Rachel Perlow

At dinner tonight Cecil gave us a flyer with China 46's Chinese New Year menu. I thought I'd reproduce it here for those who can't wait until the eGullet Dinner here on April 7th! Year of the Horse Celebration (served February 8 - 17, 2002) ห.95 Per Person (Min of 2 people) Appetizers served as: Cold - Spice & Tangy Cabbage, Jellyfish, and Spicy Capsicum Shrimp Hot - Baked Mini Pork Bun, Har Kaw (Shrimp Dumpling), and Vegetable Pocket Choice of Soup: - Sharks Fin w. Crab Meat Soup - Hot & Sour Soup with Seafood - Minced Beef Soup Main Course: (Choose one of the 12 items. Served w. House Fried Rice) 1. Crispy Rainbow Sea Bass 2. Mango Jumbo Shrimp 3. Braised Duck w. Vegetables 4. Seaweed Dipped Flounder 5. Pepper and Salt Shrimp 6. Hunan Lobster 7. Sizzling Salmon Steak 8. Saute Clam w. Fresh Basil 9. Mango Chicken 10. Scallop & Shrimp Hunan Style 11. Saute Shrimps in Two Flavors 12. Saute Chunked Filet Mignon Bedded w. Green Vegetables (Edited by RPerlow at 10:44 pm on Feb. 1, 2002)

Any chance it's a good old-fashioned New York flying rat? (aka pigeon) That would certainly be cheaper than pheasant! ;)

Please refer back to my Aug 14 post on page 1 of this thread, where I said essentially the same thing. In your state of full, but wanting to try the place, I would have suggested one double cheeseburger, rather than two singles.

Everyone should assume they are invited. I already made a reservation for 20-30 people, which could probably be expanded if necessary. I just didn't want to do the exact same subject line as the first dinner. I figured I'd post RSVP information after we finalized the details on the dinner. I've gotten a basic banquet menu and price quote faxed to me, but there are some changes we want to make. A few of us are going there on Friday night and we'll go over everything then and post the details over the weekend. Stay tuned...

Uh 'cause it only lets you vote once a day? I suppose some people who log in through AOL, for example, may be able to vote each time they dial in. But for those of us with direct connections it really only lets you vote once in 24 hours. Sometimes if I reboot my machine it'll let me vote again, but not all the time.

By the stove I keep kosher salt in a small plastic container that holds about 1/2 cup. This is used for cooking & baking and is (now) labelled "SALT." Poor Jason, one time he thought it was sugar. Anyway...Someone posted a link to the kind of salt keeper Alton Brown uses for this application above. Another option I've seen recently is a Salt Pig, as one online product page describes it: "A natural property of terracotta is its porosity. For this reason, this salt pig is not glazed. Any moisture is absorbed by the salt pig which keeps the salt dry." I may get one of these, I saw them at Chef Central in Paramus, in addition to many online sources, click here for the search results from google.com. Large and Small Salt Pigs from Fante's Kitchen Wares Shop For the table I use a salt grinder. It originally came filled with rock sea salt. When I refill it I use kosher salt. A salt grinder or mill is different than a pepper grinder because the mechanism is made of non-corrosive nylon (looks like white plastic) instead of metal. They can usually be had as a matched set with pepper mills, but occasionally by themselves. Here is a link to some examples at Williams-Sonoma. A more formal suggestion is using small salt cellars at each place setting or larger ones for the table. Here's a very pretty example from Brenco Judaica's online shop. I suppose you fill one side with kosher salt and the other with freshly ground pepper. Salt Cellar

There's bus service to the general area via NJ Transit. The most convenient buses seem to be #166 or 168, with #166 having more service on Sundays. The best stop to be get off the bus would probably be Palisades Park at the intersection of Broad & Columbia Aves. I'll have to do some reconnaissance to see where the best place to pick people up would be. Click here for a map of the area. The red dot is the restaurant, the bus drops you off near that Rt 5 marker. It's less than a mile, but I wouldn't want anyone to walk along the highway, so we'll arrange for rides I think. Just in case rides don't work out for some reason, here's a few local cab companies (in order of price and how clear the guy was on the phone about where you'd be going): - Hackensack Yellow Cab, 201-487-2000 - Teaneck Cab, 201-836-2015 - Babe's Yellow Cab, 201-944-6800 (seemed to cost the most, 'cause they're charging for coming from Fort Lee!)

I hear what you're saying, but we're still asking everyone to bring something, and not everyone will drink a whole bottle of wine themselves. In other words, you don't sound like a creep, but you do sound like a lush! ;) Yes, people should bring what they like and assume they'll be drinking what they bring, but if someone wants a taste I think it would be bad form to refuse. I doubt that everyone will be drinking a whole bottles worth, and most won't want to actually sample 20 different wines. So, if you yourself expect to drink a whole bottle per person at the dinner, perhaps you could bring an extra bottle to share?

I understand where you're coming from. I'm not in love with the place either, mostly due to the limited menu. However, when you compare the value to a more mainstream Korean place like Sin Goong Jin in Palisades Park, you can see why Jon & Jay love it so much. I think each have their place.

Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Yes, the restaurant is BYO. Each participant is requested to bring one bottle of wine (in the บ-15 range) or a 6-pack of beer that you feel will go well with the food (yes, a couple should bring 2 bottles). This way we will end up with a wide variety of beverage choices.

As mentioned in our previous thread, we have decided on China 46 in Ridgefield for our next NJ eGullet Dinner. The problem was the date... after much comparing of schedules... the winner is Sunday, April 7th! More details to come, but in the meantime check out some of the previous discussions about this gourmet restaurant with "authentic Shanghainese food" in a "converted diner," rated "Very Good" by David Corcoran for the NYT. Join us and experience the restaurant that turned eGullet's own tommy, from being "no big fan of chinese" on Dec 21, 2001, to saying he's "so confused .... i hate chinese food!??!?!?!!" a week later, and finally pronouncing it "absolutely fabulous" on Jan 22, 2002! Once again the date for the Second NJ eGullet Dinner is Sunday, April 7, 2002 at 5 PM. Write it down in ink because we're not changing the date for nothing!!! ;)

Hey, I never said I personally did the chafing dish hotdogs! ;) But I do remember my mom serving them.

I know I've seen Oscar Mayer Little Wieners and Smokies by the hotdogs and sauerkraut at my local supermarket. Are these what you are looking for? However, I usually cut up all beef dogs and wrap the pieces in Pillsbury crescent roll dough. Or, for a '70s flashback, heat the Little Smokies in equal parts Heinz Chili Sauce and Grape Jelly and serve from a chafing dish or fondue pot.

Oops! I've edited the original menu post with the correct phone number. Sorry.

Actually in that episode the transgression was even sneakier. Marie gave Debra the correct recipe, but in the cooking kit she gave her with the meatball cooking lesson was a bottle of dried Tarragon intentionally mislabeled as Basil! I just watched an old episode of King of the Hill last night. Peggy wouldn't give out her prized recipe for Apple Brown Betty (I do remember from another episode that it contains margarine, not butter). The neighbor was able to duplicate it perfectly, and improve on it, much to Peggy's chagrin. Her addition? Nutmeg. The closer of the show had Ming sampling others dishes Peggy made for her to taste. Her solution for improving each of these dishes? Nutmeg!

All you people casually talking hypothetically about people getting burned by boiling water or near boiling temp coffee can go stuff it in your hat! I was burned by freshly perked coffee when I was eight years old. I spent about two weeks in the St. Barnabus burn unit with lots of nasty blistery 2nd degree burns on my lap (yes, my lap, with all that implies). Now, I (or my parents) didn't sue my cousin who accidentally spilled it on me, or my aunt & uncle whose home we were in, or the manufacturer of the coffee percolator. I thought the McDonalds lawsuit was ridiculous. Yes, if the person working for McDonalds intentionally spilled it on her that's one thing. But a when a beverage you expect to be served hot is accidentally spilled, you really can't blame the restaurant for serving it hot, IMO. I feel bad for the lady that got burned. Unlike most of you I really do know how she felt. But come on! And who wants to place a bet that if the coffee was cold she'd park her car and go in the store to complain?!

OK - these may not be the greatest cookbooks ever, but they're some of my favorite and most interesting: "Eat This...It'll Make You Feel Better!" by Dom Deluise - really, it's great, I've made a lot of recipes from it! "The Compleat I Hate to Cook Book" by Peg Bracken - I don't actually hate to cook, but this book is funny and has some really good basic recipes - great for a beginner. Another that is great for beginners is either Cooking for Idiots or Cooking for Dummies. These books have a lot of humor, but generally do get down to the basics of how to do a lot of things that, for example, a newly on their own single person might not know how to do. "The Joy of Cooking" not the bright shiny new updated version - I've got one from 1964 that I got at a thrift store. I love looking up how things used to be done. The section on entertaining is quite funny. A lot of good basic recipes from which to build. It is interesting to see which ones don't work anymore because the ingredients have changed (I don't know why the pancake recipe doesn't work, but they're too thin, like crepes (it's not just that it needs more flour, I've tried that). "The Cake Bible" by Rose Levy Beranbaum - My aunt just gave this to me (she thinning her huge collection), so I've yet to make anything from it, but great stories and pictures. I love the pistachio wedding cake. Now for a really serious choice, "Hot Sour Salty Sweet: A Culinary Journey Through Southeast Asia" by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid. Really excellent. Jason and I cook a lot of asian food and this book has so many recipes that really work and taste like in a restaurant. I also love the travelogue of their journey through southeast asia with their kids.

Shameless plugs are only permitted if mentioning you heard about the store on eGullet garners a discount! Rachel ;)

I couldn't find the actual address for Petit Cafe. I looked up Terrazza's and nearby are:News Cafe 503 Franklin Ave Nutley, NJ (973) 667-7778 - and - Cafe St Honore 510 Franklin Ave Nutley, NJ (973) 661-0200 Are one of these actually Petit Cafe?

I use my long handled metal 1/4 cup measuring cup (only filled about 1/2 way, i.e. 2 Tbs of liquor, depending on the recipe). Again, not as pretty as using the bottle, but safer, less awkward to use, and more attractive by a small margin than the pyrex.

So Helena, where did you guys end up going and did you like it?

I've just been scanning down the NJ board and noticed this for the first time. What a shame, it was a really good place which I've often recommended to people. We rented it out during the late afternoon on a Saturday for my brother's wedding rehersal dinner about eight years ago. They were so nice and helpful to my mother and me when planning the menu. One of the appetizer choices was a butternut squash bisque if I recall correctly. Normally they did this pretty swirl of creme fraiche (sp?) on the top. For our party they wrote the wedding date instead. Lots of nice touches like this. I hope someone knows what the chef and/or owners are up to these days, I'd follow them.

2) ROTFLMAO!3) I would use his lips.<p>Rachel ;)

well then matthew and i must be complete *and* total idiots. i did buy the dualit, and was hoping that someone would support that decision as matthew did.I didn't mean to imply that you guys were idiots. It's just that I feel bad enough I paid full retail! I didn't want people to think we paid more than retail for it to boot!

Are you talking about his specials and the new "Pukka Tukka" show? First off that title is awful. When written down I tend to read it with a long rather than short u (i.e. puke-ah), bleh! They still just bill it as The Naked Chef (on my DirectTV schedule). What is really silly are the current shows where he goes to celebrities' houses to cook for them, getting them to participate in the cooking. Last time he jammed with Jamiroquai, oh wow.