weinoo

Yep - it's a nice, little town. Kidding; it's a nice city, with a quite good food scene. We also did a self-guided (i.e. stolen from the 'net) tour around Oak Park, to see the houses designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, including his. And Milwaukee actually has a very interesting street; Burnham Street. It consists of affordable FLW designed homes; designed to compete with Sears Catalog Homes, for those less well-off perhaps than the people in Oak Park. They were called American System-Built Homes. Did not catch on. Oh, and a Calatrava designed Milwaukee Art Museum!

Our swing through the midwest not only brought us to Chicago, but to both Madison and Milwaukee, for a night or two each. I think there's a certain mentality in those latter two cities, similar to what I remember from dining in Florida, during those many years my parents lived there; and that is, the more stuff you can put on a plate, the better. Except, in the midwest, if it's a vegetable. That said, Rick Bayless's Leña Brava in Chicago was very good. We also ate at what I think is a well-known spot in Chicago, mostly due to the circumstances of our arrival, our location, and the fact that they were lighting the lights and trees along Michigan Avenue, so it was a madhouse around our hotel. That would be The Purple Pig, and sitting at the bar and spotting a full complement of Pappy (at reasonable prices!), how bad could it be? The smoked tongue, house-made mortadella, and other assorted goodies we had were just fine, and it served us well. But is it Chicago without making a stop at one of these places? Duks Red Hots serves up a Vienna beef hot dog, fully loaded, with oh-so-many fries, for like $3.65. The hot dog was good, the less said about the fries the better. In Madison, at Eno Vino, I had what may have been the best roasted tomato soup with a grilled cheese sandwich I could ever remember eating. I mean, everything else was OK, but this? This, had I ever been served it as a child, would've brought me right back to those days. And maybe I was? The pine nuts added a nice crunch, but in my opinion were superfluous. Milwaukee's food, at least that which we consumed, was OK. Actually, Sanford was very nice. There's also a fine reboot of their whole public market area, including a newer indoor market that reminded me a bit of our new Essex Market, with tables and chairs upstairs, surrounding and overlooking the whole shebang. Back to Chicago for our final night, we very much enjoyed The Publican. The half platter of charcuterie might've made a whole meal, and they have a great beer list too. There's head cheese, pork pie, salami, sausage, paté, and a bunch pickled goodies on that half platter. Great bread went along. Recommended. We stayed in a lovely property our last night in Chicago - The Robey in Wicker Park, and it was good to get away from the madness of S. Michigan Avenue. It also provided a nice, classic view... of both the El and the bottle of Jeppson's Malort (much better now, I was assured, since it's being made right in town) I had purchased down the block.

Scottadito!

Totally agree and it sucks. The Norwegian stuff is good quality, as is Scottish. Perhaps you can find some smoked, and use it like you would "novie!"

I also wonder if I'm better off buying frozen wild Alaskan salmon - usually it's sockeye or Coho, not my favorites as they can also dry out very quickly in cooking.

Yes. This was definitely salmon geared to the mass-market. Like the chicken breast of fish. I've also had pretty good farmed stuff; some of the Norwegian and Scottish fish is quite good.

Carrot, broccoli, spinach sort of ohitashi. Salted salmon, hijiki, ginger donabe rice, cooked in dashi. I was walking past a fishmonger in the new Essex Market, and he was just opening up a crate of salmon he'd received. Atlantic farmed. Despite its freshness, would not buy again. Stuff tastes like cardboard. Maybe I'll stovetop smoke the other piece I have. The idea being to mix it all together makes it better than certain individual ingredients, and I was able to get a little crust on the bottom of the rice.

I'm a stovetop in an old (er) 3 qt. saucepan popper. It has a glass lid, with a hole for steam to escape, but I also set the lid ajar once the popping starts in earnest. I like to use a mix of either safflower or sunflower seed oil, and butter or duck fat. If butter, I don't add it until those first few kernels pop. I also salt the kernels before they start popping.

I would send one to Alton and see what he thinks. he might even come up with some "special" uses for it.

Great story, and I too have purchased from Geechie Boy Mill (and Carolina Plantation as well) - great stuff. As an aside, Significant Eater and I really enjoy popcorn. So when I see unusual, or just different popcorn than that which I can buy locally, I try to grab some. We were recently in Burlington, VT - that's the stuff in the big jar at the top. And then when we were in Milwaukee, I found the two jars at bottom at the Milwaukee Public Market. The labels from each; too bad they don't identify the actual varieties of corn. As can be seen in the bottom right jar, there are some small kernels in there. They pop up nicely, and the texture/taste is quite different than the larger kernels.

Anyone who really wanted to start learning about serious cocktail stuff, and did so or came of age at NYC places such as Milk & Honey, Pegu Club, and yes, Bemelman's et al., knows the name Gary (Gaz) Regan. The author of such seminal cocktail/booze books as The Joy of Mixology and The Bartender's Bible, he was both a legend...and legendary. RIP - and we'll raise one of your favorites, a Negroni, to you tonight Gaz. https://neatpour.com...ary-gaz-regan/ https://imbibemagazine.com/gary-regan-1951-2019/

Glad you asked! It was a pan I "inherited" from my paternal grandmother, who has been gone for close to 50 years. I put "inherited' in quotes, because I probably just ended up absconding with it from my mother's house, where it ended up in the garage years ago. It's made of very similar material to the stuff that those old time turkey roasters were made out of. Is it enameled steel or porcelained steel - I don't really know. I guess it's pretty old. I use it specifically to toast spices on top of the stove.

Even though I wanted to go to Cervo's last night, Significant Eater may be coming down with a cold and wanted to stay home; she did say I should go and hang in my favorite corner seat while drinking various weird wines, but no, I stayed home like the good husband and made her dinner. I always do this before making what I made... That is, toasting the peppercorns before crushing them in a mortar/pestle (it's the little things that make a difference, home cooks!). And then... Spaghetti cacio e pepe for two. Sautéed haricot verts, with garlic, red pepper flakes and a couple of mini San Marzano plum tomatoes thrown in for fun.

Here's what two of those petite duck breasts look like in a pan (they're about 6 oz. per)... And quite delicious.

But what do Cook's Illustrated and Alton have to say? I did find this... https://www.cooksillustrated.com/recipes/8187-roasted-mushrooms-with-roasted-garlic-and-smoked-paprika

It's starting to be hot soup weather. In order to celebrate... Lentil soup, with lentils from an RG bean club shipment. A few nights ago, one of Significant Eater's favorite pastas... Rigatoni all'Amatriciana.

I prefer the Cone of Silence, as popularized by Maxwell Smart...

And they're selling bread from vending machines! Truly the end of the world as we know it...

That guy...babies asses also worry me. I'd like to dip the whole plane into a vat of Purell.

I'm interested in the prep of your airplane seat area, @Kerry Beal. Do you sanitize the tray table, armrests, etc.? It has been alleged that they are some of the most germ laden areas on a plane... Significant Eater and I are slightly germaphobic, so we usually do a pretty good wipedown. How to Disinfect Your Airline Seat

Top left is a 4 liter old enameled cast iron from Belgium and top middle is a 2.5 L Staub - I use it for a whole small chicken, from a recipe I found in a Cook's Illustrated. Chicken braise classic in these. My larger braising pots are in a closet and only schlepped out when I need them...they're heavy!

Yeah, I think 12 is overkill for the home. 8 at most, unless you're feeding 8 kids. A nice mix of 4, 6, and 8 should get the job done efficiently. But what about those heirlooms - let's have a look see!!

Most of my guests, at least the ones I invite, don't have to pay.

I'm confused, because the dictionary definition of a brazier is as follows: a metal container for burning coal, wood, etc., used to give warmth or to cook on. In which case, I have nary a one. However, if you mean a pot to braise stuff in, it depends on how many I'm cooking for. If just the two of us, I actually use a small rondeau, about 2.5 quarts, from Falk. I also have a similar sized Staub. If I'm cooking for a dinner party, say 6-8 people, then I go up to my 6 or 7 quart dutch ovens.

These petite duck breasts, purchased at the previously mentioned D'Artagnan flash sale, were used to make A duck and tofu hot pot, in the donabe. Finished with soba noodles in the remaining broth brodo.