I_call_the_duck

Everything looks delicious! Welcome, christine007. Still trying to clean out the freezer. Yesterday was linguine with pesto. I left my camera upstairs and was too lazy to get it. The other night was sweet potato latkes. Nowhere near as good as yours, Jason.

Oh, etalanian, Studio Kitchen is an amazing dining experience. And that's an understatement. Go to the Studio Kitchen forum and take a gander. ...and yes, I'm especiallay grateful for egullet.org.

A lot of you guys already mentioned: BYOBs Studio Kitchen DiBruno's Reading Terminal Market Chinatown & Washington Avenue Asian groceries. The fact that I can get good coffee other than Starbucks ...and the fact that I'm within walking distance from most of the above.

What I do with leftovers also depends on how much is left. If there is enough for for another dinner, then I'll just use that and whip up something fresh, such as salad, on the side. Smaller leftover portions may be lunch for the next day. Sometimes I give some away to my husband's single friend. If there's just a tiny amount left, I'll recycle it into another meal. Usual reincarnations are leftovers omelet, burrito/wraps, or fried rice. When I'm too lazy to do even that, I'll just reheat everything and we'll just eat them as we would tapas. Things like soup and pasta sauce automatically generate leftovers, so I freeze some and eat the rest during the week. I also don't like eating the same thing day after day. When my husband makes chicken soup that opens a whole new window. From that batch of soup we also get two chicken pot pies and about four servings of chicken salad.

Diann, I think you have something here...Roast Pork Italian air freshener. Instead of a little pine tree, you have it shaped like what else! Beats the pine tree. Beats the fresh-car leather scent. MARKETING GENIUS!!

According to the review I’ve read, I don’t think this books claims to contain authentic Chinese recipes. It sounds like this book is also geared towards using Asian condiments for other than Asian food, and for people who live where Asian ingredients aren’t readily available. Most groceries sell some sort of soy sauce, oyster sauce, etc., but may not carry other condiments or ingredients such as fermented tofu or hoisin sauce that may make a dish authentic. If you can’t find lo mein noodles, I suppose spaghetti is the next closest thing—and is carried in just about every grocery store. Like jo-mel, I love oyster sauce with my steak, and I always add some soy sauce and oyster sauce when I make meatloaf because it adds a nice flavor. That doesn’t make it Chinese by any means, but it’s there and it makes my meatloaf taste good. But your question is a tough one, Ah Leung. It’s like asking who makes the best jook? But what was cooking like 4000 years ago? 400? 40? But as others have said, as the world gets smaller and a whole variety of food is a lot easier to get, the line of authenticity may get more and more unclear. Shrimp with mayonnaise was certainly not there 400 years ago, but it’s become a mainstay of many banquets. To me, I suppose that I’d draw the line with what I’m familiar—the dishes that I ate growing up (which is very much like what you post in your pictorials), and as I’m sure are the dishes that are posted on the walls of Chinese restaurants (that are not on the menu).

Thanks, Dejah! I did notice a thread that had the instructions for brining your own duck eggs, but haven't gotten around to making them. Mom also says that using chicken eggs work just as well. I just recently noticed a place that sells duck eggs for $0.50 each. Unfortunately, this is one of the few things my husband doesn't really like so I have to wait until he's out of the house before I can make it.

Do we get an extra amuse for actually making the snorting sound? ← I'm not beneath that. Nor am I beneath wearing a pig nose if that will get me some extra chicharon to take home.

Beautiful! Where did you get your duck liver lap cheung, Karen? I tried shopping for it in San Francisco China Town a few weeks ago. They told me they haven't carried this for a long long time because the FDA banned import of duck liver. Also, did I see some shreds of "chung choy" (preserved daikon turnip) in your dish? ← Thanks, Ah Leung. No, that's ginger on top. I also put some on the bottom of the dish. The lap cheung has been sitting in my fridge for awhile (don't ask how I managed to do that!). But before that, I got them from my mom, who lives in NYC. She didn't mention having trouble finding some. I did see them here in Philly too. Dad used to make this dish with dried duck liver, but stopped when I guess the FDA banned them. He was happy when he found the duck liver lap cheurng (so were we). The FDA also banned the import of (raw) salted duck eggs. I ran out a few weeks ago, and now I can't find them.

A-ha! So that's what I did wrong!

I didn't have salted fish, but I did have gnap gawn lap cherng (duck liver lap cherng), so I made this for dinner last night: Just like mom makes. I'm afraid I may have scared some people in the Dinner thread with this pic.

I do that all the time—not just hambones, but osso buco, steak, pork chops. (I’m also still a bit upset that my brother called the turkey carcass at Thanksgiving.) I’ve received everything from strange looks to inquiries about what I’ll be making. My only problem is resisting the temptation not to just sit down there and gnaw off every last bit of meat off.

My goodness, Daniel. BRAVO!! You probably don't need this visual, but I just want to take a bath in that oyster soup.

Ess-a Bagels are great too. I think it's something in the NYC water that makes 'em special.

I'm still searching myself, but have yet to try the one on Washington Ave. There's a place around 40th and Walnut that claims to have H&H bagels, but they're not. People I've spoken to say that there's a great bagel place somewhere on or near Oregon Ave., but I've tasted bagels from there, and they aren't that great either. At this point, I've just taken to bringing some back whenever I'm in New York.

Beautiful meals, Jason, avocado. Tonight was yook beng, aka Chinese pork patty with duck liver lap cherng (we translate it as Chinese meat loaf in my family). This dish is true comfort food for me. You won't find this stuff in restaurants. Served with boiled lettuce and white rice. (Sorry, still having trouble with the focus.)

Pastrami on anything but rye. No lettuce, tomatoes, mayo, or fancy mustard allowed. Just some good old-fashioned deli mustard and a pickle on the side.

So cute!! Now I have to try to convince my husband to get me one after we agreed not to exchange gifts this year.

That chocolate box was good. May have been the highlight of the evening.

Thanks, Yetty. Those pancakes looked delicious. Haven't had a good mango in a long time. Daniel, never would have thought to put pesto on eggs, but then again, why not? Looked great. Susan, mmm...tater tots. Percy...what can I say but yum!! Skipped the most important meal of the day this morning. Maybe something interesting tomorrow...

Beautiful, everyone! Yesterday I made a basic three-cheese lasagne. Pretty good but it fell apart as I was taking it out of the pan. The pieces looked more like it belonged in the Gallery of Regrettable Food forum. Wendy, congrats on the new house.

Vietnam is a great choice. Reasonable prices, good variety, and very good. We were there with some vegetarians in August, and they had no problem finding something to eat. The byos that Capaneus mentioned are great too.

Thank you, Ah Leung. It looks fabulous. I'm going to have to print out a picture of the "Sa Geung" bag so I can find it easily. The condiment is also a favorite too--I'll have to pass the recipe along to my mom and brother because they can't get enough of that stuff.

Edsel, Adrienne, noambenami, kiteless -- those meals looked and sounded great. Adrienne, welcome to this forum. I find this to be inspiring and challenging. Noambenami, what type of bread was served with the ravioli? Edsel, nice looking pork loin. And yes, that is baby bok choy. Kiteless, great looking soup. Yesterday was part one of my endless attempt to clean out my freezer. We had chicken pot pie. The meat came from the remnants of a chicken soup that my husband made a while back. My camera's batteries were recharging, so there are no pictures.

I usually do either Hershey's or Ghiardelli from the tin, but today I was at the local ING cafe (where I get my morning coffee) and had their hot chocolate. They serve Peet's coffee, and they also use Peet's Dutch cocoa syrup. I found it surprisingly good. It was rich, but not too rich, and didn't have that powdery taste that you sometimes get with, er, powders. It also didn't have that sludge that you always get at the bottom of the cup when using instant--not that that's a bad thing.