-=> Ruth Haffly wrote to Dave Drum <=-

 RH> Radio gathering was at a pizza place down in Cary. Steve and I had
 RH> slices from one (of 2, second was Hawaiian style) table pizza with bell
 RH> peppers, onions and pepperoni--both had the same descritor word
 RH> afterward--bland. Sauce didn't seem to have any spicing in it, no red
 RH> pepper or grated cheese on the table either. Wasn't our choice of
 RH> places and hopefully the group won't chose it again.

One of my favourite pizza places has been sold and is currently being
renovated for re-opening. Bill Pope, the guy who bought Charlie Parker's
Diner (featured on Crazy Fieri's Diners, Dives etc.) and listed as one of
to best diners in the US .... bought Gabatoni's from its original owner.

Gabby's quit all but drive-thru during the covid crisis and never went
back to inside service. They used to have the best thin-crust pizza in
the area. But, they changed the recipe and their unbroken string of
"Best Of" awards stopped when they did so. Bill tells me e has the old
recipe for their sauce and has hired one of the guys who ran the kitchen
during the hey-day to supervise and train staff. Hopefully the quality
of the pizza will return and a coupl of my groups which met monthly at
Gabby's can come back and enjoy life again.

 DD> That's just one of my "pet peeves" about recipes. Words mean things.
 DD> It costs nothing to be accurate. If I get an otherwise nice recipe
 DD> labelled "Shepherd's Pie" and made w/beef or any non-sheep meat I'll
 DD> asterisk the title and explain in the text portion.

 RH> May as well, at least you know with the * that it's not likely to be
 RH> authentic.

 DD> More in the (probably forlorn) hope that people reading it will begin
 DD> to pay 'tention to the realities of life.

 RH> Don't hold your breath. (G)

Not unless I want to tuen blue.  Bv)=

 DD> I'm the same way with calls for "Swiss cheese". Usually it's obvious
 DD> that the call is for the pale yellow cheese w/large holes - Ementhal.
 DD> So I correct the ingredients. There are several varieties of cheese
 DD> which call Switzerland home - Gouda, Raclette, Scharfe Maxx, Le
 DD> Marechal, Tilsiter, and Vacherin. There are more, but you get the
 DD> idea. (I hope)

 RH> I know; I generally use the proper names, tho don't always capitalise
 RH> them, for cheeses. One of my favorites, a cave aged Gruyere, I've only
 RH> found at Whole Foods. Stopped into the Raleigh one a few weeks ago,
 RH> couldn't find what I wanted (looked like it may have been discontinued)
 RH> but walked out with a block of the C-A-G and various small pieces of
 RH> cheese from their small samples box.

     88

 RH> We were in our Wegman's yesterday--produce section had a tasting
 RH> station featuring a piece of Christmas pear and a piece of Scottish
 RH> Ceddar. Nice combo. Sam's Club had a tasting station of Cabot Seriously
 RH> Sharp (one of our favorites) and another Cheddar; we got a taster of
 RH> the Seriously Sharp.

 DD> I had to pull a gun on myself to keep from loading up on new tastes. I
 DD> did nore a couple that would wrk well in cheeseburgers or make some
 DD> specatcular toasted cheese sammiches. Later, maybe. I left with just
 DD> what I had come for and was feeling pretty chuffed with myself. Then
 DD> it dawned on my Ihad forgotten to pick up som fresh basil for the
 DD> stuffing.

 RH> Pre Covid, the Cabot outlet in Waterbury, VT (where we went on mission
 RH> trips) had a big table set up with about 16 different kinds of cheese
 RH> cut into taster bits, in cups with toothpicks. You could go around the
 RH> table picking all or just what tickled your fancy of the samples. Now,
 RH> since Covid, they have a stand set up with a person passing out samples
 RH> of just a couple of their cheeses.

 DD> Fortunately my local Sav-A-Lot maintains a pretty decent produce
 DD> section and was on my way home.   Bv)=

 RH> Handy; we have both Wegman's and Lidl "around the corner" from us, plus
 RH> fresh basil in the raised bed outside. (G)

I got the evergreens out from the front of the house. But the raised beds 
(three 4' X 8' X 30" tall) aren't in - and won't be until (probably) next
February. 

I foresee a bounty of tomatoes, chilies, bell peppers and icicle radishes
(which I never see in stores).

I'll likely never make this as written - but I may look into cutting it
down to use just one rack of lamb. And find a substitute for the wine. 
I'm not against wine in cooking. But I don't stock, nor drink it. So ...

MMMMM----   Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06

      Title: Roasted Rack of Lamb w/Icicle Radishes
 Categories: Lamb/mutton, Vegetable, Herbs, Wine, Citrus
      Yield: 11 servomgs

     15 lb (4 racks) lamb
      1 c  Extra-virgin olive oil
           Juice & zest of 1 orange
    1/2 bn Fresh rosemary; needles
           - stripped from the stem
           Salt & fresh ground pepper
      2 bn Icicle radishes; trimmed,
           - well-washed
      2 tb A-P flour
    750 ml Red zinfandel wine
      1 c  Kalamata olives; pitted
      2 bn WWatercress; trimmed, well
           - washed

  Recipe courtesy of Tyler Florence

  Ask the butcher to remove the chine bone (back bone)
  from each rack of lamb, to clean and "french" the ribs,
  and trim the fat cap on the meat.

  Set the oven @ 450§F/232§C.

  In a small bowl, mix the olive oil with the orange
  juice, zest, and half of the rosemary to flavor the oil.
  Pour the rosemary oil over the lamb and rub it into the
  meat really well; season with a generous amount of salt
  and pepper. Place the racks of lamb side by side in a
  large roasting pan, with the rib bones facing up; wrap
  the bones in foil to prevent blackening in the oven.
  Toss the radishes with a little oil and put them in the
  roasting pan next to the lamb.

  Roast until the internal temperature of the meat at the
  thickest point registers 130 degrees F for medium-rare
  doneness, about 40 to 50 minutes. The radishes should be
  tender and golden.

  Remove the racks of lamb to a carving board to rest,
  tent them with foil. Drain the excess fat from the
  roasting pan and set the pan on two burners over
  medium-high heat. Sprinkle the flour into the pan
  drippings and stir to cook out the starchy taste of the
  flour. Gradually pour in the wine, stirring constantly
  to scrape up the brown bits and avoid lumps. Toss in the
  remaining rosemary and simmer for 15 minutes to reduce,
  season with salt and pepper. Add the olives and cook
  another 2 minutes to heat through.

  To serve: Cut the racks of lamb between the ribs into
  chops. Arrange 2 lamb chops on each plate with the
  roasted radishes, the olive-wine sauce, and a small pile
  of watercress.

  Yield: 10 to 12 servings

  RECIPE FROM: https://www.foodnetwork.com

  Uncle Dirty Dave's Archives

MMMMM

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