Kim WB

I was less than impressed with the brussel sprouts recipe...stovetop braise in heavy cream. I think this would be a better dish for someone who did not like Brussell Sprouts, since it masks the taste of them. In fainess, she refers to to this in the intro. specifically, however, I would not describe the cream as a "rich glaze" that coats the sprouts..it really is more like , well, regular creamed food. Today, I'm preparing the red cabbage with maple and ginger. But I covet making the Braised rabbil w/ merguez...seems like a weekend project.

all of the above. Really, all aspects of food shopping, planning, gathering, prepping, cooking, and perhaps to a lesser extent cleaning ( don't like emptying the dw, but LOVE the counter top wipedown, gleaming and ready for the next project) .

Jerkhouse, are you serving in the armed forces? That's quite an avatar..is it you?

has anyone taken Molly's advice and used parchment paper seals under the lid? I feel this made a big difference..In the past, I've mostly used a dutch oven for most braising recipes, and I learned that using a "too big" pot effects the finished product. I've also learned from her book that I've been using too much liquid..and while its easy enough to reduce at the end, I like her approach of reducing the liquid before the braise...that really intensifies the depth of the braising liquid, and the flavor of the finished product as well.

After my most recent comments here ( which I stand by) http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...l=lawrenceville, I would be remiss to not report that I had a wonderful meal there this evening. Service was wonderful, and while there were a few misses ( foie gras on menu was foie gras terrine, chocolate soufle w/ creme anglaise had a pathetic artistic dribble of anglaise , and was reallymore molten cake than eggy souflee...) the food has imroved, Anderson has found his sea legs, and the service was charming, personable and professional..a minor plate mix up for appetizers, but mature, attentive...great meal. They sky rocketed from a 4 to a solid 8 in my book, based on this one meal.

my husband does much of his wine collecting thru WL...and every time we go, I get confused and feel we've missed it...I'm glad to hear WL has completed construction...last time I went, I had to walk to Taco Bell to use the bathroom.

First, if there are first time wine tasters there, be sure they are aware oif the basics...rinsing, spitting, etc...this will improve traffic flow and make everyone more comfortable. give out a note pad with wine info, reviews, room for comments, wtih golf pencils. Add a few wine cartoons if you can, or at least some enjoyable wine related quotes. Of course, a fundraiser should have raffles, including some good wine reference books. you can have people make their own very simple rubber band wine charms for thier glasses. I've worked with a local wine shoppe to give a portion of sales to the PTA for the wines featured, with little coupons. Giant Maps are crowd pleasaers...men seem to congregate beneath them and look up wonderously at them, don't ask me why. for a more advanced crowd, you can play the "parallel game"...matching up wine regions with their counterparts in other countries, geographically from the equator. Of course, the best way to have a successful tasting is to have really good wines!

Son #1, bacon lettuce and tomato sandwiches. He was a November baby, so I had really excellent jersey tomatoes until the last month...then I jsut had the cardboard ones, with extra mayo. Also buffalo chicken wings, until the last month when the indigestion was killing me. Son #2, liverwurst and raw onion on rye, with honey mustard. And I mean full 1/4 inch slices of wurst AND 1/4 inch slices of onion. Really, think about how THICK that was! Also green salads with kalamata olives, goat cheese and pignoli, from a restaurant called Capulets, on Montague street in Brooklyn Heights...I kept saying we should name him Romeo but his father vetoed it.

afterburner, It is a great feeling when something really works out..I served veal saltimboca this weekend to guests,and it was better than any version I had ever had..usually, I'm humble when receiving compliments, but I was nodding my head, saying, "yes, this IS really fantastic, isn't it?" Glad it went well..wait till you get cookware!

Mr. B doesn't like banquette seating, so I've rarely done the side by side seating...but even without his preference, I prefer face to face. Furthermore, Mr. B also does not like his back to the room, so we've further specified our seating to face to face, with his back to the wall if possible. And no, he's not a mobster worried about a Spark's experience!

it's like FB read a 6th grade grammar text.."simile's use LIKE or AS"...this review was heavy handed in the comparisons, and not much true reviewing...eh,, I like Luxe, maybe I'm a bit bothered by that.

BUT if we will agree that Steven's Chilean cherries are not as wonderfully fine as NY's own April's fare, can we at least acknowledge that sometimes, someway, a viable foodie might desire cherries in jan? Perhaps not the greatest cherries int he world, but very good cherries nonetheless? WHERE is the defense of diversity, variety... Russ, regarding point one: demand creates desire: true. point two: connessuiers: baloney. A person with a varied range of food preferences is going to want them outside the proscribed parameters: let's go back to the very basic idea of asparagus in January..DON"T tlell me you've never bought it...go one step further...lamb is naturally slaughtered inSpring..but I have it at least one sunday a month, yearround...absolutely no difference.....and pont three, the seasons of our lives being measured by the seasons of our food...OH RUSS...that is a 70 year old man's thoughts..not a 50! Let your families traditions and holidays be the harbinger of time...not what is in the markets.

right..I was more replying to the title than the specific dish...carry on!

Ours, too. In fact, more than once we had traditional 'breakfasts' for dinner. Pancakes, waffles, French toast....I'd cut up some fruit and fry a little bacon or sausage or leftover ham. And I even remember occasionally saying something like, "What's wrong with you kids....lots of people have Cheerios for dinner." ← I used to do a 1x a month "breakfast for dinner" meal...usually crepes with strawberry jam and whipped cream...or bacon and ham folded into a scrambled egg, in a baked potato..also we did biscuit pizza..with eggs, mushrooms, cheese...yeah, sometimes the kids chose Applejacks...if you are mostly monitering their intake, no one is going to fall ill because they ate marshmallow cereal for dinner twice a year.

um...yes, but his baby is an INFANT...giving up his perfectionist approach. for the next year or so, might be a sanity saving event...plenty of time for cooking lessons over the next years....My kids are 20, 17 and 14...and I vote for Rachel's cook and freeze approach...

there is a favorite children's fictional series, called the Boxcar Children. there is a cookbook of recipes affiliated with the book, foods that the orphans cook...if there is no predisposition to cooking, this might be an entree....also, Emeril's cookbook for kid has some fun stuff..as does Jennifer Lang Cooks for Kids, which is famous chefs and their kids..

I'm just not going to fall for this extra workload...if I store my potroast in a "rubbermaid pitcher" ( as per Rachel's vertical suggestion) with a tight lid, and if for any reasonthe juices don't cover, so I add 1/4 can of cambell's beef stock, and 1/4 cup of water....then bring to room temp, put in a low oven for 2-3 hrs...what am I missing? In the real world, freezers are packed, the reason you made a braise was for time saving to begin with...what's with parchment, seperating liquids...yikes!!

But, what if you want variety...what if you are sick of peaches and nectarines,a nd want an apple in June? to me, the issue is variety..I go toa farmer's market, I am a member of an organic co-op in NJ...but I really enjoy asparagus in the winter, as well as turnips and squash and winter greens. Sure, celebrate what is fresh and seasonal and local...but not to the exclusion of other options. I'll still support my local farmer, but since he cannot offer me apples in July or asparagus in january, for that diversity I will have to support farmers in other countries.

hear,hear! I recently saw asparagus on a restaurant menu, and got a real thrill ....finally, a chef willing to step on the far reaching tendrils of the "seasonal /local/food with integrity" bandwagon, and serve some really fine asparagus. We're not in a Steinbeck novel, folks...transportation, packaging and delivery has greastly improved since 1920...its ok to eat a pear in May or asparagus in January.

mandarin oranges with syrup, cranberry sauce,and lots of beans, including Bush's baked beans...my son opens them up. adds a few chopped hot dogs,a nd has them as a snack..ah, the metabolism of a 15 year old boy.

an bottle opener decorated w. the Philly Eagles logo, makes a GOOOOO EEEAAAAGGGGGLLLLEEEESSSS cheer when pressed upon a bottle lid

Weighing in with my two cents: A meal can certainly be worth $1000 per couple. Sushi, however, would not be a cuisine of which I would choose to spend that amount. It incorporates things I really, really like...but not things that I love. And becasue I have had these ingredients before, albiet most likely not at the quality level served at Masa, I can't imagine the better quality would increase my pleaseure expotentially...I really LIKE salmon, have had it at Jewel Bako, Morimotoa, Nobu...but would I LOVE it at Masa? don't think so...and I want to LOVE my meal at the 1k mark.

NYU, 1982, a long night of bar hopping and stealing ferns from various bars in the village. As the night wore on, we turned to ficus trees, spider plants, various forms of fauna. Woke up the next morning in a jungle. Later, borrowed a flat dolly from our building manager, loaded theplants on them, and proceeded to try to return them to the bars and restaurants, if we could remember where we got them from. Till this day, I think the manager at Buffalo Roadhouse took a few that did not belong to the restaurant! At least we tried to repair the damage. Now, I am guilty of taking copious amounts of napkins from any fast food place, in order to keep my car well stocked.

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best dish to enter my mouth within the NJ border, 2004: albo truffles, hand cut pasta and poached egg, Rat's Restaurant, Hamilton. any single stand out dishes?