Sandra Levine

I love all the above. I remember being repulsed by black olives as a child. It wasn't until I was about 20 years old that I screwed up all my courage and forced myself to eat one. I've been making up for lost time ever since. No one has mentioned tapenade -- a salty black olive, capers and anchovy spread that good on bread, with hard-boiled eggs and raw vegetables. A dab always enlivens the hors d'oeuvres assortment.

The ultra creamy Land o' Lakes is our standard house butter and has been since it was introduced, for reasons of availability, cost, taste and texture. I wish it were available by the pound rather than the half-pound. Food Emporium carries it. I began using it as a substitute for Plugra, which is harder for me to find regularly, but my husband prefers it. We also like Isigny, especially when we feel like a taste of France. Plugra and the ultra creamy behanve similarly for cooking. I'm tempted to do a side-by-side tasting of the premium butters. Anyone interested? We could taste them plain, spread on bread and as used in a simple cookie and simple savory preparation. That way we could choose our favorites for spreading, baking and cooking.

I really loved those articles in Natural History. What happened? Is he writing somewhere else? He's the editor of the Leisure and Arts page of The Wall Street Journal.

A similar "cure" in my childhood home was something called "rock and rye": rye whiskey with rock candy! Even I was allowed a sip.

1 lb of okra or green beans. 1 medium onion, slivered (peel, then cut lengthwise) 1 tablespoon ground cumin salt and pepper 3 tablespoons of oil or clarified butter Heat 3 tablespoons of oil or butter in a large frying pan. When oil is hot, add the onions and salt and sitr-fry until golden brown. Add the okra or beans, ad cumin. Continue to cook until the vegetables are tender. Add pepper. You may need to add a few drops of water from time to time and will need to adjust the heat to avoid burning. Cook until all liquid has evaporated. That's it. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. This is adapted from the Time-Life book, The Cooking of India

Nina, do you like okra? I make an outstanding okra, onions and cumin dish. It could be easily adapted to green beans, come to think it.

I have found that it is possible to make an impressive, copious and delicious Indian meal with less effort than would be required for other cuisines. For that reason, when I used to entertain much more than I do now, one of my favorite dinner parties was a multi-course Indian banquet.

God, Mark, do I really look that much like my mother? [reference is to a photo that has, thankfully, been removed, but not, it should be noted, at my request]

Sounds delicious. The green beans might be more seasonally appropriate than cauliflower. I love Jaffrey's tomato chutney, too. I have a big jar of it in my refrigerator rght now. It goes with everything. Do you ever attempt Indian desserts?

See the thread on E Bulli.

Kind of late in the conversation to add this, but the green tea ice cream has a slight tannic component that adds a bit of astringency.

Raising the question: what kind of wine to serve with brownies? The Inniskillin ice wine Cabrales brought to the NY potluck went very well with the strawberry blondies, but chocolate?? Usually I see port suggested, but that seems too wintry for this time of year.

While Steve was posting his excellent explanation, I did a Google search of kashruth that resulted in a tremendous number of sites that, however, raised as many questions as they answered. The laws of kashruth are tremendously complex. I won't even bother to post a link. There's too much to wade through. I am very happy that my family never kept kosher and I grew up eating everything, even learning how to tackle a lobster at age 7.

That's the problem.

I hope Matt will be able to find another position soon, so the rest of us can enjoy his cooking.

Nina, the "health" rationales were devised after the establishment of the kashruth laws, the purpose of which was purely religious and "tribal." If you can't sit down and break bread with just anyone -- chances are you won't marry and raise children out of the faith.

I am really looking forward to reading your diary of this adventure. I'm sure that many of us will be at the stove with you in spirit. I recently went back to school, at a much more advanced age than you, and found the experience very rewarding. I'm sure that I got more out of it now than I iwould have if I had gone right after college, and I suspect that it will be the same for you. Good luck and thank you for including us.

Babbo, Peter Luger I almost went to Babbo a few weeks ago, but couldn't bring myself to take a 5:30 p.m. reservation. As for Peter Luger, I've never been much of a red-meat eater, but lately, I feel that I would like to experience the benchmark to see what I may have been missing.

I never realized before how much the roundness of Charlie Brown's face resembles an egg yolk.

Or, if that is not possible, can you tell us how your tomato chutney differs from Madhur Jaffrey's, to which I am devoted. (There's a big jar of it in my refrigerator right now! It goes with many dishes --- even non-Indian. (Your menu is mouth-watering.)

I'm so glad you're back!

Or, you could just put a napkin over your head..

baking powder?

Any thoughts, recipe variations, poetic musings? (Perhaps a separate thread would be) tributes to the beet?

How has your cooking/presentation changed in the years since you opened your first restaurant?