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 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.

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".