You will let me know about those, right? :D

I suspect the state AG will sue the organizers if they don't organize anything this year. (not kidding)

Grilled artichoke with chipotle/orange mayo
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123456

cheese fondue (vacheron fribourgouis & gruyere) - when I bought the vacheron, I told the cheese shop staffer that it’s so great and how restaurants don’t use it, she responded “of course not! It’s expensive! If they used vacheron, they couldn’t make a profit!” - oh so true...
Fondue toppers - ciabatta, Granny Smith apples
organic beef kielbasa
cornichons

way too full so no dessert... sigh...
I took a post-fondue nap so might have a blood orange now.

Good point! The show must go on...

aww big kudos :-)

Gaobest- the dairy farmers and crab fishermen of America would like to thank you, for your considerable consumption of cheese fondue and crab legs. You are an eating stimulus package for those two groups! :p

I think it might be the French dairy farmers . Regardless, the cheese shop appreciates his extravagance.

:D I miss all of the various festivals.

It’s my daughter’s 6th bday and normally we let the kids choose a restaurant for their bday dinner. She didn’t want to go out this year and wanted me to make pasta instead. Just finished prepping everything (meatballs, pork and sausage) and now it’s simmering until dinner.

Edit to be clear: I make my own sauce, it’s not Rao’s :D

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Just a small portion of the meat - I made a huge pot

Mixed experiences so far with Patti's Mexican Table cookbook. Any other Mexican cookbook suggestions?

Any of Rick Bayless's cookbooks, though I'm partial to One Plate at a Time.

Thanks. Placed a few holds on his books at the library.

Pujol's Enrique Olvera's and Contramar's Gabriela Camara's .

Thanks. Just reserved with My MC Kitchen.

Trust me. During normal times we have a festival of some sort somewhere in Toronto proper nearly every weekend during the summer. From "Taste of the [insert an ethnic cuisine or local BIA]" to rib fests to street festivals. It's a nightmare to navigate because we also have our "other" season (winter and construction) and during the summer we have infrastructure projects going on...

But I've noticed several states have been going up and down the covid-roller-coaster and the AGs suing cities/counties who are trying to maintain some sort of public health order. I'm not sure how they would view a ribfest operator not running theirs because of covid but hey, what do I know. (IANAPHO)

I would love to try a texan ribfest (and to visit one of my buddies down there), but beyond eating under the open skies, I don't really see the appeal (but I also suspect the ribfests down there are actually value propositions vs the ripoffs they are up here).

And to just end it off with me having chinese carrot cake and a light salad for dinner. :)

That looks delicious!

Bucatini with olive oil & pecorino
bucatini with pecorino
meatballs
bucatini with Rao’s marinara and meatballs

chocolate fondue with dippers - broiled marshmallows, organic strawberries & bananas, ciabatta, and rice Krispie treats


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Omakase sushi nigiri at Hidden Fish in San Diego. Exquisite fish both in flavor and texture. We have a new found favorite: striped jack.

Today we head back home and wave goodbye to eating out. It’s going to be hard to get back to home cooking after these recent adventures.

safe trip!
I love sushi and won’t ever try to cook it. I’ll always approve sushi carryout :-)

We're going to try the viral tiktok tomato and feta pasta recipe tonight. Anyone try it and have tips? I've already heard we should use two pints of tomatoes and possibly add thyme. We got a high quality feta from Fresh Farms when we went there a couple weeks ago. (They have a feta counter!) And I have a short pasta to use.

I have not heard of this but does it call for fresh tomatoes rather than canned?

I think I've done it twice, several years apart. I didn't find any personal satisfaction in making it myself, and maybe just a small cost savings. I'd say this falls into the category of better to order than to make.

Lol, I didn't know there was a feta counter, but I always discover something unusual there. I think we're probably due for a trip back there soon so I can try something new (usually a mystery sausage :)). Sorry no tips on your recipe though.

Same here, sushi is still a bit beyond our abilities to make at home. Though onigiri is something we enjoy making at home.

gl gl - I heard that there was a shortage of feta because of this video! So whacky.

Pretty sure it’ll be pizza and salad tonight. Goal is a better version of Detroit pizza.

Thank you again for this. I had my purple rice today. I’m so happy!!!!!!

ooh thank you again for this bok choy trick. Used it today!

Bratwurst and mashed cauliflower.

Cherry tomatoes, though it says you can use canned.

Mixed green salad

leftover chocolate fondue
dippers: organic strawberries & bananas, broiled marshmallows, Rice Krispie treats

Last night - ginger-soy marinated flank steak. Spaghetti squash made into a Thai noodle salad with homemade peanut sauce.
I see chicken breasts thawing in the fridge so apparently we're having some sort of chicken tonight.

Last night's lazy dinner. Took some (home-prepared) carnitas from the freezer, chopped into little bits and sauteed with onions, added some (home-roasted) tomatoes, then poured a box of TJ's roasted tomato soup over this in the pot, heated and served with warm baguette. Good meal for a cold day.

Verdict: It was good but not mind-blowing. That said, it's an easy two dish meal that requires very little effort so might be good on a busy weekday. If I made it again I'd throw some kind of protein in it. Also, I found the tomatoes didn't burst automatically so I used the pastry dough blender which worked save for a burn from the juice of a bursting tomato.

how do you normally get your cherry tomatoes to burst? I can only do it when sautéing in olive oil and maybe a little tapping. You taught me the purple rice trick and I look forward to this new tip.

I blister them for other dishes but don't set out to intentionally burst them. Or I just cut them in half before cooking.

Corned beef is really good. Omg. It’s tender, just like the dogma.
best of all, my spouse had 2 slices and said that we don’t need to have it on rye tomorrow so I can avoid buying rye!
I’m going to have a lot of leftovers.

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My corned beef was done way earlier than expected . I didn't do cabbage because I have rye bread so will do sandwiches tomorrow .
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yeah, I know I am a day early for the beer.
If I am traveling on St. Pat's day, I bring along my food coloring . I have had green beer in Kenya and in Shanghai ....it is pretty funny to see the look on the local's faces.

Gorgeous - it’s never a day early for any color of beer!

I'm trying to get back into low carb, so dinner tonight was a ribeye steak topped with arugula and shaved parm, with asparagus and half an avocado on the side.

I usually just put them in a sauce pan and heat them over medium heat (strong simmer) with a lid on until they break down. Has worked for me in the past, but may work better for some types of tomatoes.

I do it all the time and use them in place of a sauce on pizza.... make them in the toaster oven. I just put them on foil with olive oil, herbs, garlic . But they can also splatter so best to cut in half.