blue_dolphin

I weigh everything I can get a weight measurement for. Liquid or dry. Especially sticky stuff like honey or peanut butter. Spoons for small amounts when it's just impacting flavor, not chemistry. Always good reading: The Kitchen Scale Manifesto

As a black coffee drinker who does not visit Starbucks, I just learned here that the Pumpkin Spice Latte is tinted orange. I had no idea!

Burlap & Barrel seems to be big into partnerships these days. See here for a few. Seems like a win-win as they get extra publicity from their collaborators hawking the stuff and it may drive additional purchases. Spices are a notoriously dirty business but the B&B products, at least the ones I've tried, have been of very good quality so collaborators can feel pretty safe in partnering with them. I wouldn't place an order for the LA Times "California Heat" blend on its own but the ingredients (red Jalapeño, shallot, garlic, caramelized onion, smoked paprika, chipotle, Kashmiri chili, black pepper, black lime, salt, Timur pepper, lemongrass) sound appealing so I might consider adding it on to an order. Edited to add: Can you say more about the brands of dry chili crisp you stock?

I don't believe I've purchased a panettone myself but have often received one as a gift. If it was a small one, I'd keep it, big ones, I re-gifted but all this talk has me thinking I'll get one this year. I'm definitely up for the French toast and I have to say that this recipe for Panettone Panzanella with Pancetta and Brussels Sprouts from the recently departed Michael Chiarello sounds like it might be fun to play with.

The whole thing is pretty funny with the way he chows down on each slice and seems to work up quite a sweat in the process but Bad Bunny Tony is next level!

Here's a taste test of a bunch of brands from last year:

My go-to preserve-sweetened pan sauce (pretty much everything is optional depending on how much you want your preserves to stand alone) Sauté 2T finely minced shallot, red onion and/or ginger in 2T butter, ideally in the meat-cooking pan Add 1/4 cup vinegar + 1/4 cup wine and bring to a simmer Add 1/2 cup preserves, 2T Dijon mustard and 1/2 cup broth or stock and continue simmering to desired consistency. Swirl in 1T butter, taste to see if it needs salt or acid and serve.

I agree with @heidih, as long as this isn’t getting chilled, it shouldn’t gel. Use a little water, broth, juice, wine, liquor, etc. depending on what sounds best to you.

Is this for a sweet or savory application? What is the planned serving temp and the desired consistency?

Salmon sando with kimchi slaw on a toasted brioche bun I got Alaskan sockeye salmon in my fish share this week. The California king salmon fishery is closed this year to allow the population to recover after years of drought but many local fishers travel to Bristol Bay in Alaska where this salmon was caught. So it's not local but has a local connection!

This is so hard. I read @Kerry Beal's lovely post very shortly after she shared it this morning and gratefully returned several times to go down one rabbit hole after another but I still don't have the right words. Wit, humor and curiosity are traits I greatly value so it's no wonder I appreciated @Anna N so much. She shared my love of cookbooks, I always thought of her when I "reviewed" one here and awaited her own thoughts. I loved that she appreciated my sometimes quirky contributions to the Breakfast topic and I secretly enjoyed taunting her whenever I included the dreaded legume 🙃 in my first meal of the day. Like @Smithy, I've been missing @Anna N greatly these last weeks but always with fingers crossed that I'd come here one day and find that she was back again. Ah well. A better wordsmith than I, sums up my thoughts:

@MaryIsobel, what sort of pineapple sides did you end up making?

I'd never heard of Tate's cookies and that link wasn't very informative but I was at Aldi this morning and spotted these: Clearly, not on sale!

Oh, go ahead. You’ve been warned. 🤣

I agree. I was thinking of revisiting the brown sugar cinnamon ones as they were my pick when the grocery store sales and coupons aligned and my mom let us have them. Thinking back, even when nicely toasted, they weren’t very good. You won’t want more than a bite. There are much tastier ways to indulge in empty calories!

Same. Phone grips. And good for you for maintaining your sense of humor while dealing with this whole miserable situation. Can’t be easy no matter how many meal choices are available!

Just keep some kimchi butter on hand to put on those peas.

Interesting report on the use of CRISPR gene editing to produce chickens more resistant to bird flu and the risk of that driving further resistance of the virus itself. No risks to humans here, just more evidence that, whether you’re using vaccines or gene editing, it’s not easy to outsmart a virus! NYT article (gift link): Scientists Use CRISPR to Make Chickens More Resistant to Bird Flu Original publication in Nature: Creating resistance to avian influenza infection through genome editing of the ANP32 gene family

I do love Biscoff. When I got upgraded to First or Business with a full breakfast, I'd often ask the FAs if they could just bring me a packet of Biscoff from Coach along with my coffee! I usually get the TJ's version and I agree with @Katie Meadow that they are a great addition to a crumb crust.. I've seen this particular chocolate variety at World Market/Cost Plus but wasn't sure about the combo. I like ginger + very dark chocolate but this looked lighter. Now's not a bad time to try them as I can always give them out as Halloween treats (or tricks, depending 🙃)

Accompanied by 629 comments so far!

Fennel Two Ways with Mussels and Couscous p 158 Very nice. This recipe calls for Israeli couscous but I subbed in TJ's "Harvest Blend" of Israeli couscous, orzo, split baby garbanzos and red quinoa. I also subbed cured Spanish chorizo for the finocchiona, aka fennel salami, and vermouth for the white wine. Pretty much a one-pot meal, which is nice. The orange zest and juice play nicely with both the fennel and the mussels.

And here I was expecting a bunny or three to grace your holiday table!

Here's a link to the recipe!

Turmeric and Lime Mussels from Nik Sharma's Season. Recipe available online at this link. The broth is very flavorful. Probably could have served it over rice. It's made with shallots, garam masala, fresh turmeric, makrut lime leaves, Kashmiri chile, ginger and a little tomato paste, all cooked together in ghee, then coconut milk is added to steam the mussels and finally finished with lime juice.

I use this tall 4 quart pot (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) with about 1 - 1.5 quarts of oil that I filter and reuse. The shape gives a decent depth of oil and contains spatter. I use it either with the temp control on my Paragon induction burner or with a regular temp probe on my gas cooktop. The Paragon probe works nicely to maintain temp but is too bulky to accommodate the basket so I choose depending on what I’m cooking.