weinoo

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?

Breville sells a fairly extensive line of espresso machines, some with built-in grinders, others sans the grinder. And I'm thinking of upgrading my espresso set-up, basically by downgrading my espresso machine - perhaps to one of the Brevilles. I'm thinking about one of their machines sans grinder, even though the grinders on their machines allegedly do a good job. Now the reason for wanting to purchase a new machine has nothing to do with Miss Silvia not working - it has to do with the fact the I've become lazier about espresso (from grinding to cleanup), and want something that is less of a hassle, yet still gives me a shot or two of espresso almost the equivalent of what I can get in a cafe. And a machine that does a good job with the milk, since Significant Eater loves lattes and capps (me, not as much, but it's all about her, right?!). The reviews I've read about the Bambino Plus are mostly positive; the one negative seems to be dealing with the portafilter and securing it in place; the machine itself is very light so it takes one hand holding the machine while securing the pfilter in place. Not necessarily a deal breaker, in my opinion. I like the footprint of this tiny machine. Any thoughts? Any other machines I might want to look at in the under $xxx category?

Ahhh, I thought it was the market pantry - I guess that's Target's?

Interesting about both the Joe's and Biancos, because the DiNapoli are the winners in this "test," and if I remember from older tests in other pubs, Whole Foods house brand might've won a few.

Perhaps I might've said all H Marts except for the one in the East Village, which is more geared to convenience. Yet still handy for pantry supplies.

The one in the east village, undoubtedly?

I've gotten them at Despaña and La Tienda.

Some nice cherries (here, macerating in Kirsch) were delivered, and a clafoutis was made. My fridge is just insane.

I get raw Marconas, and roast them gently - they are so good!

That old thread is good, and I like the shout out for the Penelope Casas (RIP) book La Cucina de Mama; most of her books remain in honored spots in my library of cookbooks. That said, there are probably as many variations on gazpacho as there are on, say, what people think is proper to put on top of a pizza. But as @heidih mentions above, if you're making a tomato-based gazpacho, better have good tomatoes. And since we don't really get great fresh tomatoes here, other than maybe in the late summer months (and even then, if we're lucky), canned tomatoes are your friend. For gazpacho, I like good old Hunt's and Muir Glen, as opposed to various Italian tomatoes I might use for other things. (FWIW, these tomatoes from Gustiamo are simply amazing in sauces.) The NY Times recently conducted a canned tomato tasting, and though they were using Marcella's classic tomato sauce as the controlled variable, the results are interesting.

Those H Marts are just great - can't wait till I can go to one again.

I suggest putting your next can of pineapple juice in the back of the cabinet above the oven. That way, you'll remember where it is when it comes time to throw it out!

I thank the powers that be every day!

Happens occasionally! But there are only a few cities I'd trade our climate and everything else for. Or maybe I should say there were only a few cities.

Speaking of @Margaret Pilgrim's rillettes de porc, made yesterday... and which were served for lunch today... with tossed greens, artichoke hearts, cornichons and potato salad; what's the use by date? That is, how long do y'all think they'll keep in the fridge. Any charcutiers out there - what about if I added a little pink salt (or whatever the Morton's stuff I bought is called) to the batch after cooking it down?

@Margaret Pilgrim - if only. You only have to remember room temperature in this apartment is probably 15 - 20℉ warmer than room temperature in your home.

We shall see what we shall see... Did these on the stovetop, in a trusty 2 qt. Staub. They tasted good warm, and I was wondering if I should've topped them off with duck fat, but they seem to have solidified nicely overnight in the fridge.

Thank you - it was a good one, even though it's a Hebrew National. Most of those dogs (Gray's, Papya King, Katz's, et al.) are made by the same producer - allegedly with slightly different recipes for each. I wonder if people understand the connection between hot dogs and New Jersey! Slightly different than NYC's connection.

Roasted chicken thigh, warm just-made potato salad, pickled beets - all on greens.

Neatest part of my pantry is the spice drawer. At the present time the rest is, how shall I say it, a fucking mess.

Leftover roasted duck leg, shredded on mixed greens with a quite mustardy vinaigrette. Continuing in my tubular pasta series, rigatoni al sugo di carne. And meatballs!