Sandra Levine

I agree. The Isenheim Altarpiece is one of the most remarkable artworks you will ever see. Click below for a preview. Isenheim Altarpiece A well-marked "Route des Vins" will take you through charming villages that look like sets for fairy tales. I strongly suggest that if you are not already familiar with Alsatian wines you bone up on them. They are quite wonderful, but the names can be misleading. I still cringe when I think of my reaction to the captain's offer of the house aperitif at Auberge de l'Ill -- a tokay d'Alsace. I assumed that he took us for naive Americans who only drank sweet wines -- my mental picture of Tokay featured a derelict clutching a bottle of 99 cent special) and declined, superciliously. I can't really comment on any restaurants, since it was 17 years ago that I was there, but I did enjoy the Auberge, the Buerheisel tasting menu, and choucroute at Maison Kamerzell, but I don't know if that restaurant is still there.

It does go well with cheese, usually a mild Mexican cheese, but it would be equally good with manchego. Just cut thin slices of both cheese and fruit paste and arrange on the plate. A sweet sherry is good with this dessert.

A good pasta preparation: Saute thinly sliced fresh shitake mushroms in butter, with a little finely chopped onion. Pour over spaghetti, sprinkle with a few drops of truffle oil and toss. Poor man's pasta with truffles. Or, you can saute the mushrooms in truffle butter for the same effect.

I love lime and cilantro together and often use that combination instead of, say, garlic and parsley. It works very well with soy sauce or fish sauce, too. Not Indian by any means, but I always squeeze lemon on vegetables that have been sauteed in olive oil, with garlic, for a quick pasta sauce

My son is one of those naturally thin people. He says he has noticed that most people eat until they are "full." He says he eats until he is not hungry anymore. I think this is a good observation and sound advice, but what if something tastes too good to leave on your plate?

Suvir, can you describe the difference in flavor between fresh and aged basmati rice? Are there any particular preparations that absolutely work better with one or the other?

Liza, can you tell us some more about this process for chicken?

Hmmm. I've already spent the $15.99 for the 1/2 oz. tin of the stuff. I think I'll have Alan (the allergic one) smell it first, and wait for half and hour or so to see if there is a reaction. Usually, the response is instantaneous. I can't have lilacs in the apartment, at all, for example. Then, just to be sure, maybe he can take a prophylactic antihistamine. His allergist never mentioned fennel pollen specficially, but I know they can't test for absolutely everything. Thanks, all.

Usually, when I make Indian food, I keep the rice simple -- basmati flavored maid with a coconut milk or flavored with lemon juice and cardamom. Sometimes I add some toasted almonds, but that's about it. What's your favorite, Suvir?

What is the risk of an allergic reaction for those who have pollen allergies? I'm thinking of making an asparagus risotto tonight, flavored with some wild fennel pollen, but I don't want the meal to conclude with a mad rush to the emeregency room.

Yes.

...also in the Seagram Building.

Yes, I did that, too, but forgot to include it in the recipe. A last minute drizzle of your most flavorfull EVOO improves almost any pasta dish. Unlike cheese.

I made the dish tonight, but included a can of olive-oil packed tuna. It's actually an old standby in our home, the difference being the toasted breadcrumbs tonight. They added a delicate, delightful crunch. I sauteed the breadcrumbs first and set them aside. While the spaghettini was cooking, I sauteed two fat cloves of garlic in some olive oil, added the tuna, with its oil once the garlic had turned golden, sprinkled on some red pepper flakes and at the end, threw in a handful of chopped parsley. After draining the pasta, I turned it into a bowl, topped it with the bread crumbs and enjoyed with some Pino Grigio. Thanks for posting about this, Tommy.

If you are really interested in design, the Four Seasons (in the Seagram Building) is a must, but a drink at the bar will do. The restaurant has been designated as an interior landmark, one of very few such designations in New York. It was designed by Philip Johnson in 1958-9. The Seagram Building itself (a designated landmark) is the only Mies van der Rohe building in NYC.

Cabrales, to me, chocolate isdark chocolate. I feel that milk dilutes rather than enhances the flavor. There can be varying amounts of sugar added to chocolate to temper the bitterness. You may have had a 70 or 72 per cent cacao (bittersweet or extra-bittersweet) when you would prefer 56 or 60 per cent (semi-sweet.) I will bring some of both by top producers to the the eGullet pot luck, for you to taste.

Seeds and leaves are from the same plant, although harvested from different varieties. Here is a link to more information about coriander (also called cilantro). Like chilis, coriander is used liberally in both Latin American and Asian cookery. People either love the strong, herbal taste of the leaves or hate it. There seems to be a genetic component involved for those who hate it, perhaps a receptor that others do not have. Coriander haters describe the taste as bitter and soapy. I use coriander leaves as I do parsley, but when I want what is to me a more exotic, Asian or Latin American flavor. The seeds have a completely different taste. They provide the dominant flavor of pastrami, for example. My favorite use for the seeds is to combine them with pepper, crush both seeds together coarsely and press the mixture onto tuna steaks (as one would do to make steak a la poivre.) When grilled rare with the coriander-pepper combo, the tuna reminds me of pastrami, but of course, with all the good healthy qualities of fish and none of the bad, fatty qualities of beef.

Thighs? On a seal? Oh, yeah, like loin of tuna. I love these flights of fancy.

I hate following Jinmyo. Flounder, meuniere moderne -- filets dusted with flour, sauteed, pan deglazed with lime juice, a little more butter and some chopped coriander sprinkled atop. Ramps, par-boiled, buttered, with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Frizzled burdock shreds. Mache salad, with walnut oil and sherry vinegar. A scrap of Spanish sheep cheese with a sliver of quince paste. Sticky rice pudding with caramelized banana.

Alan is disappointed that he might not be welcome, but that won't stop me!

I would love to participate. I will be happy to make anything -sweet or savory - my choice or organizers preference. It might be a good idea to make general assignments so that we don't end up with too many desserts or salads or whatever. Are non-cooking spouses invited?

No, no, it wasn't me!. I responded to that post that I had heard that living causes dying. I think it was Helena Sarin's post, maybe in General?

If I had a scanner (and more technical savvy) I could post a photograph I took of a food store in Newfoundland with a sign advertising fresh seal meat for sale. (This was about 10 years ago.) Of course, that doesn't tell us how it actually tastes. Alan tried to order it from a restaurant menu, but they claimed to be out of it that day.

Whatever happened to brevity being the soul of wit?

I wish I could take credit, but the idea for the cardamom came from The Vegetarian Epicure by Anna Thomas. This book was recently updated and revised and I don't know if the blintz recipe survived. It's a basic blintz filling, using a pound of Hoop cheese (I often use farmer cheese, as Hoop cheese is not as readily available. I enrich it with some cream cheese.) I add a little lemon juice and sugar to taste, a couple of eggs, cinnamon and some pounded cardamom seeds (to taste). I put the filling into crepes, roll up (folding in the filling on all sides, and usually bake them in a well-butered pan, after anointing the tops with melted butter as well, rather than frying them, because I like to pretend that baking is less fattening than frying. This amount of filling makes enough to fill 12 crepes.