mamster

That's also why tacos failed. I enjoy a good moo shu as well, and I agree with Jason's rules for success. Pancakes that stick together are bad news. One thing that can fight blandness is to make the filling a bit acidic with rice vinegar, black vinegar, or (sorry to go fusion here) lime juice. As far as rice vinegar, I've found that the Kong Yen brand is not as insipid as Marukan.

Yay, it's back! I'm going on Thursday. Anyone want to join me? I have an 8-12 window with the cable installer, so maybe 12:15 unless, y'know, he's late. But that could never happen.

I saw this in the book Baking in America, by Greg Patent, and had to quote it for this thread. A recipe for Pennsylvania Rusk from Godey's Lady's Book Receipts and Household Hints of 1870 comes with a rather severe admonishment: "If you do not have the very nicest of rusks after trying this receipt, you must try it over again, as it will certainly be your own fault." They don't write them like that anymore.

The school lunches in the US are so bad it's depressing to think about. In Seattle, for example, it's the goal of the district to avoid serving food that requires utensils. Occasionally they'll have spaghetti or something, but that's just a break from the endless cascade of chicken nuggets. The Japanese lunches sound wonderful. Seattle also serves all its students the same lunch every day districtwide. It's just never ma po tofu (I would have loved this when I was a kid--I mean, it's like sloppy joes, only good).

I'm also wary of ordering cassoulet--it's never actively bad, but it can turn into monotonous sludge in the wrong hands. Then again, I'm not so wary that I won't order it every time I see it on a menu. And I've never been served a cassoulet I could finish in one sitting. Does that mean cassoulet night at Au Bouchon is Saturday the 25th? I might be talked into that.

This is one of the aspects of being a food person that I know the least about, being a dyed-in-the-wool city slicker, but I'd buy a share of a nice fatty pig any day. There is frozen pork and beef sold at the University Farmer's Market, but I've never gotten anything particularly impressive.

col klink, Batgrrl, LaurieA-B, nightscotsman, and I had Flaming Orange Gullys! Or maybe Gullies. Col., I have to disagree with you: it is a sissy drink, but I have no problem with sissy drinks, and it was delicious. It's a sweet brunchy sort of cocktail, good orange flavor with just a hint of bitterness. Goes down easy, and after several of them all you can do is drone, "Steak...pie...steak...pie."

It's interesting this came up, since I'm working on a first-person piece about how there's a hierarchy of good-tasting foods: free food is always tastier than it deserves to be; food that's not on your diet is fabulous; food that breaks religious taboos is awesome; but at the top of the pile is food that's illegal for you and anyone you know to buy, possess, and consume. It's delicious even when it's not. But yes, kudos to Steve Jenkins for telling Time Out to shove it.

Have you seen the Seinfeld episode where Elaine says something like, "Guys will sit through the crappiest movie in the world if there's a chance that a woman might take her top off"?

I can understand your enthusiasm, but I have to say I'm marrying him for his brisket.

FYI, if you quote something from another discussion site, please give credit to the site and the original poster, and keep the quote brief.

Lately it's been a modified version of the salmon with cucumber salad from the Babbo Cookbook. I use the one-side-seared method that I learned from Mark Bittman (quick cook the fish on the flesh side, flip it, and slide the pan into the oven until done). The fish is then served on top of a salad of English cucumbers dressed with red wine vinegar, sugar, EVOO, mustard seeds, and crushed peppercorns, and finally people can drizzle on balsamic at the table. It looks and tastes like restaurant food, but it is incredibly simple. The hardest part is boning the salmon, but that's kind of fun. I especially like it because people in Seattle eat salmon all the time, but they come over to my house for this and tell me it's the best salmon they've had in ages. Also, I once made puff pastry tarts with cherry tomatoes and prosciutto paste for a Pacific Northwest potluck. Homemade puff pastry always impresses people, and it's just not that hard. I was successful the first time I tried it, which never happens. Oops, gotta go, that prestidigitating Fat Guy made my All-Clad disappear.

Must be almost time for the annual Six Courses of Turnip dinner.

Both of those things are in my larder. So is vodka. Interpret liberally! So, I wasn't sure how to handle the spoiler issue. If anyone is seriously annoyed with the "no spoilers until it's over" policy, there could probably be a separate spoiler thread.

Does this have anything to do with people (or trademark lawyers) confusing the restaurant with Tom Valenti's in New York?

Sure, if you want to do three entrees, do it. The only reason I suggested the French green lentils is that (a) they're delicious, and (b) they're hard to overcook (I've cooked them over two hours and they're fine). But definitely use any lentils. I can't believe I forgot to mention Culinary Artistry, since I used it while coming up with the ingredients. And in case anyone is wondering, I haven't decided what I'm doing yet at all. Any Australians here? If so, sorry for being northern hemisphere-biased.

Sorry, include numerous smiley faces above.

In fact, Laurie made me take out something that she said might be hard to get. I can't remember what it was. Substitute any potato, by all means. Also substitute pork for any of the ingredients. Fat Guy, I'm kicking you out of my culinary academy. Wilfrid, substitute duck embryo for the tuna and gummy worms for the chicken.

If anyone goes to this place, we'd better hear at least something about the food.

That sounds great, especially this course: Forest Mushroom Sauté with truffle and herb oils, balsamic syrup, Goats Cheese and crispy potato gaufrettes Domaine Drouhin Pinot Noir, Oregon 1999

I was going to say we only have Diamond Crystal kosher, but actually we have a tube of large-crystal supermarket sea salt for putting on focaccia. If I ever made pretzels, it would probably work on pretzels, too.

That would be fine.

Okay, take it away.

Put on your thinking toques, because it’s time for the first unofficial eGullet market basket challenge, presented by mamster. Even though I’m an eGullet coordinator, this activity is not an officially sanctioned event, and if you cut your finger off while prepping one of the ingredients, eGullet is not responsible. Here are the ground rules. You are to build a meal (for as many or as few people as you like) with the ingredients listed below. You don’t have to use all the ingredients, but I encourage you to use as many as possible. Quantity is not important--if you want to use 16 lemons, go right ahead. Dessert is not necessary or expected, nor is any particular number or sequence of dishes. If you want to do an appetizer, first course, and main course, do it. If you want to do a main course with three sides, do it. If you want to throw everything into a stew pot, well, yuck. For a great description of how professional chefs handle this type of activity, see The Soul of a Chef by Michael Ruhlman. The most important rule is you have to actually cook the food. The fun part will be sharing our successes, failures, and wacky mishaps on the way to market basket nirvana. This is not a contest. It’s a learning experience. All of these ingredients should be readily available in grocery stores. You have wide latitude to supplement the core ingredients with stock from your pantry, but remember that the core ingredients should be featured and the pantry ingredients supplemental. That means even though onions and eggs are allowed in your pantry, an omelet stuffed with grilled onions would not be in the spirit of the market basket. If you don’t have the time or inclination to do the full exercise, feel free to do a simplified version by generating just one main dish from some of the chosen ingredients. Any and all reference materials are fine, but if you use cookbooks, try to use them as idea generators rather than sources of finished recipes. The goal of the market basket is to think on your feet and improvise a little. You have two weeks to plan and prepare your meals. I’ll start a new thread on January 28; as soon as you see it, you may begin reporting your results. Photos are welcome. In the meantime, feel free to post questions on this thread (I’m sure I’ve left something out or said something ridiculous, since this is total seat-of-the-pants piloting), but no spoilers, please. If you’d like, you can mention you’re participating and thereby open yourself for PMs from people who are stumped. Thank you Anna N for coming up with this idea. Have a great time. Vegetables/Fruits Lemon or lime Cremini mushrooms Napa cabbage Kabocha squash (or substitute butternut) Jalapeño pepper Protein Chicken thighs Bacon Tuna (fresh or frozen but not canned; substitute mackerel or other dark-fleshed fish) Pecans Grains/Starches Yukon Gold potato Lentils (preferably French green) Examples of acceptable pantry items Salt Any fresh or dried herbs and spices Any vinegar, oil, or wine Aromatics: * carrot * celery * onion * ginger * garlic * scallion Butter, milk, cream, eggs Dried pasta, rice Flour, cornstarch stock/broth Examples of unacceptable pantry items Blue cheese Steak Pie

FYI, this is coming tomorrow morning at the latest.