LaNiña

Heresy, I know, but has anyone tried to do risotto in the microwave? It really does come out surprisingly good...

Sandra, you are my kinda gal

The poorest folks' cholent was mostly grain with a tiny bit of meat, or maybe sometimes even just bones, thrown in for flavor...

kasha varnishkes?

I love cream cheese and jelly sandwiches!!! On dark, sweet-ish bread. And on Pesach - one of my favorite matzoh sandwiches, I might add.

yes, yes, much more parsley than one usually gets in typical middle eastern places. and i always put in mint, too.

You got it. I'll also ask if it was always thus.

There is no Mr. DiFara. His name is Dominick DeMarco (not sure of the spelling). DiFara was two names put together - his, and a partner who is long gone. He uses buffalo mozarella, which is imported from Italy, and one other (not fresh) on the pies, EXCEPT on the occasions when the buffalo mozarella is not available. I have only seen this myself twice - I mean, when he couldn't get the imported buffalo mozarella that he likes, so he "resorted" to using fresh on the pies. Watch him make a pizza - you'll see him using two kinds of mozarella every time.

Have I mentioned lately that I grew up in New Haven? Just clarifying my pizza cred.

Absolutely the case. I've opened packages of it for him, and eaten many hunks of it just like that. He uses two kinds of mozz on every round pie - buffalo and regular. The buffalo one is imported from Italy, and he gets new stuff every day from his importer source in Brooklyn. FatGuy, if you go there and he's not too busy, Dominick will give you a lecture and demo and talk to you about every tiny detail to your heart's content. Especially if you mention my name If his daughter Maggie is there, she'll do the same back in the kitchen.

I don't like anchovy pizza. I find the flavor of the anchovies overwhelms the subtleties of the other ingredients. No, unfortunately, DiFara's is not air conditioned. These days, I go in, get a couple of slices, and I'm outta there. Maybe an outing should wait, so we can get pies and pastas and sit and drink, etc.

Pizza outing, pizza outing! Any time. It'll be the 2, 586th pizza outing I've done at DiFara. I've eaten tons of pizza in northern Italy, over my whole lifetime (our closest family friends live about an hour north of Milano). Thin crusts, individual pizzas, about 12" in diameter, and my absolute favorite is quattro stagione - 4 sections, one each of: prosciutto, artichoke, cheese, mushroom.

Sometimes he does, when he can't get the italian buffalo one. Seen it with my own eyes. He's even handed me a plain chunk and told me where he got it - some place on Avenue U, I believe.

Oy. How bad's the intolerance? One slice...it's worth the consequences.

I just read something. Plotnicki, you've NEVER BEEN TO DIFARA??? Holy fresh mozarella, Batman. Let's go, immediately. I wanna watch you eat that slice for the first time. Who's coming? And, for the record, I love white castle - burgers and cheeseburgers - with my whole heart.

True, true. One friend did end up with a nice set of knives, I"ll give 'er that.

I just gotta say - I know two people who did the supposedly very serious amateur program - twice a week for like 6 months - and neither of them can cook to save their lives...

I'm ashamed to speak of my score on the quiz. I'm doing the intermediate course. Tuesday nights. Starting in September.

Wouldn't it be great to have Gluckstern as a Q&A host?

Again, they're not mutually exclusive. I will do both - I do all kinds of tastings now - I think the class will be an enhancement - it's not one or the other - it's all of them.

Yes she did. But that is not her crowning achievement. Go look at the IWC site (link above).

I agree with you Steve, but the two are not mutually exclusive. I think, at least for me, that both things are valuable. I do a lot of tasting whenever I can - but this kind of program would be helpful and useful too. The president of International Wine Center is Mary Ewing-Mulligan, and she's very well regarded. I have heard her palette is legendary, and that her classes are indeed about what makes wine good, and not only about differences between varietals and technical details, etc.

The restaurant is called L'Ecole, and I've eaten there several times, and have had wildly varying experiences. So much so that it's not possible for me to tell you to go or not go.

I've heard from a couple of people that the FCI courses are highly politicized, that certain importers are emphasized, that it's more concerned with "status" than really hard core wine knowledge. Just what I was told.

That FCI course has been advised against by several people I know (and it's more expensive, by the way)... Details on the IWC class can be found on their website (link above). It's on Tuesday nights I believe.