Special K

Yes, I know, John. The letter would have to be written very carefully. But as someone who waits impatiently every week to read rebuttals from authors in the weekly book reviews magazines in the NYT and the London Times, I know that they can be written successfully. In fact, they often start out with the disclosure that the reviewer who panned the book has a vested interest in seeing the book fail. And Don Giovanni did ask what we would do.

"Clean as you go." It's a pretty good philosphy of life in general, I've found. Don't leave messes for somebody else to clean up.

Yeah, what's with these cooks who just rub a clove of garlic onto the cut slices and call that garlic bread?? When I was a kid making the garlic bread was my job on Friday nights. Mom would make a batch of spaghetti sauce and our babysitter (and later my older brother) would cook up the spaghetti for us to eat while the folks went out to dinner (Dad disliked spaghetti, but we kids loved it). Mom would slice the loaf into individual pieces, keeping the bottom crust attached as zoe b describes, and then I'd put a pat of butter and a shake of garlic powder (mom never used anything but that - no actual garlic cloves in our house!) between each slice and wrap the loaf in the foil and the sitter would warm it up in the oven to serve with the spaghetti (and a salad, if the she was really conscientious). Delicious! I don't eat bread any more, either, but thanks for that nice memory. Edited because I remembered that Mom actually sliced the bread for me; I was only allowed to use the butter knife then.)

At our TJ's a couple of weeks ago (in the new Ballard/Seattle store) I found "Dover Sole Fillet(s), wild caught" - I know there are probably not real Dover sole fillets, since they appear to have been caught in Monrovia, CA, but daaayum!!! they were good!! I just did a simple sole meuniere (and isn't it odd that there's no recipe for that in MTAOFC??) and we were in heaven. Went back yesterday to stock up, and hey! Since it was the day after Valentine's day they were giving away bouquets of a dozen red roses. Coincidentally, yesterday happened to be hubby's birthday, so that was pretty darned cool! (Guess what we had for dinner?) Edited because the color "red" has no "a" in it. Sheesh.

Here is what my friend had so say: "Here are some restaurants they may want to check out: Bern’s (very pricey steak house, is a legend around here, looks like a French bordello inside, but the food is fabulous) Mise en Place (very good French restaurant) Flemings Steak House Mitchell’s Fish Market (very good!) Malio’s (another Tampa legend, steak is specialty) Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion Cuisine (people rave about it, www.roysrestaurant.com) Bella’s Italian Café (One of my all time favorite restaurants. Their Insalata Mista salad is wonderful.) Charley’s Aged Steaks and Market Fresh Fish (I’ve never eaten there, but it’s my niece’s favorite restaurant) The Palm (www.thepalm.com is at Westshore Mall, and so is Mitchell’s) That’s a good start. Most of them are somewhat pricey, but sometimes you’ve got to pay for good food. Hope that helps. If I can think of any more, I’ll let you know." I don't know if these are "chef/market driven" but I hope this helps.

I don't know if you could prove criminal malice, but if I were you I certainly would write a letter to the editor of the journal or paper where this review was published, and rebut it. You could point out that you have a history with this reviewer and that you suspect s/he was being malicious and unethical. You could also point out the other, favorable review(s) of this wine. Do it as civilly as you can; keep to the moral high ground. Let the readers, who will now have both sides of the story, decide for themselves.

Here's what my friend has to say: For a taste of old Arizona, I'd hit a Cowboy Steakhouse, especially, Riata Pass in the desert north of Scottsdale, I know that you can get steaks in NYC but can you sit outside under a Palo Verde tree and smell the wood burning open fire.

You say polenta/I say grits. I always use stock in my grits simply b/c I think it adds to the flavor (along w/ hot sauce, salt, pepper, & some times cheese). Grits are usually a coarser grind than polenta but what ever you put in to them does not change the fact that they are grits. If you cook rice in stock it is still rice so why should grits be any different? I agree, Lan4Dawg. I almost never use plain water to cook anything when I can use (or at least add) stock or white wine or OJ or some other flavorful liquid instead. For grits it's vegetable stock. Why not? I've never had any complaints! And I never have gotten the distinction between grits and polenta. In fact, I've often served "polenta" to guests who would never in a million years touch grits. Yes, I'm devious that way.

I have friends who live in Phoenix. I'll ask them and get back to you. I would send you straight to the Arizona Kitchen at the Wigwam, but I think it has closed since we were last there.

I have a friend who lives in Tampa - I'll ask her and get back to you. When are you going?

Hmm. Do the "beefier" herbs contain more oil?

Sez here http://homecooking.about.com/od/foodstorage/a/sagestorage.htm "Be aware that freezing will intensify the flavor of the herb and adjust accordingly." Sage, at least.

Two goodies today: Trail of Crumbs, a memoir by Kim Sunee, and a nice copper egg white bowl. Score! I've wanted that bowl for a long time, but would never pay $100+ for it. Got it for $15.

I no longer live in the south, but I am a Southerner (born in Atlanta to parents born in Nashville). I don't order grits here in Seattle, but when I make them for myself I season them with freshly ground pepper and truffle salt (I use Ritrovo Selections brand - I've tried others, and they don't have nearly as much truffly goodness). OK, maybe not authentically Southern, but oh, my, is it good!

"New Yorker" usually has one big food issue a year (I think it shows up around August or September). I get American Express's "Departures" magazine (no, I don't have the Black card!), which usually has one or two interesting articles about food. Oh, and "Sunset" and "Coastal Living," and of course "Martha Stewart Living."

I experimented with slow-cooking a frozen roast last week. Other than the fact that I was too chicken to use the low setting and left it on high for too long so that it was a bit overdone to my taste, it worked a treat. I'm going to do it again this weekend - on low. So convenient, to just be able to take it out of the freezer, sear the outside and plunk it in there with some seasonings!

Thanks, John. I'll check it out. Thanks also for the reference to Taubes' book - I have it on order.

I think they're talking about pre-civilization man - literally cave man - before there were nomads or tribes, before they learned to herd animals and do even any rudimentary farming. The idea is that if they could kill it with a rock or maybe a spear, or pick it off a tree or find it growing wild, they could eat it. The paleo diet enthusiasts say eat food only if it can be eaten raw (doesn't have to be raw, but it could be). I don't think anybody's going to ask me to eat raw meat (except steak tartare) or seafood (except oysters). I'm guessing cave men learned how to use fire to roast meat before they began to farm, etc. I'm not sure I buy it either, JAZ. I'm just gathering info. But regardless of the premise, the diet itself doesn't sound as radical as Atkins. Thanks for your input.

This is the "Eat meat, eggs, nuts, fruits, and non-starchy vegetables/Don't eat dairy, cereal, legumes, starchy vegetables, sugar, processed foods, or salt" diet. It looks a lot like Atkins, but with fruit and some vegetables. It's touted as more of a "healthy lifestyle" diet than a weight-loss diet, but apparently you can lose unwanted weight on it as well. It's supposed to be helpful for those of us with "Syndrome X" AKA Metabolic Syndrome (insulin resistance). Anybody out there have any experience with it? I think I'm going to have to try it. I never had much luck sticking with Atkins, but if I can have some vegetables, this might work for me!

I just got French Feasts, by Stephane Reynaud. I love this book! It's so much fun! It's almost like a scrapbook, with all kinds of interesting little drawings, personality profiles, etc., plus recipes, of course - and gorgeous photography. I'm limiting myself to only a few pages a day, because I don't want it to end. Now all of Reynaud's other books are on my wish list.

I bake a lot of goodies but I never eat them myself. Sugar has a weird aftertaste to me; I prefer artificial sweetener in my tea. But I could eat those cool chocolate oranges that break apart into segments (Trader Joe's are good) until the cows come home - apparently the orange flavor masks the sugar aftertaste. And another vote for Two Buck Chuck. I do enjoy a really good wine when I can get it, but for every day, I'm fine with the Chuck.

Pretty much any "convience food" that comes in little packets - oatmeal, grits, etc. The packet stuff isn't always terrible per se, it's just that making this stuff "from scratch" is much cheaper, and usually takes no more time, really. Also, I know what's in mine - and what's not. But I have to admit, just last night I decided that my poor arthritic hands deserve a break, so I've given myself permission to buy cut-up butternut squash and the like.

Great idea, just a favor please ? Run it by my sous chef, cleaner and chief cheerleader (wife) first , she agrees we are good to go ! I'm sure you two are joking, but just in case, DON'T DO IT! The egg will explode, if not in the microwave then after the egg is removed from the microwave, where it can do a lot of damage (ever caught a piece of very hot flying eggshell in the eye?).

I use stemless wine glasses (got mine from Cost Plus World Market - got a set of 12 so I'm covered if any break, but none has yet, it's such a perfect design - cats can't knock them over) -- and the best part is, they stack! Like Nakji, I use them for other things as well. I have sets of 12 of two different plates (both thrift shop finds - one plain blue, the other white with a blue pattern - they work well together). The only problem with stacking them all in the cabinet (which is quite wide) is that they are so heavy the middle shelves are starting to sag - I fully expect to come home one day and find that the shelves have snapped and all of my dishes are broken! If I had someplace else to stash half of them, I would, but that's not an option. I need to replace the shelves or find some way to reinforce them. I'm thinking of cutting pieces of board to fit in vertically, like load-bearing dividers, but that will make it awkward to get to some things (it's a corner cupboard). Your cabinets are beautiful, Shalmanese! (We need a green-with-envy emoticon.) As to your question, I have a set of graduated metal stacking mixing bowls with lids (Costco) a set of glass ones (another thrift shop find) and a bunch of the little silicone pinch bowls for prep, and various sizes of lidded plastic containers (which all stack neatly into one small area) for storage. Yes, I have to pull out the largest container and dig around for the smaller ones, but that's no big deal for me. I also have several small rectangular lidded glass bowls, which I like because I can see what's in 'em, and if it's something that's nuke-able they can go right into the microwave with no BPA worries. As to cutlery, we got two sets as wedding presents (37 years ago!); one "every-day" which I never really liked (from my dear MIL, who meant well but had completely different taste in flatware), and one "special" which I love (nothing really fancy, just Onieda American Colonial stainless, but it's special to me 'cuz it's was from my Mom, who asked what we'd like ). When my sister got married, she got the same set from Mom, and started using it for every-day - and that's when I decided life is too short to use cutlery I don't like! So now I have just the special set, which, sadly, is no longer made (but I know about Replacements Ltd. so if I need more I know where to look - in fact I just put a few things on my Christmas wish list!). Which is a long-winded way of saying, keep looking, find something you love, get a "starter" set, start collecting, and get rid of everything else.

I don't parboil either. I thought that was just to save time, and when I roast potatoes it's usually when I'm slow-roasting a chicken or a big hunk of meat. I just cut baby potatoes or fingerlings in half lengthwise, toss them in a big ziplock bag, add a generous amount of olive oil, pesto, and a lot of salt and pepper, and then I massage the bag until everything is fully coated.* Then I convect roast them (one layer in a half-sheet pan) at whatever temperature whatever else in the oven needs, until they're fork-tender (no need to turn them). Occasionally they get a bit overcooked - well, they look overcooked - and while they might look sad, they're really good that way, too. I have also roasted potatoes with the chicken or roast resting right on top of them, as Chris Hennes does, at higher heat when I'm short on time. *You know what? It just occurred to me that since I season the chicken or meat the same way (in a big ziplock bag), I could probably just throw the potatoes in with the chicken and season them all together, saving a step (and putting one less ziplock bag into the landfill). I think I'll try that next time. edited to identify which Chris