weinoo

Baby artichoke (fresh) and assorted mushroom paella. And a nice socarrat to boot. I have, at this point, better luck with socarrat in the slightly smaller, enameled paella pan, than in one of the more classic paella pans. And it's plenty for the two of us, with leftovers.

Let's say over the last 2 - 3 years. I'll start: At this point, it has to be my Instant Pot. I just don't find much use for it. I prefer beans cooked on the stovetop. I prefer braises braised. I'm never rushing to put out a meal. And nowadays, even stock gets made on the stovetop.

Do we ever! Description says they don't taste chocolatey, but they look chocolatey.

Oooooh... Bean club!

Inspired by a semi-recent dinner of @liuzhou's, and also because I happened to see a nice looking package of ribs in a grocery store (first time I've been in our local grocery store in a looooong time). I was planning on chopping these ribs into thirds, which is how the ribs in a dish like this are generally cooked, I believe. Took out my trusty cleaver, and wham (bam?). Nada. Nothing. I couldn't hack through these bones no matter what I did. So, I cooked them whole, after Significant Eater yelled from the living room, and I quote: "What the fuck is going on in there?" Basically a mashup from Fuschia Dunlop (her Hunan cookbook (eG-friendly Amazon.com link), which I've had since it was published in 2017, and good old Irene Kuo (her The Key to Chinese Cooking (eG-friendly Amazon.com link), which I've had since it was published 40 years prior. Soy, dark soy, ginger, sugar, bean pasta (spicy), Baoning vinegar, and Shaoxing wine. After par boiling, then braised in all those goodies. Stir-fried green cabbage with ground FACING HEAVEN ZI DAN TOU CHILI - a mild (er) Szechuan chili. Green cabbage (the stuff we make cole slaw from) is really nice when it's stir-fried and barely cooked. We'd already finished a bottle of sparkling rosé (Filipa Pato, one of our favorite low-alcohol quaffs), because who the heck knows what to drink with this dinner.

Nice. At the farmer's market where I shop, I don't know if the growers are selling their "C" grade Honeycrisps, but they're generally $2.99/lb. And believe me, they're certainly random sizes. Of course, driving in to, and setting up in Manhattan, the logistics involved, I understand the pricing. And you can always find pre-packed 3 - 5 lb. bags of different varieties of apples for a lot less.

Take advantage - I think this is a great service - and also one way in which food waste might be lessened. As you can see, what they think is unfit for retail sale is really perfectly OK.

This is great, @Shelby. I'm glad it makes you so happy! Save those trimmings - there may even be some vegetable stock in your future!

When I purchased my first wok, way back in the previous century (okay, 1977 or so), I don't even think they offered one-handled ones. I only remember seeing the two loop handles, carbon steel. But I could be misremembering.

Yeah - they do that in Sicily!

Now you're really confusing me! Looking more closely, maybe it's just a sort of frying pan? Does anyone use the one handled wok at home, or are they all pretty much with the two loop handles?

To say nothing of the air conditioning bill, @Franci!! My parents (they should RIP) lived in Delray Beach for many years. But 5 miles in, not quite to the turnpike. God, it was hot there...at least you get some ocean breezes. Spaghetti all’Eoliana. Fresh tuna barely cooked all the way through, tomato (canned and fresh cherry), capers, olives, garlic, parsley. This was really good, with those salty, sweet and pungent flavors. An adaptation of the classic Puntarelle all Romana. In addition to being a pain in the ass to prep, puntarelle is not always that easy to find (oh, to be in a Roman market again one day, where it's sold prepped). Instead, Belgian endive subbed. It's not exactly the same, but it's nice and juicy and a little bitter.

Ahhh, of course - also the lighting might be fooling my ancient retinas. Those on the bottom row, towards the back, with the red handles are what I was confused by.

Some of those look like they might even be nonstick surfaces? Has that become more common?

At some point, they'll be rolling their eyes at you, as I have been since you mentioned my incorrect cooking of a scallop.

You mean correctly cooked, on one side, as Eric does. And as much seafood is. Of course, if one wants to treat a delicate scallop as a raw hunk of steak, be my guest. Just hold the cooking lessons for your kids.

You know, it's amazing what you can find in some cookbooks when you're looking for another recipe and happen to see something interesting. Of course, the chef/author probably has no idea how to cook proteins properly. Especially fish. Oh - wait...

I have a friend or two who I argue with about this all the time. Some have gone so far as to buy high BTU propane burners - of course, they have backyards or other outdoor availability. I've cautioned them not to burn down their houses.

I can't believe Martha here... White Wine-Poached Scallop and Herb Salad Those scallops are not properly cooked!

When I need some cooking lessons, I'll give you a call. Don't stand by the phone.

Fullest potential? This makes as much sense as saying the only way to enjoy a rib eye or strip steak is blood rare. What if my diners, or I, want it medium? People in glass houses...

After making the pressed sandwich for lunch the other day, I'm not gonna give the griddler a rest... Pain perdu. For the first time in my short life, I put some Damson plum jam on a piece of my pain. It was freakin' delicious. The rest got real maple syrup. And I wanted to check on the griddling temperature accuracy of this appliance, which is not by any means new. It is pretty spot on, another win for Cuisinart. They really make a decent appliance.

The 5-salad lunch (I feel like one of the ladies who lunch). Céleri remoulade. Egg. Tomato/cucumber. Tuna. Potato.

That works; I'll even use a can of salmon to make fish cakes.

Exactly - trying for a bit of rare in the middle is my goal with these local scallops. Also why I serve them very plain, with only lemon juice and maybe a drizzle of good olive oil.