weinoo

I'm pretty sure it depends on how long the bird's life is (and also what they supply the bird with), and when it is harvested. Last week's bird from LaBelle was well over 5 lbs, came with the neck, but no insides like gizzards or liver. When I'm buying a bird I can actually see at a butcher counter before I pay for it (as opposed to Fresh Direct, where I just put the bird in my online "basket"), I tend to look for birds in the 3 - 3.5 lb. range, as it's only two of us, and I cook the whole thing. With the big bird mentioned above, I "break it down" and freeze the breast for another use, only cooking the legs, thighs, and wings. And if I buy a 3 - 3.5 lb. bird, and it's a BoBo bird, it comes with head and feet still attached, as well as the gizzard, heart, and liver.

Not exactly a glowing review, but a good value...https://www.wineenthusiast.com/buying-guide/bota-box-2013-riesling-other/#:~:text=When you buy something through,flavors like sugared honeydew melon.

Host's note: this post and the next few followups were split from the Chicken Skin topic. Today, the NY Times ran a piece specifically referring to the chicken I mentioned (and cooked) above. It's my weekly chicken order... The Secret to Restaurant-Style Chicken at Home

For those who like Staub, I don't think it gets a much better price than this: https://www.surlatable.com/product/staub-round-dutch-oven-4-qt/1202662

Is it really 2 minutes? From the web site: And I don't know that I'd want a kettle made of glass holding 6 cups of boiling water. I might prefer my Cuisinart, which also keeps water at temp for 30 minutes.

There is actually some medium-rare rib eye cap hiding under the mushroom/shallot/mustard sauce, but it's hard to see. Green beans sautéed in ramp butter. Yukon golds.

A friend gifted me this: It's about a pound+ of ramps, sustainably harvested. So I got a little busy: Couple of cups of ramp pesto, and some rather "rustic" ramp butter. Like, it could have been finer had I used the food processor, but I chopped the ramps and mushed them with the butter by hand. AS I do when I make pesto with basil, this has no cheese added at this point. I learned from an old Italian cook not to add the cheese if it's not going to be used right away, as the cheese doesn't get any better sitting in the pesto. And for this ramp pesto, pistachios.

I'm not gonna opine on Bosch vs. AEG vs. Electrolux vs. MIele, but...it might help to think of whatever oven you buy and what percentage of your total budget that's gonna involve. Because if the Miele is a better oven based on whatever you learn, it may be expensive compared to the other brands, but a minor percentage of what you spend in total.

I'm pretty sure I first read about the technique I'm thinking of in Cook's Illustrated, back in the day. Lo and behold...https://www.americastestkitchen.com/articles/7692-how-to-salt-vegetables Obviously, YMMV!

Not all drank last night... The Nathan K NY State Riesling (on the right) is nice and dry and delicious...http://www.nkendallwines.com/wines Albariños are some of our favorite wines - we had sushi the other night, and this was quite nice with it...https://chambersstwines.com/products/pedralonga-2023-serea-albarino The Domaine Cady's are lovely as well...https://www.wineauthorities.com/winemakers/cady-domaine/ All the above wines, as are most of the white wines we drink, sourced from Chambers Street.

For fish and chips in Dublin, you'll probably find no better than The Fish Shop - great wines, too. Strangely, or maybe not so strange, our favorite Dublin meal (most of our meals were rushed because of other commitments), was at a Spanish-influenced restaurant called Uno Mas. Lots of shareable plates, and another excellent wine list.

This is interesting, as I've often been led to believe (by various sources) that salting, to draw out moisture from foods (such as cole slaw, pickles), keeps things crisp.

How do you make your pickles?

I had a big 5+ pound chicken (larger than I like for most purposes, but it was a nice LaBelle Patrimoine bird). So, I cut it up (okay. butchered it, broke it down), and took some skin and fat and... Made gribbenes and schmaltz. Ended up with a good half-cup of schmaltz, which is now safely ensconced in my fridge, ready to be used to sauté potatoes or whatever.

I'm pretty sure this is the one.

Pulled out the old plancha/mini baking steel, which is awesome since it only weighs 15 lbs., as opposed to the larger one at 25 lbs. Jambon de Paris, comté, beurre, moutarde on Foxface's NY Deli Rye. Awesome.

Great explanation, and actually these days when I want an almost traditional confit, but don't want it to take forever, I make a faux confit (via David Lebovitz):

Definitely in the thread on duck confit topic somewhere or other, and I believe via a Paula Wolfert book. If memory serves me, I do 185℉, for around 6 - 8 hours, depending on the size of the legs. But that involves first salting and curing the legs overnight before cooking.

Those are good. In addition to those, my dad always had these (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) in his fridge: Astor Wines and Liquor had their one-day American whiskey sale earlier this week. I restocked bourbon and rye at 15% off.

That's a rather interesting time and temp for duck legs. What is helping you make this decision?

Long Island scallops (like 60 grams a piece), Carolina gold rice, avocado, tomato (Campari), cucumber. Pan jus.

I'm looking forward to that (I think). I'll never forget the first time I tried this: Talk about healthy! https://www.mestemacher-gmbh.com/

Yes - an elaborate scheme to make me healthy! Eli's Health Bread

Breakfast plate: scrambled eggs, bacon, avo, tomato, buttered toast (Eli's health bread).

I think Monrovia, CA is where Trader Joe's is headquartered, but not where much of their produce comes from. Read the smaller print on the Campari's...I'm guessing Canada or Mexico.