B Edulis

I can't wait to try a rhubarb cake. I made a rhubarb pie recently and was a little disappointed -- I think I like it better with strawberries. The Jean George cookbook has a recipe for rhubarb soup that has no fat and only three ingredients: rhubarb, sugar, and vanilla beans. You simply cook them together, remove the split beans (1/2 a bean per serving!) and mash the rhubarb. You can add strawberries, sorbet, or a dollup of something rich and creamy -- whipped, sour, fraiche or ice. Even with that, I think less rich than pie.

Thanks for the chance to show off! I checked with the NY Mycological Society and it's fine if interested non-members join a walk or foray. There's something like a $5 donation to the club that's asked. So I'll post a notice when the walks are coming up.

First, here's the catch of the day -- 2.75 lbs. of morels and thimblecaps (a related species, never seen them for sale), handsful of gorgeous wild watercress, and wild scallions, plus Pearl, Kevin and me - forgive the gloating expressions: The appetizer: The largest morels filled with morel and thimblecap mousse served with roasted asparagus. The main course: blackfish with morel and rochambeau onion rondels and Elizabeth Schneider's morel and tiny yellow potato casserole with walnut oil. Because the casserole was covered, not a bit of the morel flavor was lost. Of course, watercress salad, with toasted pecans and a vinegrette with black fig vinegar. It was very, very good!

Nonny, nonny nonny! Kevin and Pearl and I picked almost three pounds of morels on Saturday near Suffern, NY. A bonanza! We made a three course all-morel dinner. I'm in Cape Codd now, but when I get back to NYC I'll post pix and descriptions.

Porcini = Cepes = Boletus. Boletus Edulis (my nom de eGullet) is also known as the King Bolete. BTW, Cremini, Portobello and Button mushrooms are all Agaricus and were the first mushrooms cultivated in the west. Button mushrooms in Europe were called champigion de Paris, and were celebrated for their clear whiteness and delicious flavor. Agaricus grow all over here in the NY area, most are edible, but a few are toxic (none are deadly). So if you want to be a mushroom snob, include buttons, but exclude, in my opinion, those pink oysters sometimes seen in stores, for one. The proof is in the flavor and texture! I'm now heading out to the apple orchards in search of morels (morchella esculenta). If I am successful I will be sure to tease you with pictures of my bounty!

I really like the Kabob Cafe -- I ate there once and have been wanting to go back since. Ali is the master! His brother has a neat folk-art decorated resto a few blocks away, I believe it's called Moombar.

If you've decided that the imbalance in entertaining is not severe enough for you to end the friendship, yet you're still bugged by it, I've learned a strategy that works for me. You pretend that the person(s) has a brain tumor that causing them to behave strangely. When they act cheap, just tell yourself, "oh, it's that brain tumor acting up again!" This works for nasty bosses and bitchy relatives as well. Takes the stuffing right out of that bitter feeling.

I've used them the way I used shitakes -- they're good grilled. Also, all mushrooms keep best in a paper bag or open basket in the fridge. This way, rather than get slimy, they dry as they age, sometimes actually improving the flavor -- porcini for instance are terrific dried, as are black trumpets.

Of course there was a buttah thread a while ago. Buttah a perennial topic, each round revealing more nuance. Like love, buttah has endless depth and complexity. Also, yesterday's NYT food worship section had a bit about butters. I can't find it to link it, however. I think their search engine stinks. And why can't you pick a date and browse? buttah! buttah! buttah!

And rightly so! All hail Chairman Kaga! I will now go commit seppuku because my comment was off subject. I expect all others to do so as well.

I'm glad to hear you say that markstevens, because when I was a child my mum always left butter out and it tasted great. I guess I've assumed it was not safe, but what could happen? Rancidity, eventually. But I believe that takes a while. I do have the cat tongue problem. So butter-dish hunting I go. butta-butta-butta-butta-butta-butta-butta-butta-butta-butta-butta-butta-butta-butta-butta& #33;

I remember once when Kaga was declarin a tie. The subtitle said was something about a rematch but you could clearly hear Kaga say "tie bleaka." Leaving aside for the moment the question of why Kaga was subtitled while all others were dubbed, why would the translater take a perfectly good Japlish word and retranslate it into English. Oh, and I think the culinary critic woman, Asako Kishi, is one of the creators of the Iron Chef program. And what about quorn? Despite its name, it's a fungus that's used as a meat/protein analog.

Oh, you had to ask! There's one called "chicken fat suillus" that's not very good -- too slimy. But here's a snapshot of a calvatia gigantus -- giant puffball -- that I found last fall. As you can see, it is larger than a ten-year-old's head (how could I resist?). It weighed five pounds! These are not my favorite mushrooms: the flavor is a bit muddy and the texture is spongy. And if they're the least bit over the hill, either with the slightest bit of yellow in the white center or if they took too long to grow, they're bitter as Richard Nixon. Unfortunately, this one was not very good. All five pounds of it. The same weekend a friend found another type, calvatia craniformis -- skull shaped puffball-- that was really delicious.

And don't forget the dollop of caviar for the top! It was delicious, and perfect for a cooperative dinner, since it isn't served hot. Cabrales, on Iron Chef they frequently use fish innards -- livers, and um, other parts. One once took the cartilage from inside a skate wing and deepfried it -- beautiful and tasty! I had fish testicle sushi once in Tokyo. I'm so glad that there's interest in the dinner. It's going to be fun and delicious.

My story can't compete with the above, but it was still a hoot -- It was a New Years Eve dinner and skating party at a farm I shared in the Catskills. We had planned a suitably elaborate dinner for maybe 12 people, then, skating by candlelight lunaria and full moon on a lovely pond, with hot chocolate and individual folded pies near a bonfire. Dispite excellent weather the night before, the evening was bitter cold, windy and cloudy. Just as we were getting into full swing with dinner prep -- we ran out of propane -- no stove or oven. It being a bitter cold new year's eve, we figured we had a snowball's chance to get help, but we called the propane company anyway. Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Plan B. We made popcorn with the electric popper, and fired up the Weber on a protected porch. Amazingly, we were able to adapt dinner and finish almost everything, albeit 2 hours late, on the Weber, including the 1/2 baked pies (no burned bottoms either!) Just as we were finishing, the heroic propane guy appeared, and we thankfully gave him and his pal their own warm apple pies (and a tip, natch).

Yesterday at Harlem Fairway I noticed that Plugra now comes in half-pounds, but it'll cost you: 2.99 for a full pound, 1.99 for a half! Thanks for the tip about the depression ware, stellabella, there's a bunch being remade now. Or maybe I'll get a butter bell so I can keep it out of the fridge.

Pocky is fabulous. Keep your eye out for "tea" flavored Pocky -- chocolate and Earl Grey! And then there's "Man" Pocky -- begging the question, for? or tastes like? There's a French book titled Les Bonbecs written by my friend Alexandre Reverend that artfully depicts a fabulous collection of Euro and Amero candy including "Les Gelatines," "Les Caramels," "Le Gadgets," "Les Poudres," and other fun categories.

And what about beans? Sure, green beans and wax beans are a veg. Are cannelini? I can't imagine anyone would call polenta a veg, tho' it's made of the same stuff as fresh corn with the exception that more of the sugars have turned to starch. And speaking of starch and starch, aren't there some Italian recipes for pasta with potatoes? How about American and Mexican native dishes of corn with dried beans? We are definitely entering a very grey and unexplored area here.

Perhaps this topic would be a candidate for the mysterious "Poll" type topic? There's a wonderful butter that I've mentioned here before that I grew up with. It's from the Alleghenny Mountains in western Pennsylvania, from Vale Wood Dairy. I always get a couple of pounds when I visit. But my house brand is unsalted Plugra. But here's a question. Where can I get a buttah dish to hold a full pound? I also freeze butter, can't tell the difference. One of the things I've heard about Safe Horizon (in a terrific cover article in the NY Times Mag) is that they superpasteurize their milk and it destroys lots of good-for-you stuff in the milk. How's that for a scientific report?

Here's a mushroom that's recently started turning up in Chinatown that was my winter favorite. They've been available in dried form for years. The fresh version, tho, has that rich umami quality of a smooth-skinned shitake, unctious and fragrant. I couldn't find in any of my field guides because it doesn't grow wild in the US apparently. But I showed it to Gary Lincoff, who has literally written the book on the subject (Audobon among others), and he says that it's another type of shitake. I find it much richer that the smooth-skinned shitake that we usually see.

Thanks! It was really so much fun to do. The sink is offset because I had to get the skinniest one I could to fit the narrow cncrete countertop. The ceramics that aren't plates are broken tile. But one big thing I found out is that it's often hard to work in place. If you're doing a backsplash, cut 1/2 plywood to size then arrange and stick the pieces on it. Fasten it in place and do any edging you want to do, then grout it. Maybe it's obvious, but I had to do the whole shower border on a makeshift scaffold.

LOL! Maybe Ruby is right, we do seem to degenerate awfully frequently into disgusting areas. This is off topic, but there's a terrific book by William Ian Miller, The Anatomy of Disgust . All serious foodies should read it. He really deconstructs the emotion. An example: one category of disgust is things not disgusting in themselves, becoming disgusting in proximity. Spit in your mouth is not disgusting. A glass full of spit is. Bringing us to another example: things that okay when they are few in number, disgusting in large amounts. Ever seen an infestation of thousands of ladybugs? Gross as termites. One of the reasons that kids around the age of 7 get so picky about food is that they're just learning what's disgusting and what's not and they sometimes take extreme stands: the pot liquor from the peas absolutely can not touch the mashed potatoes (disgusting in proximity). The book covers some absolutely horrible territory -- there's a whole chapter on bodily fluids. Interesting, don't you think? Has anyone else read this book? I think that if we're going to continue to be disgusting, we might as well be informed!

I'm trying mine right now and not getting much tingle at all-tho' the flavor is interesting, a little anisey or tarragonish. Mine must be old or crappy.

Prisilla, thought you'd never ask! I'm so proud that I did it all myself, too. The backsplash is made with shards and the shower stall with whole plates that are inset. The plates you can see include one from an orphanage, depicting actual 1920s orphans, one celebrating the 1969 moon landing, another for Luray Caverns, and one commemorating "One Bell System -- It Works! Undersea Cable." The toothbrush holders are cup handles turned sideways set into the back splash. I suppose that plates are more appropriate to kitchens, but, well, I don't know about you, but I think about food all the time......

Should I take the silence on the maggot question as a sign of revulsion and that at the first NYC eGullet potluck only Jinmyo and I will be eating my contribution?