Katie Meadow

Another way to look at that comment is that if you can't taste the liver, then what's the harm in leaving it out? Life is short. Make a banh mi with foods you love. Traditional foods originated by way of what was available. Liver isn't available to you. I was far too lazy to get any pate for my meatloaf banh mi and it was delicious and was not missed.

Banh Mi has been a favorite in our house ever since I first discovered Andrea Nguyen's Into the Vietnamese Kitchen. I make her carrot and daikon pickle, which is simple and so addictive! I have also made her char siu, as well as other recipes for that staple. I use a little Maggi in mayo for the spread, the usual sliced cukes, sprigs of cilantro and jalapeños to taste. If I don't have any fresh hot peppers I just squirt in some Sriracha. For me, the whole idea of a sandwich is to make life a bit easier, so I don't make my own bread. My favorite bread is simply a good baguette. That's a bit crustier than the traditional roll, but there are such great baguettes here in the Bay Area to me it's a no-brainer. I can't imagine that a good baguette would stop anyone from eating a banh mi. Someone (maybe Andrea?) suggests using the Mexican bolillos, which are fresh and easily available if you have a big Hispanic market near by. For the pate I rely on a very standard rather smooth chicken liver pate from my local fine foods market. Just not gonna make my own pate. I've used all kinds of meat besides char siu: grilled shrimp, bbq chicken, roast duck purchased in Chinatown. Once I made it with spicy Asian flavored pork butt, really pulled pork. All good! Most recently I used left over home made meatloaf and no pate and it was great. I have also used a coarse country-style pork pate and no other pate or meat, and that works too. The terrific thing about banh mi sandwiches is how versatile they are. If I could only take one kind of sandwich to a desert island, this would be it.

Two cookbooks: Lucky Peach 101 etc. and Zahav. Food/alcohol gifts: Australian soft black licorice, some excellent salted caramels w/dark chocolate made by my SIL and a lovely bottle of Moscato di Nonino grappa, which is really really yummy. Where has that been all my life?

I've had Mast chocolate once, a few years ago. I thought it was terrible--very off flavor as noted in the article cited. Also very pricey, and for that kind of money there are lots of yummy bars out there.

I agree that a relatively fine grind Italian polenta is a good place to start. What exactly do you mean by creamy? That could mean silky smooth, but also rich and tasting of high fat dairy. Usually I make a coarser grind of cornmeal packaged as grits, but in a pinch, if I want a fine grind, I just grind it some more. How long you cook it and the ratio of grain to liquid is also going to make a difference. One important thing is to avoid lumps at the beginning by making sure you shake your polenta gradually into the boiling water, either thru your fingers or through a strainer, and stir well, not only in the beginning but throughout the process. I usually add milk, not cream, but I don't see how adding cream would not make the end result "creamier." I sometimes add a bit of creme fraiche near the end, but the possibilities are endless: chèvre, various cheeses, etc. I've seen recipes that only use milk or dairy, but the ones I like start with water, then add the milk or cream in a couple of increments as the polenta or grits cooks down.

Just an idea: you might try finding a Daisy Martinez recipe for stewed chicken or Guisado. Her influences are mostly Puerto Rican, but she gets around. And her basic sofrito has proved very useful for a variety of things.

At the risk of insulting the people who submitted the following recipes to Tastespotting and other sites (or those of you here who might be positively disposed toward any of the following dishes), I'm very sorry, but so help me but I thought these were terribly funny. Not to mention just plain terrible. Avocado banana bread S’mores croissants Lentil and walnut soft tacos Shredded hoisin-blackberry chicken tacos Cheesesteak pizza Ricotta pastrami sandwich with raw onion on ciabatta Hatch chile smoothie Guacamole with blue cheese and smoked almonds Blue cheese, raspberry and basil sandwich (no theme for these last two, I'm love blue cheese on a cracker) Vegan Bolognese with cashew parmesan topping Broccoli and grape salad Dairy-free Lasagne with Tempeh Ragu and Celeriac Puree. Recipe includes something referred to as vegan mozzarella, whatever that might be. Pumpkin Cranberry Jello Shots. Includes 2 types of Vodka, Southern Comfort, canned pumpkin, cranberry gelatin and heavy cream. Irish Elvis Truffle. White chocolate dyed green with peanut butter and banana cream filling with bacon sprinkled on top

a : http://stores.ebay.c...la-Products-USA It won't help you with vanilla bean paste, but I second scubadoo's source, Vanilla Products USA, which I order via eBay. Beans have been very fresh, and, depending upon quantity ordered, the price works out to be under a dollar per bean. For some recipes that specify 1 vanilla bean I often use 1/2 one bean since they are nice and plump and often 7 inches long.

Actually a stew sounds good, maybe a lamb stew? The more I eat these peppers--and they really are quite hot--the more they remind me of harissa flavor. For my first espelette dish today's lunch was patatas bravas, going with a Spanish theme. I added a spoonful or two of the roasted peppers, finely chopped, toward the end of the cooking process as the potatoes were starting to get crusty. They already were dusted with ample amounts of smoked paprika. I served them with a garlic aioli. Very good. My husband thought the potatoes could use more heat, so he dished out some extra roasted peppers. On the side we had sliced tomatoes topped with sautéed okra. Potatoes, peppers, okra and tomatoes, all from the farmers' market. Tomorrow my nephew and his girlfriend will be over for dinner, and since they both like hot food, I'm going to make a version of chicken Basquaise that roasts with peppers and tomatoes. Hopefully I will have a tablespoonful left for scrambling the next morning. These peppers are really quite great, and don't taste like anything else. My plan is to buy a bunch more next weekend (if they still have them) and roast some to keep in the freezer. I'm curious as to why these particular locally grown espelettes have so much heat, I can only assume it is a combination of environmental factors, the same way jalapeños and poblanos can run the gamut from mild to fiery. Of course they were grown very far from their namesake village.

Yesterday at the Berkeley Farmers' market I bought some beautiful fresh espelette peppers. I don't think I've seen them before. Since I'm not really fond of sautéed peppers I roasted and peeled them just as I would for fresh green chiles. They are really delicious and different, and pretty hot, although that isn't what literature on these peppers would suggest. They were in fact marked "hot" at the market, so I shouldn't be surprised. I'm trying to think up ways to use them that are different than my usual uses for green chiles, although scrambled with eggs would make my husband very happy. The only other idea I have come up with is to make some version of Chicken Basquaise, for which I really don't have a recipe, but could probably wing it. So, if anyone has another idea for showcasing these yummy hot peppers, please point me in that direction, or if you have a favorite recipe for Basque Chicken that would be useful. I do happen to have a few slices of bacon that could be enlisted. I'm sure a Spanish tortilla or some kind of quiche would be good, but I don't do butter pastry or rich dairy, so custardy dishes, sadly, are best avoided. Thanks!

Chileheadmike, how sad for your dad; whenever he helped in the kitchen he would weep. Maybe that's why your mom didn't give him more tasks. Must be the hushed reverence of it all just got to him. What a sweetie.

Ewww, I admit I watched the whole thing, but couldn't help cringing at any number of things, including the Skype with the parents, who really turned up the schmaltz factor, the shrimp that continued to wiggle after something Game of Thrones-like was done to it and the general non-stop worship at the altar of food in the stratospheric price category. I would have liked to see Phil Skype with his kids, presumably old enough to say, "Ewww, Dad that's disgusting." Also, if it was my show, I would Skype with my dead parents and add a spiritual dimension that appeals to a broader section of the American audience.

Between the toxin issue and the deteriorating coral reef issue you have a couple of good reasons to hesitate. A third reason might be high levels of pollution in the Gulf of Tonkin, although clearly a lot of people eat the fish that are farmed or caught there. I'm always a sucker for the "what is this?" threads; I'm amazed at what can be learned in two minutes.

Horse of a different color, you betcha.

http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/03/spanish-style-garlic-shrimp-gambas-al-ajillo.html Thanks, Huiray, the shrimp w/baking soda led me to this article, which has some very surprising things to say about head on shrimp vs beheaded. The whole discussion of crunchy Chinese shrimp is also very interesting. The truth is I don't like messing with raw shrimp, and when it ends up being mushy it's not worth the effort. Thanks to all who responded. I am becoming convinced that the issue really seems to be that traditional pickled shrimp are, by nature, as Tri2Cook notes, kind of rubbery; that it comes with the territory. I feel better already! I might try one more time, doing an even briefer pre-cook and a shorter time in the lemon/vinegar solution. Although if that means buying them the morning of, that could be a deal-breaker.

All I can say is thank god my daughter was in school before peanut butter was outlawed. For 13 years she mostly alternated between PB&J, turkey+lettuce and cream cheese+olive sandwiches. Hey, kid, you want a bento box with sushi and hard boiled eggs with kitty faces? Get a mother who is Japanese, or at least one who is awake. In elementary school she had a friend whose mother was so discombobulated when it came to lunches that every once in a while she would call me at 7am and ask me to maker her daughter a sandwich, because she was out of bread. Me, who could barely get it together to make one lunch for one kid. Now that takes nerve. I don't believe we were eating a lot of edamame in the 90's, but if I had to do it again, that would be a major food group. Anything that takes no last-minute prep. My daughter is now 27 and always eats her vegetables!

I can deal with inexact ingredients such as a pinch of this, a stalk of that, or even a recipe that suggests "one or two eggs," (assuming that the author is trustworthy enough and you feel confident assuming that he/she tried making it at least twice, using different amounts of egg and determining it was okay either way.) Of course the egg thing is complicated by the fact that eggs are generally much larger than they used to be. What I find annoying is when the ingredients are buried in the text so deep that you either miss one of them when you make your shopping list. That said, the historic or nostalgic value of a handed-down prose-like recipe has its own reason for being. However, that NYT article for the pickled shrimp, which I did in fact make, all but admitted that the editorial staff went out of their way to make the recipe seem....old. That's kind of stretching the charm factor.

I love the idea of pickled shrimp. You can buy it and make it a day ahead of serving. It seems like a great addition to many appetizer menus (especially if cheese sticks are present!) People like shrimp. I've tried quite a few recipes, but the shrimp always ends up dense and rubbery. All recipes start by pre-cooking the shrimp if only for a couple of minutes below a simmer. Then the shrimp take an acidic bath that seems to cook them further. Is there a way to make pickled shrimp that renders them tender and fresh tasting? Can you NOT pre-cook them and just let the lemon juice cook them as with ceviche? Last night I tried the recipe in last Sunday's NYT magazine. My husband and a friend ate them all up and claimed to like them very much. I thought they were tough and disappointing. It's not like I don't like shrimp, and I am buying wild caught good quality critters. Maybe I simply don't like them pickled?

PB + cheddar doesn't sound quite as horrid as PB + mayo on wonderbread. That's what my husband got for lunch.

After you replied I too googled the Peacotum. Indeed, we are getting them only from The Blossom Bluff stands at various farmers' markets. The article suggesting that it tastes like fruit punch is way off base and seems like a terrible insult; it is somewhat tart and mysterious tasting. The shifting color is other-wordly. I don't think the skin is fuzzy but maybe it is more velvety. I'm buying vast quantities every weekend, and as they get too ripe I throw them into smoothies. I may just go for broke (the stone fruits from most vendors in the Bay Area are hardly cheap) and try cooking up a peacotum compote. I wouldn't want to say that multiple times quickly.

This summer a new fruit arrived at the Berkeley Farmers' Market. Only one vendor seems to have it. It's called a Peacotum, and yes it is what you are guessing, but they could have come up with more appetizing name. I don't know the percentage of peach, apricot and plum. It could be a nectarine crossed with an apricot, in which case it should be called an Aptarine. They are beautiful, with a very smooth distinct pearly skin and very delicious, but also pretty fragile. They bruise easily and get overripe quickly, but when they are unblemished and just ripe they are fabulous. Far, far superior to most of the pluots we are getting regularly, although I know it isn't fair to compare them. Is any one else seeing these?

Mmm black currant sounds fantastic. I made a plum shrub this year, and it seemed pretty good, although truthfully I don't know how to judge it. I couldn't decide how best I liked it. Ultimately I threw it into a rhubarb compote for a little extra liquid, and that seemed pretty good, but how could rhubarb be bad? What are you planning?

A modest eww to your proposal. And thank you both so much for yet another vicarious island vacation for your readers. I don't know how you manage to cook and bake so much stuff in any given day, what with shopping expeditions (that include a relaxed lunch out), hospital hours and entertaining Kira. How much square footage of cabinet space does the liquor require? And do you drag the supply back home with you? Please don't tell me you use it all up the night before you leave. But that's the kind of genius and determination I have come to expect from the two of you.

The label on my Adams crunchy salted pb says that it is 100 percent natural, whatever that means. It contains only peanuts and salt. I believe it comes 4 ways: salted smooth, salted crunchy, unsalted smooth and unsalted crunchy. I prefer Adams over Laura Scudder, but that's my personal taste. It's been so many years since I bought anything besides Adams that I couldn't begin to describe the difference, except to guess that it isn't a deal breaker if you don't have a choice. Stirring is a bit of a drag, but not really a hardship. Oh yeah, I grew up on Jif and Skippy, etc. But now they just taste to me like plastic candy; not that that's necessarily a bad thing; maybe just right on a desert island, since it could be dinner and dessert in one jar. But they do taste pretty strange if you have not been eating sweetened peanut butter for many years.

So our schedule has become more wacky as we get older. I am retired, my husband works from home and we stay up late at night. We eat breakfast on the late side: a slice or two of toast for me, more slices for Eric and he also eats cold cereal with fruit (Hollow leg, and all that.) Sometimes in the winter we will cook steel cut oats. I might have a smoothie (at other peoples' lunchtime), or nibble on some fruit. We usually don't eat our main meal of the day until mid-afternoon (unless we have real dinner plans with friends or family) and we call it Linner. That happens around 3pm or 4pm, whenever I get it together to cook. Our third meal of the day is a snack, often for cocktail hour. A drink, maybe popcorn, crackers, small stuff. Or maybe dessert instead if we have anything that qualifies. I think that bears a close resemblance to dessert for dinner. Eric will occasionally need more food and he might make a sandwich afterwards, or polish off some leftovers.