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Macaroni and cheese, applesauce and potato chips, eaten together.

Peanut butter, banana and Miracle Whip mashed together and eaten on bread or with crackers.

From Russ Parsons' review of Dorie Greenspan's Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé in today's Philadelphia Inquirer: "Greenspan is one of the few recipe writers who actually convey a voice. Read her instructions, and you sense a real person there, someone who has prepared this recipe before and who is there to help you." Arthur Schwartz comes immediately to mind as a recipe writer with a similar "voice." When I make one of his recipes, I feel as if he's right there in the kitchen with me. I was lucky to find his cookbooks when I first began to cook, and I still return to them time and again. Partly because there are some simple, classic favorites of mine in the books, but also because reading the recipes is like a visit with an old friend. Which recipe writers have a "voice" you like, and what do you like about it? I'm making a distinction here between writers who can skillfully enumerate recipes for the novice and those who bring some other engaging or interesting quality to their writing. Nominations for either category, or both, are welcome. Note: This thread springboarded from here. (Thanks, Jinmyo!)

Thanks Kristian and Jason! I will definitely try some rum straight up next week and report back. I have dabbled in cognac before and enjoyed drinking it; however, it tends to render me a little numb afterward. (Kristian, yet another argument for your "before-dinner" program!) I never liked rum-and-Cokes because I felt that the Coke just created a muddled drink. Fruity rum drinks can be good but I have to be in a certain mood; like Malawry, overly sweet drinks (pina coladas, daiquiris, etc.) are mostly relics of my college years, although they do get trotted out occasionally for warm-weather parties. I'm looking forward to using my relatively new Waring blender at our first barbecue of the season this weekend; I recently retired my Oster college blender for refusing to, well, BLEND. Anything. I am amazed at how efficient the Waring is! My favorite rum drink is now the mojito, because it's fizzy and refreshing and has more of a tang. Lime makes everything better! Let's see, the drinking program could be: Mojito. Rum neat. Repeat. I like it!

Jim: How are your infusions going? Any other interesting new creations?

Hi Jason, I'm resurrecting this topic because I'm having a birthday dinner at Cafe Atlantico next week. I enjoy rum, but the only brands I've had so far are Bacardi, Captain Morgan's and Appleton. I'd like to broaden my horizons--are there any "must-try" rums on their list? I've only had rum in mixed drinks so far, never straight up. I'm willing to try it though if the rum calls for it. You mentioned mojitos, but were there any other drinks you enjoyed there? Advice please! (Other rum fans, please join in as well!) If I knew more about the differences between brands on your list, I'd be in a better position to sample. Thanks.

I hadn't heard of organic beer until today. Click here for the website of Fish Brewing Company, an award-winning organic brewery in Olympia, WA. The site doesn't go into detail about why their brewing methods are organic, other than to say they use organic hops and such. Has anyone tried organic beer? Can you taste a difference?

Andy, please explain!

If you don't make your own, Bubbies are the next best thing! Bubbies' Bread and Butter Pickles I like them with chili. (Maybe I should have posted this in the "worst thing you eat" thread!)

Here's a link to the recipe, courtesy of Mario and Food Network: http://www.foodtv.com/foodtv/recipe/0,6255,14951,00.html Terrie, are cippollines like pearl onions only yellow? Were you able to source these or did you have to substitute something else?

Hopleaf--I agree; Rodenbach Grand Cru is one of my favorite beers! It's the only red ale I've tried so far, but I hear it's the best of the bunch. Do you have any others to recommend? Has anyone tried the Brugse Tripel? Another treasure from my visit. It has almost a tropical fruity overtone (orange, banana, apple) but I didn't find it too sweet... there's a tart undercurrent that sets the fruit off. Well worth a try IMO.

Mamster, I was in Belgium last month and also sampled the Cantillon Gueuze. I had done my beer research and looked forward to trying it, since as you said it is very highly regarded and I love gueuzes. What a surprise! It didn't taste like any gueuze I'd had before (mostly Boon). Bone-dry and almost wine-like in its flavor, I suppose because of all that fermentation. Yeast is a wonderful thing! I found it refreshing and complex as you did, not unapproachable at all. I'm still kicking myself for not trying the Kriek while I was over there (so much beer, so little time, such low tolerance), but I can get it at our local nationally-regarded pub The Brickskeller for the bargain price of $US19.95 for 750ml. I believe the Cantillon Gueuze I had in Belgium was 4.50 euros (standard bottle)! I love cherry lambics but sometimes wish they were a little less sweet; given their Gueuze, I bet Cantillon's Kriek is right on the money with my tastes. Have you tried it yet? I envy you your Whole Foods connection. My local WF equivalent (Fresh Fields) has a few Belgian beers, but none from Cantillon. I had assumed this was because they're not tied into Interbrew or the other major beer distributor over there, but if you can get it in Seattle... The wine selection does seem to vary widely from store to store, though, so maybe another Fresh Fields will carry it or could be coerced to. By the way, if you're ever in Bruges you must check out 't Brugs Beertje (Little Brown Bear), a friendly pub which has the best selection in the country and is where I did the majority of my taste testing. The second time I stopped in, Tom the bartender greeted me by name! Definite culture shock, but a very positive one.

Well, the mint chocolate chip ice cream was a big success! Everyone liked it, although I think I will prefer egg/milk/cream bases instead of just cream, which was what my recipe called for. Next time, when I'm not rushed, I will also get fresh mint. The ice cream was minty enough, but the mint tasted a little prefab due to the extract. The ice cream was REALLY soft, even after a short stint in the freezer. We couldn't freeze it overnight as there were anxious guests awaiting! I seem to remember the hand-crank machines got it much more frozen... maybe technology is not so good in this case. The fact that it was so soft made biting down on the hard mini chocolate chips annoying. If the ice cream had stood up to the chips it would have been a more pleasant combination. I will substitute chocolate shavings next time, more like what you find in bittersweet ice cream, almost crunchy. How to make these, I wonder? Stella, Malawry and I are hosting a barbecue in late June and in the invitation I'm soliciting ice cream makers. I said that if we had enough for a crowd, we'll make ice cream... I totally related to your comment about there never being enough homemade stuff to go around as a kid! Hopefully we'll be able to do it. Good luck on your lavender sorbet! ChefRuth, thanks for the recipe--I can see how it can translate into many other fruit/liqueur combinations. I also love the addition of sour cream, as I'm a sour/bitter/tart fiend. I am definitely going to make a coffee/ice cream combo soon. And the dried cherry method sounds great too... you all are unconsciously hitting on some of my favorite flavors!

Wow, what delicious ideas! Thanks, all. Lesley, I'm definitely going to do a grapefruit/Campari combination soon, as I am a huge Campari fan (see related thread). The kirsch and grand-marnier options sound yummy as well. I have not heard of gentiane liqueur but I am intrigued. Can you describe the flavor? Powdered milk is a great idea, BTW. Basildog, your coffee ice cream sounds wonderful, especially the presentation. Coffee is one of my weaknesses! B Edulis, you're welcome to come down to DC anytime for an ice-cream party! I will have to try to invent a recipe for the gazpacho-avocado cream thing. It does sound amazing. I will be sure and snag malawry's copy of McGee for perusal as well. JSD, your experience is interesting because in all the recipe books I've read, they say to quarter the strawberries before adding to the ice cream when it's almost done. You give them just enough time to be mixed in... maybe if you put them in in the beginning, that's why you ended up with strawberry "bullets?" Andy, it seems you can get all kinds of wonderful things at the chemists' in the UK that you can't in the States, including Red Turkey Oil and such for aromatherapy purposes. I think I will stop off at the drugstore tonight and ask if they have liquid glucose, though, just to see their reaction! Jon, may I direct you to the food dictionary on Epicurious.com? I'd have posted the definitions here, but didn't want to violate any copyright rules. Definition of ice cream Definition of parfait Definition of sundae Here's a recipe for candied rose petals--let us know if you try it! Candied Rose Petals Tomorrow, my first ice-cream-making venture is going to be mint chocolate chip, per a friend's birthday request. I'll let you all know how it turns out.

Speaking of healthy alternatives, if you don't want to use meat or replicas thereof you can soak bulgur wheat in orange juice and add it to a bean chili for texture. I've gotten used to bringing vegetarian chili to potlucks so everyone can eat it, and the bulgur wheat has fooled a number of meat-eaters! It's a good dish, but to me chili really means meat, with or without beans... that's the Texas part of my heritage talking, I guess!

Just in time for summer, I've received a Krups La Glaciere ice-cream maker as a gift (thanks to Malawry) and was wondering if there were any eGulleteers fond of making their own ice creams/sorbets/granitas who would have some unusual flavor combinations and recipes to share. I figured I'd get some interesting ones from this bunch! I haven't made ice cream since before the electric makers came out, so I'd appreciate any tips as well. I guess the electric way is more efficient, but I fondly remember sitting in the backyard as a kid and feeling the hot sun on the back of my neck while cranking away on our wooden-barrelled maker. I would always put some rock salt on my tongue and feel it melt away--what an intense sensation! Experiencing that and the ice cream itself, with its simple, pure ingredients, may well have been the beginning of my food geekdom...

Do you like to cook on your days off? If so, what do you like to prepare? Or if you're not in the mood to cook, where do you like to go for a good meal (could be takeaway or formal restaurant) and what do you order?

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Here's a link to the grits piece: http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/featur...rits/index.html I like grits.

The Croque Monsieur is just ham and cheese. The Croque Madame has the addition of an egg on top... it's her hat, you see!

I like Jinmyo. Malawry, I will be happy to accompany you to Hard Times and get Texas chili so you can try it.

Scorsese's "The Age of Innocence" has an incredible opening scene, part of which lingers over a late 19th-century New York society buffet table that's heaped with food. Just one of the film's many beautiful production details. Wilfrid, I agree about "Chocolat"--I was practically desperate for some of that hot chocolate! The scene where Juliette Binoche gets Judi Dench to try it is wonderfully amusing.

From a little web research, I believe Cynar is made by basically infusing alcohol with artichokes... Campari is a closely-guarded combination of herbs, bitter orange peel and other aromatics (cooking.com). In the past, I've tried to find out exactly what's in it and had no luck. The CIA is currently offering the following cocktails in their Al Forno restaurant... Campari Shakerato 5.50 Campari and fresh lemon juice, shaken together Cynar Cocktail 6.00 Cynar and vermouth bianco with a splash or fresh orange Campari and lemon juice? Hmmm... anyone tried this?

OK, I have to confess--*I'm* the "slow eater" that Malawry speaks of. :confused: When dining alone, I do eat more quickly than when I'm with friends or family. When I'm dining with others, I enjoy the pleasure of their company and conversation... just as I would in any other situation (if we were spending time together at each other's home or on another kind of outing, for example). I want to find out what's going on in their lives and share what's happening in mine. My enjoyment of food is lessened somewhat when I eat with other people, because a) I'm not going to just focus on my food and ignore them and b) I don't often have exceptional or "new" food experiences to distract me from what's being said at the table. My friends and I have favorite haunts and tend to return to them frequently, so the menus are familiar. When I do try new spots, it's usually with Malawry and we can focus on the food together, both in eating and discussing it. Like Cabrales, I haven't figured out how to properly integrate eating and talking, which is frustrating because I inevitably end up with cold food that I have to hurry up and consume because everyone else is finished eating. I've actually said to my dining companions, "So tell me about X, because I need to eat!" I appreciate it when my geek friends start a dissection of the latest news on Slashdot or some other impossibly technical topic so I can just tune them out and enjoy my food... I know *they* do the same thing when Malawry and I discuss food! I guess for me, both food and conversation with people I care about are passionately interesting and therefore deserve total concentration--therein lies the conundrum.

The Belgians definitely use beer in their cooking at all levels, from the pubs to fine dining. They steam mussels and braise meats like rabbit and quail in it. Beer is also often used as a sauce ingredient. Den Dyver in Belgium (Dyver 5, B-8000 Brugge, tel.: +32 (0)50 33 60 69) specializes in "cuisine a la biere" and offers 3- and 4-course prix-fixe meals with beer or wine. You choose one of two appetizers, one of two entrees, and then there is a dessert offering and/or a cheese course. With the appetizer and entree, you get a sample of the beer that is used in each dish (or an appropriate wine), along with an explanation of its pedigree. I had a good experience there last week--not one of the best meals I've ever had, but the standouts were a rich gazpacho amuse-bouche, served in a clear demitasse cup with a creamy "head" and garnished with a single chive, and just-crisp asparagus wrapped in tender cod and thinly sliced prosciutto as an appetizer. Three courses with beer, an aperitif and water for 53 euros, in an elegant yet cozy setting with excellent service. Personally, I often use beer when making soup, especially ones that are meat-based. I use Chimay Ale in my lamb stew and it adds a great depth of flavor.