blue_dolphin

I haven’t used them as screwdrivers but they're quite handy for prying lids, etc and have protected a few of my table knives from turning up at the ends 🙄

It was 55°F in the house this morning but it looked like the sun would come out and warm things up so I didn't want to turn on the heat. Turned on the oven instead to make a quiche! Apple and beet salad with asparagus, mushroom and onion quiche

I do that, too. It's a good way to try out different sauces, fillings, etc.

MC@Home also comes with a spiral-bound kitchen manual. It's the same height and width as the big book, but much slimmer as it has far fewer pages. It's the part I use the most.

Well, I went to Total Wine to get some dry cider for a couple of recipes and, as promised, I checked out the little bottle section and brought home a bottle of this Screwball Peanut Butter Whiskey. I gave it a sniff and it smelled pleasantly peanut buttery. I took a sip and was shocked at how sugar-y sweet it is. I'm surprised it's not labeled as a liqueur. Way too sweet to sip on its own. I decided to try making a Manhattan with it. That's a pretty hilarious notion right there but I thought the vermouth might balance out the sweetness and the cherry garnish might offer a little PB&J vibe. It was not good. Not good at all. Even the nice Amarena cherry wasn't good after spending time in the glass with it. If someone were a lover of sweet drinks, I suppose this could be used in one. The peanut/honey flavor isn't bad, it's just overwhelmed by the sweetness. The young woman at the register told me that her boyfriend liked to use it to make frozen chocolate milkshakes. That's not my kinda cocktail. The helpful cashier suggested that if I liked this, I should check out the various flavors offered by another company, Skatterbrain, and specifically recommended their Dark Chocolate Banana Whiskey. Good grief! What is the world coming to?

I'm not sure if this is the place they are going, but @liamsaunt mentioned it last year. It looks way more glam than camp 🙃

Onion and Cider Soup with Melting Camembert alongside an arugula salad topped with the Apple and Beetroot Relish, both from Roast Figs, Sugar Snow by Diana Henry. The soup recipe is available online at this link. I didn't need any sugar to get the onions to caramelize so I skipped that. No camembert in the house so I used Cowboy Creamery's Mt. Tam instead. I also skipped the sugar in the apple and beet relish and added extra vinegar to tart it up a bit.

Most glass jars can handle freezing with ample headspace, as you've described. Some of them won't handle rapid thawing, like putting into a microwave or warm or hot water. If you think you'll be using it up in one go and will have plenty of time to thaw, I'd go ahead and freeze in the jar. If it was a paste I used in smaller quantities, I'd transfer it to a zip lock, smush it out and freeze flat so I could easily break off what I needed without thawing the whole thing.

I haven't pulled the trigger for the same reason. I'd like to get into a regular bread baking routine but haven't managed it yet, in spite of several good books. I figure the e-mail classes are their opportunity to sell me on their bread baking methods and the book. If I like what I see, I'll take the plunge. That said, if I'd already ordered and it was on the way, I'd go ahead and get a look at it rather than trying to cancel sight unseen.

I think you'll like it if you decide to give it a try. I really enjoyed the flavor the cider gave to the broth. Well, I went back and measured them and 3.5" is more like it. And that's the shells, the critters themselves are smaller. I must say they were very carefully packed and they're still alive and well in my fridge. At least these guys were until I rudely evicted them from their shells and turned them into lunch. They were simply seasoned with S&P, seared in butter and olive oil and given a squeeze of lemon juice. Served with grilled asparagus, polenta and topped with blistered cherry tomatoes and red onion. This recipe was on the website of the fish share I'm using. All that other stuff isn't really necessary but it helps if you're making a meal out of a few little abalone!

Modernist Cuisine said these are email courses, so as long as you save them, you could go back to them at any time. They've only mentioned them as email courses so they could be just text, no video content. We'll have to see. They also said they are available to anyone there is no requirement to purchase the book and it's not needed to do the lessons.

Well, there's a lot of variability with the fruit going in in terms of its moisture and sugar content so you're right there will be differences each time but there's science involved as well. Water boils at 100°C or 212°F and that's where you'll hang out for quite a while as the water boils off and evaporates, concentrating the rest of the ingredients. As the water boils off, the temps will increase. The wider the pan, the faster the water will evaporate and the faster the temp will get to the target. Most jams and jellies target temps in the range of 217°F - 222°F, beyond that, you're getting into candy making temperatures. Use a thermometer that's good for candy making or deep frying that can measure beyond the top range for your application. A lot of meat thermometers, like this one only read up to 200°F or 93°C. They're designed for accuracy in the temps you'd want for meat, not way above that. Make sure the thermometer you use for marmalade goes well above 222°F or 106°F.

Québécois Mussel Chowder with Cod and Cider from Roast Figs, Sugar Snow by Diana Henry. Recipe available online at this link. Seriously delicious for something so simple.

I've been asking for Seville oranges every week at the farmers market and I finally got some yesterday. Thirteen oranges weighed in at 6 lbs 4 oz or 2.83 kilos and cost $10. I've gotta give these big bumpy boys a good scrubbing and run to the store for more sugar before I get going on the marmalade.

The thing with leeks, assuming they're sliced crosswise and are separating into rings, is that the thinner, outside rings can go from lightly caramelized to blackened while the meatier inside rings are still softening. So if caramelization is the goal, best to use thicker slices.

I agree on the simplicity. I think I might just pan fry the rest of them like this rather than doing anything fancier! These are farmed, not wild caught and take 3-4 years to reach this 4” size so they are rather expensive but it’s nice they are available.

I got some little 4" red abalone from Cultured Abalone Farm out of Santa Barbara for my fish share this week. I've never prepped or cooked them before and the only time I've ever seen it done, they were really big ones that a friend of a friend dove for back in the day. I decided to try my hand with two of them, per the recipe I want to use but skipping the sauce, etc. so I could see if I'm on the right track. Just spooned some preserved lemon aioli on the plate for dipping and tried them out - there's one piece missing already! Why yes, I am on the right track - they are a delicious treat! This is the recipe I have planned, as shown in this video, which I followed for cleaning and prepping them: https://vimeo.com/97383298 https://vimeo.com/97383298

Eric Kim's Gochujang Buttered Noodles from NYT Cooking with sugar snap peas. Made with the Thai wheat noodles from TJ's.

Damage control!

Instead of “Surge Pricing,” they could have framed it as reducing prices at off-peak hours to encourage customers to visit during slower hours. Of course, there’d likely be an initial price increase so they could knock something off during the slow times but it could be rolled out as a bargain time rather than a penalty.

I'm not a fast food eater but I'm curious how this will work. If I'm waiting in line in the drive-thru and I see the prices go up, is there an off-ramp I can use to exit and go somewhere else? Seems like it could backfire if they're effectively charging people higher prices for the privilege of waiting in line for a longer time!

I believe this is a dish rather than an individual food, but I don't think I could make myself eat Spotted Dick.

I agree. Presented as some sort of ‘variety meat’ terrine, I’d go for it but I still remember the time, as a very novice cook, I read the recipe for head cheese in my old edition of Joy of Cooking. Oh my!

Indeed. Saw this on Instagram the other day, mostly food-related: Heinous things I did to make my three-year-old daughter cry today: ✔️ Poured syrup on her pancakes without letting her hold the tiny handle on the bottle ✔️ Wouldn’t let her play with my toothbrush ✔️ Beat her to the kitchen in a race I didn’t know we were having ✔️ Ate the last of her orange after she told me she was finished with it I’m a MONSTER, apparently.

That might be why we called them muskies when I was a kid fishing for them in Lake Champlain. I used to dislike that word as well. Then I went through a period where I was dealing with some health issues and prescribed myself a nutrition-packed ...um...I'll call it a blended meal to avoid distressing you. A couple of servings each of fruit and veg, protein, flax seeds, wheat or oat bran, wheat germ. It was a pretty painless way to hit all the daily requirements. It was my weekday breakfast for years and somehow I got over my aversion to the word. I'd still never order one anywhere though 🙃