HungryChris

Thank You, Vengroff!! I don't think the stuff is wonderfull, but I get my dander up when I think I am dealing with a wine snob!!!!

Vengroff, Just because a wine is cheap, that doesn't mean it's bad, either. It may not be to your liking, but that will not stop others from enjoying it.

A lot of people are alarmed by this stuff and put it down as if it threatens them. I don't get it. I think it is great that we have the opportunity to have a dinner wine for knock around pasta meals and chicken in sauce meals that don't cost an arm and a leg! Get out of my way! I'm headed for TJ's for Three buck Chuck!

I think that Trader Joe's has exclusive rights to sell this wine. I don't think you will find it anywhere else. Whenever I go to TJ's I get a few bottles just to have around. I probably give more away than I drink at home and people are usually quite interested in trying the stuff. It's not a great wine, but for some meals it works well. I like to serve the Merlot in my best balloon stemware, it cracks me up, but it's not bad. Cheers!

I do not pretend to know much about champagne or "domestic champangne", but I do know that when the wedding of my sister became an issue, my father decided that rather than having an open bar, he wanted to serve just "domestic champagne". He went on a quest to determine what the best one was ( this was in the early eighties) and Korbel came up the winner. It was at that ceremony that I first tasted the stuff and frankly, I liked it and still do! Call it what you will, I really don't think it sucks. I am quite fond of it, but then again, I am one of those folks who buy the bubbly only once a year at most.

If you folks don't mind, I'd like to join in as well. I haven't brewed in a few years, but would love to go find my stuff and have another bash at it. I love the idea of everyone doing the same recipe. I could be ready by the weekend of Dec 13, provided the ingredients are decided upon fairly soon. Cheers! HC

The company I work for, (CSC) gave us a free certificate to pick apples a few years ago and Deb and I had so much fun doing it, (picking apples, that is), we went back to a place that let you pick your own apples last year. The Honey Crisp is the apple that stands out in my mind as the best tasting of the bunch, but it didn't last well. I suspect that it is the short storage time of the Honey Crisp that has kept it quiet. HC

We had occaision to sample the Frank Pepe's clam pie today. The last two times we went there we were greeted by a sign that said "No Clam Pies Today". When we asked what that was about, we were told that the clams had not been delivered. The last time, as we left, a Connecticut Shellfish truck pulled up as we pulled out. The clam pie we had today had the indesputable flavor of fresh clams. I think this is a flavor that if you are not accustomed to, can be missed completely. If you know what a fresh clam tastes like, you know enough to appreciate it when you encounter it. That is what we had today, and that was a damned good pizza! The travel Channel was there filming today, BTW. HC

Having worked in food service for many years in many capacities, I am very forgiving in most categories. One of the things that drives me insane, is walking into a place where there are workers "hanging out" at the same time there are unbussed tables. I just want to say to them, "If it looks to you like nothing needs to be done, punch out, we don't want you here."

I too have an abundance of pears, this year. I intend to make and freeze pear sorbet. I learned the hard way that lemon juice must be waiting for the pear juice when the pears are juiced or pureed or the juice will turn brown as apple cider in a heart beat if it is not acidified. I have a pear tree that produces pears that grow sweet, but never ripen into the soft pears we are familiar with. Pear sorbet with pears from my own tree for Thanksgiving dessert will be something I will serve with pride this year. HC

I do this too. Isn't it interesting and at times dissapointing how some things just don't have that same eye opening kick after they have been frozen. I like to make frozen lunches that I can just grab from the freezer in the AM and take to work to throw in the mike. Some things do way better than others. Stuffed Cabbage, for example is a winner, while Chili seems to be a looser. Go figure. O.K, O.K, topic police, cuff me!

Hot and Sour Split Pea (made with smoked shoulder leftovers) Turkey Chicken Pasta Fagiole (I think Olive Garden does this one well) Ramen

I just wanted to say how much we enjoyed ourselves Saturday night. Thanks, Varmint for busting your ass and your pocketbook for that event. We met a lot of people, including some friends and neighbors of yours that just made us feel right at home! What a great spot to live! We sat next to Lorita and Bob who were both thrilled and blown away that we would come to a pig pickin from as far away as Connecticut without knowing anybody. My response was that while I have never met you or your wife, I kinda felt like I knew you. They didn't get that at all, but smiled and nodded their heads with approval nonetheless. Until last Saturday, Hushpuppies were shoes to me. Malawry set me straight on that issue and I now have my mind right! The were better than I ever thought possible, my thanks to you, Malawry!! I had to check with Mrs. Varmint about the power tools and cooking stuff and Varmint, your story checks out. You found a good woman!! As it turns out we both bought an 18'' chainsaw the day before. I'm guessing she got the one on sale at Sears too. We missed the VD Stew and the Lemoncello. We figured the "staff dinner" wiped out Katie's Lemoncello, oh well. We went back to the hotel and recovered for a while, then went to 42nd St Oyster Bar. It was packed, but we got a seat at the bar within a few minutes and I had a half dozen gulf oysters and a beautiful pan sauted soft shell crab. Deb had some cajun fried oysters that I helped her finish. They were great! Sunday we went to the state farmers market and even though it was Sunday and a lot of the places were not open by the time we had to leave, we could get some sense of how nice it must be on Saturday. We took your lead, Varmint and had breakfast at the "round resturaunt". Deb and I had eggs and grits and buiscuits and I had "red eye gravy". What the hell is that? Thanks again!!!!!!! HC

St Patrick's Day, 1976. Myself and six male coworkers went to Boston and got a suite of rooms on the top floor overlooking the Charles River. I can't remember the name of the hotel. We had talked about this and saved for it for over a year and it was a big deal to us. I regestered under the name of my great grandfather, Timothy O'Leary. We started out bar hopping from a limo, per our plan. A few hours and quite a few cocktails later we arrived back at the hotel with 4 limos, which was not in the plan. We had room service set up a buffet in the room complete with a guy making omelettes to order and runners replenishing stuff. There must have been 8 or ten items. There was a group of about 40 or 50 people we 'picked up' on our travels, the majority of them were women. Every place we went into we looked for women in groups and sent over drinks and basically acted like we were made of money. We also bought every bottle of green food coloring in the city for the hotel pool, which was finally turned green when we had just about given up. I remember having King Crab Legs with melted butter that just couldn't have been any better! I must of had 4 or 5 helpings. The next morning people seemed to emerge from every nook and cranny and the fact that I was hung over seemed to add to the mystery of where they came from, every time I looked up it seemed there were more people in the room feeling about the same as me. Next thing ya know, there is the same guy making omelettes to order for everybody. It took me the greater part of two years to recover financially from that night. Aside from buying cars or houses, that was the most money I have ever spent at one time. I have to say I'll never do it again, but it still puts a smile on my face thinking about it!

Let's face it, once the heat starts to build under that hog, the real sun will shine in Raleigh! Weathermen be damned!!!

In NYCity, I have had wonderful oysters at Balthazar and I think even better at Gramercy Tavern, but there is the price issue. The Grand Central Oyster Bar has good quality oysters if it's packed, but the last time I was there I watched the bartender pick the oysters from the ice while all the shuckers were just hanging around and I could tell by the taste that the oysters had been open for some time. Beside opening them myself, I think being at the door at the Union Oyster House, in Boston when they open in the morning, is the best place for good oysters between NY and Boston. Please do not go there for dinner and expect freshly opened oysters, cause that just won't happen! Be there when they open the doors and go get a seat at the bar. That is what eating oysters is all about and if you don't like them then, you have to find another passion in your life! HC

This isn't going to help you out in the city, but I feel that this is a good place to put the info anyway. At the Chowder Pot III off of exit 56 on I-95 (I think it's Branford) you can get a dozen Blue Points opened while you watch (if you sit at the bar) for $9.95. That's the best deal I know of beside buying them and bringing them home to open. I just had a dozen last Sunday. They have always been fresh and flavorful in my experience. I think they are as reasonable as they are because Connecticut Shellfish is about a hundred yards away.

Now what does that have to do with large breasts?

I have been collecting oil lamps for a number of years, so light is not a problem. I also am a firm believer in keeping dried and canned goods in good supply (probably a carry over from my lean years). I also like to frequent the post Christmas sales for Christmas candles. You can often get a dozen 12" tapers for a buck. It cracks me up to see those "emergency candles" for $1.25 for about a three hour supply. I also really like the wind up radio, but have not gotten one yet. I do make sure I have fresh batteries on hand and opted for a gas range when I moved into rural CT. I also keep many gallons of spring water in the chest freezer just to act as a reserve for both water and coldness. If I loose electricty that I think will last a while, I take a gallon or two out to put in the fridge and wrap the chest freezer in a quilt. That will keep it frozen up to a week, and I know that even if that isn't enough, I do have spring water to drink

There is a world of difference between the generic dishes you cite, and the personalized 'haute cuisine' of Boloud et al. At the highest level, and never more so than at present, fortunes are made on chefs' ability to create and innovate. Unfortunately there are some high profile chefs, who, lacking this ability, rely on importing other chefs' creative endeavour into their own menus and claiming the credit for themselves. Your compelling what's-yours-is-mine rationale may make you feel this is acceptable, but it's hardly rooted the moral or ethical foundations of the society in which you live.

If I have a dish that I really enjoy in a resturaunt, you bet that I'm going to try to make it myself. When I bought it I was paying for the ingredients, the idea and the execution. If I was then to start selling the same dish, I would be selling my ingredients, my execution and an idea that wasn't mine. Would that be wrong or dishonest? If the answer is yes that means that whoever came up with the idea should have exclusive use of it. If that were so there should only be one place to buy fried clams or pizza or ceazer salad in the world. HC

Tampopo Awright I have some questions. I hate to break topic, but I gotta know how others feel about this. Lets start at the end of the movie. Is it fair to say the the child at his mother's breast is a statement that we all start out both needing and liking food? Do we then look at the child and ask the question: "How is life going to skew this one's view of food? Is he going to be like one of those guys that said 'I'll have the sole and consume and no salad (I really don't give a crap about food, it's all politics)' or is he going to be like the kid who doesn't care that his bosses treat him like crap, but knows his food, in fact lives for it, or perhaps like one of those people who are willing to stand in line just because they know they love and need good food?" Who was the guy in the white suit and why did he get shot at the same time Tampopo became a success? Who shot him, did we, by liking the outcome? Yes, I made Ramen noodles right after each of the two time I watched it. I probably will the next time too.

As luck would have it, this Saturday will be my birthday. This particular one has been diminished by too many previous ones, but I am sure nobody can relate to that! Thanks to Tommy and Melkor, this one will be celebrated, I hope, with steaks from Lobels (12 0z boneless Strips), a home grown Ceazar Salad (with the croutons still warm) and some iced Korbel. What a country!!!!

A quick trip into the garden tonight let me know that Saturday will be FCD (First Cucumber Day) here in CT (for me at least). Yes we had a crappy, rainy spring, so FCD is late! FCD will be celebrated with fresh cukes, pickling style (what else?) rinsed under running water enough to break off the spines. Part of the celebration is the fact that these will be the first cukes that are NOT PEELED! Once they are cleaned and ready to go, they will be sliced thinly an put in a mustard vinegrette with about 1/2 finely chopped shallot per cuke some salt and pepper, a smashed clove of garlick or two and left to stand for a few hours. Just before serving, some fresh dill, chives and chopped parsley will be thrown on.........Gawd I love this time of year! HC

I will be at the GCOB this next Saturday. I love the place. You just have to accept the place for what it is. Oysters at the bar!!! Speaking of the bar, Am I the only one who finds the stools too close to the bar? Admin: an archived thread about the December '03 - March '04 strike at the Grand Central Oyster Bar may be found here