weinoo

Local (South Shore, Long Island) line-caught black sea bass. J. Kenji López-Alt's best ever roasted potatoes. (These really came out great - using duck fat.) Charred broccoli.

The weather is starting to get a little chilly, so... An update of my grandmother's mushroom barley soup, with a bissel of dried porcini and some freshly chopped scallions at the end. Served with some nice bread and a smooshed avocado dressed salad.

I'm just seeing this, Shelby...jeez, does that look great!!

Seems like a lot of people like to use Worcestershire sauce in their salad dressings, something I've never done...I'm imagining it gives it a nice umami punch, similar to the anchovy in Caesar salad dressing? Will have to give it a try.

I was wondering what people dress their salads with, when making a salad and using a homemade dressing? Obviously, different salads call for different dressings. Last night, I made a simple salad of romaine leaves, cherry tomatoes (which were actually quite sweet), cucumber and Haas avocado. I derssed it with a bit of extra virgin olive oil and Spectrum's "Organic Golden Modena Italian vinegar." Salt and pepper, of course. And then I used my hands to smash up some of the avocado and incorporate it into the "dressing." I really like to do this, as it adds a rich creaminess. It was quite tasty. And you?

Don't worry - I actually plated this stuff. But here it is right out of the oven - a pair of poussins roasted with 4 kinds of potatoes (red, and 3 different sweet potatoes). Those necks on the left were a good treat for the cook.

At the same time I bought the pork chops posted in the dinner topic, I bought a package of lamb chops. Both the pork chops and these lamb chops were purchased at the Union Square Greenmarket, but from different vendors. Obviously, the butchering is a bit suspect, as this was a package alleged to be lamb loin chops. In any event, they were delish, served with a simple salad of arugula, still good tomatoes, and avocado.

Pan-fried pork chops with sautéed apples.

They have a deal for 10 lbs. of your choosing (I got smoked boneless ribs, bacons, and some smoked cheeses) for $65, which I think is a steal. Shipping adds only $14 for overnight no matter how much you buy. Good stuff.

Open-faced BAT. The bacon is a smoked shoulder bacon from Sam's Butcher Shop, in Pennsylvania. It's excellent. I recently bought 10 lbs. of smoked product from Sam, and I have to say, it's all quite good.

I made a faux duck confit (a la David Liebowitz) for dinner last night. Started the previous night by "curing" the duck legs, and I also bought a pair of chicken legs to experiment with them. Then into a moderate oven for a few hours... Crank up the heat for the final 20-30 minutes. Roast some potatoes (and cauliflower, why not?) in duck fat. The chicken is very good too, but needs to cook for less time than the duck.

Dinner last night: Unconventional ramen. Homemade chicken stock, shitake and button mushrooms, green and yellow string beans, carrots, cherry tomatoes, Sun Noodle's ramen noodles, and a just slightly-overcooked hard boiled egg.

I like this brand of dried pasta... I picked up basil, potatoes, tomatoes, and string beans at the farmer's market. Pasta with Pesto alla Genovese, green beans and potatoes. Heriloom cherry tomato salad.

I've made a number of visits to the Bronx recently, from Katonah Avenue's Irish enclave to Riverdale's remaining Jewish delis, to Arthur Avenue and Pelham Bay, and to City Island as well. Sammy's on City Island is loads of fun...and loads of food. Liebman's is old-school deli that tastes just fine. Arthur Avenue can be fine, if you know how to avoid the touristy food and schlock. Casa Della Mozzarella's fresh cheese is super, and the remaining butchers do a fine job. Louie & Ernie's is great. Sit in their backyard and enjoy a sausage pie. And for Cuban food, I like Havana Cafe, with 2 locations, though I've only been to E. Tremont. Much more to explore in the coming months. Here's my blog on the above...Bronx Tales.

Get the cleaner too - the bottom oven looks a little dirty!!

They've (Mekelburg's) also added a late-night menu, with a fried chicken sandwich, served till 2 AM during the week (but only 20 or so a night).

Yes! It's a much shorter flight from San Diego than it is from NYC...

Not me. But then again, I'd only owned the smaller Breville.

Last night, for a side dish, I threw some whole mushrooms and baby artichokes (trimmed well) onto the pan, tossed with olive oil, salt, red pepper, and steam roasted them for 20 minutes at 400° F, and then on convection only (same temp) for another 15. They came out quite nicely. Like Franci, I find that certain things when they're steam roasted leave a lot of water in the pan, so I'll often switch to convection roast to dry it out and finish them up.

Dumbo and Cobble Hill are separated by Brooklyn Heights. Are you going to be walking? Any reasons not to go into Manhattan?

We were recently in San Francisco, where a bar focused on gin has opened - Whitechapel: It was slammed when we were there, so there wasn't much contemplating going on. But it sure was fun.

Ahem.

Since I already own the book, I don't feel the need to enter the contest. But, I do know Rob has moved to St. Louis, so my question is this: Are you going to become a Cardinals' fan, because that may cause a rift?!

Did you cook the potatoes on regular convection, or with steam? (I'll confess here that I don't know anything about Trader Joe's products.) But one of the nice things about the CSO is that it takes so little time to heat up, and my kitchen stays cool (er) than if I'd turned on my standard oven. Re: the cleaning cycle. Since I have version 1.0, I usually wipe down the inside after most every time I use the oven for steam cooking. Nothing cleans itself.