weinoo

We were in Paris a month ago. Favorite meals include Soces (our 3rd visit) and we always have a grand time at Le Grand Bain. Plus, they're open on Sundays. If you can get to lunch at Mokonuts, by all means, do so. Lower-end bistro we've found quite satisfying - Aux Bon Crus, Brasserie Belanger both fit the bill. Any crepe lovers - you'll want to get to Breizh. Should be one near where you're staying.

For just a short period of time in the early spring, I'm able to buy (commercial) strawberries from Florida. I bought some last week at Trader Joe's, but today all of the strawberries at TJ's were from California, either Salinas or Watsonville, basically. So I left them on the shelf. On my (very short) walk back to the apartment, I stopped at my corner fruit stand guy, and he had these... At half the price of Trader Joe's (i.e.: 2 for $4), and they looked fine (it's always caveat emptor with the corner fruit stand guy). So I bought 2 containers. I find that the Florida strawberries are so much sweeter and more strawberry-flavored (which is why I left the berries on the shelf at Trader Joe's) than the California ones. Obviously, I'm only referring to these commercial strawberries, not to farmer's market type berries, or Harry's, or any high-end fancy ones, which can run up to $10 and higher per pound. I'm wondering if that's anyone else's experience?

Exactly...and it's why a lot of recipes for tomato sauce call for that (removing seeds (and skin)), which I usually accomplish by using my food mill.

Sometimes even tomato seeds can be bitter, though I've never found them to be as bitter as pepper seeds.

I'll go back to a bit of sugar, or maybe a little cream...

Always fun to get some pickles. And lots of wisecracking from the owner to go along with.

Something sweet? What else is in your red pepper soup?

Nice little article in the Washington Post, as Tim Carmen learns at the master's elbow... https://wapo.st/4j5d8Qe

Only slightly. You mean, like AI?

Sorry, every good cook I know tastes their food during the cooking process. Like even when you make scrambled eggs or something?

That is for roasting it on a sheet pan, a much gentler heat application. Yet still amounting to another piece of equipment needing cleaning.

I like to start with pain meds; makes chopping and cooking that much more fun.

It really seems like a ridiculous idea to me. My broiler would incinerate that meat. And I'm sorry, but there's plenty of splatter when doing something like that; it's just hidden in the oven.

You might want to check this out. I remembered that Suvir used to make a wonderful okra dish at his long-gone restaurant here in NYC; sure enough, he's referenced in the article. https://www.foodandwine.com/cooking-techniques/how-cook-okra Also this: https://www.seriouseats.com/fried-okra-recipe-8770194

It's been an amazing Nantucket Bay scallop season, which led me to do a quick sauté the other night: Served over rice, with well-cooked broccoli on the side. We were guests at a dinner party the other night, at a friend's home. Food was cooked by a pro. My contribution was 3 batched freezer cocktails (Negroni, Manhattan, and a wet Beefeater Martini), along with Union Square bar nuts, and house-made pigs in blankets: Classy, huh?!! Also served: Cucumber salad, with foie behind it. Nantucket Bay scallop ceviche. Many morels with asparagus. Dover sole stuffed with greens. There was also grilled skirt steak over salad and at least one other vegetable dish. If I remember dessert, I'll edit this post! A lot of wine...1 or 2 bottles didn't make it into the picture. Fun time was had by all. (And a really old eGulleteer was present: @BryanZ. Actually, he was a really young eGulleteer, but isn't that young any more; he's now the estate manager for the winery which the 3rd bottle from the left came from). I particularly enjoyed the wines from the Jura, the Alexandre Bain Sauvignon Blanc, the Musar and the Roy Estate.

A not bad attempt...

And many of us have scales, used to measure various "modernist pantry" type ingredients, in quite small quantities...

And, at Fresh Direct... Alderfer EggsCage-Free Grade A Large White Eggs, Dozen current price$3.79/ea

One of my favorites! Heath Bar, in a pinch if Skor isn't available...and Daim's.

I think that the box on the right has "absolute consistency!" Even though it looks as if the box on the left fulfills that statement to a higher degree.

Ahhh, the good old USPostal Service. Ain’t what it used to be.

You even went for the chopped liver…nice!

We were in Chicago last week to see a couple of shows, and although this was a trip we took mostly for music and art, we managed to sneak some Chicago food in. Since we wanted to arrive at the venue (Park West) early-ish in order to get the seats we wanted (how annoying is GA, seated?), it left little time for good dinners. On the one night we didn't have a show, we went to Publican, which now I think has seen better days. Don't get me wrong: The charcuterie and cocktails were excellent. Should have left it at that, or ordered cheese for our main course. Oh well. This had to be done, and came from a recommendation from our AirBnB host: Quite good. One afternoon, we took a drive out to a neighborhood called Belmont Heights. I had researched this place... Santa Masa Tamaleria. Carnitas, chicharrones, pickled veg, etc. etc. And a couple of fantastic tacos: barbacoa and tinga. As I'm driving past DePaul University, what do I notice? And then, yes, I remembered that he opened in Chicago almost a decade ago. So, without having to travel to Rome: Just a beautiful, light crust; any of 12 to 15 varieties available at all times. Obviously, al taglio. The original, from a visit to Rome quite a few years ago.

Birthday dinner for my wife last night... Shrimp cocktail with avocado. House-made cocktail sauce, poached wild gulf shrimp (in a court bouillon enhanced with shrimp shells). Nantucket Bay Scallop linguini. Sauce of butter, shrimp/scallop court bouillon, garlic, scallions, white wine, lemon. After dinner, I went down to the grocery store and scored 2 pints of Häagen-Daza, on sale at 2 for $9!!

And can certainly name a few others (hangar, skirt, et al.) I think I can get oxtail at my Dominican butcher for around $13 - $14/lb. Does that sound right?