Overheard on the General Topics Board

"[S]hells have a lot of flavor and make excellent stock. You could also put them right into the tomato sauce, but then you'd have the issue of getting them back out of the tomato sauce without taking most of the sauce with them.... I would therefore just simmer them in water for a while until I got a concentrated stock, and then put this into your sauce." – visciole on using shrimp shells in stock

"Biazzo or Sorrento are the two brands I buy and they're both fine, but I've pretty much given up on buying ricotta since it's so incredibly easy to make at home (just milk, salt, vinegar, a little cream and a thermometer). Cheaper than buying it, too, and the flavor is incomparably delicious." – biondanonima

"I had them recently and I liked them. They were huge sardines, almost like herring. They were well smoked, almost to the point of jerky in some ways, and the maple worked well. I served them to some guests and everyone liked them, even folks who don't like sardines." – JMF on sardines packed in maple syrup