Chris Amirault

I've never seen an MRE, but I'm utterly transfixed. Can anyone explain the miraculous (to me, anyway) appearance of the Tabasco sauce throughout the decades? It gives me a twinge of happiness to think of someone displaced from NOLA opening one of these for the first time and finding that heartwarming (and, possibly, heartburning) lil' bottle.

I'd think about two types of frying oil -- which of course means having two fryers with two completely different sets of oil to prep, change, clean.... I've not spent that much time in professional kitchens, but I know enough to know that that means a big PITA times two. And, while I wouldn't want to say that it's a sound business move, hand-cut, double-fried fries would be a marketing bonanza and a culinary boon for your customers. If you really are serious about frying those suckers in tallow, the world will beat a path to your door....

Stevea, perhaps you're just too old school, man. The barkeep probably spends his days whipping up Berry-Button Mango-tinis....

I had a similar reaction, but then thought of Providence's own Haven Brothers Diner, which -- though not an Airstream -- does have a few qualities in common with Magus's project. Click here (and scroll down) for a vintage shot and here for a more contemporary snap.

Meatball sub from the fine Slow Food gurus at Sodexho Food Services, Inc. Gotta love preschooler food now and then!

Remember: it's only fall for those north of the equator, Wendy!

Is Clem & Ursie's still operated by the same folks? The difference between comments a couple of years ago and these is striking....

Kim, I'm assuming that this happened when you added the stock, yes? Did you do it all at once or add it a 1/4 cup or so at a time? I've never had the roux do what you were describing, and that's the technique that I use. Fifi and I up thread talked about the matter of stock temperature, and I revealed that I had always had simmering stock in this method, so I'm not sure that's your problem.

Susan, re: the venison, I also was thinking about sage -- and of course juniper. I wonder if sage, juniper, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a touch of ancho for body would work. Or: Maybe you can make a simple ragu with venison and the aforementioned spices, bit of onion and tomato to bind it, and serve that with a stuffed cheese pasta using something a bit stronger than ricotta.... This is tricky!

Susan, what did the move to Florida mean for you, food-wise? What did you leave behind and miss? What did you gain and love?

Thoughts on the next cook-off, folks? Here's the list I've been compiling from suggestions people have made; I've placed in bold the ones that I'm particularly interested in: tapas (Spanish) chili (Tex-Mex) bibimbap (Korean) carnitas, tamales (Mexican) jerk (Carribean) pho (Vietnamese) crepes (French) paella (Spanish) sushi (Japanese) barbeque (chopped) pork (you pick the state) kasha varnishkes (Jewish) kung pao chicken (Chinese-American?) osso bucco (Italian) potato pancakes (various) sukiyaki (Japanese) satay/kebabs (various) preserves and canning beans, beans, the musical fruit (just checking if you're reading the whole list) whole fish pancakes/waffles omelettes (cold) soups New ideas? Support for those here?

Depends on how you define "creative," I guess. Mise enables me to make sure I have the proper elements to create: I feel like genuinely minced shallots, correctly proportioned curry spices, and carefully trimmed lamb cubes are expressions of my cooking creativity. Conversely, I definitely feel like haphazardly chopped, measured, and prepped items just express carelessness.

My two cents: no tamarind or sugar in ours, but always fresh oyster mushrooms. Finding good ones at the market is what inspires me to make it.

I have about a dozen uncles and not a single one has a mushroom ranch. Two questions: (1) What's a "mushroom ranch"? (2) Can one adopt an uncle?

That which can sit in a steam bath for hours is that which one should eat at a hot buffet, methinks, and there's not much on that list. Having said that, a really good cold food bar seems a far more likely candidate for decent buffet fare.

I made ravioli based on MobyP's recipe (400 g '00' flour, 4 eggs, 1 yolk, 1 T EVOO, salt) and documented the non-traditional process bc I was using my KA mixer to get the dough together. It was very simple and took maybe five minutes of work to get it wrapped for the fridge resting. The flour with Moby's great course on the screen: The ingredients in the KA bowl ready to go (had to plug the amazing eggs): Using the paddle with the mixer the lowest setting: Put on the dough hook for kneading when it looked like this: After several minutes with the dough hook: Sixty seconds of hand-kneading on the marble and perfection is attained: The dough was an amazing consistency, and though I was a bit terrified of going all the way to "8" on the KA, it held together perfectly. I then made some ravioli stuffed with shiitake, wilted arugula, parm reg, shallots, white pepper, nutmeg, a few other things. I was freaking out to get dinner on the table, so I didn't get snaps, but I think that I confirmed a tip from my trials: when filling and cutting ravioli, use a well-floured kitchen towel on which to work. It made the filling a lot easier and utterly transformed the cutting into a doable process; in addition, it's easy to slide them off the towel onto the cookie sheet for the simmering. Ah, the simmering.... My little lovelies didn't fall apart, but they sure did get waterlogged. Any tips for drying them off before service? Oh, service: sage butter, more parm reg, grind of white pepper and some salt.

Sam, I have to say I am just amazed every time I see that menu. I bow to you, sir. I'm constantly fiddling around with the side dish staples, but screwing around with traditional Tom Turkey too much would get me booted out of the house by my dad. The most successful I've ever had in pushing that envelope involved stuffing massive boned turkey legs with a sausage, pecan, and shiitake stuffing, roasting them, and slicing them for plating. Worked for one year -- but then the next I tried the Gourmet roasted whole bird, brined then stuffed with orange and red onion, for which the family clamors ever since.

Update: as our Bebe has grown, we've taken to replacing the diminutive "peanut" with the more accurate "gordita," since our miha is most certainly a little fatty these days.

Depression-Era Lunches made me want to bump this up -- and as a special treat for those of you who can't get cheap Thai street food near your office, I give you pad thai, big bao, and roasted coconut juice from a lunch last week: Today I went home with a stomach virus, so I won't be sharing any pix, I'm afraid. So, like the thread title says: What'd ya have fer lunch, friend?

So my Saveur blues are shared, I see.... Yeah, this new one's not so good, but an issue with an article about the plans for world condiment domination of the founder and owner of Huy Fong Sriracha Sauce ain't all bad! However, last month's was a real bummer, particularly the cover story, "My Nantucket," by Sarah Lydon, in which we learn what her husband (and ex-NPR host of "The Connection") Christopher Lydon likes to drink in August while vacationing on the Other Island. From the Saveur website blurb: If that doesn't scream "boring," I'm not sure what would....

I think that this is simple yet very true. You know that, by the end, things will be as they should be. This experience is different than, say, my attempts to make bread.

I just want to say that, here in Providence where there seems to be not a single decent sharpener around, I took a deep breath and bought an Edge Pro system, and now I do my own and love doing it. I also love that I've paid off the $120 price already: instead of sending my babies off to a moron to destroy them for $30-40, I have learned how to gently coax them into a sharpness that I could never get before.

Anyone know a good recipe for cider doughnuts? We were out in rural RI this weekend and the pumpkins got us hankerin'....

Daniel, why no gum?

The newest issue of Saveur just arrived, and it's pretty different: busy cover, new fonts, some layout changes. I'm not sure what I think, so I thought I'd ask so you could influence my opinion!