Katie Meadow

That's pretty much my preferred way to to eat fresh chokes. If I am really impatient I don't even make a dip for them. Often when I prep them like that I put them on pizza or pasta with red sauce. I top the pasta with them at the last minute so they don't get uncrisp. They are a pain to be sure, but so yummy. My mother was over the moon about artichokes when I was growing up; she steamed them whole and dipped the leaves in a simple olive oil and lemon dressing. When I moved to CA I discovered everyone dipped 'em in mayo, straight from the jar.

I was hoping the liquid chicken latte would not ever be mentioned again. But between that, the coffee concoction and raisinets and a dead bass, let's do lunch instead of breakfast.

I like chocolate chips in oatmeal cookies, although oatmeal cookies have never been my favorites. Anna, until five minutes ago I would have followed you anywhere, but raisins? They don't belong in cookies any more than they belong in rice pudding. Raisinets? That stuff that coats them is chocolate? Who knew?

I've learned that a purse or backpack and one bag are all I can stand to drag around. For more than a three week trip I might take a larger bag than a carry on, but I hate that. I might buy a ceramic knife when I got there; they are cheap, and can do without sharpening for weeks. My way of dealing with the situation would be to adapt to the lousy minimal supplies, make one-pot meals, etc. Being me I would probably make large pots of something that I could have as leftovers if I didn't want to go out. I would be pretty irritated if I didn't have a toaster, though, but good sandwiches can be made with just a skillet, especially if you pick up some interesting artisan British pickles to add to a curried chicken sandwich. And right now I wish I had some great cheddar so I could make a grilled cheese sandwich. The options, including great cheeses and yummy breads, must be fantastic at the Borough market. If anyone can be creative with limited pots and pans it's gotta be you, Chris. I'm so envious!

Okay, since it has been more than a year since I made this, I can't really remember. But being me, most likely I used bone-in skin-on thighs and put them in whole. I might have even used whole leg/thigh pieces, which I do frequently, mostly because my favorite chicken comes that way. Also I must have served them whole, right from the pot. Chicken with skin and bones typically contributes more flavor to a dish, but I don't see why you couldn't use skinned and boned thighs if that's what you like. I wouldn't cut it up first, though; you could cut it into large pieces right before you serve it, or give your guests knives, so they can do whatever they like. If you cut it up first it will cook fast, and your sauce won't be as flavorful. Lucky Peach techniques seem pretty reliable to me, so I'm thinking if they don't specify the chicken be skinned or cut up they probably don't mean it to be done. After reading my post I realize I really haven't cooked much from the book. Got side-tracked, what else is new.

Mmm....Scotch Broth! Such a treat. Make your stock with the lamb bone and and the usual veggie suspects the day before and it's all easy.

I never did pick up the cold pizza habit; we didn't have leftover pizza when I grew up. You bought it by the slice when you were out doing whatever. My dad was very fond of the pizza over on East 86th St in NY, which is where he would often take us when we were out doing weekend things. I don't recall my parents EVER getting a whole pizza--take out or delivery--for dinner. We make our own pizza now, and are very happy to have leftovers either for breakfast or lunch, but I still like mine hot and crispy. Our pizza is thin-crust, with a thin layer of tomato sauce and modest amounts of cheese and topping. I've never owned a toaster oven and I am far too lazy to preheat the oven at breakfast. So believe it or not, we put slices in the toaster. One pass is all it takes to crisp up the crust and melt the cheese. So incredibly easy. But if you have a thick floppy pizza with massive toppings I would caution against it if you have any feelings for your toaster. Which I do.

It is possible that CA grown Lundberg rice has not only less dust but less starch. When I get my Royal rice I am definitely going to try washing it various times to see how the end results compare: distinct grains vs sticky grains, etc. I am cooking lots of Chinese stir-fry these days, and have to say that I am pretty adept at eating distinct grains of basmati rice with chopsticks; wooden chopsticks, that is. I can imagine that the plastic jobs they give you in restaurants would make for a challenge if you didn't have at least somewhat sticky rice.

Clearly there are many ways to cook rice. I have been cooking long grain rice for a million years; lately I have been using local CA Lundberg organic rice. I don't rinse it and I don't soak it. I toast it in a little butter and salt, then add water, about 2 cups of water to 1 cup of rice, or slightly less. I let it come to a high simmer, turn the flame way way down, cover it, and cook until it just barely begins to stick to the bottom of the pan, somewhere between 10 and 15 minutes, although I don't time it. Just as it is starting to stick I turn off the flame and let it sit another few minutes off the burner, still covered. This will usually unstick any stuck rice. Then I take off the cover and let it sit another minute or two to let out the dampness. I wouldn't call the result "fluffy" exactly, but then I'm not sure what that means. My rice comes out distinct, not too soft, not mushy, just how I like it, so I'm good with that. But here's my question: it sounds like many of you rinse or soak Indian basmati rice. Do you do this to all long-grain rice? And why? Should I be washing my rice for health reasons? I would be very resistant to soaking my rice, since it takes too much planning or just too much brainwork. When I looked on Amazon this morning, aged Royal rice is now priced at $16 for 20 lbs. with free shipping. Shopping on Amazon is getting more like shopping for airline tickets the way prices bounce around. So I went for it. Strangely, smaller quantities cost at least as much for the same rice. Go figure.

rotuts, I did go to a couple of local Indian markets but saw no brands I recognized and the prices were not so great, either. Gettin' lazy in my old age, I suppose. Plus traffic in the Bay Area is so horrendous these days I'm at the point where I would rather stay home and read a book than drive around. We're going through rice like a house on fire, so I think 20 pounds is reasonable. Paul, I have looked for Tilda locally, but haven't seen it. The price on Amazon is scary: Tilda sells for $24 for 10 lbs, so more than twice the price or Royal or Himalayan Pride. I don't use a rice cooker, so I always cook my rice stovetop. I've been eating basmati rice for years. I use if for everything.

I'm considering buying basmati rice from Amazon. Royal, which says only "aged" is #20 lbs for $19.97, while Himalayan Pride is #20 lbs for $22.99. It says "aged min 1 year." I see a fair number of recs for Royal brand, but has anyone tried Himalayan Pride? The Royal includes free shipping for Prime members (I am one) but the Himalayan does not include shipping cost, so would be at least a few dollars more that just the product price.

A question about cornmeal use in bread: My husband is really into baking bread these days, which of course is a very good thing. But we had a stupid argument this morning. He's about to bake the Seeded Wheat Bread from the Della Fattoria book (we've eaten it from their bakery in Petaluma CA) and the recipe specifies "polenta." Okay, I venture that at least half of you have had this discussion about polenta vs grits vs cornmeal vs corn flour and all the permutations in between. My take on polenta vs grits is that one is the Italian way of making corn meal mush and one is the southern US way. Although in my experience a greater percentage of polenta is sold finely ground and grits is often a coarse grind, that doesn't change the fact that it is all ground corn and can be white or yellow, fine or coarse, depending on your upbringing or your texture preferences. I don't make polenta any more. I make grits, and I buy it stone-ground from Geechie Boy on Edisto Island and it is relatively coarse. I'm an addict. If I were making an Italian dish that suggested serving it on a puddle of polenta I would make my Geechie Boy grits and be a happy camper. If a recipe for cake included "fine grind polenta" I would grind up my Bob's cornmeal a bit and go with that. In well-stocked shops that sell a lot of Italian products you can find polenta in different grinds. When my husbands shops the bulk isle at Berkeley Bowl he finds just one product labeled "polenta" and he says it is coarser than Bob's medium grind corn meal. BB Probably simplifies to one grind for those who are less discriminating and who prefer to buy in bulk. They probably also sell various grinds of polenta in packages in a different isle. So the main question is this: if a recipe for bread says simply "polenta" what would you do? Personally I would decide for myself whether I liked my cornmeal medium or fine grind for any given loaf and I would use the Bob's medium ground cornmeal as is or grind it just a bit more if I wanted it finer. But my husband seems stuck in a loop which does not involve taking MY WORD FOR IT. Andiesenji and many others can no doubt make quick work of this morass. Thanks in advance!

Said there was one left, but when I put it in my cart it said sold out.

Remember the Bangles? Didn't they have a song "Walk like an Egyptian Onion"? What a fabulous name for a humble little allium.

Doesn't your mother have to watch her cholesterol? Diabetes is complicated and I don't really know much about it. Does your mother have to watch the amount of starch and simple carbs or things that turn into sugars? One of my favorite breakfasts is left-over grits; takes too much time to make grits in the morning, at least real grits. I make mine with some low fat milk, and no cheese. I have to limit my cholesterol, though I am not diabetic. Whole wheat toast is always good. Spread something healthy on it. Avocado, nut butters, whatever is not bad for her. I like a little ricotta and fresh slices of tomato on toast. Potatoes are a pretty classic breakfast, and can be good lots of ways: home fries, potato pancakes, etc. Ever have red flannel hash? Made with beets--very healthy! No need for pork in that. As for fiber, sweet potatoes (especially the orangey red ones labeled "yams" are king! I could easily eat a hot sweet potato with nothing more that a touch of butter and a few grains of salt. Personally I'm not big on meat for breakfast, nor do I eat eggs for breakfast, and like others have suggested, breakfast is just another meal, limited only by health restrictions and imagination. It might be useful for the original poster to list the other big no-no's, so readers can feel challenged without wasting time or contributing to a well meaning but growing pile of misinformation. Good luck! I just read the two posts upthread and now I am totally confused.

Bump! I will be in Savannah in early May. Any new ideas? Never been there. I'm leaning toward seafood, local fresh fish I can't get on the West Coast, soft shell crabs, anything really good, local produce. Special funky joints, fun atmosphere. Not interested in anything Paula Deenish. Upscale for a splurge okay, but not stuffy. Thanks for any help!

Haman was a wicked wicked man, and those look wicked good. Any pastry filled with mohn is in my wheelhouse. I grew up a half block from Lichtman's Hungarian Bakery in NY (and around the corner from Barney Greengrass deli). I'm surprised everyone in my family didn't look like blimps. Lichtman's made a roll that was slightly rectangular, and they sold stale slices that I think they must have pre-toasted and you could then pop them in your own toaster and eat them hot, slathered with butter. The only thing better than mohn filling was toasted mohn filling. That really was the most fabulous bakery. Long gone. Spell check kept trying to correct my description to "moon filling!" Clearly spell check didn't grow up on the upper west side.

If you were on the fence about buying an Instant Pot that mouse trap image is for sure going to send you scurrying out into the snow to find one, right? Just make sure you look inside it first.

That's brilliant. I'm going to make leek and potato soup one night soon for dinner and make sure there are leftovers for breakfast. This would be a real departure for me, although I would have pho for breakfast if it was delivered by a cart, which means I never do. Generally I swear by non-variety for breakfast; ninety nine times out of one hundred it's toast, just toast. Almost always with home made marmalade, once in a while with cinnamon sugar. In the summer when there are good tomatoes, every so often I really like toast with ricotta and a slice with a little salt. One thing I would never turn down is a toasted bagel with cream cheese and lox. If someone else makes it for me I will eat steel cut oats, but only rarely. I dislike going out for breakfast or brunch and if, god forbid, the newspaper isn't delivered, I get agitated. I love reading this thread because it is so not me. Although the pictures of poached eggs make me somewhat ill. In the morning, along with not much variety, I prefer not cooking and not talking. The not talking thing has driven my husband wild for nearly forty years. Right now it is 2am, so I might be just a tad grumpy at breakfast.

@shain That kadaif video is a total treat; just amazing.

No interest in picking them for yourself? There must be an active mycological society on Vancouver Island. I know how secretive mycologists and especially professional pickers can be, but the mycological society in SF, to which I belonged for a few years, did have some generous individuals happy to make new friends and looking for company on excursions. Those prices you are quoting --under $10 a pound--sound far too good to be true. If they are in fact getting that low of a price they must be cutting deals with some restaurants for exclusive sales. And now that I think about it, I can't imagine pickers sharing info with each other, but maybe things are different up there. Anyway, good luck! I know how good Matsutakes are.

I'm confused. How would a grinder help if the salt is already super fine? As finishing salt, a shaker might not be the best way to regulate dispensing it. Maybe just a teensy bowl and a teensy spoon? I use a teensy bowl and pinch with my fingers to get the best control when using finishing salt for the two of us. If serving a crowd I would provide a teensy spoon in case anyone would consider the alternative unsanitary. If I am salting cookies I also use my fingers for accuracy, and assume that any errant germs get baked out. Salts vary so widely in so many ways; pinching is very effective!

I am partial to Lundberg's organic CA white basmati. Amazon has a pretty good deal on it right now if you buy it through Prime Pantry ($3.49 for 32 oz), but generally it isn't cheap. Next time I am at an Indian market I will look for Tilda and try it. We eat a lot of rice, typically 5 dinners a week, one way or another.

Comparing tomato soup made in the summer from juicy ripe tomatoes to winter soup made from good quality Italian canned tomatoes is like comparing apples to oranges. They are simply different, and if you want a yummy bowl of soup in the winter you gotta go with canned tomatoes. I like to cut canned tomatoes in half and roast them in the oven to boost their flavor. And recently I learned a new trick: how to make smoky tomato soup. Of course there are many ways to do that, one being to use smoked paprika. But if you are going for smokiness that isn't paprika or chipotle flavored try this: steep some lapsang souchong tea in hot broth for a few minutes before adding the broth (or water) to the pot. Strictly up to you how much to use, and it doesn't make the soup taste like tea, if you are wondering. It's Campfire Tomato Soup. And if you don't have enough bread for grilled cheese sandwiches try making cheesy pan-fried croutons and add them before serving.

I have one of those paddles with holes but until thirty seconds ago I had absolutely no idea what it was for. I acquired it when cleaning out my mother's apartment and I find that it works very effectively for grating whole nutmeg. As for hard cheeses, I like to grate them on the box grater. I'm partial to the second smallest side, which yields fluffy little strands rather than dust.