Alex

One more, from my library's $2-a-bag book sale, just because it was there, The Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook.

Oh yeah! Add one item to my must-try list.

... and tomato slips past bacon into first place. Pork producers demand a recount. Supreme Court says, "We're staying out of this one." Clickety

I think it's that relentless Midwestern niceness. When I moved to Michigan from New York City it took me years to get used to it.

Baveuse?

One more: Magic in the Kitchen (2001), by Jan Bartelsman. A delightful book -- creative photograpy of, brief interviews with, and recipes from 40 well-known U.S.-based chefs. I found it in the clearance section of my favorite local bookstore; I also noticed a couple of very cheap used copies on Amazon, in case anyone is interested.

I wasn't -- thanks for the heads-up. The link on Penzeys' home page is rather unobtrusive. One thinks that they would at least set it in large, if not flashing, type.

Yes, it's Penzeyland, but there still are only three retail stores in the state -- Madison, Appleton, and Brookfield. I didn't see it on their web site, but I seem to remember the catalogue mentioning an option to custom-design a gift box. An advance welcome to The Heartland, Sara! There's a good bunch of eGulleteers here, with activities tending to center around Chicagoland. (Check out the latest Heartland Gathering/Nero W send-off thread.)

You're welcome. Ah, backgammon. Back in the late 70s-early 80s, I was pretty devoted to the game. I decided to give it up, though, when stepping up to the next level meant playing for $5 a point instead of $2. If you make a reservation and let them know your time constraints, Steve & Rocky's should be able to get you out in 1½ hours. I think they're only about 5 minutes from the hotel. Here's an article by Corby Kummer in the Jan 2002 The Atlantic about Five Lakes Grill.

Stalder, 30 minutes can get you to a multitude of places. Right in Novi, though, is Steve & Rocky's -- solid, creative American cooking, especially with seafood. Perhaps 15 minutes away is Five Lakes Grill -- dinner only. If you don't mind spending some money for a cutting edge meal, Tribute is less than ten minutes from you. Also dinner only. Here's a recent thread about Tribute. For Chinese food, Hong Hua is about ten minutes away; Ah Wok is in Novi.

Welcome to eGullet, alejita and garistone! alejita, you may want to consider the toddy (cold-water brewing) method, using a low-acid bean (e.g., Sumatra, per cdh's post). You can do a search for "toddy" in the Coffee & Tea forum for more info.

Amazon has shipped me four six-glass boxes of Spiegelau, of four different types. Only one glass arrived broken (they're not packed all that securely within the box), and Amazon replaced the entire box with no hassle whatsoever. I'm reasonably careful (but not delicate) with washing and drying them, and none has broken in about six months. Just one person's experience...

I unfortunately have not (yet) had the pleasure of eating a Lobel's steak. I did sample (several times ) Prime Access steak at a food and wine convention a few years ago and was very, very impressed. Forget Omaha (the steak, not the city).

I second Carolyn's Spiegelau recommendation; I picked up on some major deals via eGullet/Amazon this past year. Even without the big sale price I think Spiegelau is a better deal than Reidel. Both are good quality, though, and either would have been most welcome for a wedding present.

I've been using The Complete Book of Greek Cooking, by The Recipe Club of Saint Paul's Greek Orthodox Cathedral. It's an updated, revised, and enhanced combination of their two earlier books, The Art of Greek Cookery and The Regional Cuisines of Greece. I think it's an excellent place to start.

It is an ancient Marinater, And he addeth one, two, three: Of pit of peach and chicken raw And oysters far from sea. I fear thee, ancient Marinater! I fear thy treach’rous hand! I fear thy swift and glittering knife; I fear and cannot stand. The Bridgroom’s doors are opened wide, And I am next of kin; The guests are met, the feast is set: All hail the great din-din. The many men, so beautiful! And they all dead did lie: And a thousand thousand slimy things Lived on; and so did I. -Alex, with great and grateful apologies to Samuel Taylor Coleridge- May I have my apron now? Edited to improve two lines. Edited yet again to add this link to the original poem.

Copper River salmon sounds terrific. It is that time of year. How are you going to cook it? I cedar planked it on a gas grill. It was topped with crispy onions, otherwise known as Onion Confit of the Easily Distracted. I decided to pan-steam the asparagus -- melt some butter, add salt and a quarter-inch or so of water, then boil uncovered until the water evaporates. The beverage of choice was a 1998 Loimer Grüner Veltliner. Excellent. I did almost the same. Copper River King on alder planks, red onion dill relish and grilled asparagus. Since there was extra grill space, I did a butterflied leg of lamb marinated with garlic and herbs and an assortement of other grilled vegetables, including zucchini, spring onions, radicchio, portabello mushrooms, baby eggplant, and red pepper. We also sliced some baguettes, slathered them in garlic herb butter, wrapped them in foil and threw them on the grill. At the table we served a caesar salad and a big tray of assorted fruit. Friends brought some excellent local sausages, some raw milk cheeses, and more fruit, and we also had hot dogs for the kids (and a few adults). That sounds like a great feast. I'm picturing a grill the size of a Hummer.

Copper River salmon sounds terrific. It is that time of year. How are you going to cook it? I cedar planked it on a gas grill. It was topped with crispy onions, otherwise known as Onion Confit of the Easily Distracted. I decided to pan-steam the asparagus -- melt some butter, add salt and a quarter-inch or so of water, then boil uncovered until the water evaporates. The beverage of choice was a 1998 Loimer Grüner Veltliner.

Here is Tapawingo's recipe for Cassoulet of Morels, Fiddleheads and Asparagus (Scroll to the last recipe on the page.) It originally was printed in The Best of the Midwest, by Linda and Fred Griffith; the link is an article in the May 4, 1997, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. I had it once at the restaurant and made it once at home; both times it was just too good. It's hard to go wrong, though, no matter what the other ingredients, when you combine butter, garlic, shallots, cream, Madeira, and cheese.

I suspect that there was very little truffle flavor because the oil was subjected to cooking-level heat for an extended time. Truffle oil works best only as a finishing oil. I'm afraid I have no experience with truffle paste or powder. I once got a jar of truffle cream as a present and used it once on pasta. I still prefer the oil.

Welcome to eGullet, Ken. Yes, it's an acquired taste, but some people acquire it much quicker than others. Others never do. It's just one of those things. No big deal either way. Is your bottle fresh? There should be an expiration date on the bottle or its packaging. If the sales clerk didn't know how to use it (and couldn't find someone who did), I suspect it was the kind of store where the oil had been sitting around for some time. Truffle oil poops out faster than plain olive oil. Even when fresh, the initial quality of the oil makes a difference, of course. I've found Italian oils to be the most reliable. Like you, though, I think it tastes terrible straight out of the bottle no matter how fresh. As others mentioned in the above-referenced thread, I use truffle oil from time to time in risotto, on pasta, and in mashed potatoes. It's also my standard finishing oil for roasted asparagus. It can easily overwhelm a dish, so it takes some practice to hit that narrow band between not being able to taste it and not being able to taste anything else. I'd recommend adding it in small increments until you can just taste it.

I've used both Lindt Excellence chocolates for baking (primarily tortes), with reliable results. They're often on sale here (Grand Rapids) for $1.00-1.50 a bar. That's about the same price as bulk Callebaut. The advantage over Callebaut is not having to chop and weigh the chocolate. The disadvantage is that they're much more convenient to eat.

I agree -- grilling is the way to go. Dinotto Ristorante in Chicago offers a kick-ass grilled calamari appetizer that's an absolute steal. One of those plus a salad and a glass of wine makes for a perfect light meal.

Beautiful smoker, Ronnie. Now I'm doubly sad that I can't make it to Nero's send-off. Today I'll be celebrating Memorial Day with Copper River salmon ("only" 14.99/lb for filets, 13.99 for the whole fish) and asparagus.

I've never used a blender. Sorry.