Chris Amirault

I steamed it just briefly, maybe two or three minutes, to make it a bit more tender; when I had fried it directly it cooked up a bit tough. Someone somewhere recommended it, but I can't find it at the moment. It didn't release very much of the fat into the water at all; I didn't want to do that, for precisely the reasons you cite. Also, the oyster sauce was part of Yin-Fei Lo's recipe, not a replacement for the fat/flavor of the pork.

Panang curry with the dark meat cubed, using the additional butternut squash that never quite made it into the oven.

I suspect that, if one looked it up in the dictionary, the entry for "grace" might look a lot like you, nursing a glass of whiskey and tending to your stove. To you and yours, Lucy.

Thanks for the nudge to this topic, Russell! I made Naw Mai Fon following your recipe -- plus, using Eileen Yin-Fei Lo's as a guide, added some oyster sauce and a bit of chicken stock. Great use of the lop yuk, in particular, which I steamed after dicing. The lop yuk really structures the whole dish. I'd show you photos if there were any left! Fantastic -- thanks!

Spendid, once again, Ah Leung! Does much Cantonese cooking include cilantro? I was surprised to see it in this dish -- but perhaps I'm ignorant on the use of this herb.

Right you are, Sue-On Moi. And, in my 6+decades of eating "Chinese" food, I never heard of using lop yoke in lo mein. Must be that there "fusion" (or is it "fission"?) thing young folks are always talking about. ← Not "fusion" or "fission: that's ignorance and laziness! I had bought some while out at a store and had to throw together dinner; since I was already making lo mein I tried adding the lap yuk at the front end to see how it worked as a flavoring agent. And, Russell, it cut quite easily against the rind. Perhaps the difference between fresh, homemade and older, processed lap yuk?

Bump. I bought some beautiful homemade lap yuk at my local Chinese food store, and used some last night with a quick lo mein. Here it is partly diced on the cutting board: After reading a few recipes in cookbooks I have, it seems that simply dicing and frying it in a bit of peanut oil is not the only method; a few recipes suggested steaming it for 20 minutes or so first, and then removing the rind. Given the surge of talent in this forum lately, I thought I'd ask what y'all would recommend.

I checked today, and their beef is also Swift's.

Lucy, I'm following silently and admiring every detail -- right down to the shopping lists. I await tomorrow eagerly.

The way that I try to think (poorly and ignorantly, to be sure) about wine pairings is to consider what particular dominant flavors are part of a dish that can enhance or interfere with certain wines, like ginger, capiscum, umami, pectin, and artichokeyness. Unfortunately (see paren), I'm not very aware of the varietals that would work with most or all of those flavors. Are there resources that use those flavors -- instead of "fish," "chicken," etc. -- as the basis for match possibilities?

What did you serve to drink, Daniel? I was thinking that Metamucil chasers might be nice for the departing guests.

I'll try it again with a longer second boil and report back. This time, however, no turkey cooling while impatient loved ones linger. Question: can water quality (soft-/hardness, etc.) have an effect? edited to add question -- ca

Oink. The genius of excessive pork, with photos. Daniel throws down the hog gauntlet.

Weird. Corriher states that the temp should be 140-160F. Where did you get 170F, Jack? She also says 5 min, not 20. And, I gotta tell you, I cooked them for close to 30 and there were particles of uncooked potato. I was afraid of waterlogging them. As Jack points out, it's not to cook them but to "retrograde" the starch, preventing it from releasing when you mash, preventing gluey taters. edited to clarify references -- ca

Roasting the squash will also make for a less watery consistency. Then you can control the moisture level later when you're pureeing or whatever.

Ka-BUMBPT. I had to make Thanksgiving dinner early this year, and went super-trad: turkey, squash, dressing, gravy, cranberry sauce, brussels sprouts. Since it was going to be the basics, I wanted to do them very well, and thus turned to Shirley Corriher's mashed potato recipe (based on Jeffrey Steingarten's version). Basically, you slice taters in 1/3" slices, simmer at precisely 160F for 20 minutes, cool down immediately in running water, and then finish with a quick five minute boil, mashing/ricing, butter, pepper, etc. Did the first steps using yukon golds through the cooling, and I'm here to tell you that the water was at 160.0F precisely. Roasted some garlic and heated cream, mashed garlic, salt and pepper on stove. When I was just about ready to serve everything, I put the potatoes back on the stove, brought plenty of water to the boil, and set the timer for five minutes. Beep. Not done, no problems, it's all good. Few more minutes. Beep. Still not done. (Sliced turkey now cooling on the sideboard.) Five more. Beep. Beep. Not done. (Family drooling.) Ten more. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Not done. (Family toying with knives at table.) Screwed, I drained them, mashed them, added the cream, and served them. 1/3 of the mess consisted of little nubs of uncooked potato. What the hell happened? Any tuber technicians out there?

Uck Fay that It Shay. Pry it out of my dead hands, hockey puck. ← Or, not.

Someone down there has got to go, for sure! If Houdini were alive, he'd grab his digital camera and go a-debunkin'. Meanwhile, how's the food? Probably pretty good, since the word "Gourmet" is in the name, right?

Want to eliminate the #1 source of calories in the typical US diet? Ix-nay on the odah-say.

Describe the texture you seek! If you deep fry tofu in very hot oil (375F+) briefly, you can get a crispy exterior with a creamy interior. (You can also splatter oil hither and yon.) If you want to dry it out more to give it that meaty texture, then lower the heat (325F or so) and fry until it doesn't hiss and pop -- meaning little moisture is left on the inside.

At a fund raiser here last week, I was talking to a native from NOLA who said that G's was not reopening the original restaurant any more. I think he was confused -- but I thought I'd ask if anyone has any updates.

Currently, the eight year old would most certainly dictate hard boiled eggs. I've no explanation. She hasn't seen Cool Hand Luke, either.

Can you be more specific? What was the garnish, exactly? And why did you want a taste?

Yet another, along the lines of the cloth strips: tie two longish (2' each) strands of kitchen twine together at the middle, and place the plate on top of the knot, so that the strands are at 3, 6, 9, and 12 o'clock. Tie the ends together, and you can use that knot to raise and lower the plate.

I resemble both of these remarks.