Chris Amirault

Charles, that's precisely the scene I recall every time I make an omelet or scrambled eggs, and it reveals the benefits of using chop sticks in the pan while you're setting up the basic curd structure: the thin chopsticks make for very fine, fluffy curds.

From that link: Huh? I don't quite get this. How would hardening the albumen make for a fluffier omelette?

I hope you document the making of the beef patties -- a favorite of mine when I lived in Brooklyn back in the day. Get some Pickapeppa sauce for slatherin'!

The chicken fajita panini is just on a trial run in RI right now (perhaps elsewhere?), so info is scarce, but here's the nutritional information from DD.

We have a winner! What the hell is this, anyway? Have you had one, SuzySushi?

Anyone familiar with weiner winkies??

Oooh -- take lots of photos tonight at the farmers' market! Looking forward to this, Melissa!

Got my iced coffee at the Dunkin Donuts drive-through this morning and saw this: "New Chicken Fajita Paninis!" Let's hear your examples of the fast food industry's attempt to ride the fusion toboggan. Extra points for multi-lingual names (can anyone match or beat the three languages in my example?) and bizarre combinations that only a corporate consultant could dream up. Reviews of products are also strongly encouraged.

Anything that you could make with sriracha but that can include the slightly chunky paste for texture will work.

takomabaker, I hope that you and yours find the resources to get through this loss, and that you find the means to remember your grandmother in the manner you seek. Thanks for sharing all of this with us.

I can vouch for your downeaster's information on the old-school round buns. And I think it wasn't just coastal Maine but inland as well. When I was a kid (late 60s, early 70s), we would get our lobster "rolls" at Bolley's in Waterville, a hot dog joint with great fries and excellent root beer that has since gone skidding down a steep hill. Back in the day, the lobster was basically meat-n-mayo, not much else (as a kid, I hated the crunch of celery and onion), and it was slapped between two buns that were buttered (oleo-ed, more likely, but I digress) and grilled a good while. I also seem to remember a lot of black pepper, but that could be gilding the lily. I'm salivating now and therefore must go eat a feeble substitute, but you get the idea.

Biscotti.

I've been: it's more extensive than Elizabeth or Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, but I don't have too much to compare to, as you can see!

Grandma, eh? Let's remember that most codified cuisines are not family or working-class cuisines but rather the cuisines of the courts, upper class, and (in a few cases) the bourgeoisie. And granny doesn't guarantee authenticity -- or, at least, not the authenticity that you might imagine. Case in point: my grandmother-in-law is Mexican-American, a lifelong resident of southwestern Arizona, and maker of the best tamales in Bisbee. When recently asked where to get good snacks, she said that she and her husband often get nachos at Dairy Queen when they want a special treat.

Dunno about the ash but I reuse the charcoal.

You're right that there is a tradition of dogmatic received knowledge amongst food lovers today, but I doubt that you'll find the fanaticism and zealotry that spilled so much blood over the past 1500 years in our midst. Let's hope it stays that way. ← I dunno.... That foie gras thing in Chicago has had moments of resembling fanatical zealotry.

My shipping address is in your PM inbox, therese. Man oh man, fresh beans are the bomb -- and they're almost impossible to get up here in New England! By the by, last week, our CSA booty was: garlic scapes, a cabbage, some fantastic spring onions, some lettuce, a bit of broccoli, and excellent blueberries; our share partners got carrots, raspberries, and a few other things, too. We also got a very flowery herb whose name I didn't write down but is apparently a variant of cilantro. More on that tomorrow, when I get a chance to ask.

I'm sure that Stash responded to much of this, but I'm confused: what is an "empirical appelation"? There are many systems of naming in various cultures, and only some of them are descriptive of ingredients or methods (if that's what your suggesting, Almass). Others can be metaphorical (ants climb the tree), quasi-descriptive (scrapple), probably even onomatopoeic. But "empirical"? What would that even mean? How is "quiche Lorraine" empirical?

That's really interesting, Milagai. Do you know of any food-related examples in the scholarship? I think that it would be very interesting to read some of the discussions around here (gumbo and cassoulet come to mind) through this concept.

Zipper peas? Do tell! Photos, too, if you got 'em.

Great stuff. Do you have a sense of the meaning of each of these items offered? I was surprised to see spinach, for example.

Aren't fried hot dogs that split open called "rippers"?

Nor am I, nor, it appears, is anyone else on this thread. I certainly know that there are those among us who, like your golf friend, foist their interests and pleasures on everyone within earshot. That's not what folks here are doing. In proposing the thread, I was interested in dialogue, in talking about food in ways that are grounded in sharing and experience, along the lines of Oggi's post. I specifically juxtaposed the conversations about tamales with the ones about the salads precisely for this reason. Dialogue across differences, not dismounting from our high horses to toss the hoi polloi leftovers from Per Se, is the point. Put differently, were I to visit Susan (with you in tow ), I'd delight in learning how to make, understand, and eat scalloped potatoes and ham!

detlefchef, where is that place located? It sounds like our Spike's, which serves an excellent dog in that very fashion. Maybe a German Shepherd is a broadly-used moniker....

Lots of interesting posts -- and, yes, welcome, Oggi! Suzy, do you really think that your mom would have had that same response if you had put a scoop of each in a bowl? I'm not being cutesy here; this is a real question. Call me a cockeyed optimist, but my experience suggests that the prevalence of people who can't distinguish flavors, textures, and so on is a lot lower than we think. And while I think that many people would not necessarily taste the difference between shaved and the green can, I think that more people can taste the difference between the styles of Breyers and Haagen-Daz. Interestingly enough, Breyers wins some taste tests; I think that Cook's Illustrated picked it first once.