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Time is a Flat Portobello Cap

Time is a Flat Portobello Cap

New York Times13-03-2025
Image Derek Boccagno's maitake au poivre, adapted by Florence Fabricant. Credit... Armando Rafael for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Hadas Smirnoff.
Living any portion of your life online increases the likelihood of the digital jump scare: spotting an ex on a dating app, say, or receiving a LinkedIn invitation from a childhood nemesis. But neither compares to the minefield that is Facebook and Instagram's 'On This Day' feature, which highlights old posts. Remember the heartbreak? The vacation that ended in food poisoning? The time you bleached your own bangs?
This week, 'On This Day' transported me to 2020 — the day after the pandemic was declared, specifically. That feels like a different lifetime. That feels like yesterday.
It can be jarring to clock time's hurried march when we are less than prepared for it. So when a nice memory pops up, I savor it. Like the one of an old apartment I adored, or the one served to me Monday, of some mushroom tacos I posted two years ago. Then came a different kind of jump scare: I haven't written a Mushroom Week Veggie in two years.
On this day, we remedy that, with many different mushrooms.
Frilly maitake (or hen-of-the-woods) may be my favorite mushrooms to cook with, their edges becoming crisp and lacy when pressed against a hot skillet. Now imagine those browned bits beneath a blanket of piquant au poivre sauce, à la the maitake au poivre from Cafe Chelsea in Manhattan. Actually, you don't have to just imagine, since Florence Fabricant's procured the recipe.
'Made this for an intimate dinner party of four,' a reader wrote. 'Rave reviews and clean plates all the way around.'
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Just after the hints for each of today's Connections groups, I'll reveal what the groups are without immediately telling you which words go into them. Today's 16 words are... And the hints for today's Connections groups are: One Word For Each Connections Group Need some extra help? Be warned: we're starting to get into spoiler territory. Let's take a look at one word for each group. Today's Connections word hints are… What Are Today's Connections Groups? Today's Connections groups are... What Are Today's Connections Answers? Spoiler alert! Don't scroll any further down the page until you're ready to find out today's Connections answers. This is your final warning! Today's Connections answers are... I have to admit, I was worried for my streak when I drank in this grid. The TELETUBBY red herring was fun though (DIPSY and LA-LA are both characters in that show). But after seeing NEVER NEVER, my brain instantly went to "land," as in the place where Peter Pan lives. 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