weinoo

Shit - your memory is way better than mine.

That's my favorite aquarium! Everyone's safe! Lemme be @rotuts here for a minute: Might be fun for you to make the rolls traditionally used for banh mi: (I think banh mi means bread)... https://www.vietworldkitchen.com/blog/2007/05/vietnamese_bagu.html Then, with your talent, I'm sure a quite traditional banh mi will soon have Ronnie very, very hapyy. (Some of that wild duck or perhaps catfish would go quite nicely on it).

@Shelby !!! What the fuck?!

That cavatappi is nice for those 2 dishes (mac salad and mac n'cheese); I also like Barilla elbows for classic deli macaroni salad - it's got that nice twist...and ridges!

In my (northern) California years, there was a friend who would go up to Mendocino or Humboldt County a few times a year to go abalone "fishing." No - you don't drop a line, you dive. And at that time (I don't know what the current regs are), you had to free dive, and the limit was probably one or two. (You did not want to get caught illegally taking ab). That was not a very safe thing to do; it's a treacherous coast and the water is cold - but then again, the guy jumped out of planes and base jumped; he was one of those. Anyway, he and his dive buddies would bring the abalone back, and we'd prep and cook it. Pried out of its shell, sliced thinly, and then got the shit pounded out of it, often with the side of a wine bottle! Sautéed ever so briefly in butter and/or olive oil, it was heaven on a plate. Nothing from the sea tastes like that. Saline, sweet, tender - oh man. The stuff available in cans - nah. And as has happened to so many other sea creatures, over-harvesting led to even more regs, etc. etc. And now they farm abalone, and it's harvested much younger as it reaches market age more quickly, etc. etc. Sad decline of a delicious species. All this talk of seafood... Chirashi with grilled jumbo shrimp, ikura and smoked steelhead roe. Avocado, sweet carrots and pickled ramps! Alongside, brussels with crispy bacon.

I like to offer butter in a little side dish (if butter is being offered at table) in order to not suffer the indignities of anything ending up in the butter writ large. Otherwise, if I'm prepping the toast with butter and jam/jelly/marmalade/etc. in the kitchen, I am impeccably careful with the butter, and then I use a little spoon to remove said additional topping from its jar and onto the toast. I also do have a ridiculous number of jams/jellies/etc. in the fridge and cupboards.

Indeed - everything I've read about them suggests that's the way to do it. A fairly hot comal to flop them onto - lacking a comal, my 11-inch cast iron served its purpose.

This recipe sounds interesting. Less fat than I used (though I think the use of bacon fat should be saved for carbonara, if I want to call my flour tortillas authentic), and milk, which also will act as a tenderizer I believe. The baking soda is the interesting add-on. Though it's really not like a pizza dough, which is yeast risen.

That’s why they make chitarra.

But the thing you've gained is perspective... and wisdom. So you realize that, for instance, air fried potatoes are no match for real French fries (or whatever you call them up there). Air "fried" shrimp vs. fried shrimp? No match. And then that wisdom and perspective tell you that if you can't have real fried shrimp or potatoes, might as well make them in a way where they'll taste even better, and that may be via roasting in duck fat (potatoes) or griddling on a plancha (shrimp). If you get my drift!

Well, who uses linguine for carbonara? Idiot.

The ortolans of the sea?

I have trouble understanding the whole air frying thing. Proper frying is not bad for anyone. And not greasy.

My first ever attempt at flour tortillas... Looked at 4 recipes online (some of the usual suspects, some not, none from here (sad face)), made dough in a food processor. The dough had a bit of baking powder in it, and home melted pork fat from the other day. My rolling skills have deteriorated significantly since cooking school! \ But still! (Yes, that is a torn one atop - cook's gotta taste). While light years beyond any prepackaged shit, these were not what anyone would call perfect. Though Significant Eater audibly mmmmmm-ed after loading her first one with carne adovada, @rancho_gordo freshly stewed pinto beans, avocado, yada, yada, yada. All those years in Albuquerque evidently did something to her! I call in the Breaking Bad syndrome. In any event, these were, how shall I put it, more chewy than I was expecting. Possibly the baking soda, possibly too much lard? Rosie walking around under my feet while trying to roll these out, and enjoying my cursing? It's time to hit the books and continue trying...these are fun.

American Unagi - From Maine. https://www.americanunagi.com/

This past Saturday, we went out for a passeggiata, usually a stroll taken before settling down for dinner. Only problem was I had no idea what I was making for dinner...and it was approaching the time where I really needed to start thinking about that. Didn't want to do much - some days are like that, no? But we strolled by Cervo's, and I popped in for a peek and got inspired. They had nice looking clams and mussels, so I bought a dozen of each, and a Bien Cuit baguette, thinking I'd just steam the shellfish in some stuff and we could sop up the juices with the bread. But I changed course when I got home. First... Steamed open the shellfish in white wine and a bit of saffron, and took almost all of them out of their shells and strained the liquor. Decided to go a little fancier as there was a bit of marinara in the fridge. Spaghetti with clams and mussels. Topped with Calabrian chilis. And garlic bread! Not bad for getting everything prepped and on the table in well under an hour.

Taking a cue from @Chris Hennes; Forkish's Same-Day Straight Pizza dough. San Marzano tomatoes, seeded and strained, then mostly pulp smushed with olive oil and salt. Nice fresh mozz from Formaggio. Parmigiano-Reggiano. Getting better at the sauce/cheese ratio. Second picture blur as I was burning the shit out of my fingers. This "00" flour is such fun to work with; dough is so soft and, hmmmm, workable? One bigger dough ball resting in the fridge overnight; gonna make some focaccia with it. Or try to.

I've had a few of those dishes at St. John and can vouch for the fact that they are GREAT! Oh man, those brown shrimp... On our second visit, suffice to say that there might've been a dish or two not to Significant Eater's liking. I like Fergus's books as suggestions (but aren't almost all recipes suggestions?). As a side note, the last "concert" we went too pre-pandemic was Jay Rayner's Last Supper - he was pretty funny! You know, for a Brit.

What's your recipe? I'm gonna have a go at this tomorrow for the first time.

Very good.

I think I've had some duck fat go off and me - you know as soon as you smell it. But using scrupulously clean spoons to scoop it out, and not contaminating it (often, there is some schmutz left in renderings, so you gotta strain it carefully) stuff lasts a long time. Like I run out before it goes bad.

By the way - @liuzhou - are a lot of your neighbors sous viding?

I don't believe Buddha and Lucky are actually brands sold in Manhattan Chinatown. Or if they are brands, they are simply branding poultry from someone else. Most Chinatown chickens are supplied by a company called BoBo; they are considered Buddhist chickens; i.e. slaughtered according to proper ritual, etc. etc. I've been shopping in Manhattan's Chinatown for longer than I care to admit; believe me, I know what's being sold there and at other places. I've tried practically every freakin' chicken on the market, and even gone so far as to get live birds at LaPera Poultry. White-cut chicken is far from the only reason to use a quality chicken, don't you think? Have you tried a Joyce Farms bird? A D'artagnan bird? Even Cook's Venture is a darn good bird; lots of chefs using it. Now tell me - have you ever eaten white cut chicken, and nothing else is on the table? Or perhaps is there rice, and maybe even some sauce if you want it?

That's why they look like real bagels!

Right from the horse's mouth... Hunan Slurp, Silky Kitchen, or something newer?