Jason Perlow

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?...WIG619OSAL1.DTL Sixty years ago, cocktail history was made in Oakland, with the creation of the Mai Tai -- a fruity and powerful concoction that has been associated with breezy relaxation ever since. The Mai Tai soon became the signature drink of Trader Vic's, a South Seas- styled bar and restaurant that expanded beyond its roots in Oakland to become an international chain. And the drink itself -- with its thick, rich texture and citrus and cherry undertones softening the meaty punch of two different rums -- has gone forth into the world beyond Trader Vic's, becoming a standard at tiki and lounge bars and even appearing on airlines flights.

There's also all the absinthe cocktails made with Pernod or Anisette (of which the Sazerac is one): http://www.the-night.net/absinthe/cocktails.htm

I'm pretty sure that the Milk Punch is served at all the major Brennan restaurants, including Commanders, Palace Cafe. and Mr. B's. Its milky and sweet (but not over the top sweet like a hurricane), which makes it ideal I guess at Brennan's to accompany their breakfast. Its defintiely a drink that can be made in large amounts, so it fits that requirement.

What about that cocktail that they serve at Brennans? Its kind of milky. The Bloody Bull, which is a bloody mary with beef stock in it, is also very New Orleans.

Great to hear you are doing well Dave -- and looking forward to you guys opening again, even in a limited fashion.

I would think that the most prudent thing would be to ask your favorite restaurant which brand they use, and to have them show you the box. Japanese Green Tea and Chinese style green teas are different, for the most part Japanese use "Matcha" which is like a powder. The Chinese have a lot of varieties in green tea, depending on what country and province it is from (PRC, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia). Taiwanese companies like Ten Ren have fragrance infused green teas as well as flower/green tea blends in various grade levels. And of course the Koreans have green tea as well. http://www.green-tea.us/matcha.htm The main Japanese supermarket in NJ is Mitsuwa which is in Edgewater, and they have a good tea selection. Han Ah Reum is a korean supermarket in Ridgefield Park (they have Englewood and Hackensack locations as well) and they carry Japanese, Korean and Chinese types.

Actually, the pork chops were good, as Char Siu flavored pork chops. But definitely not the real deal. I'll buy some shoulder butt and pork loin or perhaps a pork roast to try this again.

Very cool website. Nice writeup too.

Who here has made Char Siu at home? Tonight, I sort of made an improvisational Char Siu inspired dish using center cut pork chops: I marinated the pork chops in soy sauce (kikkoman type), chopped scallion, grated ginger, sesame oil, chinese rice wine, sherry, and sugar for 3 hours in a vaccum container, and then brushed a commercial Char Siu bbq sauce (LEE KUM KEE) on it, baked for like 30 minutes, and broiled them for a few minutes to caramelize the bbq sauce. It came out very tasty, pork was juicy, but not really like real Char Siu. What cut of meat is used in a real char siu? What is the correct marinade? What is a good home made Char Siu glaze?

Asian Marinaded Center Cut Pork Chops, with Char Siu BBQ Glaze: Served with Soya/Garlic/Ginger/Scallion seasoned rice and Sauteed Long Beans with Garlic and Oyster Sauce.

Mr. Mcgee -- thanks again for spending your valuable time on this wonderful Q&A. I asked Alton Brown, another notable food writer who has his hand in food science, if he was interested in asking you any food science questions -- he responded with the following:

I'm not sure. During the holidays, you can't taste them through all the alcohol. Sorry.

Jamesons and Heavy Cream with raw turbinado is even better.

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=26186 Han Il Kwan in Fort Lee itself is excellent, if Korean BBQ is what you are looking for. The one in the Han Ah Reum shopping center, Han Hae Do, is good for other types of korean specialties such as dumplings. The "new" location of Koreana in Fort Lee is also very good, but I haven't been in a while.

Is this stuff the same stuff as Belacan, used in Malaysian food? In which case, sauteed convolous or string beans or okra with shrimp paste and chili (Kangkung Belacan) is a popular preparation.

Jo-Mel's Chinese VINEGAR SPLASHED MEATBALLS WITH SESAME SEEDS Served with mixed grains and Japanese Spinach with Sesame Sauce (Horenso Goma Ae)

I just looked again, I didn't see one. I guess they figure Jews aren't interested in drinking Gentile-flavored soda?

I was about to pick up a bottle of Holiday Spice Pepsi last night when I was warned off. Apparently it's pretty nasty tasting. ← No, the Holiday Spice Pepsi actually is good. However, I just looked at my 2 Liter bottle and I didnt see a Hechsher of any kind, so at least as far as you are concerned, the point is moot.

I actually think its a nice improvment over Pepsi, yid or not.

I'm never going to figure the whole competing Hechsher thing out. I thought basically all vegetables were pareve? Is it because its a processed food? As to the Empire Kosher Frozen Latkes... whats to stop you from eating them year round?

Right. Instead, you have like what, a dozen or so Cafe Du Monde stores? LOL! EDIT: Only seven CDM's so far. But I think you have another small beignet/cafe au lait chain, Café Beignet taking up the slack, right? DOUBLE EDIT: 24 PJ's and 13 Community Coffees as well, not to mention 3 or 4 other smaller chains. I think the Coffee chain biz in New Orleans is pretty saturated.

Very interesting, indeed. Folks that don't routinely make cornbread dressing/stuffing might not know this, but it isn't made from ALL cornbread crumbs. It's a mixture of cornbread and white bread, as in my recipe, and fifi's, and everybody else's I've ever seen. Sometime in the late 50's, I believe, my mother began using the Pepperidge Farm white-bread-based "Herb Stuffing" for the white bread portion of her cornbread dressing. And that's what I do today. I agree that it's a good product. ← By the way, the Pepperidge Farm company archivist called me this morning, and told me that according to their documents, the Stuffing product was introduced commercially in 1940 (Their first large scale plant in Norwalk, CT was opened in 1947) from the business in Ms. Rudkin's home. The stuffing was one of the original products besides Melba Toast (which does not survive today) which were developed by Margaret Rudkin to use up stale bread returns. If you want to see what the current Pepperidge Farm Bloomfield, CT operation looks like today, there's an interesting article here: http://www.foodengineeringmag.com/CDA/Arti...,122568,00.html If you think about all the automation involved, its really quite impressive.

The seeds are edible -- toss them in olive oil, salt and pepper them, maybe a little bit of paprika, and roast them in an oven for about 40 minutes -- they are called Pepitas and are eaten as snacks. If you have the patience to peel the shells, the meats can be used in Mexican mole sauces such as Pepian sauce. Other than that, everything else in the Jack O Lantern type pumpkin is not edible.

See pictures upthread. As you cant go to the fields and aging rooms anymore, I'm gonna say no. Very cool company store though.

Celeriac and Kohlrabi are good.