weinoo

I think the farmers' markets are the one true way to make sure we're getting "heirloom" jalapeños; there is a vendor at Union Square every year who has some of the real deal chili peppers. But, as with everything else we want or expect to be "like it used to be," they're very seasonal. So, buying peppers in the middle of the winter may well be a crapshoot.

Wait! What?! No Robert Simonson's (who I was fortunate enough to make Martini's for over the course of a rather long Martini party): The Encyclopedia of Cocktails (eG-friendly Amazon.com link)?!?! After all, who can forget his 2019 classic: The Martini Cocktail: A Meditation on the World's Greatest Drink, with Recipes (eG-friendly Amazon.com link)

Fun week of dining, mostly out, mostly by myself as Significant Eater was out of town. Monday, I went to Le French Diner, a place we'd recently tried to get into, but with a long wait we walked away. Alone, I was able to grab a seat. (For those who may know, this was a place once called Zucco: Le Frech Diner, but Zucco sadly passed away, and when it finally reopened it was merely Le French Diner, but it's still darn good). Started with Socca, oily and salty, as it should be. The picture on their IG of the duck dish is so much better than mine... Duck breast with chicories and grapes. This was one of the most properly cooked (huge) duck breasts I've had in a long time: On Tuesday night, I met a friend at the newly opened DEMO, named after the nearby square, Father Demo Square. Focaccia with olives and cherry tomatoes served with cultured butter and EVOO. Lengua tonnata. Tortilla, with saffron aioli, trout roe and harissa chips. Add a fantastic wine list and a lovely place for dinner. Thursday night, I returned solo to Foul Witch, and again had a nice meal. It included these humongous day boat scallops, which were incredible. Served with rhubarb, mandarinquat and on a bed of freekah. Then I had a pasta... Oxtail fazzoletti, with lovage and horseradish. I was happily full, and happy I didn't order another course! Significant Eater returned home yesterday, so I cooked... Mise en place for a stir fry. Cantonese-style pork with mixed vegetables.

I don't think it's that hard...I walked away. I have never had it retinned, but it has been replaced by a similarly sized one from Falk.

They're certainly right on the $50... https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/tripideas/ar-BB1j92c9

One day (and to quote Don Corleone: "and that day may never come") I'll take a picture of one of my gorgeous Mauviel tin-lined copper pans (also purchased from E. DeHellerin, but schlepped back in my luggage) ) that I mistakenly used to pop popcorn. I walked away from the pan while I was heating it up with oil and those first couple of kernels, and by the time I got back, the tin had started to melt. I've since moved to a nice, cheap 30-year old Macy's pan for popping corn. I've always found my other tin lined pans to be practically nonstick, just by using them properly.

And on to the good stuff... https://www.gustiamo.com/colatura-anchovy-sauce-from-cetara-by-nettuno/#&gid=1&pid=1

Out of a wise man’s mouth… https://www.instagram.com/reel/C3-xWSlrJVc/?igsh=MXZ1MnF3aGg4NHJlMg==

Baked up another big batch of granola this morning, sorta following EMP's recipe. Oats, almonds, pistachios, pepitas, raisins, sour cherries, maple syrup, brown sugar, olive oil, butter, vanilla, and salt.

Get to L'Industrie. Scarr's on Orchard St. As for Joe's pizza, I actually prefer the original Joe's, on Carmine and Bleecker, as opposed to the new outpost on 14th, but that's just me. Emmy Squared will be Detroit-style. There's a lot of Neapolitan, as well as neo-Neapolitan. From UPN, to Don Antonio, to a branch of a pizzeria in Naples, L’antica Pizzeria da Michele.

Chicken thighs cacciatore. Braised baby artichokes and celery.

Quail (especially glove boned) cooks so quickly that I doubt most restaurants par cook quail. What about just pan roasting it in a very hot oven, without the sear on the stove-top?

It is a favorite here...just bitter enough and stands up to assertive dressings.

New Mexico style chile rojo con carne. Dried Hatch red chilis, rehydrated and turned into a sauce with garlic and stock. Grass-fed beef and Yukon potatoes, along with garlic and onions. Black beans, simply cooked. Served with both flour and corn tortillas. A little taste of downtown Albuquerque, and Duran Central Pharmacy (where the freshly made flour tortillas are great), for Significant Eater.

Were you, in a previous life, perhaps a metalsmith? Or maybe a farrier?

One would probably be OK with these: A whole lotta different perspectives.

The Times, with Priya's in-depth look at a day in the life of a restaurant dishwasher - at Gage & Tollner, no less. Let's just say - it's a busy day!

Can you really ever have too many?

Eric wants you to, too.

Are you ordering from Great-Alaska, or another seafood supplier in Alaska?

I tried a different method than I usually use for cooking these Hokkaido scallops: And don't like it nearly as much. Broiled, with butter, lemon, soy. they were okay, but they're better sautéed. Last night, went out to MayRee Thai, sans reservation - which on a Friday night here, isn't always the right move (we'd already been turned down somewhere else). But we got a small table. Here's what we started with, and the only pic... Really quite good. On top, and man was this spicy: Grilled Shrimp Mango Salad: Grilled shrimps served with Thai spicy fresh lime house sauce, green mango, tomato, roasted cashew nuts, pineapple, cilantro, culantro and fresh mint Along with... Roti Mataba: Roti stuffed with ground chicken, diced potatoes, onions, Southern style curry powder served with house made Thai cucumber relish We followed with a Thai green curry, that was perfect after the heat of that salad. Keang Kaew Waan: Southern style green curry with coconut milk, fresh basil, bell pepper and Thai eggplant with a choice of chicken or tofu served with jasmine rice I don't know why we don't use this place more often. We order delivery, but it's just not the same quality as when dining in-house.

Also: For classic tapas, montaditos - Quimet & Quimet And Paco Meralgo never disappointed. It's also quite near (walking distance) to one of the world's classic cocktail bars...Dry Martini Bar

Personally, I'd start by making certain I liked my ragu, and then doing the lasagne simply as a cheese lasagne (i.e. mozz + ricotta + parm), with no sausage or meatballs...yet. And for some reason, it sticks in my mind that the no-boil lasagne noodles were a great time saver, and came highly recommended by either ATK or CI back in the day. Whether they make the finished dish better than using classic lasagne sheets, I can't really say.

Aren't peaberries generally considered peaberries when there is only one to a pod? And they are smaller than "standard" coffee beans?

Yeah, I'm on the 2nd rack, but with the sliding racks it makes it harder to move the racks up and down. I don't think you eat read meat, but have you ever cooked a steak under that broiler = I imagine it's pretty close to a restaurant salamander.