Chris Amirault

While I agree with the great majority of what's on this thread, I really disagree with this. As the father of a seven-year-old who cooks 80% of the family meals and has done so since Lulu was born -- and as an expectant father with Bebe arriving in late March! -- here's my two cents: Cooking is for me, and seems, dougery, to be for you, more than a way to feed the fam. It is a refuge, a respite, a place where I can experience senses and practice skills. Creating things in the kitchen gives me great pleasure in both the making and the eating. This weekend, I made a massive Thai meal with two curries, two salads, sticky rice, and dessert, all taken from David Thompson's intricate and beautiful Thai Food. The satisfaction of that entire meal -- the selection, the planning, the shopping, the prep, the cooking, the serving -- was immense, and my perfectionist self was very happy throughout that process. I certainly agree with virtually all of the tips listed above. The simple fact is that having a kid, especially an infant, requires lots of time and energy, and that's that. However, I think that the idea that parents must sacrifice all things that are important to them as well as themselves is a very, very dangerous idea, not only for the parents but for the children themselves. Don't you want to pass on the legacy of your investment in cooking and eating well to your children? Doesn't that include an explanation of the sound a fried shrimp makes when it's precisely done and must be plucked from the hot oil? Doesn't it demand a conversation about why those Chinese chefs work so hard to have their ingredients cut just so? Doesn't that require an understanding, over several hours, of how a piece of beef changes as it braises in the oven, until it is perfectly done? So don't stop being a perfectionist when cooking. You can shelve it when you're slapping sauce on spaghetti, to be sure, but keep your vibrant perfectionist cooking self within reach, and regularly take it off that shelf to share with your family. You, and they, will lose something important if you do not. edited to fix a verb problem -- ca

Next Steps for This Idea -- Help!! I think that we should soon start a new thread called eGullet Recipe Cook-Off: the XXXXXXX Event. Question is, to what dish should that event be devoted? I'm a bit perplexed about how to make this decision, because I'd like y'all to weigh in, but I think that we should move onward. So, I'm pushing -- but with a friendly smile! -- for us to select dish #2. I think that we should use the following criteria to find our subsequent dishes. It should be a dish -- that you've always wanted to make at home (and may enjoy out) but rarely have made, or haven't made successfully -- for which special but locatable ingredients may be used, but for which expensive special equipment is not required -- that includes techniques, ingredient combinations, or other elements that intrigue you -- from a different cuisine than that of the previous dish (hence my resistance to the otherwise excellent suggestions of boeuf bourguignon -- though perhaps next fall....) -- that demands some time and effort, but that rewards that effort for even those first approaching it -- that motivates you to try it out, ask questions, serve it to friends, and share photos and stories I suggested a few dishes (pho [Vietnamese noodle soup], char siu bao [steamed BBQ pork buns]) that conform to those criteria and that I thought would make good next threads. But having suggested the criteria, I want to open it up. SO: What do YOU think?

Thanks for the tip. Yeah, I saved bean liquid and had some duck stock too. Paula Wolfert suggested that the dryness may be related to the cast iron cooking vessel; cassoulet (as well as Boston baked beans and other bean dishes) is traditionally cooked in a wide, conical ceramic pot. Glad you're game for another one!

How about tweaking this one a bit: Doner Party Kabab House ← Donner Party Tartare Shack?

How about... Dingleberry's, an Eating and Drinking Establishment We've Got Crabs! Phlegmonade And (from SNL, for those old enough), don't forget the Trough and Brew, where you get hosed down between courses, as well as the jingle for Del Stater's Rabbit Hut: Come on in to the rabbit hut We'll turn you into a rabbit nut at Del Stater's Del Stater's Del Stater's Rabbit Hut

What a great question (as usual, GG!). To your definition of a signature dish, I'd add that one can make it without a recipe (is that fair?). I think that people who regularly eat at my house would say fried chicken, but the dish I most enjoy making for people that I can make without a recipe -- and that I can vary pretty widely depending on what I can get my hands on -- is gumbo. Both served with corn bread, of course.

Perhaps there's something very screwed up with my head, but I honestly cannot think of a single food-related smell that I loathe, detest, or find nauseating. I've read everyone's and not one bothers me; many I like a lot (cilantro at the top of the list) or find interesting (durian, say). So I'm thinking that's weird, isn't it?

Great stuff, andiesenji. Thanks!

You go, Johnny! Congrats on a good decision (I made a similar but less dramatic one two years ago and haven't had a moment's regret). Do keep us posted on school! Oh, and my resolution is to stop eating various kinds of shite masquerading as food: lousy candy at the office, my daughter's occasional Dunkin Munchkins, fried junk appetizers. As my wife wisely suggests, I'm trying to make sure those unwanted calories are quality unwanted calories!

Two responses: That seems an unfair swipe -- unless the quality of the cheese sections at Dean & DeLuca, Balduccis, and especially Fairway have tumbled quite a bit. Any NYers care to comment? What would Steve Jenkins say? On the other hand, Did anyone else cringe when they saw this? What the hell was up with that? I'd love to know any back stories about it.

But if you're going to cook naked, be sure to wear an apron, as the moisture content in potatoes can make the duck fat splatter and...oh... wait... [Emily Litella]Never mind....[/Emily Litella]

I didn't make it to any haute palaces this year (unless you count an excellent meal at Esca, which I would not count). But even if I did, the best two restaurant meals I think I had in 2004 were at Soot Bull Jeep in LA, which I chronicled in this LA restaurant thread.

While I was learning about sauce thickeners early in my cooking life, I made an inedible version of chicken and snow pea "stir-fry" that was known among my college roommates as "chicken with corn starch." edited to fix a pesky preposition -- ca

WARNING: all of my anti-vegan prejudices are about to be exposed. It was a riot. The Cajun mom (a total sweetie who was portrayed to be far more intelligent than her Cali hosts) wanted to make alligator gumbo at a party, and when she told the family, they absolutely freaked out. So she changed and made the entire Cajun feast vegan: vegetables, tofu, the whole nine yards. They loved it -- but the vegans still managed to try to shame this woman who had worked all day making food for them when she tried to give them a gift (of course, an alligator skull). Cajuns 1, vegans 0. Meanwhile, the shrill, overbearing, smug, judgmental (ok, flame off) vegan mom spent virtually the entire episode trying to convert the Cajun family, and particularly the kid, to veganism. The eight year old boy regularly drilled holes into her lame logic for veganism; in response to his valid critiques, she would tell him that he was being disrespectful. When this family's Cajun pals all came over, they were treated to a truly horrific vegan feast AND a video about inhumane animal practices. Cajuns 2, vegans 0. At the end of the show, the two moms sit down together and talk: Cajun mom compliments the vegan family, their hospitality, their willingness to try vegan Cajun; vegan mom dresses down Cajun mom for her kid's behavior and suggests a new family dietary regimen. Sure, the fact that this woman didn't simply hang out in Cajun country and eat every item of food placed within arm's reach gets my panties twisted. But, more importantly, her thorough contempt for these folks and their culture proved she was, in the end, just a big asshole. Final score, Cajuns 3, vegans 0. Just like it'd happen in the real world.... edited because I can't spell when my panties are twisted -- ca

I agree -- it has become just what I hoped when I first posted the topic, thanks to all these great eGullet folks! Yes, well, thanks, I guess! I'm not quite sure what benefits this new status provides me. I should say that I did get several odd looks today at my preschool while wearing my new, navel-baring "I'm an eGoddess" t-shirt.... That's my hope, precisely. I think that starting another one as a new topic, a la the Wine of the Week (WOW) threads, might make the most sense. Not sure of the next dish, though. Maybe we can all think of a few possibilities and try to find a critical mass around one thing. I'd like to move around cuisines pretty widely, and certainly away from French cooking for a bit. The fun for me would be to keep doing more involved things that you rarely if ever make at home but enjoy when eating out (if you're lucky to be able to get it). It seems like the fun, risky, and rewarding work needed to make cassoulet got us talking, photo snapping, and sharing ideas -- doing what the eGullet community does best, in my opinion. So, for instance, I was thinking that other options could include pho (Vietnamese noodle soup), or a loaf of bread made with a new sourdough starter, or char siu bao (steamed BBQ pork buns), or.... ...or what??

no, not quite. I was unclear. It is either you make a crust with breadcrumbs and don't touch it at all, or you nurse the top by breaking up the crust each time it forms up to seven enriching the liquid below. Both are good, but different. Check on my edited note above on using the hearthkit. You can then see the differe[nce.] ← Ah, yes, I see now. Thanks!

I'm sorry! If it was better, I'd send the last frozen chunk to you Fed Ex! I'm afraid it might not pass muster, however.... Perhaps a more confident eGullet chef can zip some our sick friend's way! In Toulouse that is the only way to top a cassoulet. It is and was absolutely necessary to the making of cassoulet. Years ago, it was traditional to send the filled cassole to the local bread oven for baking. You couldn't possibly break the skin up to 7 times.While in mountainous regions around Carcassone you had your own baker's oven and you could afford to push the cassole around and get at it in order to break up the crust. They are both good. ← So the idea is to embed the crunchy texture of the toasted crumbs or crusty top into the beans for toothiness? Makes sense to me -- I hadn't thought of texture. The crust has such astonishing flavor (see my photo above; it got very brown on the edges, just amazing) that I had focused on that.

After getting used to it, the EdgePro takes only about five minutes per knife for me. How long does a grinder take? It also seems that a grinder can very easily take off shiteloads of metal without much effort (or with carelessness) -- at least, that's what it has seemed when I've brought in dull chef's knives and they come back sharp but thick slicing knives....

The frame under the carapace that ends at one end with the eyes, antennae, etc., protects a lot of things, including guts, etc. But that "etc" includes a chunk of intricate cartilage that provides the structure for the upper legs. That structure contains a large amount of meat, much of it very tender. Most people don't go near it, so that part is usually filled with good meat -- and thus with good flavor for stock. Check it out the next time you've got a head around.

Had the leftover cassoulet last night for dinner. It was really, really wonderful. I had to add a bit of water into the pot and cover it while it reheated in the oven. Anyone else getting a cassoulet cracking?

People on eGullet lead such interesting food lives!

Like others, I scored at xmas -- add five more!

I just wanted to say thanks, Chad, for this great tutorial. I bought the EdgePro system and just did my entire set. It's just fantastic -- and I will add well worth the $120. I used to spend $30-40 to sharpen my knives poorly once, so I've already worked off 1/3 of the price and will have paid it off by year's end. But I have a question for folks. Hathor noted that he, like I, got much better results than any time he's taken them to a knife professional. What's up with that? How come we get better results our first time with this system than "pros" get? I'm asking this sincerely; I'd be interested to hear from people who do this for a living. Thanks!

I've been lurking quietly until now but want to say -- ditto. You're all contributing a lot to my limited wine knowledge. Tx.

While not exactly a study, Jeffrey Steingarten wrote about this topic in The Man Who Ate Everything. I seem to remember that he wrote about this in NYC, but I could be wrong. Anyone have the book handy?