blue_dolphin

Dang. They look so cute but I've resisted so far. Your comment makes it that much more difficult!

I was wondering about this and just the other day, I spotted a note in I Dream of Dinner (it's on p 96) that says that fresh chiles keep for up to a year in the freezer. She says to just grate or chop from frozen. I need to try that with some of the chiles that aren't in every store like the skinny red ones where I just use a few slices.

@Ann_T, if I could choose anywere to have breakfast, it would be with you and Moe! Another chilly AM here so I went with Kenji's 15 minute Pantry Tomato Soup. Nothing earth shattering but it's good and so quick. Too lazy to make a grilled cheese so I made a toastie with some of the Snowdonia Ruby Mist Cheddar with port and brandy.

If you want more detail, let me know and I can paraphrase it.

Sweet potato wedges with goma dare and crispy tofu from Ottolenghi's Extra Good Things. Oh my, this is really good. The crispy tofu is the "Extra Good Thing" about this recipe and is what intrigued me. This is not tofu that purports to have an crispy exterior. These are crispy/crunchy/salty tofu bits. Extra firm tofu is grated on the largest holes of a box grater, tossed with cornstarch, Aleppo pepper, salt and a little olive oil, and spread on a parchment-lined baking sheet. It gets baked for 30 min, tossed with a bit of soy sauce and returned to the oven to re-crisp. Supposedly these crispy bits keep for several days. The recipe is efficiently written as the sweet potatoes then go into the oven to roast on the shelf below the tofu. While that happens, you make an Aleppo chili-infused olive oil with sweet smoked paprika and sesame oil and mix up the goma dare, described as a Japanese sesame-based condiment used as a dip or dressing. Ground, toasted sesame seeds, get mixed with Kewpie mayo (I used regular mayo), soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and a little maple syrup That stuff is delicious but the combination of roasted sweet potato wedges, topped with the goma dare, a drizzle of the chili oil and a sprinkle of the crispy tofu is a winner.

One of my friends packed the gifts for our holiday gift exchange in these (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) 5-gallon Gardzen Grow Bags which look similar to the Root Pouch pots. I thought it was a great idea instead of gift bags and wrapping paper and plan to order a few more to play with.

Yeah, I was looking at the Balvenie offerings at another liquor shop and my eyeballs were very confused at the price of this one @ $6,499.99

Hmmm. Sounds good. Currently out of stock at my local Total Wine but I will keep an eye out for it...

Kinda chilly here this morning so my first step was to turn on the oven and then to decide what to put in it. Hmmmm. The sweet potato wedges with goma dare and crispy tofu from Ottolenghi's Extra Good Things sounds very good but the almost instant gratification of these little Gochujang Chocolate Lava Cakes from Korean American with a mug of black coffee lured me in. The recipe makes 4 cakes in 6 oz ramekins. I made a half recipe and put it into these little guys that hold a little over 3 oz. Perfect size for me. Topped with whipped cream and a sprinkle of gochugaru. Other people who made this said they couldn't taste the gochjang so I doubled it and it's just barely detectable which I think is what you want here.

I always think of peperonata as something to make with a bounty of summer produce. I like the recipe in Six Seasons. Found it online here.

I was all set to cancel when the price went up but then I got the email and thought, "Oh, it's not as bad as I thought ...." I dunno.

Another Korean American riff. This time it's the recipe for Salt and Pepper Pork Chops with Vinegared Scallions made with swordfish instead of pork chop. Also, charred cauliflower and broccolini with gochugaru dust from the same book and brown rice.

The beef cheek pie with a big old marrow bone sticking up like a chimney that I posted about over here was a marvelous treat. I'm glad I had the whole thing to myself and didn't have to fight anyone for the marrow!

A bit of a riff on the recipe for Charred Cauliflower with Magic Gochugaru Dust in Korean American. Recipe available online at this link. I roasted the cauliflower instead of broiling, threw a handful of green beans on to the tray with it and put an egg on top. The gochugaru dust has salt, gochugaru, smoked paprika, garlic powder and a little dark brown sugar. Quite good. If I make it again, I will dial back on the salt so I can get more heat and flavor without oversalting, at least for my taste.

I’d love to hear how the books compare and even more love to hear that you have returned to work, assuming, of course, that it is your choice to do so.

Do you have Niloufer Ichaporia King's My Bombay Kitchen: Traditional and Modern Parsi Home Cooking (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) and if so, how do the books compare?

Not to worry, it’s in the TJ's Hall of Fame: https://www.traderjoes.com/home/discover/stories/product-hall-of-fame

Thanks for sharing! I am clearly out of step with the mainstream as their top rated item, the Chili & Lime Flavored Rolled Tortilla Chips is the only TJ's product I would have returned on taste alone. I just tossed them but thought they were awful.

Each to his own, as my grandmother often said*. With higher proof spirits, I enjoy both a bit of dilution and a cooler than room temp. My ice cube trays make ~ 1 oz cubes. Every now and then, I make a tray of 1/4 oz slivers to use for this purpose. I store them in a zip top with the big clear 2-inch cubes I use in some cocktails. I add one to a 2 oz pour and am usually happy with that. Maybe I should compare that to adding room temp water? Or maybe I should just have another 🙃 * another thing she used to say was, “When I go, put a bottle at me head and another at me feet so I’ll have enough 'til I get there.” No mention of ice nor water!

Yes. In my hands, with large eggs direct from the fridge, 7 min gives a fully set white and jammmy, slightly runny yolk. 6.5 min is my go-to for a runnier yolk. Usually the white is fully set but sometimes there’s a tiny bit that's not quite there but little enough that I can ignore it.

Scrambled duck egg, black bean and cheese quesadilla, sour cream, avocado and Red Weapons standing in for salsa

That’s a 7 min egg : 7 min in boiling water, then into ice water.

Smacked vegetables with feta and dill from I Dream of Dinner with a jammy egg. The vegetables are cauliflower, green beans and watermelon radishes. Dressing is feta mashed with lemon juice and zest, Dijon mustard and olive oil. @Smithy tipped me off to this recipe when she used it with green beans but was reluctant to smack them and create a mess. I was in a smacking mood myself so I went ahead and smacked the green beans and radishes per the recipe. I put them on a piece of parchment and folded it over to contain any flying bits. I was fine with the raw beans and radishes but would have preferred the cauliflower steamed briefly. The dressing was excellent and would work with all sorts of vegetables.

Is this not the most adorable small-batch bread bake? https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cn5Pbm9AAKV/

More beans on toast. Yesterday, Mantequilla beans tossed with pesto. Today, smashed avocado topped with Midnight black beans tossed with Red Weapons.