Behemoth

It's also available at Jewel & Schnuks in the midwest. I buy it when I can't get to my favorite bakery in Urbana or have time to make my own. It's pretty good, especially considering what normally passes for bread in American supermarkets.

Yeah, I've read about the heat issue. Apparently they added some coating on the inside of the water tank (or something) to slow down the heating, so you can get a couple more decent cups. I'll probably defer to A on the issue, as he has been keen on one of these for a while. I like the craft aspect of it (I bake all our bread at this point, among other things...) so that part doesn't bother me so much -- I drink a lot less espresso than he does per day, and if this slows him down a little it might not be a bad thing In terms of lever machines, the ones with spring-loaded levers seem to have an advantage of giving a more even pull. Are there any that don't have eagles on them?

What kind of a job does the rancilio do with steaming milk?

Nobody has really discussed lever machines here. We are considering a La Pavoni pro-lever link. (Actually, there is no direct link on the LaPavoni site, but specifically we are considering the PL Professional Lusso. It doesn't really fall into the category of "cheap" although the ones with european voltage are significantly cheaper than the american models. Anybody have experience with these? Coffeegeek consumer reviews were generally good except for the occasional slam. Wholelatte love reviews are mainly positive. Also, I think we will need a burr grinder. We were planning on the Solis Maestro but from what I'm reading it may not be capable of a fine enough grind? We used to have a semi-automatic, currently have a superautomatic we got as a gift. We are both huge espresso geeks and are willing to put in the work if it means a life-affirmingly great cup of coffee. Thoughts?

I like Julia's The Way to Cook, Jacques's 2 part The Art of Cooking, Madeline Kanman's Making of a Cook, Joy of Cooking, and Time Life's The Good Cook series. There's probably a bunch more, I'm sure. ← There are probably a lot more out there but I bet there aren't that many that are widely used. I bet only a few are, and I'm wondering which ones they are. Does Bittman's How to Cook Everything fit the category, for instance? How about The New Best Recipe by cooks illustrated? And MXH--which edition of New Pro Chef? My favorite is the 6th, much different from the 7th. I may sound like thorough geek here, but I comment because cooking is all about the basics, so I'm curious where people are getting their basics. ← I learned my basic technique stuff from an ex-boyfriend's "La Varenne Pratique". I don't think I ever actually "cooked" anything out of it though.

everything is good, but IMO their apricot tarts, brioche, croissants and breads are particularly excellent. Oh, the olive & rosemary sourdough! Yum. the art mart in Urbana is a lot of fun. It is in the Lincoln Square Mall near mirabelle. All kinds of cool kitchen and table stuff. They also have a big cheese counter and lots of fancy baking stuff, pastas etc. Also nearby: Corkscrew wine emporium on Vine, great place. He mostly carries wine these days, but he does import salami, prosciutto etc. from Salumi in Seattle (Mario Batali's dad.) That stuff is really good. Oh, and great gelato. The Krannert art museum on U of I campus always has interesting exhibitions, as well as a nice permanent collection. I'm drawing a blank on furniture stores but there are a couple of great vintage stores in downtown Champaign. Jane Adam's bookstore is great too, big used cookbook section and I haven't picked it all over yet Oh, in the meantime I've been to both Bacaro and Bayern Stube a bunch of times. Bacaro is our favorite place in the area. Not every single thing I've had there works but it is never boring, and usually great. Bayern Stube is over-the top bavarian decor. The food is overpriced considering it is basically german street food (wurst), but then again I am probably a more picky than most when it comes to wurst. Fun scene though, but not that close to C-U. Radio Maria's in downtown champaign is also a lot of fun, great atmosphere and tapas menu, if you want something different. Oh, FWIW there are lots of inexpensive but good thai and korean places for lunch. My fave thai place is the one on Main street in downtown urbana. My favorite korean is Woori-Jib in campustown, on sixth. Speaking of Korean food, there is a great Korean grocery (Green onion) farther down Neal Street. They sell fresh kimchi and assorted banchan, among other things. edit: one day I will remember which way the slash goes when quoting...

A store in Champaign imports it. They guy who owns it also owns a restaurant next door. He worked for Mario Batali for a while. I haven't tried the mole but I guess I will now

We've been living on the hot soprasetta, oregano and lomo. Incredible stuff.

My understanding is that dolsot bibimbap is merely an extra (albeit very nice) twist on the basic bibimbap recipe. Hence the designation dolsot. Sometimes I'm in the mood for dolsot, sometimes I just want it plain. (Especially when it's hot out.) You can get some crispy rice by making rice in a pot the persian way so that it develops a crust. It's a cheat, but good if you don't feel like acquiring a bunch of extra bowls... Lucky for me, there are a bunch of places near my department that serve it for lunch.

I empty the can into a clean tight-lidded jar and keep it in the fridge. It's great for anything that needs a little smokiness -- mayo as others have said, and a little is fantastic in a pot of chili. I've been known to throw a little into BBQ sauces...a tiny amount on a cheese quesadilla (or any grilled cheese sandwich really) can be nice. It really is a useful ingredient.

← I didn't know Batali was french.

apparently not this time:

You mean by signing up for the credit card? Nope. ← no, not the credit card. if you spend over 125 in housewares, you get 25 off. ← I tried. LC, All-Clad and most other useful stuff is excluded, unfortunately

I gots to stand by my (yep, male but I appreciate the PC overture ) spouse. He has been in the US for 2 1/2 years now. He is the primary bathroom cleaner as I am the primary cook. He was definitely coddled at home and with his ex but he was living alone while we were dating long distance for 4 years (!) and I daresay his apartment was always a lot cleaner than mine. (And I'm pretty good by American standards mind you...) We've been inviting people over but it's a pain to schedule stuff right now with the semester in full swing. We also have a ton of alcohol and in Philly it never would have been hard to get rid of. In Central IL only the undergrads drink that much, and honestly I have half a mind to stick a box on our doorstep if it weren't for the legal issues... It's not so dramatic though, looks like I have to keep a place on campus for a while, so it will all live in Urbana for the time being. Sucks to have to rebuy all that stuff in Germany but I'll probably just accumulate it all slowly like I did here... Oh, I bought the rice flour for Korean style rice cakes, but if you have an easier recipe I'd love to hear it. I even have sesame and red beans for the filling. I really can't wait until January. The TT folks look like a fun crowd so my social life might even see some improvement. edit: not 1 1/2, but 2 1/2!

They can also buy meals for the poor in lieu of fasting.

Is that really the case? Water not allowed during Ramadan? ← Water is not allowed while you're fasting.

Interesting! I didn't know they dried eggplant. What do you do with it? Which reminds me, I have two more "necklaces" of dried okra, which I find superior to the fresh as they are not at all slimy and have an intense flavor. It would be worth keeping an eye out for that sort of thing. Oh, I also love the mixed wildflower teas, they smell nice and look pretty in a glass teapot. I got that in Lebanon but I'm sure they have them too.

My dad brought me back saffron from Istanbul. (Long orange-red strands, and it passes the Rogov smell test ) It was cheaper than here but still not cheap. It would certainly be worth checking out if you are going to be there. I don't know if this is true of turkish souks, but in Lebanon the spice merchants are often also homeopaths, so it can be interesting to check out different folk remedies.

In the Middle East, school and work lets out early. Usually people go home and nap for a few hours until sunset. Then after sunset, businesses reopen and everyone is outside. You need to wake up right before sunrise (at that time it was around 3am) and eat a light meal -- in most arab countries there would be a bunch of guys who would walk through town in the early hours, singing and beating a large drum. They make the rounds to all the houses in town throughout the month and you are supposed to give them some money. It is a nice tradition -- passed down from father to son. The year I left the old guy was training his son to do it, kid had a beautiful voice. This isn's such a bad time to be fasting -- worse is during the summer when it's hot and sunset is at 8pm or later. Admittedly the nicest time to fast was when it was in January. Stress upon your students the need to get to bed a little earlier and wake up for the "suhur" meal. It's tough outside of a supportive environment though. I've stopped doing it in recent years because it was seriously affecting my ability to work. I get very dizzy, and I can't go off for a nap here.

Great. The midwestern farmer's markets are in full swing, we're having great weather, there are cute cows in the prairies on my drive home, and for the first time I'm not feeling all that homesick. Then I find your Reading Terminal pics. Thanks a lot, buddy

Combination of limited money, interest, vacation time, fear...all of it. I'll just share one of my favorite recent stories, though I don't claim it is illustrative of the general population... To set the scene, this was on the bus from O'Hare heading to central IL. We'd just had a lovely conversation with our bus driver, a nice black gentleman in his late 70s. He had spent about 10 years in Germany, during and following WWII, and had loved it, found it really easy to live there, been really sad to leave, is hoping to go back one day, etc. Lady in nearby seat, loudly: "We've never had a passport, but we did drive down to Tijuana once. It was so dirty! Boy, were we glad we lived in America. " It was sort of weird.

Turns out to be a moot point: the mover we decided to go with has advised us to leave such items out of the container. While legal, they will make it more likely that a customs person would pull our stuff aside. Wouldn't want that. Gen, stuff as good as scrubbing bubbles? Girl, how long have you been in Germany?? (This from my German spouse, who regards the stuff as a toxic little miracle in a spray bottle.) So now I need to start a thread on how in the next 1 1/2 months to use up 2 lb of glutinous rice flour, 1/2 lb each of dried tree ear, oyster and black mushrooms, several packages of yuba, galangal, shrimp paste, red lentils...

Kevin, I realize I can probably comb through this thread again and do this for myself, but if you find you are bored one day towards the end of his fabulous year and want to give your readers a nice christmas present, maybe a bibliography?

Okay, flipping this around a little: it looks like we are allowed to bring our dry goods. What should I stock up on: Masa? Chilies? Asian stuff? Indian spices? I've heard cans of pumpkin filling are hard to come by, not that I use them more than once ayear. We're definitely bringing at least one carton of Scrubbing Bubbles. (They work hard so we don't have to ) Oh, and we found an apartment

That thread was one of the funniest things I have ever read, anywhere. Definitely argues the case that non-cooks can appreciate good food. edit: just realized you'd already linked it. The chicken roasting happens further on in the same thread, check towards the last few pages.