robyn

Wait, this is eGullet. We are supposed to decide where and what we want to eat, then plan our trips around that!! ← I used to travel like that - but I don't any more. It's a question of wanting to see a particular country - or a particular aspect of a country - or an event - and then finding out what's available "food wise" at my destination. One reason to think along these lines is we are probably overloaded with information about a select number of "destination restaurants" in the world - and completely ignorant about what goes on in the other 99.9% of the food world. E.g., some of the best restaurants I went to in Japan (which were highly regarded there) do have web pages - but they are only in Japanese. If you tried to make a reservation from home - you couldn't - because the staff speaks only Japanese. How many people who aren't Japanese speak Japanese? Moreover - I found that many high end restaurants in Japan (a lot have 20 seats or fewer) didn't want customers who didn't speak Japanese - and weren't familiar with Japanese dining culture. Although I've only spent a tiny amount of time in Germany - my impression is once you get even a bit off the beaten tourist path - many/most people in Germany - especially those who aren't young - didn't speak serviceable - or any - English. This isn't a criticism - simply an observation. So I don't know what we'll find once we scratch the surface - which is what we'll do if we wind up taking a "full trip" to Germany. FWIW - when we travel these days - I am the person who makes the reservations - and my husband learns to speak at least a little of the language. That's one reason I plan these trips so far in advance (he needs 6-12 months to learn enough to get us through basic tourist encounters). After Japanese - I think German should be easy . Robyn

A medical case could be made that trans-fats are not just unhealthy, but actually poisonous. Such a case could likely not be made about foie gras. I cannot say that I would oppose a ban on trans-fats in processed food. I would oppose a ban on products like Crisco, though -- like you said, it makes a perfect pie crust and unless you're eating pie every single day, a little bit of trans-fat isn't going to hurt you. ← Poisonous? Really - GMAFB. It is perhaps more accurate to say that a little of almost anything never killed anyone. And it is also accurate to say that I am sick of the food police. Are there lots of people in the US who "eat stupid" - yup. Should I suffer because of it - no. Robyn

I don't think it's worth the time/money (and I am fairly local - live near Jacksonville - and have a really big travel/food budget). We were there a couple of years ago - and the thing that is a problem - the thing that made us mad - was how people would come in groups - and then one person in a group would be selected to save 10 seats for a cooking demo - or a concert - an hour or two ahead of time. And when you got there 15 minutes before - all the seats were taken (but empty - because the other 9 people in the group wouldn't show up until the last minute). My husband almost got into a fist fight with someone who was "saving" 20 seats before a concert. Disney people wouldn't/didn't do anything (and I'd like to see someone try to do that when they're on line for a ride - Disney people would never allow it). In short - I'd never go again. Robyn

I'm not sure whether I might help you to find those restaurants you are looking for. You tend to dislike traditional German food and have been only once in my country. Where did you pick up that aversion to traditional German food? Traditional food wherever it comes from is a result of decades of cooking culture and handing down of recipes by ancestors to descendants. During that procedure the dishes got their best possible quality and taste and became traditional. I personally think there is no need to twist up old ideas. Cooking is like travelling all around the world in front of your stove but from time to time you have to come back to your roots to discover the unknown. Let me know what you think you'll discover. As everywhere in the world there are good and bad restaurants which serve "traditional food" of different quality. ← Ok - let me back off a bit. When we were in Hamburg - we went to - among other places - a very traditional restaurant and ate the most traditional meal on the menu. A lady next to us who was perhaps 80 or so remarked that it was so nice to see "young people" eating traditional food. That meal kind of felt like a lead sinker in my stomach for the next 3 days. But I am willing to give it another try - as long as I can avoid the "lead sinker" feeling. I realize that a lot of this traditional food (like that made by my grandmothers - who were both from nearby areas in Europe) was meant to be eaten by people who did a lot of physical work in cold weather - where you could simply burn it off. But I tend not to travel in cold weather - or do a lot of physical work while traveling - so a bit lighter would work better for me. Other than wanting to avoid feeling weighted down - or overdosing on salt - I am pretty much up for anything in terms of eating. FWIW - other than the "lead sinker" meal - we really had a great time in Hamburg (despite the dreary late October weather). Even though it was more than a decade ago - probably closer to two decades - I remember the harbor tour - the war monuments - the main art museum (forget the name - but remember the paintings) - the great service in the hotel (Intercontinental - they did amazing things in terms of putting in an internet connection for me) - my husband having a good time speaking Italian in a decent Italian restaurant - and the outrageous sex show . Only sex show I've ever been to - and I can assure the ladies in the audience that sex shows in Hamburg are very non-sexist - there will be something for him - and something for you too . I realize that Hamburg probably isn't the best tourist city in Germany - so if I had a good time there - I can probably have a good time anywhere in Germany Robyn

I generally plan my travel far in advance (my husband likes six months notice so he can work on the language part of a trip) - and one of the places I'm considering for next year is Berlin - and perhaps some other places in Germany. Have only been to Germany once - Hamburg - ages ago. Have to say that I tend to dislike traditional German food - and I wondered if there is any trend in Germany in terms of a "New German Cuisine" (like "New American Cuisine"). If so - where in the country would I be most likely to find these restaurants that are coming up with new twists on old ideas? I'm not necessarily talking about fine dining - Michelin stars and the like - more casual dining is fine. Robyn

(1) Transfats are often a "stealth" ingredient ("partially hydrogenated vegetable oil"); foie gras is very unlikely to ever be a stealth ingredient! (2) Very few people are wealthy enough to eat foie gras often enough for it to severely damage their health, I daresay. The same is very unlikely to be true of transfats. ← What if food is labeled to show transfat content? Why should someone be deprived of his ability to make a pie crust with original Crisco a few times a year - like someone might want to eat foie gras a few times a year? The wealth argument doesn't cut it. What you're saying is government regulation is ok when it comes to poor people - but not rich people. McDonald's has to post the nutritional content of its food - but Per Se doesn't. "Let them eat foie gras" as it were. Frankly - I personally do not believe there is any difference at all between banning transfats and banning foie gras. I am against both. However I can see how people would be in favor of both. But I think that people who in favor of the former - and not the latter - ought to review their positions - because I think they're inconsistent. Robyn

Let's not preach from ignorance on eGullet - please! As discovered by French medical researcher Serge Renaud and reported on the front page of the New York Times on November 17, 1991 ("Can Foie Gras Aid the Heart? A French Scientist Says Yes"), duck and goose fat are mono-unsaturated, like olive oil, and are beneficial to a heart-healthy diet, especially the concentrations found in foie gras. Natives of the region of Gascony, where the basic cooking lipid is duck and goose fat (as opposed to Provence where it's olive oil, and Normandy, where it's butter) were found to live well into their 90's and hundreds, all the while spreading congealed duck fat on the bread that they accompany the foie gras with, which is what led to the investigation of the composition of the fats themselves. The next time you take your Omega-3 capsules, you should eat a slice of foie gras or a duck leg confit as well. So let's end the comments that foie gras is bad for you, and talk about making it mandatory in school lunches instead. ← You can argue this on a variety of levels - but you can't tell me that a product whose nutritional values look like this is good for you. What you wrote seems to come straight from the industry defense of foie gras - which seems as unbalanced as the PETA opposition. The only nutritional claim I've seen that makes any sense - and it was tongue in cheek - is that the product is good for people on low carb diets. I'd be a lot more interested in your answer if it started - "yes it's bad for you but...". Robyn

I disagree with you in some respects. Let people eat whatever they want to eat - and let restaurants serve whatever they want to serve if it's legal. And if states want to ban or restrict or regulate the killing of certain species of animals for reasons like possible extinction - that is up to the states - but restaurants should be free to serve what's available. Shouldn't have beans to do with whether the stuff is mass market - or for the "upper classes" either. And I reckon if a state decrees that a particular way of raising an animal is cruel and unusual punishment - well it's up to the states to decide that. I don't know - which is worse - a calf kept in a veal cage or a force fed duck (if indeed - either is "bad")? What about kosher methods of slaughter? Or how chickens are raised for the most part? On my part - I don't eat much of this stuff these days - mostly because I'm an older lady now - and it's not great for me. But I'm not religious about it. And I don't have that - anything most people eat is bad - but what we serve in high end restaurants is ok - attitude. I'm quite sure that a big meal at a 3 star restaurant is every bit as bad - if not worse - for me - than a meal at the proverbial Olive Garden. Anyway - I'm curious - what would people say if NJ or any other state banned foie gras on the basis that it was simply lousy for people to eat (which it is)? Like transfats? And how does state regulation of foie gras production differ in any way from state regulation of transfats - or how you can turn baby cows into veal? Robyn

I guess it depends on what the city is trying to be. Quite frankly - I think that San Francisco is too small to support really high end dining on its own. And the tourists aren't - for the most part - high rollers. Even a city like New York has a hard time of it. Except with regard to perhaps a handful of destination restaurants - New Yorkers and visitors to New York are really fickle - and don't tend to patronize places regularly over a long period of time. It doesn't surprise me at all that the highest end dining in the US these days is apparently found in Las Vegas (haven't been to Robuchon or Guy Savoy there - but I have no reason to doubt the reviews). There's a constant influx of new big money in Las Vegas. When you look at 3 star restaurants - a lot tend to be "destination restaurants". Many are in at least out of the way - if not downright strange - places. Many in various countries are restaurants with rooms. You go out of your way to dine and spend the night there. French Laundry - Fat Duck - El Bulli - Troisgros- etc. - these are not center city places. Also - there is perhaps the indelicate issue of money. The Las Vegas places make New York look cheap. You're talking probably $750-1000 for 2 for dinner with modest wine. And I think that's probably what it costs the restaurants to put out a meal - more or less. No huge profit margin given the ingredients and the labor intensity of the meal. How many times - if any - are people going to dine like that? I can tell you that as I age - and I become less tolerant physically of huge rich meals - no matter how delicious - somehow I'd rather eat 10-20 lunches at a place like Tanglewood in San Jose or Chez Panisse than once at Robuchon in Las Vegas. I guess this is a rather round about way of saying that I don't find anything wrong with the dining scene in the San Francisco Bay area. What it is at its best is almost always consistently simple - with an emphasis on fresh regional ingredients - and extremely good. I am not sure that if I lived in the area - that I would worry about this. I just wouldn't necessarily expect to wind up getting a whole lot of 2-3 Michelin star restaurants. Robyn

That's interesting. Usually it would be the other way around in terms of "original place" and "outpost". Robyn

Well, I agree with all of that, but yelling "Doomsday" is still excessive. ← Yup - particularly when it's about the only food ban people who I would consider liberal are up in arms about. Ban Chilean seabass - fine. Swordfish - ditto. Transfats (all those delicious Crisco pie crusts) - out of here. Not to mention the tons of people who are squeamish about the way veal is raised. Or the reaction to people who actually own guns and shoot animals to eat them. Etc. You lie down with dogs - you get fleas. I'm surprised that the foie gras fighters are this late coming to the liberal "we shouldn't eat it so let's ban it" party. FWIW - I think that D'Artagnan can move somewhere in the southeast and do just fine if they're shut down in New Jersey. Robyn

I've never been to Aqua in SF - but I dined there once in Las Vegas when Michael Mina was in charge. And the meal was exquisite. Might have been up to 2 star Michelin standards. Is Aqua in San Francisco a lot different from the one in Las Vegas - and has it changed a lot since Mina left? BTW - I agree with your statements about Michelin and global standards. Robyn

No, we don't - that's why there aren't any three star restaurants in San Francisco. I agree that the list is longer than it should be, but over all they did a fantastic job. Next year some of the restaurants that were passed over will surely move up, and some of the over-rated places will move down. One star restaurants are certainly to be taken in the context of what they are trying to accomplish. There are no three star bistros but there are several one star restaurants under the impression they are serving three star food. All that said - what other restaurant guide has assembled a list half as accurate as this one? ← Agreed. I don't think anyone can talk intelligently about Michelin stars without some dining experience in Europe. At the very high end. Admittedly - most of my dining in that arena is ancient - but we still get there from time to time. And I can assure most people that the food we had at one star places in London (most recent trip to Europe) was - for the most part - food that we can't get in the US. If anything - based on my most recent trips within the US - and to Europe - and to Japan - I think that Michelin is inflating its ratings somewhat in the US. OTOH - I happen to love "California cuisine" - the lightness - the freshness - the depth of taste in local products - even if a restaurant that serves that cuisine doesn't warrant 2 or 3 Michelin stars (by Michelin's standards). You guys are very lucky to have an incredible bounty in terms of raw ingredients - and doubly lucky to have chefs who know when those raw ingredients should be allowed to speak for themselves. Suits the way I prefer to dine these days - leaving a meal satiated and not stuffed. Felt the same way dining in Japan earlier this year. Michelin isn't the final say in food - it is simply another guide - and you can't use the guide intelligently unless you know what ground rules it's following. Robyn

I don't think you can tell a book by its cover. When it comes to food - I think creative writing on the menu takes second place to execution in the kitchen. I haven't been to the Fat Duck - or Manresa (missed the former because my husband and I were lazy about traveling "out of town" last time we were in London - and the latter because I was sick the day we had our reservation last month) - but I have been to restaurants which looked better on paper than in person - and vice versa - particularly "creative ones". I don't judge restaurants unless I've eaten at them - and I don't think anyone else should either. And sometimes I don't write up places at which I've had mediocre or bad experiences for personal reasons (although I'll almost always write something when my impressions are positive). But I don't say anything unless I've at least sampled what a chef has to offer. One thing I can say is that I've dined at 3 of the restaurants that got 1 star in the last year - Quince - La Folie - and Chez Panisse - and - with the possible exception of La Folie - where the food struck me as too rich and too old fashioned French - that might be a plus in Michelin's eyes but it isn't in mine - I thought Michelin was on the mark. I will note that we did dine last month at a new place called Tanglewood in San Jose on Santana Row - owned/operated in part by the La Folie chef - Roland Passot - and we thought it was excellent (and a lot more 21st century than La Folie). If it is lucky - and San Jose winds up on Michelin's radar screen - perhaps it will get one star (our meal might have been worth one star - but definitely not two). Robyn

Maybe the entire star system is archaic and should be ignored. Slightly off topic, but I read the San Francisco Michelin didn't include Zuni in any of its star levels. How can anyone take them seriously????? These Michelin people may serve a purpose though - they make the NY Times look good and that's not an easy task. ← I don't have time to look through a lot of old threads tonight - but isn't Zuni the "roast chicken" place in San Francisco? More or less comfort food? If it's the place I'm thinking of - I recall that we crossed it off our list of places to dine last year because most (or at least a lot) of people here didn't understand what all the fuss was about. On an unrelated note - I've never seen the NY Michelin guide. Does it have both "stars" and "knives and forks"? The combination of the 2 always gave me an idea what a restaurant was about when I used the guide in France (1 star - 5 knives and forks usually amounted to overpriced so-so "luxury" place etc.). Robyn

You never had liverwurst before? Are you being serious ? Robyn P.S. Liverwurst is one of those things that is so bad for you that it is almost always at least good - if not better - or excellent - no matter where you buy it. Robyn

I cook very generic brisket (Publix - flat cut - just a little fat on the bottom) - but my technique is very similar to yours. Braise wrapped tight in foil (with water and other stuff to make gravy) at 325 for 3 hours. Slice on the bias and reassemble somewhat tight in an ovenproof container. Cover with the gravy. Refrigerate at least overnight. Then reheat. And reheat - and reheat (I usually make a 4-5 pound brisket which lasts for multiple meals for about 7-10 days). Only difference between yours and mine is I don't reduce the gravy. I think the "gravy bath" makes all the difference. Robyn

I don't agree with him. I live in a big agricultural state - Florida - but climates impose limits. Spinach is a cool weather crop - and there simply isn't a lot of cool weather in Florida. Sure - we get some "cool" in winter - but locally - in north Florida - where we get the most "cool" - we get hard freezes too. Not an ideal climate for even a back yard grower. It would be like telling people in New York to grow their citrus locally (sure - given ideal conditions on your porch - and if you pulled your trees inside at the first signs of frost - you might be able to grow an orange or two). We live in a big country - with a lot of different climates - and I personally enjoy all that our country has to offer in terms of food. Robyn

I sometimes have lactose problems - but never with sour cream . My brisket recipe is very 1950's. The hardest part of it is finding a piece of brisket where every tiny piece of fat hasn't been removed (and forget about finding a point cut - my favorite - these days - at least where I live). The variations in amounts of other ingredients depend on how big a brisket you have - medium (maybe 2-3 pounts) or large (maybe 4-5 pounds). Line a large roasting pan with aluminum foil. Slice up 1-2 green peppers in thin strips. Put half on the foil. Use 1-2 packages of Lipton's onion soup mix. Sprinkle half on the peppers. Put the brisket on the foil fat side down. Smear about 4-6 cloves of finely chopped garlic on the top of the brisket. Put the rest of the green pepper on top of the brisket - and spinkle the rest of the Lipton's onion soup on top. Draw ketchup V's across the top of the brisket - not a huge amount of ketchup. Add 2-4 cups of water to the bottom of the foil. Cover with another piece of foil - and crimp edges tightly. Cook at 325 degrees for 3 hours. Open foil package and mix stuff on top of brisket with the gravy under the brisket. Slice thinly on the bias - and place the brisket slices in an ovenproof dish with a cover. Add the gravy. Refrigerate at least overnight. Remove excess congealed fat if by some miracle you have found brisket which has a thick layer of fat on it. Reheat at about 250-300 and serve within a day or two or three. Leftovers will last at least a week. I'll have to try the apple and onion variation on the kugel one of these days - but it won't be easy to convince my husband that anything is better than kugel with sour cream . I don't cook lamb that often - but if you're really dealing with mutton - then what you're doing sounds like the best way to deal with it. Where do you get chicken fat? Do you make your own? One year I looked for it in the stores - but couldn't find it. Lard yes - chicken fat no. Robyn

Although I don't think this was anywhere near her best writing (the Vogue article was a lot better and brought tears to my eyes) - I think she makes some good points. I am sick of restaurants that are more interested in trying to sell me fancy marked up too many times bottles of water (thanks but no thanks) instead of decent martinis - and the only reason I drink martinis is because it's almost impossible to find a restaurant - even a fancy one - that sells tonic in bottles for a gin and tonic instead of that stuff that comes out flat from a gun. Or heck - how about those fancy restaurants with the fancy water that don't even bother to get a liquor license? Robyn ← I just read an article in Food Arts maybe a month or so ago about Per Se's barman and how there are very few mixed drinks offered there for two reasons. 1. the bar is small and 2. It just doesn't go with what Per Se is trying to accomplish. I don't know that this is quite the norm but it could be a new trend. Yea the wine lists are jacked up quite a bit from what they would normally cost you, but then again many of the wine lists in really good restaurants are not readily available through normal channels. To get these wines you have to get directly through the vineyards, and have them shipped to you etc, etc. hence the mark up. As for restaurants without liquor licenses, that just seems to be a death sentence to me. ← I've been to Per Se. And the reason the bar doesn't work is non-celebs like me can only get reservations at 5:30 (when both the bar and the restaurant open) - or at 10 - when most of us who like to have a few drinks before dinner have had them already. I prefer a meal - in terms of timing - which is less trying than making it to the airport for a flight - one where I can make a dinner reservation at 8:00 - and show up at 7 - and have a drink or two at the bar - and perhaps some nice nibbles. During our last trip to NY - I thought David Burke & Donatella did an excellent job of combining a pre-dinner drink experience with a dinner experience. I do not drink wine - except for champagne and some other sparkling wines - doesn't agree with me. My husband - who does drink wine - usually by the glass to go with his courses - thought that the wine service at Per Se was mediocre (in terms of prices - quality - and suggestions concerning what wines went with which courses). He had the same complaint at Jean Georges. But he thought Alain Ducasse was excellent. I personally am very fond of "champagne trolleys" - but my limited experience in Europe has been better than my limited experience in the US (I especially like the way the servers in the UK balanced the bottles over their arms to pour). Robyn

She wasn't trying to be funny. She's in a bad mood this year - as anyone who read the excerpt from her new book in Vogue a few months ago knows (summary of the magazine article is here). And cranky. And she has a right to be. What woman - upon closing in on or reaching 60 - looking at significant recent losses in her life - isn't (and who of us 60ish women hasn't had some of those losses)? Although I don't think this was anywhere near her best writing (the Vogue article was a lot better and brought tears to my eyes) - I think she makes some good points. I am sick of restaurants that are more interested in trying to sell me fancy marked up too many times bottles of water (thanks but no thanks) instead of decent martinis - and the only reason I drink martinis is because it's almost impossible to find a restaurant - even a fancy one - that sells tonic in bottles for a gin and tonic instead of that stuff that comes out flat from a gun. Or heck - how about those fancy restaurants with the fancy water that don't even bother to get a liquor license? As for water glasses - the main reason to have a real water glass shaped like a water glass (and a server who knows what a water glass looks like) is so the server doesn't pour the last of your white wine into the last of your water. And why does your server always ask whether you like the food before you eat it - and almost never when 3/4 of it is left on your plate when you're finished? Concerning salt and pepper - I am not a salt person - but I sometimes like to add a fair amount of pepper to a salad. I understand the concerns about thievery - but at a high end restaurant - it should be possible to set the table with salt and pepper shakers/mills - and remove the items near the end of the meal so they won't get stolen (doesn't the table have to be reset anyway?). The only time I thought those little salt plates made sense was in Japan when I was eating some foods that were meant to be dipped in salt. For dipping - the little plates are perfect. As for the ones with teeny weeny spoons - what are they thinking of? And - although I don't have an opinion about salts - since I don't use a lot - what comes out of the kitchen is usually salted enough for me (although I know the sea salt in my kitchen is different than the kosher salt in my kitchen) - if it really is a "chunky" salt - why not serve it in a salt grinder? As for dessert spoons - I can't recall seeing one in recent years (perhaps I don't eat desserts that go with spoons). However - if restaurants are going to use them - then please do me the favor of giving me a sauce spoon too (which I have much greater use for but only see once in a blue moon). And don't we all know - but frequently forget - that main courses are usually the most disappointing part of a meal. I forget all the time - and when I complain - like I did here after my meal at Babbo - everyone said - "don't you know the thing to order at Babbo is the primi pasta courses!". Are these trivial things - well yes and no. When you're paying a lot of money for a meal - you want a seamless no-hassle experience. And when you're having a lousy year - you don't want what might otherwise be a fun night off from dreary daily things - a night where you would like to pampered in an unobtrusive way - to be ruined by a lot of minor annoyances. If you aren't where Nora Ephron and I are these days - don't worry - the years will pass quickly and you'll get there soon enough. Robyn

This is too bad because Whole Foods might be the only place for people in some parts of the country to potentially have access to good coldcuts and charcuterie. I'm speaking of locations without old style Italian and German delis which are becoming rare even in some places where they used to be plentiful. I wish someone at Whole Foods would decide that quality coldcuts, sausages and charcuterie derived from classic recipes from France, Italy and Germany is something worth selling. If there are issues regarding the import of some of these items they can also be made in the US. Here's a vote from one potential customer. ← Don't worry - those of us in the hinterlands (without WF) have access to these things. This is the stuff that Costco sells. Fresh Market also sells the stuff (although it's hand-sliced - not pre-packaged). I don't eat it - but when I've served the Costco product to guests - they seem to like it. I know Steve shops at Costco - and perhaps he or someone else can comment on the relative merits of this brand. As for ethnic foods - as we get more first generation immigrants moving here (from places like China - India - central and south America - Bosnia - etc.) - we get more ethnic grocery stores. I don't have any problems with WF not carrying this product - or similar charcuterie. We don't have WF here - but when I've shopped at it (most recently at its flagship store in Austin - that's one terrific looking store) - my impression has always been that it's a "healthy food store" - not a "gourmet food store". It has a right to sell things which it thinks are consistent with its image - and to avoid those that aren't. Robyn

I'm too sore to sleep right now - so here is my "don't worry - you can make kugel at the last minute" recipe. Goes well with any holiday meat or poultry. Not a kosher recipe if served with meat. Cook 12 ounces wide egg noodles (I use Mueller's extra wide - comes in 16 oz. packages and I cook the whole package and use about 3/4 of the package for final assembly) until almost (95%) done. Before or while cooking the noodles - beat 3 eggs - add about 4-5 tsp. sugar to taste - 1 package farmer's cheese (about 2/3 cup) - 1/2 tsp. cinnamon - 1/4 tsp. nutmeg - 1/2 cup sour cream - and 1/2 - 3/4 cup golden raisins softened in some hot water. Mix to break up farmer's cheese. When noodles are done - drain - put in bowl - and add 1/8 cup butter (not a lot - just a little to prevent sticking). Add egg/cheese mixture and mix. Put mixture in greased casserole dish (I grease round ceramic corning dish with Pam). Sprinkle with cinnamon and pour 1/8 cup butter on top. Bake at 350 degrees uncovered for 25-30 minutes until golden brown (in my oven - it's 30). Let cool a bit and serve. Will reheat in microwave but tastes best immediately after cooking. Enjoy. Robyn

I like noodle kugel - and make a good one - but yours sounds interesting. When you get a chance - probably after the holidays - could you post your recipe (I'd be glad to share mine with you too). I don't cook meat that often either. But - what little I know. With lamb - little meat - lots of fat - sounds like something that would work better on a grill than in a pot (short cooking at high heat would burn off/crisp up the fat but leave the meat edible - I don't think lamb chops were made to be cooked for long periods of time). But grilling isn't exactly a New Year's kind of thing. I am always partial to brisket. Easy to make in advance (and better made in advance!). Tastes good. And always goes well with kugel. I have an idiot-proof recipe which I'd be glad to share with you. Finally - I don't think adding some bow tie pasta to the kasha makes it too heavy. And it will go well with the juice from any braised meat. I just had major dental surgery today so I'm sure that whatever I do - it will be at the last minute (luckily - for only a few people). Happy New Year. Robyn

The doctor can do a stool test to determine if you have an E. coli infection - but he won't be able to determine the source if you have the infection. The way the CDC wound up concluding that spinach was the culprit here was by comparing case histories of the people who got sick (i.e., what they had to eat before they got sick). The common denominator in all of the cases was spinach. Robyn