I_call_the_duck

Lorna, you was robbed by that French judge! What was his/her reasoning behind the 5? Did that come from the giggly actress? Yes, it's much better when Henry and I work on separate components of the same dish, and bring it together at the last moment. That way, we're not getting in one another's way. ← Same here. I actually do most of the cooking in the house since I'm a control freak and VERY anal about my knives. Our styles and levels of cooking are also different (Mr. Duck has a limited repertoire and skills to match). When we do cook together, we either do things separately or occasionally be each other’s sous chef. I think my New Year’s resolution this year will be to be a little more relaxed in the kitchen, because we do have fun when we cook together. BUT he knows more about wine than I do, so I'm the cook while he's the sommelier.

Lorna, I love your drunken entry! You mentioned that it was hot and crowded in Henry’s kitchen, but it seems that otherwise you work well together. How do you coordinate your cooking when you're not doing an Iron Chef competition? Can we have a kitchen shot, or did I miss it? Wow, that was some first date! Has he been up to Vancouver yet?

If that happens, the Chicago City Council will vote for putting a ban on peaches. Those poor Chicagoians need a break. Give peaches a chance.

Holy Peaches, Batman! That was amazing. Hey, how did Jeffrey Steingarten get in there? I was hoping for the persnickety food critic. So yes, I could also tell who’s dish was who’s. I think IC#2 has a slight lead for originality, specifically that peach foie gras. I’m a sucker for foie. Did I read correctly? Ginger ALTOIDS? IC#1 gets more points for presentation. Each dish had a nice symmetry going. (IC#1, for the ice cream, did you steep the mint and then puree some into your base? What type of mint did you use?) But I think IC#1’s dishes were more complex and well thought out. This is hard. Not wanting to insult either of you, I’d be happy to eat any of those dishes, but since we have to vote, here goes. My scores are: Iron Chef #1 (Lorna) – 9 points Iron Chef #2 (Henry) – 7 points

Damn! This is what happens when I skip a blog or two. Congrats, Lorna and Henry. You two are so cute together, and I’m loving this blog so far. What's "vegetables?" ← HA! A match made in heaven!

WOW! Thanks for sharing your week with us. I'm in love with your son and dog.

Oh, I totally forgot about those. Hest88, what is the significance of the “new mother” dish? I think my mom made it occasionally, so it's been even longer since I've had that dish!!

Bryan, what is your budget for stemware? Have you tried IKEA, Linens & Things, or Bed, Bath & Beyond? Franklin Mills in Philly has a BB&B outlet store, and you can often find some good stuff in their clearance aisles. With an out-of-state driver's license, you get a discount coupon book at the information desk. And with those 20% off coupons that arrive in almost everybody's mailbox on a monthly basis, you may probably find something relatively inexpensive that's not unattractive.

I'd like to see Kandy Kakes or Butterscotch Krimpets, as reimagined by Shola. ← So would I. The people at Metropolitan Bakery do an amazing interpretation of a Mallomar, and I can only imagine what Shola would do with a Tastykake creation.

I love pig's feet too! My dad used to brown them, then braise them in a Chinese fermented shrimp sauce. That skin was sooo good, and I loved the gelatinous texture of the er, trotter part. I haven't had them in a long time, because he stopped making them when his doctor told him to lay off the fatty food. I had trouble finding them when I moved out on my own, and now that I know where to get them, Mr. Duck, who will eat almost anything, won't touch them.

OK, so here's some more info. We peeked in there last night out of curiosity. The place was bright and clean, with several tables for dine-in guests. I just glanced at the condiments bar, but it looked like any other. We didn’t buy anything because we just had dinner, but did have a chance to chat with none other than Bootsie (not Barnes) himself. The store had just opened last Saturday, and according to Bootsie, has been doing a brisk business during lunch. He was eating an ostrich burger. The bun looked to be your standard mass-produced bakery type, but the burger itself, which looked to be about 8 oz. was topped with chopped portobellos, and looked really good. All the meat is organic and comes from some source in California. I commented on the cool sausage combinations, and Bootsie says that he’s hoping to get even more types of meat such as wild boar, or whatever is in season. Add duck to the menu and he’ll be my new best friend. About the Kobe (Wagyu!) beef hot dog, he said that the reason why it’s relatively inexpensive is that “he doesn’t have the need to incur a 7000% mark up”. Bottom line, would I go? Probably. The kids menu actually looks somewhat reasonable if I can get away with ordering that. A 1/4# Angus burger, fries, and a drink for $5 ain’t such a bad deal. Yeah, the other items are more expensive than your usual places, but they look interesting enough that it’s worth at least one visit.

Actually, wild mushroom/shrimp will make an interesting surf n' turf. Sorry, but I still can't grasp the fishcake and hotdog concept. I'm really interested in the rabbit-veal sausage. May be worth a visit.

We happened to be on the east side of Broad Street for a change, and with the coupon burning a hole in my bag, I insisted that we stop there for dessert. Since I have trouble sleeping if I have copious amounts of sugar and caffeine close to bedtime, we shared one Frozen Drinking Chocolate (for which they charged us half price with the coupon). Though I wanted the Mocha, we opted for the Aztec blend--which according to the menu, has nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves. It was as philadining said, very chocolatey and quite good. We didn’t get any of the pastries, but I had a sample at the register. Only a few more days until the coupon expires. Can’t wait to go back. I may even go without a coupon.

Hot damn, that looks good. I got an email with that 2-for-1 coupon, and have been meaning to try it. It'll definitely come in handy, because it looks like I won't be sharing a Frozen Drinking Chocolate with Mr. Duck. That Sipping Chocolate looks like it’d go really well with a churro. Mmmm…churro. Gotta un-ass my chair and get to Apamate.

I'm game. Can I paraphrase, and say "honey, un-ass that sofa and take out the garbage?"

And since you'll be staying in the 15th... ← Yeah, makes no sense. But the other maps come in handy if you want to carry around tons of paper.

Not as if you need another recommendation on a travel guide, but I'm also a big fan of the Time Out guides. On Time Out Paris, you can download the "Paris Free Guide". Although it's from last year, you’ll find is a great street map (including Metro stops), as well as maps of the transit systems. Also, wikitravel has great maps of the city that you can print out prior to your trip. Unfortunately, they only do the first 13th arrondisments, and of course, carrying around print-outs is a lot bulkier than carrying a little book.

That looks great. My sister has a house up in Wellfleet, but we haven't been up since last year, mainly because it's such a long trip up there, and also she's a little bit psycho. That was in our pre-eGullet days, so I don't remember exactly where we've been except for Mac's. This is a fun blog, because now I get to see the stuff I missed. Steven, do you have plans to go digging for clams on the beach? It’s a favorite activity of my sister’s. PJ is such a cutie. I love how he and Momo get along.

Jell-OMyGod? ← Capo-Jell-O!! (My apologies to the nice folks at Capogiro.)

Where does the pork belly at Four Rivers fit into this equation?

These, boys and girls, are our future leaders. Or as Sandy says, possible food editors. And who the hell says gelatin when referring to Jell-O? Then again, if Philly can have an eatery devoted to cereal, why not Jell-O? On second thought, why?

Grace, You’re going to have such a great time! Sound advice upthread. Our own strategy when we travel is to splurge for one meal (usually dinner), and eat cheaply the other meals. We stayed in the 8th, and had our breakfasts (coffee and a croissant) in a local cafe. We were thus able to save room for the chocolates, madelines, and other pastries we encountered during our meanderings through the city. My husband, who speaks much better French than I do, did most of the talking. My French is rudimentary at best, and not only that, I got flustered trying to remember which language to use (no Karen, you're in France--it's not buon goirno!). But when I did dare open my mouth, the Parisians were friendly and understanding, and not at all rude. I can’t find my food notes from my recent trip in May, but my favorite restaurant was Le Charlain (at 23 rue Clauzel, in the 9th). Wonderful foie gras, sweetbreads, and rather reasonably priced. Also on the cheap is Vietnamese food. We had some great pho at Restaurant Tan Lido, (86, Av. d’Ivry, in the 13th). On la maison du chocolat – while I agree that it has great chocolate, there’s one in NY, so I didn't think it to be as "unique" as other shops we've encountered.

Me four. 10-12 minutes sounds too long to be cooking beef strips. I've made beef both separately and together with vegetables, and cooking the beef separately makes a big difference in the final product. Also, make sure your wok is really, really hot.

Oh, I sooooooooo miss the Greenmarket. The strawberries, the cheese, the corn...

Word, docsconz. I was seriously contemplating playing hookey myself that afternoon. Perfect day for a ballgame (my formerly gloating co-worker was pretty quiet on Friday, heh-heh). Kobi, did you try anything at the park, or did you have enough at Reading Terminal?