blue_dolphin

Here's the WSJ article in case any can access it: Checking Out New York’s Online Grocery Stores and All Their Trimmings The three services discussed are FoodKick (operated by FreshDirect), Amazon Prime Now and Jet (owned by Walmart). Foodkick is the service that @JoNorvelleWalker refers to as having a limited selection and simple to use interface that made it very easy to use. Here's what else the author had to say about it:

I remember bringing home a little crock of Tullamore Dew from a trip to Ireland, years ago and I think I still have it somewhere! Apologies if I shared this Irish coffee story before.....My grandmother left Ireland all by herself to come to the US in 1901, at the age of 16. She was into her 90's when she returned there for the first time on a family vacation and was served Irish coffee for the first. Nanny took quite a liking to the beverage and asked for one wherever they went. Authentic or not, they apparently pour them for American tourists. Someone asked her if she'd had Irish coffee when she lived in Ireland. Her response, "Why sure, child, if they'd had it back then, I never would have left!

Thanks for that tip - I just got back from TJ's and picked up one of those wheels. I also bought a hunk of the Beemster Royaal Grand Cru 12 month aged Gouda which was priced at $10.99/lb. They've carried older and more crumbly Goudas but this one is still nice and full flavored. I had to laugh when checking out as they've replaced the beep/chime sounds that tell you to remove your credit card with a turkey gobble sound

Continuing to breakfast on my leftover porky beans Today on small toasts with poached peewee eggs

I have a cute LC tomato I received as a gift and an oval baker that I purchased at a deep discount. When I wanted a bigger Dutch oven, I bought a Lodge, at a fraction of the LC pricing and have been very happy with it.

Spicy Scallop Rolls and Israeli Salad with Preserved Lemon Vinaigrette from Alon Shaya's cookbook, Shaya. My big, seared scallops looked so pretty, I wanted to spoon the dressing on the plate and set them lovingly on top instead of cutting them up and hiding them in a roll but I followed directions and was rewarded with a seriously delicious sandwich. I may have used a little more mayo than in the book photo but it tastes delicious so I'm not apologizing 🙃.

Leftovers from the above red beans & rice:

If I'd watched that on Sunday morning, I'd probably have put the Irish whiskey into my coffee 🙃

Not sure if this is helpful or not. On one hand, you say you want to focus on waffles and doughnuts and on the other hand, you are asking for other dessert items to add to the menu so I'll throw this out there. I don't have much of a sweet tooth so I'd be unlikely to frequent a dessert-only spot on my own but if I was with friends who were so inclined, I'd appreciate finding some less-sweet or even savory options. You may already be planning savory options for the waffles. Even if your focus is desserts, someone like me would appreciate the savory options, like the ones offered at this waffle place. Have you considered crêpes? Lots of options for sweet and savory versions, as can be seen in this menu from a place near me. Savory pastry - if you do anything based on puff pastry (either homemade or purchased frozen), you could offer little spinach, mushroom or cheese tarts in addition to sweet pastries. Small items like cookies or biscuits that might be offered either with or without icing. If you're going to offer ice cream eventually, the cookies/biscuits can be used to make ice cream sandwiches. Fresh fruit bowls would be a nice option as well.

Red beans & rice Specifically, this is Emily's Famous Red Beans and Rice from Alon Shaya's cookbook, Shaya and is the recipe of his wife, Emily. It includes bacon, a smoked pork hock and Andouille sausage for a ton of flavor.

Hmmmm. Hadn't thought about these in ages but I do believe that everything necessary to make up a batch is right here in the house!

Growing up, every time Mom (daughter of Irish immigrants, raised in NY) made apple pie, my dad (son of Irish immigrants, raised in western MA) would say, "Apple pie without the cheese is like a kiss without the squeeze!" My mother always rolled her eyes and we never had the cheese - ice cream perhaps, if all the stars were aligned.

@highchef, the online version of that WSJ article has the recipe for the apple pie: Pies that Bind (not sure if there's a paywall)

Not sure if you were serious or not but I kinda like that idea. I made a blood orange and Campari marmalade last year that I quite liked and I can see translating that into a fruitcake. Or maybe go all the way and add the vermouth and whiskey to make a Boulevardier fruitcake 🙃

I wonder how they compare to Trader Joe's Candy Cane Joe Joe's? I purchased my annual box of them just the other day. I'll keep my eye out for the Oreo version.

Ditto the thanks on the update. That newer model oven looks much better and potentially more useful for use outside of their meal plan. The original can still be seen on Amazon where it's currently listed @ $281 I wonder how they are doing? With all the meal services out there, many of them struggling, it seems that the purchase of a $250 - $350 oven could be a high hurdle to get new users on board. I'm very much a devotée of the steam oven for cooking and reheating but I'm certainly in the minority. Plus the meals are $12/meal which seems high if one is comparing them to frozen or refrigerated meals from the grocery store, which is what they look like. Edited to add that it's interesting that they are now including recipes for home cooking in their app.

After I cleaned off the sticky gunk, I used the method in this video from Vollrath. Stovetop, very thin layers of oil. Times 10. It's pretty much the same as DARTO's video, except using flax oil instead of corn. I ended up just using steel wool for the initial clean up because of how much sticky gunk was on them. Not sure that would be necessary if the pans weren't so dirty. I did at least 10 coats. I was doing 5 pans and I forgot to mark down my count at first so a couple of them may have gotten a few bonus coats. I cooked some bacon in the big one and did a fried egg test on the two smaller ones and they passed. I'm looking forward to some real cooking now!

I got my shipping notice from DHL immediately after it was shipped and they had picked it up. I didn't receive anything directly from DARTO. They said they would ship them by the end of November and I rather expected that mine would be shipped on the very last day since that's par for the course for me, but I lucked out and got them a bit earlier this time. Seasoning is functionally complete. Just for looks, I may give the skillet a few rounds in the oven to get the handle. I did oil it for the first few rounds but as has been observed above by others, the handles don't get hot enough on the stovetop to oxidize the oil.

Wow, that's much better!

There's no evidence of any of that brown sticky stuff inside or outside the box but I agree it looks like something spilled on them. The small paella had the most of it, both inside and outside the pan, the next one had a fair amount on the inside but the outside was pretty clean. The sauté pan had some on the outside and less inside, mostly just below the rim. @kayb, sounds like your paella pan was clean when it arrived? Maybe mine is the only one that got this gunk.

They are coming along nicely. I've been seasoning them on the stovetop, a couple at a time, adding a layer when I think of it. In the photo below, clockwise from upper left, the N. 20 paella pan just got cleaned up and is ready for its first layer of oil, the N. 25 paella pan is done and has passed a fried egg test, as is the old style N. 20 saute pan. Both received ~ 10 layers of oil. In the lower left, the new style N. 25 saute pan is somewhere around halfway done. You can compare that small paella pan to this photo I posted previously as it looked out of the box. I tried to get the inside as clean of marks as possible but for the outside, I only scrubbed with steel wool until it felt smooth and not sticky. I'll take another class photo when I'm done.

I was just trying what I had on hand to get the gunk off. Once I was finished, the surface felt nice and smooth (as do my fingertips 🙃), and I'm making good progress on seasoning it. It lacks the all-over darker coating that made the originals look more evenly seasoned from the start but I'm sure I'll get there. Just disappointed to have to do so much scrubbing!

The 101 freeway was re-opened yesterday and my pans were delivered. They were all in the box, thanks to DHL for the extra packing tape: Indeed, the finish on these is much rougher than the DARTO pans I've purchased previously. From left to right: N.20 and N.25 paella pans and N. 25 Saute pan. They were all both sticky and rough when I removed them from the box. I've spent a good amount of time with hot, soapy water, Barkeepers Friend, Goo Gone and steel wool just to get the N. 25 saute pan ready to season. For comparison, here's one of the old style style pans along with the new N. 25 saute pan. That old pan hasn't been seasoned but it arrived with a clean, very smooth finish. I like the slightly rounded finish on the handles but otherwise, I'm rather disappointed in the new style.

My last DHL notice says my FLYING PAN STEAL is "is awaiting the next scheduled movement" The website tells me it has arrived in Van Nuys, CA and I know that due to the active fires and freeway closures, there is currently no straightforward way to get from there to here. Hopefully it won't get lost in the meantime!

I do like the idea of making a tequila-based lime-cello for sipping. I understand rapid infusions can be preferable for ingredients that would otherwise be too bitter or spicy for standard infusions but am wondering about the advantages of the sous vide method or an iSi whip instant infusion for something like lime zest that infuses quite nicely over time. Have you compared the sous vide method to old fashioned days/weeks long infusions?