Margaret Pilgrim

I can only say that we usually experience excellent service. We have an inside joke about going into a new restaurant and meeting the waiter from hell, supercilious, condescending, with that "you are SO lucky to have gotten in here!" attitude. By the time we have placed our order, he is slightly more accommodating. After seeing our responses to a course or two, he is close to amenable. By the end of the meal, he is positively jovial. As we walk out the door, husband will say, "Well, we broke him down." And a good time will have been had by all. But acquaintances, having had a same waiter at a same restaurant, have told us of the miserable time they had, mostly because of this person whom they felt was antagonistic and pushed his own agenda, They never made the attempt to get him on their side.

@bon vivant While it all looks fabulous, I particularly love the first picture of bundled diners and jar of hot sauce on the table. Warming body and soul.

Your decision and reasoning are sound. Our microwave keeps kitchen-phobic husband alive at lunch. He has not walked within 10 feet of the CSO and seems to have created a permanent rat-track. He does sometimes look at its clock. Our ancient microwave doesn't have one.

I'm not sure that our CSO will do much of any of the things we daily use a microwave for. As in heating leftovers in 3-4 minutes; melting butter; heating milk or for that matter reheating a cup of coffee; nuking a "TV" meal for lunch. My frustration with the CSO, and it is probably due to my inexperience, is its 10 minute pre-heat function and time loss. It will be great for "cooking" but I don't find it great for fast reheats.

9am "lunch" at the flea market Husband chose "revueltas"; I had "loroco". + hot sauce. Cabbage salad on the side.$3.each

Super simple Saturday night Chili Corn bread e Married up, with scallions and sharp cheddar as attendants

Monkey 47.

Returned the TV book and checked out Milk Street Tuesday Nights I am finding it very interesting, probably useful, full of dishes I would actually cook and probably enjoy. A copy of Milk Street Magazine had also come in, and it too has some usable content. Surprise, surprise! Never too old to learn new tricks.

No, his point was not that service was so seamless but that waiters were merely food runners, perhaps an American idea but certainly not the French model. He mentioned that he noticed that an adjacent table received a different plate than he although they were each having the same tasting menu. The waioter explained that the chef sent out the plates he had calibrated each table would enjoy, some getting veal, some getting woodcock etc. My point, exactly.

At a small dinner in Paris, the subject of waiters came up. One guest had regaled us with descriptions of his twice a day Michelin starred meals over the past week. He dropped a comment that he never noticed his waiter. WHAAAAAT? Your waiter is not only your server but your only conduit to the kitchen, the chef. How does the kitchen know that you like, even care about the food? Even in a diner, the cook likes to hear someone say something nice about their work. I can't imagine ignoring the waiter, essentially your partner for the duration of your visit.

Seriously, I have found the comments, remarks, experiences related on this thread enormously interesting and helpful. Not the least valuable is the self-realization that I've gained by relating to others' usage and opinions of these various appliances. We, no, YOU are a bonanza of experience and ingenuity.

Giant mango Pork belly With potatoes roasted aside, and dilly creamed zucchini Milk Street French apple cake ...

Okay. Here is the French Apple Cake. Recipe called for brandy or calvados. I used calvados. I added softly whipped cream. i found it blah. The apples gave off extraordinary aroma before being added to the batter. it was lost in the baking. Will not repeat. Might add that it was a tedious recipe to follow.

As well you should have. Many novices watching wouldn't know the difference. I remember one of our son's early girl friend's watching me clean a non-stick pan with a ChoreGirl, one of those curly wire scrubbers, and then doing it at home, removing the entire surface. "But I saw your mother doing exactly the same thing!" not realizing that I was not using any pressure, only a wipe over.

My feeling exactly about the companion book.

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.