Chris Amirault

I'm not sure -- it's a good question. I was also wondering how they'd turn out in a powerful blender instead of the Ultra-Pride. You'd have to let it settle so that the air bubbles would come out, but that might be a speedy process. Give it a try and let us know!

Thanks, Hiroyuki. Where might one find better tsukemen in/around Nakano?

It's a good question: why do yours have to be produced by hand? Tell us the answer....

Very eager to hear back. How much wine in the recipe?

Given that difference in shelf life, it would seem that one difference is that you don't use preservatives and have ingredients that are perishable. Would the adjective "fresh" be useful in this regard?

No snaps, but my daughters and I ate two dozen incredible littlenecks from Matunuck Oyster Farm last night. My younger daughter had to stop because "they were so buttery even without the butter."

I went to the farmers market yesterday to pick up a few things, and I priced the pork butt and shoulder for a few projects. I'm sure it's delicious, but for $8/lb I couldn't bring myself to spend double what I'd spend for Coleman at Whole Foods -- and four times what it costs on sale -- for frozen product.

I picked up a few Chef'n spatulas at TJ Maxx or some other discount joint, and they are much firmer than the other OXO, Kuhn Rikon, and Hoffritz spatulas I have. As a result, they're very good for scraping the crusty stuff from the sides or bottom a pan while you're cooking.

Thanks to Tony for sending a replacement along -- and without getting the broken one. Any word from Wusthof?

Looks like I'll be in Nakano for a while this coming June. Is Taishoken still open and good?

I don't understand. Are you suggesting that only those who can produce something are able to judge whether that something is good or not?

If you just reduce the curing time, you'll be ok, won't you?

I'm hoping that someone has an opinion about this. I'm confused, too.

Finals were Tuesday night; Jesse Hedberg from Fluke Wine, Bar, & Kitchen took home the gold with a stellar array of classic-influenced cocktails. Since there were 12 contestants making 5 drinks each, the organizer assigned two spirits to each judge. (I got Bols genever & Heaven Hill/Evan Williams bourbons.) That way, we each had 24 and not 60 drinks to try, and every cocktail was tasted by two judges. In the end, the top two bartenders were the clear favorites of the judges, and the 3/4 spots were also right where the five of us thought they should be.

Oh, yeah, I remember seeing that! So props to you prior to Vic. It went well. I added ~2 oz of Luxardo Maraschino to the punch itself, and I also muddled the rinds of three lemons with some demerara sugar before mixing everything else up. It was very good indeed, and went very well with the spiced potato, sweet potato, and taro chips I had out as a pre-dinner snack. I also froze a chunk of the syrup-drenched pineapple onto the bottom of each punch glass to good effect.

I usually roast squash, but we have only one oven and Thanksgiving baking/roasting keeps it busy. That means it's boiling atop the stove and thus at risk, when I'm juggling too many things, of being overcooked and watery. Hence the interest in sous vide.

Made a few changes over the course of the week, subbing in home-cured salmon for the nuts, a Pisco Punch for the cocktails, and butternut squash to the vegetables. My wife made a Peter Reinhart corn bread (a bread with corn, not a pan cornbread), as well as my favorite Pierre Hermé lemon tart and a pecan tart. Everything turned out great -- best Thanksgiving meal ever, I think. KC, at what temp did you cook the squash? I'm thinking of doing that next year, especially with the rutabaga....

What is the full list of 3* restaurants in Spain now?

Dinner -- not quite a million-dollar bash -- was great. The lamb was spectacular, easily the best we've ever had: one guest from Iraq said it tasted like the lamb he had growing up. The bread wasn't the big loaf but a slightly smaller one; it was good but not awesome.

For Thanksgiving, I'm making the pisco punch referenced here and in Wondrich's Imbibe!, but adding Maraschino following Trader Vic's suggestion. Anyone else tweaked with the basic formula?

I have an OXO slant blade and a Benriner both. The OXO does waffle cuts but lousy julienne; the ends don't get cut for some reason, so you get long-fingered combs instead of julienne. The Benriner isn't as adjustable, it's true, but I grab it more often than the OXO bc of ease of use.

I made it with hog casings and lean beef, following the Ruhlman recipe pretty closely. It was fantastic.

Thanks! I just got back from the Arlington Market. Left with the entire stock of lamb shoulder at Eco-Friendly, a big loaf from Quail Creek, some great looking Toigo mutsus, and arugula, rosemary, and parsley from other stands. The big splurge: fresh porcini and charterelles from -- iirc -- Mother Earth her own self.

I don't know anything about thrift stores in Guelph, but around here there are usually three or four glass punch bowls with cups at every Salvation Army and Savers (Value Village up north, eh?). That's where I got mine. The ladle, though, is harder to find; I usually use a stainless steel gravy ladle instead.

District dwellers: let's say that a guy wants to take the Metro to a DC farmers market Saturday (tomorrow) so that he can get nice things to cook that night for friends. Where might this guy go?