tighe

I would LOVE to be a fan of "New Food Fast." I've been looking for it for several months, but have been told it's on "back order with the publisher." Anyone know where I can find a copy??? Wow, I had no idea this book was so scarce. I thought I could dig up a copy from somewhere on the web. The only place I found it is at Alibris, and there, used copies are selling at $30+. Guess I better stop spilling stuff on my copy.

I'm a big fan of all of Donna Hay's books and I think a few of them are particularly good for those who are new to cooking, but want to eat really good food. The three I'd reccomend are: 'The New Cook', 'New Food Fast' and 'Off the Shelf'. She does a good job of covering basic cooking techniques and presents a lot of very tasty, but straight forward recipes. I've given these books to 'non-cooking' friends and they've really liked them. Amazon has good previews of all of these books... The New Cook New Food Fast Off the Shelf

Every year I look forward to the release of the winter and Christmas seasonal beers by many of the micro (or not so micro) breweries. I particularly enjoy the very rich, somewhat sweet flavor that many of these beers have. I've done more comparison tasting this year to determine which is really my favorite, and with some equivication, I think we have a winner: Pyramid Snow Cap. For a number of years, I would have chosen the Deschute Jubelale, but I think it has slipped a little. I know its difficult, if not impossible, to get either of these outside the Northwest, but I'd be interested to hear about other local favorites of this style of beer.

I would probably argue that the better the vodka, the less flavor it has. The reason that your face turns inside out from tasting Monarch is because is does, in fact, have flavor (of alcohol mostly). I would agree that different vodkas can have a veryy different mouth feel. The reason that really good vodka goes down so easily for me is because its like drinking water with a kick....

Damn it! Damn it, damn it, damn it! Somwhere in the dark recesses of my mind I knew about this place, but couldn't remember exactly where it was or what the name is. I've heard that its really good though. Even though I enjoyed the 'cue, some fresh oysters would probably have been even better. BTW, I also relish saying 'Chuckanut', especially if you give it a kind of southern, red-neck twang to the pronunciation.....

I guess if I knew ahead of time (which you certainly didn't) that the meal was going to be crappy, I'd rather just give all the money to the charity and spare myself the experience....

Resurrecting this thread just to say that I have gone to 'Rinconsito' (Tukwila) a few times recently and think the tacos are fantastic. Hate to admit it, but probably even better than Muy Macho in South Park. My only problem with them is that however many I order (they're small), I always want one more. I'm psyching myself up to try the tongue tacos next time....

These two amongst some other things you posted, hold true for me as well. We had potatoes with every meal. At least cooked in one style.. often several recipes with them. I remember one time there was a meal prepared just using potatoes as the main ingredient for each dish. Several dishes (when I say that I mean over 5 main courses) were prepared with potatoes and each had a very different taste, texture and look. It was my favorite meal. And yes it shocks most of my family when they hear how much I eat out. This thread is fascinating in how it shows us diverse lot of people having so much in common. Across our religious, geographic and cultural divides. We may both have eaten a lot of potatos growing up, but I imagine the dishes had little in common other than the main ingredient! My father had a pathological aversion to non-Western food (other than Japanese). I don't think curry or garam masala or most any spice typical of Indian food ever saw the inside of our house. Fortunately I didn't acquire that particular trait. In all seriousness, I'm very interested to learn that potatos are used that much in Indian cuisine, I always think of rice being by far the dominant starch.

Funny, but I feel the same Catholic guilt when I buy a bottle of wine that is so cheap that I know the poor schlep who grew the grapes probably isn't making more than a nickel from that bottle.....

I've been to both Figaro (thumbs up) and Floyd's (it is what it is), but not for some time. Any thoughts on the QA area establishments that are participating?

Dude, if Molson is honestly the WORST beer you've ever tasted, you've led a sheltered (and indeed blessed) life. I've been in situations where I was on the verge of falling to my knees and thanking God because Molson was an option. Maybe all the mass-produced Canadian stuff is made in the same urinal, but its a whole lot cleaner urinal than the mass-produced American stuff is made in.

Great topic! It's so interesting to see both the similarities and differences with my experiences.... What was your family food culture when you were growing up? My father was in the lamb/sheepskin business, was an avid fisherman, loved to garden and was Irish. To a great extent, the food in my home followed suit! My parents travelled quite a bit and did make a point of trying new things regularly and expected their kids to do the same. Was meal time important? Dinner was very important and could only be missed under very special circumstances. Was cooking important? Yes, my mother is an excellent cook and taught all of her kids (2 daughters, 2 sons). She was not what you would probably consider a gourmet cook, but had an amazing ability to create fantastic meals with whatever she had on hand, typically without a recipe of any kind. What were the penalties for putting elbows on the table? A sharp word or sideways glance was usually enought to correct whatever transgression had just taken place. Who cooked in the family? My mom, unless there something was being grilled/barbequed, that was my father's domain. Were restaurant meals common, or for special occassions? Almost unheard of. First, my dad didn't want to spend the money and was convinced that there wasn't anything out there better than what he got at home. Given the restaurant scene in Seattle in the '70's and early '80's, he was quite possibly right. Did children have a "kiddy table" when guests were over? No, I usually ate with the adults. I was much younger than my siblings and was often the only "kid" present. When did you get that first sip of wine? 5 or 6 years old I think. Was there a pre-meal prayer? Sometimes. Always the same one: "Bless us oh Lord, and these Thy gifts....." Was there a rotating menu (e.g., meatloaf every Thursday)? No, we had quite a variety that depended on the season and what was available. Potatos, in some form, were pretty ubiquitous. How much of your family culture is being replicated in your present-day family life? I don't have kids yet, but my wife and I make a point of eating together nearly every night and we both cook regularly. My father would be horrified if he knew how often we go out to eat though.....

This reminds me of a particularly heinous account of this type of behavior I read about in the WSJ a number of years ago, when the Asian economies were riding high. Apparently it had become fashionable for business men to buy very expensive Bourdeaux and Burgundy vintages for dinner parties. However, since the taste was often not to the liking of the guests they were routinely mixed with Coke or had sugar added to them at the table. As far as the topic at hand, I can't imagine ever spending more than about $75 for a bottle of wine, unless it was special in some way other than the quality of the wine itself (why do I feel a drubbing coming on here?). For example, I might be willing to spend a couple hundred dollars on a very old bottle of Madeira, but mostly because I think you are getting so much more than simply the Madeira itself. In my opinion much of the price of very expensive wine is in fact due to the quality of the "back-story" or "legend" if you will and has little to do with it being definitively "better" than less expensive wines.

No kidding! When I read that post I almost reflexively PM'ed tls the dates and times I'd be available for dinner.....

sg, Ahh Alan Wong's..... Had an absolutely stellar meal there a number of years back. If you're going back and haven't tried it before, I would highly reccomend Indigo in the old part of Honolulu (also definately not the palm tree and sunset scene). In my book, still the reigning world ahi grilling champion. They're open for lunch too, if you don't want to give up one of you dinners at AW's.

How about non-Grape leaves?? I just bought a Turkish cookbook and it has a recipe for dolmas made with leek leaves instead of grape. The filling appears to be pretty much of the standard ground lamb variety. I'm psyched to try it, because the grape leaves have always been my least favorite part of dolmas.

I'd be interested in hearing more details of the meal if you're willing to share. When I went for the $25 dinner, I thought the Thanksgiving menu looked quite good.

You're exactly right. In addition to bad technique, I think this particular injury was due to applying more pressure that necessary resulting in the knife passing quickly through the carrot and into my finger before I realized what was happening. I love working with the sharp knives, just need to get out of some bad habits and pay attention. Are there any worthwhile books on knife techniques, or is it better to just go get a lesson?....

Where's the love for Red Hook ESB? Since its being made on both coasts now, I would think it qualifies as widely available? Maybe I'm just a homer, but I much prefer it to either Anchor or Sierra Nevada.

Very true, I'm already noticing that the cut is healing surprising quickly and its true that it happend because I was being an idiot. I'm sure it will be hardly noticeable, especially compared to my other thumb, which is missing the chunk that my pet iguana bit off a few years ago......

I'm just not sure I completely buy the story about dull knives being more dangerous than sharp knives anymore. We finally had our pathetically dull knives sharpened last week. Their performance is now better than when they were new, but I managed to give myself the worst cut I've ever had in the kitchen. Not saying I necessarily want to go back to dull knives, but lets not kid ourselves into thinking sharp knives are completely innocuous....

Scrat and I finished off our $25 dinner spree at Ponti last night. As hoped, it was quite a good meal, although scrat cheated and strayed for the $25 menu! For the first course, I had sauteed calamari (not breaded) in a somewhat spicy tomato herb sauce. I really prefer unbreaded calamari when I can get it and this was a great rendition. For my entree I had Thai curry penne with crab, scallops and shrimp. This was really exceptional. A finely balanced curry with wonderfully fresh and perfectly cooked seafood. I couldn't have imagined being happier except that I had to watch scrat enjoying (to put it mildly) the seared ahi that she ordered. Since this is the second time I've tasted the ahi at Ponti, I can say unequivically that it is the best I've ever had. Desert was white chocolate creme caramel. Nice as creme caramel goes, but couldn't detect any white chocolate flavor. Of the places we ate this month, I would rate them as follows: 1. 727 Pine 2. Nishino 3. Ponti 4. Flying Fish 5. Szmania's Here's to hoping they decide to do this again in March!

When I started cooking I had the opposite problem. Was so afraid of making things too salty or too spicy that I under-seasoned. I also have a distinguished record of having consistently dull knives......

What did the poor steelhead do to deserve the scientific name mykiss? Did some ichthyologist's 6-year old daughter get the naming rights or someting?

Judging by that website, Sea Trout may = Salmon Trout, but it's nothing like a steelhead at all. Or again, it's name-confusion run rampant. Right, I guess thats part of the point I was making, without actually making the effort to communicate it clearly....