Jason Perlow

Right. What we and the Polish and Ukranians come to think of as "Pirogi" might be strictly Ukranian, Polish and Belorussian. What the Russians call Pirogi and Pirozshki appear to be more like "Hot Pocket" fast food things. After doing some Googling I think the word we are looking for is Pelmeni. There appear to be many types of Pelmeni though.

Well, try asking for Polish "pierogies" in some of the Russian grocery stores around Allston, MA. They looked at me as though I had two heads! Sure enough, there were none to be found in the three shops I searched. Unfortunately, I can't remember exactly what WAS in those shops otherwise I'd have something more to contribute to this thread. Pierogi exist in Ukranian cuisine though. A Ukranian church used to sell them every weekend when I lived in Cedar Knolls at Rachel's condo. I am also certain that Pierogi exist in Russian cuisine but maybe they aren't called that. EDIT: They are, in fact, called PIROGI http://www.geocities.com/tyshee.geo/pirogi.html Also see: http://www.ku.edu/~russcult/culture/handou...an_recipes.html "Pirog" means Pie. Although these refer to Pirozhki, and Pirogi has a slightly different meaning.

Of course, "Russian" , "Georgian" and "Polish" and "Ukranian" and "Belorussian" at least in terms of cuisine are all really relative terms prior to the 20th century... And I'd be hard pressed to make the distinction between Polish, Ukranian and Russian food, for the most part.

There is a lot truth to this espeically if the wine reduction is the focus of the sauce. Certainly I would never use chardonnay in a wine sauce... let alone for drinking!

Any $10 italian table wine will do. Sangiovese, Nebbiolo, Chianti. Any inexpensive red, country of origin unimportant. There is no "best" really, especially if you are going to do it in a tomato sauce. A lot of the varietal character is gonna get nuked by the acidity of the tomatoes, or if youre gonna add black pepper or peperoncini overpowered even more so. Its there to add some body and for deglazing the caramelization of other ingredients in the pot or pan, thats about it.

Well Brandon, now you have a reason to come back to NY soon... I'm glad the buffet was good, because I've never been to Diwan for lunch. In fact I've only been there once so far, Rachel has been there twice for dinner. What did your friends think of the place? EDIT: In case you haven't realized, Brandon is my west-coast struggling computer graphics whiz baby brother .. if anyone needs a 3D modeller and Alias/Softimage expert look him up..

Definitely Hunan Cottage on Route 46 in nearby Fairfield, which we have discussed on the site before. Serious Shanghainese style food, but ask for the "chinese" menu. Definitely different from what you are used to in SF with the abundance of Cantonese there. There is also a Moroccan place on 46, I think Marakesh its called, that has a set menu that is pretty good, which we've been to a few times. Only go if you REALLY know the people you are going with though as you eat with your hands.

Fried rice with egg, chinese sausage, spinach, mushrooms, carrot, scallion, garlic, sesame and cilantro Boiled heads-on shrimp with asian dipping sauce. Target "ChefMate" brand 16qt stainless-steel stockpot shown.

Furikake is great stuff. I shake it on plain sushi (Nishiki) rice.

The matsutake one looked really tasty. We have some furikake at home, its a great way of sprucing up some plain boiled Nishiki.

I would peel of the outer leaves and quarter them as matt suggests, and put them in a "cartoccio" package of aluminum foil with some olive oil, garlic, and perhaps some kind of chopped up bacon or pancetta. Put in oven at 400 degrees for like 30 mins. I've done them this way and they come out very nice.

Wow. Uh, Wow.

We made: 1) Pounded boneless pork chops, force marinaded via vacuum sealer in a Soy Vey teriyaki bath for 1/2 an hour and sauteed in a cast iron skillet, served in a sauce of pan juices deglazed with red wine vinegar, more Soy Vey Island Teriyaki sauce, canned pineapple chunks and chopped green onion. 2) Boiled potato pierogies with a sauce of melted butter. 3) The all too famous Jim Dixon/Amanda Hesser baked/caramelized cauliflower in Bettini EVOO.

Are you on crack? There is no such thing as too much pepper in sausage.

Perfect. He shouldn't mess with it.

I definitely like the current batch (and Fink and co. definitely agree, as they tasted some today) but I feel it is best used in breakfasty dishes, since it is more crumbly and more spicy. Used as such it is definitely a superior specimen. My favorite to date was Klink's first attempt, which was so smoky it had to be soaked in water. SMOKE IS GOOD!

Indeed King Yum stills exist and thrives from what I understand. It is really a great example of the Chinese-American restaurant that has survived from another era. I think it would be great fun to check out their food, not just their egg rolls. I know they were recently running a Chinese New Year's menu - heard it advertised on the radio. From what I understand Eddie, they still make the best wonton soup and egg foo young in Queens. But I haven't eaten there in a good 25 years. It would be nice to go back.

Should be dense and chewy, and should have a lot of finely chopped peices of pork or small shrimps in it. Outer skin should be crispy and not too doughy, and it should be a dark golden brown. The finely chopped chinese cabbage should have the flavor of the pork and shrimp in it, and the egg roll should be just greasy enough to impart the flavors of other egg rolls fried in that fryer but not too greasy.

Butcher block is overrated, unsanitary and difficult to maintain crap. Its shit that belongs on a cable kitchen redecoration show hosted by Martha Stewart and nowhere else. Do what FG suggests. Portable, dishwasher safe cutting boards are the way to go.

I grew up on egg rolls from Queens and they don't make 'em like they made 'em anymore. For starters, I distinctly remember egg rolls having BOTH small shrimps (reconstiuted dried?) in them as well as roast pork in it (which arguably also tasted different back then). And I think as a general rule, Egg Rolls and a lot of other chinese food back in the day tasted better before NYC started to really crack down on health laws -- I think the oil used 25-30 years ago was re-used more often which imparted a different flavor to them. And they were greasier and I liked them that way. Any chinese restaurant on Union Turnpike in Flushing, Fresh Meadows or Hollis Hills 25 years ago. A place like King Yum, which is still the oldest operating Chinese restaurant in Queens (1953). Thats where the best egg roll was. Maybe its time for a long overdue visit to the old neighborhood.

What I don't understand here is why Mario would pick such esoteric dishes that weren't frequently ordered in the restaurant to give to these kids -- it makes no sense to me. If you're gonna give them only 4 days to master a dish, it should be the most frequently ordered dishes in the entire restaurant, so they can learn to prepare them over, and over, and over again. I have a feeling though, Mario really stuck it to Joe for showing up late at the greenmarket by giving him the dishes he did.

Well, you have to eat them IMMEDIATELY after putting them in the broth.

while they don't really count as "International" potato chips, I really like Target's brand of chips in the light green bag. Right now at home we have some "Thai Flavored" from them chips that are really good.

Although you don't really see it on menus anymore, I really like subgum wonton soup with FRIED wontons. Something very early seventies about it tht I just love.

Velvet Chicken with Corn Soup. Order it almost every time when we do takeout. When eating at a serious Chinese restaurant I like to order hot and sour, or if they have it, a water spinach with chicken soup or a pork with preserved vegetables soup.