Behemoth

Is there any way you can avoid pre-packaged snacks altogether? Those things are a lot worse than they seem. When we first moved to the US, my brother and I gained a lot of weight. Our father suggested we cut the packaged stuff out of our diets and sure enough we lost all the extra weight within a year or so. I don't diet at all, ever, and eat all kinds of "bad" stuff like butter, bacon, cheese, sugar etc. but for some reason I truly can't explain the corn syrup and hydrogenated fat had a much worse effect than just plain regular sugar and butter. Maybe they don't taste as good so you end up eating more of them, I really don't know.

There's one in Bloomington (or Normal -- whichever side of town that is) in the College Hills Mall. Haven't tried it but it's closer than Evanston. Downtown Normal seems to be undergoing a little renaissance lately, if you are headed in that direction... Shoot, I wish I'd known earlier about the Dolsots. I've been going to Green Onion on S. Neal for my Korean groceries. I like their Banchan but they don't have much in terms of equipment.

Wow, we seem to be on the same wavelength. Love the baby bok choy. My first meal there was pretty bad, and I figured it wasn't the best place to try the congee with 100 yr old egg. Maybe I will give it another try... That's funny, I was going to ask if you'd been there. When it was a korean place, they used to do the best Bibim-naengmyun I'd had anywhere, but the place was always empty when I went and the owner (an american guy married to the korean cook-lady I gather) would invariably warn me that it was really really hot. I felt bad since I think the quality of their stuff was great, but the prices were higher than the more popular joints. Oh, as for the indian place across the street -- lots of stuff is meh but the bread, biryani and raitas are very very good. We need a Vietnamese place. The one on University was really bleak to sit in, but their spring rolls and pho did the trick. The little place on Wright does pho but it is nasty. But their japanese stuff is good. Especially the (seasonal) eel bento and katsudon. I guess I am a Sn'S novice...haven't heard of that one! We did, however, manage to cajole the manager into selling us a pair of those nice heavy mugs.

I don't speak Chinese, but if this clarifies my position, I'd much rather eat digestive tract than crab rangoon What I really want is snails in black bean sauce. And dim sum. I read about the BBQ place back in September, so I think it may still be operational? I hope? Maybe? Also, are there any places that do wood-fired oven pizzas, Neopolitan style? I was really sad Sukothai closed, I liked that place and the people were nice. Now I go to the Thai place behind Krannert. (I think it is the same people as the one on Green, but the atmosphere is much nicer and lately the food has been better too.) As far as chains go, I am kind of happy about Chipotle opening up, and I have come to appreciate that Steak n' Shake is a regional treasure.

I haven't been to Kennedy's, but would love a new recommendation. What is it like? Also, there is supposed to be a little BBQ place (basically a counter, and the only side order is white bread type place) somewhere in Urbana, but I don't know the name or location. Something like Juniors? I remember reading about it, and info would be great. The espresso dark chocolate bars at Moonstruck are phenominal. Is there any good chinese food in the city? I've had bad experiences with campustown places.

Sounds like you had a bad batch. I've never had spots in Yukons. I haven't noticed thay they fall apart that quickly either, but I think I get them very fresh. I don't know if that has anything to do with it. In any case, here's something else to try: like Ludja, I usually boil my potatoes whole, but if I want the quicker cooking time that comes from peeling and cutting potatoes, I find that steaming keeps them from getting waterlogged. This also works particularly well for root vegetables such as turnips and rutabaga.

Inspired by Adam Baltic's blog from a few months ago, I have shed the shackles of cookbookery and embraced an improvisational approach to ragu-making. Beats going to the supermarket, too. If I don't make fresh pasta then it's the strozapretti from Rustichella d'Abruzzo. The price tends to embarass me back to making fresh pasta but damn it is good. edit: I have to admit I made Hazan's version for the longest time but it just never became a favorite for me. I don't like the texture of cooked ground beef by itself...too hamburger helper. My version now is some vague combination of several Batali and Bugialli recipes, which I like better. Boris, in d) if not tomatoes, then cream?

BTW, normal tehina is untoasted, but toasting seems to help it blend better, plus it adds a really nice taste.

Tehina is easy. I had to make some in a pinch last year when we were entertaining friends in a remote part of Germany. Just toast some sesame seeds, then grind them in a blender while slowly adding a little canola or other neutral oil plus a little sesame oil for flavor. Just add enough oil until it becomes a paste of the desired consistency. Again, the grill is nice if you have a gas cooktop but is useless for electric. I will ask K what he used next time I talk to him.

It's not like Joy in that sense, just in the sense of being a book owned by every Italian housewife. It actually looks fantastic. Here is a review by a blogger I like: link And here is the rather fancy webpage about it from Phaidon press (incl preview recipes and photos): link Kevin's criticism holds though, there is no commentary on any of the recipes -- I suppose the Italian audience didn't need it. It's like an inverse Clifford Wright book.

No, it was more of a pan than a grill -- closed. That was what was so interesting about it. The basket doesn't help if you have electric burners.

Sazji, a turkish friend of mine has this aluminum pan/contraption thing he brought from home that he uses to roast eggplant on an electric burner. It sounds a bit like what Nyleve Bear is desribing, the eggplant was definitely nice and charred. Any idea what it is called? I generally roast my eggplant on a gas burner, but on my current electric stove I am stuck with the broiler. It never really tastes quite right that way though.

This statement might get me in trouble but I would keep in mind that often in the Middle East, "at a high level" is not necessarily the same thing as "good." I will try to come up with some resturants. Maybe Abdel Wahab (kind of traditional, kind of fancy...that kind of thing?) This is a little off the beaten path but we had an outstanding meal at Echmoun restaurant near Sidon this summer -- we were really surprised by how good it was, as it was your typical near-the-water-mezza place. Quite refined, though still very traditional. Again, not "haute" so it might not be what you are looking for, though I have to admit I've never been convinced by attempts at fancying up lebanese food... Anyway, might be worth checking out. If you go the more traditional route, El Arabi in Zahleh is very well known, one of the oldest places and quite good. This might be way off, but Rifaat Hallab sweets in Tripoli are extremely professional and ambitious at a scale I haven't seen very often in Lebanon. Very uncompromising in terms of quality. They do train their own staff but are limited to pastries -- they might have some advice or be willing to work with you.

What are you blinking at? The Maghreb is in North Africa. ← Aw play nice, Farid. Are you looking for a chef who can cook middle eastern cuisine, or a middle eastern chef who can cook western cuisine? For the former, I would try to poach someone in Beirut. You know what might work? You could email the Lebanese wine people (e.g. Massaya), and ask if they know anyone who is looking for a job. They have a focus on international clientele so they would probably be a good resource. For the latter, I would more likely seek someone through French channels, in which case Farid would be a good resource probably.

new cookbook? edit: one of my fave lunches is david thompson's chili jam, with a steamed egg and a bowl of jasmine rice. The texture of the eggs is particularly nice that way, very delicate.

Kevin, as weird as it is since we've never met, I thought of you on the drive home today. NPR had a story about the newly translated Silver Spoon cookbook -- Basically, Italy's Joy of Cooking. Amazon link I think I see that and Cook's Book in my near future. They probably won't get here in time for our move, but I am sorta resigned to schlepping them over in my suitcase.

Actually, both A's sisters have big fridges with ice dispensers and TVs in the kitchen. But they have houses in the country so there's more space. You can branch the water hookup that goes to the sink, but you need to get your landlord to set that up ahead of time. I had to talk A out of the double-door fridge, because I wanted an extra pantry closet for dry stuff. We set up our kitchen on the IKEA website, but we may buy our appliances elsewhere. Thankfully A's brother in law is a retired engineer and has been helping us put it all together. I like to listen to NPR while I cook. I'll probably keep the laptop on the counter and listen to it online.

Your cappucino looks remarkably un-sea-foam-ish. I saw your Silvia on the first page. Do you use some special attachement on the foaming wand? Or as it came from the factory. If so, what is the trick to lining up the hole with the surface. (Our current machine has the holes on the sides which makes life easier, but makes crappy coffee so we are strongly considering the Slivia.) edit: I picked up the apple & PB habit from a college roommate, but I didn't think it was such a widespread thing. My spouse finds it obnoxiously healthy.

Ummmm.....yes? No? Maybe? I looked it up, and yes, it's the same. In Morocco it's commonly known as "Eid el Kbir" (sorry, I put an "h" where it didn't belong in my earlier post), "Kbir" meaning "big". ← Eid el Kabir: "Big Eid" Also known as "Eid el Adha" or Eid of sacrifice, because you sacrifice a lamb and distribute the meat in gratitude for having your relatives come back safely from Haj. Eid el Sghir: "Little Eid" Also known as "Eid el fitr" or (roughly) Eid of breaking fast. Basically, the Eid at the end of Ramadan. Eid mubarak, in any case!

Even more sugar.

Man Elie, I need to know how you deal with the olive oil situation. I used to buy a nice and reasonably priced brand I was turned on to by some guys at the italian market in Philly, but here I've been going with Colavita extra fruity. I think it's actualy quite good. Frantoio also used to be reasonably priced in Philly (this was my go-to garnishing oil), but here it is astronomical, and only available in musty old "gourmet" stores so has usually been on the shelf too long. Would try others but I've been bitten a couple of times and that's money I hate to waste since I really notice it. I'm starting to appreciate how spoiled were growing up, no? (For those of you not spending a lot of time on the ME and Africa forum, Elie and I grew up in the same part of Lebanon, a big olive oil producing area. )

Hi Marktfrau, Thank you for your informative post. My husband is German, and I have spent plenty of time in Hamburg (where he lived before moving here 2 years ago) so I am pretty familiar with the ways of German life (incl. all the very specific trash laws, etc... ). We expect our move to be permanent, and couldn't be happier about it. I speak passable German now but will be taking some courses to get myself up to "professional" speed as soon as possible. From what I can tell, (apart from just being a beautiful city with great parks and public transportation and museums and safety and....) Munich is the best possible place I could have landed in Germany, as a person who loves to cook. Munich seemes to have wonderful resources for someone like me in terms of availability of ingredients and good restaurants. I will probably be posting questions to this thread about very specific things such as "what is X called in German" or "how do I substitute X product for Y?" and of course the ever popular "where do I find [insert obscure ingredient here] in town?" (BTW people here in the midwest have expressed quite some shock that I go to the farmer's market twice weekly so I don't think I'll have that much trouble getting into the rhythm of the place.) Will definitely check out the stand Rottler in Viktualienmarkt. I understand there is a eG connection. Vielen dank noch mal!

I've given up on imported hams in favor of the Salumi (Batali) stuff from Seattle. Okay, no boar, but everything that I've tasted so far has been great. It must be the shorter cure times, much more delicate. A place near me brings it in, but you can order it online too.

It was a cheap joke at the expense of the Brits, which is fine as my response was a cheap joke at the expense of the Yanks. ← Nope. You are reading it as when the intended statement was I would have made the same joke about American women, had the article been about them. Jokes about British food are about as embarassingly hackneyed as the Benny Hill sketches they still seem to play on BBC America. You should give me a little more credit than that.

No, but I am pig sick of lazy generalisations about the food in this country. ← It wasn't a generalization about British food, it was a generalization about people who think each subsequent generation gets closer to hell in their handbasket than the previous one.