I_call_the_duck

I love your blog so far, JAZ. That looks like a great chicken dish. I do like the soft chicken skin when it's braised--has that little carmelized flavor yet silky smooth, but I will try your method. Heck, I just love chicken skin however it's done. Those cocktails look good too!

Oh, I have a love-hate relationship with yard sales. During the summer, we can't go two blocks without stumbling onto one. Our house is bursting at the seams with street finds as it is. And as much as I whine that we don't have the space for anything else, we still trudge stuff home. Previous yard sale finds: a clay roaster, hand mixer, two wall clocks, a set of cheese spreaders, candlesticks, and a cast iron grill, all for about $20; 10-cup rice cooker, six glasses, box fan, over-the-sink shelf for free; a sewing machine for free. Non food-related, but still a great find, because I almost bought one 10 minutes earlier; mandoline (still in box) for $5; a Sunbeam waffle iron/griddle (c. 1950) and slow cooker for $20; a pot rack for free; two very well-seasoned cast iron skillets left by the previous tenant; a waffle iron that my friend "forgot" to take home; and of course, various cookbooks. The list goes on and on. I don't have anything particular on my wish list, but I'm sure I'll stumble upon something good...

Alinka, we've missed you on the Dinner forum. That cake looks so good, even without the decorating. I must try it.

Janet, Your boys are really cute—my imaginary Lab or Border collie is to be named Mookie, and I was going to name my imaginary German Shepherd Max until my sister had the nerve to give her son that name. I know this is going to be a fun blog, and I know your meals will look more appetizing that what the boys eat, though I'm sure they'd beg to differ. I love San Francisco, and can’t wait to see it through your eyes. We're also carless, so it will be fun to see how you manage your shopping.

You mean to tell me that I've been committing a major culinary faux pas for all these years? I'm mortified, I tell you. I'll just have to cover the soy sauce dish with my overcoat while I engage in illicit activity henceforth, I guess. (So what am I supposed to do with the wasabi, anyway?) ← Scandalous!!! Next thing, you're going to tell us you dip the rice side of your sushi in the soy sauce!! What the writer is referring to is that the very common American custom of loading the soy up with wasabi and then soaking the rice in it, is frowned-upon at the most traditional, high-end places. Of course those sushi chefs are too scrupulously polite to poke you in the eye with a chopstick as punishment, but it'll peg you as an unsophisticated sushi-eater. A little wasabi and/or say on the fish, as needed... In the end, one should do whatever makes it tastes good, and this reviewer was indicating that they're pretty laid-back at Raw, and probably won't scold you about things like that. But loading up your soy with tons of wasabi and then soaking the rice in it is the culinary equivalent of shaking tons of salt and pepper on your food before tasting it, or dousing your plate with ketchup: one would hope that at any nice restaurant, no matter the ethnicity, that kind of thing isn't necessary! ← Actually, I never realized that one wasn't supposed to do it that way, but now that you mention it, it makes perfect sense. Great pics, philadining. Dare I ask how much a dinner there will set us back?

Gotta be D, although the write-in candidate 'ick' was the first thing that crossed my mind.

Wow - all my favorite chefs and home cooks in one article. Awe inspiring! Karen - I'll ask Adrienne our pastry chef about the bananas. I think they seal them in with some caramel and then do the sous vide cooking for a relatively short time (compared to cooking meat, for example) just to soften them up a little bit. Then they're served on top of a square of chocolate cake, topped with almond milk foam and surrounded with a saffron sauce. They're sooo good! ← Katie, while you're at it, please try to secure the rosemary white beans with spinach thing we spoke about ok?? Well, we didn't actually speak about it but you know what I mean ← Thanks, Katie. Those beans were good. Really going off-topic here, but it looks like we'll either have to get Chef Garces to do an Amada cookbook, or start an "Inspired by Amada" thread!

Kathy, Thanks for letting us into your life for a week. It's so nice to face to your posts. Hope your move goes well and you enjoy your new surroundings.

Not only is Shola's picture in the print version, but Percy, "home cook", is quoted in bold. Nice going, guys. An accompanying article here. Also quotes Greg Ling from Raw and mentions Jose Garces. Katie, how does Chef Garces do those bananas? Looks like I'll have to investigate further. We're due for another visit soon anyway.

Wow, Ling. Those desserts sound AMAZING. I hope you take pictures.

Kathy, I haven't had a chance to respond to your blog, but I'm loving it. Your kids are gorgeous, and your meals look delicious. Sounds like a big bowl of pho is in store for you. Hope you're feeling better soon.

The Burgundy Wine Company is actually at 143 West 26th Street (between 6th/7th Ave.) It's a great store, and the people there very friendly and helpful. According to their website they have tastings every day, but I know for sure that they have them on Saturdays. The one in Chelsea Market is called Chelsea Wine Vault, which has a large selection of wines from various regions.

Jeff and Percy, you guys do such a great play-by-play. And nice pics, Percy. I do believe that it was the cauliflower soup in the shotglass. So I agree with Jeff in that I preferred the cold apps over the hot dishes. That’s not to say there weren’t stand-outs among the hot dishes. I bypassed the breakfast-like items (though I didn’t know there was a variety of sausage there!) as well as the carving station. The short ribs and duck, while good, just weren’t outstanding. I did love the asparagus pot de creme with lobster (such a lovely combination), eggs with spinach and sweetbreads (the sweetbreads were crispy, which gave a nice contrast with the eggs), and smoked soft eggs with tuna. Desserts, of which I barely had room, were also great. Dessert altar indeed. Ice cream and sorbets are churned daily. The passion fruit sorbet was delicious. Other dessert highlights besides the liquid nitrogen and chocolate stations were Baba au Rhum, a little chocolate bombe with a cheesecake-like center, and a lychee-grapefruit cocktail. $80/pp did seem at first like a little much for brunch, but considering that it included a cocktail, fresh squeezed OJ, and coffee (along with tax and tip), and I didn’t have dinner or breakfast the next morning, it didn’t seem as bad as we originally thought.

Hey—I resemble that remark!

Yerng lat gew? I think that's just stuffed peppers, but that's what my muddled ABC-brain is telling me.

Which reminds me of a mango on a stick. It's carved like a rose. Pretty, but probably too messy for a party.

what did you think of that? i'm trying to make myself like uni, but i can't help thinking that it tasted like low tide.Hmm…I didn’t get that. I was left with more of the impression of blood orange, and very little low tide. But did you go yesterday? Great pics as usual, Jeff. We'll try to piece together the text to accompany the pics. Obscene amount of food, and as much as I tried to pace myself, I even missed a few items. After hobbling home I passed out on the couch for an hour or two before I was able to move again. Let the record show that I did not have dinner last night, or breakfast this morning. A rare occurrence indeed. Yeah. You heard it. Wasabi caviar. (Darn Jeff, you called it first!) The hostess said that when all the guests leave, the staff gets to eat whatever's left from the buffet, and she heads straight to the caviar. Wonder if I can work there on weekends? The wonders of liquid nitrogen, my friends. An amazing brunch. Thanks Diann for planting the idea in our little heads. Sorry you couldn't make it. Thanks Percy for following through. Always fun to eat with people who really enjoy their food!!

One of these days I'll graduate to cloth napkins. But that would mean I'd have to launder them which would be a waste of a teeny bit of soap.

All the time. Heck, I even cut NAPKINS in half.

Oh yeah, or their "Killer Cake".... ← What? Where? Details, please.

Now I did hear stories of people making “tomato soup.” I have to confirm it with Mr. Duck, but I think his mother used to do that. Guilty as charged. As dad used to say, "how do you think I was able to buy a house?"

I water down shampoo. About 2/3 shampoo 1/3 water. Weird ? ← Not really. I water down liquid handsoap.

I'm notoriously cheap, and I obsessively get those last bits of stuff that stick to the side of jars. With jarred spaghetti sauce, I pour in some red wine. Chinese condiments? Add a bit of water and pour it into my sauces. Where did I get the latter from? Dad. Promised myself when I was a kid that I'd never do that, but what happens? Calipoutine, you're not the only one that's turning into your parents.

Sprucing and packing and blogging, oh my! Kathy, I look forward to your adventures this week. If you're driving up to Oregon, them craklins will make a nice snack.

Jealous. Jealous. Jealous. This sounds wonderful, MichaelB. Are you a professional? Is your range all-gas? Do you have any issues with heat and whatnot, with it being commercial? Ohhhhh, the traulsen, the traulsen. What about granite floors? Do you have anything on top of them to make them easier on the legs? ← Yeah, me too. Can't wait to see the pics. I also like the different work stations in MichaelB's kitchen. My dream kitchen also has a chocolate station.