Margaret Pilgrim

By no means does everyone love their Bamix! Vis a vis the number of posts telling of tossing it after not using it in a year. Which is, of course, the crux. i use mine often for these almost instant soups, for making sauces like Little Green Dress, Green Goddess and ranch, for milkshakes, for crushing/pureeing fresh or canned tomato, for bean dip. The pro is a power horse. So, yes, it will certainly handle the contents of your Creuset. I love it because it is so easy to clean, one piece, unlike a blender or food processor.

per 2 tablespoons 70 calories 1 gr total fat 140 gr salt i.e., high 2 gr protein (bugs?) from Buona Fortuna Foods, LLC Modesto, California I bought it at Pic and Save, a discount outlet en route to the country where we stop for junk food and odd-ball items like this

Again beating my dead horse, it rained last night so husband is finally able to attack the burning pile, which is the size of s Tuff Shed. It's pretty cold out, so I thought "mid-morning soup". Boiled up a half head cauliflower, a potato and an onion. Soft in 15 minutes, add milk and cream, a good spoon of curry powder. Grab Bamix off the wall and in 2 minutes have a steaming velvety pottage which I took out to him in a large mug. Pour a mug for myself. Wash soup pot, rinse Bamix and DONE.

I'd hammer out danger I'd hammer out a warning I'd hammer out the difference between a risotto and a porridge all over this land...

I feel close to you and am VERY hard to buy for. Will send shipping address if asked...

I have been sequentially seduced by expensive mandolines, sold each to a friend who has a used kitchen toy shop and finally found joy in several Kyocera hand-held ceramic models that I seem to use multiple times daily. Also a Bamix-pro immersion blender which seems to be controversial here. Some people like me use them everyday, others once a year if that. In other words, know yourself before you invest.

Those latkes are absolutely beautiful! Do you have a special recipe for horseradish vinaigrette? Sounds divine.

At our house, we eat a lot of "almost" foods. "Almost nachos". "almost tacos", "almost Greek salad",. As well as cross cultural concoctions: Italo-Sino stir fry, Mexi-Indian quesadillas. Usually delicious, always "interesting" and no one to judge.

This clever method for making caccio e pepe pizza is worth a whirl.

Bucatini all' Amatriciana

More kitchen art. Thanks!

I have veered toward dry brines. ImHO, i'm looking for seasoning and tenderizing derived from salt and herbs rather than alcohol. Just my take.

Anna, thanks much for introducing me/us to LCBO. A super recipe/menu resource.

Be still, my heart!

Absolutely not. She worked her alchemy while I was in school. I only remember the stench on arriving home, and my refusal to eat it. It smelled and tasted "cheexy" in a way that was not pleasant to a, say, 8 year old.

What kind of fagioli?

One evening, four brothers chatted together after dinner. They discussed the 95th birthday gifts they were able to give their elderly mother. The first said, "You know I had a big house built for Mama." The second said, "And I had a large theater built in the house." The third said, "And I had my Mercedes dealer deliver an SL600 to her." The fourth said, "You know how Mama loved reading the Bible and you know she can't read anymore because she can't see very well I bought her a parrot who could recite the entire Bible. It took ten preachers over 8 years to teach him. I had to pledge to contribute $50,000 a year for five years to the church, but it was worth it. Mama only has to name the chapter and verse, and the parrot will recite it." The other brothers were impressed. After the birthday celebration Mama sent out her "Thank You" notes. She wrote: "Milton, the house you built is so huge that I live in only one room, but I have to clean the whole house. Thanks anyway.” "Marvin, I am too old to travel. I stay home. I have my groceries delivered, so I never use the Mercedes. The thought was good. Thanks anyway.” "Michael, you gave me an expensive theater that can hold 50 people, but all of my friends are dead, I've lost my hearing, and I'm nearly blind. I'll never use it. Thank you for the gesture just the same." "Dearest Melvin, you were the only son to have the good sense to give a little thought to your gift. The chicken was delicious. Thank you so much." Love, Mama

eta, riced cauliflower is a pretty good way to fed it to people who hate cauliflower. With enough butter or curry sauce or gravy, whom cares?

We all probably have a version of the kitchen tool, the "ricer". It forces food through tiny holes, it "rices" them. To reice is a verb. Of course people are using cauliflower "rice" as a carb sub because it works that way,. But it is a sub. One would never think one is creating actual rice from cauliflower. Or would one...

I have had the same soft results following the directions on the Minute Tapioca box. Made it last month for the first time in many years. Next time, I will let the pudding simmer on minimum flame for a good five minutes. And also may incorporate the egg whole rather than separated. Or maybe add an eggyolk to the pudding and add the whipped whites at the end. This was the first time I'd made it in years, and I'd never had problems with consistency before This last batch was delicious but thin. Like most custards, the flavor depends totally on the quality vanilla you use.

What astonishes me is that some consumers are confused by the marketing term, thinking that it is actually rice made somehow from cauliflower.

(With the wide availability of jumbo tapioca, you can make veg flavored/colored balls to use in off-recipe ways. Kinda fun and unexpected. Like room temp beet balls with crab or shrimp or calamari in a lemon/garlic vinaigrette.)

Altho my mother was a thrifty cook, having survived the Depression and WWII deprivations, I can't remember her ever making chicken soup, from a carcass or from scratch. I don't ever remember eating it. My M-I-L, on the other hand, made fabulous chicken and noodles. Heard tales of my paternal grandmother making noodles for soup but not referencing chicken. While my chicken soup is good, I can't say that it is quintessential comfort food, altho our son thinks so.

I have to speak up. (Maybe Anna will join me?) But I am older than God. Have been cooking for some 60+ years so I've lived and cooked through a whole bunch of trends and gurus and false idols. When I cook, I look in my pantry and if needing inspiration I may Google those ingredient suspects to see if someone has an outlier way to use them. I skip the narrative, am totally put off by the verbiage that precedes the recipe, finally scan the recipe and then modify it to our stock and taste. I have no interest in the blogger's story or philosophy. Like Joe Friday, '"just the facts, ma'am". Don't waste my time.