mamster

I already have an All-Clad saucepan in that size...but now I kind of wish I didn't!

Oh, boy, a chance to be a design geek. One of the best-designed cookbooks I've picked up in the last couple of years is One Potato, Two Potato by Roy Finamore. The photos make me seriously hungry, and the recipes are nicely laid out and easy to use. I don't think a recipe ever starts on a recto and continues to a verso, which is something that always drives me nuts. Is anybody here (a) a typographer or book designer and (b) familiar with Lynne Rossetto Kasper's The Splendid Table? It contains a typographical in-joke that took me years to notice. The bulk of the book is set in Simoncini Garamond, but the yields are set in Stempel Garamond and the sidenotes in Monotype Garamond. Somehow it looks great. As far as coffee table books go, I like the Williams-Sonoma Savoring series. Hot Sour Salty Sweet is very pretty but the trim size is annoying and there are other usability problems.

Steven Shaw, are you reading? This is going to be the subject of my next six columns.

As a food writer (and presumably non-food writers who cook struggle with this too) I'm always torn between the need to make new dishes and the desire to play it safe and content by making an old favorite. How do you balance these out? When you're working on an issue of Simple Cooking, how do you work on the recipes? Satay five nights in a row?

Pasta Bible Pasta Rich and buttery without being heavy, this fresh-tasting dish is good any time of year. We usually eat it as a full meal, often with a side of roasted cauliflower, but it would make an ideal first course to be followed by fish and salad. 3/4 lb mezze maniche rigate 1 bunch scallions (6 thick or 12 thin), white and light green parts only, thinly sliced 4 T butter 1/2 bunch Italian parsley, minced 2 egg yolks 1/2 c freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano salt Melt butter in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add the scallions and cook gently 15 minutes. Let cool until merely warm (5-10 minutes; the exact temperature isn't critical as long as it won't fry the eggs) and stir in the egg yolks, parsley, and cheese. Meanwhile, boil the pasta in a large pot of salted water. When al dente, reserve some cooking water, drain, and add to the scallion mixture. Toss well to mix, add some reserved cooking water if it seems too dry, season with salt, and transfer to 4 heated bowls. Keywords: Italian, Easy, Vegetarian, Pasta, The Daily Gullet ( RG137 )

It would be out of character if I didn't mention that it's a bacterium. The bacterium is called (this is not a joke) Xac. And yes, Sichuan peppercorns are in the citrus family. The ban is on importing the whole peppercorns, so probably buying them on eBay from a domestic seller is legal, although I do like to feel like an outlaw. Anyone eaten at Grand Sichuan International lately? Are they still using them?

You're not really cooking the egg yolks. It's fine if the pan of scallions cools to room temp before you add the eggs. Jason, is there anything that couldn't benefit from pancetta? I can't put pancetta in the recipe every week. Thanks for the props, JD. I love shopping in London, although I don't get to do it nearly as often as I'd like.

ZF, they are illegal, but I bought some on eBay. They're not great quality, though.

When nightscotsman and Laurie and I went to Zoe recently, the cocktails were terrible, but we got special winter-warmer drinks. I had a good strawberry panna cotta; still haven't had dinner there.

Peperonata con Bruschetta Adapted from Trattoria Cooking, by Biba Caggiano 8 thin, round slices pancetta 1/4 c olive oil 5 bell peppers (your choice of red, yellow, green, or a mixture), seeded and cut into thin strips 1 large onion, halved pole-to-pole and thinly sliced 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes (I use Muir Glen), drained, juice reserved 1/4 c red wine vinegar salt and pepper 1 loaf rustic bread (such as the Como Loaf from Seattle's Grand Central Bakery, or La Brea's Country Sourdough Oval), cut into 1/2 garlic cloves, peeled In a 12" skillet, fry the pancetta over medium heat until crisp. Drain the pancetta on paper towels, leaving the fat in the skillet. Raise the heat to medium-high. Add the olive oil to the pancetta fat in the skillet and let heat for one minute or until shimmering. Add the peppers (they will mound up in the pan) and cook three minutes, stirring often. Add the onion and reduce heat to medium. (If there's anything better than standing next to a pan of onions, it's standing next to a pan of onions and peppers with the lingering scent of bacon in the air.) Cook five minutes or until the onion is translucent and just beginning to brown. Around this time, start toasting the bread in a toaster, under the broiler, or in a panini grill. Add the tomatoes and cook five minutes, stirring often. Add a bit of the reserved tomato juice if the pan is getting too dry. Check a pepper for texture; it shouldn't be crunchy, but it should still give slight resistance to the tooth. Add the vinegar, raise the heat to high, and cook one minute to reduce the liquid. Season with salt and pepper (it may be easier to check for seasonings if you let the peperonata cool briefly). Let diners assemble the bruschette at the table. Take a slice of toast, rub it gently with a garlic clove, and top with a slice of pancetta and a large spoonful of peperonata. Wine would be appropriate, of course (something acidic and low on tannin and oak, like barbaresco, barbera, Macon-Villages, or pinot grigio), but most of the time I'd rather pop open a can of Limonata, San Pellegrino's lemon soda. Keywords: Italian, Easy, Appetizer, The Daily Gullet ( RG104 )

My work here is done! (Until next week.) snowangel, that rules. I hope you like it.

A friend of mine found a yogurt container top that fits exactly over her favorite coffee mug to keep weird stuff from falling into it at work.

Okay, I give up. What is this?

That's what I had at the last Sonics game I went to, but it was just a hot dog. I would have preferred your meal.

Even though it may have sounded like I was laying down the law, there was never any chance that I was going to dis someone for only doing a menu, making a goofy substitution, using lamb as a pantry item, or what have you. Law and order was never my forte. I'm betting the ingredients ruth couldn't get are kabocha squash, cremini mushrooms, and du puy lentils. Am I right? I like the theme basket idea. If there were enough of these that at least, say, a half-dozen people participated every time, but anyone could feel free to sit out any particular event and know that enough people would be left to make it interesting, that would be great. Let one thousand cornucopias blow.

I'm drooling, man.

Do you think the article gave Steve Kline a fair chance to respond? Because it sounds like unbelievably sleazy behavior, but I'd hate to base that conclusion off a single article. I once quit a job rather than sign a noncompete agreement. They're totally repugnant.

mb7o, I feel that way about the kaiser-type roll that the oxtail and yesterday's pork belly are served on, but the crustier bread they use for the porchetta always works well for me. When I get the big roll, I take the top off and eat it open-face. I've tried a number of sandwiches at Salumi, and they've all been at least good, but the porchetta is the only one that's of monumental greatness.

Well, I know what just jumped to the top of my list.

I enjoy the parboiling part--it's nice watching the noodles transform. I then do as Marcella advises and rinse them gently under the tap so they won't stick to the towel.

I think once a month might be too often. As much as I'd like everyone to participate, I think it's going to be a fairly small group each time, and I'm not ready to commit to doing it once a month. Bimonthly or quarterly would work better. As for your other point, I think there should be a foie gras battle, because I've always wanted to try cooking it. Truffles, of course, are a pantry item.

I was going to add, "Okay, that's what I would have kicked myself later for not doing," but I was trying to make myself look cool. Thanks for blowing THAT cover.

Torakris and Anna N, your menus also sound great. I'd never done tuna before either, I should admit--I hate canned tuna and while I like it fresh, I've generally enjoyed it most in sushi form, and I wasn't going to try to do sushi at the same time as a bunch of other dishes. Lentils are really tricky. I specified green lentils because I think they have the best taste, but also because they're hard to overcook and turn into mush. As I said, the lentils didn't add much to my soup. I think the only really great lentils I've ever had were at La Côte Basque in New York, where they do a few du puy lentils with their sausage appetizer. Did anyone's lentil dish really rock? If so, I'd like to try making it. Squash is also tricky. I don't generally like sweet things during dinner, so I always try to find a way to make it less like dessert. Combining it with the dried shrimp base helped. If anyone has come up with a dessert involved dried shrimp, I never, ever want to hear about it.

Dude, it's sausage. You could have just thrown in all the other ingredients, for "texture".

You know what I would have done? Gone up to the guy and said, "Hey, free samples!" and swiped a big handful. At least I would have imagined doing that.