weinoo

Coffee and Marlboro reds. We lived upstairs, in this two-family semi-detached house (Forest Hills, Queens), with my paternal grandmother and my father's step-dad (i.e my paternal step grand father) downstairs - my father's dad had been mugged and killed, in 1926, 6 months after he (my dad) was born. Upstairs: 2 bedrooms, living room, bathroom, kitchen and "dining room." There were no bars on the windows at that time, which was from 1955 - 1964, when we made the move to Nassau County - sans my grandmother and grandfather, who then rented out the upstairs to new tenants. As my grandmother was so young when her husband was killed, she had to go into the work force, and my father was basically taken care of by his aunts, until joining the Navy in like 1942. She remarried, and they lived in this house until the both departed. Anyway, they were great coffee drinkers and smokers back in the day; the whole family was, a matter of fact. So when we moved upstairs, my grandmother basically adopted me as the son she really never got to raise, and her routine was lots of coffee and Marlboro red cigs. I drank my first real percolator coffee down there (probably at the age of 12 -18 months, and never looked back. As for the smoke, well - I was a smoker for quite a few years, but gave it up a long time ago. As for coffee...well, they'll have to pry it out of my cold, dead hands.

Or just eat a little less?

Kuhn Rikon Silicone Whisking Fork with Angled Tips & Flexible Steel Core, Red (eG-friendly Amazon.com link)

I use a fork. And if one is making omelettes in a classic crepe pan (as pictured) or blue steel pan properly seasoned, a fork is fine.

The New York Bakery Where Frank Sinatra Liked to Buy Pastries Founded in 1894 and run by members of the same family ever since, Veniero’s is an icon of Italian American New York. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/27/t-magazine/venieros-bakery-new-york.html?smid=url-share

The Good Cook: Eggs and Cheese (eG-friendly Amazon.com link)

That was always Julia’s method. But… this is undoubtedly true.

Jacques's French country omelet is basically a frittata in my book. The difference being that his country omelette is not folded, which is how I define an omelette. And if you were to have gone for a job interview in Jacques's kitchen, and he asked you to make an omelette, my guess is he wanted to see something similar to what I posted above. Although I doubt I would have gotten the job!

As I had a whole roast chicken we didn't get around to eating for dinner the other night, I had to use a little of it for lunch yesterday. Congee with mushrooms, carrots, celery, onion, and some sliced chicken breast. Added the back, wings and other bits and pieces while the congee was cooking, and then nibbled on those parts while enjoying the congee itself.

Almost like the one I put together (hastily) this morning in order to test the theory...

Probably where Alice stole her "idea" of cooking an egg over fire in a ladle! But really, that's not an omelet as we have come to recognize it, is it? If one is cooking an egg dish, placing it into an oven, or covering it...then it's not an omelette any more, in my opinion.

Fresh Direct's thoughts on onions: https://www.freshdirect.com/srch.jsp?pageType=search&searchParams=onions&pageSize=30&all=false&activePage=1&sortBy=Sort_Relevancy&orderAsc=true&activeTab=product FWIW, "white" onions are always available here. And Rick Bayless pretty much always calls for "white" onions in his recipes. Except when he calls for red onions. Of course, I'm sure this still does not answer the question (s).

One of my favorite of the RG beans.

What is a fluffy omelet? I don't believe that to be a classic French omelet (a la Jacques), but more like a fritatta.

We returned from a nice, almost two-week vacation trip to Florence and Paris, on the night before Christmas Eve. Yesterday, I spent the day cooking, as I was jonesing for some Florentine-ish food. But can two people really eat as two people in Florence might? Here's an appetizer of beans on crostini, as served in Florence (yes, everything they say about the bread in Tuscany is true - it's devoid of pretty much everything, but the food is generally heavy on the salt to make up for its lack in said bread). Served with good olive oil (a full bottle is placed on your table, along with a pepper grinder; add to your liking), it's basically enough for a light dinner. Of course it's followed by a primi, a secondi, cheese, dessert, and good luck getting back to your airbnb. My version, with Rancho Gordo's Tarbais beans (and Jean-Georges's olive oil): I whipped up (in 3 hours) a really tasty ragu, so our primi was... Fusilli with said ragu. This is a 2 oz. portion. Significant Eater declined her secondi (well, I did too), which was a lovely roast chicken along with some roasted root veg - they won't go to waste. Chocolate from the Sunday organic market in Paris.

Absolutely! Puntarelle, too.

I’d have to move to Rome, and buy the artichokes already prepped.

Exactly.

Buy a pair of those inexpensive knives made in Thailand, and just leave them when you come home.

Now I remember something else!! I worked in the fish and meat departments of one of our local groceries when I was in high school, before I got promoted to the deli. This was when there were actually butchers in those places, as well as the fishmonger. Leading up to Christmas/New Year's, we would get live eels in. Talk about a pain in the ass to try and dispatch and skin. Nails and pliers were involved.

Old skool style shrimp scampi over spaghetti. Roasted broccolini with.

That should work well. If one can use a pastry bag!

I make many.

I like Veniero’s (used to use them for catering when I needed an easy sweets table; the mini cannoli went over big). I think the question about my biggest concern has been answered, and that is keeping the filling separate from the shell. Once they’re filled, they don’t continue to improve. Otherwise, I can say Veniero’s is a good product.

If that's the same place, yes it was on E. Broadway before moving to Bowery.