Katie Meadow

Slice and toast and slather with butter.

And the best peeps are ones you could not possibly mistake for edible. The "broken" shells are a lovely touch. Oh I should add that now I've discovered the Kenji method of steaming eggs so they are a snap to peel I've been able to drag out the deviled egg platter I inherited from somewhere. Not up there on the cuteness scale, though. And for some reason deviled egg plates just cry out for cornball designs.

I used to make a meat loaf that was one third ground beef, one third ground veal, and one third ground pork. I used to make meat balls with a ground beef and pork mixture. Both very good. But I've pretty much stopped eating beef and also prefer my protein to be a lesser part of my meal these days. I'm more inclined to use ground pork in Chinese dishes now. I make pot stickers with pork and napa cabbage or pork and Chinese chives, wontons with a mix of minced shrimp and ground pork, or Dan Dan Noodles. Lately I'm hooked on a Dan Dan Noodle soup. The broth is a blend of ham and chicken with a little sesame paste and it's addictive. We can buy a nice Berkshire ground pork that seems to have a good balance of fat and works for everything above.

Interesting watching Andrea's video. Also surprised she didn't even mention pate. I'm a bit finicky about the pate: I prefer a lighter chicken liver mousse which I also can buy, but I can live without the pate and still have a great sandwich. I always use her recipe for the pickled carrot and daikon. I've also made her char siu, although I'm happy enough simply buying that in Chinatown. I liked her emphasis on using Maggi sauce; there's nothing quite like it. She just squirts it on but I like to mix it with the mayo before spreading. In a pinch I've used pickled jalapeños instead of fresh, and that's good too. I've made Banh Mi with pork, shrimp, chicken and duck confit. If I did it again with duck I might just buy a roast duck in Chinatown and pick off the meat; the duck confit was too salty for me. I really like a banh mi with grilled marinated shrimp. In NOLA we discovered a bar with a banh mi operation in the back. They did a sort of po-boy banh mi mash up with a cajun inspired shrimp. They also made a dynamite drink that was basically an alcoholic vietnamese coffee milkshake that was perfect for that sandwich and perfect for the sticky hot weather. Truthfully it's the meal I remember best from that city.

Kudos to you for pulling that one out of your brain. A flash from the distant past. Lik M Aid, actually.

I looked them up too, and I'm sure I've inadvertently eaten similar candies. Isn't there something like that in Bridge Mix? Horrid. If you like them you probably like Raisinettes too.

I love artichoke pizza, but every restaurant artichoke pizza uses canned or marinated or whatever, never fresh. I get it--labor intensive! I've done it by lightly sauteeing cut pieces of fresh artichoke, then adding as a topping. I prefer it on a pizza with a tomato sauce, rather than a white pizza.

I'm a Duke's convert for life. Grew up on Hellman's, moved to CA, switched to Best Foods, finally tasted Duke's and that was that. After hearing so many people on eG and others as well sing the praises of Kewpie I bought the smallest jar I could find. Flavor profile? I'm not sure, since I couldn't keep it in my mouth long enough to think about it. The jar went right into the trash. Maybe umami is part of it; the taste is definitely busy and intense.

I guarantee that if you put a bunch of 3 year olds in a room with a dozen different bottles of over sweetened soft drinks and a dozen of the worst kinds of candy you can think of they will come up with several drink mixes that are at least as good-- or as terrifying-- as Peepsi. The post-pandemic world is off to a rocky start.

It looks perfect from here.

I'm slow on the uptake, so it's taken me a few days to realize....weren't we talking about pizza? Banquet or no, eating pizza with chopsticks doesn't seem like the best approach. Scissors and a sidecar notwithstanding.

Yes, before you buy or rent it's always good to do your research, but not all problems are disclosed or discovered until it is too late. A good neighbor cleans up his/her act or factory if others are being adversely affected, whenever humanly possible. If only.

I can see the struggle now. Me trying to cut the pizza with my left hand with a scissors with blades designed for righties, and then having to cross over my right arm to retrieve the slice. I guess at my next banquet I should request to sit at the head or one corner at each end so I don't poke out the right eye of my neighbor to the left. Actually I'm pretty sure I could learn to use chopsticks with my right hand if I need to without too much trauma.

Wow, if squabbling about the size of the pieces occurs I would venture to say another pizza was needed.

I'm fond of Lao Gan Ma chile crisp, but my go-to for all around chile garlic sauce is made by Huy Fong, the people in Irwindale CA who bring you Sriracha, the bottles with the rooster. It has a much better bite and flavor than sriracha, which seems mild to me. The company has had a battle with neighbors, however, as the factory leaks chile fumes, presenting some serious eye and throat issues for people in the area, depending on which way the wind is blowing. No idea if they have solved this problem at this point.

If chicken liver is prepared Jewish style, sautéed with onion, chopped with cooked egg, and a generous drizzle of cognac, etc I am usually happy to eat it, although some people just don't make it very well, and in that case I can skip it. If I am making Banh Mi and want the liver spread, I will buy a chicken liver mousse made by our usual haunt for cheeses, charcuterie, etc. But no, liver from mammals doesn't appeal at all. And I pretty much have stopped eating beef altogether. That bridge has sailed. I do feel awfully guilty when I eat Foie Gras, but that opportunity has been scarce as hen's teeth in the last few years. Partly because it's pricey, partly because I don't go to those kinds of restaurants (or any restaurants these days), partly because it's cringeworthy to think about how it is made. But yeah, it can really be delicious.

Does anyone remember the James Thurber children's book "The Wonderful O?" All the O's in the alphabet went missing, so poor Ophelia Oliver became Phelia Liver.

Talk about reinventing the wheel. The pizza wheel, that is, the cutter designed to do a real job for a basic price. That "scissors with a sidecar" looks unwieldy and is probably hard to clean. And here's a wild guess: it is made for right-handed people.

@Kim Shookyou are missing the banana. Why waste perfectly good mustard?

Okay, when lovely summer okra is in the farmers' markets maybe I'll try that. The part where you just put everything in a pot together and then go do something else has a big draw.

The treatment of the okra sounds great, especially the fact that they don't get trimmed until after they are cooked. My only hesitation about the garnish is that the garlic is basically raw, even after hot oil is poured over it. That's a bit much, for me at least. I love okra. If cut into rings and dusted in cornmeal and fried it is terrific just tumbled atop sliced ripe tomatoes while hot. Also it is excellent cut in half lengthwise and roasted in the oven with just oil and salt or with a sprinkle of cajun spice or smoked paprika until just crispy. I think that was a Vivian Howard suggestion. I admit that I have never had it stewed, which doesn't sound so appealing .

My daughter never wanted to learn anything about cooking from me. She is 33 now, married, and she and her husband trade off cooking each week. They live in Atlanta. Although she has come back yearly (until this year) she doesn't do any cooking for us and I don't actually know what kind of food the two of them make for themselves. I assume when she moved out of the dorm into a communal living situation when an undergrad she had to figure out something. Once in a while she will ask for suggestions or a recipe, but I have a suspicion she's still winging it somewhat. I never learned anything about cooking from my mother, who was a bad cook, to tell the truth. And when I taught myself to cook I was amazed at just how bad she actually was. Luckily she loved going out to eat. Sadly I must admit that my daughter was most likely intimidated by my kitchen skill. My theory is that kids should get into the kitchen early, before they become teenagers with attitude and are sure their ideas are just as good as anyone else's. You know, things like why do I need more than two cups of water to cook a pound of spaghetti? You're wasting water, Mom! If all goes well I will be visiting Atlanta in late May or June, as she is expecting twins. I'm pretty sure I will be designated chef for the duration and my husband will doing most of the shopping. She's managed to get vaxxed but her husband hasn't yet; and Georgia has the just relaxed their vax criteria--along with a dwindling supply of product-- so it's chaos. By the time the grandkids are cooking, if they are, I'll just be glad to still have teeth.

How similar is it to the Australian Violet Crumble? Which one has better sponge and which one has better chocolate? I've never had a Crunchie.

Not exactly relevant, but is there a good reason to use instant granules to make the coffee or could you just use a good strong brewed coffee? After all, if the dessert looks like jellied Irish coffee w/ whipped cream on top, the main even is the coffee.

That recipe for the Ham Banana Roll is up there with some of the most disgusting ideas in recent memory. Nothing says love like a banana with a smear of mustard. On some planet, somewhere.