Margaret Pilgrim

Late to this but zucchini or zucchini/ potato cakes are a favorite. Free form, yes, to maximize crispy, ragged edges. How to sell zucchini to zuke haters!

liuz, you need to channel all of your chess thinking skills now. Think way ahead of the moment to avoid critical mess. I recall coming home after hand surgery and deciding to make bread. Both the loaf and my bandaged paw were pretty ugly.

Zucchini soup (sopa xochite) = zucchini, onion, corn kernels, green chilis, chicken broth, milk, jack cheese, parsley. Corn bread

This is boggling to me. This dish is what we called "mashed, smashed chicken" while our son was young. Requested at least once a week. I don't ever remember then or now having breading fall off. And my procedure was exactly yours. A puzzlement, indeed. We never intentionally let it rest before serving, and slicing takes place on individuals' plates.

Never thought of using canned tuna. Brilliant! May copy, especially when in need of a larder dinner! Thanks. By special request, SF Mission District shrimp cocktail. Very simple and on point. Shrimp, shrimp water, catsup, Valentina (or similar hot sauce), red onion, cucumber, avocado, cilantro, lime juice to taste. House chips. Buen provecho! Husband saved all juice/sauce which I see morphing into Bloody Mary tomorrow. !

In most ethnic cooking, regardless of recipe or vessel, I channel the imaginary grandma of that culture and try to emulate what she might have done. Probably use her mother's pot. Else, follow weinoo's sage advice. Just use it over and over, cleaning with clear water and leaving oily film.

I only noticed this thread this morning. There is little to add to these heartfelt remembrances. David had a quiet eloquence that spoke with gentle authority and assurance. His generosity with his knowledge was limitless, as was his curiosity about others' experience.

I don't remember ever making it so can't comment on the recipe, but I do remember some rather palatable salmon mousse from that era I also remember those fish molds but not ever their product unmolded intact in front of guests, so have no idea if they had green or brown eyes, or eyes at all.

Brilliant!

Yes! We frequent two "discount" grocers where we find a wealth of products we've never seen at our normal markets. Odd-ball concoctions that we'd never try at their normal retail but for a couple of bucks are worth testing, And some proprietary brands not universally available. I've started being a little more conservative as i have a panoply of esoteric ingredients and sauces to find uses for. 😄

Yes, quite understood. But what mushrooms do you choose for risotto? Do you use mushrooms with a somewhat Italian flavor profile or does this not enter your calculation?

Question. I notice a distinctive aroma from the bins of dried mushrooms in the shops of my Asian neighborhood, much different from the scent of European varieties. What varieties do you use in your risottos?

I forgot a bottle of sparkling white in the freezer overnight. Frozen solid but intact in the morning. Treated it like an UXB. Wrapped in a bathtowel and let it thaw in a closet. No problems but I won't test by repeating.

We have an Italian friend who has repeatedly tried to teach us to make wine vinegar. I can't seem to get across to him that we just don't have the necessary product.

I can't speak to Costso's possible use of dairy cattle, but FWIW, both in Europe (started in Spain with retired farm oxen) and from premium beef suppliers, male dairy breeds are chosen and raised for their superior beef. See Flannery Beef. I have no idea how this compares to or is even similar to Costco prime beef.

Ii would put money that if each of here measured out a cup and a half of strawberries we would have as many different weights. Berry size, whole or cut up, god forbid mashed, even measuring tool. May as well say two handfulls or...

Back when I was a mere infant, I was at a business dinner at the Colony in NYC. I ordered cherry stones. I found it difficult to eat them and converse at the same time. My boss looked over at me with the silent but unmistakable message, "You ordered them; you EAT them." I' doubt that the other company heads noticed our mute communication or my discomfort, since I expediently dispatched the remainders. Should have ordered oysters. Have never ordered cherry stones out since.

Amen, Sister!

I would freeze them. I have little luck holding pepper products in the fridge for over a week. Just today I tossed a jar of green chilii sauce that was 80% full and about a week old.

Sounds like our house. "What is this?" "I don't know. It's yours." "No way! Never seen it before in my life."

I sometimes have that problem with new shoes that are mysteriously too tight albeit my normal size.

It all depends on the span of generations. My grandfather fought in the (American) Civil War. He didn't have my father until late in life. My father didn't have me until he was almost 50. So my SON, now in his 50s, can even point to a grandfather born in the 1800s.

D-i-l texted me to say that number one grand-daughter and Dad were going on a class camping trip this weekend and could I think up something special for the younger twin siblings left behind. She said she had set up dual play dates for the morning but what about lunch and a treat. So we came up with a lavish array of dim sum take out followed by banana splits. The twins were ecstatic. They had never heard of much less seen a banana split. And desserts are rationed in their household. I figures this had enough fruit to be moderately healthful. Halved bananas, vanilla, strawberry and chocolate ice cream, chocolate sauce, crushed fresh strawberries, whipped cream. In the backyard. A joyous afternoon. What spur of the moment outrageous concoctions has your family enjoyed?

Thanks for this! I checked out Jane Segal's book and literally want to eat every plate in that book!

Or pop up in underused venue?