Margaret Pilgrim

And your cupboard now can support a tremendous number of dishes already. When one cooks from a variety of cuisines, the number of condiments or ingredients can become mind and space shelf boggling.

Our household really creates very little food waste. Leftovers become tomorrow's lunch, and quantities too small to make a meal become refrigerator-prowl snacks. Those few dishes that fail to hit the mark usually can be foisted off on son's family, i.e., into the freezer and sent on to a better place. I am guilty of some degree of produce waste when my shopping eye is bigger than our appetite or my energy to create a dish from stuffs that require "work".

And one of my favorite ads in which a brown and white border collie is sitting up in front of the refrigerator, caption, "You and I both know there is one leftover pork chop in there."

These are a good product albeit a little thicker than most Italian pappardelle and require slightly more cooking time, IMHO.

I'm lucky in that my public library keeps fairly up to date on cookbooks. I just about always check one out for a relaxed perusal before ponying up retail.

Absolutely agree. I can't count the number of favorite gizmos I've tried to "sell" friends. I just categorize them as NIH (not invented here). Their loss.

Amen. And it's always fun to track down the various beeps. Is it the fridge? Door ajar? Someone accidentally hit the bottle chill button? It's the Cuisinart oven? Preheat is complete? OI bake time is complete? Or, it's battery alert of one of a half dozen smoke detectors on several levels?

Husband and I were both taken by this recipe for quick NAAN. He surprised me by printing out the recipe which I had previously and unknown to him bookmarked. No pics, but simple prep and quite recognizable product. Tender and flavorful. Only butter on hand to dress them, so next time will have a tasty curry ready.

I weigh pasta. 6 oz = dinner for the two of us plus a lunch for 1+.

I have no wooden spoon skills. I do use several wooden straight edge "paddles" that work as scrapers or pushers in non-stick pans. Somewhere, long ago, I read one of our favorite food gurus, when asked why she suggested using wooden spoons in her recipes, answered, "Because they don't make noise when you hit the side of the bowl."

We consciente promise to keep this secret.

Shoot you? Never. Will take the author's conclusions under advisement.

Tangential thought: deep frying at home is quite straight forward. Hot oil, fast fry, drain and serve IMMEDIATELY. BUT a home chef really can't cook for more than 4 people, 2 even better. Our home fry-ups are easily as good as what I've experienced at excellent seafood restaurants, even better because there is no time lost between pot and platter. And by the same token, the cook will not sit down to eat if trying to serve more than 2 people.

I use a dedicated Calphalon 3.5 q. saucepan (bought at garage sale for $.50). Over gas flame. It has become "seasoned" over time and just requires a gentle wash and left out to dry. Excellent size and shape for us.

(I still love cream and butter.)

Since I seem to use "boat"loads of chicken broth, lots more than I can easily create at home, I have been using Swanson's version of the OPs concentrate. Really handy, proper portions for us. And a pretty hefty but neutral flavor. ie., no extraneous spices or herbs. I like this product. re reliance on these concentrates, powder or liquid, while I rely on them, I have to agree that they can become the shadow flavor profile of your cooking if not used judiciously.

IMHO you can sub cornstarch or other non-gluten flour for rice flour without hazard.

I have found that Asian rice flour is a different product from Mexican rice flour. Asian is a powder; Mexican is a finely granular. I haven't noticed a difference as used in tempura batter.

@Maison Rustique and @TdeV: Simple and foolproof. from:

This, Dorie's rendition of herme's lemon creme, is my go to. Absolutely, without doubt, the best lemon curd/creme/filling I've encountered. It freezes beautifully if there is any not scarfed up as soon as it cools.

Paula has published several methods. I use a simpler one in which she advises cutting lemons into quarters, moosh with salt, pack in jars, fill with lemon juice and additional salt. Let molder for a week before using. I like the fact that I can extract a single piece of lemon when wanted, as opposed to having to deal with a whole lemon. Will look up the precise recipe if anyone interested. Host's note: for the rest of this discussion, please go here: Preserved Lemons

Which Maggi product, please?

Hmmm. I use whole bay, both Cal and mid-east. I like the control I have to remove the leaf/herb bundle when I determine their contribution is optimal,

The point we're ignoring is that it is not NTFS who called this condiment "French mustard" but Waitrose. Like French vanilla or French custard on ice cream labels, it is the manufacturer's nomenclature rather than a universally or even culturally agreed upon definition.

I don't see it featured locally (Bay Area). I've been bringing it home from France. In mayonnaise size jars. Also in the character jars for the grand-kids.