Katie Meadow

@BetDI love that the cards and hand-written recipes have illustrations. The book's illustrations, at least the few I can see, also are wonderful. Fantastic archive.

To be fair, fast food fries may once have been potatoes, but most of them have been processed to the point of "what is this?"

What did they think was in them?

Brebirousse d'Argental ! Haven't had it for several years, and forgot how much I like it. A sheep's milk brie-like cheese with a bloomy orangey-red rind (that's the rousse part). From Lyon environs, I think. Anyway, if you like ewe's milk cheese, it's a great one. There's a Vacherousse d'Argental, which I've never had, which is cow's milk, and as you would expect, has a red rind.

If you are making Chinese food at home in the US and can't find Shaoxing wine you probably can't find most of the other ingredients in the recipe, either. And whatever dry sherry you come up with it will not be as affordable, that's for sure. I go through a bottle of Shaoxing in a New York minute. Not drinking it, of course.

Or a bigger hammer. But really, a cleaver with a hammer assist? See you again, here, soon, @Smithy. My safety test: would I let my husband try such a stunt? No. A cheap cleaver will never replace an expensive butcher. Maybe that's how the finger got into that pumpkin pie.

I've done stir fry pork and fresh green beans with a scatter of pickled vegetables and also without. I typically have those pickled vegetables that come in the squat brown crock. Useful, for a change of pace.

I'm too busy chewing on them over the sink to do anything else with them, I do very much like pomegranate molasses though I've never bothered to make it. I use a bit of it in my granola and also very much like it as an ingredient in my charoset, which uses dried fruits along with the requisite fresh apples and walnuts. Yum. Bricklayer's sandwich.

Those look really nice. In my experience the fresher the better for boiling peanuts. Which is why they are seasonal, And I don't think they last well beyond two or three days in the fridge after boiling. Here in the bay area some of the farmers' markets have fresh ones this time of year. A lot of the vendors who grow and sell peanuts around here seem to be Asian.

Hope you are doing better by the day. I would kill to have the variety of good Chinese delivery that you've been enjoying. Or, for that matter, even to have a handful of good Chinese restaurants. You would think that in my part of the East Bay / SF area that the options would be great, but that isn't the case. I know of a couple of good ones in SF proper, but the drive is far too long for just a meal. I'm envious!

I've never had Christmas limas, nor do I remember any RG beans being bitter. Although I admit that I don't order a lot of variety when I order beans. I'm kinda stuck on certain ones. A chestnut texture would not be a favorite for me. Message Steve and see what he thinks, maybe?

For stovetop cooking I find that most RG beans take 2 hours and change to get fully cooked, except of course for the Alubia beans, which are really fast. I typically soak beans for about 5 hours, then bring them to a boil for ten minutes, then simmer very gently, partially covered, until they taste done. Then I salt them and cook another 15 minutes. I doubt that anyone would disagree that undercooked beans are unpleasant. Of course if you have a half bag sitting around fo any length or time your direx may need adjustment, no?

@liamsauntyou have a very lucky niece! When I used to make regular trips to NY, and when my nephew lived in the city, the two of us used to swoon over Sushi of Gari on 46th St. There was some salmon sushi with tomato that we ordered in multiples. When my mother died he and I cleaned out her apartment and we had many memorable lunches there; it was walking distance and it was his favorite restaurant. My other clearest memory from those days was that we loaded up her wheelchair to hike up the steep streets from 6th to 8th Avenue with packages to take to the UPS store.

Northern Pike is famous for Gefilte Fish. Maybe not so much in Minnesota?

Once you've put salmon, prosciutto, and avocado on it, I would argue that it's no longer a BLT. @CookBotHold the bacon and you have a SPLAT.

I can only think of two things that might make your dish taste like a fish. One is if the sausage is old or on the verge of being bad. Since it was sausage and not just plain lamb, it could be an ingredient in there that's fishy. The second culprit, if used, would be canola oil. I definitely think it tastes fishy, but clearly many people don't. If it is in a recipe I switch it out for something else. It never tastes neutral to me.

I must be in the minority here. The older I get the more my goals for meals change. If I'm going to take the trouble to cook something that appeals I want to come out the other side with.a LARGE one dish meal that can be eaten for days or frozen for later. I don't want to cook every meal, every day. Leftovers are my religion. Red beans and rice three days in a row? Fine with me. Baking? I want a big loaf or pie that I can hack away at or slice and toast for days to come. Baking one cookie at a time. What if it turns out to be a really good cookie? Don't you want another? Is there a recipe for one deviled egg? The carbon footprint for this type of cooking isn't negligible. Heat your oven for twenty minutes. Bake one cookie. It just sounds nutty.

Totally agree with that. Also, the secret to a great turkey pot pie is chicken.@CookBotyou may not know that @Ann_T doesn't actually sleep. It must be one of her super-powers. And that she was baking baguettes at 4 am this morning, which is why she baked the pot pie in the evening instead. Otherwise it would have been Moe's breakfast and her lunch.

I'm pretty happy with the Matiz sardines, but haven't tried Nuri. Can anyone weigh in on a comparison or at least speak for the Nuri? And now let's talk about mackerel. I just tried the Nuri spiced mackerel and it is pretty interesting. A little on the dry side and very salty. How I ate them: my husband and I split one can and topped short-grain Japanese rice w the fish and the spicy oil. The level of spice is just right, at least for me. Since the salt factor was high we didn't feel like we needed more fish. Next time I might try a sprinkle or rice vinegar on the rice as well. Does anyone have recommendations for other Portuguese or Spanish tinned mackerel? Spicy or not. Maybe more tender or maybe less salty? Before I start randomly ordering on line, any suggestions would be appreciated.

@BeeZeeif you have time don't forget to get yourselves to Hole Donuts in the morning! Fried to order!

Pickled eggs in beet juice are always stunning with their red rims, but I've never had one that wasn't rubbery. Is there a way to avoid that? I feel the same about pickled shrimp. Pickled shrimp is always tempting for a party because they look great and can be made the day ahead. But can they be pickled and still be tender?

Bad idea is putting it mildly.

I have no idea! I've never made a pecan pie. I count on my SIL to make one at Thanksgiving. 1:1 sounds like a good place to start. I think corn syrup is sweeter than cane syrup. The thing about most pecan pies is that they are usually far too sweet for me. I love my SIL so I give her a pass. I save my slice for breakfast the next day, when I'm too tired or hung over or disoriented to make any judgments about anything.

I haven't noticed the disappearance of Bucheron. I know raw milk cheeses used to be available where I shopped, but not so much these days. My favorite cheese in the world is a cheese called "Lou Peralou," which is a sheep's milk brie that I believe is produced in Basque-adjacent territory. I haven't seen it in a million years but I'm still whining about it.

@Steve IrbyI'm a big fan of Steen's products, especially the cane syrup. I use it combined with honey when making granola, and use it for a drizzle in southern style greens along with a spritz of the cane vinegar Maple syrup I like on pancakes, but prefer Steen's in many recipes. Also I sub it for corn syrup, which I don't like. And for molasses, which I often find too, well, molassesy. I've been trying to convince my sister-in-law to use Steen's syrup in her pecan pie. I know that the Southerners are very loyal to Camellia but I have to say that compared with Rancho Gordo beans they seem kinda dull. I make red beans and rice often, and swear by RG's Domingo Rojo beans. For a straight ahead red kidney bean I find the organic dark red kidneys from Purcell Mountain Farms very good, although the Domingo Rojo beans are my go-to. When I visit my daughter in Atlanta I now pack some of those in my suitcase since my daughter and my husband are big fans of red beans and rice.