Margaret Pilgrim

Interesting and amusing. We ransacked France trying to buy eau de vie de cacao, which we finally admitted was no longer made by anyone (at that time). So we bought nibs at Alain Ducasse (because it was convenient) and made our own, guessing at quantities. I guess Libovitz came to the same conclusion also. It makes a luscious product, round and intense, much richer than fruit eau de vies. I am not sure that our nibs are roasted...

Exactly.

Both salted and unsalted butters are available in France, and the Finnish butter I am buying in the US is salted.

I am sorry. This is so wrong. Glad it was delicious for some.

Birch beer makes a great float.

Paul, perhaps of interest to you, we started infusing vodka with very high quality cocoa nibs. After a few months, the result it a rich, chocolate alcohol. I use a couple of tablespoons in appropriately flavored ice creams as a flavor booster and texture ameliorate.

I should add/confess, I have a heavy hand using butter in cooking. A healthy splat in sauces and soups = magic, the difference between good and really GOOD..

I started using unsalted (sweet) butter roughly when our son left for school. He came home and commented, 'I leave home and you start using margarine?" We have since switched back to using, including cooking, salted butter. If you cook by recipe, I suppose you would need to change salt quantities, but if you cook by taste, there is no problem. Currently, I really like Irish and Finnish butters that we buy at Grocery Outlet. $3.99/8oz. Higher fat content, I believe.

English peas?

I enjoy using both fresh and dried morels. A local 3* chef has come down on the side of dried morels as generally being more flavorful. Perhaps it depends on the quality of either that you can source. Classically combined with vin jaune, they flatter poultry and fish as well as vegetables, especially asparagus.

I can’t abide sweet drinks, non-alcohol or cocktails. I used to like Tab but the maker killed it. I actually prefer still water to seltzer. I start the day with two or three cups of strong coffee cut with milk and end it with a tad or so of wine. No soft drinks ever.

How much of print prose is now dictated and manufactured by the “machine”? Homophones and “mis-heards” are deadly. To say nothing I of the idiot who second guesses my every keystroke on the iPhone.

I am more interested in what I guess are the morels. They are quite different from West Coast morels. Can you tell us about them? Ours, cap = 1" to 3", light to medium brown.:

Peach slices wrapped in galantina Goat cheese stuffed squash blossoms Ratatouille with poached egg and lardo

Prawns with house cocktail sauce, yard chard with guanciale shards.

Considering sandwiches, I always revisit an important colleague lunch with catered sandwiches. I looked at the menu and ordered either tuna or egg, while the stud duck ordered roast beef. I was seated opposite him as he tried to converse while gnawing his recalcitrant beef. Lesson learned, as I easily consumed, even enjoyed, my down-market squidgy lunch.

Amen, Sister! We recently had a "family discussion" over the annual candle blow outs. One postponed til next year, another happy with candle positioned on a soda can. i wonder if, like hand shakes and ubiquitous hugs, candle blow outs are something to put aside for an indefinite period of time.

Here?

More bits and pieces small plate. Flash-salted fresh cod brandade; Oaxacan stuffed squash blossoms; grilled baby zucchini and green beans.

One of my favorite pastas: shellfish in a light sauce of shallot, tomato, white wine, sorrel, basil, and, well yes, butter. I swap out the protein and pasta for variety.

Probably covered before on this thread, we have become rather addicted to Terra Chips. Not sexy sounding but providing extraordinary crunch and tantalizing individual flavors. Unlikely beets, yucca, plantain, sweet potato, more, are totally delicious. I put bag clips on open bags just to remind me to think before snatching another handful.

Well considered and said. What is important is that we each find the necessary work-arounds in our lives.

Slivers of poached chicken, chopped red onion in a corn tortilla, softened in green enchilada sauce, baked with sour cream and cheese. Absolutely not beautiful but totally yum.

Chicken enchiladas Suizas