Sandra Levine

Could you elaborate? Have you had experience with this kettle?

Cooking with too low a flame?

Josephina's has a very good Cobb salad.

From that earlier thread, here is my entry: "Roasting vegetables caramelizes them and concentrates the flavors. With the exception of leafy greens, I can't think of a vegetable that doesn't benefit from this treatment. I loathed carrots until I decided to try to roast them. Now, they are one of my favorites. To give credit where credit is due, I first roasted cauliflower at the suggestion of the much-maligned Amanda Hesser, who mentioned the idea in one of her early articles" [more than a year before it showed up on eGullet] I might add. If you pair this dish with seared scallops, you'll have a dish that suggests the famous Jean-Georges duo. I had never heard of roasted cauliflower before the Hesser article. The winsome one (in her pre-Tad days), wrote about all kinds of ways of preparing that veggie and everyone seems to agree that roasting was the best.

First, you need to determine how much poaching liquid you need. Put the pears in the pan you plan to use, cover with water, remove the pears and pour the water into a measuring cup. Measure out 1/3 that amount by volume of sugar. Combine the water and sugar in the pan, turn on the heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. I like to poach Bosc pears because they have a pretty shape and hold it well. Peel the pears and use a small melon baller to remove the blossom, if desired. Leave the stems on for a nice effect. For the saffron-rose water pears, add a couple of pinches of saffron threads and rose water pr essence to taste (a little goes a long way) to the syrup. Put the pears in the syrup and simmer until a skewer penetrates easily. It will take about 20 minutes, but can take longer if the pears were very hard. Keep rolling the pears around as the water evaporates, so that all sides are cooked evenly. Remove the pears to a serving dish and boil down the syrup to your liking. I like it to glaze the pears slightly. Pour the thickened syrup over the pears and serve a little with each pear. This recipe can be varied ad inifinitum, by selecting different combinations of spices, fruit peels, herbs, or spirits. Wine may be used instead of water for the poaching liquid. If you use dry wine, the sugar needs to be increased a little. Red wine produces pears of an unforgettable purple-magenta color.

When Dean & DeLuca opemed a generation ago in the space that later became its cafe, now closed, its inventory was unique in New York. D & D pre-dated Fairway. (Steve Jenkins started out in the cheese department of D & D). Over the years, other stores caught up, For example, Maille mustard is now available in every supermarket. This was not always the case. A few years ago, the original owners, who gave the store its style and personality, sold it to a large corporation, and the homogenization that began then, IMO, is now accelerating. There seem to be more and packaged goods with the store label -- who knows what they really are -- as well as more items that you can get elsewhere for less money. D & D opened when SoHo was filled with art galleries; I used to say that it was my favorite gallery. I loved it and regret the decline.

Just plain, this time. Either rabri or creme fraiche would have been divine. Any fruit can be poached, but I like poached pears best. In France, at this time of year, every restaurant offers them for dessert an they are different every time. The saffron-rose water flavoring worked very well. Depending on the spices, the pears take on a different character. It's best to use Bosc pears, which are very firm and continue to hold their shape long emough to allow the long poaching that allows the flavors to penetrate.

I made something the other day that would work an Indian meal: Saffron and rose-water poached pears. Indian-French fusion.

I covet this one, sold at the Museum of Modern Art Design Store: MoMA teakettle

It's my favorite butter, too.

I agree. I was tempted to bring a bottle of cava instead of the cider.

For the reasons cited above -- alcohol level, slight sweetness, I prefer cider to wine with Indian food. The bubbles are a plus, in my opinion. I brought Woodchuck cider the other night.

Many thanks to Suvir, the staff of the restaurant, Suzanne and Yvonne for arranging this wonderful event. There was a copious amount of extraordinary food, nicely presented. Some of the dishes were Suvir's own creations -- his way with okra is unique, turning a slimy vegetable into crisp, flavorful, shards that even okra-haters devoured. The tandoor meats were perfection -- imagine a rare lamb chop or moist chicken coming out of the tandoor!

Ivan, I have enjoyed this thread as much as any other on eGullet. Thank you for thinking of asking these questions and thank you to everyone who has responded so far. I look forward to reading more replies. Working on my response has brought back so many memories! What was your family food culture when you were growing up? Was meal time important ? Yes. We ate very early, as soon as my parents arrived home from work. My father insisted on being fed the moment he walked through the door. Oh, you mean mealtime! Was the time spent together at table important! No. It was something to get over as soon as possible, before the nagging began. Sometimes, a friend would call me right before dinner and I would say, “I’m sitting down to eat; I’ll call you back in five minutes.” Was cooking important? My grandmother, who cooked, (see below) took great pride in her accomplishments. Her repertoire was basically Russian-Jewish, but our beloved Italian next door neighbor taught her about pasta and eggplant. What were the penalties for putting elbows on the table? I didn’t know that there was a rule about this until I started having meals at the homes of friends. Who cooked in the family? My grandmother did all the cooking. She was considered by the family to be an excellent cook, but even as a child I suspected that there could be more to home dining than was to be found at our table. Years later, she and I used to watch the early Julia Child programs. Gram would imitate Julia, saying “Butter, more butter.” Imagine Jackie Mason imitating George Plimpton. My mother’s only dish was banana cake, from the Settlement Cookbook. She made it in a tube pan and frosted it with a chocolate cream cheese frosting. The cake always cooked unevenly, with a gummy layer on the bottom. That was the best part. I mean it. Once in a while, my Aunt Bessie would come to stay overnight, bringing her cast-iron pan and a pound of hand-sliced bacon from the non-kosher butcher shop where she was the cashier. While my grandmother excused herself, Aunt Bessie would cook bacon while I watched...and smelled. She made it “half-done” for me, sometimes with eggs, sometimes using it in an exotic BLT. I never knew anything could taste so good. Were restaurant meals common, or for special occasions? We went out almost every Sunday, usually for Italian food, at Marsilio’s Kitchen, still there in Trenton, but sometimes for Chinese food, or steak at a place near Camden called, The Pub, or seafood at Fisher’s, on Broad Street, in Philadelphia, in a wonderful Tudor-revival dining hall. When I was older, I read an article in the New Yorker about Restaurant Associates and was so intrigued by the description of “knife and fork oysters” that I asked to be taken to the Newarker (at the Newark airport) for my birthday. I had the oysters, followed by chicken curry. This was a “French” style curry, served with a wide variety of condiments, none of which would have ever been served in India, I am certain. It wasn’t until years later than I learned what real curry was. We often took a ride to New York to go to Katz’s. People were amazed that such a little girl could put away a whole sandwich. Did children have a "kiddy table" when guests were over? No. When did you get that first sip of wine? It must have been at Passover, but I don’t remember. Was there a pre-meal prayer? No. Was there a rotating menu (e.g., meatloaf every Thursday)? If it’s Tuesday, it must be fish. Yes, there was a strict rotation, but I have to admit I only remember Tuesday. That was the day the fish man came round. He had a regular store, but also a special truck with refrigerated cases that he drove from neighborhood to neighborhood. The housewives (most women still stayed home) would gather round the back of the truck and make their choices. Our household was not kosher, although my grandmother made a point of not eating “traif.” Since the rest of us loved scallops, she would buy them and make them for us. I’ve never had better fried scallops. There was a vegetable truck, too, as well as a milkman who brought un-homogenized milk in glass bottles and, best of all, the Dugan’s man, who also drove a truck but came right up to the door with his box filled with goodies, including my favorites, the apple spice cupcakes. How much of your family culture is being replicated in your present-day family life? Alan reassures me that the answer is, “none,” except the bacon.

Mmmm. Would you mind posting that on the Cooking board?

I think I said I'd bring cider. Alan will bring beer.

What a luxurious indulgence this was -- and fun, too. It should be noted that while the rest of us simply shopped, Toby actually demonstrated her skills, and impressive they are. Do not confuse her analysis with self-flagellation. These tartes tatins were all delicious, especially, for me, one of the pear tarts, but now I'm not sure which one. I am also grateful to have been introduced to Hull cheddar, courtesy of Wilfred. Reading through the thread, I realize that there were items I was not able to taste -- there was too much to eat. (And I was worried that we'd have order pizza!)

If your fridge is cold enough, it will last a long, long time. Try this, an adaptation of L'Ami Louis' famous potato cake, paraphrased from Patricia Wells's book, Bistro Cooking. Saute 2 large russet potatoes, sliced very thin, in a good dollop of duck fat for about 25 minutes, until there is some golden brown color on most of the slices. Press lightly into an 8 or 9-inch non-stick pan and finish in a oven pre-heated to 400 degrees F. After 20 minutes or so, run some butter around the edge to facilitate unmolding and turn out into a serving plate. Sprinkle chopped parsley and garlic on top.

Raw peanut butter is made from unroasted peanuts.

Yummy. I'd like to follow that with a dessert of Oreo cookies, twisted apart so I can scrape the filling off with my teeth.

jeez, cathy, that's one of the hors d'oeuvres that i currently make!! add a little parsley and cut 'em in small circles, and there you have it. a *huge* hit at parties, if you can believe it. That was the hors d'oeuvre that made James Beard's career. He called it, "Irma's Onion Sandwiches." I forget who Irma was...maybe his business partner.

I thought, as I bought the mustards, that the differences would be minimal. I was surprised to see that the mustards varied quite widely in terms of texture, color and taste. Maille has been my "house" mustard for some time; I see no reason to change. The party, BTW, was a lot of fun, as well as instructive. Many thanks to our gracious hostess for inviting us to her beautiful home.

Alan suggests that you look in Teaneck, which has a large orhtodox Jewish population.

Here's a link to an earlier thread on the restaurant

Queso blanco and banana.