hathor

There were beautiful soft shells in the market on Saturday! Inspired by this thread, I gave the crabs an egg and Crystal sauce wash, dipped in spicy flour and pan fried, then served them for lunch with a curry lemon mayonaise. And we got to sit outside!

Bon Voyage! Travel safely, heal quickly...and you were plenty interesting! Cheers!

I'm not ready to join the discussion on the framework of how/why a restaurant guide system would be valuable, but trying to find some reliable restaurant beta is how I came upon eGullet. I would be happy if there was a restaurant forum or data base for eGullet members. It seems as if there are a lot of threads: 2 nights in Paris, 1 week in San Francisco....etc. The seach function on eGullet is a bit frustrating, so I would like to have one location, where if I'm going to Paris, I can find lots of opinions. So, lets say its organized loosely as: Paris High End Mid Range Cheap Eats When an eGullet member goes to a restaurant that he feels is mention worthy, he can enter the reveiw under that heading. It would be easier to locate the info when you are looking for it. Part of the beauty of eGullet is the broad range of opinions that are expressed, and that was what initially attracted me to the web site. I would hate to lose that personality in a more impersonal ranking system. Perhaps, after the 'data base' was up and running for awhile, then you could do a ranking with 'inspectors' culling and evaluating the reviews. A more organic approach to the guide, perhaps. Let it evolve and see what works.

What? Are you saying NO ONE who dines at Daniel or Jean Georges ever dines at the local Spaghetti Palace? These days, we mix our Chanel with the Gap.

May the sun shine and gentle breezes blow. Hope this will just be a scare and nothing more.

Thank you Bombdog! Thank you for taking the time and explaining all that. Completely fascinated. Regards!

I sometimes grill them too, but I cut up some fresh herbs (chives, a little oregano, tarragon, parsley) from the garden, and chop it up with some butter and garlic and then put the crabs with a dab of the herb butter and a little lemon juice into foil and put that on the grill. When you open the foil, the aroma will know you out! Edited because I didn't read all the way thru Mayhaw Man's smoking/grilling post!

One more question: Does the clone ever reject the bud? I'm thinking of heart transplants, and the body rejecting the new part. Can you bud any variety of grape to any type of clone? Would the budded clone fruit still be considered a 'pure' variety?

Invite all the neighbors! Oh, and I'll bring the chestnuts! Back to the sheep on the spit: do you marinate it? Where? Sounds fabulous! First the rain...now the sprain! And you are still cheerful...amazing! Certainly hope you are feeling better!!

What's the deal with chestnuts? Score first...just a cross hatch, no need to be at all anal. Then you can boil them for a few minutes...and peel away. Or roast in an oven...and peel away. Or throw them in the microwave..and peel away. (If you don't put a hole in them first, they spin around like a top and then explode in the microwave...way cool.) Its not so bad. Honest.

What a lovely photograph of the tiny grapes! What are they called at this stage in their development? Grape-ettes? Fetal grapes? Many thanks for involving us in this wonderful process.

The hotel in Milano can hold our bags for you after check out until you are ready to go to Malpensa. Try going for a drink at the new Park Hyatt hotel, its in the Galleria by the Duomo. We were just there and it was lovely. Have a great wedding! Have a fabulous honeymoon! And a wonderful life together! Auguri!

That's a lot of questions...but I've been wondering about some of the same things. I cook most nights...but never on Friday, its just my designated night off. Saturday nights we usually have friends over, but lately everyone has been coming over on Sunday for Soprano suppers. Now there's a topic...how many of us are hosting Soprano suppers? Much more fun to dissect with a group. We have a very open door policy... I do a head count right before the table gets set. I determine what gets cooked. However, when lacking for inspiration, I beg for requests. When our son is home, no fish, mushrooms or curry. Other than that I'm blessed that they will eat or try just about anything. My family and friends are my guinea pigs. Although we all have some favorites, I'm too restless and I'm constantly adapting and trying new ingredients or methods of cooking. Absolutely everything gets discussed at dinner. Why would I want to censor my son or his friends? I'm truly curious about what goes on with them, and wouldn't want any 'table taboos'. My husband....him, I can tune out if want...and vice versa. Now question no. 5 is a big issue for me. We eat together. We also eat late...but we eat when everyone gets home. Its always been that way. Everyone is busy and has a lot going on, but meal time is the one time that we can all sit down and catch up. There is a sense of community that is lost when people cannot eat meals together. Also food and wine are important in our house. New foods and ingredients get introduced frequently, it's just the way it is. When my son was younger, his friends might have been a bit intimated by what was served, but they usually ended up loving it. Amazing when the kid who only liked over done steak, got very into some steak tartare! And the rule was you couldn't say you didn't like it if you hadn't tasted it. Its not enough to 'just cook', meal times are for sharing and strengthing a bond.

Sorry about the weather here! I'd love to hear more details about spit roasting the sheep. Would you mind? Thanks for blogging....and I hope the sun does come out at least a little bit while you are here. At least you can buy cheap umbrellas!

I totally agree, mandoline guards cause as many problems as they cure. I've used both cheap and expensive and they cut fingers equally well! What about overflowing blender/food processor disasters?? I'm exceptionally good at spewing deeply colored, spicy, oily bends all over the place.

Blades and flames! Maybe you should have your horoscope analyzed! Mandolines scare the bejezus out of me...but I like to see just how close I can come, life on the edge so to speak!

There are some very entertaining...and interesting entries on this thread!I will never again..... You are in very good company! Fun article...thanks!

Hand-vac. Good to know! Thanks for the tip!

I certainly agree with you... invites debunking and a very generous helping of scorn. A few years agao, my husband and I took a tour of the Jordan Winery in the Sonoma valley, where we were informed that Mr. Jordan had invented the concept of pairing food and wine. I suppose the silver lining is that we always have that to giggle about.

Thanks for the tip on the semolina. I try to find the 00 type flour if at all possible. And my son is truly the pasta man...I'm on filling!

Many thanks for sharing. I've got the crystal sauce, I made the pan fried chicken, I'm checking Obitz now for flights, I really need to eat fresh shrimp. Wonderful, wonderful blog about food and lots of other good stuff. Please, write on!

Sure! Come on over! Bring wine! Basically you can put just about anything into a ravioli, what ever looks good or fresh in the market. I'm thinking about an asparagus filling for Easter...probably something like this: steamed asparagus, little bit of toasted walnuts, fresh ricotta, then puree the filing. Serve with a creamy lemon sauce. Had some lovely 'tortelloni' recently, which is a giant tortelli, filled with walnuts, ricotta and sausage. With a walnut sauce. Rich, but fantastic. Check out Marcella Hazan's bookClassic Italian Cooking for some great recipes. Its a great getting started book. Someone from eG recommended it to me. And the group ravioli sessions: priceless! We've solved many of the worlds problems over a ravioli session!

I just came back from Italy...and the artichokes are in full season. You can have them any way and any type that you want. Steamed. Raw. Fried. As a midnight snack. Instead of morning coffee. I love Italy. I love artichokes.

Personally, I'd rather have Fat Guy be the Times reveiwer. That would be a breath of fresh air. Suppose Mr. Bruni wasn't up for another Roman summer.

Croutons. I am the queen, the goddess of burnt bread. I can set timers. I can stand right next to the oven. I can swear it will not happen again. I can have family members watching over me. But, the ONLY thing that gets me to open the over door is the smell of carbon. Fate.