Verjuice

I am savoring this blog. Sincerely. And with relish. You are a fine writer, Malawry. I'm curious about your observations of the appetites and eating behavior of the girls in general, since eating disorders manifest big-time in college-aged women. Do you see any of the girls struggling with this issue? Is there a heightened awareness or sensitivity regarding a girl's chronic meal skipping or bingeing and/or purging in an intimate environment like that?

I have enjoyed these very much. I always pick up a box or two at Atwater Market when I am in Montreal.

Mastic tastes exactly like tree resin. It's definitely an acquired taste. I'm hopelessly addicted.

Taglierini or tagliatelle. White truffle butter and some pecorino or parmesan. Toasted pine nuts. Pancetta is optional but good.

I really like them mashed onto good plain sourdough. With maldon sea salt. It's got to be sourdough though, so the whole thing tastes like cultured butter disguised as a vegetable. Avocados are intriguing. And addictive. And you could feed your three Great Danes for the same amount of money that it would cost you to make guacamole twice a week. I have a friend who actually struck a deal with herself: Quit smoking and use the "extra" dough to afford yourself the of luxury of one or two avocados per day. Clever girl.

arbuclo, I'm Emirati (-blooded and raised, but American born) and after eight years in the States, I've decided to move back home. The first thing (literally) that I intend to do once I arrive is make a trip to Carrefour and head to the bakery where they sell the most underrated, most wonderful nammoura and basbousa for practically nothing. You must try it sometime and let us know what you think! And let me know if it's as good as I remember... Back when I was in high school in Abu Dhabi, the cool kids would brag about sneaking out of the house at night to hang out by the docks at the Corniche or the Marina and smuggle in cases of Amstel light or Jim Beam. And the locals that I know who drink at home just get their non-Muslim friends and colleagues to buy liquor for them. It's a pain in the ass, but all it really means is that you have to stockpile like mad. And Marlboros were twenty cents a pack (this was the mid 90s). God knows where these particular ones were manufactured. I remember when Snapple starting selling their drinks in the Emirates back in the early 90s and the Arabic labels (probably produced in nearby Jebel Ali) actually read "Is Nipple". Wonder if they ever did anything to change that; it went on for years. By the way, I too have spent a fair bit of time in Montana and Alaska!

Another thing. What's the general consensus on muffin bottoms? I love them but I've noticed that a lot of people throw them out. What makes a perfect muffin? Moist, but not too moist. Light, but not fluffy. Sweet, but not toothachingly so. I like it when the tops are crisp and browned and have a thin, chestnut-hued edge like a saucer. NO GRANULATED SUGAR ENCRUSTING THE TOPS! I don't like the tops and bottoms to be distinctly different, texturally. Finally, I don't want to feel like I'm eating pound cake, but I don't want my muffins to remind me of gluten-free bran bread either. On the other hand, when they're overmixed, they get all tough and chewy. And that's an awful thing. I've noticed that some of the better homemade muffins I've had have been made with a combination of butter and canola oil. Any thoughts on this?

Browniebaker, your story reminds me a lot of something that happened over the holidays while I was visiting an old friend. I'm not a cheesecake fan, but I know how to cook one, and he requested that I make him one with a Christmas theme. I went with Nigella's chestnut cheesecake and substituted my own gingersnap crust and rum-caramel glaze. Totally not my thing, but it was a beauty. I left it ito chill overnight, and in the morning, I opened the fridge door and found that a huge chunk the size and shape of a man's hand had been snatched from the pie. I was stunned, then appalled but recovered quickly... and by the time my friend had wandered into the kitchen looking for breakfast, I no longer felt irritated but was hurt and -honestly- trying not to cry (the visit hadn't been going particularly well). When I asked him why he hadn't used a knife, he looked stunned and appalled himself. After all, hadn't I made it for him? And... he didn't realize... I should've told him that I might want to save a few pieces for someone else or myself if I didn't want the cake ravaged? Aha! Come on, seriously? Was it a complete lack of social graces? Was he being passive aggressive? Does it matter? Would knowing that his intentions were innocuous enough when he reached into the cheesecake make me feel any better about it? I still think he's callous (enormously so), rude even (though I really don't know if the above story backs that up). But I won't condemn him when, ultimately, all he actually did was inadvertently spoil some of my fun-- the fun of watching him eat it and enjoy it (with a knife and fork, dammit). How ridiculous. I was very happy baking and giving the cake to him. What else is there? He loved the damn cheesecake. Yeah, I agree, it does suck, but this is the courage -and defenselessness- that's required in sharing and exposing oneself. And in giving gifts. They usually end up being, well... received. And sometimes by a Cool Whip wielding silverware shirker with a big heart and bad manners.

When I was a kid, I loved grilled nutella and brie sandwiches on wholemeal bread... now, I prefer a toasted panettone sandwich made with dark bitter chocolate, Maldon sea salt. Grilled. Sweet cultured butter on the toast, please.

Yeah, wassup with the triangles? Come to think of it, I remember a couple years back, being offered some tiny warm currant cream scones with devonshire cream and preserves on British Airways a few years back (upgraded to business class, yay) and they were fabulous. Don't know how authentic they were, but their texture reminded me of a really moist, tender biscuit made with lots of lard. The texture was sublime and unlike anything else I have ever had. But I still don't know if they were scones per se. Will give your recipe a try. Will use plump Monnuka raisins and hope for the best.

Some favorites from the Epicurious website: Easy: Liver with Caramelized Onion and Pecans And easy: Calf's Liver with Apples and Onions And this one has bacon: Flamboyant Calf's Liver with Caramelized Onions This is sort of a pate, but not quite. I think it still counts: Peppered Chicken Liver, Sage, and Fried Onion Bruschetta Mo' bacon: Liver, Bacon, and Onions Down-Home Style I love it every which way... from every animal. At lunch, when I was growing up in the Emirates, my father would always pass the snapper livers to me. Mousses, flans, terrines, pates. Chopped, fried or sauteed. Stuffed into dates. I love me some liver.

Fat-tooth! That's hilarious!

This morning, my sister and I shared a cranberry almond poppyseed muffin from a wonderful bakery-- unfortunately, it was made using cheap almond extract and tasted kind of like nail varnish. I like the idea however and will attempt them at home. Their chocolate and almond cream croissant was great, though. I also had a bite of a maple cinnamon walnut danish, and the pastry dough wasn't nearly as soggy as it looked to be on their other danishes... then again, I love maple so much that I might not be able to form an objective opinion! Scones, scones. I'm always and forever hoping that my next scone will not feel like an explosion of sawdust in my mouth, and will not taste like raw dough. My response to seeing them is Pavlovian at this point... I start reaching madly into space for a glass of water...

Who else picks up one of these with their coffee in the mornings? For/iafter/before breakfast? Or maybe as a pick-me-up with your afternoon coffee or tea? Muffins, scones, cinnamon rolls, coffeecakes, breakfast breads, croissants, doughnuts, eclairs, sticky buns, Danish-- what do you favor? This morning, waiting for my muffin (I favor either morning glory or corn), I realized that everyone in front of me had ordered a scone, which I never order, because I usually find them really disappointing. I've never eaten a whole Danish either; most of the ones I've seen in bakeries just look, well, damp. I like the occasional almond croissant, too. And you?

Because they're not deep fried. ← Right... is there any way to deep fry an egg? I have some time on my hands, maybe I should give it a go!

I made tempura about four years ago. Dean and Deluca's french fries, once, last year, to see for myself if they really were as good as they promised to be (they weren't). I made "fried" cornmeal mush last night, but it wasn't really fried, just kind of seared in a small amount of butter. A couple of fried eggs, which I don't think count though I'm not sure why. That's about it for the last five years or so.

I know that the regular Philly is available at Spinney's in Abu Dhabi-- have you tried Spinney's in Dubai? Give them a call.

Sometimes (rarely) even five minutes is more than I'm willing to spend. A piece of fruit (these days, prefereably a Bosc pear or a Pink Lady apple or a Cara Cara navel orange or a Rio Star grapefruit). Pita and hummus (I always carry both). Cucumbers. Carrots. Almond butter and Ryvita-- the kind with dried fruit. Smoked salmon. Also, smoked salmon.

That's an inspiring story. Thanks for sharing. The recipe looked to me like it had an interesting history, and it's true. Now I know what I'm making for my sister's birthday on Thursday! Great.

That's brilliant. Where did you come up with that? Brilliant. Never thought of layer-cakeizing a pannetone.

Lannie, if you come up with any interesting variations or ideas on the toasted sandwich, do let me know. I am forever experimenting with various additions, but I have yet to find one that compares to the original. I use Valrhona chocolate, usually between 50 and 60%, slice it thin, sandwich it between the toasted, buttered panettone, and grill. The last time I made it I added the merest smear of dulce de leche to the toast before adding the chocolate and it was very good. A tiny amount of bitter orange marmalade might be an interesting addition to the chocolate. Or perhaps stem ginger in syrup. Or a grilled Nutella panettone sandwich, if you go for that sort of thing (I have my moments). One of these days I'm going to grill one with just sweet melting cheese, like the kind used in Middle Eastern desserts like kunafa. I'm really looking forward to that.

The recipes sound great, but I'm more interested in sweet corn muffins than in savory cornbreads... although the idea of a dessert cornbread is very appealing. Rooftop 1000, a health food store not far from here sells homemade blueberry corn muffins in their bakery, and they are amazing. Today I had my corn muffin grilled as suggested, but I made some whipped maple butter to slather it with.

Watermelon and feta cheese.

That's absurd! I have flown to Tokyo from Albuquerque, L.A., Boston and New York at different times and I've never once paid over $650 for a round trip ticket. If you fly out of L.A., it's usually around $450... and nonstop flights from JFK to Tokyo cost even less than $650 on Delta, Nippon and Japan Airlines. American Airlines is a couple of dollars more. I use Travelocity.

Nigel Slater's toasted chocolate panettone sandwich is one of my favorite uses for pannetone. It's basically a grilled sandwich of thinly sliced, toasted panettone and melted dark chocolate. I spread lots of cultured sweet butter on the panettone after toasting and before grilling, and I sprinkle sea salt on the chocolate before sandwiching it all together. My best friend goes one step further and drapes slices of Emmental over the chocolate before pressing the sandwich back together and grilling it.