Big Bunny

This is the major issue. Misleading labelling is a hangover from a time when California was timid about the value of her wines. Obviously, that is no longer true. Wouldn't it be ironic if someone outside the U.S. called their wines "Napa" to give them more "class?" BB

You have to develop that aggressive quality of great photographers. It is a bit like science - often more difficult to formulate a question than to answer it. As you probably know, photographers discard tons of photos for each "gem." You really have to go after good photography. BB

Doesn't this imply no more "California Champagne"? BB

I second this one.

You are about to follow the path of Henri Cartier-Bresson. Food in India is an infinite subject. You could devote your life to photographing all of its aspects. Why not? For now, though, I would like to see master chefs at work. A street vendor may indeed be a master chef. BB

I would replace a plastic bottle with glass, though. BB

You put your chicken gloves OVER your wine gloves, silly! BB

Yes, but you get fingerprints all over the bowl, whereas with a traditional wine glass if you hold it by the stem or foot you don't. Also, depending on how you hold the O glass (Riedel's name for their stemless line), you may warm up the wine with the heat of your hand. Don't you have wine gloves? BB

Ditto Laksa. Good sauces are improvised on-the-fly using the basic "elements." Dry sherry is an excellent substitute for shaoxing wine. Cook often - pay attention to sights, sounds and smells - as well as tastes. You'll "get it." BB

How about a refrigerator that powers itself by eating leftovers over a week old? BB

Over the weekend I used "Chinese Seafood Cooking" by Stella Lau Fessler. This is a modest book, but covers its subject very well. It is out of print, but available used on the web. I found this book once at a used book store and rarely think of it. It is a perfect example of a "small" book about a single aspect of cooking that is usually short-changed in standard cookbooks. BB

Bunnies LOVE Dairy Queen! BB

Do you have access to an Indian grocery? BB

Lap cheung is good in lo bahk go, too. BB

Slightly off-topic: I once threw several roll-cut lap cheung into a batch of tomato spaghetti sauce that was a bit too acid. The result was delicious. I've never tried to reduplicate that batch, but the "sweet and sour pasta" was wonderful. BB

Kennedy, of course, for the classical cuisine; Patricia Quintana for current fare. Martinez for Veracruz; Martinez and Trilling for Oaxaca. Can anyone else recommend Mexican regional cookbooks in English? BB

In most cases, I think either name is appropriate - perhaps depending on context. But when poor Livorno gets turned into "Leghorn" you have to wonder. BB Edit for spelling.

I think that there are lots of surprises like that. Matching wines with Chinese food is a very under-explored "ballpark." Lately I have been on a Macanese/Portuguese cooking "kick." The Portuguese vinhos verdes look very promising with Chinese food, but I have only begun to explore that. BB

Thank you, everyone. I love to cook, eat and serve Chinese food - usually have a micro brew - but love wine too. I don't have a cellar, in the serious sense, but keep a dozen-or-so favorites on hand. Often, the food will "suggest" a wine, and the pairing will be very good. Unfortunately, I haven't kept notes on the various discoveries I have made, but many of them have been suggested here - along with lots of ideas I haven't tried. One could develop their own sense of matches by keeping six or eight of the suggestions here on hand, and then pairing them with meals based on intuition - intuition which will grow with experience (i.e. trial and error.) I know of two books with suggestions: Susanna Foo's "Chinese Cuisine" has a section of menus with suggested wines, including some creative ideas for "kir." Ken Hom's "East Meets West Cuisine" has a menu section with wine suggestions by Darrell Corti. Admittedly, this is food in-between Western and Chinese, but it contains a good exploration of principles. BB

Good wine and good food are natural companions. Chinese cuisine is the best (yes) in the world - Western wine has become the perfect blend of art and science. What is/are the best way(s) to pair these treasures? A hearty Shiraz is wonderful with a good Peking-style beef stew. A crisp Chablis will enhace a stir-fried scallop dish. Tavel with pork = heaven. Or maybe a good, crisp "chard" with the whole meal? What do you do? BB

Watch! These people are GOOD! BB

I don't think you digressed. Menu planning is just another phase of "cooking." I love beer with almost any food, but love wine too. Don't be afraid to match wines with Chinese food. I think that the shyness about matching "Western" wine with Chinese food is a hangover from the days when America was "discovering" wine and (often-too-hot) Sichuan cuisine at the same time. Chinese cuisine, and our current selection of wines, are each essentially infinite. Use the same seat-of-you-pants logic that you are now developing in your cookin to match wines with the dishes, too. When I serve Chinese food to friends, I generally serve two dishes at a time - usually one "meat" and one "vegetable." If the dishes are not outrageously spicy, in some sense or another, they will usually go quite nicely with wine. In fact, the unusual combinations of flavors and textures often allow you to break the usual "rules" about what goes with what. Taste the food, then open the wine that it "asks for." BB

Ahh! Google! First I learn about the movie, then the earthquake in Bhuj. Two more tiny islands in my ocean of ignorance. BB

I thought that was the other kind of "Indian." BB

Maybe you would like this approach: Joie Warner: "Taste of Chinatown: America's Native Chinese Cuisine" It's out of print, but shouldn't be hard to find. She doesn't get deep into traditional methods. She went from restaurant to restaurant, tried the food, and figured out how to reduplicate it at home. She did a decent job of it. Recipes from this book are more "restauranty" the those of most other authors. By the way, I am a software developer (35 years), with a background in physical sciences, math, and music. I use OOP/OOD, and deal with a wide range of abstract and concrete concepts daily. The simple truth is that science, no matter how abstruse, is simple compared to the "magic" of art. Do what you can to learn techniques - and I DO follow recipes by the way - but until you can just "fly" you won't "get it." In the mean time, Ms Warner's recipes are quite yummy, and may be for you. Do have fun, BB