I like the eggs place that they also own. I’m not surprised that Demetri’s is good.

phoenicia in hp has very nice Mediterranean cuisine. I don’t know what they’re currently doing for carryout.

Thank you, I'll have to give it a try.

Labor intensive indeed but even more so when the husks tear, are too thick or too small, not pliable enough. I was at it for 4 hours and could have cranked out a lot more if not struggling with the husks. I would guess the 3 of us made about 50-70. We buy the masa so that is the only thing we don't do from scratch.

Tamales are too labor-intensive for me to make as while this house has two people who like them during their military years in El Paso, they don't like them as much as I do and it is not worth my time.

When I asked what they wanted to cook for Christmas, the conversation was short.

Me: (to the Parents): What do you want for Christmas dinner?
Mom: I think you should cook us a Rib Roast.
Pops: Yea! (in "Trading Places" voice)
Me: You know, as soon as the pandemic hit and there were thoughts of stores closing, I bought two beef tenderloins which are in your garage. I showed them to you when I got them and Mom, you were questioning why I bought that cut of meat.
Mom: Oh, yea. Just cook that but make sure you buy another pecan pie or key lime.

Now I have to get all the other stuff together.

Trader Joe’s chicken enchiladas
homemade guacamole
Homemade pico de Gallo
tortilla chips
latkes With applesauce

junior’s cheesecake
Haagen Dasz chocolate & Robbins rocky road

As a gift to myself, I'm considering an annual subscription to NYT Cooking. I'm generally skeptical of paying for what the web can provide for free. is this a worthy exception for someone who cooks ~2 hours a day?

no. I just use existing cookbook inventory and free online recipes. We have a nyt cooking subscription because we also have NYTimes subscription yet I only use it when my spouse sends me a Request with link.

i get NYT emails almost daily with "what to cook this week" and about half the recipes are behind a paywall but many are not. I don't know how much the subscription costs but maybe try the free thing that I have (I can't remember how I signed up) and see if they are offering a lot of things that you might be interested in but that are not free. I like Smitten Kitchen and that is free.

Thanks. It's between this subscription and a cast iron mini cocotte.

Those things are a bit too small to be usefull IMO but they look really cute.
I don't know if NYT has a trial subscription or if you can cancel after a month if you decide you don't like it and get a refund for the balance but I would check that out before I commit for a year.

It's makes for a great butter and soup warmer and my gas range came with an adapter, which I feel is a tease. But like my kettle, good intention may turn into decoration. Yes, maybe a 1-month trial is the way to go.

But if you had $50 burning a hole in your pocket, what for the kitchen would you buy?

My butter and soup warmer is called a microwave. :p
That is a very good question....I have a very small kitchen and have most of what I need but interesting to think about. I worked at a nice cookware store for the past 4 years (no more since covid) so I got most of the lusting for kitchen stuff out of my system. Maybe a nice new wood salad bowl.

I'd say that 75% of the new recipes we make are from NYTs. I have a subscription to the paper via work, so I can access recipes but can't use the NYTimes cooking app -- wish I could! Mr. CE uses it and it's great.

grilled steak (Costco prime sirloin tip)
sautéed mushrooms
baked potatoes
roasted Brussels sprouts & onions
junior’s cheesecake

That sounds decent... the cocotte!

Costco red king crab legs.

Grilled tuna salad* sandwiches on 9 grain bread. Loaded green salad.
*Line caught albacore, celery, green onions, dill pickles, mayo, black pepper.