Margaret Pilgrim

In our family's case, their concern is not calories or amount of fat intake but rather mouth-feel of very rich beef.

Perhaps hackneyed, but we enjoy super-aged syrupy balsamic with Belgian endive.

Are you using that clay vessel stovetop? What kind of heat source?

Watch geese are indeed forces of nature, and not to be underestimated. However, I believe that geese that are being raised for FG rather quickly become addicted to the gravage process, the sensation of being overfed and are pretty placid.

In my palate imagination, these spices and the chocolate can meld into a mole spectrum. It should work.

Singapore noodles.

That sounds like my m-I-l’s except I didn’t understand that the sweet potatoes were intentionally mashed. I thought it was just their nature.

Whatever you add Durkee's to, the result tastes like Durkee's. I use with great caution. In fact, except for husband's poultry sandwiches, I don' use it.

Durkee's is kind of a sweet mustard sauce. As I've written, ubiquitous in Montana, as it is in many regional recipes and certainly on poultry sandwiches. Not at all to my taste. But it certainly rings a chord with those who have a sweet-savory tooth.

I had an "aha" moment when a poster on another forum told another, "I'm not arguing with you. I'm correcting you." And I thought, "Over half of my life explained in 9 words."

Aha! My Montana MIL used to make "sweet potato salad", which I thought sounded weird but which was quite good. Not mashed, but cubed. I never had her recipe so don't know for sure that it contained Durkee's but in retro, it probably did. FWIW, I make this infrequently by just subbing sweet potato for white potatoes in my usual potato salad recipe.

I'm not at all surprised that the kids championed this combination. In a perfect world, the cinnamon buns were considered dessert, regardless of the timeline in which they were consumed.

I am reminded how, as a young bride, I lived next door to young French woman. Every afternoon I would hear soft, steady pounding, I suppose as she prepped veal or chicken. Timid and callow, terrified of the language barrier, I never made the effort to know her, to share our backgrounds and to learn so much. A major regret.

Bloody beef. I was a guest of a school friend's parents at the St. Francis Hotel in SF. The table ordered fillets. I ordered mine well done, everyone else, rare. 5 large, glistening, gorgeous steaks arrived, along with my small, shriveled lump of coal. I never ordered well done again.

Many supermarkets sell a "select" grade under store name and with a tender guarantee. I.e., money back if not satisfied. It's not external fat but too unctuous mouthfeel that they object to. That cut looks to me very close to chuck, maybe first rib? I usually shop at a stand-alone butcher and could easily get this cut, especially if they were shown the photo. In my experience, the same has been true of supermarket butchers if you are willing to wait for then to accommodate special cuts.

re what you could carry on the trail, in 1909, my father, age 16, and a friend bicycled from the Pacific Ocean to Yosemite Park. They carried sleeping bags, bacon and beans.

Interesting thread and observations. Perhaps sequeing into "Have your gurus changed?" or perhaps, better, "Have you changed gurus?!"

It's pretty readily available in the Bay Area. Probably in the mayo and mustard area. I need to repurchase it seldom since a bottle lasts our household "years".

Fascinating, @Tropicalseniorand @JAZ! Husband, also from Montana 'needs" Durkee's on turkey and sliced chicken sandwiches. We keep it on hand but as the house cook, I never use it except at his request and only on sandwiches.

As we re-examine the annual standing rib roast post-Christmas, I reflect again on our family's beef preferences. Years back, I roasted legitimate Prime grade standing rib roasts. But family gradually complained that the meat was too rich. So I downgraded to Choice grade. Same response. For a number of years, I have made an effort to buy an ungraded supermarket standing rib roast, roast it low and slow, and everyone was happy. This year, my usual source upgraded to Choice. i was already in the store and the selection was good so I went ahead and bought a nice looking 3-rib roast, roasted it high-low, and it was superb. EXCEPT that family winced at its richness and asked that I return to a lower grade for our next roast. What does your table prefer, and how do you cook it? Does this preference apply to all beef or just large cuts?

re Jac re Jacques demonstrating with a fork, while most readers will understand that his touch is light and that he never abrades the pan, many inexperienced readers will only see that it is okay to use a fork on an eggpan without acknowledging his almost touchless technique.

His loss.

The understatement of 2022.

You nailed it! Well done.

Kind of a cross between Yul Brynner and Neil Papiano.