Sandra Levine

Blondies (Butterscotch Brownies -- the formal name) 1/3 cup butter ¼ tsp. salt or less 1 cup light brown sugar 2 unbeaten eggs 1 tsp. vanilla ½ cup sifted flour 1. Melt butter. Remove from heat and stir in sugar until dissolved. 2. Beat in remaining ingredients except for the strawberries. Mix only until flour is incorporated. 3. Bake in a greased and floured 8” square pan at 350 degrees for 23 minutes. Do not overbake. Do not attempt to cut into squares until cool. Chocolate chips, nuts or small pieces of fruit may be stirred in before pouring the batter into the baking pan.

Inquiring minds want to know...if you feel comfortable discussing it.

There need not be any chocolate at all in a blondie.

That is a nouvelle blondie.

Suvir, I have a blondies variation in my post on the brownies thread. It's more of a confection than a cookie.

These are the easiest brownies to make...and the gooey-est: Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour an 8" x 8" pan. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt together 5 tablespoons of butter and 2 ounces of unsweetened chocolate. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. Beat in 2 eggs, 1 cup of sugar, 1/2 cup of flour, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt. Stir only until flour is incorporated. Pour batter into pan and bake for 23 minutes, until the top is dry. This will not test as "done." Allow to cool completely before attempting to cut into small squares. If you like, you can use brown sugar instead of white. In the past I always used unsweetened chocolate, but now I tend to use a fine bittersweet chocolate and reduce the amount of sugar by 2 tablespoons. You can add up to 1/2 cup of chopped nuts, but I always think they dilute the chocolate experience. You can omit the chocolate altogether and make blondies. A nice blondie variation is to use 1/2 cup of tiny strawberries if you can find any delicious enough. Then you have "strawberry blondies."

I think peanut butter would be make a great tasting, especially if you include Commodities freshly-ground. I agree, CathyL, that Dijon v. Dijon is the way to go.

I'm in, with mustards. Should I limit it to Dijon mustards or branch out?

I thought it was you.

"Oscar and Lucinda" by Peter Carey.

Orange juice

honey is a carbohydrate

Sounds good to me.

These are basic home fries. You can either boil or not, but the result will different each way. If you do not par-boil, you will need to cook the potatoes longer at a lower temperature to avoid burning the outside before the insides are cooked. My grandmother always boiled the potatoes first, and added paprika as well as salt and pepper. Alan calls these "fish potatoes" because in his childhood home, they were always served as a accompaniment to...fish. You can add some chopped onion half-way through. With chopped pepper in addition, you have the home fries served in Greek diners alongside eggs on the breakfast special. The choice of cooking fat also changes the taste of the end result, as well as the texture, but there is no one "right" way.

Salad of quartered mixed, heirloom tomatoes, mozzarella di bufalo, and basil Seared scallops (beurre d'Isigny) Roasted cauliflower

Soft-shell crabs make my husband queasy.

Hairdresser kept talking about marlin fishing. Said marlin was the best eating fish. Never had it. Today, there it was in Garden of Eden. Bought some. Tonight's dinner: Marlin, brushed with melted butter, soy sauce, lemon juice and garlic Grilled tomato, garlic and parsley Potato cake, a la L'Ami Louis Watercress, grapefruit and red onion salad Bananas macerated in lemon juice and sugar, with the last of the Petite Suisse Hairdresser may be right. Marlin is something like swordfish, something like shark, something like mahi-mahi, but better than any of them.

...and a hearty third for Maison Kammerzel. Very good Riesling and Gewurz selections, too.

When you get a chance, can you share the secret of the smoothest ganache? I can't imagine ganache smoother than what Iproduce now, but you never know!

Steve, your initial post made me long to be in Paris.

London Lennie's, in Queens, has both fried clams and oysters on its menu.

About handles: each to her own. I find the handle on the commerical line much easier to hold -- plus, it stays cool, like the handles on All-Clad. You really have to heft the pan to know which is beter for your hand.

[...feeling faint]

How about when the coffee arrives before dessert.

to say nothing of gilding the liver GAge and Tollner is beautiful. I haven't eaten there in more than 25 years. At lunch, then, the classic dish was the Welsh rabbit.