HungryChris

We have eaten at Ippudo twice and the first time the couple across from us had these before their ramen. They were so beautiful to look at that we couldn't resist trying them the next time we went. Not only are they beautiful, I thought they were hauntingly good, looked to be quick and simple to prepare. They put them on the grill and tossed a few teaspoons of oil on them to produce a quick flame and they were done. They were served with a little bowl of something that was the consistancy of garlic powder and lemon wedges to be sprinkled on them just before consumption, but I could not hear the servers description. The first question I have is what was the powder that they gave us to season them? The second question is are they available in markets anywhere in the city? Thirdly, I looked today on the Ippudo menu and don't see them. Are they seasonal? I'd like to grow these next summer, but don't want to wait that long to try them at home. HC

You were then able to continue plating and saucing dinner with those trusty tongs as if nothing had happened, I'm guessing, right? You can't beat 'em I'm telling you!

I don't think there is any question that tongs are not the answer to all kitchen situations in the home or commercial kitchen. The use of sizzle platters for oven broiling, roasting and baking is my favorite example of the ideal tong application. It is often benificial to keep a pool of water in the bottom of a sizzle platter for optimum cooking conditions. For example, to properly prepare a lobster tail, a pool of water in the bottom of the platter keeps the fanned out tail in perfect condition while the meat up above bakes to perfection. If you were to reach into the oven to bring out that platter with a kitchen towel, you would run the risk of a bad burn from the sloshing boiling liquid. A good pair of tongs is just the thing. A proper cook or chef will use the right tool for the job, period. Tongs are just a great weapon to have in the tool pack. HC

I agree 100%. You cannot have too many good tongs. Cooking on the grill or for the sizzle platters I like to use in the oven for many things, tongs are perfect. They must be tough enough to not twist under a heavy load though. I recently bought some heavy stainless ones at a great price which are quite sturdy. They are spring loaded, but have a gravity pin that locks them closed unless the open end is pointed down. I find that annoying. The type with an outside clip that slides up to unlock is my favorite. The clip is held up and out of the way by your hand when in use or is slid down to lock for storage or a trip through the dishwasher. Used in conjunction with a good supply of clean towels, good tongs are a must! HC

I have never really gotten into blending meat for grinding, but when I crave a great burger, I buy chuck blade steaks. I choose them carefully to get the amount of fat to lean that looks good to me. I semi freeze them and cut them into cubes just before grinding, which I do twice on the finer setting. I have always thought that it was the flavor of the chuck, the fact that I felt that I could cook it rare without much worry (knowing it was freshly ground) and the gentle forming with my hands that produced a sponge like quality in the burger that was superior to any preground burger. It produces a juicy hamburger that is memorable enough to be worth the effort. I would also like to know what others do to produce their favorite. It also raises a question that has kept me wondering for years: When you buy preground hamburger that is labeled, say 90% lean. How is that determination made? I could see if the starting materials were strictly fat and lean, they could be weighed out for an accurate number, but that is not the norm. It is more often trimmings that have some fat in them to begin with. Is it done by volume and weight or by cooking and weighing? Just curious. HC

According to a local paper (The New London Day) a New London ShopRight has been selling chicken lobsters for $4.99 a lb lately. Big Y has a Saturday and Sunday only special this week of $5.99 a lb for that same size. I do see a lobster dinner in the cards, perhaps tonight. HC

Tra Chang and Golden Boy seem to be the gold standard against which fish sauce is measured. I too started out with Squid brand, read here for an interesting dissertation on the subject and do comment: http://www.thaifoodandtravel.com/features/fishsauce1.html

The Whole Foods in CT, RI and MA usually have them made up and sold by the piece at the fish counter.

Quickly broiled on the half shell with finely chopped parsley and shallots in garlic butter and some crusty bread to attend to what remains in the shells. Wrapped in wilted spinach, returned to the half shell and drizzeld with a light garlic cream sauce with a dash of cream sherry, dusted with bread crumbs and paprika and briefly baked. What a grand find! HC

When my current home was new it was wired for an electric range, but I opted for a full gas range because it was so rural I wanted to be able to use the stove during power outages. That turned out to be a good thing. I never used the oven, only the cooktop during those outages. I did not like the oven because of uneven heating, slow cooking and poor browning. I was always opening it up during baking to move things around. I recently replaced it with a dual fuel that I like very much. It has a second smaller oven up above the larger convection oven and I have found that I like and use that most of all. It heats up to 550 deg f in 5 min and is great for low profile items. In my case, opting for both gas and electric did not involve running any new lines the second time around. Now that I have used it for almost a year I can say that I couldn't be happier with the ovens. I have baked bread on and off as a practical hobby for about 10 years and I would never go back to a gas oven. The cooktop is a 5 burner one and I don't think the 5th burner has done anything for me. My only complaint is that keeping the black stovetop under the burners clean and pristine looking is a chore, moreso than the stainless front. I hope you find my experience helpful. HC

My favorite comes from Konos Surf Club at the base of Crystal pier in San Diego. It is made with a cheddar omelette sliced breakfast sausages and slices of avocado with a red, mild hot sauce they call pika. It is an awesome combination. Of course, being on vacation helps the flavor a bit. HC

Here is a picture I took there back in the days when they did serve lunch. It was a truly pleasant setting. HC

According to the Up the River website they no longer serve lunch. I hope I am wrong, but this just strikes me as a step on to the road to oblivian. It is never a good sign when a restaurant gets tired. HC

mjr, I had that one, but appreciate the effort. I have the dominate "CP" (cheap pr!<k) gene that makes me want to avoid the shipping cost, but will pull the trigger on it if I find no cash and carry supplier. You guys have been great, keep up the good work! HC

We have tried DiPalo's, Zabar, Fairway, Citarella and the international market on 6th and 55th as well as a few more names that escape me. I remain hopeful that it is there, but just needs to be found. HC

Last fall, on a trip to Italy we bought this Italian condiment. It turned out to be highly addictive and useful in many dishes. It has hot peppers, mushrooms, eggplant, olives and is great on pasta and crusty bread. We have been looking for it ever since. This is what it looks like. (I have come to understand that there are a few companies that make it.) We have searched Manhattan high and low for this item without success.We will be back again on Saturday. If anyone has seen it in Manhattan, please speak up. We would love to hear about it!! Many Thanks, HC edited: I noticed that I misspelled condiment in the subject line, but am unable to correct it. Oh, well.

I make a pork tenderloin piccata and make the pan sauce with capers, white wine, garlic and shallots. It is a quick and inexpensive dish in whch the capers play a nice role. HC

I personally enjoy Tapas at 1150 New Britain Ave. for a great lunch when in the West Hartford area. Everything has always been fresh (they claim to not even have a freezer). Theirs is one of the best Greek salads I have ever had. Their lamb patty lunch entry is one of my faves. They have a downtown location and a place also on New Britain Ave called the Corner Pug that has a good following. When gas was a little more affordable, Trader Joes, Whole Foods and Tapas was a regular West Hartford excursion treat for us. HC

I was thinking more along the lines of making just a small batch of syrup for the occasion, as I agree with the week old observation. Heck, I can't see any reason not to muddle, frankly. I use the nonbusiness end of a wooden spoon to good effect. I also find that gently crushing mint between the fingers and wiping the leaves on the inside of the glass works well, but I wouldn't want to see a bartender do it that way. HC

Make a simple syrup with boiling water, sugar and mint, kind of a mint sweet tea. I have tried the puree and find the pulp annoying. HC

I have worked in a crowded kitchen as a line cook and not had a problem because for the most part we were all of a sole purpose. We knew what was supposed to happen and what we wanted to avoid. Throw in a distracted bystander and we would have all flipped. I don't think it's the fact that you are in a kitchen, but the fact that you got the "bubble people" effect going on. The "bubble people" are those who for whatever reason lose track of the fact that they do share the world. I think we have all been behind the person who walks into a supermarket and stops to read the flyer in the doorway. We can forgive them if we need to, but they drive us all mad. HC

Based upon my own experience with a small stand alone ice cream maker, there need be no special mixture just a good ice cream recipe. When I take ice cream from my machine and pack it into a container, it is essentially soft serve ice cream. When I take it out of the freezer after a hard freeze, it's regular ice cream. So my advice is to just collect some good recipes and source the freshest ingredients. Temperature makes the difference as far as soft serve goes. Soy Lecithen, no way! HC

ghost, I live in a little town called Voluntown which is right near the RI boarder. The road they were on has high traffic for both CT casinos. They were gone by 1 pm which I assume means they were sold out. It seems a bit strange to me too, but i'll not argue and hope they keep coming back. I shelled the 2 lbs during the Pats game half time and had a great meal watching them take their 18th straight win. HC

I was thinking of taking a trip out to Cranston yesterday for some Maine shrimp, but decided against it because I didn't need enough stuff to warrant the expense. Look what showed up not 3 miles from my home today, two guys from Friendship, Maine with some shrimp brought in yesterday. I bought 2 lbs and took them home right away. These are the freshest I have had to date. They smell sweet and fresh as the ocean. I cooked up a few just to be certain and they are wonderful. My little camera isn't much good at close-ups, but here they are. They say they will be back next Sunday and so will I.

Even though my old oven gave out almost three years ago I held off replacing it because the 40" I really wanted would require a remodle. When the old oven came on of it's own accord one night a few weeks ago, after three years of inactivity, I just wanted it out of the house altogether and had to keep the gas shut off. I am not yet ready to remodel so the 40" was out. I found the Jenn Air dual fuel, 5 burner, double oven with both a proofing and convection setting in stainless that I wanted. I have not used it a great deal. It seems quite well made and all five burners have a low setting that was quite hard to achieve on the old (Whirlpool). There is no more squinting at the flame to get it low without it going out. I have used the proof setting and am quite happy with it. I have only baked bread in the larger oven, but have used the smaller oven a little more. It heats up quite fast (550 in about 10 min). The range has a timer for each oven and, so far I have no complaints. I believe the Jenn Air is made by Maytag. I have no experience with down draft, but perhaps, onehsancare, you will find some reassurance from my experience. HC