The sources I see indicate that unless you have an
older high-performance engine that you want to use in
a high-performance way, high octane is unnecessary.

Dunno about the sources, but empirically, we've found that for certain
cars that claim to require premium, there's some truth to the claim...

The sources I read (past tense) were some of the
mass-market car magazines and Consumer Reports.
I have no way of judging the accuracy of these,
but the claim is frequently made by sources that
sound reputable (I know that can easily be a pitfal).

First my Shadow, and nore recently both Volvos, all with turbo-charged engines, have actually done better with the premium... and when we tried using regular gas, we got so much worse gas mileage that it was actually
more expensive to be putting regular in the tank... and less expensive
to use premium... Richard's Volvo could use the mid-grade, but we can't
get that at BJ's, where the Premium is usually less than or equivalent
in price to the major brands' regular... The cars ran very badly on
regular as well...

When I was regularly paying for gas for a Volvo,
despite the manufacturer calling for high-test,
regular was fine (it was one of those distinctive
ugly moss-green station wagons that used to seem
ubiquitous, but that was probably because they
basically came in one color, and the models didn't
change much if at all from year to year.

Funny thing. The other day, in between when you wrote
that and I wrote this, Bob made pulled pork. It was pretty
good except that he carefully removed as much fat as he
could. How can you have pulled pork without fat?

Rhetorical question, obviously... ;)

Rhetorical answer, obviously.

... "Nil desparandum! The bubbles in the wine keep me afloat..." -M.Maxted

That makes no sense in any sense, and it's desperandum
anyway.

+

My favorite part of the Carolinas is the upland
inland area, such as Asheville. About the coast
I'm actually pretty unenthusiastic.

Asheville and Montreat are where my father spent a good bit of time when
he was growing up, as his mother's family had a summer home in
Montreat... That is a lovely area, not too hot in summer, and stays mild
in winter... I visited Daddy's aunts there one January... Daddy talked
about retiring there, but never did... :)

I found it a somewhat homelike place in a very
alien part of the country.

... Law of Cooking: Fancy gizmos don't work.

Generally so, but there are some that continue
to amuse for a long time.

Pan Seared Scallops with Cayenne Chocolate Sauce
Categories: shellfish, main
Serves: 4

1 lb sea scallops
salt and black pepper
1 Tb butter
2 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted
1 Tb cayenne pepper (adjust to your liking)
parsley for garnish

Sprinkle scallops with salt and black pepper.

Melt butter in a large stainless steel skillet
over medium heat. Cook scallops 2 min per side.
Remove and put on a platter.

Whisk together chocolate and cayenne pepper.
Drizzle on individual plates, place scallops on
top, garnish with fresh parsley, and serve.

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