TdeV

Thanks to all the helpful suggestions, I warmed some panettone under a damp paper towel in the microwave. The resulting panettone was so light and airy, it just disappeared. Vanished! I'm thinking I need another piece just to made sure that I actually got some.

This looks delightful! And, as it so happens, I have a bunch of chestnuts. I'm very intrigued by your crème de marrons. Do you have a recipe?

Hmm, no culinary schools around here. Sadly, it looks like my wallet is safe too.

@ElsieD, where?

@ElsieD, did you order the feast online?

How many meals was this spread from Le Cordon Bleu? Looks like enough for New Year's Eve, New Year's Day, maybe even New Year's week! What were the tastes like?

I read that the popularity of smoking pot was reducing wine consumption in general. I can possibly find the source of such info if folks want me to look.

Not to lose sight of my question . . . Could you tell me how I inquire from a bacon purveyor about the level of smoke in their bacon? If I ask "is it smoky" or "how smoky is it" or "is additonal smoke flavouring added", the answer is surely to be coloured by the vendor's personal tastes and other pressures.

Me too.

I meant to write that "You'd never know it by the percentage of red in my wine consumption" but it's much funnier in the original post. 🙄

You'd never know it by my red wine consumption. 😁

I'm no longer tolerant of heavy smoke, especially added smoke flavouring. When I lived in California I used to be able to choose between two bacons at the meat counter. One had a pronounced smoke flavour and the other didn't. Do anyone know of a quality bacon with a very low smoke flavour? What is Broadbent's Premium Country Ham flavour, @rotuts?

Went to the website to see, turns out they've got a 15% Xmas discount sale going on now. https://combustion.inc/

I'm looking at the online sale prices on d'Artagnan, particularly Cassoulet. But that would have to be for a dinner later in the month. @JeanneCake's lobster dip looks good for tomorrow! Edited to add: We are only 2 in the house. Could we eat the entire dish for a meal?

So, inquiring minds want to know about the apple cake with sambuca. 😁

@AlaMoi, it looks delicious! But I had to laugh.

@RWood, I have a farmer friend who has a great fondness for tractors. How I would love to take him that bûche! Edited to add: He's 91 in a nursing home, so this is not a real request. But I shall take him the photo!

@lindag, thanks. I really want a Paradice 9 because of it's small footprint, but I'm worried it won't do what I want . . . And I want the disc peeler too. Go ahead, call me Nervous Nelly.

I'm in the midwest, @Shelby, and wonder about my ability to get fresh seafood. (I used to live in SF Bay area, so Cioppino was rediculously easy). I did recently get two lobster tail which were easy to do in the Anova steam oven. But Cioppino, I'm going to buy some today. Thanks!

In that case, how small were the onion and garlic chopped?

Wow, @Shelby ! That's a beautiful spread. I'm filled up just lookin'. Do you make your own Cioppino? Got a recipe?

I think there's only one dice size on the Paradice 9, Elsie.

Linda, I want to dice onion into 1/4" dice sometimes . . . and garlic even smaller (1/8" ?). Can this be done?

I, too, was very impressed with the thoughtfulness of the second bag.

@MaryIsobel, now that I'm older with hands that are stiffer, I regularly have items which slip out of my hand. I have broken most of my flour containers (and wrote to King Arthur to tell them that the containers they used to have don't fly out of my hands whereas the new models do 🙁 ). Regularly I lose loaded butter knives and other stuff. And no dog to rush to my rescue. HOWEVER in the past couple weeks I've had two spectacular two handed saves. 🙂