kayb

Every time I make chicken pot pie, I wonder why I don't make it more often. It's one of the few things I make with canned soup, and with Pillsbury rolled up in the fridge case piecrusts, it goes together in about 10 minutes. Besides, it's National Pi Day. So, there you have it. If anyone's interested, it's a couple of cups of chopped up cooked chicken (I used a breast and a leg from a rotissiere chicken), a bag of frozen mixed veggies, a can of cream of chicken soup, and a cup of grated cheddar cheese, between two pie crusts. So simple. So good.

I had to run out yesterday and pick up a prescription, so I called an elderly lady with whom I go to church and asked if she needed anything. She wanted Lysol spray and antibacterial wipes. I didn't have high hopes of finding either, so I took a spare package of wipes I had at home. No Lysol spray at CVS or Walgreen's across the intersection, but I lucked out at Kroger and got her that; got myself a can as well. Lines were unGodly. Today, I thought of some other things I needed from Kroger, so I ordered online for pickup. First available pickup date was March 17. Switched over to delivery, and they'll deliver this afternoon, so I gritted my teeth at the $9.99 delivery fee (vs. $3.99 from Aldi! but Aldi doesn't have what I needed) and chose that option. Aggravating, to say the least. I have plenty of rice, pasta, dry legumes, and meat in the freezer. Plenty of eggs in the fridge. We will not starve. However, I have tickets to three concerts -- Arlo Guthrie, Willie Nelson, and John Prine (yes, I'm old) in the next six weeks. All three have been cancelled. Grrr.

The eG'ers who went to Tower Grove Farmers' Market last year with @gfron1 may recall the vendor with the giant paella he was dishing up. I was pretty fascinated; pan must have been four feet across and six inches deep. Haven't made paella in a long time. I need to do so.

Bumping this one up, as it's about that time of year. I have about a 3-pound corned beef flat cut from the grocery. I recall last time I cooked one, I did so in the IP, cooking the meat first, then adding the potatoes, carrots and cabbage. I don't remember how long I cooked the meat before I put the veggies in. Any advice out there? And how about steam vs regular pressure cook? I have cooked corned beef sous vide before and it's good, but I have a hankering for everything cooked together this year.

I am making a liquor store run this morning because I am low on wine and Scotch. Between freezers and pantries, we aren't going to starve here.

Beautiful!

I have made it back from Little Rock without being quarantined. And with some Toulouse sausages, so even though it's warmed up, there's cassoulet in my future! I did stop by Sam's on the way home to pick up a few things and discovered the toilet paper shelves were COMPLETELY empty. There was still some left on an end cap display so I snagged a 45-roll pack on general principles, although we have about three nine-roll packs still on hand, I think. Got Kleenex, too, since the damned allergies have me running through them. I was pretty astounded by how crowded the store was. Looked like the Saturday before Christmas. Then I got home and learned we have our first case of coronavirus in the state. Oh, well. I'll die, or I won't.

I have a boatload of toilet paper, but am low on paper towels. Can do without milk, but running out of half and half would be a Code Red alert. Have enough meat, canned/frozen veg and pantry staples to last a while. If I don't go from this, I'll go from something else. In the immortal words of Hank Williams Sr., "You'll never get out of this world alive." I can deal with that, as I head for a meeting tomorrow while sneezing incessantly from spring allergies. Y'all send help if they quarantine me.

Those chocolates are just stunning!

I think @DiggingDogFarm has done a fair amount of charcuterie. I'm looking to get a small dorm-room-sized fridge to use to hang and cure sausages, myself. @Reefy1974, if you don't have a copy of Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn's Charcuterie, I highly recommend it.

Your half looks bigger than hers. 😉

And there's always pita bread. Not that I've ever had any success making them.

Welcome, Josh! Many fine pastry chefs and chocolatiers here, though I am not one of them. I'll be anxious to see your adventures in chocolate!

I did once have one. Retired it when I got my CSO.

FWIW -- you can turn the toaster on its side so the topping side of the pizza will be up. If you do this, you need to make sure the slots are not facing the edge of the cabinet so your pizza will not go in the floor. Not that I know this from experience or anything.

But they would most assuredly be no-name brownies.

Thanks! This is a handy thing!

I really have to start remembering to take pictures, now that I'm semi-cooking again after about three months of not doing so. Last night the child wanted spaghetti. So I threw together a quick ragu and cooked some angel hair. She was content. Sauce wasn't half bad. Lots left; we may be talking pizza in a few days.

I will say that for me, the one thing in which the Rival crock-pot was, well, unrivaled, was in the caramelizing of onions. I'd slice enough onions to fill the pot; throw a stick of butter on top, turn it on low, and go to bed. About 4 a.m., true, the smell would bring you out of bed, but when I got home the next afternoon from work, I'd have a potful of perfectly caramelized onions, which I'd freeze in half-cup portions. It's almost worth getting another crock-pot just for that. It's also excellent for poaching a big Sams--size bag of peeled garlic cloves in olive oil for garlic confit. Of course, with my smells-averse daughter, I'd have to use it on the back porch. Which would be OK.

Don't think they do any more. It was an experimental offering around Thanksgiving/Christmas a couple of years ago.

In the interim, or if you don't find a good source of pine nuts, I find toasted, chopped walnuts work fairly well.

MWO is NOT part of the stove, but is built into the cabinetry over the stove. It has one of those next-to-useless hood vents that sucks air through an alleged filter and blows it back out into the room. I cannot tell it does any good at all. I put a fan in my window over the sink, opposite the stove, and set it so it sucks air out of the room when I'm cooking something smelly. It's less that optimal. I have seen vents built into the wall behind the stove. That's what I'm looking toward. I'd like the microwave to stay where it is, for convenience's sake. It doesn't block anything on the stove, and I'm loath to give up counter space to house one. It doesn't get used a lot -- to boil water, to melt butter, to warm up the grandchild's frozen pancakes and chicken nuggets, and to make peanut brittle. That's about it. ETA: And I see I misread your query. I do specifically like this microwave, but I also am attached to having it over the stove (note above).

Think I'm going to try these with gf flour mix and buckwheat flour to add the taste.

Been there, done that. Helps if it's Cajun coffee with chicory.

They make a reasonable chicken salad as one of their Market Fare sandwiches. I think it's seasonal. There was, when I was in college a century or so ago, a place near Memphis State called The Ranch House, that offered roast beef sandwiches as well as some of the first step-above-fast-food burgers, and a fine salad bar. I ate there often, particularly as they had cheap beer-by-the-pitcher and my roommate worked there and got me a discount. It later evolved into the first of what became a regional chain, Danvers, still serving roast beef. sandwiches, pretty good burgers, and keeping the excellent salad bar. Last time I tried a roast beef sandwich from there, it was just like Arby's. I sighed, and crossed it off my list. I have not yet recovered from last year's trauma of sampling Arby's duck breast sandwich.