FatTony

Excellent, excellent. I'm definitely having a go at this. Thanks all!

Just wondering: when people make say, duck confit, which seems to require quite a lot of duck fat, are you buying the duck fat, or are you rendering it out of previous ducks? How much fat is needed to confit a bunch of duck legs, maybe six? How much does this amount of duck fat cost, if you're buying it? Or how many ducks would you need to render to accumulate that fat? How would one render the duck fat from a whole duck? Can the duck still be eaten, or has it been sacrificed, like for stock? Too many questions?

Just posted this over on the 'best of' thread but Thai and Indonesia Grocery on Mott at Bayard is a good resource if you're in the neighborhood. I've had occasional fresh kafir limes but they always have the fresh leaves in stock. They also have frozen, vacuum sealed galangal. And big ol' blocks of palm sugar, and tamarind pulp, which I guess is easyier to find, but it keeps things all under one roof? edited to add the palm sugar

I've always had good experiences at Thai and Indonesia Grocery on Mott at Bayard. They have good fruit and vegetables outside, always in excellent shape and lots of good asian greens. Inside, they have a lot of Chinese and Thai staples and the prices are competitive. I always buy fresh kaffir lime leaves here, and have occasionally found kaffir limes. Their freezer section is small but intriguing and includes frozen galangal. One other recommendation: at the bottom of Orchard Street near Canal there is a wonderful chinese sausage shop where the sausages are made on the premises. They cost around $3 for a vacuum sealed bag of 12. I usually get one each of duck liver and pork. They're magnificent. Since finding the place I keep a pouch of these in my freezer at all times for fried rice with chinese sausage, a dish I could subsist on forever! I'm taking the New School's Chinatown walking tour in April and will post back with any new finds.

I second the grilled raddichio or endive (these are great and fast on a ridged grillpan). Excellent with a mustardy dressing. Not sure you need anything else!

We had a wonderful and simple salad at Casa Mono in New York the other day and I was kicking myself all the way home not to have asked how they made their dressing. New York Times to the rescue: a mention was made of the dish in the following day's Dining section piece on Marcona almonds. While this isn't quite a "recipe", I'm dying to try it (and would love to hear anyone else's experience.) To quote from the piece: "Casa Mono's house salad is a tumble of frisée sprinkled with ground Marcona almonds colored bright orange from being roasted with pimentón. A sweet-sour dressing of sherry vinegar, olive oil and quince paste melted with orange juice glosses the greens, while slices of manchego cheese perch against the frisée and add buttery toothsomeness." I'm going to have a stab at doing it their way first, but regular almonds or hazlenuts would work here I think. The main event is the pairing of manchego with bitter leaves, dressed with quince paste.

Great thread. I often think mid-priced restaurants are my favorite places to eat. Lupa of course. It's always worth calling for a cancellation. Georgione is some of the best Italian food at any price, and a lovely space. Five Points is one of the most dependable places in town. Brilliant brunch. Jefferson (pushing the price envelope a bit) but I think the food, decor and service are all first rate. Po is still one of the best deals I know. The food is fabulous. Six course chef's tasting for $40! Pearl and Marys Fish Camp. I can't choose. Prune: Russ and Daughters fish at brunch and always something interesting for dinner. Casa Mono for first rate tapas. Poky room though. Blue Ribbon. The one in Brooklyn's just as good. Alias on Clinton Street. Schillers, especially if you go in the afternoon when it's quiet.

I was just in San Francisco and thought I'd check out the S&P crab at R&G Lounge after the discussion here. I have to say I was really disappointed. Perhaps I should have given the dish more thought but it never occurred to me that I was ordering a deep fried shell-on crab. At any rate, I found the batter kind of pointless as it all comes off with the shell! After wrestling with a pile of greasy legs, I was left with what was essentially steamed crab, albeit now very greasy steamed crab. I didn't find it particularly flavorful either. Ended up wishing I had tried the ginger and scallion treatment, or better still just gone to Swan Oyster Depot, which is my usual stop for a crustacean fix. Next time...

Quick 2 cents: I tried Klong on Thursday for a meal at the bar after Fat Guy's effusive recommendation. The chicken larb was pleasantly spicy, contained ground roasted rice and had a not unpleasant coconut note i can't say i've noticed in a larb before. Perhaps the chicken was poached in coconut milk? I'd get it again. The Mandarin steamed fillet of sea bass ("with plum, ginger, black mushroom, celery, and scallions with a hint of lemon"), unfortunately was just all wrong. The fish wasn't fresh, it was overcooked, and there were no discernable flavors, Thai or otherwise, just a muddy, vaguely Asian note. OK, this is hardly a textbook Thai dish, but it was poor all the same. I'd give Klong another go but for a low key, unpretentious (Manhattan) Thai spot with clear, bright flavors, my vote goes to Galanga on W4th between 6th and Macdougal. Less sceney than Klong (not that I mind a scene, as long as it's backed up with great food, like Kittichai) and just as good value. I'd love to hear what other eGulleteers think of Galanga.

Sorry have been AWOL on this thread as embroiled in new house purchase. Thanks for the feedback. Sounds like grapeseed oil is the next must try and i was on the right track with my EVOO and peanut oil. Few of you have much to say about corn oil I notice, nor many about safflower. Guess i just wanted to check i wasn't missing something here!

Apologies if this subject has been covered - I can't imagine that it hasn't but couldn't find a thread after searching. How do people differentiate between types of oil? Do you consider some better for certain applications than others? I use EVOO for salad dressings and peanut oil for stir-fries (probably because I read somewhere to do so). But what about canola, corn, vegetable, safflower oils? Are they interchangeable? Do some have higher smoking points? Is this the main criteria for differentiation? Are some healthier? Better tasting? Cheaper?

My wife and I were having dinner last night in the tranquil garden of our local sushi restaurant. All that could be heard was the murmur of conversation and the tapping of chopsticks. Perhaps the odd snatch of birdsong. Then Cellphone Man shows up. For the next forty five minutes our meal was punctuated by polyphonic salsa rhythms. Worse, our hero was using the walkie-talkie feature of his phone, so in addition to having to suffer through his end of each of thirteen seperate calls (yes, I counted them), we were treated to the entirety of each static inflected response, replete with electronic trilling to herald the end of moron #1's turn talking and to usher moron #2 back into the exchange. Clearly, we were not the only people offended by this behavior but none of us, including yours truly, said a word. Why, that would be impolite....

This sounds amazing. Any chance of a recipe?

Great thread! My wife is always complaining how long it takes me to have dinner on the table, so maybe I am not the best one to give advice. I find that when I make a dish regularly, I get faster at it. This then makes me want to make the dish more often and becomes self-fulfilling. A repertoire of things you know you can throw together comfortably and quickly is useful. Some cookbooks are good for quick recipes that don't feel compromised in taste: Donna Hay and Nigel Slater are two of my favorites. Bittman's Minimalist Cooks At Home has numerous quick and delicious ideas too, more obviously so than HTCE . Of course this is a bit of a cop-out: ideally you would be gliding around the kitchen, multitasking and managing your mise like a pro no matter what you're cooking. Just an idea while you get those knife skills up to par!

When the weather's nice (remember that?) I take my sandwich down the street to the little park further south on Sullivan and gorge al fresco

Julienned, dusted with freshly ground garam masala and gram flour (amchoor if you can find it) and fried until crisp (but not too crisp): hell yeah

My two cents: Melampo sandwiches are the best on the face of the earth. The Fellini on fabulous focaccia with pillows of fresh mozzarella, the saltiest, tastiest proscuitto di parma, peppery rocket and Alessandro's perfect, vinegary peppers: sandwich nirvana. I've never been able to order another in case it wasn't as good

Fair point, but the sheer volume of posts on their forum vs posters on the BGE, PrimoGrill, Naked Whiz, Imperial Kamado sites suggests that they have a lot of satisfied and energized customers. Most posts are less overt testimonials so much as people swapping recipes and techniques and generally sounding like they're enjoying the cooker.

I was merely trying to point out that you might be able to get something similar to the Kamado brand in less time. It appears that quick availability is important to you. mnebergall, thanks for the observation. I didn't mean to sound rude, just to express my keenness!

Trust me, I have been doing little else but reading the various kamado sites! It still seems like the Kamado brand makes the most interesting ceramic cookers, if not the cheapest. I noticed just how rich the Kamado user forum is too. Lots of satisfied customers there.

Jason After speaking to someone at Kamado today I was told to expect to wait at least two months for the cooker to be built (in Indonesia, I think) and shipped to Sacramento. That's barring no disasters - and delivery time is extra. That was important to me now that the weather is improving in the north east. Then again, you already have a grill and I don't...

Thanks all for the thought-provoking (and maddeningly conflicting) responses. But hey, this is grilling and consensus was always going to be out of the question. I have to say I have been obsessing about the Kamado ever since I saw it but worry how on earth I am going to get a four hundred pound beast up my stairs and on to the roof deck. But it speaks to my tandoor and brick oven pizza fantasies. The Char Griller looks a great deal and solidly made. Decisions decisions...

I knew joining EG was a good idea... thanks!

mnebergall, thanks for replying so quickly - what a positive intro to EG! Have you any experience of the Kamado? It certainly looks amazing

Hi All Apologies if this subject has already been covered (couldn't find a satisfactory answer after searching, so here goes...) I want to buy a grill. I plan to go the charcoal route for better flavor. I'll start by grilling over direct heat but wouldn't mind graduating to some slow cooking (or barbecueing) if all goes well. I'd like capacity to cook for say, eight people, though most of the time it'll be fewer. I was planning on a 22.5" diameter Weber until I learned that neither the grill nor the charcoal can be raised or lowered, which seems like a glaring omission. Perhaps someone with experience of a Weber can contradict me? (I know there are one or two of you out there...) I should confess, I have a few other ambitions - not all of which may be realistic - largely inspired by Jeffrey Steingarten's 'It Must Have Been Something I Ate'. He talks about using a grill to rotisserie roast chicken and, after generating some serious heat, to cook pizza. I'm also a little curious about whether a grill would work for tandoori cooking but that may be another thread! So here's my question: can anyone recommend a charcoal grill that might meet any or all of these needs? Many thanks!