AlaMoi

the FDA/USDA/et.al. have one, and only one, item that requires an expiration date - and that is baby formula. the FDA/USDA does not require best/use by dating on any other product whatsoever. some states have laws which typically concern dairy products, but no state has a law requiring an expiration date on salt, for example.... shell eggs are the next "best" example, - but only if they display the USDA grading shield. not all supermarkets sell eggs that have the UDSA shield for grading . . . . note that for eggs, sell by/best by dates are _not_ required, only pack dates. but if sell by/use by dates are printed on the carton, "sell by" is 30 days from packing date and "use by"/"Best by" dates are 42 days from pack date. all other dates the determination of the maker/packer as to when the product will still be at it's best quality. bit of iffy's there - but dem's the laws. meats wrapped in a tray ? ? ? good luck - you're on your own to trust any date on the label....

pan fired or deep fried chicken with skin on is very apt to produce a limp skin - simply because the frying drives moisture aka steam out of the meat, and the double dredge will trap a lot of that steam - essentially steaming/boiling the skin. for skin on I prefer a single dredge. the purpose of dredging the chicken in plain flour _before_ the egg wash is to ensure the surface is dry. an egg wash will not adhere to wet chicken much at all . . . if the egg wash does not adhere, the dredging/coating held by the egg wash will simply slide off the chicken pieces.

pan fired or deep fried - but the key is the double-dipped-dredge for the generous&crispy crust. do it right regular (pan fried) dredge the chix in flour to dry; rest for 5-10 minutes egg wash & dredge in seasoned flour; rest for 20-30 minutes re-egg wash and dredge in seasoned flour; rest 5-10 minutes into hot oil.

I y'am the landlord . . . (g)

the under-the-cabinet opener is super seriously superior to all the 'hand held' gizmos. a Swedish friend 'gifted' me one in the 1980's and it's a treasured resource. the thing with it is....one can use both hands to grip/turn/twist the jar. no hand(s) / magic levers / etc required (in some fashion...) to hold the lid. this is my fourth kitchen where the very first consideration has been: the best place for this opener . . . .

there are people who cannot draw a straight line using a ruler . . . so the gadgets have appeal to people - who imho could do it but decline the thought "a bit of practice." ....my first hasselbacks . . . well, let's just say.... they didn't work out so well.... the seafood doohickie - it's looks like a pretty thing for a party type serving. (a) who needs that many (whatevers) for a less than yuge family? however, if one is throwing parties 2-3x/month in a coastal town . . .

I always cringe when DW picks up a short paring knife and is 'working' on something like dicing celery . . . . small, narrow, apt to twist, highly fond of slicing fingers..... I have a 10", 8", 6" chef, and a 7" santoku . . . . and a large wood cutting board. the 8" chef and the 7" santoku lead in the 'use hours' category by a factor of 40-50. my 'next used' is a 7" boning knife. I rarely use the smaller "paring knife(s)" - just recent for cutting the pits out of local fresh non-freestone peaches . . . a once a year task.... for veggie prep, the santoku is far and away the best 'go to' knife. it is superb at the flat sliding cut technique, and has a thinner blade. it's wide - it smashes garlic cloves like nobody's business.... some veggie prep - like large diameter eggplant - I slice with the 8" chef. the others are absolutely top shelf useful for specific tasks - the 10" chef does watermelon, cantaloupe, pizza 'crunch slicing' just great - big dissection of large loin cuts is another. the 6" chef is very good for detailed meat trimming - schnipping out tendon/gristle; the boning knife is better at silver skin removal. a large/long knife can be intimidating - especially on a dinky small cutting board. it kinda' depends on how invested one goes into 'tools of the trade' an inability to maintain knives to a purpose required level of sharpness will also spoil the experience....

local peaches are coming in. these are smallish not freestone but WOW they be good.

they seem to sell a lot of it labelled as 'beer' . . .

well, bananas Foster would not be much theater without the flambe, eh? (g) beer is a special case in that it may have enzymes that act as 'meat tenderizer' "may" because it depends on the brew - dark/bock/etc... stuff like Bud Lite is pretty devoid of those enzymes.

alcohol boils off at ~173F but that "when cooked" all the alcohol disappears is not true. putting alcohol/distilled spirits into boiling water - about 85% of the alcohol will remain. a heated flambe' - about 75% of the alcohol remains. so first off there's the non-alcohol 'flavors' of whisky/whiskey/rye/bourbon/cognac/etc - some, but not all, of those 'aromatics' boil off / evaporate at temps below alcohol. they will without question leave a mark on the flavor of the dish. the remaining alcohol is a pretty decent "solvent" - which can / will extract flavors from stuff in the dish - ala' vodka sauce. or the protein, or the onion family, or the spices, or the herbs . . .

(pasta) + salad and grissini works for me! the pasta prep can be quite filling. olive dish, proscu wrapped mellon . . .

she did, and she liked it, long time ago . . . so details are very fuzzy.

well, I used Julia's recipe. sliced 3/16" (4.7625mm) thick. took my time caramelizing the onion. used (pre-stocked) dark roux to thicken a bit. toasted bread and cheese on the casserole floor; toasted bread & cheese topping. it all went according to plan, and bombed. as some have pointed out, 100% beef stock turns out a very strong / overpowering soup. DW did not care for the wine bit, and was particular put-off by the cognac. if I do it again, I think I'll go with water and perhaps some ? seasonings - but no wine, no cognac.

and no one knows how thin is "thin"