Chris Hennes

Good plan - the recipe isn't really that sensitive to the precise amount of liquid.

Your vegetables are definitely going to wind up colored by the wine, but you still should be able to get it down to a more glaze-like consistency (sorry I don't have a volume yield for you, just a texture). How vigorously are you reducing it? It really shouldn't take more than 45 minutes or so to reduce a bottle of wine, but it will depend on the surface area of your cooking pan and how high the heat is.

I had missed this update, but honestly I'm glad it was delayed. I anticipate running my oven full tilt after it arrives, and summer is not an ideal time to be doing that in Oklahoma!

Even though you don't expect an eggless bread pudding to rise, I'd still be leery of filling the pan all the way up to its brim. So if I was you I'd aim for more like a 1.5" thick layer. And despite the name of the recipe, it doesn't actually have that much butter in it. I'd never make the substitution of butter for margarine, but it probably won't kill the recipe.

"Cheap" is not usually used to describe anything in the tourist areas of London, but I've had a number of excellent low-cost meals at various places in the Borough Market (worth visiting in its own right).

I am protected by my carry-on only traveling policy. No room to bring anything in also means no room to bring anything out. Great location though, it's near where we will be staying when in the city proper.

I hadn't really thought about a scale. I probably won't be using any recipes while there, but I hadn't really considered anything Modernist. A cheap restaurant supply skillet might be a worthwhile purchase, the one in the apartment is usually pretty beat up. What kind of store will I find a silicone lid in?

Good idea. Can't do it with a knife (signature required on blades), but for other stuff it will work. Suggestions for cheap things I can just leave in the apartment when I am done? A cutting board, of course, but what else should I be considering?

Yeah, that's a great idea. While obviously for some travels I can pack things to bring, for this particular trip everything needs to be purchased in situ or improvised.

True, but we don't have to limit the discussion to that scenario, I can steal ideas from others' travels.

I spend a few weeks a year in the London area, and much as I like to dine out, given the ingredient options available at places like the Borough Market I do a fair bit of cooking as well. Last year I thought I was going to lose a finger and my hearing to their awful knives and glass(!) cutting board. I travel carry-on only, so I can't bring a knife, but I think I'm just going to buy one when I get there and leave it. Cutting boards are cheap, I'll do the same there. What other strategies do you all have for cooking in a poorly-appointed kitchen?

I don't know if this is where you saw it, but he's got a recipe for "Rice pudding with dried cherries and blueberry sauce" in Heart & Soul in the Kitchen that uses leftover rice.

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What is this "leftover pizza" of which you speak? (For the record, I use the skillet method of reheating, but have never considered trying to actually transform the pizza into something else... besides putting it in a frittata, what other things can you do with it?)

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Quality in what sense? As far as I am concerned, quality in cookware is the ability to do the job you need it for. What do you hope to gain with a different construction?

Tonight for dinner I made blueberry cornmeal waffles. I started from Dorie Greenspan's recipe for Crispy Cornmeal Waffles (previously reported on here), but made some modifications. First, I eliminated the 1/4 cup maple syrup and replaced it with 2 Tbsp white sugar. Then I replaced some of the buttermilk with the juice of two lemons, plus their zest. Finally, I folded in a ginormous amount of frozen blueberries (probably 1 1/2 cups total). Baked as normal these came out crispy on the outside and cornmeal-gritty on the inside, with a ton of blueberry flavor and just a hint of lemon. I personally thought they were great . Here's the recipe I wound up with: Blueberry Lemon Cornmeal Waffles Whisk together: 1 cup AP flour 1 cup coarse-ground cornmeal 2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 2 Tbsp sugar In a separate bowl, whisk together 1 3/4 cups buttermilk Juice of two lemons Zest from those lemons 2 large eggs Whisk wet and dry ingredients together until relatively smooth (I don't find gluten formation to be a problem, so don't worry about it). Add: 4 Tbsp melted butter Stir or whisk to combine. Add: 1 1/2 cups blueberries (or whatever you've got, fresh or frozen) Stir. Bake in a Belgian-style iron to your preferred taste and serve immediately, clustered around the waffle iron if need be. I didn't try holding them, but wouldn't get my hopes up. I don't think they need a topping at all, but I rarely do. This recipe made five waffles in my iron, with about 1 cup of batter per waffle.

I don't find the flavor combination of cherries or cranberries and cinnamon to be particularly appealing, so I'm not sure there's a lot of point in using this recipe as a jumping-off point.

Cinnamon-Raisin Whole Wheat Waffles (p. 38) I skipped her "Velvet Cream Cheese Spread" topping for these waffles, to their detriment I think. The waffles themselves are fine, but truth be told raisins are never going to be my favorite thing, whereas cream cheese frosting definitely makes that list. If I make these again I will definitely make her suggested topping.

It depends on the waffle - some are crispy, some are not. And some are crispy when very fresh, but lose it quickly. For the crispest possible waffles you might take a look at Air Waffles. I've also had good luck with these yeasted waffles.

Mustard Waffles with Chunky Egg Salad (p. 82) These are a basic savory buttermilk waffle with added dijon mustard, black pepper, and chives. They are served with egg salad: she provides a recipe, which I more or less ignored. I did make mine with her suggested amount of mustard, but used gherkins and capers instead of red, green and yellow peppers. I ate the first waffle like a civilized human being, sitting at my table, waffle on a plate (though I ate it with my fingers, so maybe not too civilized). It was good, but not amazing. The second waffle I at as fresh as possible, peeling it off the iron, smearing it with egg salad, and eating it within seconds without giving it time to cool or soften. Excellent.

Polenta Waffles with Creamy Goat Cheese Sauce (p. 158) Despite Greenspan's comments to the contrary, I still sort of expected these to be denser than they actually turn out to be. Despite being almost entirely polenta, the little bit of flour and baking soda give enough lift and structure that they are actually very light, soft and tender. The flavor was pleasant if a bit nondescript. The goat cheese sauce is just goat cheese and milk with a little Herbes de Provence.

Spicy Ricotta Waffles with Grilled Pepper Strips (p. 140) The waffles themselves are pretty straightforward, with the addition of ricotta and copious amounts of black pepper. By themselves they actually come out tasting very eggy, which was sort of interesting since the actual amount of egg in them is no different from any other waffle in the book. The red pepper topping goes well with them, though a bit of acid would have been nice. All told I'd be inclined to serve these with a dollop of ricotta on top, and some tart tomatoes added to the red peppers layered over that.

PB&J Waffles (p. 92) These are really peanut butter waffles with jelly as the topping. I think Greenspan missed an opportunity here by designing these for kids (the whole chapter is called "Just for Kids"). There's no reason an adult wouldn't like a peanut butter waffle, but they needed more crunch and more peanut flavor. The recipe calls for crunchy peanut butter and leaves it at that. My inclination would be to make them with smooth peanut butter, potentially increasing the quantity a bit, and then to fold in a large quantity of coarsely chopped roasted peanuts before baking. I think you could also cut back on the sugar and add salt (I did add salt, but could have added more). Since the outside of these waffles is not crispy, something with more texture would be nice. Then you could top them with gochujang instead of jelly .

Mashed Potato Waffles with Garlic-Rosemary Oil (p. 137) Another savory waffle, this one reminiscent of knishes and pierogies. The seasonings are onion, olive oil, salt and pepper. Her serving suggestion was a garlic-and-rosemary-infused olive oil, which was fine but really sort of superfluous. The waffles are crisp for a few seconds right out of the iron, but that fades fast. I think they might be more interesting texturally if you added cheese to them to get those little crispy bits, then maybe some chives, and served with sour cream.