Chris Amirault

If you look carefully at the photo were our hero, boy "Jack," is holding a fish, you may detect the name of the fictional restaurant: NOLITA. Exsqueeze me?

And, as if by magic, the thread has been moved to the fine and appropriate NY thread. Good luck, Dutch Muse!

I believe that that belief is held by the lasagna makers, and not necessarily by the lasagna recipients. In this way, lasagna may be quite like fruit cake. As it turns out, lasagna plays an important role in our recent dinner guest life. When we were discussing our food plans in the month or so prior to our new daughter's arrival with a frequent guest couple of ours, I blurted, "We're trying to stock our freezer so we won't have to eat the trays of shitty lasagna that are bound to find their way into the house." You can probably guess what they were planning to bring over.... Oopsie.

Blanched, shocked, and stir-fried in a good wok, these babies take very well to a sauce using fermented bean curd as a base, with a little shaoxing, sugar, stock, soy, black pepper.

After making her great-looking mole, Chufi asked a question about what the heck to do with it. Let's hear about what you're serving your mole on and with: turkey a la tradition, or something else? And are you also serving rice? tortillas? tamales?

We've just signed on to the Urban Edge Farm CSA this week. Details are available at the Southside Community Land Trust website. I know that they still have a few family shares available, on a sliding scale based on household income. Looks great; I'll give updates here as the season progresses (starts June 14).

Them's the big two -- and I can't recommend either to be stunning. But they do indeed serve Portuguese food. I wonder if New Bedford or Fall River have some other options worth trying.

I'd also add some roasted vegetables (tossed in EVOO and salt, 500F until done) make great antipasti. They can cool down a tad and still be swell; you can drizzle some with lemon juice or balsamic vinegar. In the past, I've done this with asparagus, broccoli, carrots, shallots, onions, rabe/rapini, bell peppers (red, green, yellow), etc. It's incredibly easy and very impressive indeed. Oh, and -- you are insane, woman!! Ahem.

I guess her snake wasn't vegetarian....

That does sound "funny" to my Rhode Island ears, Michael -- "funny" like totally wicked weird. Cuz everyone knows ya don't gedda glassa waddah from the waitah; ya get wadda from the bubbla. Jeez louise.

For mowing? The King of Beers. You may commence ridicule now.

We have a bar of the 99% Scharffenberger waiting for the proper use, but I have a question. Do you substitute one-for-one, or do you cut the chocolate by some amount?

I'm very excited about this, Linda! My grandfather was a Gloucesterman fishing cod in George's Bank, so I find your connection to the sea (or, technically, the gulf) fascinating. I'll be reading!

Nope. I think that we have a more sophisticated understanding of authenticity to do that, Susan! From what I've read, NulloModo is right on the money; this is a classically intricate, and thus classically meddled-with, dish, a la cassoulet.

Deep breath, folks: Cook-Off IX: Mole Poblano.

Every now and then since December 2004, a good number of us have been getting together at the eGullet Recipe Cook-Off. Click here for the Cook-Off index. For our ninth Cook-Off, we're going to be making Mole Poblano de Guajolote. If you're like me, you can't get decent mole poblano where you live; instead, you get the "Mexican" equivalent of Hershey's chocolate syrup, which is sure to make you wonder what the fuss is all about. But if you've ever had the rich, piquant, incredibly complex sauce made from dried chiles, spices vegetables, nuts, seeds, lard, stock, and chocolate... well, you're in for a treat. You're also in for an absurdly long list of ingredients and a substantial simmering time. But it's worth it, trust me -- and what other dish might get you seriously thinking about how delicious turkey is in May? As usual, our eGulleteer forebears have done a lot of good work for us. Here's a thread on mole poblano, a great tamale thread with Abra's mole photo essay, and a more expansive, and a bit older, mole thread. Starting researching recipes and sourcing ingredients people!

Well, for starters, you should buy her a digital camera as a going away gift, and get her to submit a membership application to eGullet!

Saveur for me. I'm surprised that no one has mentioned Gourmet. ... I'm not mentioning it, either, I'll add.

It isn't rooted in Chinese cooking, but there's lots of discussion of sticky rice on the Thai Cooking at Home thread. I believe that most Chinese uses of sticky rice also require steaming, as in sticky rice in lotus leaves: the rice is steamed once, wrapped around sausage, chicken, mushroom, etc., in a lotus leaf, and then steamed again.

That was worth the wait, Rochelle! Any leftovers? Just another indication that cook-offs never end... they just keep on a-comin'!

Marlene, what a score! That NYTC has a great chocolate ice cream recipe in it, I'll add....

Gentle members, I had to delete a few posts that clearly violated the eGullet Society User Agreement's prohibition against "mean-spirited insults or other disruptive posts." Let's keep the discussion on plans for rotating FOH and BOH, please. Thanks for your consideration.

Ditto that, Maggie. Here are our regular dinner guests: a dear friend, basically a family member, who doesn't cook (she will, on rare occasions, heat or combine items [sour cream and Lipton onion soup mix, say], but cook? never); an eight-year-old next door neighbor who eats everything (and who thus has a great and beneficial influence on her best friend, our seven year old daughter); a couple of married pals with an infant who oooh and ahhh about everything I make. We love them all, cook for them regularly, and have eaten only a few meals cooked at their homes (all prepared by that couple). What's more, reciprocity has its limits. Truth be told, I'm such a damned picky food snob that I'd rather cook meals in my kitchen and serve them anyway. Sick, yes, but gets me out of this tit-for-tat business.

Cooked vegetables. I grew up in New England, where my Yankee forebears boiled broccoli, "green" beans, and spinach until grey and stankified.... Who knew vegetables made a noise when bitten?

Then, of course, there is stuffing them into your face with wild abandon. When I'm really in the mood, I get myself some green coffee beans and cardamom and make a batch of Saudi coffee to have with them....