weinoo

While pulling some old books off the shelf...

Indeed - and pale dry sherry at that. Like in Irene Kuo's. Some sweeter sherries may also be suggested as a sub for mirin. Funny - I was just referring to that book the other day. My first edition long gone and replaced...it was a seminal book for cooking Chinese food in America.

I know people love Costco, and Costco is one of the top American companies to work for. The chickens, however, aren't thrilled... The Ugly Secrets Behind the Costco Chicken

I really think Imperfect is more perfect that Misfits.

Daddio appears to have what you are looking for...why the confusion? These certainly seem to fit the bill as well... PME Aluminum Baking Pan Round 8 x 4, 8-Inch (eG-friendly Amazon.com link)

I got those whole, fresh Carolina prawns (weekly, now, it seems) and I like to clean them - I had a really great shrimp deveiner, but can't find it (and I bought a new one from OXO - one of the few things made by OXO which sucks). I just take a paring knife and cut through. @Katie Meadow - disposable gloves?

Yes, for sure. A closeted gay man for much of his life. Large size led him to be bullied early on. And probably some undiagnosed depression thrown in.

So I'm currently reading (in and of itself that's amazing, as I don't generally read too many books) John Birdsall’s new biography of James Beard, “The Man Who Ate Too Much.” In the time it will take me to complete the book (it has already once been returned (digitally) to the library, and then renewed (digitally) by the library after a gap of 3 weeks), others might read a dozen or more books. Once again, if you've guessed I don't read (many books), you'd be right. In any event, it's pretty good (I think). But how would I know? One thing I'm having fun doing while reading the book, is heading to my bookshelf to see which of the books I have that Beard wrote, as they are recounted in this bio. And I have a few (15-20), for sure. Beard is credited with writing, or having participated in the writing of, at least 30 cook books; a few memoirs, shilling product books, etc. etc. thrown in along the way. Old (and first) editions are especially cool - the artwork in a few of them is just great, as they were sometimes done by (real) artists and (obviously) not food stylists. Americans were not eating a lot (or any) fresh fish; they were eating fish sticks. Beard wanted us to eat more. By no means Beard's first book on outdoor cookery (like his 3rd). 1955. This was groundbreaking shit. For those who don't know much about Beard, he was considered the foremost authority on food in America for many, many years. He ran a seminal catering company in NYC, and his cooking classes were sought after. He was also a pretty unhappy guy.

Quite blintz-like, which shouldn't surprise me as they have a similar batter (obv not sweetened?), as well as to crepes. Slightly more substantial (i.e. higher flour ratio), if I'm reading recipes correctly.

Indeed - the breads these kids are making are fine and dandy. Even if not exactly what one might get in Paris!

It's hard not to discuss missing restaurants and dining out, since we did it so frequently pre-pandemic. And a year ago this coming week, we were in Paris for birthday and anniversary celebrations. Probably just as Covid was spreading around the globe. So what to do this year for birthday and anniversary? Probably order some fancy stuff (which I'll still need to prep and cook!) - I'm thinking Perigord truffles, wagyu, caviar. But who knows? Yesterday was more like most days of the past year, however. I had bought a whole chicken, cut it up, and cleaned the freezer of a big bag of chicken pieces saved over the past few months; all raw stuff for a plain stock. There's another quart to the side, so it was a good yield, after 4 hours on the stovetop in the largest stockpot I have (without going down to storage). And a shopping expedition: Don't worry - they came from two different sources, the baguette still warm so when I got home, I slathered a piece with Beurre Bordier and pretended I was in Paris.

Don't let the Florida heat get to you, @Franci 😀 !

The other side of that coin is that I really like their Jambon de Bayonne, Jamon, and Mangalica.

I've not had great luck with duck & armagnac, venison or any of the chicken sausages. Andouille is passable, and the big French garlic is also okay.

Nice. I think the merguez is the best of the D'artagnan sausages. A few of the others fall flat.

You should've seen the seconds.

I find that real applejack and Southern Comfort have absolutely nothing in common. Though I haven't drunk Southern Comfort since high school.

Tonight's soupy rice, with scallops and chorizo. Shrimp shell stock the liquid.

The whole (for me, anyway) idea is for it to be better than from the restaurant!

A friend with knowledge of Roman pizza bianca in general, and specifically that of Roscioli's, suggested I seek this out: Another variable to experiment with.

Applejack comeback...not that it ever went away for cocktailers. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/02/dining/drinks/applejack.html?action=click&module=At Home&pgtype=Homepage

The "meez" (with apologies to Anthony Bourdain RIP)... For a Chinese dinner. Simple stir-fry. Salt, tiny bit of sugar. The rather unpicturesque main... Mapo tofu.

Like so? I'd expect nothing less than your Manolo Blahnik's, @Kim Shook 😂 .

damn - so I wasn't far off with procuring those 10 pairs of slippers! If it wasn't against the rules to leave them at the front door (in the hallway), I'd certainly do that.

I always seem to let bananas over-ripen, so they become this... With raisins and pecans. Really nice when spread with good cream cheese.