weinoo

I like Roman pizza. And I need an apple tini.

My take is that in Italy, the cultural ramifications will amount to zero for Romans, Perugians, Genovese, Florentines, Milanese, et al. They'll all do it there own way, caring not a wit what a Neapolitan might think.

I'm pretty sure that brining, like kashering, was a technique used to draw the remaining blood out of a recently slaughtered animal. When people realized that perhaps it made stuff taste even better, that made it even better.

It's funny how you decide what's engineered and what isn't. A martini is a simple drink, just a few simple ingredients, same as your coveted Neapolitan pizza dough. And things with very few ingredients, as you well know, are the hardest to make properly, be it a classic cocktail or pizza. And an apple-tini might not ruin your martini, but's it's not a martini; it's just called one.

For frittata, I preheat the oven while I'm working on the stovetop. Then, I go into the oven for about 8 minutes at a low temp - about 300℉ (149C), on convection bake. If it needs a little more time, I check it every 2 minutes or so - I like the frittata to be pretty well set. Keeps the eggs nice & tender.

I was talking to one of the farmers at the greenmarket recently, and we had a laugh over the fact that people have no problem handing over $5 a pound for heirloom tomatoes, or $20 a pound for ramps, (to say nothing of what they pay for Coca Cola or bottled water), but they all squawk and complain when a real chicken, froma small farm, goes for $25. My favorite birds are the ones I'm fortunate enough to procure out at La Pera Poultry. Purchased live (at $3 a pound!), you have your choice of many breeds and many sizes. The instructions he gives, along with your recently dispatched birdies, are to take it home and soak it in a tub of salt water for an hour or two, then let rest overnight before cooking. I buy the Sasso birds, and they too have the long, skinny (scrawny?) breasts, thin skin, and boy are they ever delicious. I also like the Poulet Rouge being marketed and sold by Joyce Farms - they ship, and are also carried in certain locations.

This - we've been out almost every night this past week, because even with A/C running, it doesn't cool down the kitchen . For some reason, I haven't ordered the window unit for the kitchen, even though we added the electrical outlet when we did our renovation. Sometimes I wonder what the hell I'm thinking. Lately, I've been using a nice, 8" Lodge cast-iron pan for my frittatas - it fits nicely into the steam girl, so after 5 minutes on the stove top, it gets finished in there, and comes out perfectly! You're nuts.

Man, I wonder how you feel about an apple-tini. By the way, some/most of us get it. Some/most of us just want to produce pizza at home that's better than what 99% of the pizza joints in this country try to pawn off on their customers as pizza. Which, Naples or not, does exist in other variations. Me - when I want Neapolitan, I can pretty much take a 10 minute walk, and it's at my disposal. Some/most everyone else; they may not be as lucky. But I bet they can get an apple-tini anywhere they go.

Miso ramen with assorted vegetables and chicken. Fresh ramen noodles from Sun Noodle.

Big brother is only $10 more on Amazon.

This, to me, is the most beautiful kind of day. That buttermilk looks to me like yogurt. The stuff I buy is never thick like that, so I'm wondering if that's just the top layer and underneath it's thinner? Also, what the hell are those white apples in your first photo?

Might try here: http://acmebread.com/bread/rolls

That's a nice looking roast - some fat, and almost looks like a blade end roast.

Interesting. I read the manual as toasting goes in the middle rack position, and that's definitely the position of the rack in the oven in question. I'm just jealous of how shiny clean ElsieD's oven is.

Ca you train them to get kaiser rolls?

Is the rack positioned properly for toasting? And there are so many other variables, just a few of which are mentioned above. How thick is the bread, for instance?Fresh, frozen, day old, stale? I uusally start toasting on the 3 setting, and then add a #1 if it needs a little more.

Yes, indeed. While I often buy and enjoy their pistachios (and other products as well), they certainly don't have the flavor of a Sicilian, Turkish, or Iranian pistachio.

Boy, those Wonderful pistachios are everywhere now. Quite the marketing push, and who knows how many thousands of acres of pistachios have been planted. Evidently: And: Wonderful Pistachios are America’s best-selling snack nut and the smart, healthy choice for folks around the world. And due to our Get Crackin’ ad campaign, record numbers of people are now aware of the benefits of pistachios. In fact, Wonderful Pistachios as a consumer brand competes with the top salty snacks found in grocery stores. Pretty good for a former commodity product. To keep up with the demand, we cultivate over 125,000 acres in California’s Central Valley through Wonderful Orchards. The warm days and cool nights work in harmony with the region’s natural soils to create the perfect growing climate. Wonderful Orchards carefully tends and harvests each pistachio using the latest sustainable practices. These are the same people who launched the POM brand of pomegranate juices. Also own Fiji water.

Well, my experiment was pretty much an abject failure. Not that the salmon was bad, cooked at the lowest steam temp for about 20 minutes, the fish was delicious. But after futzing around and loading (I believed) the oven with smoke form the smoking gun, I got barely any smoke flavor into the fish. The apartment smelled like a nice barbecue, however. I've had much better success using my stovetop smoker. @FauxPas That sounds great. I have a friend who lives in Bow, Washington, and he works with the native American tribe on fishery rites. Every year, he's able to procure a fair amount of salmon at ridiculous prices. And he cooks/hot smokes them the old school way - or the Native American way - and they're delicious. Firm, flaky...and smoky!

Anyone ever tried using a Smoking Gun with the steam girl? I have some lovely king salmon filets, and I was thinking of filling the chamber with smoke before cooking them? Also, how does everyone like to cook salmon in the steam girl? I was thinking of doing a very slow steam roast.

Would love to see a picture of that looking down at the cooking surface! I think the price of that range almost makes the Wolf/Blue Star look like a bargain, but once again, I think if you're doing a full kitchen reno, it doesn't really up the total cost by that much of a percent. And...it's gorgeous.

Wow - 3 level must've been intense! I'm looking somewhat forward to food and grocery delivery - if I only could get them to unpack my stuff when they get here! Where'd he go for PT?

Excited as I got an email today saying my quarterly shipment of Rancho Gordo bean club is on the way! I need to start cooking more beans.

Even though we're going out for dinner a lot as I recuperate, it's not as if I'm not cooking at all, as I'm still preparing breakfast, and often lunch... Today's lunch was rice, Rancho Gordo Caballero beans, and simply sautéed greens.

Thanks, @SLB. Fortunately, we're no longer in a 4th floor walkup! I could see using Fresh Direct the same way you have, however; lots of the heavier groceries, and I certainly would try certain seafood/meat/poultry at least once, to see how it is. Re: my surgery. I had a 2-level ACDF done, at C5-C7. Not wearing a collar, my doctor is kind of progressive and feels patients do better without one. The fusion takes about a year to be fully fused. I'm sure the carrying/lifting proscription is to allow things to really settle down, and for the fusion to at least start happening. I started PT this past Monday, a mere 4 days post-surgery, but just working on arm/shoulder flexibility and strength; nothing with the neck just yet.