MitchW

I endorse this method even for commercial berries that aren't too horrible.

At least he didn't peak with The Beverly Hillbillies! RIP, Dabney.

Oh stop!

Easy dinner last night, pre-hockey (actually, between the 1st and 2nd): Stir-fried asparagus, carrots, onions, and beef with oyster sauce. Jasmine rice.

Chris Kreider joins the ranks of the great one (Wayne Gretzky) and Mark Messier (not bad himself) as one of only 3 Rangers to earn a natural hat trick in one period of a playoff game. It was pretty incredible to see.

Don't order the duck!

I'm just a little jealous that your Formaggio has that stuff for sale. I shop at Formaggio Essex at least once a week, and while they have many things I use, there is no greenmarket component (which may actually be for the best in their situation). They've made me extra happy by now carrying one of my favorite Italian dried pasta brands.

Ramp sauce with the poached asparagus?

Some nights just call for a pre-dinner Martini, and while the vermouth made it into the drink, it did not make it into the picture. Nor did the orange bitters or lemon twists. Reverse seared strip steak topped with mushroom and pan sauce. Chive mashed Yukon golds. Roasted broccolini. And a dab of Pickle Guys' horseradish. To drink. Pre sell-off by Merry.

At Cafe Katja, they make a stock with the peels. And the stock always has sugar in it for poaching the spargel. I'm pretty sure that most of the spargel they get comes from Holland/Belgium. And that none of it comes from here.

A bit of schlepping around yesterday led me near Raffetto's. Where I bought two types of ravioli; a box of classic cheese and a box of "wild" mushroom. Each box of 48 pieces is under $10. So I made a nice marinara sauce (and have a good quart or more left over) using a couple of big cans of Bianco DiNapoli tomatoes, butter, olive oil, onion, carrot, celery and garlic. Endive alla Romana accompanied.

Simply say to yourself: "Holy shit, I'm ________? (Then fill in the blank)."

Acclaimed chef whose career started in Boston, and who became quite popular with the opening of Jasper's, in Boston 1983. He went on to write a number of cookbooks, and then to open Summer Shack restaurants. He was 69 - RIP. https://blog.ciachef.edu/jasper-white-bio/

It is a good block.

And if you go around the block, there's this place, on rue Paul Bert: La Pâtisserie Cyril Lignac - Paul Bert Some really great pastry. And Nomade Café for, well, coffee. And Breizh Café for, you know, those crêpes.

An endless source of amusement... Is a cat, watching birds on YouTube. (When she started climbing up the screen, is when I had to shoo her off).

Oh, the passcode came - 2 hours after the presale began!

I was gonna say, if you really had a problem, I'm sure I could help! But this was a walk in the park compared to, shall we say, crazier presales. I did think that we would have gotten a presa;e password from the mailing list, but...no!

As it will...just don't administer it at home!

Quickly cooked dinner in between periods 1 and 2 of the Rangers' game last night: Thankfully, I already had the rice going. Shrimp and scallops sautéed in butter and olive oil, pan sauce. Stir fried bok choy with lots of garlic and ginger. Rice was the latest crop from The Rice Factory, Minamiuonuma Koshihikari.

Your usual suspects, as usual (i.e.: Ticketmaster and/or Live Nation). They'll most likely send presale passwords.

I saw T-Bone Burnett do an interview, and then sing about 6 songs (5 songs from his new record, The Other Side), at National Sawdust a couple of weeks ago. It was a great evening, and a rare performance in front of an audience...https://www.nationalsawdust.org/event/the-grammy-museum-presents-a-new-york-evening-with-t-bone-burnett This interview in Variety is very similar to what the interview at National Sawdust was all about. Also, the new record is wonderful.

So after our vaccinations late Saturday, and feeling lousy, I did manage to pull together something to make us feel better: Fortunately, I had made chicken stock early Saturday, so chicken noodle soup was a no-brainer.

I'm working myself up to this series (I had the old shingles vax a while ago, but know I should get this one).

We both had Covid vaccinations (Spikevax) yesterday (being of a certain age, following the 6-month guideline, traveling at the end of the month, and going to a destination wedding next month) and for the first time, the classic malaise, headaches and general icky feeling has happened.