Annie_H

Planning lasagna tomorrow. Trying to keep it simple and not massive as usual. I don't need left-overs beyond a day or so for maybe a lunch....we shall see last night was a beef/vegetable curry not so easy but managed a veg ahead simmer while prepping searching the crisper drawer for add-ins. Potatoes diced first, then extras added but could not find the peas, 😜---or corn or tomato skins.

Ham and bean soup...RG buckeye beans.

Cod cakes with a serano/kale mince slaw. Horseradish chipotle cream. RG ayocote negro bean. Nice big black bean. Much longer cooking time than usual. Did not swell much after an overnight soak. Firm but very creamy. (held their shape)

You always have such interesting ingredients available to your area. I appreciate the listed combinations. Easy weeknight spicy pasta gorgonzola puttanesca. Roasted another batch of artichokes, prosciutto, and the last portobello, (Misfits sent by mistake). A favorite pasta from a case I purchased from a restaurant supply last Fall. Lots of fennel, celery, leek, I removed with a spider and plated before tossing the pasta in the sauce. The rest of the artichokes I froze in food saver packs. Bonus points for a couple lunches.

Three cheese Roman style. Artichoke, olives, portobello, prosciutto, red onion, cherry tomatoes.. Gave a few ingredients a pre-roast.

I agree most meal pics here are drool worthy and quickly plated to not be cold or fussed over---natural to the table. These meals are in our homes, not restaurant chef served. I like seeing all of the diversity. Different climates, various vegetables local. Market fresh. And so many I would love being served by friends or in a restaurant. I don't care much about a bit off focus or messy plating. Real life should not be criticized. I get ideas for the next week using what I have on hand. Weinoo's Shrimp-n-Grits, etc. I have excessive fresh mushrooms I need Ideas...(sent but not ordered)... I have a Mexican spicy frittata in the oven for dinner. No way will it slice pretty but who cares. It will taste good.

I grind my own from a true butcher. Chuck, short rib, brisket, and the 'tails' from strip steak. I have a monster meat grinder, 60 pound bitch, for sausage and pet food. And a pleasant one that fits my stand mixer. Our favorite Catskill butcher would let us pick our cuts and grind to order. Excellent sausages. Lean, not too fatty or salty. His son took over 20 years ago and ruined the sausage with loads of salt and chunky fat bits. Asking for a fresh grind mince for burgers was a point to what he had in the cooler tray. Not a smile or friendly like his father. Became a good lesson to explore and make our own the way we like it.

Nice Misfits but came a day early, 🙄....I was not prepared but made do. I like to slice off a 1/4 inch of greens and give a good drink before putting away. Asparagus needs to sit in a glass of water as well as cilantro. Lemons!, nice beet greens. Good cold pack. But missing a half dozen pantry items. EVOlive oil, crackers, mustard, avocado oil mayo we love. Tates cookies and chocolate I don't need. Mushrooms I did not order, 🙄. Rare I have so much missing. About 23$ of missing product. A shame to need a re-order so soon. Garafolo is an excellent pasta at a good price---1.99. Bronze die. ThreeLittlePigs I'm very happy they have now. Prosciutto for 2.50$. I use it more than bacon now.

Very curious about what you think. WildFork was on my short list last holiday season but we wanted fresh oysters and lobster. Spent too much time trying to find a 'one-stop' shopping or delivery. I like WildForks small packaging like the mixed seafood offerings. WildFork seafood mix For a Mediterranean salad or a chowder. I put a mince of beef or pork into a quart freezer zip-lock, then use my bench scraper edge to press sections into 'ravioli' sized sections so they are easily broken off into needed sizes. Similar with pesto or mixed herbs. One step rather than the ice cube tray two step.

My mother would hover for years if pop cooked steak, (usually cheap London broil), burgers, salmon, etc. The slightest sizzle she would add a cup of water and put a lid on it. I suppose if pop knew what a braise was he might have called it that. 😜. He did have a gas grill for a while to keep the mess out of the kitchen but that is long gone with eye, hearing, and mobility issues. Walking through any suburban large grocery and it is clear most of the population does not cook. 80% of the stores are frozen, processed, canned. My small Italian market is single family owned and seems to be an old 70's A&P that has just a small back left 6-8 bay glass door frozen section. No BigGrocery bullies apparent like Keebler, etc (or whoever they are) My mother only has one cookbook, TheJoyOfCooking. And a local ChesapeakeBay seafood vintage part one and two. About 30pages each. She cared more about a clean kitchen so she steamed, boiled, simmered. Sealed coil burners for years. Recently gas but two important left burners are not working. I'm guessing they are clogged with soaps or broken from excessive scrubbing/'cleaning'. I have a few hundred cookbooks without much effort---mostly gifted.

5-6 years ago I won a subscription to FineCooking. A vegetable lasagna recipe. They forgot that they were paying for it for years, then cut me off eventually. I don't miss it but did enjoy the freebie. My car guy for simple oil changes has a massive magazine stack while waiting. I was so impressed by one I asked to take it. (His wife gets all of them)..."take it!". No, I don't miss hard copies but have saved a few classics. I have a few thanksgiving FoodAndWine I saved when we moved. The rest I took to the post office that has a share table. Books and such and they appreciate the NewYorker.

I like what I see from WildFork but have never ordered. Too high end for my family. Dad has been doing the shopping the past 5-6 year until he lost his license (thankful for that!). He was purchasing the cheapest on sale and no-name brands. Only boneless skinless chicken thighs and the 10lbs salmon I send from AlaskanWildCaught every year. (small cryovacked portions). Everything is poached and boiled or microwaved. They never really learned how to cook or cared. Food is fuel for living. Only pots and pans are RevereWare from their wedding in the 50's. Never canned goods or processed foods but some frozen veg and fresh fruits and greens. Steamed and boiled. Even the seldom steak or burger or pork chop is steamed. Misfits has more ThreeLittlePigs charcuterie like prosciutto and various salami and Muray whole chickens and lots of good decent cheeses like VermontCreamery butter and goat cheese. Pastrami and deli slices. Not local butcher quality but good for their food desert' and will please my siblings that care about organic. I have 4 days of meals planned for them. Includes a big master stock to make soups for their freezer. With Misfits cold pack I can do 90% from them with a small NY purchased cooler. They are on the Chesapeake so seafood is quality and reasonably priced local. One of the best in the area wholesalers has a retail store in my hometown. Misfits cuts out all that BigGrocery wasted travel. Straight from the cold warehouse to my door. No warehouse to packaging to grocery loading dock to the store shelf. Sits a few days misted with water. Then tossed when limp. My last misfits box was 10 days ago. So much still looks good if treated well. Next box delivered Wednesday this week as my crisper is thinning. I always cut a 1/4 inch or so off all veg when delivered and set all veg in a sink container for a drink before putting away in bread bags. I'll wait until delivery before I even think of hitting a grocery.

Shrimp and baby cod cakes. Smoked hatch chili/tomatillo sauce. *testing the best way to heat up cod and salmon cakes for a lunch or appetizer. Butter and avocado oil, cast iron stovetop, then into the oven a bit at 350.

BeefCurry, avocado, purple sweet potatoes. Pop will like this so it is going on the family menu when I visit. No coconut. More Japanese. But no roux. Can't use flour so used powdered goat milk. 3 recipes got me where it will please all.

Thanks. I saw the difference but had too many choices and typefaces and did not know what the differences meant. Makes sense.

Last Sunday made a small batch broth using a few roasted chicken legs, lots of celery, ginger, garlic, cardamon, kombu, and a few salads for the week. Most meals were tests for a family visit menu. Last night was a mini meatloaf from the freezer better than expected. And an odd request for a potato salad instead of smashed or mashed. Good crowd pleaser so that goes on the menu plan. Italian Saba drizzle on the loaf. (the last FairwayMarket label in my pantry) Nice lunches today

Phờ bò viên . Can be found on my keyboard, (Mac). I've noticed most just do the quickie like molé or I often see Phó. Things like temp, 86ºF is 'option' held down then 'numeric' 0, etc. I think I would only bother, being impatient, if I wanted to add a recipe as written. I do like seeing it but I often feel I'm getting it wrong. The grammar and food police can get pissy. 😜 Holding down the 'e' key as in molé gives just a few options. Seems a few more diacritics/accents could be added to that rather than having to go into 'character viewer'.

I've been shipping Misfit boxes about once a month to my family home down south. Usually when a sibling visits to show up the day after their flights. Idaho and Florida. My childhood home is in a food dessert. No Costco, Aldi, TraderJoes, WholeFoods within a 100 miles. Just a trashy dollar store type grocery within walking distance and they are not mobile enough now to even get there. Dependent on home care help with grocery supplies. (frozen pot pies). No name brand mayo just awful. I grew up with Hellmans. They no longer care. Win-win I can have a few boxes sent the day after my trip, (driving). No longer traveling with a couple coolers from NY. No longer a day of shopping a few grocery stores that takes all day here at home. Pop does not care about organic anymore at his age but siblings do. I can concentrate on menu planning without shopping frustrated in such a small town. Now that Misfits has VermontCreamery, ThreeLittlePigs prosciutto and other salami, chorizo, Murray chicken, thick pork loin steaks, avocado mayo, decent crackers and Tate cookies...dried fruits and nuts, grains and granola...decent cheese selection like VermontCreamery goat cheese and skyr yogurt, I'm happy.

Much better selection. If I can't get to HMart when my pantry thins I will give them a try. Thanks! HMart wins for fresh veg like cabbages, bok choy, scallions,Thai basil, kimchi, etc. And a hand cut dried noodle we like. TwinMarquis I think is Brooklyn based. Started In ChinaTown years ago. (I think). I keep mine in the freezer for some reason. They hold up well from frozen. They may have beed delivered frozen from Baldor or I would have done that.

I'm not surprised. When they added the cold packs and a more extensive pantry I often received 2 big boxes at the 4.50 shipping. Makes more sense to charge 4.50 per box. I'll just order less often. Every three weeks. Once a month if that during the summer months. I liked a first look at Umamicart but they did not have a few basic staples I like. Limited noodle selection so HMart is my go-to two/three times a year. I zipped through my last Misfits greens so I will just double/tripple as they do last long especially the laccinato kale and collards. Beet greens and chard I used first. Root crops are still good from a couple weeks ago.

Chicken holds so much water in my experience, especially the thighs. But your question was how to safely 'hold' pre-browned chicken to braise later, closer to mealtime. I'm surprised it makes such a mess on your stovetop. A foil barrier or a higher sided pot like a dutch oven helps with that. I no longer brown meat. I brown at the end of a braise uncovered in my oven at a higher heat the last 1/2 hour 45 min. I'm guessing you just want that chore of browning out of the way. If that is the case, line the browned chicken parts onto a wire rake lined sheet pan, single layer, and into the fridge. Uncovered. Issues some have is no fridge space. My high shelf holds nuts, seeds, dried fruit. One down is a bottle rack that holds seltzer bottles that can be removed. Crispy skin is dry skin. Why I give time in the fridge uncovered with a dry brine rub. I never, or would consider, pre-browning a whole chicken and still get very crispy skin by giving it some time uncovered in the fridge. 6-8 hours or overnight. A bit of softened compound butter under the skin even better. 2 hours is a long braise for chicken but your recipe might be using a lower temp.

How many guests and what chicken part are you planning? I've been braising more than most recently in preparation for a family gathering when my pops upcoming surgery happens mid/early April. Could be a 7-14 day visit with many in and out of the home. (I'm the only one that cooks). Dad eats horribly when I'm not there. I do leave as many prepped freezer meals that will fit. I need caution/crime scene tape across the kitchen opening. (nice tight horseshoe triangle but not for more than one) I treat all proteins differently when braising. Different cuts, different animals--skin on/bone in or not. Chicken cooks fast. On the same game plan as Colicchio, another from SeriousEats. I suppose one could argue a braise is covered, or most often un-covered the last hour. Though sitting in rendered juices and uncovered to brown/crisp at the same time is also a braise?. In an oven. Not stovetop. I do think success is knowing your oven and your braising pots. The best advice is 100% place your cuts or large cuts as tight together as possible in a heavy pot, like enameled cast iron. Stuff them tight as they will shrink. They will quickly render moisture so not too much added liquid.

I don't make meatloaf often---maybe every other year. I more often make meatballs. Seems globally minced meat is in so many forms. So I'm guessing you have had 'meatloaf' but in a patty or kafta...I think of it as a seasoned loaf or patty mince with egg, spices, veg, I use lots of reconstituted dried mushrooms...bread crumbs. Spiced. It is a southern next day sandwich on bread, sliced meat patty from a loaf. Mostly comfort food. If a fantastic commercially made meatloaf is 'in the neighborhood'...it is worth a 'take-out'. I prefer my own. I like a heavy veg and mushroom meatloaf. Canada has a holiday mince pie very similar. My last small pan I used shiratcha when baking. Instead of ketchup that I do not stock. So no, not all go for commercial. I like my own. In mini loaf pans.