Margaret Pilgrim

INTERESTING! Does this really work? If so, I am eternally indebted!

@Duvel An outstanding choice. A continuation of precision, graciousness and whimsy.

Thanks! That works.

More detail, please. Gently sauteed? Poached? Serve warm or cool? Any left for me?

Winter soup. Green split pea + green pea + ham + orzo (to fill in the chinks).

Should have been named "Buddha Jumps the Shark".

Being West Coastal and having Peet's within a couple of blocks from us, I'm devoted to their single origin Ethiopian, Kenya auction lot beans. Either is exceptional, and I sometimes blend the two.

To use up excess egg yolks -> creme caramel I have finally calibrated time (80 minutes) and temp (300F) for MY OVEN in order to achieve maintainable height and no interior bubbles.

Vanilla is (more) often (than not) pernicious.

Amen.

Old fashioned Guinness on-bone lamb stew. Simple, clean, classic, superb. Meat fell off the bones, gravy sang.

For decades I called my mother at/about midnight every year regardless of where we were. When she passed, I decided I could finally go to bed when I/we wanted. We are always awakened by fireworks in our neighborhood. But this year, some tyke had one of those "goose horns", was allowed to stay up and honked the new year in for half an hour!

By request, (SF Mission district style) prawn cocktail. Prawns, prawn water, catsup, salsa Valentina, avocado,cucumber, onion, cilantro, LEMON. House tostados. Fue muy bueno!

I recently wrote elsewhere about the 'chicken and rabbit" lady who came to town and delivered freshly killed product. I distinctly remember the day my mother called me in from play and told me it was time for me to learn to draw a chicken, and not with crayon. She said I needed to know, as in "What if you marry someone who hunts?" I told her I would ask the guy first and if he said he liked to hunt, I would tell him "No". So I learned to "clean" a chicken anyway. I still remember the warmth and the aroma. My husband grew up hunting elk but never liked it as sport. We get along.

I used Instacart during the first half of 2020. They offer several small independent markets, excellent meat and dairy, but delivery charges and tip pushed the expense well over normal. We are very lucky to have two neighborhood markets selling impeccable fish and meat. One is the brother of Bryan Flannery and sells arguably equally top flight mea in the family's original flagship market. Not cheap but with no delivery charge or tipping, prices are probably same or less. And it's lovely to be able to "kick tires" when buying meat.

Not able to grab the dim sum take out we'd hankered for for several days, i.e., long lines, early closures, a kitchen wok of strip steak, broccoli, mushroom, onion. Not like your Amah made, but probably better than mine might have.

@heidih you are brilliant! But we knew that!

We call this "roni" in our house, short for and a home made version of Rice-a-roni. A staple side-dish here. My problem is that breaking spaghetti into 3/4" pieces, as we like to do, really does a number on my hands. i wonder what would happen if you threw it into a processor? Besides ear-splitting noise...

Okay. Thanks for the heads up, since I make a special stop to buy Colavita fettuccini nests ($3.99/16oz). I use them for "cabbage noodles", cabbage slivered the same width as the fettuccini, both boiled until tender crisp then combined and cooked together with a huge chunk of butter until done to taste. A family and friend favorite side dish (simple fish or chicken) shared by a NYC internet friend.

One of my favorites.

While one can argue that top priced imports will meet your needs, we've found that an eye on the pot with frequent tastings toward the end of your expected cooking range provide pretty similar results: al dente strands. We use De Cecco, Barilla, Colavita, Rao's, Sam's Club (may be discontinued), assorted imported brands as encountered, with similarly excellent results.

1) I love both bucatini and percatelli. And, I have just discovered Colavita...in a small country town. Really rather good bagged fettuccine and pappardelle. I buy multiple bags every month or so.

Are they the same brand?

There is a major difference between the powdery and shredded grated cheese. Each has its advocates, but in my mind these two are not really interchangeable.

FWIW, my sister-in-law's Genovese-born parents, fabulous cooks, only used dry jack, scoffing at parmigiano-reggiano as effete and a waste of money.