lleechef

Here in Anchorage the king fillets are $19.99/lb. and the red fillets are $14.99/lb. Most of us catch enough of our own salmon during the course of the summer that the first run of fish at this price is not very tempting.

Living in Alaska, you can't get any farther northwest......so don't forget king crab, moose, caribou and halbiut.

We spent 3 weeks in the Palm Springs area this Jan-Feb and our Canadian octogenarian friends asked us, " do you ever think of anything but food????" We looked at each other and said, " NO, not usually!"

I LOVE the Clam Box in Ipswich, used to live in Newburyport and would regularly go down to Ipswich and also Essex for great shellfish. For lobsters, we would dive off of my friend's 50' Hatteras......love New England summers!

For professional chefs I like Food Arts mag.

Surprised noone has mentioned Maroilles which smells like something long ago dead but tastes delicious, and the Boulette d'Avesnes which smells AND tastes like something dead. The Boulette is aged on straw and washed with beer. Both from the North of France.

Cook em alive! Reminds me of a funny crab story. I had this pimply-faced prep kid who would think nothing of getting all liquored up and smashing someone's head through a plate glass window or punching them in the face. I bought live Jonah crabs to make a nage and I was wacking them in half with a cleaver when said prep guy ran out of the kitchen, shreaking, and never came back!

Dredged in flour seasoned with Cajun spice, sauteed in clarified butter and topped with a little creole meuniere sauce.........heavenly!

For one, a "Mitsuko's Vineyard" chardonnay from Clos Pegase. Plus the artwork is the best in the valley. Vist the caves. In Sonoma I like DeLoach in Santa Rosa, ask for the OFS Chardonnay. My friend Tom Burgess at Burgess Vineyards (St. Helena, but up in the mountains) always makes lovely buttery whites........I have not visited him in 2 years, don't know what he's up to now but I'm certain it's delicious!

This company's website says they overnight ship ss crabs but they are not available at this moment. They had a large selection of sizes. http://lintonsseafood.safeshopper.com/13/cat13.htm?266

I agree with my friend clothier: the best advice is DON'T DO IT!! The help will drive you crazy, the customers will drive you crazy, you work 120 hours a week.........and those are the good things! Good luck to you!

Last restaurant I left, I took the recipe book and wiped them off my computer. My sous chef and four other cooks followed me to the new restaurant. Just part of the resto biz.

CAB dry aged strip loins are the best.....with their cover of green fur......but underneath the meat is succulent!

clothier, the hole in one was not as impressive as the blackberry pie! It was an accident.......the pie was calculated! And delicious!

Kahrs beat me to the punch on recommending Nemacolin! It is beautiful........I hit my first hole-in-one there on a par 3 hole and we'd go to eat afterwards and have homemeade fresh blackberry pie for dessert.

Try making the same thing with penne and rapini......it's delish!

Rialto and Radius.

Sourdough bread. Made my own starter from scratch, left it out, covered with cheesecloth to capture the wild yeast. After 2 weeks it looked like gloppy glue. Used it anyway. Made the sponge, covered the bowl with plastic wrap, put in oven set at 250 (it was a cold chilly day) to help it along. A friend stops by for a drink.......plastic melted onto the bowl and the sponge. Discard and start again. Next day made three loaves. After 35 min. of baking they were as white as aspirin tablets......very unappetizing. I brushed the tops with butter and put them back and turned the broiler on (electric, which I had NEVER used). 60 secs. later all three loaves were on fire and burnt black. The smoke detectors all went off. The starter went into the trash in disgust and I went back to my regular Italian loaf.

Another former Pittsburgher here.........Primanti is fun and their sandwiches are unique. My mother and I had a beautiful lunch at Lidia's in the Strip not long ago. There was a fabulous Chinese place called Peking Royal Kitchen on Murray Ave. in Squirrel Hill. I had become friends with the owners and we booked a multi-course dinner for 8 which was wonderful. Don't know if it's still there or not. Probably not. Not in Pgh. but worth the drive is the Wooden Angel in Beaver, PA. Alex Sebastian has one of the most extensive American-only wine lists I've ever seen and the food is as good as the wine. www.wooden-angel.com

Chimay Bleu is my favorite. The Abbey also makes great cheese. When Mitterand got elected we were in Belgium and the Chimay was flowing! I also enjoy a Morte Subite (Sudden Death).

When I moved to northern France (Belgian border) in 1978 my farmer neighbors thought I was WEIRD when I would get a care package from the US containing: peanut butter (EWWW!), maple syrup (EWWWW!) and various other things I could not buy in France at the time! They wouldn't even try them.

Mayhaw Man, You just have the BEST stories!

After climbing the Grand Ballon in Alsace we were starving. Stop at the nearest cafe for food was the deal. I spotted a little place.......tucked back on a side street that had a hand made sign: "Cafe". Madame greeted us at the door (portly and with red cheeks) and informed us that the only meal available was the choucroute. Bring it on! Oh my, a platter that easily could've fed 10 people......sausages galore, fresh pork, smoked pork, slabs of bacon, boiled potatoes and the kraut. We ate it all. One of the best meals I've ever had. Washed down with Alsacian wine.

We are "Wanna-Be Snowbirds" so we just spent 3 weeks (not long enough for me) in Desert Hot Springs. Had wonderful BBQ at Woody's in Rancho Cucamonga. We also had a very lovely meal on a Thursday night.....street fair night in Palm Springs........at a place called Guido's.

Okra ROCKS, so YES!