blue_dolphin

One more recipe from the sugar snap pea section in Six Seasons. Sugar Snap Pea and New Potato Salad with Crumbled Egg and Sardines p 121. Very delicious, lemony, pleasantly fishy dish along the lines of a Niçoise salad. The radishes weren't called for in the recipe but did appear in the photo in the book AND in my crisper drawer so I threw one in. My sardines were packed in olive oil so I used some of that. As is my custom, I used half the specified amount of salt and less olive oil. Since the recipe calls for soft boiled eggs, I didn't try to "crumble" them but used a knife. The portion above is one serving per the recipe. I'd say that's generous for a first course but not quite enough for a main. Thanks for taking the time to explain your rant. I've never seen pan temps indicated in any of my cookbooks, whether written by professional chefs or not, so I wasn't sure that was your gripe.

Sugar Snap Peas with Pickled Cherries and Peanuts from Six Seasons p 119 Another one of Joshua McFadden's combinations that I never would have come up with on my own but which combine to make an interesting salad. The pickled cherries are the star of the show, and the main source of tartness so it's good to have a piece in almost every bite. Edited to add that the pickled cherries are also from Six Seasons p 58. I mentioned them over here in the preserving topic and gave them a week in brine before using them.

I picked up these turnips at my local farmers market yesterday and figured I should use them while the greens were still perky!

From the LA Times: Mario Batali's three Las Vegas restaurants are closing in light of sexual misconduct allegations The restaurants are located in hotels owned by the Las Vegas Sands Corp - B&B Ristorante and Otto in the Venetian and CarneVino in the Palazzo - and it's the Las Vegas Sands Corp that wants to end the partnership. The article says most of the 298 employees will be laid off. Hopefully they'll find other positions and I know it happens all the time but it's disappointing that lots of lower level employees will be affected by the offenses of a company leader. Edited to add: Ditto the staff of The Chew: ABC Cancels ‘The Chew’ After Seven Seasons

Sautéed Turnips with Prunes and Radicchio from Six Seasons Topped with an egg, not part of the recipe.

Sautéed Turnips with Prunes and Radicchio from Six Seasons p 168 Nice flavor contrasts between the sweet, earthy turnips, sweet-tart prunes (they are marinated briefly in balsamic vinegar) and slightly bitter radicchio and turnip greens. Is your rant because there is no temperature given for the pan in which the flatbread is cooked? I don't think I've seen pan temperatures given in cookbooks aimed at the home cook. I'd suspect that most home cooks, present company excepted , don't have a way to either set or measure the temperature of a pan. Is pan temp commonly specified in your cookbooks?

I came home from the farmers market and quickly made an Instant Pot steamed artichoke with preserved lemon aioli for my lunch. Sorry, I was too hungry for a "before" photo

Thank you! That sausage recipe uses bacon instead of additional pork fat so it's kind of like getting sausage and bacon all in one!

I'm not @DiggingDogFarm, but here's what I do: My oven has vent holes on both sides of the convection fan cover that's part of the back wall of the oven. I believe they function as air returns for the convection fan. I was able to put one of the grate clips in one of those holes. It's easy to remove just the probe or both the clip and probe. It would be more ideal to have the probe closer to the food and I did that for a while but I had to move it about all the time depending on what I was putting in the oven. The readings I get from the probe in this position track well with the little analog oven thermometer that I move around. Embarrassing dirty oven photo: Edited to add this photo of the Dot on the outside of the oven and to add that the self-clean cycle is now running to remedy the above situation :

Sausage & egg on a roll Maple-sage breakfast sausage from The Food Lab

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.