Jason Perlow

More pictures on this thread: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=51561

Inspired by the Best made cakes in North Jersey thread, there are more pictures on that thread as well... Patisserie St Michel 1389 Queen Anne Rd Teaneck, NJ 07666-3540 Phone: 201-837-8140 Creme Brulee Pistachio Creme Brulee Fruit Tarts Cheese Croissants Opera Cake Chocolate and Raspberry Mousse Cake Peach Tart Tiramisu Baguette Baker/Patissier Andre Schneider

Wanna know more about this cool Citron and what to do with it after Sukkos? How to Grow Etrogs http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/citron.html A great article by a horticulturist on the etrog. Citron: Horticultural/Factual Data, Purdue U. http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/citron.html Historical information and various infomation regarding the Citron. Cooking with Etrogs http://www.njjewishnews.com/njjn.com/10903/ltlulav.html Everything You Wanted to Know about Etrogs http://members.aol.com/zrsesrog/lulav.htm Dr David Wiseman sells etrog trees, plus a book which contains 56 pages of etrog information. Plus great links about etrogs. Esrogim.com http://www.esrogim.com The Esrog/Etrog SUPERSITE!!!

Perhaps I am overracting or am just feeling the pinch from not being able to bill Wall Street clients $100 an hour and up for consulting services anymore, however we eat a lot of pasta around this house, and we frequently buy like 4 1lb boxes of Barilla for $5 when it is onsale at Shop Rite (or is it 5 for $4?). If I am going to spend that kind of dough on pasta, I'm going to go the Bronx and get fresh stuff from Borgatti or I am going to go for some of that Tagliatelle Nero squid ink stuff for a special blow out seafood pasta meal. I just don't see the value in plain dried pasta that costs more than twice the price of Barilla, which is already pretty damn good. That being said, bring me over some Setaro next time and maybe after trying it I will think otherwise.

Kinsey, you just proved to me beyond a reasonable doubt you are fucking insane. FIVE BUCKS A KILO? For DRIED PASTA? We're talking regular shapes and durum semolina mix, not special flavors and stuff? Are you nuts? I can get fresh pasta for less than that!

True, but these are things that can be sold off separately from their baking operations.

So what's wrong with Barilla?

I would be curious, however, to see their Pro Forma and know exactly which of those brands are doing well and which are not, though.

Actually Chapter 11 doesn't mean the end of the world for this company, as we all know. If it was Chapter 7, it would have been really bad news. You can still operate as a Chapter 11 and come out of bankruptcy, its happened to quite a few notable companies. It does probably mean that their badly-selling brands will either be terminated or some assets such as poorly performing bakeries in lackluster regions might be sold off though to bring them out of bankruptcy.

I would like to echo all of Steven's statements -- Craig, we of course are in awe and in great appreciation of all the time and effort you put into growing the Italian Food/Italy and Wine community on eG and your presence as a manager will be sorely missed. I hope that we'll still see a lot of you. We know and realize that as with the careers of chefs having to move between restaurants, sometimes people need to move on to do other things -- and as this is a volunteer organization we fully understand one's time here is always limited and we should enjoy and appreciate those contributions while we still have them. That being said, your time here was exemplary and you contributed a great deal -- and thus we wish you luck and success with yoiur future endeavors.

I've heard that they dull very easily and the handles are not nearly as well constructed.

I've heard very bad things about the Spanish-made Henckels, they are nowhere near up to the German ones in quality. I'd go for the Victorinox/Forschner instead at that price range.

You might be able to find ONE decent chef's knife for < $75, but even that might be stretching it. Then again, all you really need is a chefs' knife and a paring knife if you are roughing it. I only use one knife and a parer anyways. You can get a JA Henckels 10 inch chef knife on Amazon for $90, which is pretty much a top of the line brand. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detai...T/egulletcom-20 The 8 Inch is $80, and Amazon has free shipping. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detai...S/egulletcom-20 You can also get a Wusthof Classic Chef's Knife with Parer for $92: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detai...G/egulletcom-20 The Wusthof Grand Prix, which has the same blade as the Classic but has a strong plastic composite handle, is $65: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detai...5/egulletcom-20 We have both a Wusthof and the JA Henckels chefs knives at home and they have been serving us very well. On the lower end, I have also heard good things about Victorinox -- those are the guys who make Swiss Army Knives. They have a 8 inch chefs knife for $30. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/store...Q/egulletcom-20 The 10 inch Victorinox/Forschner with rosewood handle is about the same price: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detai...K/egulletcom-20 Their paring knife is $10: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detai...2/egulletcom-20 For steak knives I would go with the "Gaucho" brand made by Adcraft used by chain steak restaurants, you can usually find a restaurant quality set of 12 for like $15-$20 at restaurant supply stores. They also have the wider stainless steel steak knives for cutting into thick steaks as well that are 4 to a pack for like $20. Thats what we use at home and are very happy with them. Amazon has a pack of 12 of the regular ones for $18. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detai...6/egulletcom-20 FoodServiceDirect.com also carries the Adcraft Gaucho, they have a bit more selection: http://www.foodservicedirect.com/index.cfm...teak_Knives.htm

I've also had a Priorat lately that had too much heat as far as I was concerned -- I had a 2002 Onix the other day that was 14 percent alcohol and while the flavors were ok, the excessive heat was as you say, too much of a distraction. Although I understand that with Priorats, the legal minimum is 13.5 percent and they can go up to 16 percent. So maybe I'm just not keen on the style of wine. Of course, this was only a $12 wine, so maybe I am asking too much. Good Priorats are out of my price range. :)

Another article in the New York Times, this time focusing on the turmoil at the James Beard Awards Committee in the face of recently publicised James Beard Foundation financial management problems: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/22/dining/22BEAR.html

When Rachel and I went to Jamaica we found a lot of Soy sauce being sold in grocery stores under Jamaican brand names. There are a lot of Chinese in Jamaica. In fact, there are quite a few Jamaican chinese in the NY metro area. Near my house in fact is a Chinese guy that runs a Jamaican deli -- every time I go in there to buy stuff (patties) he always offers me a small shot of "roots" which is this horrible bitter stuff with medicinal qualities. I drink it, so as to be friendly, but man that stuff is nasty.

Ciao tutti! Thanks for stopping in to see me. As I write you, I am in Modena, trying to sort out the changes within the consortium that protects Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena, the glorious elixir from this northern province. The Italian Trade Commission has asked me to prepare an article for their Vinotizie newsletter, which will be inserted in several nationally circulated magazines (Santé, Quarterly Review of Wine, Wine Country, and some others) in December, along with some other topics of Italian interest. Tonight I will be back home in Fontecornino. That is our località, a tiny part (3 or 4 farms) of Frazione S.Albino, a small village which is a ‘fraction’ of Montepulciano. Montepulciano is a charming hilltown in the province of Siena, halfway between Florence and Rome. This is the road to my house…. …where we picked the last of the blackberries last week. Stickery, buggy work, if you can get it. They were dry, hard little berries because we are at the end of the season, but also because we didn’t get much rain again this summer. Their flavor was concentrated and made a good jam, in any case. As in the Nora Jones song, it never rains when you want it to…and the rain finally came a few days ago. Rain blown sideways by the wind, hail in some parts (and grapes haven’t been harvested yet), lightening and heart-stopping thunder. I lost a fruitful limb of one of my favorite fig trees, and too many of my precious olives were knocked off. On the other hand, this rain plus a few sunny days may get the porcini started. My postino gives me a daily report on porcini futures, and sometimes takes me with him to hunt for them. Have you noticed how preoccupied this former California girl (now Tuscan farmer) has become with weather? Oh, gosh, I think I just wrote my first blog! Let’s interact. I’m looking forward to the next few days of Q&A with you. Given the time change, you may see a delay in my responses, but I’ll get them up as soon as possible. Peace, Pamela

After earning a Master's Degree in Education/Administration, Pamela taught cooking and food service to students with disabilities for ten years. She took a leave of absence in 1986 to pursue a love for cooking which began with employment with one of L.A.'s finest chefs, Joachim Splichal. This led to a management position with Ma Cuisine Cooking School (the cooking school of Ma Maison restaurant, Los Angeles) for two years. When Ma Cuisine closed in 1989, Pamela embarked on a freelance career that, over the last fifteen years, has included teaching, food styling, cooking school administration, and food writing. In 1992, Pamela and her husband, Courtney Johns, moved to Santa Barbara where she started the Cooking School at Jordano’s Marketplace. At this same time, she also began working as the representative of an Italian culinary program, and her first cookbook, Healthy Gourmet, was published. When Jordano’s Marketplace moved in 1996, the cooking school was closed. This created the opportunity to further develop the culinary workshops in Italy and devote more time to food writing. A regular visitor to Italy since 1983, Pamela now lives full-time in Tuscany and coordinates wine and food workshops in various regions: Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna, Campania, Sicily, Veneto, Abruzzo, and Piemonte as well as managing an olive oil-producing farm and agriturismo (bed & breakfast inn). Details at www.FoodArtisans.com Her books include: Healthy Gourmet (Collins, 1994), nominated for a James Beard Cookbook Award Parmigiano! (Ten Speed Press,1997), received a foreign journalism award from Maria Luigia, Parma. Translated and published in German. Williams Sonoma Lifestyles: Vegetarian for All Seasons (Time-Life, 1998) Balsamico! (Ten Speed Press,1998). Translated and published in German and French Italian Food Artisans (Chronicle Books, 1999) International Cookbook Revue awarded in the top three Italian cookbooks in the world. Translated and published in German. Pizza Napoletana (Ten Speed Press,1999) Gelato! (Ten Speed Press,2000) Pasta! (Ten speed Press, 2001). Translated and published in French Williams Sonoma Risotto (Simon & Schuster, 2002) Holiday Hearts (Ten Speed Press,. 2003) Williams-Sonoma Italian Collection (Simon & Schuster, 2003) Festive Picnics (Ten Speed Press, 2004) Her newest book, Prosciutto, Pancetta, and Salame will be published by Ten Speed Press in Spring 2005.

If you want a blow out, fine dining experience, that is on the level of a four star restaurant in NYC, I highly recommend The Fifth Floor. Laurent Gras is a genius.

Fruit and Vegetables are "Pareve" meaning they are neither meat or dairy, and are in effect neutral food items. A Jew that is keeping kosher will readily accept a gift of fresh fruit or vegetables. EDIT: Just spoke with a very Orthodox friend of mine and he said "Fresh fruits and veggies are definitely your best bet, as some people are picky about the Kosher symbols on packaged goods -- and you have OU, OU-D, Kof-K, Triangle-K, Star-K, all of which have their adherents, don't get me started."

Its Greek To Me in Cliffside Park and Englewood makes a solid gyro. Also the Gyros at Greek Village in Northvale are exceptional and the portions are HUGE. for a more upscale experience Sapphire in Tenafly and Samdan in Cresskill make excellent Doner Kebab, which is the Turkish equivalent to Gyro, although it is typically served on a plate with rice and salad -- you make your own little sandwiches with the accompanying bread. While not specifically Gyro, I also reccommend Bennies' in Englewood (recently got nice ratings in the NYT), which is a Lebanese restaurant and has many of the Mezze/salad accompaniments to Gyro and Doner Kebab -- plus lots of stuff you don't see in Greek cuisine. They do phenomenal Kofta Kebab (lamb) and Chicken Shwarma sandwiches. If she likes Gyros she definitely will like these as well.

Menton, is that place a kosher bakery? Or is it coincidentally just in Teaneck?

Here are all the dates for Tony's cookbook tour, provided to us by his PR representation at Morse Partners: Les Halles Cookbook Tour (PDF) You need the Adobe Acrobat reader (free) to read it.

I've been to both countries.

And vastly better pornography, Menton.