blue_dolphin

Sorry about that!

Sorry to see a chef I liked go home last night but it was the right choice. Down to the final 3. Is next week's episode the end or is there a grand finale with the top 2? The other day, I noticed that Bravo's been putting up short videos of previous contestant Dale Talde cooking recipes from this season's Top Chef episodes. I'd prefer to see the actual contestants making their dishes but the 2 videos that I've watched still gave me a better idea of the dishes than I got from Top Chef. The videos are available on YouTube or here on the Bravo website: Top Recipe

I generally store ginger in the freezer and microplane it as needed. When I made that ginger paste, I was cooking a lot from Dishoom and that cookbook included a recipe for ginger paste and called for it in all recipes. The book says to use a blender or mini food processor for the job. It also adds some vegetable oil (25 ml/180g ginger root) to assist in mixing. I started out making just a half batch so I used the little wet grinder that you asked about. I bought a small Revel grinder (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) to whizz up just a serving or 2 of mint or cilantro chutney but it handled the ginger (pre-sliced) just as well. It's basically like a whirly blade coffee grinder but the bowl is removable so it can handle wet stuff. I paid ~ $35 for it 3 years ago but I can't find it available at present. I did take note of the caution described here by @loki in the thread about that grinder and have been careful to make sure that no liquid drips down outside the bowl. For example, I would normally clean something like this by running it with water and a drop of dish soap. That is basically a recipe for for liquid overflowing and dripping down into the motor chamber. Glad I learned that before I destroyed it! I use it a couple of times a week. It's been great for making amounts of herb pastes or chutneys that are too small to properly engage the blades of my regular or immersion blender. Sorry for the long winded answer 🙃

It's a National Geographic production and will be available tomorrow, May 27 on Disney+, airing for the first at 8 PM Eastern and 5 PM Pacific. I'm a big fan of the way they support local restaurant workers and food suppliers (whose jobs/operations are almost always disrupted when disaster strikes) with what's needed in their local areas. A local -to-me chef, Tim Kilcoyne, was impressed enough with their work during the Thomas Fire that he signed on full time and I've been following him in Ukraine since the beginning of the war. Nice to see them recently handing out restaurant vouchers instead of meals or groceries in areas where businesses are able to reopen. War zones seem like a stretch for their mission but there is no denying they are doing good work. I'll be watching tomorrow.

Excellent idea. Not sure why I was thinking it needed to be frozen as the liver certainly wasn’t! Just ran a beaker of water on the milkshake setting and the post-spin water looked crystal clear, no turbidity or visible particulates. Not exactly a stringent measure but I feel a lot better about my next run!

I’ve made ginger paste in my little wet grinder and pressed it out flat inside a zip top freezer bag. Easy to break off as needed. To funny! I wondered about the cleaning aspect WRT the Ninja. There’s only so much of that drive screw that you can access to clean. I’m wondering what may be on the rest of it after spinning the chicken liver 😝

I ordered another mixed set and an extra set of the little blue ones that I use a lot for spices that come in small bags. Also got another set of the big handles.

Do tell us what you had!

Started off with a recipe for cornmeal pancakes with maple-molasses syrup from Josef Centeno's book Amá. The pancakes were huge and taking a while to cook so I pivoted to waffles. Either way, there's a nice crunch from the polenta. The syrup is ~ 3 parts maple syrup + 1 part molasses, which adds sort of a savory note that I liked. The recipe recommends toasted pecans and berries. I had cherries. And a couple of sausage links on the side.

Have you tried the silicone brushes as many mentioned above? They’re not perfect for everything but I like them a lot. As with all things silicone, I keep separate colors for sweet and savory.

Gripstic has 25% off everything today only with the code DEALDAYS I quite like these big handles for big bags of cat litter, pet food or garden stuff. Rather overpriced for bits of plastic but they work well and are awfully handy - they seal the bags securely and make them very easy to haul around.

Can’t decide whether you want a sweet or salty snack? How about a Ritz cracker-Oreo pair with both peanut butter creme and regular creme fillings? Apparently a very limited, mail order only promo. Two thoughts: it’s not even April 1 🙄 and I really miss @Toliver❤️

Thanks! I do think kimchi Hollandaise has potential…or gochujang Hollandaise…but that adventure will have to wait for another breakfast 🙃

Couldn't decide what I wanted for breakfast today so I mashed up @Margaret Pilgrim's eggs Benedict with @shain's kimchi grilled cheese. Made a kimchi toastie with a toasted English muffin, country ham biscuit slice, chopped kimchi and cheddar cheese that went into the CSO to get all melty then topped that with a fried egg.

This sounds excellent and I wish someone would make me one right now! This both sounds and looks excellent with extra points for savory leftovers for breakfast - one of my favorite things! Benny on the plate at 6AM? Major kudos. Except that I really like to celebrate a benny with sparkles and 6 is a touch early, even for me! WRT eating silkworms, I recall being served bowls like @liuzhou's breakfast photo while traveling in China. I was feeling a bit queasy from a long bus ride and let's just say they didn't do anything to settle my stomach!

Were they both at the same temp when the photo was taken?

Cascateli with pesto, broccoli, sugar snaps, red bell pepper and feta

That is the first step in @Shelby's instructions

With the freshest of eggs, this is quite true. Today's egg was from last week's farmers market so already in my fridge for a week. Likely still fresher than what's on many supermarket shelves, but not the best for poaching as the thinned whites don't form up as nicely as when fresh. In this case, I rely on Julia Child's recommendation to lower the whole eggs in their shell into the boiling water for 10 sec before cracking them into the water. I poke a hole in each shell with a pin but I can't remember if Julia did that or it was my own concern about equalizing pressure. Absolutely true. Boiling and poaching are the route to nicely cooked whites with runny yolks. Just master the timing for your fridge temp, egg size and personal yolk doneness and your reward will be great!

Not a lot of cheese chat lately so I'll give a shout out to the Snowdonia Black Bomber Welsh Cheddar. Elsewhere in our forums, @CantCookStillTry has called it a cheese she can't be without and @Tere has mentioned it in this very thread. I bought some not long ago when my local import shop was out of the Mull of Kintyre Scottish Cheddar that I usually treat myself to. Great sharp Cheddar flavor but I'm calling it out more for the texture, which hits the sweet spot between crumbly and creamy. Surprisingly creamy for an aged Cheddar. At room temp, it's nicely spreadable. Very much worth a try if you see it in your local shops.

I was introduced to them via a Diana Henry recipe in her book, Simple. And I've also been craving them since seeing @Anna N's post. I may have to go to the store just for mushrooms! A friend brought me some nice bitter greens from her garden: I sautéed some with garlic, piled them on a hash brown and topped them with a poached egg:

I've ordered from Vanilla Saffron Imports: https://saffron.com/ I've seen a lot of recommendations in other cooking groups for IndriVanilla and their Vanilla Bean Co-Op: https://indrivanilla.com/vanilla-bean-group-faq SloFood Group: https://www.slofoodgroup.com and Beanilla, as @ElsieD mentioned

Wow! I’m tempted to set that as the desktop photo on my computer but I’d be hungry whenever I use it 🙃

Kind of a snacky breakfast today. Fresh veg and tater tots with Kim Chee Dip from Sheldon Simeon's Cook Real Hawai'i. I skipped the fried garlic topping on the dip but will have to give it a try. He recommends serving this dip with Cool Ranch Doritos or any "-itos." No chips in the house so I made the tots extra crispy!

Warning: This post is NSFAN (not safe for @Anna N) 🤣 Tuna salad on lightly toasted baguette slices. Campari tomatoes on the side.