Margaret Pilgrim

Okay. I'll give you my secret weapon sauce. Put a splat of sour cream or creme freaiche in a very small saucepan, like less than pint size. Add a tablespoon of mashed preserved lemon (peel). Mix together and bring to a simmer. Whisk in as much cold butter as it will hold, (A lot!) Use with artichoke, asparagus, fish, shellfish. Keep waem over very warm water. Reheat with caution, as it breaks easily. If it does, add a tablespoon heavy cream and re-emulsify. Guests beg for the recipe. Fabulous with scallops. Scallop and asparagus plate. With artichoke, serve in a tiny bowl for dipping.

Do you want to share the recipe you’re using and that you find vinegary?

I just bought these inch+ thick half pound Korubuta chops 5 minutes ago at my local butcher. One chop with sides is dinner for two of us. YMMV. Pan-fried to pink = divine.

Fresh rice noodle -> pork chow fun Yes. Have been missing this.

That's actually a good plan. Husband has put a moratorium on chicken which I just ignore 99% of the time. I mea, there's only so many choices, so chicken goes into the rotation.

THANKSGIVING! 2020 = roast chicken for 2.

With apologies for sounding flip, a professional what? That is an extraordinary statement.

While one can spend much time prepping artichokes for complicated dishes, as I wrote above, you can just plop them in a pot with water to cover and boil until tender, usually about a hour. Freshly cooked and cannned are two distinct and entirely different animals.

I grew up in artichoke country + plants in backyard, etc Until recently I have soaked them raw in salt water, to encourage any critters to exit, used kitchen shears to cut off barb on each leaf, boiled them in salted water, serve with mayo or aioli. In modern times, I simply rinse them and boil in fresh water. Like last night Trimmed with aioli

I use a flea market sourced Spode tankard. I love its tactile grip. Husband prefers his Tintin mug

Picked up a sack of prepared masa yesterday -> green chili and cheese tamales and a giant artichoke

I dunno. I haven't the patience to become a good cook of Asian dishes. But I do crank up the exhaust fans and heat the wok to smoking, sear veg and quickly brown marinated meat and chicken. It may not reach the heights of wok hei, but it's enough to create memorable flavor and even more lasting kitchen schmutz.

After you get settled, could you please give us a little more direction on making "grandfather's soup"? Looks divine...

Eye and mouth candy!

Last day (one hopes) of an enervating heat wave. Huge green salad, followed by a spicy fritatta: potato, pasillas ,red onion, Oaxacan cheese

Pepperidge Farms Bordeau are great "dunkers". Wine, coffee, tea if you must...

If you love Chef Choice, you don't have to put up with plugged in vibrations. I use their hand held model

Can hyou give us a couple of sneak peeks? Or is that against copyright?

That's called cooking.

A wine cork works well as a cover for a spike ...

I swear by Bamix immersion blenders. Whereas recipes say to blend then strain, I find that straining is unnecessary when making a velvety soup or sauce. But to make mayo, I simply use a wire coil whisk in a French "working jar" It emulsifies into mayo in under a minute, cap with its lid. Rinse whisk and done..

We somehow acquired one of these. Pretty unbreakable. You can have one too as this one is on eBay now. $38.

I've never had a stand mixer. Some people bemoan having a deprived childhood. I have a deprived adulthood.

Taking a Labor Day holiday from the kitchen, tonight's plate is truly American. Mrs. Paul's fish sticks, Hellman's tartar sauce.steamed broccoli with Velveeta sauce, pan fried potatoes with off camera Del Monte catsup. Don't worry, I'll be back at work soon.

From Toliver's quote, " just pull some local permits to get certified by the Riverside County public health office." Maybe I'm just jaundiced by SF's legendary red tape, but this sounds fraught with gotchas.