Alex

I hate corks. Always have. Screw tops appear to have become more reliable and, if research shows that no plastic leaches into the wine, I'm all for boxes, too. As we know, however, perception is everything. I believe it will take a lot of gentle persuasion and favorable publicity to win over most of the wine-buying public.

I made the soup (a winner, btw) earlier in the day, so we decided to check out how it worked with the dry sherry. The sherry was lovely on its own as an aperitif, but utterly wrong with the soup; the taste of both changed dramatically, and not for the better. (Sorry, Mark.) We both agreed that a champagne would be the way to go, and indeed it was. We agreed with Katie about not starting with too much liquid, so four of us shared a split of Nicholas Feuillatte. As several people mentioned, the bubbles cut through the richness and the acidity stood up to the lime juice and tomatillos. Thanks again to everyone for your input.

...a couple of sandwiches short of a picnic.

Give (to various friends and relatives): Wine Atlas of France Unicorn pepper mill Microplane wine thermometer various cookbooks Panera Bread gift cert a very nice 1999 Auslese Buller Muscat kolacki (Polish pastry) Anna's Cookies Solis Maestro Plus (to myself) Get: Green Mountain Coffee Roasters coffee Carolan's gift box (with glasses) Screwpull champagne set biscotti popcorn

Mark, I strongly believe that management can, and should, ask that a disruptive child be removed from the dining room until the child's behavior is appropriate. Whatever ill will you might create with the child's family will be more than compensated by the appreciation (and potential return visits) of the other diners. If the family refuses to do so, they should be asked to leave. Comp part of the check if necessary. I mean, what would management do if two adults kept up a screaming argument or insisted on wandering uninvited from table to table? I also think it's perfectly ok for a restaurant to set whatever policy they would like concerning children, although I would focus on behavior rather than an age limit.

I'm with you, bud. Although I assume that's $65 Canadian, which now would be about $50 US. Still, a wine would have to be pretty special for me to plop down even $50 retail. I've done it occasionally, but not much. I guess that most of the time I'd rather buy five good $10 bottles, three very good $17 bottles, or two really good $25 ones. From what I recall (fresco, please correct me if I'm wrong), the Star is more of an everyman's tabloid-style paper, as opposed to the more serious Globe and Mail; kind of like the Chicago Sun-Times as compared to the Tribune. I wonder, therefore, if this was an "everyman's" kind of top white wine -- big and oaky. Any tasters out there?

Lisbon has a sizable Jewish population? You think you could get that past any foundation? You'd probably have a better claim with Rome (c 30,000 Jews, I think). Again, Pan, my sense of humor appears to have slipped past you. Yes, I know that there are perhaps 1000 Jews in Portugal. I'd still like to visit there. Rome has about 15,000, by the way.

And to avoid cultural contamination, researchers from the US should collect data over the course of several months only in non-US large cities with a sizable Jewish population (London, Paris, Lisbon, Montréal, etc.). This, of course, should be built into the grant. (....thinking about my one and only trip to London as a food-naive 21-year-old, opting to eat at a Chinese restaurant in Golders Green.)

One more: Essentials of Cooking, by James Peterson. $14.99 at Bargain Books! (Thanks for the tip, MatthewB.) It's a nice supplement to Pepin's Complete Techniques.

Last night, while pouring the caffeinated beans out of the hopper so I could grind some decaf, I spotted some very odd-looking beans (so I thought). But lo and behold, there were the three missing feet. Apparently they were soft enough to not get caught up in the burrs. So, an additional caveat: Look inside the hopper. edited for spelling

nessa, I admire your honesty in the face of all this eGullet scrutiny. As someone else posted, if the recipe will be in an upcoming cookbook, recipe contest, etc, then it may be ok to withhold it temporarily. Otherwise, I guess I see it not so much as letting someone else take credit for your baby, but letting your grown-up baby leave home gracefully. If you do decide to withhold the recipe, for whatever reason, I beleive that simple, absolute honesty is best for all in the long run: "I'm so flattered that you loved what I made, but for now I'd like to keep it a family secret. I hope you understand."

Thanks for the encouragement, Owen. I do at least 90% drip and press pot, so I'm sure it'll be ideal.

Thanks to eGullet (and epinions) I decided to order a Solis Maestro Plus to replace my 12-year-old, faithful-but-fading-fast Bosch. I went with Aabree Coffee Company (aabreecoffee.com) because they had the same price as virtually everyone else -- $149 -- but offered free FedEx ground shipping and had a good reputation. The Solis arrived very quickly and in good shape. However, when I unpacked it I found only one of the four rubber feet, and it was in the bottom of the box. I called Aabree immediately. They said that for some reason the manufacturer was shipping the product with the feet uninstalled, and apparently some are getting lost along the way. They were very apologetic about the whole thing. They have a bunch of feet on order from the manufacturer and will send three of them to me as soon as they arrive, probably in about a week. The Solis now is sitting on four hemispherical Sorbothane feet designed for stereo equipment, which makes it look like a robot. If you order a Maestro Plus in the near future, you might want to contact the seller directly and ask them to make sure all four feet are in the box. Oh, yeah -- I really like its performance. It looks way cool, too, and appears to offer a significant improvement over the original Maestro.

eatery

About what? (Should there have been a link in your original post?)

Three more! The Roasted Vegetable, by Andrea Chesman Good stuff. Testimonials on the dust jacket from Charlie Trotter, James Peterson, Nora Pouillon, and others. One surprise though -- not one Brussels sprouts recipe. The Frog/Commisary Cookbook I am so happy that this was reprinted. Eclectic, solid recipes. The best veggie burger ever. Jeques Pépin's Complete Techniques $6.99 on the remainder shelf!!! I still have the original hardcover La Technique, but this one-volume paperback combination of La Technique and La Methode may actually fit in my cookbook bookcase.

Thanks, everyone, for your incredibly quick replies. I e-mailed a summary report, so to speak, to my cousins. I think they're leaning toward Champagne (NYE, French wine fans, etc.) but they'll probably wait until we get there to decide. Maybe I'll also ask for a glass of sherry (my preference) so I can compare. I'll do a post about the meal after the holidays.

Ms. Alex makes a bunch of kolacki (ko-LOTCH-key), a traditional Polish/Eastern European cookie. Here's a recipe. (Ms. Alex fills it with fruit preserves instead of walnuts, and bakes in a convection oven at 325°F for 12-13 min.)

To start our New Year's Eve dinner I'll be making a recipe from San Francisco's Millenium Restaurant: Chilled Avocado, Tomatillo, and Cucumber Soup with Saffron-Lime Ice. It has a base of miso and lime juice, with puréed avocado, tomatillo, cucumber, onion, garlic, and jalapeño, seasoned with cilantro, oregano, nutmeg, and black pepper. (Full recipe here.) The citrus elements make me think that a bright and somewhat acidic white would be a good match, but otherwise this is beyond my wine pairing knowledge. Any suggestions up to about $25 retail would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for the reference, Mark. For some strange reason there weren't any eGullet quotes. I imagine it's not their highest priority, but has there been any word from your Berkeley friend or Lawrence Livermore? Alex, I believe the reason there aren't any eGullet quotes has more to do with eGullet's copyright policy than members not willing to be quoted. Yes, you're right. However, my tongue-in-cheek comment referenced Dennis Lynch's (Mr. Wine Clip) perception that he was unfairly and vindictively booted off eGullet.

We'll be in DC visiting my cousins, but won't be at a restaurant. I'll be making a kick-ass dinner for them (his b-day is Dec 31) and we'll be drinking some spectacular wines from their cellar. We'll be eating out other nights, though -- probably Tuesday at Lavandou and Friday at Zaytinya. If we did go out on NYEve I'd want to be someplace romantic at midnight.

I actually like everything that's been mentioned in this thread except for fruitcake, Jello salad, ribbon candy, and mincemeat. Is there something wrong with me? Wait, don't answer that...

I've had them; they're not bad. Expensive, though. I'd wait and see if they show up at TJ Maxx or Marshall's after the holiday.

I have learned the great value of a pleasant and civil wife, especially in the morning. Therefore we never, ever, run out of coffee. And almost never run out of half-and-half or cream. Otherwise: EVOO balsamic vinegar Plugra organic eggs cheese of some sort dried beans canned tomatoes Edited to add -- everyday wine

Thanks for the reference, Mark. For some strange reason there weren't any eGullet quotes. I imagine it's not their highest priority, but has there been any word from your Berkeley friend or Lawrence Livermore?