Chris Amirault

Hmmm.... We seem to be leaving the particularities of a Mexican mercado suddenly. Of course, there aren't really any such things as "ethnic" stores in general. Even here in Providence, there is great specificity from one place to another: we go to Sanchez and Tortilleria Piaxtla for Mexican stuff and Nuñez for Dominican. Ditto Asian: there are stores here that cater specifically to Japanese, Thai, Korean, Pakistani, Cambodian, Chinese, Philipino, and Indian foodstuffs. Of course, back in southern Arizona whence my Castañeda in-laws hail, there's even greater specificity within the general category of "Mexican" mercados. Speaking of specificity, when I reread the original post, I noticed this: I wasn't really sure how you and Mama were able to distinguish who was and wasn't "American" while watching people shopping! After all, my MIL, citizen y nana Elsie Castañeda -- on whose tamales I report in this post -- has been living, cooking, and eating in the US her entire life.

Sure. If there's no air in the bag, then the only thing that can come into contact with the meat is the curing liquid.

So would Fergus Henderson.

Folks, I had to delete several posts that had nothing to do with food, or that made ad hominem comments, or both. Stick to food-related topics, please. Thanks in advance.

I need to get a smoker, man.... That stuff looks astonishing....

I've been told just the opposite, GastroChick: that you want to eat before your first workout so that you raise your metabolism with breakfast calories before you try to exercise.

The smoke point of sesame oil is far too low to reach that blistering temp you want for popcorn, I think, but the kochujang butter is genius.

Just took down the lop yuk I've been curing upstairs; took about ten days this time due to the thicker cut. I think that they're going to be better, too -- but we'll see soon. Awesome looking bacon! ← I'll say Pallee! What kind of a smoker is that?

Avocado, as a regular -- and embarrassingly monolingual -- customer at the two main Mexican markets in Providence, I strongly urge you to do so!

I'm in a bit of a rush and not caught up, but what are people noticing when they compare?

In his first book, Paul Prudhomme had a recipe for slow fried chicken, I believe. I don't have it handy but perhaps someone does...?

Update: the Sur Le Table large roasting pan is fantastic. It's very thick and the handles are excellent. Great all the way around, methinks.

Great start! Jack, you're right that I meant 2 lb/1 kg, not the other way around. I fixed that above. As for amounts, I've suggested weight and liquid amounts, but for other items (limes, say) we'll have to do a bit of math, I'm afraid. And can you add your location to your info so others know whence you hail? That would be great! It's why I added the converter above. Oh, and as for which sorts of prices: I think that warehouse, farmstand, supermarket... you name it. Getting a sense of the variety is part of what would make this really fascinating.

Whenever I get on eG Forums, I'm astonished at the global reach of our members. This got me thinking: what if we used our worldwide distribution network to do a little informal research? Thus I present the eGullet Shopping Cart. Below you'll find a list of four dozen items, all of which would be considered staples for at least some of the folks in our Society and none of which is prepared food (unless you count bacon, coffee, bread, and a few other things as "prepared," I guess!). Your job, should you accept it, is to share with us your own staples shopping list and the cost of each item on it. Don't worry if you only get a few of the items on the list; next time you shop, you can find a few more. It's my hope that we can start a conversation about what we can and do buy and what our food costs across the regions that our Society reaches. Before we start, a few suggestions. First and foremost, make sure that we can see where you're from, or else this thread won't mean very much. Here's how: 1. click "Options" near the top of any page where your log in status is listed; 2. click "Edit Profile Info" to go to your personal information; 3. go to the "Your Location" field and type away. Second, I've intentionally kept these categories pretty general; there's no specification of provenance, brand, grade, size, and so on. So, when you add your items, let us know what type they are and if they're organic, generic, choice, artisanal, and so on. Finally, a couple of resources. Here's the XE.com currency converter, which might be useful for comparison's sake. This Holt, Rinehart, and Winston world atlas allows for you to click on continents and countries to get a sense of folks' locations. And, without further ado, here's the base list. Coming up with a complete list is impossible, of course, so you'll want to add your own staples when you share. Weights should be 2 lb or 1 kg, and liquid measures should be 1 quart or liter; indicate any other amounts in your responses: beef (chuck) bacon chicken, whole salmon shrimp cabbage carrots chiles corn garlic mushrooms olives onions potatoes squash apples bananas coconuts lemons limes mangoes oranges tomatoes beans (dried) flour pasta/noodles (dried) rice sugar cooking oil olive oil sesame oil soy sauce vinegar butter cream eggs yogurt milk cinnamon paprika pepper saffron vanilla beer bread coffee juice tea So who's in?

Chad, I've got a new question. I just had a marathon EdgePro session with my knives today, including taking a very deep breath and tackling my Wusthof butcher knife, from which I probably took off a few ounces of steel. It's now in great shape, but I fear that my 180 stone needs replacing. It's no longer perfectly straight and flat, but has a concave well in the center, maybe 1/16 of an inch deep. Makes me wonder when I should get a new one. Thoughts?

BUMP: It's that time of year again! Today it's 65 and sunny in Providence, and our thoughts turn to yard sales. What food-related items are you hoping to find this year? Here's my initial list: 50s cocktail glasses Time-Life Foods of the World books more Blue Heaven dishware stainless steels bowls (I only have thirty -- ) You?

Dinner looks great, Janet. Do the short ribs get tender roasted in that short time? Reminds me a bit of Korean barbeque. Can you tell us a bit about your favorite mixology books? Where would you send a novice?

John, dying to hear (and see!) about the trip. When you say the books are out of print, do you include the Diccionario Enciclopedio? edited to add: Here's the Amazon link; they say they're shipping in 3-6 weeks and not that it's unavailable.

Adam, I see you chose not to address beverages: fatty milk, sugary juices, polluted water, cirrhosis-inducing alcohol....

Probably four, actually, Rachel. A doughboy is a slab of fried dough that's been slathered in sugar and cinnamon. It is insanely good. We would have had some except I had to be conscious to drive the girls home. Meanwhile, I'm still on the hunt for quahogs. The second Whole Foods store in town was a bust as well -- but at least the fishmonger knew what they were.

Excellent! Cool bar, Janet. We have similar tastes, I think. I see that you're at the ready for any emergency martinis. Let's hope you don't need 'em this week!

Just want to make a quick pitch for buckles, especially blueberry buckle, which is a big New England dessert. Here's an example.

So, even though this is a cook-off and not an eat-off, since I had this wicked cool ideah to show you about clam cakes and chowdah, tonight me and my girls piled into the cah and went down to Iggy's at Oakland Beach in Warwick RI. Iggy's is open all yeah round cause we like eatin' in the rough around heah no mattah what the weathah. We stahted with -- what else? -- a stuffie: For you knuckleheads out theah who don't know a stuffie from a weinah, that's a stuffed quahog shell, with the meat from the quahog chopped up real good with buttah and some pahsley and gahlic and peppah and maybe some dill if yoah kinda snooty. This one was real pissah. So, Iggy's has red and white chowdah, but since I was raised in the greatah Boston areah, I'm nevah gonna ordah that lousy red Manhattan clam chowdah crapola. (Yankees suck!) So: This is that thick "New England" style chowdah, not the thinner Rhode Island chowdah, which doesn't have cream or milk in it. It was awesome. Seriously. Of course, this is Rhode Island heah, so we had clam cakes to go with the chowdah: The clam cakes wah wicked good, too. You can see the chunks of clam cause they get kinda brown on the outah paht and kinda chewy on the inside paht. And I couldn't get back in the cah without some fried clams, right? Yeah! Course I'm right! You know they were belly-on, cause only loosahs get clam strips, which completely suck, and they wah wicked sweet: I usually have them with lotsa tahtah sauce, but these were so awesome I just put some salt and lemon on 'em and ate 'em all. That wasn't hahd! And whatdya think I washed it all down with? Yeah! A Yaht Club birch beah!

It looks fantastic -- and I agree. I always have the basic ingredients around, and it's perfect for all of the stock I so steadfastly stockpile. Why don't we indeed??

I drink DD coffee probably four or five times a week; large hot black in the winter and large iced black the rest of the year. Don't start with the lecture; when I don't, I drink espresso made in our Rancilio Silvia. I know from coffee. To compare DD to the shots we pull at home is just silly. They're two different beverages -- it's like comparing 7-Up and Coke. DD coffee is not intended to compete with Starbucks. DD predated Starbucks and it will probably live well beyond Starbucks. DD coffee is not a complex blend, and the strength and quality of the brew often changes even at the same location. (The prices even change for the exact same items, but that's another thread.) But, more often than not, DD has a solid cup of joe. As a black-only drinker, I'm very much in the minority around here, for most people order their coffee "extra light, extra sugar." While I couldn't drink such a concoction, clearly DD has figured out an effective flavor profile for the gazillion people who do. Makes sense -- and makes far more sense to me than the gazillion people who buy the equivalent of a DD XL/XS coffee at Starbucks. How people enjoy the flavor profile of their caramel latte with turbonado, given the burnt rubber taste below all that muck, is beyond my ken. BTW, Holly, your food industry past never ceases to amaze me!