I_call_the_duck

Ben, Belated happy birthday. That cyber-banquet looked yummy. Maybe for your 65th, we can all get together and have a real banquet!

I remember hearing about a year ago that their lease is up soon, and they were looking for another space. Nothing about them moving out of the city. Then again, it was a year ago, before baby. But if these rumors are true, then NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Speaking of shrimp paste, when I was growing up, my dad made eggplant with shrimp paste--a very homestyle Chinese dish. Now I liked things made with shrimp paste, but for some reason, I hated this dish, mainly because it made my throat itchy. In college, I was invited to dinner at my friend's house, and his mother served this Turkish eggplant stew. Out of politeness, I ate it, and lo and behold, I loved it. It was so delicious. Tasted nothing like what I had before. After that, eggplant became my friend--even with shrimp paste!

I thought the fish at the new DiBruno's was pretty tasty. We sampled both the Nova and the pacific salmon. The salmon was good, but more like gravlax, while the Nova was more like the lox you'd get in NY.

I'm in favor of the one very deep bowl. Before I moved, my kitchen had two sinks, one of which I used primarily to hold my rinsed recyclables. It always annoyed me that I wasn't able to wash my wok and other large pans properly.

I just checked the site...beans are currently $13.75 for 1/4lb.

Mouthwash with an alcohol content of 20%! ← Altoids for dessert?

We don't usually drink wine with Chinese food, but found an amazing pairing one night. I made steamed fish with ginger and scallions--which is also topped off with julienned lemon zest. We opened up a bottle of Tocai (an Italian white that is found in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region). Incredible. It was a flavor explosion. The wine has a little citrusy undertone, which played very nicely with the lemon zest. Basically, what I've been told is to match some of the underlying flavors in the wine with the food (i.e. spicy reds go with spicy dishes).

I use a steel every time I use my knife, and a stone about every nine months. About every other year I get them professionally done.

Oystergal, Do you take advantage of all the free tastings that the wine shops in NYC has to offer? Depending on which stores you go to, you can learn a lot by talking to the people that work there. I took a formal class once, which gave me a great foundation, but I also learn a lot by tasting and talking.

Long ago, rabbits were classified as rodents. Except in some parts of the country, I don't think a "rodent" category will be very appealing.

What time did you go? I'm told that Brazilians eat late. I haven't eaten there yet, but I have eaten at their sister restaurant, Sabor Tropical, just a few doors down. Sabor Tropical, which caters primarily to a Brazilian clientele, doesn't get really busy until sometime after 9pm. My guess is that Churrascaria Tropical's original clientele goes after 9pm, so if you go then, the joint may be jumpin’. Just a guess, since I'm not usually out that late.

Do you have to wrap them really well? I unearthed a nut & yolk mooncake that was hiding in my freezer since last year, and it wasn't that great. It was pretty dry, as was not the case with its sister cake that I ate a year ago.

Please write this book!!! Reserve a copy for me too. Actually, reserve four. My Dad, who grew up in Toisan, did not talk much about his childhood--no matter how much we prodded him, so we can only imagine what it was like for him. My sister and her husband visited the house in which he was born (which is still there but uninhabited) several years ago, and said that it was a very emotional experience. But I have not yet been. I'd love to read your memories.

Cornstarch is like velveting...makes the meat "waht"... Thanks to the poster who gave me the spelling for that word! Welcome to the forum, I_call_the_duck. ← Thanks. It's so nice to find people other than my family that speak "Chinglish". Please don't take offense at that term. My husband, who is a bok gui is still getting used to me throwing in a few words here and there. And my Chinese isn't that good, so when I'm talking to my mom, it's a hybrid of English-Cantonese-Toisanese. Darn. I was on the phone with my mom today, and forgot to ask her about the cornstarch. She does use cornstarch in her wontons, so it would make sense that she'd use it for the pork patty.

Was the duck place on 10th, just north of Arch? All they sell are BBQ meats. YUM!! My fav.

Hi all, I just discovered this Chinese cooking thread. Yay! My parents used to make three versions: ham, haam yee, and gnap gawn (duck liver)—my favorite. Since gnap gawn has been hard to find, they substitute gnap gawn lap cheung. I do remember them adding dried mushrooms sometimes. I was just speaking to my mom about it the other day, and she didn’t mention adding cornstarch. She also stressed chopping the meat by hand. Of course, no proportions, so everything was eyeballed. One ingredient that isn’t mentioned here was that she placed a few slices of ginger on the bottom and top.

More Italian BYOs Valentino’s on Rittenhouse, at 19th just south of Rittenhouse Square. Valetnino’s at Pine & Juniper. If you're nice, they'll offer you some homemade wine, limoncello and chocolate liqueur. These are, uncoincidentally, owned by the same people. I’ll admit that the food is not as spectacular as those mentioned above, but you will probably be able to get a reservation there, and the prices are reasonable. Pumpkin at 17th and South. Not Italian, but a very nice BYO. My cheesesteak preference is Jim’s on 4th and South.

Gourmande, congratulations on your new addition. That bread looks great. BTW, my "Bessie" doesn't fit under the counter, either. She's currently sitting on a shelf along with other smaller appliances. Make that fifth. Before my husband took over potato duty, I used the paddle to break them down (after boiling them), then and added butter, milk and salt and pepper, using the whip attachment to make them fluffy. He seems to enjoy doing it by hand, so I don't complain. One less bowl to clean! Anyway, while we're talking KA, does anybody have the ice cream maker attachment? I have my trusty Donvier, but I have to say I was intrigued.

Whole Foods also has a good bulk section, and you can find great deals there too. Go there or health food stores to get nuts and other dry goods at a reasonable price--and they're usually of better quality than pre-packaged. Take advantage of the 2-for-1 offers at the supermarket. There's often butter and other staples for sale. Double/Triple coupons. Mottmott, I love your ideas on economizing on the savory side. Every now and then we have "leftovers omelet" or a "leftovers burrito." While we're talking savory, when the supermarket is offering 2-for-1 for a whole chicken, we get a couple. One goes in the freezer, the other is made into soup. With one chicken, I get about five quarts of soup, four very generous servings of chicken salad, and two chicken pot pies.

Oh, the HUMANITY. I am the family's official skin-stealer at Thanksgiving. They try to keep me out of the kitchen, but every year I find a way in. MUAHAHAHAHAHA... ← I got the last laugh. I've taught her daughter not only that the skin is the best part of the bird, but that ice cream isn’t “junk food” but “fun food”.

I love Trader Joe's chocolate. I buy their blocks, and make my own chips. How about generic flour and sugar? And I'm sorry to hear about your divorce.

Do I have to pick a favorite?

The New York Public Library now allows you to borrow ebooks and eAudio. There is only a limited number of books available, but it is out there. Unlike Google, I'm sure the NYPL has permission to do this. There's a project called the Gutenberg Project that has the full text of books that are on the public domain. You can download them for free. I’ve borrowed cookbooks from the library, and I’ve printed recipes from the internet. That said, this isn't going to dissuade me from buying cookbooks, or any books for the matter. Ditto to you egulleters out there who say that there is nothing to replace the joy of having books on your shelves or holding a book in your hands. I love to go through my cookbooks looking for a certain recipe only to be distracted by another one. A copy off my home (or work) printer is just not the same.

As far as models go, my brother, my mother and myself all have pre-IH Zojirushis. Mine is a very basic three-cup model, and my mom and brother both have ten cup cookers. Since I haven’t tried it for anything other than white rice, I have no major complaints. My mom couldn’t care less, but my brother loves his Zoji with fuzzy logic. He just loves to use it to make jook. Ditto to those that said yes. If you’re just cooking for yourself, I think you’re best off with a small-capacity cooker. In addition to my three-cup cooker, I also have a ten-cup model (a Sanyo). I primarily use the three-cup, since it’s just for my husband and myself. Neither of us are slouches when it comes to eating, and the three-cup model makes a sufficient amount of rice. I tried using the ten cup cooker for us once, but it just didn’t come out right. That was a while ago, so I don't remember what exactly the problem was, but I think it turned out too dry. I now just use it for company. BTW, if you haven't already seen it, Zojirushi has a great faq page on their site which may further help with your decision-making process here: Rice Cooker FAQ at Zojirushi