&roid

The Guardian have just released a companion app for their Feast supplement (weekly magazine that comes with the Saturday paper). https://www.theguardian.com/help/insideguardian/2024/apr/17/introducing-the-feast-app I've only had a brief look at it but it seems really nicely designed and has a few handy features like the ability to save notes for recipes and a cook along feature that keeps the screen live with easy step by step instructions. It also has in-app conversions for US measurements/temperatures if you're so inclined. The main draw for me is the recipe quality is really good, I love sitting down with my Saturday morning coffee and picking out a dish or two for our weekly menu. It's subscription based but at £29 a year it feels a decent deal. Six month free trial too. Example recipe which we had for dinner tonight was the chipotle chicken and black-eyed bean salsa from here

I had a wolf five burner cooktop for some years then upgraded to the 4+grill rangetop in 2018. the rangetop is a big step up in terms of cooking power and feels a lot more robust. The knobs on my cooktop broke after a few years and with the way they’re designed would need replacing quite often. Having said that, the knobs on the rangetop aren’t perfect either - the one for the burner I use most has started to develop a bit of drift which is annoying. Overall I’d get one again as they cook really well and look great. the range of power available on the burners is phenomenal - can go from directly melting chocolate (no double boiler) to a nuclear sear on the same ring. I don’t think I’d bother with the grill though - I was so excited to have one of these, thought I’d cook on it all the time but the truth is I use it less and less. It’s probably been a year since it was last lit. The issues with it are that its heat is really uneven, it cremates some parts while others are barely touched and it’s really messy and unpleasant once you’ve used it. I even bought grill grates for it a bit ago. I want to love it but the truth is it’s nowhere near an outdoor gas grill. Given my time over I’d try the plancha instead. if you want any pics or have any specific questions I’d be happy to help.

I was going to post exactly this. I’ve been amazed with the results of this technique - makes a massive difference to the smoke production.

They do look good though! I reckon you could trim the prep down and have an even better dish by skipping the peeling stage and simply microwaving them in a bowl covered with plastic wrap. This is probably my favourite way of dealing with asparagus as it gives beautiful bright green spears, with none of the flavour leached out into the boiling water. It’s easy to get doneness just right too.

I love shrimp tacos - dust the shrimp in seasoned flour then fry to crisp up and just cook. Top with avocado, lettuce, pickled red onions and maybe a lime/sriracha mayo.

Beef cheeks are one of my favourite cuts and would make a great peposo. They make for a nice neat presentation too with a lot less waste than short ribs (when properly trimmed). The main thing to bear in mind with them is that they need a lot of cooking to make sure you render out all the collagen. You want them to be fully probe tender before serving. Once you get to that point, reducing some of the cooking liquid and glazing them up is great.

This sounds like a fun trip Lasagne is a go to of ours for feeding groups, super easy to make the ragu ahead of time, even assemble the whole thing. then you’re only half an hour away from eating. Curry would be another - maybe a meat dish and a chickpea one with a salad. Very easy to scale up. Last suggestion would be a slow roast lamb shoulder or two. 5-6 hours of unattended cooking will make the backbone of a great meal.

We’ll be staying in soho but will be in most places south of the park during our stay. I love Neapolitan and New York style pizzas so if there are any truly great options there I’d be delighted. Also any great Detroit style options we should look at for a bit of variety?

I’m coming back to NYC in a few weeks, for the first time since pre-covid. Any can’t miss pizza places fellow gulleters would recommend?

I enjoyed the latest episode of the Empire podcast. Some great background on Indian food, I was particularly taken by how close the food of Tudor England and India were at the time. Also how late potatoes and chillies came into the food of the subcontinent. https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/empire/id1639561921?i=1000647120993

I know what you mean but I’m sure there were plenty of horsemen and coach drivers who said similar about internal combustion engines, “pah! These new fangled cars will never take off. Who would even fix them!” it feels almost inevitable that we’ll all have cheap, scalable power storage in our homes. Whether these guys and this idea works out, who knows. But a current lack of repairmen isn’t the issue.

You can but catering packs like this, they don’t work out much cheaper (if at all) than regular supermarket 280g packs but less waste https://www.marcoalimentari.com/online-store/PHILADELPHIA-CREAM-CHEESE-1-65kg-p131478726?gclid=CjwKCAiA75itBhA6EiwAkho9eyd58RLmnVtgs5nsGZVq5CqZiKGSjDSPcGf-gM5f5x2biNmm1s3eZxoCsfIQAvD_BwE Costco might well sell larger amounts, will have a look next time I’m in there

Farro is great. Makes a brilliant filling for a nice squash like a delicata. Cook the grains first with some stock and aromatic veg then stuff the squash and roast - I like it topped with cheese such as talleggio or a soft blue.

“Change my life”? In that I’ll have start eating bad eggs? I’m ok thanks

this one ⬆️ that @lindag posted above is great. I just bag the cubes up when the hopper gets full and store them in my freezer to use when they’re properly cold and dry.