kayb

Whew. Amazing all the guises in which batshit crazy shows up. (Pardon me; that isn't very sympathetic.) Props to you, Patti, for handling it well!

Welcome, Demy. Many chocolatiers on this forum (I am not one of them). You should be able to find a lot of information. Greek desserts -- my mind immediately goes to baklava. What are some others?

What a pretty cat!

No, I'd venture you'll be busy tending to babies and mom and dad. Enjoy! Murphy's is also a bakery, and does not appear to be very far from Decatur (just the other side of Druid Hills). Some good bakery things might be just the ticket for the new mother! Safe travels.

Depending on what kind of instant you use, that might be OK. I might go 1 tbsp per 8 oz for this.

Sorry, I wasn't clear. I meant, how were these particular mooncakes? And how long DO they last, anyway?

You should be able to find yellow watermelon in Atlanta in June, or at least after mid-June, pretty easily. I encourage you, depending on what part of town you're in, to eat at Murphy's Wine Bar in Virginia Highland. Probably my very favorite Atlanta restaurant. In the world of tomatoes, yellow ones are lower in acid than are red. So many people who can't eat the red ones because of reflux, etc., can eat yellow ones. My personal favorite is Carolina Gold, which I like to pair with Arkansas Travelers (red) and fried green tomatoes on a BLT. I do think red watermelons are more "watermelony" than the yellow ones. But I'd take either one!

As others have said, you're a better woman than I am. Particularly in my advancing years, I do not suffer fools gladly. And the sound of my mother's voice admonishing me, "If you can't say something nice, just hush!" gets fainter and fainter. Yep. What Kim said. I can't wait to hear the story of the one you sent home. Amazed at the people who don't know hamburger steak. It's my go-to when I'm hungry and don't know what I want. Onion and mushroom gravy, please. Re: dietary restrictions. I often don't say anything about needing to be gluten-free, in part because I can eat "around" most wheat-containing items, and in part because my celiac disease is not severe enough but what I can tolerate the amount of wheat in, say, a lot of Chinese sauces, or used to bread something, or even the (very) occasional roll or bun. Only place it's ever been a "nope, can't eat that" situation is at the "continental breakfast" at some hotels, particularly during Covid. The offerings have shrunk to packaged pastries and cereals, whole fruit, and maybe yogurt if you're lucky. I carry my protein shakes with me, usually. These are great stories.

@HungryChris used to do a great pickled asparagus and shared the recipe. As best I recall (I can't find his original post), he blanched the asparagus, put it in a jar into which he'd put salt, red pepper and a couple of crushed garlic cloves. Poured heated vinegar to the halfway point. Filled jar to shoulders with water; topped jar off with his favorite Italian dressing. Shook the whole thing and set it in the fridge. At least, that's what I remember of it, and when I caught asparagus at $1.29 a pound right before Easter, that's what I did with it. Good stuff.

Warning: long post. Because it was a dinner that calls for a long post and lots of pictures. I was in St. Louis this past week, and having had to miss my planned dinner at Bulrush year before last, I was determined to get there this time. And I did. And it was spectacular. The opener was a raspberry shrub-ish, non-alcoholic cocktail. Very tangy, very good. @gfron1 was on point from the very first course: This may have been my very favorite course of the night. The panna cotta was just very lightly sweet, the buttermilk foam was a wonderfully savory counterpoint. The asparagus sphere was a shell of -- maybe cocoa butter and something? It had a white chocolate-ish texture, but wasn't sweet. It encased a marvelous asparagus juice. The sliced asparagus and the tip were just very lightly steamed, and positively leapt with flavor. Next up: Apologies -- I had already eaten the radish and started to dive into the croquette when I remembered to take the photo. The pecan croquet was like a pecan bar, but savory; the concept had never occurred to me, but I liked it. It played wonderfully with the creamy mousse, which was also savory. I always thought of walleye as a Great Lakes fish, but apparently it is native to the Ozark plateau as well. Tremendously creative step of poaching it in rhubarb juice and vinegar, and the rhubarb compote, again, was just very lightly sweetened. Reminded me a bit of some of the fish I ate in Japan, where it was a regular on the breakfast buffet. Very rich and very tasty dish. We had different drinks with each course. This was the wine with the walleye. It was perhaps the best riesling I have ever had. I'm ordering a case ASAP. Then it was on to a playful take on French fries: Parsnip fries were good, but the beet ketchup stole the show. I don't like beets. This was superb. Made from trimmings from kitchen waste from a previous course that was beets three ways (I was not sorry I missed that one). Two pics of this one, because I loved the bowl. I contemplated licking the bowl on this one. Decided it wouldn't look very good. But I damn sure scraped it out. I really liked the Floriani grits -- a good, coarse grind. The whole dish was smoked with cherrywood, which wafted out when you removed the top. Pork was ground, SV'd and then smoked. Phenomenal. This was my other favorite course of the night. Main Course time: I wish I'd waited to photograph this until I'd drizzled the black walnut sap/sorghum on it. Chicken was breaded in rice flour. "Waffle" was crunchy. The syrup combo was wonderful. I have the liquid left from a jar of preserved black walnuts, and I have sorghum. It won't be as good as this, but I'm gonna try it. Finally: Dear Sweet Baby Jesus. I don't have a lot of experience with rhubarb, but this...this was wonderful. (Yes, I know I am overusing that superlative.) The goose egg custard was very rich and creamy; the hickory almond mousse was much less sweet and much lighter. The acorn miso oat crunch puts all other granola I've had to shame. Thank God it was small. Because had it been any larger, I would have probably died before I left any of it in that bowl. If the QR codes will scan (I may have lost too much resolution), they'll take you to a video of Rob describing each course. My dining companion said the walleye was his favorite. I'd rank the asparagus first, the pork second, and then the dessert. But I did not leave a single bite of any of them. Portions were perfectly sized for me; I left the restaurant full, satiated, but not miserable from having eaten too much. And there was not a thing on the menu I did not love. All in all, just a stunning, gorgeously done dinner. If you get a chance, go. Rob -- thank you for a great evening!

So. What's the take on mooncakes?

@Eatmywords, you are correct re: Elijah Walker. I mistyped. @TicTac -- Should you ever wish to road trip on vacation, hie yourself to the Brown Hotel in Louisville. They have a serious bourbon bar. I am not certain if they have Pappy, but would be badly surprised if they did not. Plus they have a fine selection of craft beers aged in bourbon barrels, which is a helluva lot better than it sounds. @whoever said it -- Re: Bulleit. I have a bottle in the liquor cabinet as we speak. My rye of choice.

I will testify to my bacon jam recipe, which @Kim Shook quotes. You can use whatever kind of chile powder floats your boat; ancho is not that hot, but I've used guajillo and pequeno when I've been out of ancho. The amount of chile listed is not enough to have much strength against the other strong tastes. I WILL advise to be certain your coffee is STRONG.

Update: I have cauliflower: and baby broccoli: And baby tomatoes. Also lots of lettuce, and I didn't check to see if the radishes and carrots were big enough to harvest yet.

None of 'em have pictures of Jesus. I'm holding out.

As a native Tennessean, I have a sort-of fondness for Jack Daniels, but you have to know how to drink it. It goes down well neat, or with one or two ice cubes and maybe a spritz of lemon to tame the sweet. Not a bourbon fan in general, as I find it too sweet, but I tend to keep Elijah Walker (for drinking) and Knob Creek (for cooking) on hand. I will drink them only if I run out of Scotch, vodka and rum. If I'm going to drink a whiskey straight, or over a couple of rocks, I'd much prefer one of the Highland malts. But I will confess bourbon, or Bulliet rye, is nice to have on hand for a Manhattan. On the other hand, there's a helluva lot to be said for a good shot of dark Jamaican rum with lime....

God help me. I have TRIED to like beets. I've pickled 'em. I've boiled 'em. I've steamed 'em. I've eaten them in salads, in terrines, in all sorts of preparations with meat and sides. They taste like dirt. I will note I have not tried to make borscht. I'll give that one good try, then I'm writing beets off. BTW, I have a child who won't eat purple hulled peas because they taste like dirt. So, I guess we're all different.

Agreed. I think your warehouse sucks, as mine, other than that one week during the blizzard, has been in excellent shape. I'm sure their warehouses are 3PL setups -- I'd email 'em and tell them their middleman sucks. It would be doing them a favor.

Kill me now. I am dying for softshells. This may drive me to Antoine's.

Alubia blanco are perhaps my favorite RG bean. I try to keep two bags on hand at all times. Because you never know when you'll need to turn out a pot of Boston baked beans, or just a plain ol' pot of white beans, hamhock and cornbread. As for quinoa -- I like it well enough, when I think about it in time to prep it. It is not a quick meal. As @Chimayo Joe said, rinse the lving hell out of it; I have also soaked it for 30 minutes prior to commencing the rinsing. To me, it goes well with acidic elements, so viniagrette dressings with other veggies/meat/fish and use it like you would rice. Although I have had it in a sort of faux bread pudding that wasn't bad. Wish I had the recipe for that. What I can't do is tell any difference amongst the colors -- white, black, red. So I buy the cheapest. Oh, and I've had good luck pairing it with edamame.

H'mmm. I'll ask them if they've thought of that. Talk about your fresh milk...

@gfron1, I am bringing you fig and blackberry jam. And some pretty tart strawberry preserves that didn't set but ought to serve for ... something. I've been using them over ice cream.

A very happy anniversary to y'all. Does your husband know how very lucky he is?

But are there tortilla blankets with an image of Jesus?

Well, I wasn't too far off. Been past Daphne many times, never stopped.