I cooked the other day. Pork in Red Curry Braised Watermelon from Deep Run Roots over brown rice and the Raw Corn with Walnuts, Mint & Chilies from Six Seasons

Hmmm. I always do chicken thighs, bone in, skin on, on steam bake @ 425 F for 20 - 30 min, depending on size. Since the steam avoids drying, I'm not sure I see the value in the proposed hybrid system.

I prepared dinner for a group of friends the other night. I've made and posted about all these dishes before but unfortunately managed to take only one photo from this meal. Cocktail: Bound by Venus from Batch Cocktails by Maggie Hoffman. As written, it's rosemary-infused gin, fino sherry and yellow Chartreuse. I made both that original and a vodka version as I know there will be vodka-only drinkers in the group. Some of the vodka drinkers allowed that the gin version was more flavorful - duh! Nibbles: Brined and Roasted Almonds and Frico from Six Seasons by Joshua McFadden. I used more than half a pound of Red Cow Parmigiano Reggiano to make the Frico. Not sure it was worth the investment but they were excellent salty snacks to go with the cocktails. Starter: Burrata Caprese with Peaches, Tomato & Basil from Dinner, Changing the Game by Melissa Clark. Four kinds of heirloom tomatoes and peaches from the farmers market with a drizzle of basil/lemon/olive oil dressing. So pretty. Main: Pork Shoulder in Red-Curry-Braised Watermelon from Deep Run Roots by Vivian Howard. Pork choices at the farmers market were limited so I went with a nice pork butt roast and cut it up. Cooking this ahead and reheating worked very well. Rice - I made the version from Shaya's Red Beans & Rice but with Massa Organics brown rice because I know it reheats well and it has nice flavor Side: Raw Corn with Walnuts, Mint & Chiles from Six Seasons was a good side that didn't need cooking This photo is actually from a plate of leftovers but gives you the idea: Dessert: Peaches in Chilled Moscato from How to Eat a Peach by Diana Henry made a light, elegant ending

Have you tried Sipsmith? It's a pretty classic London dry but with its own flavor profile. Excellent in a Martini. I liked the honey note of Barr Hill gin in a Bees Knees and in a martini. Way too sweet for a G&T. I liked it in a white Negroni but not in the traditional version. Stay away from Nolet Silver, it's overpoweringly floral.

Thank you. I just placed a hold request on her book, Number One Chinese Restaurant: A Novel, at my library.

I have not. But nor am I certain what it means to "blanch" corn. Are we talking whole cobs? Trays of raw kernels? How is the blanched corn used?

Slunch? Is that something between a snack and lunch? Leftover lemon linguini with the addition of sugar snap peas and a few scallops

I totally agree. Steam-bake at 250 - 275°F is perfect for gently reheating a plate of pasta without drying it out but would likely make a breaded coating soggy. Crank that same steam-bake setting up to 425 - 450°F and it perfectly re-crisps any sort of breaded or battered fried stuff. I know @Smithy asked about re-crisping fried potatoes and that's one I haven't tried.

Frozen English muffins or sandwich rolls go in the CSO on steam-bake @ 300°F for 3 min to thaw, then split and back in to toast. I don't like the effect a microwave has on bread products so I've never use it for that. I generally freeze stock in zip locks so I thaw by immersing in warm water. I might use the immersion circulator or warm/hot tap water. If it's just an ice cube of stock, I'll put it in the CSO in a little pyrex cup, which is the same thing I use to melt small amounts of butter. Another nice CSO use is for gently warming cheese using the warming setting @ 125°F for a few minutes. Perfect for taking the chill off a nice blue or brie.

Linguini al limone with zucchini & shrimp

If I remember correctly, a perceived issue was that the crumb mixture with a bit of liquid vinegar failed to adhere to the green beans in the way that a dusting of completely dry powder did. Clearly, many good ways to tart up a dish!

I've had a few different citrus squeezers. All miserable and more likely to spray juice across the room or in my face than in any useful direction.

I own the hard bound version of Eric Greenspan's The Great Grilled Cheese Book: Grown-Up Recipes for a Childhood Classic: A Cookbook, so perhaps I'm in that group.

I've never seen the oil separation either but also use just a modest amount of tahini and no additional oil. I have seen a bit of a change in texture on thawing but didn't find it problematic. However, I don't usually try for the ultra smooth, peel-every-chickpea texture.

Yes, absolutely you can freeze hummus and pretty much any other bean dip. I used to store in small Rubbermaid cups and they helped keep my veggies cool as they thawed out. Also handy to have a larger size on hand in the freezer for a last minute veggie platter.

I would do sous vide. I've only done stuffed chicken breast that I pounded out a bit, stuffed and rolled not as you've described but I still think it's the way to go. Edited to add that I usually go with 145 -150°F, measure thickness and check the pasteurization table for poultry on Douglas Baldwin's site, usually something in the 1.5 hr range