Alex

R.I.P. Jack Ziegler, long-time cartoonist for The New Yorker. Here's one of his food-related cartoons, one with which I strongly identify.

This. I'm not as virulently opposed to its use as is Lisa Shock, but I employ it very selectively. And I don't use it in dishes I'll be serving to people who avoid caffeine. But then again, I don't serve chocolate to them, either.

Actual espresso or espresso powder? If the former, do you have an espresso machine? If not, I suspect you could substitute very strong regular coffee, but someone with more baking experience could chime in on this. Which recipe are you using?

Yes, very finely ground. A press pot takes a moderatly coarse grind. Drip is somewhere inbetween. Here's a YouTube video from Seattle Coffe Gear that demonstrates the differences.

What andiesenji (and everyone else) said. However, although a typical commercial "espresso roast" is indeed very dark, an excellent espresso can be made from lighter roasts (and often is). Here's a good web page to start with, from Seattle Coffee Gear. BTW, I included that espresso/expresso confusion in a "writing pitfalls" handout I used to give to my students.

Thanks for resurrecting this topic, Mitch. Since my last accounting, nearly two years ago, we've added eight books: Cookie Love A Super Upsetting Book About Sandwiches Asian Ingredients The Flavor Bible Samarkand Bean to Bean Joe Beef Shake, Stir, Pour (by our own Katie Loeb)

Tammy, you may not be aware of this, but Paula Wolfert has quite a history with eGullet and its members.

People here are being very nice and offering appropriate suggestions -- which probably is a good thing, as I suspect you don't want to lose that space. Me, I'd offer a deal to the owner -- my recipes for your debit card and PIN. S/he'd get the message, I hope.

OK, now I'm waiting for pictures of the last of that trio.

Could you provide a link so we can see exactly what the instructor is doing?

I like your first idea, then perhaps a little cheese afterward, or maybe just a mug of barbajada.

Thank you, Franci. That's all very helpful. One of my sources -- I forget which one -- also wrote about the potential black spots. I assume "strain it" means to discard the solids and use just the fat that makes it through the strainer, yes?

Possibly. Still lots of time to decide. Would you serve it alongside the risotto, as with osso bucco, or would you have them be separate courses?

Thanks, winedoc. I haven't seen any recipes that make use of celery. What you wrote about the broth makes sense. I also have the Silver Spoon cookbook; it's indeed an excellent reference.

Tammy, is it Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes? What, exactly, are the acidic foods you're supposed to eliminate? (I assume you don't mean acid-producing foods, which is a whole 'nother animal, and a bogus one at that.) I imagine citrus and vinegar, but what else? After you reply, I'll post about "resistant starch."

There are a couple of very brief topics that are only peripherally related to my questions -- a seven-post one from 2007 and a two-post one from 2012 -- so I'm not going to even bother with links here. I've made risotto many, many times, so I'm not asking about basic technique per se. About 5½ weeks from now (ergo, lots of time to figure this out), I want to make an authentic risotto alla Milanese, and I have some questions about it. I'm going to refer here to "classic" and "modern" recipes. "Classic" = three of my go-to dead-tree books from the 90s by Marcella Hazan, Lidia Bastianich, and Lynne Rossetto Kasper. "Modern" = web recipes from Mario Batali, Grace Parisi, and Anne Burrell, along with ones from Serious Eats, Williams-Sonoma, and Saveur. 1) To marrow or not to marrow? That is a question. Classic recipes say yes (although Kasper says she prefers hers without); modern recipes don't include it. Why the heck is that? I do have some very nice marrow bones at home, so that's not the issue, but I was wondering what, if anything, would be missing from the aroma and taste if I omitted it. 2) Hazan and Kasper add the marrow at the start, while cooking the onion; Bastianich adds it after the first ladle of stock has been absorbed. Any thoughts here? 3) Speaking of cooking the onion, there seems to be no clear preference in the recipes for olive oil, butter, or a mixture of butter and oil. Unsalted butter seems more appropriate to me. Do you have a preference? 4) And speaking of stock, Kasper uses poultry; Bastianich and Hazan use beef or meat stock. All of the modern recipes use chicken stock. Any thoughts about why that is? I imagine there's a not-insignificant difference in the taste of the final product. 5) All of the classic recipes hold back some stock in which to dissolve the saffron, then add this liquid part-way through the cooking process. All of the modern recipes, except for Parisi, dissolve the saffron in the big saucepan of stock before starting to add it to the rice. (Parisi crumbles the saffron and adds it to the wine in the pan, prior to adding any stock. Weird.) Any ideas why? Have people just gotten lazy over the past 20 years or does it truly not make a difference? Thanks!

Welcome, Miriam. It's always good to hear from my (long ago) home town. I'm curious -- have you thought about a formal course of study toward your goal of becoming a pastry chef? I'm sure NYC has some excellent programs. We're extremely fortunate here in GR that our community college's culinary program has an incredible professor for that part of the curriculum, Gilles Renusson. Here's his dessert list for this semester at the program's restaurant.

Thanks for the heads-up, rro. I'm looking forward to it. And great timing (for me) -- I just finished reading Rice, Noodle, Fish: Deep Travels Through Japan's Food Culture. It's been nearly 30 years since I lived in Japan for a little while, in unagi country, and I still miss the food from time to time. People often are surprised when I tell them I enjoyed some of the best French cooking, ever, at a modest little place in Middle-of-Nowhere, Shizuoka-ken.

My local supermarket runs special produce sales on Wednesdays. This past week, there was going to be a 6-oz clamshell of raspberries for 99 cents, but they couldn't get a shipment at all. (Literal) rainchecks were issued.

Enrobe them in chocolate

What a bizzaro recipe! Mine -- which is basically Cook's Illustrated's -- has 200 g unsalted butter, 60 g unsweetened chocolate, 2 large eggs, 1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract, 2/3 US cup cake flour (Wondra brand), 1 US cup sugar (all caster or half caster, half light brown), 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt. Baking time is 25±5 minutes. I love Anna's trifle suggestion. My favorite trifle of all time was a special at Traffic Jam & Snug, in Detroit, way too many years ago: chocolate brownies or cake, cognac (I think), fresh pears, chantilly cream.

Brilliant!

There's such variation in the basis and amount of the shipping charge, shopping around is usually your best strategy. As palo said, some places base it on weight, some on price. Some have free or fixed shipping no matter what, some with a particular minimum purchase, some with a coupon. I always check coupon/sale information sites like retailmenot, flamingoworld, and rather-be-shopping. I also recommend registering at eBates.

It's gumbo night! Paul Prudhomme's recipe (including his quick roux). Locally made andouille from the good folks at Crane Dance Farm.

I wanted to go, and I talked with the parent organization about it, but my being a regular poster on eG wasn't sufficient to warrant a media badge, so I'd have to register as a "Trade Guest" for $100. I'll pass.