lperry

If you check out the Italian WIkipedia page, you will find that the appropriate argument to have about risotto is whether or not all the ingredients are cooked with the rice for the exact amount of time as the rice. Who knew? If you still have a language issue, well, make an arborio pilaf. Go nuts. Send it back. Mine works like a dream and I haven't fiddled with it one bit.

The first chocolate I had that wasn't Hershey's or M&Ms was Cadbury, and, at the time, I thought nothing could be better. Then I found Caramellos. Then I went to Australia and found Caramello Koalas. :wub: There's a Caramello on my desk right now, still in the wrapper, making me happy just by existing. Now we need to convince the marketers that koalas would sell in the US.

The problem I'm having now is losing some wines in the cellar because they are past their prime. Mr. lperry is not really a drinker, and sometimes my enthusiasm for buying goes beyond what I and our guests can drink. Apart from a case of white I ordered recently (can't resist the Torrontes), I've pretty much stopped buying until everything is out of the cellar.

I've got rice in the cooker for another evening with Mr. lperry's stomach bug. Pho for me. Everyone stay warm and well.

So, at least in theory, you can make notes and plans, then spend one day stocking your cellar for the year? Sounds interesting, and certainly something to think about.

Just out of curiosity, are the wines that people bought at this event from wineries with which you are already familiar, or do you take the time to do a little research online then buy, or something else altogether? What I like about Last Bottle and CInderella Wines is that I typically have the time to do some research on the wine and then decide if I want it. In contrast, I took a look at the WineBerserker site and found myself feeling overwhelmed. Is it a matter of experience, or perhaps of having more time to look up some of the wines?

I have made this one, and it is fantastic.

Well, it *is* the year of the horse...

<TMI> Interesting. I suppose there is an assumption that you already know what they look like? Prickly ash is the common name for trees of the same genus in English speaking countries, and indigenous people in the Americas used the fruits' numbing properties for mouth issues, so there is also the common name of toothache tree. I'm curious if the Chinese marketers looked up Zanthoxylum some place like Google and chose an English common name because the pictures of the fruits look the same. The Mandarin translates as "flower pepper." Fascinating, really, if such things happen to fascinate you. </TMI>

Moving the sharp instrument away from oneself is something they teach in knife skill classes, and it is brought up as a safety issue. That's why I compromise with the crossways peel. There's usually no one standing next to me, so maiming has been at a minimum.

Night before last, the first attempt at homemade pho. Shanghai cabbage, bean sprouts, herbs, etc. The hardest part was getting the salt content right in the broth. Everything else goes in unsalted, so it needed to be a little saltier than I thought for everything to come together. A nice winter meal.

Pho (insert squiggles on the "o") stock in the pressure cooker for dinner tonight. It is very odd to have something so fragrant cooking, and there is zero aroma other than the residual scent of charred onion, ginger and toasted spices. I really hope it turns out, because I made the pot full.

I like the Y ones for things like carrots, eggplants, or cucumbers that you can hold in your hand and pull the peeler the entire length of the vegetable in one go. I do, however, peel things crosswise in front of me (on a tangent?) rather than away from me like you are supposed to do. Last night was a quick dish of chapchae noodles and lightly steamed carrots in a peanut, sesame sauce.

It is not quite as bad with one of those Zyliss serrated peelers. I have two, a straight one and a "Y" one, both of which I picked up at TJMaxx or HomeGoods for just a few dollars. In retrospect, paying full price would have been worth it. Edit: Mine are not Zyliss, but Kuhn Rikon.

Roasted asparagus with oilve oil, balsamic vinegar, and shaved pecorino romano, served over quinoa. I peeled the asparagus. I saw an episode of one of Jacques Pépin's shows where he said something lilke, it's always nice to peel the asparagus." Apparently, when a French-accented chef suggests something both completely unnecessary and excruciatingly time consuming, my thought process runs along the lines of, "wow, what a great idea."

Yes. They have an aisle with various spices and grains, and they are stocked regularly there. It is a fun place to shop.

Great Wall or Penzey's. Both have them.

Comfort food, and an attempt to heat the house by cranking the oven to 400 degrees: Roasted cherry tomato risotto finished with goat cheese. Much better if the tomatoes are put through a food mill. A freezer bag full of those little guys must have a million skins in it. Broccoli roasted in rosemary olive oil and finished with a few shreds of pecorino romano. A bottle of cheap cava I found in the basement. I'm on a mission to finish what's down there before I start buying more wine.

They never have the dark chocolate ones. Those come in a blue wrapper instead of the red, and the place I used to get them was the Lindt chocolate factory outlet at Potomac Mills, now closed. (Yes.) (I have a problem.)

I have a friend who worked there during her undergrad studies. Click for Lake Baikal Music.

Interesting. I like their dark chocolate marzipan, although not as well as the Niederegger bars. I really like the dark chocolate Mozartkugels, which are particularly difficult to find in the States. This cold is making me hungry.

I am currently eating a Salazon "Organic Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt & a touch of organic Caramel" bar. There are USDA organic, Rainforest Alliance, and Appalachian Trail Conservancy stamps on the packaging alongside a photo of a hiker standing atop a cliff gazing into the sunset. The cliff morphs into broken shards of chocolate oozing caramel. I never would have chosen this bar. I'm happy Mr. lperry did, though, because it is really good. A complex, dark chocolate, just enough crunchy salt, and bits of caramel with a solid burnt sugar flavor throughout. Just what I need to fuel myself for shoveling snow tomorrow.

Thumbs up on the Fissler cooker which is working like a champ. The only difference I am finding is that it vents significantly less steam than my old one, so I have more water remaining in the cooker after the dish is done. It's not a problem, it's just something to take into account when adjusting things.

Wow. How about, if you will enjoy a meal at a restaurant, go, and if you know you won't enjoy it for any reason, don't go. Life's too short.

Last night we had one of those weird, back from a trip, can't stand the thought of eating out, but there's no food in the house, meals. From the freezer and pantry, penne with a roasted cherry tomato and goat cheese sauce with a side of sweet potato fries.