blue_dolphin

I'd say a week to 10 days or so.

Second sandwich of the day. Duck confit grilled cheese with onions caramelized in duck fat and melty Tallegio cheese.

Ditto here

Smoked tuna salad on thin-sliced Dave's Killer Bread "Good Seed" Bread & butter pickles and fresh tomato

I mentioned that I can make excellent IP polenta but I've failed completely with the Barkely's Mill grits. I took a look at their website to see if they had any suggestions and indeed, they give two methods: Basic Pressure Cooker Grits. They say that with the first method, "The grits retain a bit of toothsome texture. It takes a few minutes for the grits to smooth out and thicken once they're done." That sounds like a sub-optimal result to me. Maybe adding a pre-soak step as @weinoo referenced from Sean Brock might help with that. The second method requires par-boiling on the stove top for long enough that the grits get suspended in the cooking liquid and don't sink to the bottom. Sounds like that should solve the issue I had but also negates the "set and forget" charm of the IP.

Greek yogurt and strawberries from Harry's Berries at the local farmers market.

Quoting myself here to report that I made a big batch of these for a gathering with friends over the weekend. They were a big hit!

I haven't tried Anson Mills quick grits but I believe it depends on the grind. For me, coarse grind works in the IP. Finer grinds, which would include quick grits, really need to be stirred occasionally and don't work well in the IP, at least for me. I've had good success with Bob's Red Mill grits (also labeled polenta) and with stone ground corn polenta/grits from a local place, Roan Mills. Both these products have a relatively coarse, fairly uniform grind. I generally use the pot-in-pot method, 1 part grits + 4 parts water, 15 min high pressure followed by 10 min natural release. I have NOT had success with grits purchased from Barkley's Mill that are a finer and somewhat more uneven grind, with some small hull particles that need to be skimmed off. These cook up to be delicious, creamy grits when I make them on the stove top but in the IP, I get a result similar to what you described - excess liquid on top, a gluey middle layer and undercooked grits on the bottom. I concluded that these finer grits really need to be stirred, at least occasionally during cooking so the IP's not going to work. I'll be interested to hear what other's experiences are.

Duck confit quesadilla

If things start to sound worse, I'd recommend covering all bases and lighting a candle to St. Jude as well. Patron of hopeless cases and impossible causes. My local grocery store carries St. Jude in 2 sizes, several colors, scented and unscented

All this talk of Rice Krispie treats reminds me that I've been wanting to try a simplified version of the Fuhgeddaboudits from Bouchon Bakery. The recipe has you cut the Rice Krispie treats into little disks, top them with caramel and then enrobe them in milk chocolate. I'm thinking I could just spread the caramel on top of the Rice Krispie treats right in the pan and then put the chocolate on top of that and cut them into squares. Sound good?

My, that is quite the list, @kayb - are you responsible for the entire pot-luck???? I've been doing a black bean & roasted corn salad that can morph into a salsa with chips or a regular side salad. Easy and tastes good at RT. Everyone seems to like deviled eggs and your fancy ones sound lovely.

Yesterday, I spied the first cherries of the year at the local farmers market. I ate a bunch and the rest went into the pickled cherries from Six Seasons. The book uses a standard brine for a variety of refrigerator pickles. I found it on the sweet side for some of the vegetables but I'm hoping it will be good for these cherries.

Expanding my selection of cocktail glasses, I bought 2 each of these three glasses at the local Goodwill. 75 cents each. Years ago when I was in my first apartment, I had a bunch of mismatched plates and glassware from thrifts, garage sales and hand-me-downs. I wished for matched sets and eventually I got them. Now, I'm happy to pick up mismatched stuff so I can choose something different for each meal!

@robirdstx's deviled eggs got me, too Re-heated spinach & leek spiral pie, deviled eggs made with the preserved lemon aioli I made the other day and fresh tomato I'm sort of a purist when it comes to deviled eggs - just a little mayo and mustard - but these went very well with the spinach pie.

I had the worst craving for onion dip and Ruffles the other day. I came THIS close to going to the store for onion soup mix and chips. I can't remember what I ate instead but I'm pretty sure it wasn't as good!

Do report back when you find out what has changed. There is a bill in the NJ Assembly (A1278) and Senate (S2282) to allow the # of retail liquor licenses held by an individual or corporation to increase from 2 (the current level) to 10, gradually over ten years. I believe those bills are both still in committee. I find the wide range of state liquor laws amazing. New York State also forbids wine and liquor sales in grocery stores and restricts the # of retail liquor licenses to one per individual or corporation, so no sales by chains either. It also forbids retail liquor stores from selling anything besides liquor and wine (food, cigarettes, etc.) except for a few specified items like ice, corkscrews, wine publications, etc. I can't speak to your local situation, @rotuts, but liquor prices at my TJ's, by and large, are generally within a dollar or two (up or down) of the prices at Total Wine. They do have some of their own labels and sometimes get in a name brand product that is quite a good deal but those things come and go and can't be relied on.

@Kim Shook, I've been meaning to try the Orange Creamsicle Cookies that @andiesenji linked to a few years back. I know that @Toliver mentioned a few tweaks to the recipe and @Anna N has made a lime version. Perhaps they can review the recipe you used. I must say it uses a lot of liquid! I made a sort of Mexican version of the Olive Oil Shortbread with Rosemary and Chocolate Chunks from Smitten Kitchen Every Day. I used Mexican chocolate, orange zest and added some ground de arbol & guajillo chile for a bit of heat.

Inspired by the above discussion: Egg, salami, cheese cooked in a small skillet - my grandmother called this a "pancake egg" - on thin-sliced Dave's Killer bread "Good Seed" Tomato chutney was applied after the photo

I had some phyllo left from my recent asparagus experiment so I made these little Leek, Feta and Greens Spiral Pies from Smitten Kitchen Every Day to use it up. That sorry looking one in the top right of the photo was the first one so it did take me a minute to figure things out. Tasted fine though.

I'm pretty sure at least one of those legs will go in that direction!

A slightly deconstructed version of yesterday's Frijoles Puercos con Huevos from Nopalito. Instead of scrambling the eggs with the bacon & chorizo before adding the beans, I simmered the pork & beans together first, then topped with a poached egg. Since the egg is cooked separately, it's not flavored by the pork like in the recipe, but it was still good and I got a runny yolk .

It's not illegal across the whole state (individual towns and cities have amazing flexibility in setting their own ordinances) but statewide, corporations are still limited to two retail liquor licenses so it's usually not practical for a grocery chain to offer liquor sales.

Thanks for reporting back! I'm so glad it worked out for you!

My little quackers came out of the bath There was one much scrawnier than the others so I chose it as my first victim for a duck confit sandwich. I tried to brown the leg off in a skillet but the skin was very fragile so I ended up removing the skin, crisping it up and crumbling it over the warm meat as you see below. There's a thin layer of preserved lemon aioli on the bottom, some arugula and a healthy amount of Tallegio broiled to the melting point on top. Washed down with a nice pinot noir. No complaints here and I have 4 more legs to play with!