Katie Meadow

One miniature goose. Very rare, btw. You need 100 of them to make a confit, so I believe @weinoo is going to save his singleton for an amuse bouche. For a port wine cherry sauce use 1/4 cup of port and two cherries.

Agreed, and I actually like it if the previous owner has made some notes. That way you can either appreciate their modifications or realize why they got rid of the book in the first place.

I've been enjoying a lot of Caesar salads lately, mostly following the Zuni Cafe recipe, which is probably all over the internet since it has been around so long. It's a very straight-ahead recipe, with no coddling called for. And just to be perfectly clear, Zuni Cafe was making traditional Caesars before kale was invented. Romaine, romaine, romaine. My understanding is that coddling is not a health measure, but a way to get the yolk a little thicker, as some prefer the dressing like that. We just whisk up a whole egg., raw. I find that a big salad for the two of us (really big) doesn't even need the whole egg. We use about half of the whisked egg, or maybe slightly more if it's a small egg. I guess it has been so long since I had a Caesar Salad in a restaurant or one made by anyone else that I don't know what to compare our dressing to; nevertheless it's addictive, in addition to being uncomplicated. My husband seems to care a lot about the croutons, so he's now the boss of Caesars.

That's was I call Christmas past and Christmas future. 2020 is toast. And so will this house be.

It sounds like you don't have the feeling of nostalgic fun that my husband has for NL.

There's a place in North Oakland (although I can't attest to it still being there) that used LN to make their ice cream. There were long lines the first few months. I thought the ice cream was second rate, given the amazing variety of great small-batch creameries in the East Bay. So I'm glad my FIL, the physicist with the ready supply of LN, never made ice cream with it. The first time I met him he was making ice cream in a hand cranked wooden tub. It was really good. Fresh strawberry. I can't remember what I ate for breakfast today, but my memory of that ice cream more that forty years ago is permanent. Now that's ice cream the old fashioned way.

When my husband was little he used to go to his dad's office in the physics dept to use the liquid nitrogen to remove his warts. He still waxes poetic every time liquid nitrogen is mentioned.

One more reason to leave it out.

Angelo's on West 57th is coal fired, no? It was a half block from my Mom's apt. but she wasn't a big pizza eater so I only had it a few times. I don't remember it being stellar, though. But it's been a while.

Yes, I've coarsely shredded many a potato with my processor. Grating by hand seems like a tiresome and dangerous chore. Keep your moulinex in fighting weight. When the end times come and the electricity goes out those French contraptions will be gold. Where IS mine? I think mine was orange. Were there a bunch of colors? And do they still sell them?

No chicken liver mousse or chopped liver should be be without cognac. Sounds delicious. But eating it on a croissant seems extremely strange, especially given the mousse is almost half butter itself. Croissants with coffee for breakfast. Chicken liver mousse or pate or whatever you call it is my idea of a perfect snack that turns into dinner with simple crackers or rye bread accompanied by ice cold vodka...and probably later in the day. I know, not very adventurous!

Every few years someone posts about their moulinex and I am reminded one more time that mine has been missing for years. Maybe my daughter will dig it up in the basement in some unimaginable future. Unless I see a picture it stays forgotten. I loved it.

I'm envious! Where I shop the pecorino comes and goes, the variety keeps changing. I find one I swoon over, and then they never get it again. Pecorino Molitarno was one of those, but there were lots of others. They used to regularly stock Pecorino Stagionato, both plain and truffled. Loved them both, though I didn't splurge too often on the truffled one. Now it's gone. Annoying.

Strictly applesauce. Sometimes I add a sprinkle of cinnamon and a squeeze of lemon juice. All my hanukkah dinners from childhood involved brisket, so dairy would have been unusual. I associate sour cream on potatoes with diner food. Good, but not latkes.

The last few years have taught me that a large percentage of people will believe all kinds of nonsense.

Even a bird that isn't old gets plenty tough after two or three hours of simmering. In my opinion the only poultry part that stands up to a long cook is a turkey neck. If you don't mind a hybrid stock toss in a few turkey necks with a chicken carcass and you can eat them as a chef's treat after the stock is done, with broth and generous amount of salt. Fat necks are better than skinny necks.

Celery root remoulade! No cooking involved, just grate and dress with standard remoulade sauce. Of course standard remoulade is meaningless, they vary from very French to very Louisiana. David Leibovitz has a simple one. I just looked at a few recipes on line. None of them include horseradish, which my mother always added to her sauce. And I seriously doubt she ever used anchovies, but I'm not positive. She always served it as an app with a variety of other non-finger foods for a cocktail hour. She must have grated it by hand, which isn't a easy chore, since she never owned a processor. I also like it cooked and mashed with potatoes. Butter, cream, yum.

But isn't that exactly what it is? Cauliflower that's been "riced?" It imitates rice, but it's made from cauliflower, no? Surely the people that are into it are people who want foods that give am impression of carbs. as a base for other veggies or meats, but are in reality not carbs or grains. I admit I have never made it, as I am happy eating rice that looks like rice and cauliflower that looks like cauliflower. Maybe cauliflower rice would be a good way to make a veggie pancake. So far I have never felt the need for a vegetable to look like a grain or a grain to look like meat. The concept of being nostalgic for a hot dog and the fact of being a vegetarian is a tough one I guess. I haven't eaten beef for a couple of years now, but I will allow that if I ever get an overwhelming craving for a green chile burger I will make my own and enjoy the hell out of it without any guilt. After all, only one serving of beef per year is still a reasonable contribution to the general good. But then I don't eschew beef because I think it's unhealthy, but because it seems like one small way I can help the planet. I know my personal choice makes a minimal impact, given the consumption of beef in this country, but it's something I can do.

Applesauce, puree sweet potatoes and bourbon back.

Lacking a recent roast chicken carcass, I typically use mostly backs and the rest wings and feet. If I can get an old bird instead, that would be excellent. Home made chicken soup is always win-win. Just breathing it while it's cooking has to be beneficial. Of course this time of year there's turkey soup, which hypnotized me while it's simmering away. Too incapacitated to make a real soup? Just drink a cup of turkey broth with a squirt of lime.

Yes, I think of simple chicken soup as comfort food: a little chicken, rice, carrots, maybe with an egg drizzled in. My mother always fed me chicken soup with rice and maybe a slice of toast when I was sick. She never made stock from scratch in her life. I use chicken stock for numerous soups, simple and not so simple. Soup in general is comforting, but if I'm under the weather it's most often very basic, maybe with a squeeze of lemon or lime juice. If I'm simply depressed chicken broth wonton soup might be my first choice!

When my daughter was at Berkeley High, 2002-2006, Boba tea was just becoming a thing around UC Berkeley. She raved about it and made me try it. Once. And that was enough for me. Maybe I managed to suck up one giant gluey ball in my giant straw.

Beans are not a grain!

Wheat. Hard to live without it, and I tried for a year. Most kinds of wheat noodles, yes. Farro and bulgur are regular residents. Farro for soups and salads. Bulgur=tabouli (essential for summer!) Couscous, good every once in a while for a change. Never had it made in the traditional slow cooked way, only the instant 5 minute thing, but I bet the real deal is great. Freekeh: jury is out, tried it only once. Rye. Technically a grass related to wheat. If you need to be gluten free don't eat it. Love it love it love it. Takes talent to use it in bread; the higher the percentage they harder it is to work with. My husband can attest to that. I miss New York. Rye is versatile and good for drinking. Barley. Mushroom and barley is a nostalgia casserole. If barley isn't a main ingredient in Scotch Broth it isn't Scotch Broth. Love it. Barley tea: weird. Buckwheat. Not a grain, technically a grass. Groats are horrid. Some buckwheat added to wheat products is really nice. Pancakes, Soba. In cookies and cakes. Quinoa. Also technically not a grain, it's a seed. BORRRING. Expensive, too. I lump it in with kale and I say the hell with it. Both are marketed as super healthy, but neither is really more healthy than the other pseudo grains or greens. Is corn a grain? Originally it was a grass. Often considered a grain. I like it in all its iterations except bourbon. Going to get out of bed now. Can't wait to have some toast.

Mmm. I see a Date Nut Bread in my very near future. I haven't made one for a few months. In early pandemic times I was making it every other week, like some mysterious addiction. The King Arthur recipe is excellent, by the way. I guess if you are making a multitude you need to find an easy way to chop them. I've come to the conclusion that the best dates for date and nut bread are dates that are not too fresh and not too dry. Just right.