AlaMoi

uhmmm, not trying to encourage flame wars, but comma however . . .and similar . . . the "mac" in "mac and cheese" represents "macaroni" - that is a generally accepted pasta shape/type... done a cheese sauce with elbows, spirals, bow ties, penne, ziti, rotini, . . . all veddy good stuff - but not "mac&cheese" - more: "paste & cheese sauce" which is on my fork, , , is nadda problem . . .

it seems to go by both names . . . not an especially unusual situation. nadda clue,,, working on it....

the Lebovitz link is very promising for technique - thanks Anna! a mention sent me looking for the Cedro lemon: so now I'm off on a hunt for them . . . the pith is the "size" I recall....

this prep was "dry" - altho it could have been 'wet preserved' then dried/sugared . . . but the pith on some of those lemons sure looks to be a good starting place . . . is there any name/ID on that type of lemon? (sorry, my Greek is Greek . . . oh, wait . . .)

I've posed this Q several times in several places - been looking for knowledge/insight into my 30 year lemon quest, which goes as follows: Greece - Athens - early 1970's big party (and a bit extravagant . . .) on table snack bowl of very thick lemon pith - firm to the bite (dried(?) / preserved(?)) / sugared. stunning good stuff. now,,, #1 - very thick pith - particular lemon variety? nothing like it found in USA 'normal' stores..... #2 - pith is generally regarded as "bitter" - but this prep (sugared) was only slightly sour/tart - superb "balance" anyone know of this "dish" and/or it's prep?

. . . . and not a word about lamb . . . the slaughter and eating of young animals - based on 'they're tender&tasty' - hits so many hot buttons, very difficult to make a comprehensive OMG! list. curiously, this OMG! reaction is not applied to chickens. the very definition between fryer / roaster / stewer is age. frequently couched / hidden in "weight groups" but be not fooled, lower weight = young birds. measured in weeks at xyz specific feeds, all very very 'scientifically' determined. years ago , , , neighbor youngsters would come over, and time to time they+our kids would do some 'gardening' aka 'picking' their eye would bulge extraordinaire at carrots coming out of the ground . . . peas inside a pod?? stunning stuff was it.... kids even then had no idea where their food came from, today . . . even less. school field trips do not include chicken or beef slaughter houses.

I'm in the camp of US restos (generally) putting out really big serving sizes . . . more than the average person, and certainly a 'senior' can eat. this never appeared as an issue when we lived in Germany/traveling to adjoining countries. it was really neat because we always had room for desert! higher end places - big dish, little plunks of food . . . - are the exception. now, the only time we do not ask for a container/by-any-other-name is when on the road/traveling - minimal potential to eat up the leftovers...

not shilling - but once a year Boardsmith turns his staff loose to create "Art Boards" - these are unique one off creations - all proceeds go in bonuses to employees. historically some really really cool stuff . . . not yesteryear's Oldsmobile cutting boards . . . this year: April 20th

this

I have a dry wall saw - kept exclusively for kitchen work. aggressive teeth, cuts frozen stuff with no issue. pull out the frozen, saw off what you what, put the still frozen back. ' . . . several years . . . ' uhmm, I'd encourage the 'eat more fish' routine.

"...with no muss and no fuss...." oh, I can go there....!

is home-made out of the question? they are spectacularly easy - blow up like balloons on steroids - fast, hot, fresh - pockets-to-the-edges . . .

I do veal/pork/beef/chicken "schnitzel" - none are actually a whole lot different - techniques to getting breading to stick is the same, bread crumbs, panko, cornmeal, crushed Corn Flakes, etc. etc. etc. . . .' schnitzel is thin - it cooks very quickly. which is key to 'luscious' schnitzel . . . over cooked thin schnitzel is aka 'shoe leather' the sauces to 'BAM! it up' all differ.

a 2 liter soda bottle is 4.33 inches / 110mm in diameter . . .

my collection:

Quaker Oats, grits, bread crumbs, StoveTop stuffing . . . come in similar containers. Amazon.ca has 5" - but huge qtys . . . a UPS Store likely source for qty one....

yes - I suggest a simple mince of tomato & capers, S&P - this is how Joel Robuchon preps it: really good stuff . . .

way back when, the question circulated: "Would you fly to the moon in a rocket ship built by the lowest bidder?" the same applies to "store brands" #1 - they are inconsistent because the stores switch suppliers as fast as the price changes.... #2 - if 'made just for xxx' it's usually lowest cost and the joined-at-the-hip aspect of low(est) quality. #3 - not all store brands are "bad" - well, at least this week..... brand label producers are much more sensitive to producing the same product - good/bad/mediocre.... - "as always" consumers either "like" the brand or "not like" the brand. bottom line, if you find a specific brand 'really good' to your own tastes - stick with it. a store brand will almost never be the same from (semi-extended) time-to-time.

chop-o-matics . . . from the 50's . . . https://www.ebay.com/itm/295434115921

yes, definitely a southern twist. if you search "sweet green beans" you'll find many recipes from casserole to side-dish. just the 'sweet juice marinade' to bacon ladened 'baked and quake' casserole I'm a Yankee, married into a 'suthern family' - I've got loads and piles of "conflicting" recipes. but, for green beans, two major southern divisions: (1) green beans cooked to death - soft mushy (2) stuff like the sweet beans frankly, all the variants are super delicious to the Normal Yankee.... (!)

that looks more like a film set than a home kitchen . . . keep in mind - he does/did his thing in commercial kitchens - the regulations for commercial kitchen procedures will baffle and befuddle any home cook. stuff 'just don't make sense' etc. - results of 'inspectors' interpreting 'laws' - but if commercial operations don't follow the rules as their local inspector decides they are . . . they'll get shut down. if a line cook used a typical 'spoon rest' they'll get nailed to the wall for 'possible cross contamination' and 'work surface not maintained in a clean and orderly manner.' same as super high end chefs wandering around (on TV...) the kitchen with a pocketful of 'tasting spoons' - does that happen in real life? you don't wanna know . . . we've booked 'the chef's table in the kitchen' - you can see what happens 'off camera' I have a veddy nice stainless steel aka heavy aka stays put spoon rest. more often than not, I use a small plate, the lid of an expended jar/empty pyrex bowl, used mise-en place little bowl, or my favorite . . . the wood cutting board, which is right behind me and in easy reach . . . it's going to get cleaned up anyway, right?

being almost exclusively a scratch cook, the quantities are a big focus. as retired empty nesters, it's easy to accumulate a fridge stuffed with leftovers. and more often than not,,,, they do not get totally consumed . . . a light lunch, mebbe. too often, all/some portion of leftovers sit, then get tossed.... DW often clips recipes to try - "serves 8" kind of things immediately get cut-cut-cut! I've taken to gram measuring to make just the right amount(s). especially for pasta, rice, dry beans - those are easily over estimated, especially if the cook is hungry! I do fix dishes where leftovers are intended - mac&cheese / chili / stews . . . they'll go into the weekly menu planning as 'left over xxx'

dry weight: 100 grams for two. long time used 120 grams - and there was always a bit left over - reduced to 100 grams and goes 'all gone' *100 grams = 3.527 ounces....

this guy is my historical go-to source - historic? yeah, I'm that old . . . . one of his upsides - he makes makes both left and right handed 'implements' sounds silly until one needs to pick out/up/toss stuff - then the mirror image pieces shine, big time. also, shorter/longer pieces - especially useful for shallow/deep pots.

(heavy) cleavers and bones have a serious issue - bone fragments. I have a mega-heavy thick serious meat cleaver from my parents' 1950s excursions into 'buying a half cow' used it, twice, on chicken. worked great - cleaved with zip-comma-zero effort. ...and produced bunches of bone fragments one had to fish out tooth-by-tooth. making a clean cut thru the joint is much superior to the brute force 'hack&whack' approach. imho.