Margaret Pilgrim

Okay. Two of my library requests have come in. I picked up The Complete Milk Street TV Show Cookbook yesterday. (Since they each weigh over 4 lbs, I only brought one home. Will return it and exchange for the second tomorrow.) I have gone through it, page by page, and found little that I wanted to try. Ironically, the most interesting ideas were in desserts, a section usually of negligible import to me. In savories, the Trapani Pesto looked worth a go, as did a roasted mushroom pizza with fontina and scallions, which is based on a fontina-parmesan cream. Will try Taiwanese Flaky scallion pancakes to see if it's better than what I'm now making. In a few minutes, I will make the French apple cake, using a bag of homegrown Gravensteins I was gifted. A ricotta Semolina cheesecake sounds worth a try, as does a Stovetop (steamed) chocolate cake. I admit that my appraisal is colored by my intense dislike for CK and for the pedantic tone of the book. Others' mileage will probably vary considerably.

So how much celery does one have to consume to reach a "no go' level? ahhh...got it. "But this naturally occurring nitrate is also never harmful in any way, shape or form. Celery juice powder and celery powder have oxidized so they can contain naturally occurring nitrates because that developed through the oxidation process. ... Fresh celery juice also doesn't contain nitrites."

After the first rise.

Are there any trucs in making cheese breads? Regardless of how much or what kinds of cheese i use, it seems to disappear into the bread, adding little in flavor. Thoughts?

Sounds like a plan!

Quite amazing for a Thursday night in August. This could well serve us as a holiday feast meal.

While I usually make a simple if rich custard, then add fruit, this time i just churned pureed peaches, heavy cream and sugar. Very clean and fresh, fruit forward flavor.

Honest confession, DH would starve midday without the microwave. When he retired, I reminded him of the old saw, "for better or worse but not for lunch". At first, he took umbrage, but with mutual accommodation, he finds stuffs in the fridge or freezer that he nukes when he feels the need. Leftovers and occasional frozen tamales, enchiladas, various evil prefab plates. Midday, i rely on microwave reheated "whatevers" from the fridge.

Beef steak tomato with jarred goat cheese...with chili and citrus Local halibut with Bernaise, garlicky greens

I would cut them into thick medallions, lightly flour, sear and cook as osso buco, which your cut is but minus the "osso". Chopped shallot or onion, garlic, carrots, thyme, VERY TINY KISS of rosemary, white wine and veal stock, or chicken stock + beef stock mixed. Braise in oven at 275 for maybe 3 hours. Test with carving fork for doneness. Serve with pappardelle or polenta. When will you be serving? Is casual dress okay? This cut at my local butcher, with bone, was 25.99/ pound the other day.

We portioned off a pint, placed the (plastic) container in a ziploc bag, added several inches water and froze the package. On our way home, we stopped and gave it to our "peach people" in Lodi. They weren't home, so we left if in a backporch freezer with note taped to door.

My question is, if you're only going to wash that many dishes, isn't it just as easy to hand wash them? Our Asko dishwasher lasted 30 years, We just replaced it with a Samsung. I am well pleased with the S, but it does take an hour on "quick" cycle. It is also rather huge, washes stemware and a dozen place settings, We run it several times a week.

Soft boiled eggs with seeded WW bread toast "soldiers". More, yes, sliced peaches!

Paraphrased, "know thyself". I've been in charge of daily meals for longer than many here have been alive. Because of our simple needs, I now spend almost no time planning meals. Stovetop cooking comes so naturally at this point that I have to consciously rethink how I cook in order to use other methods. I am looking across the room at my CSO, once again vowing to think about using it today. I promise.

I am learning lot from this thread. About the way other people cook, and about the way i cook. DH and I tend to have three modes of eating. The two of us, which is rock bottom basic, when our kids join us, which is another level of basic, and dinner party, when we do try for a certain level of polish. To a great extent, I've become a Dutch oven cook, tossing a haunch in a heavy vessel, the oven to 275 and forgetting it for hours, removing it to find dinner done. Or maybe low and slow dry oven heat. We've long stopped counting calories, and simply fry up what we hanker for. For the rare, and rare, steak, we just grill pan it, or if thick enough, sear and finish in the oven. One pan. I know I should up my game, but it sounds like more rather than less work for me. I am definitely, at this point, a KISS cook. (Keep it simple, stupid.)

"Nothing" to eat. -+ lettuce. DH dressed with EVOO and banyuls vinegar, his current favorite. He opted for his normal default, pasta with butter and parmesan, but I needed something more -> leftover Rao's marinara morphed into vodka sauce, because, well you always have vodka and cream on hand... A few red pepper flakes, well, because...

Heh! You've spoiled yours, I've spoiled mine.

Word.

I use a stovetop grill-pan. We have a good fan/exhaust system. Crank up it up to smoking and grill steak, veggies, chicken, satay strips... Much less hassle than DH's outdoor grilling.

What grand time travel! Bux! Haven't read his name in years! He's the one who brought me to eG in its infancy. And all these others once so familiar.

It appears that we don't have a dedicated thread for tapas, one it seems to me might be quite useful. To kick it off, I'll contribute the irregular pan tomate I made as part of lunch today. Instead of the usual bread treatment, I sauteed baguette slices in EVOO, resulting in thin croutons. Then slathered, edge to edge, with tomato coulis laced with garlic and EVOO, S and P. Husband wolfed all six. Must have been okay.

It occurs to me that I can use my CSO for an air fryer. No? I would guess maybe tossing the ingredients periodically? Or, tips?

Sliced fresh peach.

I am an embarrassment to this forum. A wart on its nose. I deep fry in a dedicated 50 cent garage sale Calphalon pot using 2 cups of oil. I turn on kitchen fan and crank up stovetop to high, wait until oil shimmers, then toss in a bread cube. Fry battered prawns or chicken, potatoes, moderating heat when necessary.. Meanwhile, back in the cave,..

LOL or wincing in pain. I have a CSO, but no yogurt maker, pressure cooker, rice cooker or crockpot. It seems I've been limping along with pots and pans, stovetop and oven. Our microwave has a dial. I think it's from the early '80s. One of these days, I'll learn how to use the CSO beyond simple bake.