HungryChris

I have picked green tomatoes before a frost and wrapped them in newspaper and kept them in a cool place and they (most of of them) continue to ripen through Early December. It must make a difference just how cool or cold they get. HC

On occasion I will have an Evan Williams Black Label old fashioned with a bit of Splenda instead of simple syrup. I reserve a glass from a set inherited from my grandparents for the purpose. HC

The way I understand it, all ice cream exits the manufacturing stage in the form of soft serve ice cream. The so called hard ice cream goes into the deep freeze to be hardened up. So it really does not make much sense to try to distinguish between hard and soft serve, because that plays little or no role in the quality of the product. When I make ice cream, I can tell when I taste it at the soft serve stage, if I am happy with it or not. If I am not pleased with it at the soft serve stage, I can be pretty sure that will not change after the hard freeze. I guess what I am saying is that you either like it or you don't and you should be able to tell the good from the bad regardless of which stage it is in. HC

We go to Warwick, RI on a regular basis and recently two of our frequent stops are Trader Joe's and Five Guys. We each get a small burger. I like lettuce, tomato, mayo, pickles and mushrooms on mine. We split an order of fries, wich we both enjoy, but seldom finish. I am usually impressed that when we unwrap the burgers, they are hot and juicy, while the lettuce is still cool, always a good sign. Our absolute favorite burger joint is In & Out Burger, but Five Guys has moved into second place. I will add that I have been to and not liked two other locations for Five Guys. One was in Mystic, CT and the other was on 55th St, Manhattan. We were recently going on a cruise out of Ft Lauderdale and tried the Five Guys there and we were both impressed by how good it was. I rember the price because it comes to one of the few dates in history I have managed to retian, 1066, the Battle of Hastings. HC

Some great sandwiches here indeed! I always celebrate FTD (first tomato day) with a BLT. I greatly enjoy a reuben. My go to sandwich, however, is on a baguette sliced lenghtwise to open, but not completely through. It is then toasted in a hot oven. I will slice cabbage very thin (#1 on a commercial Globe slicer) and season it with good olive oil, sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and a bit of red wine vinegar. I shake that all up in a plastic bag. When the baguette is ready I drizzle it with a bit more oil and line one side with provalone cheese half slices and the other side with cooked salami half slices. The cheese is then covered with tomato slices and the cabbage mixture goes all down the center (heaps of it). This sandwich is then cut in half and served at once while still crusty on the outside. HC

They could be from here. Their oysters are quite good. I have tried oysters from all over, but keep coming back to the Blue Points. The brininess is definitely part of it for me. This operation is getting better and better at what they do. http://ct-oysters.com/ HC

When I buy deli meats they are often put in a plastic bag, but then the price sticker is placed over the closure making it difficult open without destroying the bag. HC

My take on Irish butter vs US butter is that in Ireland the climate is pretty ideal for grasses and that cows in Ireland have fresh grass pretty much year round. That has got to help make great butter. HC

My Kenmore Elite has a high temp setting, a pots and pans setting and a turbo zone setting that I use almost all the time. I am sure that it is not energy eficient in those modes, but frankly, Scarlet, I dont give a damn. I have grown up with the idea that items out of the dishwasher are sterile and dry. I like that. The controls are up in the top of the door so are out of sight when it is closed. It is ultra quiet as well. I guess my only gripe is that when I use those modes the cycle time is loooong. HC

Deb and I were in WS a year or so ago and a British chap came in and when sked if he could be helped, he replied "I'm looking for some pots and pans for my new flat." The response he got was "If you want pots and pans, go to Walmart. We sell cookware." HC

My first experience with pasta with sage brown butter sauce was in Greve, Italy. I was blown away by it. The first few times I tried to create it I was too light handed with the sage leaves and I took them out of the sauce. That was a mstake. They are best left in to crisp up in the sauce to insure the flavor is well infused into the butter and then the texture changes again when introduced into the steaming pasta. Now I AM hungry! HC

CDRF, using plastic gloves makes so much sense once you think about it, and has been, in our experience, common practice in Rome, Florence, all throughout Tuscany, Umbria and in virtually all the surrounding towns we have traveled to. The customer is expected to (put on gloves), weigh the produce, punch in the proper code for it and afix the resulting sticker onto the bag. Common practice or not, it should be universal because it does make so much sense as does the practice of charging extra for bags. Another one of my absolute favorites is the one Euro deposit for grocery carts. That deposit is refunded once you return the cart to its rightful place which goes a long way towards resolving the problem of carts dinging car doors. All those things combined make sense. Maybe I misspoke when I used the term "Europe", but it is a model we should all follow if I were asked. HC

OK, I'll bite. I will admit to shopping at Walmart. One has been built on my way home from work and I stop in there almost every day. I will not buy their beef cuz I just do not like the look of it. There are a few exceptions: beef tongue and beef cheeks can be had for a very reasonable price and I do indulge in those cryovac products. Having been to Italy several times in the last few years, I just cannot get over how differant their approach is to produce. Every time I see people manhandling lettuce or cukes one by one I just have to shake my head. You just do not handle produce in Europe without putting on gloves and the contrast stands out nowhere in the US better than Walmart. Americans just don't get it yet, but I am certain they will in time. HC

King Oscar two layer in olive oil, chopped onion on saltines, please. I also like them on crusty Italian bread with some onion juice made by scraping a half onion with a butter knife and a bit of mayo. HC

I have to speak up for the Compari tomatoes I have been buying in February and March for the past few years here in CT. I too grow tomatoes in the summer and the fresh picked ones just can't be beat, but the Comparis are the next best thing to me. I do not cook with them, but enjoy them in a salad or sliced in half, sprinkled with a little sea salt to start a meal. They have really brought winter tomatoes into a new reality in my mind. HC

The Term "gas' is a generic term that includes propane. If you are wondering how propane would compare with your electric stove top, I can tell you from experience that the heat is comparable. The amount of heat delivered is more determined by the stove top than anything else. Of course, there are some subtle differences between cooking on an electric stove top and a gas one like the fact that with gas, you can see the flame immediately and adjust it easier. There are some drawbacks too, like having the metal handles or spoons hanging over the edges of the pot on a gas stove getting hotter much faster. I have no idea how much experience you have with gas, so I hope I haven't wasted your time explaining the obvious to you. HC

Seeing eggs on the shelves next to canned soup and napkins in Italy did sort of freak us out too. Taking a look at those eggs in the pan though, with the brilliantly colored yolks and the way they yolks rose up so high above the whites speaks more about the differences in the eggs themselves. I don't think it's meaningful to compare how they are stored without also taking into account the differences in how they are produced. HC

John, I sent for the DVD and we enjoyed it while the New Years day turkey was in the oven. It made us so hungry we had to break out the apps early. Very enjoyable and will inspire more than one field trip in 2011. Thanks, HC

We visited the Captain Danial Packer Inne for the first time in about a year and were reminded of how much we like the little tavern. I couldn't help but say to Deb repeatedly, "Why did we stop coming here?" We used to be Sunday lunch regulars. I don't know what happened, but will be regulars again. I am certain of that. We seated ourselves at a table next to the blazing fireplace that we noted has been converted to gas, but still affords a comfortable warmth. Deb noted a sign that said "local beers are 1/2 price on Sunday" so I opted for a Mystic Bridge IPA from the Cottrell Brewing Co in Pawcatuck. It is a decent beer, but not as rich in character as a great IPA to my mind. I started off with half a dozen oysters which were great, however. Large in size, unmistakably freshly opened and glistening with briny liquor that makes my mouth water just thinking about them. Perfect specimens that disappeared quickly after a splash of lemon juice and cocktail sauce were added. They did not disappoint. We also ordered the warm and crusty bread with butter and roasted garlic on the side. It is in this very Tavern that I discovered my weakness for this offering several years ago after helping my neighbor step his mast at the nearby Fort Rachel Marina. Deb had the crab cakes with DPI's wonderful garlic mashed potatoes that we try and reproduce for holiday feasts with mixed success. I think that the butter and cream are best added by others, out of sight so as to alleviate the guilt factor from this dish. The cakes were accompanied by a spicy remoulade that quickly vanished along with them. I finished up with another of my favorite appetizers, the portabella mushroom cap filled with Alouette cheese and baked golden with a spiced bread crumb and balsamic vinegar crust. The lunch was memorable and definitely one of the better ones we have had recently. The downstairs tavern only has a few tables and a bar, but the charm is huge. HC

Looking forward to getting some. I only recently realized they ended last season early. I wondered why they suddenly dissapeared from the markets. HC

There was a time when we had no cafeteria here at work and we were visited by a catering truck at breakfast and lunch. He had the usual items, but occasionally had an item he called 'Spicy Ranch Chicken'. It was a breaded chicken breast fillet in a crisp bun with a soft interior sauced with ranch dressing that had been spiced up with some kind of hot sauce. He built them to order. The combination was truly wonderful. I have twice attempted to duplicate it at home with mixed success.

Sizzle platters in various sizes. They are quite handy and pretty much indestructible. They make good tongs become a necessity too.

I think for me it is this little slicer (I call it the poor man's mandoline). Right now, in the middle of cucumber season, I make a lot of cucumber salads. This little thing makes short work of them and the onions I put in there as well. http://www.lehmans.com/store/Kitchen___Helpers_and_Accessories___Utensils_and_Tools___Feemster_s_Famous_Vegetable_Slicer___622900?Args=

Deep fried bluefish cheeks are a thing of great beauty and posses a flavor that will keep you coming back for more.

Thanks Kathryn. I appreciate the heads up. I wish they were not so hard to find. I have decided to try growing them next year.