Katie Meadow

So.....are the Anson Mills benne seeds essentially an heirloom variety of sesame seeds but with hulls still on them? I did a quick little search and there a lot of contradictory information about them. The most complete explanation I could find implies that the benne plants that came from Africa were used in all stages of growth and that benne seeds refers to a younger stage with hulls still on them. These were then toasted and used, hulls and all. My understanding is that sesame seeds were the kernels of older plants that were typically (like now) sold hulled, dried and toasted. That's the best I could come up with. I'll be amazed if I got this right, frankly, but apparentlyy it's a confusing topic. @Chris Hennesare you toasting them before using? I checked out a few recipes for the traditional wafers and most of them say to toast the seeds, implying that if you buy true benne seeds they do not come toasted the way sesame seeds do. I'm so hoping you will make some wafers with your Anson Mills seeds and provide an assessment! Otherwise I might have to do it myself, but right now I can't get myself to mail order one single thing more.

Looked them up, as I've never heard of them. Grown in WA they are a cross between a Golden D and something called a Topaz, which doesn't ring a bell. They are supposed to be non GMO. I asked my husband, who does the shopping, if he's seen them, but he didn't think so. Our weekly (now bi-weekly) market in Berkeley usually has a good variety of apples. It could be they were there and he didn't notice or was focussing on the apples he knows. I don't like Golden D either, but this sounds interesting. If they are sold as far south as Bakersfield and as far east as @Kim Shookyou would think the Bay Area would have them on the shelves.

@Kim Shookmy xmas breakfast has been bagels and lox for years now. I'm not a person who gets up early and turns on the oven in the kitchen. Ever. Once in a blue moon where there's nothing that can be fed to the toaster I can get my husband to make popovers, as he finds it rather brainless and fast.

If you are looking for tasty cooked smoke ham you might try using smoked ham shank instead of hocks. Better meat and more of it after simmering to make a broth for two or three hours, or whatever you are making that needs the flavor of smoked meat. From one large shank, after cooking, I can get a couple of cups of torn meat without gristle or fat. In my experience the meat from a hock is meager and not as succulent and the broth it results in is the same, but fattier.

@Chris Hennes you are an unflappable soul with a high level of tolerance. I can't tell you how sick I am of seeing cookbooks or even recipes on line that just don't get edited carefully. Maybe the publishers are short-staffed, try to rush the book into production or hire editors who are not qualified but work for a pittance (of course everyone in publishing works for a pittance.). Or maybe the poor frazzled editors are forced to work with entitled chefs who don't meet their deadlines. I hope you got the book from the library and didn't have to buy it. I suspect that librarians generally are pretty patient people; if I had to witness the thousands of dog-eared pages in returned books every day I would be a screaming lunatic. With regards to that recipe, where do you buy benne seeds or for that matter cowpeas? I get that this book is full of regional recipes from various places, but it sounds like a lot of sourcing is involved for these meals. Does Norman OK have a population that supports that kind of shopping? Or do you mostly rely on mail ordering?

Bloody Mary with either edamame or Cheetos or both Bloody Mary with Gabrielle Hamilton's celery toast Martini and salted peanuts Dirty martini and roast almonds Gin and Tonic and chips w/salsa or just about anything else Ice cold vodka and caviar (okay, that one's been a while, but it doesn't get old in memory) Corpse Reviver and castelvetrano olives What an endless topic. And it should really be in a cocktail thread. Cheers!

If using only russets, and it seemed like there was a lot of potato starch, I might add half of it back in. If using half russets and half yukons I probably would all of it back in.

To be honest he creeps me out as a gingerbread man. But he would be creepier still as a jello man.

I remember the recipe being simpler, and specifying the use of both russet and yukons, grated together.

Thanks, yes I hate cleaning my blender as much as I hate using it. I'll read some Bamix reviews and see if anyone else chimes in here.

Amazing! Gobsmacked over your output and the fruitcakes' longevity. I'm going to crawl back into bed for a nap now.

The side of a mountain in Asia?

I swear by my Le Creuset 5.5 qt round dutch oven. It is in use at least two or three times a week for beans or soups. No doubt other brands of enamel coated cast iron work as well, but I particularly love this size. Does everyone love their Bamix? I've developed a hatred for my mediocre blender. So I'm considering asking for a Bamix for a gift. Would it smooth puree a potful of say leeks and potatoes, say in the volume of my Creuset? Oh, and while we are at it, which models are liked best? Pretty sure I'm not wanting to spend on deluxe or priciest models. Also not ready to spring for a high end blender like BlendTec or Vitamix. I've never owned a stick blender, so my knowledge of them is zilch.

If you do make those new genius latkes please do post the results with your usual stringent critique.

A million years ago Rachel Perlow came up with a recipe for latkes that used both russets and yukons. Very good. It's probably on eG somewhere.

Okay, a wild leap: D'Artagnan is shipping you a Great Bustard in seven days?

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.