Chris Amirault

There's a great deal of variety. For starters, are you talking about green coffee or roasted?

Had a break in a convention schedule from hell and, since I I'm at the Grand Hyatt, stopped by Zaytinya for dinner at the bar. What a great meal, from menu design to kitchen execution. I had two standards to test the basics, and they were excellent: perfect tzatziki and kibbeh that was the best I've ever had. I also had the grilled lamb with hummous Bil Toum, which was outstanding, and some clams with fides, fine noodles that did a good job of soaking up the great sauce. My only complaints were that my Foggy Ale was pretty bland (no fault of Zaytinya's), and that I didn't leave room for any of Steve's desserts. I'm hoping to get over there some time before I leave, though.

Can someone get the addresses in Boston (and elsewhere) for the other stores? Googling "Great Wall Grocery Store" in Boston turns up this thread only. I have a sneaking suspicion about which place it is, but I don't remember the name and if I'm wrong I really want to know!

Jason, those look fantastic. Where'd you get the schmaltz? Rendered yourself or storebought? If the latter, what brand?

Isn't there a gumbo circuit court of appeals to which we can bring this question?

Because you didn't heat your stock? Running in the opposite direction....

Please report back!

Looks great, Wendy. How were they? I pulled out the new Sara Moulton cookbook (Sara's Secrets for Weeknight Meals) to make her potato pancakes with smoked salmon and fried eggs today. I didn't have an easy source for smoked salmon, so I went with some smoked mackerel: That Ducktrap Farms stuff is great. However, it's a more assertive fish, not as creamy as salmon, so I whipped up some cream and added a bit of beet-juice red horseradish, white pepper, lemon juice, and salt for a creamy element. As you'll see, it also added a color contrast that was beneficial. Grated the russets and didn't do anything else save salt and pepper, per Sara's instructions. Then, I fried four piles in bacon grease (sorry for the goy touch): Her directions suggested medium high heat, and I'd edge toward even higher; you need to get that base crust on both sides, and that really does require high heat. Here's what one pancake looked like on a small salad plate after cooking: Good color, texture, and flavor (thank you, bacon grease). You're gotta slide the spatula under the pancakes repeatedly while they're cooking, and I turned them 90 degrees every now and then to insure even cooking (which was a trick). As for serving, Moulton's proportions seemed a bit off to me: she had two eggs per pancake, which seemed to us to be two too many. So we went with one egg, shallots instead of red onions, capers, and the horseradish cream: It kind of reminded me of the bibimbap cook-off, using the fried egg and starch (here, spud, there, rice) to combine a variety of textures, flavors, and so on; even the capers echoed kimchi. As Moulton promised, the combination of fish, potato, cream, capers, and onion -- with the crunchy, meaty texture of the pancakes -- was excellent. It was a total smash hit. Still and all, I kind of felt that the pancakes (just grated russets, salt, pepper) were more hash browns than potato pancakes. More experimenting to do, clearly!

Sorry -- just saw this: It's 350-400F apparently, comparable to some olive oils: click.

We've been focusing a lot of our conversation about the magazine on changes. Can you share with us those things about Gourmet that you'd never want to change? What makes the magazine what it is? In a climate in which food magazines come and go, what do you believe are the characteristics that have sustained Gourmet for decades?

Excellent point! Click here to continue the discussion/argument! edited to correct link -- ca

A taping? No kidding! What was it like? I'm really interested to hear behind the scenes stuff: how did they prep you? what role did you play? etc. etc.

Goldie (or anyone in the know), do you think you can get a name and address for those of us who don't find outselves in the North End often enough? Thanks!

More power to you! Thanks for a great answer.

Has anyone heard any more news about the new PBS show? FTV fans, the countdown has started.... One month left!

I think there's something pretty darned great about those prosaic pancakes on that prettified plate. Sorry -- Shel Silverstein bedtime reading for my daughter! What fat did you use to cook these?

You're not rambling -- we love details! What are the meals that are the big favorites, year in and out? And how do you handle Thanksgiving? I'm sure that many of us who complained about serving ten or twelve people will stand in awe!

There's a raw bar and a pretty good pub that serves a few nice things (I always got the chicken tikka masala with a Boddingtons) in the international terminal at Heathrow. And, back in the day, I also veddy much enjoyed having a Pimms cup at the British Air executive class lounge there. Ahhh, that old job had a few perks....

Thanks for the detailed reply. I really appreciate Kitchen Notebook, personally, and think that the vast majority of the changes have been for the (much) better. To be frank, I'll fess up as a carp(er? not sure of the noun here) about one thing, though: the Cooks-As-Rock-Stars cover. That seems to me a rare, substantial misstep. Not sure what you were going for there -- I'd be interested to know!

Please do post here!

Oh, I think the service at Katz's is quite choreographed -- a bit less Martha Graham and a bit more Buster Keaton, though!

Does anyone else break eggs into their fingers to separate?

Most of the research on children's eating in early childhood confirms Ruth's anecdote. If you turn the dinner table into a battleground, the kids learn that food is about power and struggle against parents -- not good. If you patiently continue to expose them to good food, most children sooner or later branch out. You can't guarantee they'll become foodies by giving them the flexibility and freedom, but you can guarantee that they'll turn food into a weapon if you try to force them to eat things they don't want to eat.

Holy spuds, Batman! This is, I believe, the largest outpouring to start a cook-off in history! Some questions for y'all: What differentiates potato pancakes from hash browns? Why aren't your recipes in RecipeGullet?! I particularly encourage those folks with PPs from particular cuisines to weigh in with reliable versions. What type of potatoes do you use? Jack's tater course, of course, offers some advice on this subject. More to come!

One of the things that many of us here have noticed are the design changes that have followed your arrival at Gourmet. For example, there seem to be more short-information items, particularly in the back of the magazine. Can you tell us more about those? What design changes have you initiated? To what ends? Do you think that the changes have been successful?