weinoo

Delivery yesterday from Chef Collective. Their 30-month Comté is exceptional. As is the marinated feta, which is soooo creamy. Now, what to do with these beautiful mushrooms. I decant them into paper bags for their stay in the fridge.

I use one of these... https://breadtopia.com/store/bamboo-bag-baguette-quiver/ But basically, on the counter, 2 days is it. Sometimes I'll slice and freeze, sometimes I'll keep a bread in the fridge in plastic.

if you have room, this place'll even sell you a pallet (that's 50 50-lb. bags). But it doesn't appear to reduce the price of their 50-lb. bags.

Argue with them, not me.

Oh, he's a fruit/vegetable cart for sure... Picture taken a long time (12 years) ago - the cart is much bigger and somewhat nicer now. The faux Mr. Softee truck is still around too.

Yep. This isn't happening in non-stick. All nice and clean.

Sometimes my guy on the corner.

I get some pretty good ones here nowadays.

not quite - he's doing these short videos on his Facebook page; sometimes they show up on his web site as well...

Rhubarb, strawberries, and a lonely peach found its way into yesterday's crisp. Served our portions with a dollop of crème frâiche.

Almost Caesar as an appetizer before... Pork chops, pan sauce, side of potato salad, Jacques style. Chicken scarpariello, asparagus, baguette. One of my favorite chicken dishes, this one made with Joyce Farms poulet rouge, braised in the CSO after stovetop browning. Plating not included.

A few days ago... Big salad with tuna salad. Yesterday... Faella Gemelli with a porcini and cremini mushroom "ragu." Sauté of broccoli raab alongside.

Soft scrambled eggs with chive and scallions. A bit of comté. Toast.

Every once in a while, I'll order from World Market - decent prices, and a weird assortment of stuff available. Yes, the salad servers were within this order.

By the way, I'd also add Beard, Julia, David, Malgieri, Field, Clayton, and a host of others. They all have something to offer, even if it's what NOT to do. This has always been one of my favorites, if only because of the great breads eaten at Il Fornaio over the years.

Reinhart, Forkish, Lahey, et al. And when all else fails, make focaccia.

They're just allright, in my opinion. But not without cooking. Better stuff available in cans and jars.

It could be almost on par, especially on that baguette from Pain d'AVignon! But - I'd rather be eating it in France.

The Bambino evidently makes steaming milk a no-brainer, something my wife would enjoy having, and something which I've never done with Silvia. The Bambino has a smaller footprint than Silvia, which has literally not made an espresso in a long time. The Bambino, I'm guessing, would not generate the same amount of heat that a fully heated up Silvia does. The Bambino, I'm guessing, is not as temperamental as Silvia.

I've been jonesing for Chinese food for what seems like months now. There's only one way to satisfy that... Cook it myself. Here just a quick sauté of a few vegetables, and I added some leftover already cooked pork from the kabobs I'd made the night before. But last night, much better... Was this Szechuan style lamb dish. My research indicated that not much lamb is (or was) eaten in the Szechuan region. But it was in my fridge and ready to be cooked, so it's marinated in Shaoxing wine, a little salt, cornstarch. I toasted and crushed Szechuan peppercorns and cumin seed along with red pepper flakes and the sauce itself was soy, Shaoxing, pinch of sugar and a bit of homemade stock. So - Szechuan lamb with cabbage, leeks, and scallions. It came out really good.

Tartines of the @Margaret Pilgrim branded rillettes. That's a spicy Calabrian pepper on one half. Big salad alongside.

Drink a lot of wine before you do. Or coffee.

I actually never steam dairy, but boy would my wife like it if I made lattes for her! My other thought was just to can the espresso idea altogether, and get a high quality automatic brewer; something like a Technivorm. But then I read reviews about the Technivorm, and they are not all that. People complain about plastic, etc. etc. Oxo looked like it was gonna offer an 8-cup version of its highly rated 10-cup auto brewer, but I don't know when and if that's really gonna happen.

Note... Silvia (modified with PID) and Rocky. She's sad because while Rocky gets daily use, she's not being used any more. When I want a boost in the afternoon, nowadays I make a Moka pot which, when used correctly, makes a nice strong, short cup of joe (there's that James Hoffman again, @gfron1!). As mentioned in my OP, I'm looking for something that will be a little more forgiving and may allow me to pull a shot in 10 minutes, as opposed to the amount of time it takes to heat Silvia. As well as being more forgiving with milk. Seattle Coffee Gear actually sells the Breville Bambino "Pro" and ships it with their own extra proprietary non-pressurized portafilters. I'll take a further look at those Gaggia products.

Judge Smalls?