weinoo

Here's a ramen I like to make around Passover. Matzo Ball ramen. I get fresh ramen noodles from Sun Noodle.

At one time, New York was probably considered the home of the delicatessen. I don't know if that's true any more; sure, Katz's, 2nd Avenue Deli, The Stage, Sarge's, and a scant few others remain. This past weekend, Significant Eater and I journeyed up to the Bronx, to check out an old school deli called Liebman's, which has been around since the early 1950s. It was OK - I'm not rushing back there. Pastrami and corned beef were both a bissel dry. Here's the full story - Kosher Ish.

Sunny-side egg. Chorizo. Stone-ground grits from somewhere deep in the heart of Tennessee. I said to myself, as I was taking this picture for the Infatuation instagram, I wish I had ring molds so the eggs would come out perfectly round. But Sig Eater likes her eggs over easy, and I like them as pictured. And I make them in the same pan, at the same time, so some dissection is required. Anyway, I open one of my kitchen drawers, and there are 2 ring molds in there! Next time.

A loin pork chop. Assortment of potatoes. Pan jus. Pork chop cooked thusly - and there's more to the story: Here's the thing with "commercial" pork. Or with loin pork chops from commercial pork. I bought these chops at Whole Foods - $7.99/lb. Cooked to a perfect medium rare+. Not mushy in the least, if that's what anyone worries about from sous vide. But they were a little too dry for me, though Sig Eater loved them. And I dry brined them for about 2 hours prior to cooking. My favorite part? The little pieces of meat surrounding the bone on the bottom of the chop. Lesson learned - buy rib end (or blade, even) chops only!

Yeah, exactly. Butter would never be used in Rome. Nor would the tremendous amounts of olive oil the orange-clogged one uses. And just saying Pecorino Romano without specifying the style of pecorino romano...is like writing about brewing coffee w/o mentioning water. Anyone ever try to make a paste with grated pecorino and cold water? Maureen Fant's classic recipe produces great results.

And now, before I even have my 1st cuppa coffee, I drink 2 large glasses of water. It gets things, ummmmmmm, flowing.

I let my subscription expire with the last (Jan/Feb) issue.

Pastrami on rye, with full sour pickle. At My Brisket House, in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.

Appetizing "platter" for 1 (Yes, I made 2). From Russ & Daughters - pickled herring, Gaspe nova, whitefish salad. Campari tomatoes. Served with mini-bagels, cream cheese.

I agree with the chicken/turkey thing. But why does a pork loin need long cooking to make it tender?

Maybe you could invent a product that shuts off everyone's phone for an hour a day. Then take that hour, read a good teaching cookbook (The Way to Cook, by Julia, for instance), and get into the kitchen and, ummm, cook. Ain't that hard.

I don't take surveys. The thing that takes me the most time is reading eGullet before going into my kitchen.

I preheated the oven for about 10 minutes, just on convection bake. Then I turned it onto bread function, 425, for about 17 minutes.

On day 2 of a pizza-crust experiment, I wanted to use the combi-oven for a more Roman-style "pizza bianca." Yes, I realize that tomatoes make that half of the pie not-pizza bianca, but anyway...I was able to stretch the crust very thin (on an olive-oiled, parchment-lined baking sheet)... Topped simply with just rosemary, olive oil and salt, or tomatoes, olive oil and salt, this was a worthy pizza snack...or, as in this case, a good side dish to a braised whole chicken...

Made a couple of pizzas using Lahey's no-knead recipe -- slightly modified by a little kneading, but very little and prior to bulk fermentation. Flour, water, salt, yeast, and time. One thing this jew was never good at - drawing a perfect circle... My biggest problem is getting the dough thin enough without it tearing...so this excellent circle is a little thick... Both pies are simply canned tomatoes (buzzed up with olive oil, salt and pepper), sautéed mushrooms and roasted brussels sprouts, sprinkled with pecorino. Hard to tell, but I guess they're about 8" - 9" diameter. They were baked on the baking steel, which was pre-heated to 500°F for 45 minutes, and then blasted under the broiler for another 15. The pies baked in 3 - 3.5 minute; not quite Neapolitan time, but certainly the fastest baking I've ever achieved at home. They were very tasty. Now, if I could only get the crust thinner!

My philosophy when traveling is pretty much the same as when dining in the city in which we live. That is: don't waste money, or time, on lousy meals. Lots and lots of pre-travel research has helped immensely with that goal.

Where do you hope to start this business?

Oooh, me too, me too ( I just ordered another Falk saucier. Seems like they were having a clearance sale).

There are plenty of those...especially if you like cheap stuff - but you get what you pay for. There's Sur La Table, which really doesn't have much to do with pro stuff. JB Prince. As Paul mentioned, Bowery Kitchen Supplies. Bridge, which also had a shop in NYC, is now in Jersey, but obviously has a web presence.

She does kinda look as if she's hanging out on a corner.

I often do that - some thin slivers of garlic, some butter, some herbs. But not this time - I just wanted the pure chicken (and duck fat).

After Bridge closed, this is/was my favorite place to browse.

Banana bread, with dates, raisins, and cranberries.

Leek and potato soup. Water based with no stock. Some celery, onion and garlic helped it along (with a bit of butter).

Blizzard bird. Free-range, air-chilled, duck fat rubbed, and vertical roasted. In addition to the bird, potatoes roasted in the drippings below were great.