As much as we love potatoes here in the US, we don’t celebrate them the way they deserve to be celebrated. Just like heirloom tomatoes, there are hundreds of varieties of heirloom potatoes; and, just like heirloom tomatoes, each variety tastes different, yet is also obviously identifiable as a potato. You can do…

Man, I would not complain about that at all. No, it didn’t need the butter, but that IS one way of doing it. Myself, I’d like maybe 10° more on it, or maybe sear the crust a bit. But everything: meat, sides, Yorkshire, etc; looked fantastic, to me.

I went herb garden a few years back. Where I live, 28oz regular canned tomatoes are $1.39, San Marzano are $3.99. Carbone’s is $7.49, Rao’s is $8.99.

Yep. I freeze the sauce in two-portion vacuum sealed bags, each bag with two meatballs and two sausage links. Then, when we need dinner and have nothing, we have dinner and need nothing.

There are a lot of things that you can buy rather than make yourself, and some of them are worth it: I just made coleslaw the other day, paid $5 for a cabbage (!!!), plus a couple carrots and half a jar of mayonnaise (not counting the sugar and vinegar). Great, but after the time and cleanup, I would have been at the…

I loved those crab cakes. We used to get them at a bar in Clairton when we got off shift at 4. Ice cold Iron City in a frosted mug, those crabs, and red pickled eggs. I can’t remember the name of the place, right across 837/State St from the Hercules plant. That was 1974. (Sorry about the being old part.)

Pittsburgher. I’m in NEPA now, when you say “slice it Pittsburgh style” they mostly know what you mean. 

Oh jeez. Not only do I love Krakus ham, I also love it “chipped”; we call it Pittsburgh style, after the way it was cut at Isaly’s back in my home town. Cut as thin as it could possibly be cut, like shaved, where 100 passes of the slicer yields about 2/3 of a pound.

There is precedent for this. In 2011 Sid Crosby was sidelined for 11 months (including the off season) with concussion symptoms, in the prime of his career. These men are the best of the best. They don’t, can’t, shouldn’t sacrifice the rest of their lives for our entertainment. 

They came out freakin’ perfect. Great advice.

Makin’ some cakes tomorrow, this will help!

Back in the early ‘80s I was pushing my cart through a grocery store in Shadyside. And you know how sometimes when you’re looking through the shelves and pushing, you don’t notice the other shoppers? I pushed my cart into the back of the guy in front of me. And I said, “Oops, sorry!” And he turned around and it was…

I grew up with Hellman’s, but now I prefer either Kraft or Duke’s. I tried Kewpie. In my opinion it’s a little overbearing, but I’m getting used to it. 

What could go wrong.

When I was 17 (1971), the timing belt jumped a notch on my 1965 Bonneville. I checked a Chilton’s manual out of the high school library, bought the parts (cheaped out and got a nylon gear, but hey), and had to buy a couple tools, most notably a gear puller. I spent the weekend learning and cursing.... And when it was…

I like these, they're pretty tasty. But they are in the fancy imported food section of our grocery, so the price/value equation is out of whack, unfortunately. 

Thw best ice cream in upstate New York is sold at Cornell University dairy. If you’re not near Ithaca, Stewart’s is damn good.

When faced with the decision, I usually get BOTH Grandma Utz' AND the Utz' Dark Russet. 

Love it. You are absolutely correct: nail the basics, and offer something new.

We eat out far less than we used to, one a month instead of once a week, and breakfast instead of dinner, but that is a function of across the board inflation. We don’t mind paying for the experience, but please do not test the breaking point, because there is one, and we are close to it. If restaurants go away, they…