blue_dolphin

I use one of these asparagus steamers (eG-friendly Amazon.com link), which was only $25 when I purchased it a few years ago. Does a nice job of containing any spatter. I like to use it with my Paragon induction burner but its thermometer is rather chunky and doesn't fit between the pot and basket which means I generally use it without the basket. Depending on what you're making, it's best for 1 or 2 people, 3 at the most. Upside is that the small diameter minimizes the amount of oil needed. It is also useful for steaming asparagus.

Yep, that's me. For many years, I had gas stoves with a big swath of empty space down the middle, between the burners. It was pretty much wasted space so I always put a spoon rest there. My current cooktop has 5 burners and no free real estate. At first, I put the spoon rest next to the stove but I was just moving it all the time to clean under and around it so it's long gone!

I'd like to say my knives are incredibly sharp and I have amazing knife skills but I used my Oxo V-slicer (mandoline-wannabe) for the radishes. They were pretty big and I figured cutting them as thin as possible was the way to go.

Per the recipe, the salad is dressed simply with oil & vinegar, salt & pepper, and the goat cheese is sprinkled over the top. I, however, happened to have some of the goat cheese vinaigrette leftover from the beet & radicchio salad I made the other day from the author's other book, Grist, so I used that and just added a small amount of additional goat cheese. I tend to think it's worth mixing up the vinaigrette as it brings along a little shallot, lemon juice & zest but is still light and in no way mayo-like.

Today's salad, from Ruffage, is reminiscent of a Waldorf - celery, grapes, apples, and pecans - but with goat cheese instead of mayo. I had this with a chicken sandwich but the chicken could just as well have been cut up and added to make it into a main course salad.

Where do you intend to put this thing and what do you plan to dispense? Seems like there are some sort of rotating paddles at the bottom of each container and the size of the paddle and the length of time it runs determines how much stuff is dispensed with each cycle. In the video below, the demo guy mentions that shredded cheese has to be the sort of pre-shredded stuff sold in stores that includes a non-clumping agent. If you shred your own, it's going to clump up. Here's the video from the company at some sort of trade show exhibition of a demo model where you can glean a bit more about how it works, but not how much it costs. Edited to add that I thought it was a negative that someone from the kitchen has to come and open up the front of the machine to change out or refill the canisters. Seems like you'd want to be able to do that from the rear. Or at least have that option.

That's good to hear! Going back through comments, I know that you liked An Everlasting Meal but were less than thrilled with her other book. My copy won't be here for a few days but I've got my fingers crossed that it will be good!

I put the rotisserie base and forks in the dishwasher. Could have easily washed them up with soap and warm water in the sink as I did with the spit. Cleaning the grill itself isn't really any different from usual. There's a bit more grease on the angled reflector and the glass that covers the bulbs but not too much. I generally use this thing for vegetables, shrimp and the occasional sausage so it stays pretty clean. Zero smoke. The drippings go straight down into a removable tray that's not heated. Having it on for that long (~ 90 min) does generate a good bit of heat which could easily be addressed with an exhaust fan. In my case, the cord isn't long enough to let me set the grill on the cooktop where the exhaust fan (that I don't have anyway) would be most effective. Sorry, no action shots. There's a little video in one of the Amazon reviews. Not sure if that link will take you to it. It was submitted by Skilos on Aug 8, 2020. Edited to add that I think Skilos must have a pet bird as I don't think that screech sound is coming from either the chicken or the rotisserie. Back to the drippings. I usually keep the drip tray covered with aluminum foil for easier clean up and I didn't bother to change it out before this cook because I figured it was just going to get dirtier but I wish I had because I could have had some nice, clean chicken fat to save.

I finally went out and got a bird. This one was just a bit over 4 lbs, smallest one I could find. Maybe should have started with a couple of game hens. It was a bit off balance so I need to work on that. My dad always put 2 birds on the spit, one breast up and one breast down to balance the load but this little rotisserie is 5 lbs max so that wasn't an option. Probably should have pulled it off a bit earlier but I lost track of time. Also need to work on trussing better 🙃 I ate the wings and drumsticks. Both good. Household Gear, the seller I purchased from still has them listed on Amazon for $49.95. So far, this is one expensive chicken, but the thing has potential!

I started a new topic on Tamar Adler's new book and noticed that the Kindle version of her 2011 book, An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Grace (eG-friendly Amazon.com link), is currently priced at $1.99 on both Amazon.com and Amazon.ca. The book is a lovely read. I think there may be more recipes shared in story form than in standard formatted recipes.

I just ordered a copy of Tamar Adler's new book, An Everlasting Meal Cookbook: Recipes for Leftovers A-Z (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) from local cookbook shop Nowserving LA. I knew the book was coming out and have been resisting ordering it until I could get it from the library. Then I saw the lovely illustrations that Nowserving shared in this Instagram post. And that post also pointed me to Tejal Rao's NYT article, The Joy of Zero-Waste Cooking (gift link) that talks about this book and others, all the way back to M.F.K. Fisher's How to Cook a Wolf. I always try to repurpose leftovers in different ways so this sounds right up my alley. I'll report back on the book when I receive it.

Welcome to eG, @Yulsam! I've never done any chocolate work but I often read the topics here out of general interest and curiosity and I have to say the chocolate experts in these forums are incredibly knowledgeable and helpful.

It is very interesting, isn't it? Can't say I'll get to try it as by the time our local cantaloupes turn up, the asparagus is long gone!

Asparagus has appeared at the local farmers market and I've been enjoying it. I was going to try a recipe in Taste & Technique for asparagus with black garlic hollandaise until I saw a photo someone posted of it on EYB and I just couldn't bring myself to dress these lovely stalks in a gray goo. I turned to this recipe for pan roasted asparagus with yogurt and radish from Ruffage and it really pleased me with its simplicity, flavor and pretty spring-y appearance. I usually roast them in the oven so the stove-top method was different. The spears were a bit wayward so I put another pan on top of them to ensure even contact at first. That wasn't necessary for the second side so it was easy to monitor doneness. Ruffage offers four serving suggestions and this one was easy and didn't require any shopping nor advance prep. Just plain yogurt, shaved radishes and a sprinkle of sea salt. Tasted as good as any fancy sauce I could have slaved over! The other suggestions are an anchovy-caper compound butter with fresh herbs; brown butter vinaigrette + mint; or lemon juice + zest, dill and Parmesan.

Spring veg: grilled asparagus with pickled beets and feta, roasted radishes with their greens with white wine, both recipes from Ruffage, and a slice of escarole pie, from Delectable. There's no recipe for pickled beets in Ruffage so I used the gingery quick-pickled beets from Snacks for Dinner and they're delightful.

That's how I cut them as well.

I haven’t tried other recipes to test it out but the description on the Wilton website says it takes half a standard mix so I’d think it would be OK.

Thanks! I got some nice asparagus at the farmers market so that was dictating the recipes I wanted to try. I often choose recipes from the cookbooks being covered by an online Facebook cookbook group, but not always. I was mostly kidding about the beans, though I did consider it!

I resisted the urge to clap back with a bean salad of some sort but decided to continue with my regularly scheduled programming... Salad of asparagus, arugula, egg and radish with a mustard vinaigrette from Ruffage Very nice, though I kinda wish I'd gone with a jammy egg instead of the hard boiled that the recipe specified.

Burrata with Dandelion-Golden Raisin-Pistachio-Pistou from Taste & Technique Nice bitter/sweet/tart/creamy/crunchy contrasts

Polenta, asparagus, burrata with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar A riff on a Melissa Clark recipe from Dinner Changing the Game except I cooked the polenta in the Instant Pot (right in this little dish) and pan roasted the asparagus instead of using the oven.

I bought some fresh ones when they were specifically called for in a recipe. I thought they tasted fine but not significantly different from the dried ones. I wanted to plant a tree when I had my lawn removed. My landscape designer rolled her eyes and told me they get too big. In reality, nothing I plant tends to get very big so I may look into it again!

About half that amount or 3/4 cup. That's plenty unless I'm specifically planning some of the recipes in the book where she uses a fair amount of the Red Weapons oil.

Thanks! Red Weapons are a marinated tomato/jalapeño condiment from Vivian Howard's book, This Will Make It Taste Good. You can see the recipe online at this link. I double the jalapeños and reduce the olive oil. It's great for livening up a bowl of beans, eggs, most anything and is something I keep it on hand regularly.

Mixed Chicories with Grapes, Candied Walnuts and Aged Balsamic Vinaigrette from Taste & Technique: The sweet, juicy, grapes, crunchy candied walnuts, sweet/tangy dressing and nutty Parmesan all contrast nicely with the bitter greens. I used radicchio, escarole, curly endive and arugula.