bleachboy

I use the Alton Brown method. Score the breasts through the skin but not the flesh (as mentioned many times before in this thread) then _steam_ it with the lid weighted down -- Alton says 45 minutes, I say about 15-20 minutes. Then heat up an iron skillet in the oven at 475 F until it's mad hot, then drop the breasts in skin side down to sear for about 7 minutes. The fat mostly renders out during the steaming process, and you reduce the water in the steam pot until it's nothing but delicious duck fat which you can save for later use. His suggestion to use the fat and residual heat left in the skillet after searing is also excellent. Try chard, spinach, mushrooms, etc.

Where might I go about looking for a reconditioned Hobart stand mixer? i.e. a small one, not one of the 15-gallon sizes.

Yep, just show up. I would recommend a jacket for men, but they have seated me without one. Show up a little bit before the posted opening time, too, if you want first seating downstairs. Lunch on Friday at Galatoire's is a real hoot. You'll be glad you went. Society ladies in ostrich feather hats and Chanel suits everywhere! Be sure to order some soufleed potatoes ... yum!

Wait a second. Wait a second. Someone here knows who Eva Zeisel is? Damn, eGullet has it all.

No doubt. I'll buy the DVD box set.

Jinmyo: Can I come over for dinner sometime? Tonight Marissa and I 'feasted' on a potato-leek soup with no garnishes. We had a wine class to go to and about a 15-minute window for dinner, so I had soup ready when she got home, and we chowed down and left.

I know I don't need to tell you this, but eGullet rocks. Not only did I hear back from the chef who had originally suggested preserving my lemons (chefseanbrock) but also the cookbook author (wolfert) whos recipe I followed. Damn, this place is cool. I'm sticking with Paula Wolfert's original recipe for now. Next time I see some Meyer lemons for sale, though, I'm going to try Chef Sean Brock's technique. I may well do a head-to-head comparison with trout meuniere. I will report on the results. I've tasted Chef Sean's crab cakes with preserved meyer lemon coulis, as well as an amuse bouche of shrimp with the same sauce (I believe) -- and yes, it's really, really good. But more complicated than what I normally cook at home. Any other suggestions for (home) menus involving preserved lemons?

Oh dear.

WTF!! Doesn't anybody here love Mountain Dew?! It's my number one vice, bar none.

Yeah, the okra thread brought me here. I probably have an aversion to okra because, growing up, my parents taught me well to eat the food you're given -- maybe I won't clean the plate, but I'll eat enough to appear polite. Growing up, my mom served boiled-until-mucusy okra at least once a week. As such, I can't stand okra. Next time I'm in New Orleans, though, I think I'm going to ask Mayhaw Man to find me some tasty okra, because I want to give it a chance. Of course, my extended family is just chock damn full of folks who love to bring cool-whip-jello-miracle-whip-and-green-olive salad (an actual dish, BTW) to family gatherings, so I'm very good at putting microscopic portions on my plate, spreading them around, and complimenting the dish, while managing to eat only maybe one tablespoon of the noxious concoction. If the cook actually knows how to cook, though, I'll eat anything and probably enjoy it -- a lot. I've found that especially in the South, people are pretty much willing to try anything, especially if you tell them it's a casserole or just don't tell them what it is at all. My wife and I frequently bring dishes that would be wierd to my grandparents -- i.e. middle eastern food, French food, etc. to family get-togethers and usually get rave reviews. If they ask, just tell 'em you made it with Campbell's cream-of-mushroom soup.

No thanks. But being a Southerner, I'll eat okra anyway just because I want to be a good guest.

Thomas Keller's butter-poached lobster Corn and lobster chowder

I've done this before, too. Early in the AM, chop some chives and tarragon on a plastic cutting board for an omelet, move the cutting board to the range top (tiny kitchen) then proceed to crank the burner to "high" to get it hot enough for omelet making. Once I smelled the burning plastic, I went to yank the cutting board off the burner and -- of course -- it was completely cemented to the burner. Melted plastic all down in between the burner coils. Argh! After I finally got the cutting board off the burner, the only way to get rid of all the once-gooey-but-now-solid plastic globs on the burner coils was to burn them off. Figured I was gonna die from plastic fumes.

I recently bought some Meyer lemons and asked a chef here in town what I should do with the excess. He suggested preserving them, and explained how to do it. I also consulted Paula Wolfert's excellent Couscous and Other Good Food from Morocco. Both said to cover the lemons with salt. I covered them completely, but pretty quickly everything settled to the bottom. I've been shaking the jar once a day to redistribute the salt in the lemon juice, but even still some of the lemon sticks out above the lemon juice, and the salt all settles to the bottom. Are these going to turn out right? If not, what should I have done different?

Yes. You do. Okay, then. I concur. I just got done eating a club sandwich, and my professional analysis is that the number one factor for slimy sandwiches is these three factors, and whether or not they occur next to each other on the sandwich: 1. Lettuce 2. Tomato 3. Condiment Can anybody think of a way to construct a club sandwich that would, for example, not place lettuce next to tomato or ham next to mayo? Whoever solves this little puzzle will have constructed a no-slider club sandwich.

Mine doesn't have a removeable crock either. It's not really tough to clean unless you let it sit around for days as Chad described. And my wife and I have definitely gone through that standoff before.

Mine was secondhand, and it has cool pictures of funky lobsters, garlic bulbs, etc.

It doesn't necessarily fall under the heading of "icky sliding stuff", but one thing I've always wondered is why deli sandwiches are always so dang thick. Do I really need a four-inch-thick pastrami on rye?

One caveat - there are a ton of crappy restaurants near Vandy -- if your hosts ask you about any sort of dining preference, say "someplace locally owned" -- this will instantly rule out any number of crappy megachain restaurants you wouldn't enjoy very much, and instantly rule in a number of very good local places that are very close to Vandy (like Zola or Sunset Grill).

I second (third?) the suggestion for The Capitol Grille. Chef Sean will probably do a special tasting menu for you if you let him know you're an eGulleter. It's the best fine dining in Nashville, and with a Southern twist at that. (Wild Boar is pretty strictly French, but their wine list is incredible). For BBQ, I agree about Hog Heaven. And definitely try the white BBQ sauce. Also check out Swett's for the quintessential meat-n-three. For hot chicken, a local favorite, the most venerable location is Prince's Hot Chicken Shack. If you want more upscale options, ask again -- I have eaten pretty much everywhere in Nashville about three times.

For junk food potato chips, the best are Golden Flake, which I think are only available in the Southeast. Locally, Margot has a huge ass bowl of homemade, served with aioli, for $3 as a permanent menu item that are out of this world. EDIT: To add link to Golden Flake.

You should check out this currently active thread for ideas on how best to complain to the sushi place -- which you should, they need to know.

MRX's post above has inspired me to quit fast food as well. I am now on day 4, so wish me well! :) Now off to my lunch of "leftover duck".

... and who on Earth could complain about that!?!

Probably heresy here on eGullet, but I usually dredge the soaked steaks in half flour and half Bisquick, which seems to make a crumblier crust. Fifi, is that the same thing baking powder would do?