NancyH

Willspear - the instructors in both of my food safety courses pointed out that the bugs have evolved a lot since our grandparents' day. I forgot the exact numbers, but it used to take several thousand Sallmonella bugs to make you sick - now only a few can cause severe food poisoning (and I think they generate toxins much faster than their ancestors did also). Same with E. Coli and many of the others; Listeria and Camphylobacter were virtually unknown back then.

Food left in the "danger zone" (40-140 degrees) can become toxic without any change in appearance, taste or smell. Once food is contaminated with pathogens that naturally arise and multiply when food is in the danger zone, the pathogens decay and form other substances in the food that are more resistant to heat. This is why reheating mishandled food at high temp doesn't work. As for using yourself as a guinea pig, it can take up to 48 hours for the process to affect your system enough for you to notice symptoms. When in doubt, throw it out.

I recently lunched there with a friend - we were the only patrons for lunch that day (though it rained cats and dogs all morning, which might have had something to do with it). Service was fabulous, and we got to chat with the owner a bit. He's put a bit of cash into it; the decor is upscale and lovely. But the bottom line is the food - and we thought it was very mixed. We started with house salad and bread. One salad came with the entree we later shared, and it was served first, together with warm pita bread. We next shared an appetizer sampler: The sampler, per the menu, included "hommus / baba / tabouli / grape leaves / kibbie / falafel" and two dips - tahina and yogurt dip. The kibbe was delicious. I thought the taboule was too much parsley and not enough bulgar, but my dining companion prefers it that way. She really liked it. We both loved the dolmas. You can see in this photo the rough texture of the hummus, which should be smooth and creamy. We both liked both dips. I didn't think the spreads on the sampler plate were nearly smooth enough. The baba had a great smokiness to it, but I couldn't get over the grainy textures, and the hummus, as you can see, was terribly gritty to my palate, though my dining companion really loved it. We next shared a vegetarian entree: Mesaa’a: chickpeas / eggplant / sautéed vegetables / nuts / rice This dish lacked any profundity at all - we both agreed on that. Though our server insisted that the chickpeas were made from scratch, the taste and texture screamed "can" as loudly as the tomatoes shouted "food service" (a shame, because tomato season wasn't over yet). Even the pickled turnips lacked pop. We also shared a dessert, which the menu discloses comes from the fabulous On the Rise Bakery: Pear Frangipani Tart For me, the food just didn't match up to the ambiance or the price points. But perhaps they deserve another try.

I prefer using an ice paddle for such applications. Ice paddles. If you forget to set it up far enough in advance by loading with water and freezing, you can fill it with ice cubes and a bit of water and it will freeze much faster. No splashing, no puddles, no mess.

We freeze ours. They keep beautifully in Ziplock bags with no textural or other changes, and it really extends their shelf life.

You are so right FG! We stopped flying between CLE and NY to visit my family because of the expense and hassles of flying. Even with construction, we've been able to accomplish most of the road trips in 7-8 hours. Just make sure you've got your Harry Chapin CD or Ipod cued up to "30,000 Pounds of Bananas" for the portion of 80 that goes by Scranton PA and you're set!

Marmish - we did late July the last time we had it in Cleveland. The only reason not to - most of the best produce doesn't materialize until August. I'm game for whatever the group wants.

I am sure that with a little advance notice we could scare some up!

Huzzah! I am in to organize (or help organize). Does anyone else want to be on that committee?

Well it's only fair, considering that I keep volunteering you to cook with me.

Did I see a mention of Cleveland for next year? I'd love to bring it back here!

I also have some sad news - Bob and I are tied up in preparation for an upcoming event and a new business venture we are working on. Something had to give, and unfortunately, it will be the Heartland Gathering. Hope to see you all next year!

It is confirmed - Edsel, Tom, Nancy and Bob will put out a meat dish.

Tammy - I've emailed the usual suspects to see if they want to reprise Team Meat (remember those chicken and waffles?). I'll let you know when I hear from them. I loved how we allowed the market to be our inspiration in past years, but since I wasn't there last year, I can't compare the two approaches.

As a life-long celery-hater, let me offer my two cents. I dislike both the texture and the taste of celery. Though I generally leave it out of anything I cook, there are some applications that just demand it, like chicken soup, so I use it there in moderation (and never put any in the bowl I serve to myself). If it is fully cooked (like my brother-in-law's turkey soup at Thanksgiving), I can tolerate it, but usually pick it out and leave it to the side. I do the same with BIL's stuffing! If you make the pieces large enough, a celery-phobe should just be able to work around it in most foods. I agree with the posters who said there isn't any way to hide or gussy it when raw. I always ask if the tuna or chicken salad has celery, and decline it if it does. I personally find celery (or other "crunch" inducer) unnecessary in these applications, but one lunch place I frequent makes their egg salad without celery but with finely brunoised red onions for a little crunch and zing and I like that very much. I think the flavor of fennel would tend to overpower tuna or chicken salad. Jicama sounds good to me, as would finely diced apple or red onion.

Bob and I are in for the following: Thursday night Szechuan Banquet at Chia Shiang ($25-$30 inclusive) Friday morning bread workshop ($5) Friday afternoon Foodie Field trip... somewhere (including stop at restaurant supply shop). (free) Friday night dinner at Grange (price TBD, probably $50-$75 inclusive) [saturday Afternoon Session on Organic/Locavore/Personal Food choices ($3-$5)] Maybe Saturday Evening Feast Sunday Bacon Tasting & Brunch (still being finalized, but I'm working on it right now... $20-$25, probably?)

Szechuan for Thursday dinner.

Since I suck at geography - can someone give me the parameters for the location of the "main event" Saturday. I'm looking for a hotel. Thank you!

Hi all - please count me and Bob in for the weekend! We don't have a hotel yet - any suggestions from you who have recently booked? Tom - where are you staying? We're up to just about anything. Not sure that we're interested in the Thermomix thing, but I know Bob would finally like to attend a bread class with Tom.

Bob and I will be spending a couple of weeknights near Adams and LaSalle shortly. Any suggestions for eats within walking distance/short cab ride? Interested in ethnic/cheap/neighborhood eats as well as more upscale/interesting fare. Probably just for dinner, though we may get a breakfast or lunch in also!

I wouldn't rely on this blog post to determine if a container is safe for the storage and transportation of food to be served to people. I'd suggest you contact your local Board of Health to confirm that the usage you intend is appropriate for food service.

Wonderful post! Brought back great memories of NOLA. Do they still allow smoking at Coops? I loved their Jambalaya, but I couldn't take the smell!

Yes salads, which equal roughage; very necessary when living on matzoh! We had two lovely Seders. My home-made Gefilte Fish and home-made garden horseradish to the left.. Fish and Hard-Cooked Egg with Home-made Horseradish and Maztoh: I use Alton Brown's technique of steaming the eggs for 12 minutes, rather than boiling them. They come out so creamy! And for the first time, this year - home-made macaroons! I learned that the quality of the coconut is critical for this. Since I don't worry about Kosher For Passover labels (I figure that since Moses didn't, I'm not going to) - spring for the best quality, preservative-free coconut you can find. I used Bob's Red Mill. Please see my blog for more Passover photos.

Terrific Pacific is one of my "go to" Asian cookbooks. Hope you like it!

There is actually a recipe for "Ma Po Tofu Noodles" in the Terrific Pacific cookbook and it is very good.