Margaret Pilgrim

We see tens of thousands of migrating snow geese each winter as they rest in the California Delta wetlands. Husband commented that it was illegal to shoot a snow goose in Montana while he was growing up because they could be so easily confused with a swan, also illegal.

I need to address several small parcels of beef sweetbreads, sleeping in my freezer. I adore menu sweetbreads but confess I have no experience cooking them. I scooped these up at a country butcher shop, whose shop subtitle is "Meat eaters' toy store", where they sold for an incredible $3.00 a pound. (Husband explained "big boys don't eat sweetbreads".) So, ideas for how to prepare these? Beef, not veal or lamb. Blanch? Weight? Flour or bread? Simply saute? HELP!

A “senior cook” responding to @Tropicalsenior: At my first job and my apartment, I would buy a pound of ground round and 3 zucchini. Dinner was 1/3 lb burger and a sliced zucchini. Repeat two more times, then rebuy the same. My roommate moved in and rebelled after a week. Menu got marginally better. I married in 6 months, moved out of town and took on an hour + commute. Dinner was a shared small porterhouse and splat of some vegetable. I seriously learned to cook, mostly out of Betty Crocker, after husband was drafted, we moved out of state and I had time to think about food. A champagne appetite pushed me toward restaurant-level concepts. Cooking like this at home dulls one’s taste for moderately priced restaurants. Shot myself in the foot.

My method, actually a dumbed down version of French Laundry, is similar to yours but Iet the meat marinate overnight in the wine and veg combo. As you say, outstanding!

Salting eggplant for 30 minutes before cooking removes bitterness. (Google precise method.)

FWIW,

I wonder if it has to do with younger people's tending toward craft beers over wine, and older people finding white wines more easily tolerated than reds. Many of our friends have veered to more white consumption than in our earlier decades.

Truc: in order to prevent microwave from toughening bread products, we loosely wrap them in a damp paper towel before nuking.

Either fresh sliced ginger or cucumber are interesting.

Our son was lucky enough to be the best friend of the son of an "about town" surgeon who included him in their weekly dinners at Stars. I wasn't so lucky but adored Tower at Santa Fe Grill and Balboa Cafe.

Soufffles have a bad rap. They are actually incredibly easy and close to foolproof. They just don't "hold" well if not served soon after removing from oven. Once you get the drift of the process, the flavor ingredient (cheese or veg or...) list is endless. Have fun!

Excellent reports and brilliant experiences albeit without reservations during this busy holiday season. We are intimately familiar with the areas you describe. 5, 6 and 7e were"home to us" for some 25 years. Lots of historical as well as constantly updated restaurants and cafes. Well done!

Hats off to you! Well done!

Husband finished the last of our second panettone of the season. I did a small part, preferring something savory at breakfast. Finishing off one is always a good feeling, like vacuuming up the last of the Christmas tree needles. Next one in 2025.

IMHO, naw, stay warm and dry at home and save some money to boot.