Alex

Aaargh! I'm always the one with champagne tastes on a beer budget. Still, I'll keep my eye out for it. Might make a perfect holiday gift for... me! I just located a copy in our district library system. I'll be a good, honest library patron, citizen, and human being and not "lose" it. It arrived the other day. I love this book. I learn something new from nearly every page; his annotations often are more instructive than the recipe itself. He writes with authority, clarity, humor, and a Southern sensibility. ("If you want to be trendy, you can call your grits, as some demented individuals are now doing, Southern polenta, but I'd really rather not know about it." "...Charleston and Savannah...are so distinct from one another that they might as well be in different countries....Savannah, with its distinctly English plan, architecture, and sensibilities, has little of Charleston's West Indian flair.") I'm also amazed that it went out of print and that it hasn't been reissued in paperback.

Amen to that! We're fortunate to have a local commercial dairy that doesn't ultra-pasteurize. We also are part of a raw milk co-op. The skimmed cream usually winds up in our coffee or occasionally in a sauce, but needless to say it also makes killer whipped cream. Redi-Whip just doesn't do it for me any more. I used to use an ISI for whipped cream but I found that using my KitchenAid or hand mixer was almost as easy, plus I much preferred the denser texture (and having first dibs on licking the bowl).

would this be the infamous "hoffa chili"? Nope, that was the chili at Machus Red Fox.

I entered several chili cookoffs in the late 70s to early 80s, when I lived in Detroit. This was back in the days when winning a sanctioned local cookoff got you an entry to the big one in Terlingua. I remember one in particular that was sponsored by Jim Lark very shortly after he opened his wonderful restaurant (The Lark). I made a complex chili using coarsely ground chuck, fresh tomatoes, onion, garlic, celery, peppers, chili powder, oregano, garlic, red wine, and cinnamon. The feedback I received was that it tasted wonderful but wasn't the kind of chili that wins contests. In general, I found that the winning chili was predominantly meaty/beefy, with the herb/spice component coming through next, followed by a medium amount of heat. Tomatoes/veggies played only a minor supporting role. That was 20 years ago, though (yikes!), so perhaps tastes have changed.

Like megc, I've always liked to grocery shop. When I was growing up in Queens we had two grocery stores just a couple of blocks from our house. Grocery shopping also was a good excuse to wander up and down the block and visit the candy store, the music store, the hobby shop.... Ms. Alex and I are fortunate to have a fine local supermarket about ¾ of a mile from our house: aged beef, decent seafood and produce, good breads, a pharmacy, a post office counter, B & J's by the scoop, helpful staff, open until 11, and seldom more than two persons in line ahead of you. We tend to pick up what we need for the next day or two rather than stockpiling for the entire week.

Ms. Alex and I went to Sugar a couple of Chicago visits ago. We stopped by after a play, so I'm guessing it was about 11 p.m. (They're open until 2 weekdays, 3 weekends.) We would have loved to have been seated in one of the cool booths, but the place was pretty crowded by then and all of them were taken. We loved the desserts (Ann also got the Banana Karenina; I had Diary of a Melon -- melon under yogurt sorbet). Two caveats, though: 1) It's loud. (At least it was when we were there.) 2) They're premium desserts at premium prices; most are $10-15. There's also a hefty markup on wines, e.g., Quady Essensia at 13/glass, 52/bottle.)

OK, I gotta ask. What took you so long? I'm looking forward to hearing about how the dinner was received by the object of your affection. I hope it was

Smoked salmon, caramelized onions, dill -- a reconstructed lox, onion, and eggs with buttered toast.

Aaargh! I'm always the one with champagne tastes on a beer budget. Still, I'll keep my eye out for it. Might make a perfect holiday gift for... me! I just located a copy in our district library system. I'll be a good, honest library patron, citizen, and human being and not "lose" it.

Now that I own 150 or so cookbooks and other food-related books I'm trying to be more selective about new acquisitions, so I'm opting for quality over quantity: hardcover all the way! I'm with fresco; they just feel better. (Although a great deal on a paperback at Bargain Books or Amazon feels pretty good, too.)

I'm glad you started this thread, Jason, and am looking forward to hearing about your (and anyone else's) experiences baking with agave. Later this month I'll be making a Chocolate Raspberry Cake for my cousin, using a recipe out of Chef Sato's All-Natural Desserts (a great book, out of print but supposedly being reprinted). For health reasons she follows a macrobiotic-type diet, and so she requested several substitutions, including agave nectar instead of maple syrup. Jason, in your research did you come across any info about how to substitute agave for products other than granulated sugar? Thanks to all in advance.

We happened to be staying in Schaumberg during a visit to Chicago a while back and went to Sabor for dinner, not long after they opened for business. We also were impressed with the food and the funky decor; it felt like the place dropped into suburbia from another dimension. We almost returned there a couple of Sundays ago, but Ms. Alex's meeting in Elk Grove Village ended well before their 2 p.m. opening time so we just headed back home.

Yes, definitely salt the slices and let them sit for an hour. Rinse, then press them very firmly between several sheets of paper toweling or a kitchen towel. I then coat them with olive oil and roast, tossing a couple of times during the process to prevent overcooked surfaces. Grilling should work well, too.

I don't know if any of these ship internationally, but a quick e-mail or perusal of the web site should answer that question. Earthy Delights probably carries a lot of what you'd be looking for. They're not cheap, but they're very reliable and the product quality is impeccable. I've ordered olive oil and truffle oil from Vinoeolio. Zingerman's is tops for oils, vinegars, unusual spices and condiments, and baked goods. Penzeys can't be beat for herbs and spices.

We just got back from our evening with Matthew and Michele, and I wanted to post before crashing. Everything indeed was wonderful, including (especially) the company. We did have the Pineau as an aperitif (my first experience with this -- it went down all too easily) followed by the Falanghina (also my first) with the stuffed mushrooms and chicken liver mousse. The beef with pan gravy turned out perfect, and the fennel was an unexpected but well matched partner. The electric Bodum vacuum coffee maker most assuredly rocks! Pumpkin cheesecake, ginger cookies, and Calvados -- now that was an inspired combination.

You know Ms. Alex and I are looking forward to this. The crust is graham crackers, hazelnuts, toasted almonds, almond extract, brown sugar, and Plugra. The filling is cream cheese, pumpkin purée, sugar, farm eggs, bourbon, vanilla extract, and pumpkin pie spice w/extra cinnamon. Thanks for the Alton Brown turkey method. We're making ours on Sunday and will do it that way, with a simple brine. We'll start with chestnut soup; accompany the turkey with Mark Miller's Amarillo mole sauce, roasted Brussels sprouts, and bulgur pilaf; and finish with a cranberry-orange-ginger sorbet.

Never having been to Australia, I can't comment on its prevalence there or any restrictions. I do see it on menus in the US from time to time. It's available by special order from a local purveyor here in West Michigan but it's pretty expensive. I've had it only once in my life, as a tenderloin filet, at an Australian cooking class at a local college's culinary arts program. I liked it a lot. (We made crocodile, too.)

We went to a friend's house for an old-timey family-style dinner, so everything (except for some hummus to start and several desserts to finish) was served at the same time. Ms. Alex sometimes will get a migraine headache from red wine, so she drank the better part of a 2000 Callaway Coastal Reserve Viognier. I did the same to a 1999 Fritz Winery Old Vines Zinfandel. I love this wine -- great Zinfandel character without having to be in your face about it. Someone brought a lovely Washington state dessert wine that I unfortunately did not record.

Let's at least have some consistency here. I propose that any legislator who votes to ban foie gras should also be mandated to give up eating any commercially raised meat, eggs, and dairy; stop wearing any leather or other animal skin; and not use any item, bone china for example, that contains animal by-products.

I rather like Cabernet Sauvignon with chocolate (and I live in Michigan ). If there's some left over from dinner (ha!) I might have a few sips along with some chocolate. Port: agreed. Just a thought -- how about Quady Essensia?

Maybe Christopher's evil twin handcuffed him to his wood stove and took his place on the show.

Funny you should mention this. I was planning to make a bourbon pumpkin cheesecake to bring to Thanksgiving dinner (and maybe a couple extra for the weekend), so I printed off two recipes from Epicurious. The ingredients were similar, but one said to bake at 325 in a water bath for 1'45", the other said to bake at 350 with no water bath for about an hour. I took the no-bath option. Recipes that call for a springform pan to be immersed in a water bath generally also say that the outside of the pan should be wrapped in a layer or two of heavy-duty aluminum foil, as does the CI recipe. I'm surprised that your crust got soaking wet. Could the water have splashed over the foil somehow?

In what way? Somehow I don't think either will be seen on his website any time soon.

I'll second that recipe. There was a recipe in my local paper last month for a chocolate-chestnut cake. Pretty tasty. I'll check re copyright and see if I can post it. We're fortunate to have a local chestnut farmer. I picked up 5# last month, which should last into the new year (refrigerated, of course). Only a few moldy ones so far.

That is unconscionable. Don't let it happen again. Not all of us. Aurora brought a regular film camera. Edited for no particular reason.