johnnyd

We bought six mini bundts (5 inch? Miniminibundt?) this summer and made chocolate cakes. Then we used a melon baller to put tiny vanilla ice cream scoops in the hole in the middle!

Lucky Bastard!!!!

Perhaps my theory that he had been partying too hard last week and didn't want to be there is correct. Only a few tables filled? This guy is perplexing. Flies in January? I say write that letter. If the new owners are with it, they will actually read it and maybe some good will come out of it. If they are disorganized or overwhelmed they won't read it, or will and not do anything about it, the place eventually goes down the tubes and hopefully into the hands of better managers.

In relating Boo's adventure over New Year's my wife, an attorney, took exception to Uffa's "policy" and thought she might take a casual look at laws governing this sort of thing. Seemed a bit fishy that a restaurant can discriminate among patrons with/without kids. My guess is that the "Host" was in the weeds and took it upon himself to "manage" the traffic on the floor so the whole place didn't crash down around him, or he was partied-out and just couldn't deal with working that day, or if he was the new owner, he's finally coming around to the fact that running a restaurant is a lot of work. Theories anyone?

The good news: This tour was remarkable. I can't believe I've just "dined" in the parts of asia I've longed to visit. The bad news: My list of tasty asian dishes that I need to figure out and reproduce has grown much longer! Thanks again to you both for a wonderful blog!

I started my sherry drinking with Dry Sack and loved it. I'm on a Hartley & Gibson Amontillado and fino jag at the moment. When I win the lottery let's go to Spain and find the good stuff, hmmmm?!

I make lobster stock using any and all scraps of the beasties. It is my base liquid for clam or fish chowder, or bisque. Depending on what it's for, I'll sear them or not. Usually not for chowdah. Dano's method looks good but I never add fennel until the dish is constructed. I quickly cruised a short list off gooogle for "How to make lobster stock" and none of them called for just-heads, only the whole carcass.

Those letters were irritating. Bruni mentions at the beginning of his review that if you are only casually interested in sushi and don't have the bucks, Masa is not for you. So why print these rants? Probably because they wanted to show they were conscious of current events and got more than the usual flak from Franks piece. Oakapple's point about the Knicks tickets is dead-on. I am not a fan of Basketball, therefore I consider such a price for courtside seats as ridiculous. I would kill, on the otherhand, to drop big bucks at Masa, something a BBall fan would consider me crazy for. It's all relative. The guy who thinks he's being gouged is clearly not really interested in food.

Nice review! Glad you enjoyed yourselves and were able to work around Uffa's sorry-assed policy, sheesh. I bet Local 188 will be thrilled to bust their balls! I've never had a bad meal there. If the garlic shrimp were on the small side, I'd wager they were from local waters. As for Uffa, I had to wait an eternity for a mediocre meal so why bother. Too many other places in this town. Friendship Cafe is always packed, every day. Last time we went we saw the chief of police sneaking in for a mid-morning breakfast. Superb food. Never tried Thanh Thanh II, so thanks for the write-up. Word on the street says they have great Pho. Scales is a project of Sam Hayward (and friends) at Fore Street so it's bound to be good. Come back soon

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I got to hand it to them for trying the grassroots approach, but I guess the attention went more toward the animals and not plant, marketing, finance. I really don't know. They seem to look for volunteers a lot. I hear you about "what they say"! Here's to having you home soon. They freeze the shrimp nowadays. Next best to having 'em off the boat. I recommend badgering your favorite local fish store into carrying them.

Hiya Fred, Sorry about your exile, I'm sure you had nothing to do with it. The venerable Wolfe's Neck Farm doesn't appear to have an on-line order capability but on the left side of their site, note the "Beef Locater" selection. Type in your zip and they will show the closest purveyor of their fabulous products. They say there are 167 stores. After they appeared at the Portland Public Market, I refused to buy meat anywhere else. Then they had to close up as the overhead was too much, but I have found certain cuts at our local Shaw's and Hannaford supermarkets... not the venison however (amazing, I agree). If you are too far away from a purveyor, maybe there is another way to get some. Keep us posted. Johnnyd

Rachael occasionally mentions her Adirondak home in upstate NY and there is sometimes a pile of snow outside her kitchen window.

This blog underscores why the weekly food thread makes eGullet so amazing. Among all the interesting threads about all-things edible, a visit with a society member for a week is always illuminating. I realized that for the first time in a while, we have a week where not a thing is made at home and instead we are treated to a gastronomic tour of Asia. Wow! The variety of these blogs is limited only by the number of kitchens on the planet's surface it seems, affording those who are of limited means to experience distant cultures and cuisine. Fascinating blog, Famille Melkor! Your pictures are terrific. Is a ferry ride to Macau on the menu? I hear the portuguese/chinese fusion is pretty interesting.

One year we had osetra - a little goes a long way. Another time we got paddlefish, which was fine. I would say it's an on-going survey, albeit a very slow one...

Wow, what a success! Had my Creuset bubbling with 1lb soaked Black-Eyes, one hambone, half an onion, 3clvs garlic, bay leaves for three hours. Drained the peas, then added longgrain rice, diced onion, carrot, red and green pepper, 3ribs celery and a can of diced tomato. Simmered at low for two cribbage games. Collards and corn muffins! It was delicious.

I've decided to go with the hambone - sigh! Stick with the original plan... especially when you are hungover... not that I ever GET hungover! Aren't these damn peas ready yet?!

Those posts were excellent resources. Unfortunately, I had already soaked the Black-Eyes last night, but what the hey... I am definitely doing fifi's oven method for the 2 1/2hr result. Instead of andouille, I'm putting the hambone in. I thought I'd saute celery and green pepper and add it around the last half hour. Whatchoo t'ink, guys? Edited in a moment of clarity: Okay, the hambone is out... cubes of ham and chorizo are in, JFolse recipe is making more sense to me but I only have jasmine rice.

Okay, last year the little cans of black-eyed peas were sold out and my fortunes tanked! So this year, I have the end of a spiral-cut ham that's ready to go into a pot with 2lbs peas I plan to soak over night. (I figured the more of it I make... ) THEN what do I do? prepare as for pea-soup but cut simmer time to "when-tender", say one hour? When do I add celery, carrot, onion? Serve with jalapeno slices? Post suggestions here:

Hey Boo, The Portland Public Market is definitely worth a visit. I am actually headed there in about an hour to pick up supplies for our NYEve, and have a capuccino. There is a new oyster bar at the far end which I haven't tried. Maine Shrimp is in season and very good. Buy a pound (about 60pcs) and drop 'em in boiling water for no more than one minute, dip in melted butter. There will be some festivities in town that wrap up about 9pm when folks spread out for a meal and meet-ups. A good place with a view of Portland from the other side of the River is Saltwater Grille whom are famous for brunches. Menu available on website. Have fun!

Nineteen pages of Laab and Tanabutler has never tried it... For shame.... Tommy? Some disciplinary measures are required here!

I think the inclusion of 'Rum" on the label is an effort to inform the uninformed, a marketing assist, if you will. As Mr. Hamilton pointed out earlier, Rum is a molasses product and Cachaca is a sugarcane juice distillate with very different results. That $19 bottle Cachaca Gold (Oro is portuguese for gold) might be an aged cachaca, which will be a bit better as an introduction. White (read: newer) pinga has quite a bite.

Portland Fish Exchange is a huge building on Commercial Street, the extra wide boulevard on Portland's Old Port waterfront. It is a clearing house for a very large portion of east coast seafood. Last auction was 12/22: Shrimp Consigned: 21,529 lbs Shrimp Sold: 13,069 lbs High Price: $0.60 Average: 0.30 Low: 0.25 The volume is way up, the price is down. I think the next auction is tonight so I will be shopping for the heads-on fresh batch Thursday or Friday. Shrimp at the local Hannaford's supermarket looked excellent even though I suspect they were from the older boat trips. Recent meals w/Maine Shrimp included a sort of Paella with shrimp, chorizo, peas, carrots, celery, onion, and saffron rice. New years eve dinner will include a variation of the Paprika Shrimp Tapas Recipe found in today's NYT Dining section, among other tasty morsels.

Article from The Working Waterfront describing mysterious resurgence in codfish stock in the Gulf of Maine. “I have seen more codfish this year than I ever remember, right from the deep water to the shoal water, along with increasing numbers of other fish as well, like hake and redfish.” - Rick Bubar, Stonington Maine, captain of the F/V "Sea Harvester", a boat I had the pleasure of sea-urchin diving off of, eleven years ago. No Shrimp Auction this week, but I saw a shrimper leave the harbor at first light this morning. We have had 40 - 50 knot winds the past two days and temps around 12ºF.

I was given two bottles of interesting Rhum from Cape Verde over Xmas. The giver has a boss from there who gave them to him, but he doesn't drink. It has a cachaça front end and a big molasses-style foundation. Never had anything quite like it. The Details: 1. Tropicana Grog Extra Special - 43% - Produced and distilled by Eduino Santos Oliveira, Campo de Cão Paúl - Santo Antão. This one has a cheesy label of, no doubt, the distillery and some sugar cane, painted by someone and printed. It is a bit darker than gold, but bright. 2. J&M Extra Special Aguardente Velha de Santo Antão - 40% - made from sugar cane distillate by João A. Monteiro & filhos LDA., Campinho - Ribeira Grande This bottle is more elegant in shape, has a gold-foil on black "tombstone" type printing. The flavor from this darker gold is stronger, but still has the cachaça hit with molasses. I can't decide if it is the stuff locals drink there or a crazy tourist souvenir (the "grog" anyway). It didn't knock my head off like bad cachaça, but it did have the kick that pinga has. I haven't had Myers or Cap'n Morgan in ten years but I swear if someone had swilled a little Goslings in either of those, it might describe the finish. On the other hand, cachaça that's left to sit for a decade or two, gets an interesting flavour and becomes darker. Now that it's 12ºF and 50 knots blowing off the bay, maybe a proper mix with my new rhum is called for. Suggestions anyone? Mr. Hamilton - what do you make of this stuff?