mamster

The other day I went out for lunch and had Thai curry, and I had to add salt to the curry. Can you imagine undersalted Thai curry? It made me a little nervous, like maybe my salt tolerance is getting so high, soon I'm going to have to pour the stuff on with a shovel.

Ooh, I was hoping someone would say that.

I also have an All-Clad 12" nonstick skillet. I stole it from tommy. Had it seven years or so, and it's still going strong. I also have a 10" non-teflon All-Clad skillet, and I use them about equally.

Jinmyo, are there saying there is something wrong with my Tartlets of Humor?

Would it make that much of a difference, do you think, to make the lardsnaps with lard rendered from back fat rather than leaf fat?

I'm familiar with what the term means when I see it on the bottle, but it's not something I look for, especially since Bordeaux-style blends aren't one of my favorite categories.

I've still not been to Le Fournil when they weren't out of plain croissants. I did go to North Hill and their croissant had good flavor but I agree it was too doughy. They have really attractive bakers, though.

I'm not taking the IP bait, I'm not taking the IP bait. But I'm not convinced that the existence of jillions of unattributed recipes on the web harms anyone. It certainly doesn't harm home cooks. It doesn't harm authors, who don't make their money by coming up with clever recipes. It doesn't harm professional recipe developers, who work directly with chefs. It doesn't harm chefs, who never see their business drop off after publishing a cookbook. At the very worst it's discourteous to post a recipe from someone's book without bringing their name along. I've developed recipes for my column, and I'd love it if they were well-liked enough that people copied them. Would I prefer to retain the credit? Sure, who wouldn't? But it's no change out of my pocket if I don't. This strikes me as completely separate from the issue of a journalist turning in a story with plagiariazed text or unattributed recipes.

Yeah, the service at La Spiga proves that human cloning is a reality. It's another version of the same stoned actor/model each time.

snowangel, that is the coolest thing ever.

I'm not sure if you're interested in this, but we have a Cold Stone Creamery knockoff in Seattle called Mix. I don't like it. I've never tried the ice cream without something mixed in (that would be missing the point), but mashing ice cream with add-ins on a stone is not as effective as whatever they do to get the extras into the ice cream at the Ben & Jerry's factory, and the ice cream doesn't seem to be high quality to start with. But for all I know, CSC is better.

I've used the Mae Ploy red curry paste. However, I've never been terribly satisfied with my homemade kao soi and have been meaning to make it a project to produce a really good one. So, wait, snowangel, what problem are you having?

Er, sorry, I didn't mean to imply that I thought that Olney invented this roast chicken or that no one should ever be able to refer to it without giving him props. I meant almost the opposite: that Olney can complain all he wants (which is not much, since he's dead), but he's got no case. On the other hand, it's nice to explain where you got an idea from, not just to give credit but so that people who like following an idea to its source can have some fun.

As someone explained earlier, Olney would have had no legal leg to stand on, because it's not illegal to copy someone's recipe without attribution if you put it in your own words. It's just unethical. Just to play devil's advocate and give myself the opportunity to be quoted out of context, should the average reader give a shit about plagiarism? Sure, it matters to writers and editors, but as a reader, wouldn't you rather read something that's plagiarized and good than something original that sucks?

For those who aren't familiar with it, kao soi is the unofficial noodle of Chiang Mai, a bowl of soupy noodle curry, with chicken (or sometimes beef), preserved vegetables, and a nest of crispy fried noodles on top. Here is my question: what kind of noodles do you buy when you make it? I've tried a few different kinds and they never seem quite right. Please be specific--many different types of noodles are sold under similar names. Thanks!

Pencil lead? Okay, you're peeling more than I am. Maybe I balked at the thought of throwing away that much of the lemongrass I bought. I'll try aggressive peeling and also the microplane.

What are you try to say here? Seriously, yeah, absolutely.

Rail Paul, I'm an underpaid freelancer. When I turn in a story, it may not always be my best work, but I certainly make every effort to ensure that it is. That means double-checking facts, testing recipes, and, hey, not turning it other people's work unquoted. I'm in favor of better pay and benefits for freelancers (I've got the UAW card in my wallet to prove it), but if my goal is to get the Daily Gullet to double my salary, I'm not going to get there by doing shoddy work, and I think the vast majority of freelancers feel the same.

I've actually made carbonara with what I'd guess you could call guanciale affumicato (smoked hog jowls), which I found at Uwajimaya in Seattle. It was delicious. Also, smoked jowls are unbelievably cheap when you can find them. A half-pound goes a long way, and I think it was $3.50 a pound.

Does the person named G have a cool nickname like "G-money" or "G-fric"? Actually, I guess if your name is G, that is your cool nickname. The daube sounds delicious. I can't believe people are removing salmon skin. Unless you're making a mousse, that's the best part, and you'd only make a mousse from parts of the fish that are too thin to cook with crispy skin. Right?

Can we start a new thread for kao soi? I think it deserves it. Because I have questions galore. I wrote this article a couple of years ago, and since then I've been playing around more with homemade pastes. What I like about it is the option to vary the paste wildly, including things like putting fish into the paste (this is delicious). The commercial pastes keep very well in the fridge, or in the cupboard if it's the Maesri in a can. I guess the reason I doubted spinach is that I have not had it in an Indian curry (where have I been?) and imagined it would just turn into a lurking green presence. Now I'll have to give it a try. MatthewB, the lemongrass I get is pretty fibrous all the way through. This may be an issue of age. I do peel off the outer leaves, but I still need to pound or mince the slices if I want to later swallow them. Thanks for the nice comments on the article, everyone!

I'm going to put a lemon wedge vending machine next to every Coke vending machine!

fifi, I usually recommend avoiding supermarket peanut oil--it's expensive and flavorless, as you say. (If you want an oil like this, grapeseed makes more sense.) The Lion & Globe brand seems to be pretty well distributed to Asian markets, and while it's still expensive, it's worth it, because the flavor is awesome. You get a great aroma when you heat it in a pan.

That last photo is a classic--I love the center guy's face.

This is a wild guess, but could it be that your room is too hot?