mrbigjas

but two pints would be perfect for a 7-inch pie. i bought some 7-inch pie tins from fante's a couple months ago--they're just a couple bucks each and make the perfect amount of pie for two people to share over a couple of days.

i am! just haven't been posting much about them, or in general...

you should do whatever you want! if you like eating sour cherries out of hand, there's no reason you shouldn't.

my only thing is, that tall jar that the nocino is in doesn't seal entirely. it's a cheapo from ikea, and when i turned it over to shake it, some definitely leaks out around the edge. now, i read on one of the dozen or so sites i found recipes on that the process needs a little oxygen to work--in fact it recommended you put it in a canning jar with no gasket to make sure. and i have another 1/2 bottle of vodka to top it up with if needed, so i'm not too concerned. i'm more annoyed with how careful i have to be every time i move it...

according to this he's now on tuesdays. but if you click over to here it says laban's on assignment last week, and will resume tomorrow.

cowgirl creamery's red hawk cheese haunts my dreams. seriously it's that good. i think about it a lot. probably more than i should. it's quite pungent.

i am! check it out here. nocino too. my photos are nothing quite as nice as yours, bleudauvergne, but hopefully they do the trick...

cherries are in here, so tonight i made the clafoutis from this book. and.... i like the julia child version better. the main difference in the recipes appears to be the amount of milk -- both call for 3 cups of cherries, 1/2 cup flour, 3 eggs. but julia's recipe calls for 1 1/4 cups of milk, while paula's version calls for 2 cups. this makes paula's version more custardy and liquid than julia's. a matter of preference, no doubt. and there's a possibility i didn't bake it quite long enough tonight. but still, i think i like it a little drier.

just hit up osteria for lunch. if i'm on my bike it's about 7 minutes from here, so if anyone's having lunch you just let me know. i'm not sure about the panini. i had the mortadella/scamorza. while the mortadella is fantastic, and combined with scamorza it's even better, the whole thing is just too big. there's too much fatty salty meat on there, the bread can't stand up to it without being too thick, and too crunchy from being grilled too long.... basically if it had half the meat it does in it, it would still be great, and filling enough for the likes of me, and the thing would work better as a whole. good stuff though, on the whole. that pizza lombarda, woo. and i swear i haven't been in that pleasant a space in a long time. i really like it.

i asked john at sue's produce and he said they're in season for a little while longer, and he may get them if he can get them for a price that he thinks he can sell them at. in other words, if he's getting them for $4-5 a mango, how many is he going to be able to sell for $8 or something? i'm good for a couple, but i'm just one person...

dude has a blog here, and has never been less than forthcoming when i've asked him questions like this. and i've asked him dozens of them. usually in the context of studiokitchen dinners, but more recently, not.

you ever made a pound cake according to that traditional recipe? that's some heavy cake right there. i've used some of the trans-fat-free shortening for pie crusts and the like, and the texture isn't quite the same as regular crisco. however, i suspect that as more and more places ban trans fats (and people in general are more aware of how bad for you they are) even regular shortening will soon be a thing of the past and these bans will go by the wayside. (edited to say: by which i mean, i bet that stock's is going to have to figure something out sooner or later, whether or not they get their exemption now).

ah i don't know, it's just the philadelphia weekly. as a decent reviewer, kirsten henri is the exception rather than the rule over there. remember chick from a couple years ago who did a column listing all the things she wouldn't eat?

harumph. where's our beets? all north star brings into town are.... well, the greatest asian pears money can buy. ok i guess i really shouldn't complain.

i don't mind traveling; i just don't know if we'll be able to pull it off, timing-wise. i checked caribou's online menu, no go. same with ansill. i don't mind calling, but i'd prefer to know that they actually do have it. googling southwark came up with minor gourmandry's blog. he wrote good stuff. but anyway, calling around, yeah, good thinkin. i didn't grow up with this stuff, so really i don't have a lot of the baggage people do. i'll let you all know what we figure out.

haha look what the cat dragged in: poison onion rings! sweeeeet

hey, good point, an old-school diner. not a bad thought. i was thinking that somewhere like southwark might have it now and then.

what ellencho said, except without the tongs cuz i'm totally manly like that.

ok so my dad and i like a nice piece of liver. both of our wives don't. in fact, my mom can barely handle the smell of it cooking in the house; the mrs, as those of you who have met her know, is not nearly as strident about it, but wouldn't choose to eat it if she had another option. so we say, forget them, let's go out the two of us, get a nice big plate of liver, and have a good bottle of wine, whether we bring it ourselves or buy it there. so where should we go? divan has a really tasty beef liver appetizer, but i think we'd be looking for something more traditional, the kind of thing you think of when you say, 'i'll have the calf liver.' i've been out so rarely of late that i can't remember where else i've seen it on the menu. of course, i could get some and cook it, but that's less fun, and i've never cooked it at home. so in a larger sense, what i'm looking for is a benchmark, that i can aspire to when i start torturing the boy with offal. so where should we go?

i don't mean to mess with everyone's righteous anger or anything, but i don't see that much of a difference between what coke's doing now and what pepsi did there several years ago. voices were raised in protest then, too (i seem to remember a rick nichols column about it maybe?), and still most vendors have a giant pepsi branded soda fountain and whatnot in their stall. anyone have an inquirer account that can look it up?

you guys haven't mentioned that the farmstand now has fresh chickens available! i think they're from green meadow farm. we got one of the 3-pounders this week, and lemme tell ya boneless (but not skinless) chicken breasts ARE good and not too boring, if you cook them right (basically follow the steak recipe vadouvan posted around here somewhere--long time, butter, low heat). the rest of the chicken is in buttermilk getting ready to be fried tonight. anyway they're $3.25 a pound for a whole bird which, you know, sure it's expensive, but it isn't the $12.99 they're charging for the skinless/boneless breasts. and it's really good chicken. hm... i wonder what they're doing with the carcasses of all those birds they're cutting up for the breasts. edited to add: and the giblets. why do none of these birds come with giblets? that little fried chicken liver has been my treat for years now since no one else in the house likes them, and now i don't have it.... so sad.

the korean alphabet is phonetic and easy to learn to read. i think everyone should do it. problem solved.

i had a feeling that might get you started! i made some tonight. good stuff. i didn't realize how it would seem so liquid and then pastify as it cooled. with loads of good olive oil and salt and about the freshest dandelions that i ever got at the farmers market yesterday, this was a great meal (edited: see?) (also tomatoes, and green beans with onions. and one solitary piece of jamon serrano)

i was reading about the puglian dialect yesterday and ended up learning about neapolitan pronunciation on a southern italian separatist website. these threads have been a real adventure...

this is unfortunately a case of a little knowledge being worse than none. of course, as katie points out, it is the daily news, and stu bykofsky. anyone who would take his opinion seriously on a matter like this should question their own judgment -- the ins and outs of the food world are not an area in which he has expertise.