great combos!

Break the Fast supper

plus smoked salmon and hot smoked salmon


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Wow. Very interesting. I can't believe they can actually enforce kids wearing masks. Just seems like they will touch their faces all the time to adjust the mask?

Masks are required for everyone over the age of 2 here . I am always impressed when i see really young kids wearing a mask. Meanwhile some adults have hissy fits over wearing them.

Other than when I have been on flights in the past 5 months, I had to wear a mask for the first time today. Mr. Fink and I went to a friend’s mom’s house to help her with some stuff and put on masks out of respect for her. She kept telling us to take them off and not to be silly but Mr. Fink plays in a soccer league a few times a week and our lives are pretty normal (seeing friends, having them over to our place, some travel, restaurants etc) so we just did it for her despite her objections, No hissy fits but man, how do you guys do it? It was just awful. Hot, uncomfortable, chafed my ears. And that was for an hour and a half. I can’t imagine having to wear one all day, every day. And outside? No way. If I had to, of course I would. I am not anti-mask and I know people can and do wear them for hours every day, but am I ever glad I live in a place with low case numbers, no paranoia and no mask requirements other than a few chain stores (Starbucks, etc) where even there, they don’t care. Side note, we stopped at a Starbucks on our way home and I walked in before I remembered (don’t go to SB much). I saw the sign and said I was sorry and I would go back to my car to get it and the guy said don’t bother, no big deal. No one other than the staff were wearing them either, I am guessing because it is impossible to sit and drink coffee with a mask on.

There is only one pub I go to where the staff are being told to wear masks (ironically it's also the only place I go to that has had a covid case) and they all seem to constantly be adjusting the mask. Given they're handling glasses, plates etc It seems like a great way to spread things around rather than stop it. I sort of figure young children will do the same.

I think they are a total PITA but a necessary one. I too think they are hot and uncomfortable but oh well.

Kids are resilient and adjust as needed.

It’s also a rule in sf. There are limited exceptions.

I keep wondering if better masks exist because so many people wear them for 8+ hours a day.

and that’s the case - we have to. Maybe it’s related to population density as well? Masks are required when outdoors although most people remove them when they have a lot of personal space. As bad as our rates are, maybe things would be worse without masks. Plus for outdoor restaurant dining, masks are required. San Francisco lacks indoor dining. I know that I’ll get carryout at times and I still am not ready for any restaurant dining, not even outdoors.

I feel the same way as you, but live in an area with pretty stringent mask requirements. We've definitely been spending more time entertaining at our house or going to friend's houses so we don't have to deal with masks. At restaurants, we're not required to wear them when sitting at the table, so not too bad. But there is a new order that you're supposed to put them on whenever you are interacting with a server now. We've been out to eat 3 times since it went into effect and haven't seen anyone enforcing that -- which is good because it's ridiculous and would kill what little is left of the restaurant industry here now that it's starting to get cold.

Otherwise, I don't mind wearing them in stores, but they are incredibly hot and uncomfortable so I try to minimize how long I'm in a store. No mask outside. We haven't flown since January (I'm going stir crazy) but are contemplating a trip we have booked for end of October. One of our biggest reservations is that from home to hotel, it's about 8 hours of travel time, almost all of which would be wearing a mask.

Hehe, sure sounds like a hissy fit to me! :)

If it's that uncomfortable, get a different mask. I actually like the KN95 one a friend gave me but I also wear homemade ones that my sister in law made and those are fine too. I bought some from Citizens of Humanity. They are the kind that tie behind your head, and that's really annoying...difficult to get on.

My main beef with them is they fog my glasses.

Mr. CE did a great new recipe last night -- Persian lamb and rice with fresh mint and green onions. New York Times, natch. We both just enjoyed it leftover for lunch.

sweet! Which lamb cuts? Just curious. I still have future plans for another lamb dish that someone else posted here :-)

It's cold here...high won't reach 60 today. So tonight, my world famous (in my own mind) chili. I know, everyone thinks theirs is best, but mine is closer to a traditional chili.

I roast jalapenos, poblanos, onions and garlic the put them through the food processor for the base. Lots of lean beef and I use a good beef broth for the stock rather than relying on tomato sauce that's become too common. Although I do add a some tomato paste for color and flavor. I won't give away any of the other secret ingredients :).

Ground lamb.

Yum! I'm making chili tonight.

Panic pizzas:
cheese
tomato, olive, red onion, pickled banana peppers

raw veggies

wheat thins and goat cheese
Costco amazing lamb chops marinated in garlic, rosemary, lemon zest, olive oil, balsamic, soy and then grilled to a perfect 140 degrees :cool:
Spinach sauteed in bacon and garlic
2 slices sourdough baguette

Celebrated some good news by smoking (charcoal and apple wood) some meats (ribs, chicken, sausage) Kansas City-style.

Would have been even better if I'd left on the grill for another couple of hours, but I got a late start.

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big kudos and gorgeous meats.
if you left them on grill for longer, how do you avoid risk of overcooking?

i assume because they are smoked not grilled. Smoking is low temperature.

for a (Weber) gas grill, would that just be having the front and back burners at Low setting and the grill closed for about 2-4 hours, for the full smoking effect? I definitely want to try it.

No gas grills for this meat smoker. Weber kettle, good charcoal, and good hickory/mesquite/apple/cherry wood chips, and ideally 8-10 hours.

How did you make the short ribs??

Once I move, I want to get into smoking meats. I know there are a few FTers to ask about that, you being one of them. :)

I put a rub on them and grilled them over direct heat for maybe 10 minutes total time turning them to get all four sides. I let them rest and cut them against the grain. It isn't the most tender cut of beef unless they are braised but the flavor is great. They were Costco boneless short ribs.

Fish taco supper with

wild local red snapper sautéed with onion / orange bell / white cooking wine
warmed corn tortillas
chopped cilantro
guacamole
tomatillo salsa
sliced lime
Mexican rice
beans


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Romaine salad with goat cheese, dried cranberries and trader joe pear champagne viniagarette
grilled asparagus
grilled salmon
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Pardon the poor photograph but I grew up on this stuff. Mum makes it now every month or so because the rest of the world discovered lamb cutlets and the price went from $6/kg to $50/kg. They're wonderful crumbed and pan fried though. Those plates are my grandmothers that she bought in Harrods in the 1960s. No one else at the table was really into it, but I knocked off 7 of them.

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Tonight was going to be ossobuco e risotto alla Milanese, but Mr. CE wasn't able to start cooking early enough so we pushed it until tomorrow and we got sushi delivered instead.

My Mom and Aunt are driving out next week for a few nights (before heading on to see other family). They'll be here a few months shy of my Mom's 80th birthday, so I'm trying to figure out a special early birthday dinner for her. We made a wonderful seafood chowder a few weeks ago, so I was thinking about doing that with fresh-baked bread and either a cake or Dutch baby pancake (a family fav) for dessert. My Aunt lived in Ethiopia for years and doesn't live in an area with an abundance of Ethiopian restaurants, so I always try to give her one Ethiopian meal when she's in town (and fortunately some of our favs are doing takeout). She's vegetarian/pescetarianish (but will eat anything she's offered -- a down-to-earth attitude after spending much of her career working and living in remote corners of the world that don't cater to special diets), so I'm brainstorming a few other meal ideas for their visit.

Really bad 1960s dinner. Hot dogs, Betty Crocker boxed potatoes and canned green beans. We had grilled some hot dogs over the weekend and didn't eat them all, so they were reheated. Partner likes those awful potatoes and is a believer in "There are no finer words in the English language than 'encased meats,' my friend." We use green beans as dog treats (Cody has packed on a few pounds) and I mistakenly bought a can of the French style. So, I decided to eat them since they're not easy to use for snacks like the regular cut beans are . All in all, pretty unsatisfying, but got rid of some crap. Partner said, "Tasty dinner!" (And he meant it!) :rolleyes:

Would love to have your recipe for seafood chowder, if you willing. Either here or PM is fine :) Thank you.

Lobster or crab legs for the big birthday celebration .

Fusilli with parm & olive oil
meatballs
Fresh spaghetti and Rao’s sensitive marinara & parm
assd raw vegetables

waffle cone with Robbins peanut butter chocolate & Robbins rocky road
waffle cone with Robbins rocky road & Haagen Dasz chocolate
waffle cone with Trader Joe’s chocolate chip & Biscoff salted caramel

Your partner and I would get along well.

I like the crab legs idea. I have trouble finding good lobster in the Chicago area for some reason. We might search a few new places this weekend, as we're considering a surf and turf dinner treat on Saturday.

I don't have time to look for it right now, but it is an Ina recipe that is tomato based. It called for crab, scallops, and a meaty white fish.

My mother's grandfather was a lobsterman and she lives 10 mi from the Atlantic ocean. I would never dare to feed her either of those things in Chicago! :) She will only eat lobster if it came out of the ocean this morning, and loves Maryland blue crabs, which are not in season.

My Costco usually has both king crab legs and big lobster tails....both in the frozen and fresh areas.

We've never really found a good enough reason to shop there, and therefore don't have a membership. However, I believe my mother in law has a membership, so I'll have to keep this in mind.

how about sunset foods - I love their inventory.


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I've only been to the one in Northbrook, one time. In fact, I went looking for lobster and didn't see anything other than the small frozen tails - same as I can get at Mariano's. It may just have been a bad day, but I was not impressed with their inventory -- although I was impressed with the deli there. I believe you may have been at the Highland Park store? I'm wondering if that one is better. I'll definitely give it a try one of these days.

Wow --expensive place.

The soft shell crabs at $8 each look tempting.

I'm sure I could make them keto with a dip in egg, followed by a crushed pork rind and Parmesan "breading". Might not taste too much like crab anymore though :D