Alex

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.

I'm surprised yours lasted an hour. Many basic home appliances won't stand up to long continuous (or heavy-duty) use. I learned that the hard way several years ago by frying a very nice burr-type coffee grinder. For spices, I've acquired a bunch of blade-type coffee grinders from garage sales and resale shops for a dollar or two each. If I'm doing any extended grinding (which happens very seldom), I'll rotate through a few of them. They also come in handy for grinding two or more types of spices that I want to keep separate. I think that an immersion blender would not work all that well.

I learned this from my mother: freshly ground raw hamburger meat made from top round, straight from the package, with garlic salt. My father had to leave the room.

One more: Monet's Table, text by Claire Jones. I love it less for the recipes and more for the account of the foods, meals and guests at Giverny. Lovely photography, too. "For Christmas lunches....The menu began with eggs scrambled with truffles, or monkfish cooked American-style. Traditionally, Strasbourg truffed foie gras in pastry was served before the truffled, stuffed capons were presented on a bed of chestnuts and Périgord truffles, served with a chestnut purée." "Lunches at Giverny posed many other problems. Too many very different people encountered each other there. The times were just too loaded with explosives. There was the day, for example, when Rodin found Cézanne on his knees before him in the garden thanking him for having shaken his hand. Cézanne, with his tempermental and hypersensitive nature, was prone to bizarre, unpredictable behavior." Amazon has it through one of its sellers as a new remainder for $4.99 + shipping here.

Good point. =R= Perhaps because unlike this restaurant, your seat doesn't get resold unless you decide to donate it. (And unlike the airlines, who'll resell your seat if they can, then charge you a hefty fee to reschedule. )

I would have a bit less of a problem with this policy if it were restricted to those "Hallmark holidays" and, especially, if the restaurant kept my table open during the hour-and-a-half or so it normally takes to complete such a meal. It sounds like neither of these is true for this place.

I also do not share in your amusement. Did the patron's behavior somehow affect you personally? Was her being 45-ish relevant in any way? Increased knowledge should engender increased realization of how much remains to be learned, with the humility thereof. edited for wording

Is this policy in effect just for Mother's Day (and possibly other high-demand holidays)? If you cancel, will they seat another party at "your" table or leave it empty?

I did indeed wind up at Palena. I got there at about 6:30 and lucked into the last available small table in the bar area. DonRocks said to ask for Derek, the manager. I approached a likely looking candidate, who indeed was Derek and who, to my surprise, said that he'd been expecting me. He said that even though he's not a member, he takes a look at eGullet every week or two. At his recommendation, I started with the Antipasto Primavera -- a piece each of house smoked salmon and terrific buffalo mozzarella (and some greens, I think), with a green almond condiment tying things together. I followed with the stuffed lamb. 'Twas tasty, but not as wonderful as I had anticipated. However, the accompanying ravioli and fava beans were super. Derek's wine recommendations were spot on. He also facilitated a sorbet plate dessert that wasn't on the menu. There was an unexpected and very tasty lagniappe, which I'll save for another thread.

Funny, that was my original plan. I don't know why they suggested the reverse. Maybe I should ask.

After numerous e-mails, my cousins finally decided that we'll go wherever the heck we want on Sunday (I'm guessing Indique or Lavandou) and we'll drink the Montrachet at home on Monday, with yours truly being head chef. OK by me. Thanks for everyone's input. I've mentally filed away the info for future reference.

A belated welcome to eGullet, geo! I'm with you on the Lolonis. We've had a tasting here in GR, sans Mr. Lolonis. I enjoy their Chard and Cab ok and am a big fan of the Orpheus. I do like to support their use of organic farming. Where in Detroit do you work?