MaryIsobel

We are fortunate that our neighbour keeps us supplied with eggs for the most part. Occaisionally, the hens go through the "not laying" stage, but selling eggs from the end of your driveway is big business in these parts. We did have one neighbourhood supplier who lost her whole flock to Avian flu and that same flu is the reason I had to buy two 12 pound turkeys instead of one 20+ pounder as I usually do. A good reminder that our food chain is really quite fragile.

Love my Chef's Choice knife sharpener - but using it sets my teeth on edge.

Thanks - the article was very interesting. We'll be a bit north of Playa del Carmen for 3 weeks, the longest we have ever stayed in Mexico, so looking forward to a lot more grocery/market explorations and the ensuing meals.

Thank you for the name, bilillos - we like "sturdy" bread and will be heading to Mexico shortly, so now I will know what to look for.

I find even the name revolting.

My daily lament about so many things!

Good to know. I don't have a sheath for it as I keep my knives on a magnetic strip, but will make a cardboard one and lay the knife on top of everything else so it doesn't appear to be "hidden." I am looking forward to cooking there, there is a charcoal bbq on site and I know from being in Mexico many times, the grocers sell pre-marinated cuts such as al pastor, so that will be a nice compromise between cooking and being on vacation. We will eat out of course, but looking forward as I said to the avacados, tomatoes, cilantro, fresh fruit, fresh tortillas, tomatillos.... all things that are few and far between here.

I think our gurus change, or at least mine do. Sometimes it's a rise to fame that changes them, others I have just outgrown. I still find Deb Perlman from Smitten Kitchen to be likable and relatable, but do not care for Kenji or Martha Stewart or Michael Symon any more, although I quite liked and followed them at one time.

Those look scrumptious Ann. You must both have a very sweet tooth though - the picture is hurting my teeth!

We are going to Mexico - a bit outside Playa del Carmen for three weeks. Condo unit with a kitchen. I am looking forward to pico de gallo daily, but pretty sure the rental unit will not have a decent knife. I can do pretty much anything with my 8" chef knife and plan to take it. Just wondered if anyone has ever had an issue with a knife in their suitcase. Of course it would be in a checked bag, but you never know...

We really enjoyed the (indoor) roof top bar at the Hari Hotel - 20 Chesham Pl, London SW1X 8HQ. Not sure if it is open to the public, as we were staying there, but they do have a public restaurant (Il Pampero - which I highly recommend) so there is a good chance that the bar is also public.

Who doesn't like a little carbon with their bread and butter?

I'm not sure if it was only a Canadian thing, but does anyone remember Kraft Sandwich Spread? https://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/Kraft-Sandwich-Spread/6000153707200 In my memory, it tasted like a mayo, ketchup, relish type combo, quite sweet. I haven't thought of it in years. My best friend in elementary school used to bring Sandwich Spread sandwiches. Due to the lunch trading that used to go on, I had tried it and begged my mom to buy it for sandwiches. She said that it was not something you made sandwiches of, but rather something you used along with other things on a sandwich. She was a tough nut to crack and she never did buy it. Seems like it may have been similar to Durkees.

I searched fromage fort before posting and lo and behold, I posted about it one year minus 1 day ago. It is my favourite part of Christmas leftovers. We always have so much cheese at Christmas. (says she who bought her husband a 10 pound wheel of aged gouda this year.) I love fromage fort better than most cheeses that we can get around here on their own. I use Jaque Pepin's ratio of 1/2 pound cheese, 1 clove garlic and 1/4 cup white wine. I doubled that and used havarti, camembert, a bit of herb and garlic boursin, about 1/4 cup of cream cheese and a little bit of smoked gouda and some extra old cheddar. Got 2 - 1 cup ramekins, 1 roughly 2/3 cup old pot de creme pot and a wee one, that's probably less than a 1/4 cup. This stuff freezes really well so the two big ones are for when we have company and the two small ones are for me when my husband is not home for dinner and I just want crackers and cheese

Mussels meuniere here tonight. My husband likes to have some fettuncine with it, so bought some fresh today. Baguette and some white wine to go with.

Looks like my day yesterday! I agree about the soup being a very enjoyable part of the whole thing. I made two pots; one with barley and one with noodles. We are set for soup for quite some time.

When I was about a year old, my mom and dad were having shrimp salads and apparently, I kept reaching toward their plates so they gave a shrimp (small salad shrimp) and I demanded more. They thought it was so cute that I like them so much so kept giving me more. Not so cute when I upchucked them all. Fortunately that didn't sour my taste for shrimp. to this day, some 60 years later, shrimp/prawns are one of my favourite things. Beef cooked anything other than well done was a revalation to me when I was about 18.

I got a 10" Victorianox bread knife. I put a bug in Santa's ear when I realized that my Henkel bread knife was older than our marriage (35+ years.) I cannot believe how nicely and effortlessly it slices bread. Duh! I am aware of the sharpness or lack thereof of my other knives and sharpen them regularly but since I have neither the skill to nor the knowledge of how to sharpen a bread knife I just soldiered on with it.

Looks absolutely perfect to me. How I would love a slice or two right now.

I love chile rellenos. They are my gold standard when trying a new Mexican restaurant. We are headed to Mexico for 3 weeks mid-January. A condo with a kitchen, so I am really looking forward to the access to all ingredients for everything Mexican. Pico de Gallo every day, ceviche, guacamole, chilaquiles, fresh tortillas... and perhaps a little tequila and mezcal.

Our twin daughters were born on January 10th (many years ago!) One daughter's fiance has his birthday on January 11th. Since we always have turkey on Christmas, we do Prime rib for the birthday dinner. We buy what is labelled as AAA Choice, from our local co-op. They usually put it on sale before Christmas. This year it was 8.99 a pound (Cdn) We bought a 10 pounder. Lovely marbelling and since we all agree on medium rare, I have found the most reliable method is 5 minutes a pound at 500, then turn the oven off and leave the door closed for two hours. It has never failed me. I do however put a post-it note on the oven door during the resting period. It says, if you open the oven before 6:30, you will be banished to the basement and have ichiban noodles for dinner. The only roast that we had that there were complaints about was a grass fed tenderloin from a local butcher. It tasted gamey to us.

I am officially deeming you a Wonder Woman. The meals you make when you're not feeling well blow my mind. I'm a soup out of the freezer kind of person when feeling unwell. And thanks for the reminder - I haven't made stromboli in quite some time.

Thanks, missing a couple of things as the weather has made me stay put. Would have rather had mini marshmallows, but my kids are adults, so they'll get over it. Lame chocolaate curls as I only had a thin bar of chocolate and no peppermint stick stirrers, but those are definitely first world problems and I'm sure no one will complain! I am just so happy that neither bad weather nor sub optimum shifts at the hospital can keep us apart this year.

All ready for brunch tomorrow. Bagels, lox, etc., monkey bread, no carb breakfast casserole of onions, peppers, bacon cheese and eggs, and wait for it...frozen hash brown patties done in the air fryer. Kind of a nod/joke, as for years that was the only thing my daughter wanted for Christmas breakfast. I never bought them and she'd had them at a friend's house and declared them "sooooooooo good!" Coffee/hot chocolate/drinks station. Bubbly, cranberry juice and orange juice will be put out last minute.

I'd love your recipe for adobo. There are so many variations if one just does a search.