Recipe scouts

I love it when one of you sends me a recipe you've tried and liked and think is something I should have a go at. Two weeks ago, Dylan and Moriah texted me a "very good" recipe for sheet-pan gnocchi with mushrooms, complete with notes about the kinds of mushrooms they used and what changes they made to the sauce. This is one we obviously had to try because (1) we love sheet-pan dinners, (2) we, especially Mom, love gnocchi, and (3) most of us love mushrooms. 

My fig crop, episode VI

 

The fig tree continues to grow and spread year over year, to the point where it's now pretty much impossible to reach the figs at the top part farthest from the house, even with the fig-picker my buddy Tom gave me last year. 

The picker is not all that great for actually picking the figs, but it's very effective for grabbing a branch with the hook jutting out at the bottom left and pulling it over to where I can pick the figs by hand, especially from the deck. (Fig trees are very flexible.) If the tree keeps growing at this rate, maybe I'll eventually be able to get the top ones from Dylan's window.

My new favorite pan

Long-time readers will be all too familiar with my favorite pan, which has been touted as such since Episode 2 of UaKS. The pan was a 4-quart Calphalon saucier, since discontinued, gifted to me by my buddy Ed. Alas, the Calphalon saucier is not induction-compatible, so it has been sacrificed to the God of New Kitchens, no doubt to be snapped up by one of you after the appropriate amount of genuflection.

 

I searched far and wide for its replacement before landing on this 5-quart Made In saucier. I knew everything would be okay when I saw that it is "Made in Italy." It has a lid, cooks like a dream, and the extra capacity is welcome. It's more than I've ever spent on a single pan before, but you gotta do what you gotta do when replacing a beloved family heirloom. Let the cooking commence.

 

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Doing rather than having

Long-time readers will no doubt recall, and wisely continue to use, the UaKS guide to better holiday gift giving through science, in which we discussed a few principles for giving better gifts so as to avoid the "deadweight loss of Christmas." Although it was not one of the three numbered principles in the UaKS guide, we did mention that "recipients actually tend to derive more happiness from experiential gifts (like UVA basketball tickets or a dinner out), which have the added benefit of anticipating the event as well as experiencing it."

 

I recently read a terrific review paper from 2022 by Amit Kumar which goes into more detail as to why experiential purchases (for yourself and others) provide a "brighter path."[1] Essentially, experiential purchases give greater satisfaction than buying material goods before, during, and after the event/purchase.

Take care of the golf balls first

This isn’t the Index Card of Fatherly Wisdom™, but it’s worth the three minute reminder on keeping your priorities straight.

 

Smell-o-Vision

 

 

You know how much I love to quote Emeril Lagasse whenever I find a dish that's so flavorful "you could put it on a bumper and it would taste good," or that some dishes are a "food of love thing." One Emerilism I haven't gotten to yet is how he would complain about the limitations of a TV cooking show: “Oooh! I can’t wait till we get Smell-o-Vision so you can smell this at home!”

Outsourcing my blog, episode VII: Dump and bake

[Here is Cassie's first guest post. Thanks all for helping to keep UaKS new and interesting.]

 

JC and I recently watched “Easy-Bake Battle” on Netflix, and I learned about the glorious “dump and bake.” The beauty of the dump and bake is that you put all of your ingredients into one pan, stir, and then put it in the oven for a while. We’re always on the lookout for easy, low-effort meals that we can throw together after a long work day using our last functioning brain cell.

 

Not only is this dish seriously delicious, but it couldn’t possibly be any easier. I mean really, who wouldn’t want to enjoy all the benefits of pasta without having to even boil pasta? Plus, Dad’s favorite benefit—there’s enough time to clean your dishes while it cooks. By “dishes,” I mean your knife, cutting board, and cheese grater, because that’s all this recipe produces!