Fat Guy

I was using one of my Gray Kunz spoons (original large) last night and reflecting on the fact that nobody else has made a spoon that comes close. When you think of all the attention knives get, it's amazing how little serious thought has been given to spoons.

I think this makes me a bad person, but lately I have been using paper towels like I own a lot of stock in Kimberly-Clark. I find them incredibly useful for everything from cleaning to blotting grease to using as napkins at the table in non-guest situations. Am I alone? And if I am not, what are our opinions about paper towels? I'm a strong believer in select-a-size from Bounty.

Cooking at a friend's house, I used some Pam the other night. Observations: The non-stick properties of Pam are far superior to greasing a sheet pan with oil. It is extremely difficult to clean after it gets baked on to the pan.

Started a new topic for dishwasher issues.

Conventional wisdom says don't put knives, wooden implements or nonstick cookware in the dishwasher. I put all three in. I'm wondering: what's the rationale behind dishwasher avoidance? Has it been studied? Am I nuts? There are some other things: crystal, plastic... I put them all in.

I neither seed nor peel tomatoes, ever, for anything. If the recipe demands peeled and it really makes a difference to have them peeled then I use canned. If the recipe demands seeded then I ignore the instruction or don't make the recipe. In terms of the dishwasher, have there been tests done on high-quality knives, wooden implements and nonstick cookware? I wonder, are we talking about 1,000 washes before degradation, 100 washes, 1 wash? Compared to hand washing? Is there a way to reduce the impact of the dishwasher on these items? Do I care? Is this a new topic?

I do not remove the seeds from tomatoes.

I have to measure the triple sec to see if it's close to being able to support 2 oz. gin, 1/4 oz. triple sec, and 1/2 oz each lemon juice and Campari multiplied by 10 -- I'd like to be able to do 10 servings. I know I have enough of everything else on the list. If I don't have a full 2.5 oz of triple sec, is there something that could sub for half the triple sec? I like this idea because I'm thinking I can make it in a pitcher and pour it over ice so I'm not making individual drinks. There is a tiny bit of vermouth at the bottom of a bottle, not enough to make more than one Negroni.

So let's say you're in an isolated location with someone else's eclectic liquor cabinet and you need to produce an acceptable cocktail, and it so happens there is a ton of Campari available. Also plenty of fresh lemons. Gin, vodka, and whiskey aplenty. A limited amount of triple sec. No bitters unless you consider Campari a bitter. But I've never worked with it. Not sure what it does. Simple syrup could be produced. There's a little tonic water and some cranberry juice.

If I performed every kitchen task the right way, with no shortcuts or mechanization, I' be 100 years old by the time I finished cooking dinner. Here, I will fess up to some horrible things I do to save time. I hope you will join me. I put everything in the dishwasher, including pots, pans and knives. Actually, I should modify that: I don't put my best knives in the dishwasher, but I do wash the Forschners and utility-type knives. More later.

So I'm helping figure out bar stuff for a charity event. 5 bottles of Whistlepig rye have been donated. How do we sell it? In 1.5-ounce pours? More? Price at $15? More?

There also seems to be a salutary-neglect zone in effect in the Belmont section of the Bronx -- there are several stores up there (salume, anyone?) that seem to engage in practices that would trigger an immediate shutdown on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. This is all very interesting and I'd love to know the facts. I guess we'll have to be content with speculation for now.

That introduces a few possibilities, and of course we're now pretty far off into the realm of pure speculation but... One possibility is that CDM and Fairway start with the exact same curds but through artisanal family handiwork the CDM people transform the curds into superior cheese. A second possibility is that the freshness and non-refrigeration are the critical factors. It could be a combination of 1 and 2. Or they could be starting with a different ingredient. I notice that on the Polly-O website there are three variants of curds -- I wonder if there's a material difference: CURD 7104001002 POLLY-O Whole Milk Split Curd 2 21 lb bags 7104001000 POLLY-O Whole Mik Curd 1 43 lb bags 7104001010 POLLY-O Curd 2 10 lb bags http://polly-ofoodservice.com/PollyO-SKU.asp I'm also wondering about salt's contribution to all this. I assume salt is added to the curds by the "cheesemaker" so that could be a variable. Is it curds or curd?

I would be absolutely amazed to learn that both CDM and Fairway use the same curds, though if I did learn that it would prove that the available variation when starting with the same curds is amazingly huge -- much huger than I'd have imagined. I have to guess that CDM is using a better brand of curds but would love to know the facts.

Sure, but I think it's tantamount to buying your bread dough versus making it from flour, water, salt and yeast. There's still plenty to be done in terms of shaping and baking the loaves, but you didn't actually make the bread.

With so many gourmet stores, delis and pizzerias these days claiming to make their own fresh mozzarella cheese, I think the claim bears closer examination. I would define homemade or housemade cheese as the end result of a cheesemaking process that begins with milk. I am not aware of any gourmet store, deli or pizzeria that does this. In every instance where I have inquired about the process, it turns out the establishment in question is using purchased cheese curds -- usually from Polly-O -- and forming them into mozzarella cheese balls. I'm not sure it matters in terms of end result, but I do think it's worth recognizing that the whole thing is a farce.

Just got an interesting press release from the Living Language (Random House) people with their list of commonly mispronounced food-and-wine words. Thought I'd share it with you all:

Official word came down yesterday: it is Pete Wells. http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/15/the-times-names-a-new-restaurant-critic-and-dining-editor/

The literature describes them as sealed. I'm not sure I fully understand the distinctions. They do come apart for cleaning, if that matters. Yes. Mine actually came with a wok ring. No. The cooktop is not really dependent on electronics. During a power outage you will lose the spark ignition, but you can light the burners with a match. The oven however will not function without electrical power.

I think once you factor in the thickness of a roasting pan, the placement of the lower rack about 3' from the bottom of the oven, and the fact that you don't want something right up against the top of the oven chamber, you're safe with a turkey that is up to 8.5" high at its highest point. That should be sufficient for a 25 lb. turkey or larger, but I haven't measured one lately.

I have had a 36" Bertazzoni range for about 7 months now. It is very attractive. The size of the oven is not a problem for me. It is quite wide. The height would only be an issue were you to want to cook something very tall. The broiler is great. I don't love that different burners have different output levels. I realize some people prefer this. I don't. I had a problem with my burner grates rusting, which may or may not have been my fault, but Bertazzoni replaced them no questions asked -- I sent an email and new ones came in the mail a week later. The cooling fan in the oven door may or may not be a good idea. Only time will tell.

Is it me or is it impossible to keep orecchiette from sticking together when you cook them? I've had this happen to me twice recently. I'm pretty sure I've done everything right: tons of water, stirring immediately -- yet many of them nest inside one another and stick. What's the issue here?

Scoop: That is my exact technique. Today my hand was out of the correct plane so when I brought the knife around to make that first cut I stabbed my pinching hand with the tip. Yes, I think it may be stupidity rather than bad technique that is responsible here.

I just inflicted a very ugly stab wound upon my left hand while cutting a bagel. This happens to me a couple of times a decade. There are those guillotine bagel cutters available, but I just can't bring myself to use one. So, what are the strategies for never suffering one of these bagel-cutting injuries again?

Eric Asimov has been with the Times a long time. Before he did the wine column, he was the "$25 and Under" restaurant critic for more than a decade. He also has done the interim reviews on several occasions, and has pinch hit for example when William Grimes was on leave.