weinoo

Really my best effort yet. Topped with a Sicilian cherry tomato sauce, cherry tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, fresh local basil, olive oil. Cooked on the baking steel, blasted with the broiler for the final minute or two. Total cook time about 4.5 minutes, which I think may be as short as it can get, though I'll shoot to shave another minute off. Still trying to figure out the best shelf for the steel when I want to use the broiler, which is super strong. My first pie on this evening might've been a little too much time under the broiler, though it still tasted good... But even approximated a round pie.

Cervo's is (was?) one of our favorite local restaurants, with a focus on sustainable seafood. They recently pivoted to become a market (Cervo's Shop) with prepared foods and stuff to take home, in a ready to cook state. Additionally, other provisions are on offer (produce, sauces, etc.), as is all of the wine one could find on their list, with the focus being natural wines from lesser heralded areas. I popped in on Sunday. and I'm sorry I waited as long as I had. They've done such a nice job of converting their tiny space...so I shopped... I brought home a Piri Piri chicken (you do have a choice of buying it already cooked, for those so inclined), 8 really big wild Gulf shrimp (once again, to cook at home), 2 bottles of wine, and a couple of bottles of sauces. The chicken is a bigger bird than the one they were serving back in the olden times; that one, if memory serves me correctly, was served cut in half (no backbone) and cooked on the plancha...flat. with fries; this is a 3.25 lb. whole bird. I poached the shrimp and made a little cocktail sauce... Useing some of the (very) hot sauce... After roasting the bird, I cut it up a bit... So nice and juicy (actually, Significant Eater (who, as you know, likes stuff, ummmm, cooked more than I do), mentioned that she wouldn't have minded more fire on the breast - it was just right). You also get a pint or so of chicken "jus" which I served atop the sliced breast for her, and on the side for me to dip. Only thing missing - their splendid fries. I made twice cooked potatoes. A great way to cook a nice dinner, without having to run all over town for the ingredients. They've got some nice special stuff for the holidays, too... https://www.cervosnyc.com/

This might change the final flavor profile a bit - and not too subtly.

Gyudon. Used an unrolled rib eye cap; tried to slice it as thin as possible - not quite thin enough, but good and fatty and tasty. Talk about an easy dinner. Along with... The two French salades made with the Moulinex, the perfect tool for the job. The nice and mayonnaise-y celeriac could almost be Japanese, though doubtful they would use as much mustard.

Ahhh, the Atlas (or another brand). Certainly a fine device, though I gifted mine a long time ago - bought a few attachments for the Kitchen Aid - rarely use those either. But if you like fresh pasta, by all means!

An attempt to see how many miles I can put in our bowls. So - shrimp, scallops, ikura, and salmon (salted and slow roasted) from Alaska. Rice and shitake from Japan. I think the carrots are local. And the gari is house-made! (but where is the farmer's market purchased ginger from?). Cucumber and tomato salad on the side...probably Canadian. Japanese soy.

What were you reading. 5 minute meals?

What is a pasta maker? Serious question. I have to say that I reach for this Dutch oven a lot. Soups, braises, whatever - it cooks great, and cleans up miraculously easily.

Personally, I'd like to see the knife collection. Because every single person I know who is "very into cooking" is into their knives. The most basic kitchen tool. And often they add to their collection before throwing in a Bamix. It's fine to have all those toys, but first you need to know what those toys can do for you.

Speaking of which, do you drink wine? Do you have nice wine glasses? If you have a liking for wine, there's always a Durand or a Coravin. Further on the beautiful knife thing, knife sharpening system?

I think this depends on the mandoline. There's a thread for this, I believe! Recent, too. What about a really nice rice cooker? If you are at all a rice fan, they're great. What about a subscription to something like a coffee delivery monthly, or natural wine, or something like that?

Of course there are terms which can't be banned, but which are annoyingly and incorrectly used. Many referred to above (see: martini, for example). Here's another - risotto, for something cooked to a creamy consistency. It's not risotto - unless it's made with rice.

That's right about where I fall... Here's a handy chart from King Arthur...https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/learn/ingredient-weight-chart

Scotch broth. Using less, not more barley, is the key for me (like 1/3 cup for 2 quarts of liquid). It was still brothy, as opposed to stodgy. Who knows what leftovers may bring. Leeks, onions, carrots, celeriac, celery all found a home. With apologies to Joan Nathan, as well as to my maternal grandmother, I threw these together very quickly - using the French Moulinex to shred the potatoes and onion. A different style to be sure. I may make Joan's tonight.

I've owned and have often turned to this book of hers (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) for a long time; it's one of my faves... And this (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) isn't bad either...

I must've ground the coffee beans at a different setting than the last few times, as even after the base was strained, there were some solids in the ice cream; actually not a bad thing, as this batch was delish. I scoop like I plate. Making 2/3 of the recipe amounts in Dana's book, we got two nights of scooped and "plated" ice cream. On night 3, we each get spoons and eat the remainder right out of the container, like the heathens we really are. The Whynter does a fine job.

I'm pretty sure it's a bit of both; they can't easily sell those crazy mutant carrots at Food Emporium, so if someone will cook with them, all the better. And there's def some creative marketing behind the trend. Thing is, with all the food insecurity in this country, all this stuff could be put to good use, but then it has to work politically because of how screwed up the world is.

Oh no, it's just the start - I have 7 more evening meals to work out of that freezer! But I do hope to keep it, shall we say, less full from here on. Could be getting rid of the quail, next. They're small!

Why not make spaghetti caccio e pepe for a primi and have a pizza margherita for an aperitivo?

Since I rearranged the racks in my oven, and reinstalled the original baking steel I've had in the closet for like 2 years, it was time to try my hand at pizza again. So an evening or two ago I put together Jim Lahey's overnight pizza dough (practically no-knead) from his book (eG-friendly Amazon.com link), called strangely enough... And I decided I'd also cheat a bit, with the parchment trick (I also use it with Dutch oven breads, so they don't stick to the proofing basket). Believe me, I'll be working on getting a nice, round circle for the rest of my life. I also plan on moving the steel to the top shelf for future pizza bakes, but it was on a lower shelf and that's where it remained last night. Really the best results I've had at home so far. Then I made a pie with more toppings. No, not stupid toppings, just more sauce and cheese. Oh, and hyper-local basil, added to the cooked pie. We were happy. Even if I failed geometry. RoaSted romanesco alongside.

Not only did I make these yesterday... But I also used a pound of frozen ground pork, making room for a D'artagnan delivery next week!

"Foodies" are doing to hummus what people making "cocktails" are and have been doing to martinis for way too long. Or what vegans have been doing to hot dogs and meatballs, since they started being vegans. Or what anyone who appropriates the wrong name for the dish they "invented" has been doing since, most likely, time immemorial.

To say nothing of what Claudia Roden and Paula Wolfert said way before them.

I have marked up many cookbooks over the years; lately, it's my ice cream books so I can make 1/2 or 66.6% of the recipe. Oh, it would be so nice if all cookbooks gave measures in metric. (And if there was a standardized weight of flours by the cup).

Both? It's like reading a poorly edited piece. Or basically, like reading almost any piece about food these days.