Alex

Echoing @suzilightning, I just picked up Jane Kramer's The Reporter's Kitchen from the library.

A prototype santoku. It didn't work very well, so its creator quit the business and went into politics.

It's pretty, whatever it is. I'm guessing it's for cracking something open, maybe a coconut?

I've been in your recipients' situation more than once. It was uncomfortable each time. That's why not. But hey, it's your community.

What you said in the 4th paragraph in your original post. And what Anna said. Your DH is wrong, wrong, wrong. No wine. Absolutely not. Nonononononono! No cheese, either. Pecans, yes, in a nice presentation box. Or homemade cookies. But no wine for this particular occasion (first meeting, wine already being provided).

I understand what you're saying, but I do think this is the place. Maybe not the ideal one, but acceptable nonetheless. I think that most everyone in this thread didn't quite get what timotb was asking. As I read it, it was: As a person who "most of [the] time doesn't want to stop to eat," and given the current state of the food industry, is there a way to provide commercial food that's "efficient, fast, easy, inexpensive, nutritious, one step [to] prepare, and tastes good"? His inclusion of "tastes good" tells me he does care at some level. Would you similarly want to exclude someone who, because of physical limitations, asked the same question? The eG Member Agreement says "We seek to appeal to a diverse group..." Granted that timotb's criteria might not fit some members' definition of the "art of eating," but still, we should be a big tent here.

This topic, at least so far, is a good illustration of why, after 14½ years and, soon, 3,003 posts, I’ll be greatly curtailing, if not stopping, my participation in the “on-topic” forums. I was contemplating doing so anyway, but this became an opportune time to explain myself. (Why 3,003? It has two types of symmetry and it’s a fun word to say. Yes, I have a strange relationship with numbers.) I was seriously disappointed – (dismayed? disillusioned? I’m not sure of the best “dis” word here) – by the majority of the replies in this topic. It was timotb’s first post on eGullet, and if I were in his shoes, it would also be my last. All he (I assumed "he" based on the screen name) wanted to do was to introduce a food-related topic for discussion, but he immediately got jumped on. Last I checked, eGullet was about FOOD, period; ergo, he’s still very much in the right place. Perhaps his introduction went a bit far afield, but except for gfweb and maybe Smithy, no one responded directly to the actual topic, which he detailed in his next-to-last paragraph. It had nothing to do with pills or MREs or anything of the sort. In my opinion, all this reflects a larger issue concerning eGullet’s history and current incarnation. However, getting into specifics is probably a violation of the Guidelines, so I won’t.

Smokeydoke?

For today (Feb 6) only, unless it's continued as a sale item, Woot! has the commercial Grant Sous Vide SVE26 for $379.20. It appears to be the previous version of this model., which lists for £839.

To honor the NFL, I'll be serving hollowed-out calves brains filled with oatmeal, cracked-open marrow bones, and blood sausage. Not really. I plan to make burgers, fries, and cole slaw. However, instead of football, we'll watch Kings of Pastry.

Misplaced Modifier strikes again! From the website of Fiamma Wood Fired Pizza in Westfield, NJ (bonus: amusing misspelling):

Here in West Michigan -- where my students always tried, always unsuccessfully, to be granted an official "excused" for opening day of firearms deer-hunting season -- Arby's has offered a venison sandwich.

From The Guardian, a denomination-of-origin issue, akin to what happened with Champagne et al.

That was my guess, too. Still, the person apparently didn't bother proofreading -- just like a dismaying number of my former students, some of whom ate "crap cakes" or "porn & beans" for dinner; conducted "taste testes"; asked their "pears" for emotional support; or took up "dog breading" as a hobby. And those are just the food-related ones. In a related vein, a recent email from a local purveyor included this gem: "Under pressure from the popular, large volume producers of Champagne, the French government made the boarders of Champagne larger." Hmm. Were they force-fed foie gras?

I almost put this in Food Funnies, but decided it deserved its own topic. There's a French restaurant in New York City, The Simone, that uses an elegantly scripted handwritten menu (see below). Menupages, by necessity, uses a standard typeface (also see below). Of course, this means that someone had to read the handwriting -- which, granted in this case, does not always lend itself to quick comprehension -- and convert it to text via the keyboard. This particular someone apparently was in a hurry or didn't know a whole lot about food, or both. Their (possible) embarrassment is our gain: The restaurant's handwritten "Terrine de Maison" became "Terrine de Macaron" (hmm, there's a dessert idea) Goat Cheese Soufflé became Meat Cheese Souffle caramelized onions --> caesar onions Sweetbreads --> Sweet Breads coarse grain mustard --> cheese grain mustard parmagiano-reggiano [sic] --> parmagiana, nuggets Greens --> Stew preserved lemon --> pressed beds Scallops seared --> Scallops eared a sauce of romaine lettuce --> a saute of romaine lettuce sugarsnaps --> sugargrapes bread crumbs --> bread crushed prune --> puree Chicken (Label Rouge Heritage Breed) --> Chicken (label royal heritage bread) croquettes of thigh, ham, foie gras, mushroom --> croquettes of high, ham, foiegrass, mushrooms thigh slow roasted --> high slow roasted skilled seared --> skillet peared Lamb, oven roasted domestic rack, a sauté of spring peas, ramps, polpettes --> oven roasted domestic pear, a saute of sprig peas, ramen, solpettes

Indian cooking and the Instant Pot

Welcome, Ernie. eG'er member @Thanks for the Crepes is also from Cary. Here's a recent post she did about the city.

Rice? Really? Have you tried a rice cooker? Even at 5000', it should work just fine. I love ours because it'll hold rice at serving temperature while I finish (or cook) its accompaniment. Wirecutter liked this inexpensive model from Hamilton Beach. To take a step or two up to a "fuzzy logic" model, you could go with Zojirushi.

Hi, Marmish. Glad to know you're still around.

liuzhou, you may have posted the link somewhere else, but I just found this photo/video gallery about the Miao on bbc.com

TThe king of meals, in Tajik culture

That's because one of the pronunciations of the number 4 is "shi," which also is the one for "death." It's similar to the attitude here in the States, at least in some quarters, toward the number 13. Items therefore are sold in fives rather than fours. Other examples of this are sake and tea sets, which in Japan will have five cups. There also are lexical rules and customs about when to use "shi" and when to use its alternative, "yon."

Just Ms Alex and me... NYE Gulf shrimp cocktail Carnaroli risotto with sauteed butternut squash (local), parm-reg, and fresh sage Gruet Grand Rosé 2010 Avocado sorbet NYD brunch Ratatouille omelet bacon (local) toast coffee NYD dinner Rancho Gordo Marcella beans in broth with proscuitto, fresh taragon, and parsley (I dislike black-eyed peas) January 2 dinner Sauteed five-spice chicken livers (local) Cabbage, apples, and onions (all local) cooked with butter and Riesling

Welcome, Danielle. A Happy New Year to you, too. Have you discovered the Philadelphia "Heartland" Gathering forum, from 2012? Those cones are fun. Do you make those in-house, too?

Ah, thank you. I'll be in NYC in March, so perhaps I'll have an opportunity to enjoy Franci's cakes in person, so to speak.