weinoo

But wait, @liuzhou - I know about your love of corn, but what's wrong with ramps? I mean, it's garlic, leeks, scallions, all in the same family.

Oh, I only do that to aggravate you, @liuzhou. And it's sooooo easy!

Yes, Natoora is in NYC! Expensive, but definitely good products. Nice people too.

Chinese American! Mapo tofu - using Mala Project ingredients, this 3-year fermented bean paste is quite tasty. Pork subbed for beef, but I think either is OK. Corn sautéed with heirloom cherry tomatoes and scallions in ramp butter.

So many ways to cook an artichoke; I'm particularly fond of one of the Roman methods; it's called, strangely enough, carciofi alla Romana. Here's a Serious Eats method...https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2017/10/carciofi-alla-romana-roman-italian-braised-artichoke-recipe.html They are indeed beautiful plants; here's a few in a field right on the coast south of San Francisco... And a classic trivia question is who was the first artichoke queen at the festival in Castroville?

Not a collector so much as a user - I just really like Moka pots and I really like coffee. Great story - adds to the provenance of the piece.

Wow - interesting. So everyone selling this stuff as "jadeite" is lying. good to know, but not that surprising! Fortunately, when I say more expensive, we're not talking expensive really. Just moreso than the white cup. Also, @andiesenji what I really want are those restaurant diner mugs.

See - I think the way to get that garlic flavor into a Caesar salad is via the croutons and rubbing the bowl. Mashing garlic and anchovies as part of a dressing works really well when dressing a truly bitter green like puntarelle; not so much on romaine. This reminds me of watching the Italian chefs watching people making various sauces; and that overuse of garlic as well.

No No NO! That's just a gussied up, cheffy recipe. Though he does have nice hair.

If there's one big Chinese restaurant thing I miss, it's the taste of a well-made, restaurant made, beef chow fun. But like I said, my home kitchen isn't a restaurant's. And beef chow fun (from a place whose name I shall forget, but on El Camino Real in Sunnyvale, back in the go-go 80's) isn't necessarily my only madeleine. And I miss a lot of other things more.

Oy.

Absolutely - and don't get me wrong, I use more mustard nowadays (after our last trip to Paris) than ever before. I love it. But as a pedant...

An early adopter! This one has probably been here as long.

Actually, if I may be a little more pedantic (cause why not). The original Caesar salad contained no anchovies; that taste came from the Worcestershire sauce. And zero mustard. It originated in Mexico, a hotbed of neither anchovies nor mustard.

That would certainly boost the flavor, wok hei be damned!

Use the olive oil. The egg should be coddled. The anchovy paste should be...well...thrown out, and real anchovies used. Garlic as mr. web says above...and not roasted, but rubbed. I don't recall mustard being in a classic Caesar. Nothing wrong with making it as a dressing, and pouring it over your greens. What's missing? Croutons! Even Bittman has a usable recipe...https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1013104-classic-caesar-salad

So more leaning towards a sherbet pop might work. As your addition of fruit would theoretically make it.

I have some friends who have used Baldor, and also not that thrilled with it. Of course D'artagnan also delivers to you. They're great.

Chef Collective excels - https://chefcollectivenyc.com/ If you're into cheeses and dairy, this is your lucky day. DeBragga is just great. Natoora works nicely, but can get expensive for certain things. Now that I've become accustomed to Fresh Direct (and also occasionally going to Essex Market), Natoora isn't as important as it was at one point, but still a worthy addition. Fresh Direct surprises me, as some of what I procure is very good. As mentioned, seafood from Great-Alaska-Seafood. Their frozen product is at least as good, if not better, than much of what I find being sold at retail as fresh. This isn't a pivot for them, but it's certainly a pivot for me. All of the above are caveat emptor; since we can't handle and look at the product ourselves, experience leads you to the good stuff, and to stuff you won't buy again. (like, at Great Alaska, no need for their smoked black cod, which is nothing like the smoked sable from Russ & Daughters.).

This is quite true. It's very nice to be able to decide what kind of bevel and angle you want to put on any specific blade. I'm guessing they come back super sharp. One of the knives sent in is a gyuto, which probably has a different bevel than a German chef's knife. I'm quite interested to see how that one comes back. It was mentioned that I use the knife in my left hand; eager to see if they put that type of bevel on it. Otherwise, I'll have to send it over to @paulraphael to work on in his spare time 🤣 . And you've only removed an ounce or two of steel from said knife.

Apologies to David Byrne et al. In an attempt to become as annoying as Alton Brown, Kenji writes about how to achieve that elusive wok hei at home. Exactly what @liuzhou has been telling us for years. And as an old (er) home cook, I try to make great food at home for sure - but I don't try to be a restaurant. Well - this is for those who do... https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/04/dining/stir-fry-recipe-wok-hei.html?action=click&module=Features&pgtype=Homepage

I think Edge Pro is still the thing Dave. That Chef's Choice above I might use on my Swiss Army knife, or perhaps a knife used to cut worms when fishing, but that would be about it. However, I'm giving this place a try, with some rarely used knives, to see how it goes... Knife Aid I paid via the website, they sent a beautiful package with prepaid mailer, and I'll be dropping 5 knives at the post office today. Will report back.

Hey - it's scattered... Working the chirashi game. Using my favorite short-grain Kagayaki Koshihikari brown rice, grown in Cali and cooked in the donabe. Then I tossed the rice with... \ This stuff. But...as noted by other smart and oft misunderstood people (myself and @rotuts, for example), the amount of sodium in some of these products is not exactly what I'd call healthy. Or pronounceable, for that matter. So, I used a slotted spoon and dragged the solids out, leaving most of the liquid in the bag, and tossed that stuff with the rice. Look closely - I have never seen shreds of stuff so small, but it made the rice tasty. And then I topped with some lightly cooked Alaskan halibut and ikura and scallions. You know what? It hit the spot. P.S. - the pickled ginger at lower right? Also a purchased product, from some hipster Chinese company - too sweet. But until I can find some nice, young, juicy ginger to make my own...

What about making the Lebovitz "classic" Philadelphia style ice cream? Milk, cream, sugar are about it.

First of all, that is an awesome Moka pot - and if you're ever interested in making a deal or selling, let me know! Next - this is a pretty timely revival, as breakage (and not just wine glasses) during covid has me looking at coffee mugs (and cups and saucers are for ladies and tea and that ain't me). For some reason, I've been drawn to these. Classic Anchor Hocking Fire King Oven Ware. The one on the right (jadeite) was much more expensive, and evidently more collectible. They hold less than what I had been used to (a scant 9 oz. as opposed to a 14 - 16 oz. mug), but that's OK. I get to drink a couple of different coffees every morning.