Chris Amirault

Leftie here, and I'd rather fight than switch.

A most excellent idea! It's always good to tart things up, I think....

Super easy, tipping velvet. Just cook 3-4 butternut squashes, cubed, in chicken stock, then add the cooked (and blended) squash to a pot with some sauteed onions, maybe a little garlic or ginger. Add salt and (white?) pepper and whatever additional flavoring your guests would like: I made a great curried squash soup a few weeks ago, but you could just add some nutmeg and cinnamon, or perhaps some Chinese 5 spice powder, or some sage and olive oil, or even some chipotle powder and cumin. Toss on some croutons, cheese, even toasted tortillas, depending on the spice combinations you've selected. Squash is remarkably adaptable. It's hard to screw up squash soup, let me tell you!

Oh, man. Surely, Jason, you can request Socorro's recipe? edited to fix the mole maker's name (apologies) -- ca

OK, I'm going to pick up the gauntlet here. How is this chili? It sounds like a wonderful braised lamb stew. Are there actual chilis in it? I mean these questions in the friendliest of ways, of course!

Jake, how thick was it? I definitely lean on the spackle end of the spectrum, though I can appreciate the benefit of drippy juices soaking down. People, we need more photos!!

Of Alice's Restaurant? What characterized her voice in recipes, Kit?

Thanks for the input, stovetop, which contributes to this discussion. However, we disagree about this: Whatever has happened elsewhere, I don't see evidence that anyone has been or is feeling insulted in this thread, so I think we probably can keep it focused on the arguments and not the persons without too much trouble.

You don't have a pork fridge, Linda? What's up with that? Meanwhile, Dean, can you be a bit more specific about what you mean by I'm having a hard time visualizing that.

I'm bumping this up thanks to a comment by Michael Ruhlman in response to my question about what he likes about writing cookbooks (emphasis mine): I can certainly think of a lot of food writers who have personality in their non-recipe writing, but talking about voice -- that elusive aspect of rhetoric -- in the recipes themselves is fascinating. I was reading a recipe by our own Paula Wolfert the other day and feeling a very strong sense that she cared very much that I appreciated the meaning of each step. Ditto, to very different effect, Anthony Bourdain's voice in The Les Halles Cookbook; the guy's commitment to the food (perhaps at your expense, lamebrain) really shines through. Any other examples? edited to add: Based on your non-cookbooks and posts here (I can never tell whose voice wafts through those French Laundry recipes, and I don't have Bouchon or the Ripert book) I am really, really, really looking forward to the your charcuterie book, Michael.

Perhaps we can persuade Linda (Fifi) to expand upon her great Recipe Gullet lard directions, eh?

Ellen, those look great! Juniper berries in that Zuni stew -- that's a surprise! Which do you think you'll make? The second one almost seems more like a pozole than a chili. Whatever that means...!

Chris, you obviously have to become better friends with the other people posting here... they give fantastic gifts. ← I'm not sure I'm off to such a good start... Erp.

Bah. Humbug. I too used to make lots of food gifts: chocolate truffles, biscotti, spiced nuts, etc. But I stopped doing it, in part because, well, I got a lot of real crap back. (Yes, not acting in the spirit of the season, I know.) Hillshire Farms smoked sausages. Baskets with "gourmet" sugared almonds. Bizarre bottles overstuffed with cheap vinegar and hot peppers. "Homestyle" pancake mixes ("just add farm-fresh milk and eggs"). Saccharine-laced mustards. You know exactly what I'm talking about, don't you? I used to be tormented by guilt when I got such gifts. You know, they were well-intentioned, trying to make the "foodie" happy, blah blah blah. Not any more. Now if someone gives me that sort of thing, I rant, rave, and (in my best imitation of Peter O'Toole as Alan Swann in My Favorite Year) throw a genuine, foot-on-the-floor, snot-nosed hissy fit, ceremoniously tossing the junk in the garbage. Very cathartic. Try it. Like I said. Bah. Humbug.

Collards... interesting idea. How do you make your bread dressing?

Another delicious chunky beverage to share with y'all: Just the thing with nime chow, peanut sauce, and sriracha. Slurp. Crunch. Mmmm....

They look great, Ellen! Do you have any binding ingredients in the char siu? It looks a bit more liquidy than I try for with mine.

I'd hazard a wager that, though a fine state (even if its landmarks are falling apart), Vermont certainly runs a distant second to Rhode Island in sriracha consumption, what with there being lots of Southeast Asians, Johnson and Wales folks, university students, and just plain obsessives (like yours truly) spraying it yon and hither.

You know, you'd think that here in Providence, with a slew of Brazilians and other Portuguese-speaking folks, you could find better cachaca.... I envy y'all who can go to that NYC cachaca tasting.

What if I jack them up by saying that the pitchers are "wicked pissah!"?

Those are wicked cool. Sam, if you can get the source for those pitchers, I'd be grateful.

That quality stuff is a hoot. Check out the condiments page, where most ingredients get quasi-artisanal treatment (honey from real bees!). Not the sauces, though: Apparently, sentences like "Our carboxymethylcellulose gum comes from only the finest Malaysian rubber trees" don't work so well.

Oh my, yes. Found that thread by Rachel, btw: clickety.

So does the good Jewish cook render her own (I seem to remember a thread by Rachel on this topic) or can one buy cooking schmaltz? Having written that, my money's on yes, one can.... edited to add: Jason, just savory kugels, yes?

I always used to do the same thing -- but not now! I mean, it's more or less the same as tossing the hallowed duck fat, right?