Chris Amirault

So what reacts with what? We're thinking about switching to more environmentally-friendly cleaning products; is it likely that doing so will eliminate this problem? What is the ingredient in dish detergent that doesn't like aluminum (or vice versa)?

But you're arguing that the benefits would be minimal. Why do it in the first? I'm wondering if the ring of fat is part of the equation here....

Duck fat, like schmaltz, is fantastic for many Chinese dishes. Why, just Sunday: stir-fried water spinach in duck fat.

This question -- horizontal thinking applied to butchery -- reminds me of Stephen Hawking's question about why we perceive time as moving forward into the future. And, like that question, I have no clue whatsoever about the answer but am fascinated. To what extent are non-US practices consistent with this approach to steak butchering?

Just got my copy of the cookbook from the Amazon link above. First impressions: It's adorable, and only sometimes that bugs me. (I could do without the drawings.) For the most part, it's, well, piggy-cute. The photographs so utterly evoke a deep nostalgia for The France Of Our Childhood that you can understand why it won the Grand Prix. The snaps of the farmers, charcutiers, and chums are so compelling that they make me long for my days growing up in Saint-Agréve. (I haven't even been there, btw.) I was expecting recipes to make sausages, but I can't find any save for La Caillette. There are some paté recipes, though. First up for me will be the rillons (mais oui, Mr. Deragon) and the pig's feet with walnut oil and caramelized onion.

While I was walking around terminal C in Dulles recently, I happened to see a very strange sight indeed: a small corner shop, with the sign "Vino Volo" outside, all framed off by wooden slats and looking, well, like the sort of oasis most airports utterly lack. I went inside, walked through to the seating area, and plunked down in an overstuffed chair across from another traveler. When the server, Pam, came by, I got to talking, and over the course of our conversation I learned quite a bit. Turns out Pam is Pamela Seaton, the general manager of the Dulles location. Vino Volo has locations in DC, Seattle, BWI, and Sacramento, and anyone serious about wine would do well to rout through those cities and visit them. I'm not a serious wine nut, but I'm not too dense, and for me the wine selections were very intelligent, well-described, and very well handled. Each glass comes with a coaster that includes information about the wine, and you can buy bottles or cases as well as rate the wines. In addition, they served small plates that looked very good indeed, simple but quality stuff that could be easily prepared in what looked like a very small prep kitchen. I had outstanding marinated olives with a 2004 Chateau Miraval cabernet/syrah blend that really hit the spot, particularly on a very harried and stressful travel day. And given my other choices -- Wendy's, horrible bar food with no interesting beer or cocktail possibilities -- it was a godsend. Has anyone else hit Vino Volo? What have your experiences been like?

I'm somewhere in between Steven and Dick here. I think that the last few issues haven't had the oomph of the previous decade: the current article by Barbara Kafka on "spring salads" isn't very compelling, and I was disappointed to see the obvious holiday covers in November (turkey) and December (cookies), something Saveur avoided pretty consistently for a while. In addition, Saveur seems to be implementing a lot of the ad and marketing strategies that clog the pages of Gourmet (gift guides -- blech) which drives me nuts, but, hey, whatever it takes to stay in business. Saveur is still, consistently, the best place to find quality articles on non-western and regional American food. (Two recent examples: Grace Young on red cooking and Daphne Beal's letter-perfect piece on Milwaukee fish fries.) And, largely for that reason, boy oh boy am I looking forward to having that recipe index up and running.

I've seen that diner, Karen, and wondered the same thing. Does anyone remember the Silver Top Diner?

Are the effects merely visual?

Yesterday, I made the beef satay from the excellent Cradle of Flavor: Home Cooking from the Spice Islands of Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia by James Oseland, and I figured out a pretty nifty way to put the very thinly sliced strips of marinated beef onto the skewers. I'm usually slow at this sort of thing, but I zipped through about sixty in ten minutes. 1. Flatten one piece of meat onto a cutting board. 2. While one hand holds down the meat, use the skewer to "sew" the meat onto the skewer, turning the point of the skewer up and down along the piece of meat. 3. Flatten the meat out once again so that it extends along the length of the skewer.

This just in from chromedome, a.k.a. Fred Decker: Congrats and break a leg to Fred!

I worked in a couple of restaurant kitchens as a young adult, and no one ever kept the aluminum stuff out of the dishwasher. I never used to hold my own aluminum popcorn pot out of the dishwasher until I read, somewhere, that Calphalon recommended keeping their anodized stuff out. Now I'm vexed. Fat Guy tells me that he ignores the recommendations and has been putting his aluminum stuff into the dishwasher every day for years. I'm particularly interested because the KitchenAid grinder components have aluminum on them and need, for obvious reasons, very sanitary cleaning. So what's the scoop? What exactly happens to aluminum in the dishwasher? What do you do?

Quick update. I spent part of yesterday shopping in Chinatown (largely at the wonderful C-Mart Supermarket on Washington St) and parked across from a small bbq shop at 15 Hudson St. I only had a bit of cash left, so I bought only a pound of char siu, which was outstanding: juicy, flavorful, tender, and no red dye #2. Anyone else been here or know the name? The card says "GREAT B.B.Q." but I'm not sure if that's a name or a descriptor, and the rest is in Chinese characters.

The NY Times finally recognized what all here in the biggest little have known for years: RI's diners are classics deserving special note, and our culture of small, locally owned restaurants is still second to none. An excerpt from the article: I spent a bit of time at the Modern Diner (click) and the Johnson and Wales Culinary Museum (clack) in my foodblog, and we eat at Jigggers, Seaplane, or Modern Diner regularly. (Jiggers has the best pancakes in the state, and Modern Diner the best egg dishes, imo). In fact, I think that we need to make a stop this morning.... Any other fans of RI diners?

Just had a fantastic pabellon arepa -- a round corn cake filled with cheese, shredded stewed beef, black beans, and avocado -- at La Arepa, a busy little Venezuelan restaurant on Smithfield Ave in Pawtucket. They have great drinks (the sugar cane and lemon drink and raspberry are confirmed winners) and are cheap as can be. A good option in Blackstone Valley, especially now that Siam Square is gone.

How much was that tasting menu (not including wine)?

Clotilde Dusoulier (Chocolate & Zucchini) has her book, Chocolate and Zucchini: Daily Adventures in a Parisian Kitchen, arriving in stores next month. The book was featured in Sunday's New York Times Magazine in an article entitled "Paris Match" that puts her and Patsy's Wells book up there as the preeminent guides to contemporary French cooking. Author Aleksandra Crapanzano writes, Congrats to Clotilde!

Got the absurdly overpriced, evidence-of-my-dementia PUG! today, and it's a wonderful thing. There's something to be said for a handmade beauty like this. My stomach's still rocky from a bout with a virus, but I'm eager to give it a go soon. Report to follow.

Same concept as a mortar and pestle, but with greater retention of the ingredients you want. For example, a tool with good surface area that can squeeze citrus rinds will release far more oils into the mixture than a hard shake, but those oils would stick to whatever surface on which they were released. With a muddler, that's the inside of your shaker.

Surely, Mike, you're not suggesting that some of us occasionally overpay for fetish culinary or cocktail objects?

And from where can one purchase a PUG!? Google is not helping me (though I'm foggy today). ETA: Just called Amanda at Lenell's in Brooklyn at (877) NO-SNOBS, and for $42 (including S&H) I've got one on the way.

I've got a wooden muddler that's not really up to the task: wood's too soft, base has insufficient surface area, and it's too short for my uses. I'm wondering with what muddlers ye muddle, particularly if you have one bigger than the standard 8" item. For example, does anyone have this 11" wooden one? Is it varnished?

It's that time of year: I've been snooping through Farm Fresh Rhode Island's CSA pages trying to make decisions about whether to and where. We've done Wishing Stone (eh) and the Southside Community Land Trust CSAs (very good) in the past, but we're having some difficulties thinking through transportation challenges. Honestly, too many of the CSAs locate pick-up out at the farms themselves, which is difficult for two working people with young kids to get to weekly. Meanwhile, the listing of farmers' markets looks very strong this coming year. How do people make their CSA and farmers' market decisions? Do you lean toward one or the other? Why? What factors do you weigh in?

Thanks, Russ. Your interview and my correspondence concur. I sent this: I received this: I've gotta say I'm impressed, particularly with the fact that 100% of sales go to the farmers. As we know, virtually all farmers' markets take a cut as a percentage or fee; I suppose that WF's marketing logic here is that they're making back a big stack of good will and free pub by not asking for anything. It's hard to see this as anything other than win/win/win for customers, the farmers, and WF.

I disagree about the food processor: too much dust and wee bits. Chef's knife with room temp (or even a teensy bit warmer) chocolate.