slbunge

Is saurkraut even allowed on a Chicago Polish? Not sure. Seems to me it is fried onions and sport peppers. Of course, the Chicago Polish would/should probably be a different thread of things you can't find in Vancouver.

OK. I have a headache after reading this thread. The biggest thing that strikes me in what I interpret to be the spirit of the original post is the expectations 'regular' people have with regard to their food. People are now used to eating meat every single day of their lives and are seeking out the rock bottom prices without regard for animal treatment, growth hormone, or injury rates in meat packing plants. Everyone wants dirt-cheap vegetables regardless of how they taste, where they came from, etc. Food is commodity to all but a few. Commodity materials, in general, means that one head of broccoli is equivalent to every other head of broccoli, regardless of provenance. Now, we can sit around and give examples of Monsanto not playing fairly but I think quite a bit of the status quo is resultant from attitudes of consumers: it should look like a head of broccoli, it should be the cheapest broccoli within reasonable driving distance, and it should be cut up into florettes so I can just throw it in the microwave. Minimal fuss, minimal price. If producing cheaper and cheaper food for the masses is the goal, then, it makes sense that there are only a handful of agricultural conglomerates and all are doing research into cutting edge techniques. Ag companies drive prices lower and lower by expanding influence on their producers and increasing market share. The paying public in the US continues to buy their food, even when there are alternatives. So, mount the horse and tilt your sword at the governmental windmill or you can send a message using your purchasing power (and hope others are doing the same). Support growers who are out of the factory farm loop by choice. Buy organic milk where producers already clearly state on their labels that they do not use synthetic growth hormones (even without a governmental requirement). Talk to farmers or producers at the local farmers' market and cook/eat what is available from them. If you have space, roll up your sleeves and plant a garden of Seed Savers' seeds. It is possible to make choices and vote against these ag conglomerates with your wallet. But to do so, you may have to change the value you place on the source of the food you eat and the result may be that the percentage of income spent on groceries for your family is higher than it is today. You might also have to spend more time cooking and prepping. Will you feel better about it? Only you can decide.

This is the pizza we make after whipping up a batch of onion confit. Sweet, fishy, salty and delicious.

We use Carbona Stain Devils (click). There are 10 formulations in small yellow bottles. For example, there is one for 'Fat, Grease and Oil' and one for 'Ketchup and Sauce' and one for 'Fruit and Red Wine' etc. They work wonders.

Hear hear. Please don't purchase anti-bacterials for general purpose use. There is a danger in casting such a wide net and essentially encouraging the little buggers to come up with a different plan for survival. It promotes resistant-strain development which is a danger to us all. If you have cut your hand, by all means, apply an anti-bacterial after washing with anti-bacterial soap. But cleaning the counter, washing the dishes, or routine washing of your hands? Regular soap and water is all you need to keep your kitchen clean and healthy.

It won't help you with the bicycle transport, but I do encourage you to invest in a case of pint-sized canning jars, rings, and lids. They take heat and cold well so no need to cool a sauce before loading the jar. No moisture or odor transfer. Tops can be sealed properly to allow you to shake contents or even store them on their sides. No staining. Dishwasher safe. And on and on. I have countless pint and quart-sized jars and use them routinely when they aren't in service for canned tomatoes.

In the book Serious Pig, John Thorne states: "Hashed browns is the dish in whick to use leftover boiled potatoes..." The 1920s vintage recipe he gives cooks them on one side in a skillet (no stirring) with a plate over the top. To serve, invert onto the plate so the brown side is up. In the same book, his description of 'Maine home fries' which are skillet fried potatoes that have been sliced and cooked entirely in a cast iron skillet, is what I use as a guide. The recommendation is to not soak the potatoes because the starch will help the potatoes to carmelize. The instructions are very specific (temperature determined by the look of the fat, turn only after 20 minutes and then after every 10 minutes and then every 5 minutes, cover pan, etc). His method works very well. They look and taste very much like the ones my grandmother was famous for making. Not sure what you are looking to replicate. I like both the boiled/fried version and the fully pan-fried.

Interesting. There is certainly a long history of eating out of season fruit from far and wide. Take the Clementines shipped in from Spain. Or the Texas grapefruit. Or the Florida orange. All of these have traditionally been enjoyed at holiday time of year and are not local for most of us. Perhaps it is the fact that we no longer consider these winter fruits special that irks some. For what it's worth, I will be having a celariac remoulade this evening. And perhaps apple crisp. I'll be the one in the halo.

I think that the skills or even the routine of scratch cooking from a base of pantry ingredients have, to some degree, been lost and that is a very important obstacle in everyday life. Somewhere between the time I grew up and now, the concept of cooking meals from scratch has been twisted so that lots of people in the general population automatically think 'gourmet'. That the only people who shop at farmers markets are those with disposable income and lots of free time to browse. As the child of a working mother who cooked for a family of five through the 1970s, I know that meal planning, grocery shopping, gardening, and cooking take planning. Balancing the demands of a budget can be difficult. And you may have to deal with a snotty kid occassionally saying 'pork chops again...hmph'. But at the time the choices in prepared foods were limited and those that were available tended to be expensive. Same for fast food. I'm not sure how to solve the perception problem and teach people the valuable lesson that prepared foods may be costing the generations more: both from the standpoint of the grocery budget and from the standpoint of your health. I can say that those packaging and selling the 'save a minute' meals have a vested interest in keeping the perceptions exactly as they are today.

I would also rather have a solid wood cabinet front. And I also agree that the picture you show has a relatively poor grain matching but grain matching is difficult and expensive. The look of a continuous grain that you get with a veneered door seems a bit fake to my eye. I certainly understand that solid door and drawer fronts are not within everyone's price range, but in those cases, I prefer colored laminates or paint-grade cabinets of a species like poplar (I know, most folks don't agree with me).

I love oil-packed tuna in cans. I also have a couple of cans (or tins) of Portuguese sardines. Lots of canned food are my staples: tomatoes, tomato paste, black beans, chick peas, Herdez salsas. When in college (moons ago) I used to favor Hunts tomato sauce in a can over any of the jarred varieties. Much simpler with far fewer additives. Now I make my sauce from tomatoes that I can or, such as now, when I'm out I reach for the store-bought cans. One of my favorite canned vegetables is the 'french- style' green beens packed in vinegar.

Um...as I sit here trying to figure out where we are going out to eat with my in-from-out-of-town parents this weekend after sloshing around all day I'm thinking this weather couldn't be farther from what you wanted. I'd rather have it 10 degrees colder and snow for your sake. Beacon Hill in the snow is beautiful.

Oh this is like a stab in the heart. I loved Atlas Delicatessen. There cheese selection ranked favorably with cheese shops in much bigger markets. I still have a copy of their sandwich menu and we routienly try to replicate the Kitchen Sink sandwich. I've had 12 year cheddar from Atlas (I don't remember a 20 year). I'm trying to remember the name of the dairy. If memory serves it was not terribly 'sharp' but the flavors were quite intense. As the moisture evaporates and the cheese dries you are essentially driving that intesification, similar to reduction in sauces.

Lots of people recommend a place called the Grotto in Beacon Hill. We've never been so unfortunately I can't provide a first-hand account. (37 Bowdoin, 617-225-3434) Number 9 Park is in Beacon Hill (Nine Park Street). If you go, I recommend sticking with the food in the cafe where they don't take reservations. We've never waited more than a few minutes for a table there. We have eaten there a number of times and enjoyed excellent food. Our one experience in the dining room left us feeling underwhelmed for the price. If you are dressed up a bit for dinner, feeling fancy, and have a little money in your pocket I would recommend grabbing a drink at the Federalist in the XV Beacon hotel (Fifteen Beacon Street). Outstanding selections of wine by the glass from their cellar. Really nice spot for a romantic glass of wine. If you are willing to travel a bit, there is good food nearby but in other neighborhoods. Great food up in the North End. Good stuff in the South End. Be careful in both of those neighborhoods because there is a lot of chaff with the wheat. Let me know if you will be on the move.

That school would HAVE to be Harvey Mudd College. ← I have two friends who went to school there in the late 80s and they would say the same damn thing.

<Bump> Good information here. Will be in town staying with a friend who lives in the neighborhood (damned if I can find her address...my wife must have taken my notes). May be looking for middlebrow lunch spots within wandering distance. Is @SQC still a holding up to previous recommendations? How about the Noche Mexicana? Anything new worth mentioning?

Well, my Wahoo connection is actually in San Diego but I will be seeing them in January. The family has connections to the Albacore fishing fleet and and friends bring them Wahoo either when they stop in Samoa or if they have traded for it when at sea. I'll have to check on the San Diego stockpile and see if I can get some.

It is a nice website. Great product description and I really like the fact that you indicate the region in Italy where the product is sourced. I bought a small piece of bottarga di muggine at a store here in Boston a couple of weeks ago. I can't wait to try it. The roe is currently sealed in a vacuum pack. How do I best store the remainder after I have opened the vacuum seal? Also, how long will it last?

Great idea, but I'd like to know how you propose they do that in a 150 seat restaurant.? ← Pretty easy actually. They take coats after you have visited the host who knows where you will be seated. Then they hang a tag on the hanger indicating table number. If you are wating for a table at the bar, the tag initially has your name on it (again, you checked with the staff) which the host converts to a table number after you are seated. Have seen it done this way several times.

You are entitled to your opinion, of course, but many may disagree. For some, dining is an 'event' and part of what interests people may be a little time with the person who crafted the menu. I have been at restaurants when chefs were in the dining room to chat. Times it has been instructive and interesting and times it was irritating puffery. Depends on the personality of the chef and their personal goal in interacting with diners.

I have one of those cheap BB&B pizza stones and it works reasonably well. For $12ish it was an improvement over no stone (even for regular baking because it increases the thermal mass of the oven) but eventually I will want something more substantial. I keep it on the bottom of the oven but move it to a rack when baking directly on it. So far it has cracked once so far but is still usable. I opted not to go with the tile idea because I thought they might move or shift as I used a peel to get the bread or pizza from the stone. Also, unglazed tiles are about $1 each and appeared to be the same thickness as my BB&B stone so $4-8 savings didn't seem worth the risk to me.

Actually, I have stuck it atop the water heater and the temp seems about perfect (just shy of 90 degF). Water heater and boiler are located in a 'closet' with easy access. It is so nice and toasty in there, I should try to figure out how to get my desk in there.

I'm not a fan of sour cream with my guacamole. For me the ingredients are avocado, lime, small amount of red onion, small amount of tomato, and some good shakes of seasoned salt or garlic salt.

Not sure if it is Danish but it's the one shown here.

I'm looking for a top notch sushi restaurant in Boston. I'm considering Oishii in Chestnut Hill, Fugakyu in Brookline, and Oga in Natick. (Not considering Uni because we were fairly recently at Clio. Also not considering Osushi because it is around the corner and we have eaten there fairly recently as well.) Anyone have any strong recommendations? Am I missing another notable restaurant? As of today, Oishii is in the lead but I'm willing to be convinced otherwise.