What I learned today

I live in a Middle Eastern neighborhood. In fact, the nearest baker to me is The Damascus Bakery! We are spoiled for good flatbreads here. (As well as really good za'atar.)

[Jenise]

Very envious of you, Christina. Last time I was in that area I discovered an Arab market and brought home lots of things I haven't seen since I left Saudi Arabia. We certainly don't have them (that I know of) on the West Coast.

I posted earlier that I had unknowingly purchased a package of pork chops labeled
"Rib Eye Pork Chops, bone-in" They were a thick cut and I was so surprised at the size of them. Well, after a 2 1/2 hour bake in the oven surrounded by a white wine, tomato sauce laden cup of Farro and topped with red onion and gold bell peppers, they came out great. A bit more fatty than my usual chops, but the flavor and moistness of the chops was great. Have any of you seen this cut of pork chop before?

We used to have them frequently. My mom would cut a pocket in each chop, stuff them with the same stuffing used for turkey, and bake them.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Karen, it's just one end of the pork loin--the best end as far as I'm concerned with that requisite deckle!! But because the average housewife thinks the leaner no-deckle loin end is the best, butchers have often relegated the other type to large 'Family Packs' about which people are less discriminating for a lower price. Cutting them thick and bringing attention to them by calling them prime rib--which is entirely fair--is simply a marketing tool. And in this case, a good one.

Karen, it's just one end of the pork loin--the best end as far as I'm concerned with that requisite deckle!! But because the average housewife thinks the leaner no-deckle loin end is the best, butchers have often relegated the other type to large 'Family Packs' about which people are less discriminating for a lower price. Cutting them thick and bringing attention to them by calling them prime rib--which is entirely fair--is simply a marketing tool. And in this case, a good one.

Good to know, thanks. Strange that I have never noticed it before!

Fermented Pomegranate arils !!!! I bought a flat of Costco pomegranates in January and used all but one in salads, savory dishes and dessert garnish. The last one, forlorn and neglected in the garage storage area until today when feeling guilty about likely wasting it I opened it up to discover fermenting arils that had lost nearly all the tart and increased their sweet. Wonderful surprise that I will use tomorrow to garnish chicken liver mousse appetizers. So sorry that in the past when I thought they were over the hill I let them dehydrate to use in Thanksgiving and Christmas decoration the following year. Certainly expands their culinary use in the early fermenting state.

Fermented Pomegranate arils !!!! I bought a flat of Costco pomegranates in January and used all but one in salads, savory dishes and dessert garnish. The last one, forlorn and neglected in the garage storage area until today when feeling guilty about likely wasting it I opened it up to discover fermenting arils that had lost nearly all the tart and increased their sweet. Wonderful surprise that I will use tomorrow to garnish chicken liver mousse appetizers. So sorry that in the past when I thought they were over the hill I let them dehydrate to use in Thanksgiving and Christmas decoration the following year. Certainly expands their culinary use in the early fermenting state.

Interesting. Sounds yummy, as sometimes poms are just too tart.

And, I guess, since you said "early fermenting state" that you also googled the safety of these things (on the early side is fine, on the later side might or might not be). I also found one set of instructions to do it on purpose: https://www.jordanwinery.com/recipes/honey-fermented-pomegranate-seeds/

Red Flint Corn. Red hulled corn, coarsely ground for grits or polenta has an intense corn aroma and taste but it has a definite sweetness that I did not find complimentary to my savory tomato ragu. Perhaps better for breads. The ground meal is a beautiful mixture of red, tan, gold and brown flecks but it cooks up into an unappetizing grey polenta. It is a novelty for me but not sure of it developing a wide appeal because of the sweet notes and cooked color. Will try it for other dishes but I'm not yet sure what might be a good match. Not sure how widely available this variety might be and I won't buy it again unless I come up with a spectacular match.

[Jenise]

Christina, you know what your description of that made me think of? How with a houseful of different colored cats--orange, gray, black, beige--all the fuzz captured in my dryer's lint screen is gray. I never fail to be amazed by that. I'm disappointed on your behalf--what you describe of the raw state would be irresistably beautiful. The cooked product, not so much. Even if it tasted better.

Interesting topic. I opened a can of paint last week which I knew is what my painter left me after painting the white crown molding in the kitchen, which I also use to repair teeny scratches on cabinet corners, etc. I know that many of the whites are made with other colors of paint. When I opened the can, it was grey! It took me forever to stir it until I got enough white to make a few repairs.

It is true that tightly wrapping cucumbers in plastic wrap keeps them fresh longer. I was always annoyed at the tightly wrapped English cucumbers until I read that it is done to make them last longer. I have subsequently tightly wrapped the conventional cucumber when I get it home and rewrap it when I cut a hunk off for salads. It keeps for a good 10-14 days. I am not fond of these cucumbers at this time of year and only use them sparingly so wrapping is helpful to keep one around for awhile.

[Jenise]

The wrapping makes sense--but I always feel them at both ends for soft spots before buying. That's where the rotting starts and I'll just simply skip cucumbers if the pile seems to have a lot of soft spots. That said it never occurred to me to wrap cucumbers I bring home. Great tip, thanks!

I am not a baker, do not like working with flour (too messy) but when you have kids, you bake, because kids love cookies, cakes and other things mom makes along those lines. Since I no longer have kids at home, and it is only me, I have not baked for a long time. However, an invite to the neighbors across the street to have dinner with their family, adult kids, their kids, prompted me to reconsider. They love my Lisbon lemons so I decided to make lemon bars to take to them.

I loaded the dry ingredients up and dumped into the food processor as the recipe said, went to turn it on and it did not work. Moved to another plug, still nothing, I was a bit nervous with all of this and did not stop to analyze what could be wrong other than I knew I had all the working pieces in place. Wrong! So, in my frustration, I thought I would jut put the ingredients into the blender and all would be fine. NOT! I did what I could until the dough looked somewhat like it was supposed to. My first turn on sent dough fog up and out of the blender, all over my counter and that should have been my first clue. I forgot the last piece that fits into the lid which one can drop ingredients into. Getting the sticky dough out of the blender was a chore, but I did my best and shaped the crust into the prepared baking pan. All went well from there, I cut out a corner piece after the final cooling in the fridge. Tasted great, crust is OK. Then I had a the mess to clean up....

Gak. Well, at least you are now sure that the counters are clean.

I once had a pumpkin soup "escape" out the top of a blender. Easy to see, anyway.

Maybe not today, but recently have learned and been excited by how many varieties of radicchio there are. Most of my life I thought there was one variety (Chiogga, the round dense dark red ball found in every supermarket). Fine, as an occasional change of pace that adds color and crunch and a little bitter to a salad, or grilled. Then a few years back started encountering Treviso. I thought that was great, till a few restaurants and farmers markets started having the Castelfranco. And now the Fiero. Now I really can't imagine not having radicchio in fridge.

[Jenise]

Same here, Dale. Thanks to a prodigous local grower we sometimes get 6 or 8 varieties at a time at our Coop where no one's reliant on the standard supermarket central supply system.

Now I really can't imagine not having radicchio in fridge.

I'm also a big fan. Versatile, because can be eaten raw in salad or cooked. And the cooking is quick, with a nice bitter edge not present in other green vegetables.

There is an excellent stand at the Union Square market on Fridays with lots of pristine varieties of radicchio. Unfortunately they are also murderously expensive, so I shouldn't buy from them too often.

[Jenise]

Rahsaan, what are your methods for cooking radicchio? I grill it sometimes, otherwise my only trick is to wilt it and stuff it with taleggio cheese inside puff pastry for baking. Popular in Italy, and fantastic.

Rahsaan, what are your methods for cooking radicchio? I grill it sometimes, otherwise my only trick is to wilt it and stuff it with taleggio cheese inside puff pastry for baking. Popular in Italy, and fantastic.

Yes, I guess grilling is popular, but I don't grill much of anything. If cooking, I often just sautee, alone, with garlic, or with other vegetables (mushrooms), as part of a pasta dish, in lentils/beans, etc.

[Jenise]

I should try that. Similar to how I sometimes do escarole. In fact, the two would be fab together.

I should try that. Similar to how I sometimes do escarole. In fact, the two would be fab together.

yes, definitely lots of radicchio/escarole overlap in my cooking.

I really don’t know what I was thinking when I bought a box of macncheese. Had never had it before and thought might be an easy lunchtime meal. It. Was. Disgusting. I couldn’t even think what could make it edible other than chucking it in the compost and making something else.

A lot of Americans consider Mac & Cheese to be one of the ultimate comfort foods because they ate it so often as children. It's popular with busy moms because it's easy to make, the ingredients are cheap, and even kids who are picky eaters tend to like it. I was never particularly fond of it as a kid, but I did enjoy the brown and crunchy bits and did eat it without complaining (unlike my reaction to Brussels sprouts).

I've never had the commercial Mac & Cheese that comes in the blue box. If it bears the same relationship to from-scratch Mac & Cheese that green-can grated Parmesan bears to fresh-grated Parmagiano Reggiano, I'm not surprised you found it disgusting.

-Paul W.