What I learned today (Take Two)

This week I jumped the shark on Caprese salads. Fresh mozz? OUT. Laura Chenel goat cheese? IN.

I still can't get enough Caprese made with mozz or burrata, but it's always good to have an alternative on hand.

Regarding the ice, it's hard to believe the ATK folks didn't consider the quality of the ice as part of their review. Did they include pebble ice makers as part of the review? Those seem to be all the rage now, although I can't really see the value. I can certainly understand your dad on ice quality. The ice maker in our previous fridge/freezer broke about fifteen years ago, and I initially thought I'd just replace it - it was a simple thing to remove the old one. But then I found out that a new ice maker assembly cost $650 and I wasn't going to pay that, so I went with plastic ice cube trays. They were a pain, and we never had an overabundance of ice (the freezer space was too limited for bags of purchased ice), but the quality of the cubes was far better and I was never tempted to put in a new ice maker. That's in the past now, though, because we put a Scotsman ice maker in the bar as part of the Eternal Remodel. It makes very nice, clear ice and we always have plenty. Only downside is the noise when new ice gets dumped into the bin. That definitely takes some getting used to.

[Jenise]

Mike, I'll never turn down real mozz either. BUT, the tang of goat cheese with the acidity of tomatoes is really a great duet. Sweet tomatoes taste even sweeter.

Re the ice, the Igloo they liked made tubes, so they were hollow in the middle so on top of being full of air they had less bone density, making matters even worse. One of the other two they showed made the pebbles, which were the clearest of the three.

I couldn't live without an ice maker, as I constantly have a 24 ounce glass of water or iced tea at hand and drag it all over the house with me all day long. The old ice trays would really do me in. I do remember moving to England though and being invited to someone's home. Their refrigerator was what Americans recognize as a motel size model though it was what most homes had at the time. It had a diminutive freezer compartment about the size of a ladies shoe box. On arrival our host (also American) amusingly informed us that we would get three cubes apiece over the course of the evening and should plan accordingly.

I do remember moving to England though and being invited to someone's home. Their refrigerator was what Americans recognize as a motel size model though it was what most homes had at the time. It had a freezer compartment about the size of a shoe box. On arrival our host (also American) amusingly informed us that we would get three cubes apiece over the course of the evening and should plan accordingly.

Ha! My wife has memories of being in England, ordering a gin & tonic, and getting one lone ice cube floating in the warm drink. Ice in drinks seems to be one of those things between the US and Europe in which "ne'er the twain shall meet".

Ordered a martini on the rocks at Kings Cross Station. Two ice cubes is all I got.

our CSA gave choice of basil or marjoram last week, as we have lots of basil growing chose marjoram. I think of marjoram as a milder version of oregano, but this bunch is superintense. Used in a butter sauce for hake, in a dish of chicken and greens with mixed herbs and several other pretty dominant. Is this normal, or maybe just late season issue?

[Jenise]

Dale, just like there's Turkish oregano, Greek oregano, Mexican oregano and god knows what else, there might be different types of marjoram. And then even the same one grown in richer and lesser soils will present differently. Hard to know.

our CSA gave choice of basil or marjoram last week, as we have lots of basil growing chose marjoram. I think of marjoram as a milder version of oregano, but this bunch is superintense. Used in a butter sauce for hake, in a dish of chicken and greens with mixed herbs and several other pretty dominant. Is this normal, or maybe just late season issue?

Dale, I grow Marjoram in a free-standing tub on the patio near my kitchen. It grows all year round and has been doing so for years. I only use it for my tomato bread salads with kalamata olives. It is divine in the salad and I always get asked, "what is that fruity smell, taste?'I haven't tried it in anything else. Any ideas? Just did a quick research and this came up: Yes, marjoram can be described as a fruity herb because it has a sweet flavor with distinct citrus and pine notes, which can be perceived as fruity. Its flavor profile also includes earthy and woody elements, and it is a more mild and delicate herb compared to the more pungent oregano.
This is a great article: https://food52.com/story/12734-fresh-ma ... ir-it-with

[Jenise]

So I went to make my Amatriciana yesterday and decided to refresh my memory by reading a few recipes--primarily wanted to know if I used to add white wine or not (seemed likely). I know I added a lof of thyme and a few bay leaves. Glad I looked. Of course, recipes vary widely even within traditions, but I learned that wine is definitely not standard, nor are herbs, and one article even suggested that onions and garlic weren't either (unthinkable!). Instead, the emphasis should be on red pepper flakes and black pepper, and pecorino would be the cheese of choice not parmesan. I probably knew that at some point, but had forgotten which might in part be due to a love-hate thing with pecorino because I've more than once bought some that was super gamey, which I despise.

[Jenise]

So yesterday I learned that flatiron steak is not a good candidate for braising. To my dismay the shrinkage was about 50%. I kid you not. What had been five perfect about 5 oz steaks (for an event I'm doing in December) turned into dinky little undersized strips. The result was tasty enough but texturally not a whole lot better than even cheaper cuts after all that shrinkage. I was looking for filet mignon texture at a lower price, and found there's no value in this cut whatsoever. Grilling? Yes, fine, but not braising.

Speaking of which I queried "Why are flatiron steaks always cryovacced?" The answer was insipid: better freshness, extended shelf life and all that. But yes, then why not cryovac everything? Why only flatirons?

Around here the only steak cuts that come in cryovac are flank steak and skirt steak. I like them for stir-frying because they are very easy to slice thinly across the grain. They also used to be dirt cheap. Then the fajitas craze came along and now they are very expensive, especially skirt steak (the original meat used to make fajitas).

-Paul W.