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Thank you. These sound really interesting. Alan

Hi Michael, Thanks for the info. No Malaysian here that I know of. I also haven't had what I consider to be an authentic Korean meal. However, I have had Thai food in a number of cities including San Francisco, and have spent quite some time working on cooking Thai at home, so short of a visit to Thailand, I am happy with my exposure to Thai cuisine. As for Greek, I would be interested. Italian isn't really calling to me at the moment, and I lived in France for a year, so I think that I'll pass on that too. I am really looking for out-of-the-ordinary, hard-to-find type things in terms of ethnic cuisine. Malaysian fits in well, as does Ukrainian, Ethiopian, etc. I have been looking at some of the "Best Of" lists, and taking notes. I'll have to compile a list soon of "must visits" and "would like to visits." Every suggestion helps. Best, Alan

Thank you to everyone that has responded. I am going to try and make it to a number of these places. As for the ethnic cuisine, I am not suggesting that the Chinese, Indian and Japanese that I find in Missouri is necessarily equal in quality to that found in NYC, I simply am not interested in trying those types of cuisine while in NYC. Rather, I would like to try some types that I have not yet ever had, or perhaps even ever heard of...types that would be impossible to find in Missouri (to the best of my knowledge). Maybe cusine of a variety of African countries. Perhaps an off-the-beaten-track type of cuisine from South America Maybe something from Eastern Europe Maybe a relatively uncommon Asian cuisine Perhaps something else not on this list The thing is, since I don't know what NYC has to offer in these, and other, areas that is of excellent quality, I don't know how to be any more specific. So, any suggestions for excellent restaurants focusing on types of cuisine that I cannot find in Missouri? Thank you once again, Alan

Hi all, I'll be in NY for about a week in early November. I am looking for the best that NY has to offer in the following categories: -Bakery (hearth breads) -Pastry shops -Bagel Bakery -Cheese shop (fromagerie) -Sub sandwiches (is that what they are called in NY?) -Any good ethnic food that I probably can't find in Missouri (i.e., not anything common like Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Mexican, Greek, etc.) -Restaurant of any type that is a very good value for the quality of food. -Butcher where I can find prime dry-aged steaks. I'm not looking for any upscale places this time around. Any other suggestions not on the list are also appreciated. Thanks in advance,

For pizza lovers, there is a new place connected to Nikkai Grill, and perhaps owned by the same people: NY Famous Pizza The crust is thin and chewy, the slices are large, and there are many different topping choices, some more common than others. It may be worth a try. Things seem to be reasonably priced.

Hi All, Did anyone ever find another on-line retailer for Pernigotti (other than chefshop.com) that will sell less than the 1 kg bag. I'd be happy with less than a lb. Best, Alan

Nibs are pieces of the larger cacao seed, or bean, that have had the shell, or testa, removed. However, you might still see a piece of shell here or there when you buy nibs. If you are finding a lot of shell in your nibs, then that is a problem, and you should probably let the manufacturer know. Best, Alan

Hi HBK, I checked at the largest Asian supermarket in town, and they had a very fine mesh strainer, but it was also very small. Everything else was a fairly large mesh. Thanks for the tip though. Probably if I were in a large city, I'd have better luck. Michael, Any luck with the mesh measurements? Thanks again, Alan

I hate to ask you to work, but is there anyway that you could hold a ruler to it and tell me if indeed it really is about 50 holes in the mesh per linear inch (or about 12 per 1/4"). If not, no problem. Best, Alan

Well, I've found all kinds of stainless mesh for sale on-line, but I've found that minimum orders for one type have been around $75. That means that if I want a few types of varying mesh sizes (which I do) that we are talking at lease $225 for the mesh alone. Then again, I'd have much greater flexibility in the shape of the frame. I could use a large Cambro container with a hole in the bottom and fill it with quite a lot of powder, and then cover it with and lid and shake it into another Cambro. I might go that route, but I'm still not sure I want to spend that much. I'm having samples sent to me, and I'm still thinking about the Japanese ones above for a simple solution. Anyway, the mesh of a normal door or window screen is not small enough by far.

One last question: Does anyone actually own the Korin sifters at the above link? They give the mesh size as: #20 #30 #50 #65 I assume that the '#' in front of the number means "mesh" and that together with the number it signifies how many mesh per inch, but I have not seen the '#' used in this way before, and that, combined with the fact that 65 mesh per inch seems incredibly small, I wonder if the numbers are signifying something else. I called the company and they couldn't tell me. They told me to order it and send it back if it wasn't what I wanted. They said, however, that they would only give store credit, which isn't exactly the best situation. So...does anyone know for sure that these numbers are indeed referring to mesh per inch? Does anyone have these sifters? Thank you again, Alan

Thank you for that link. I think that this must be exactly what I'm looking for. Thank you to everyone else too. I'll check the local Asian markets first to see if I can find anything comparable, but assuming that I won't be able to, I'll contact the above company. Best, Alan

Hi all, Well, I measured the mesh per inch in my finest strainer and it comes in at 30 mesh. This is getting close to working, but it is still not fine enough. It seems like a lot of the strainers I see are around 14 mesh or 20 mesh per inch. I am thinking that I may have to build something myself to get as fine as I want, but if anyone knows of anything greater than 30 mesh (maybe 40 mesh) strainers for the kitchen, then I'd be interested in taking a look. Thanks for all the responses so far. Best, Alan

Hi all, I've found some relatively fine mesh strainers, but they are quite small in diameter. I'm looking for something quite a bit larger, and with very fine mesh. I don't know the size of the mesh, but basically I'm looking for it to be about as small as any company makes, whatever size that is. The diameter of the strainer should be at least 8" and hopefully larger. Additionally, I'll mention what I'm doing just in case anyone has a better idea of how to do what I'm doing. I have some higher cocoa butter content cocoa powder that has been quite compacted and grinding it in a food processor or grinder gets it small, but not enough, so I want to sift it to remove the fine powder and then regrind the larger granules until it is all fine. So, if anyone knows of a way to sift fine powder (a flour sifter doesn't work, I tried it), and that isn't extremely slow, then I'm all ears. Thanks for any input. Best, Alan

Not yet. I'm planning on it, but am still saving up my pennies. I'll keep you updated. Best, Alan

Jackal10 or others in the know, When you cook a roast at very low temps as you suggest, such as 150 F, for a very long time until it reaches medium rare, for example, do you cover it during this time or leave it uncovered? It seems like it might dry out a bit uncovered, but having never used this roasting technique before, I don't really know. Also, are beef roasts ever brined? I don't think I've ever heard of anyone doing that. Perhaps it is because most brined meats are cooked until well done and the brining is, therefore, useful for holding in liquids that otherwise would be lost, whereas with a rare or medium-rare roast that is cooked properly, this wouldn't be an issue. Any thoughts? Best, Alan

Reenicake, I made your Food for the Gods date bar recipe. It is one of the better desserts that I have ever had; simple, but rich and delicious. Thanks for sharing! Alan

That's too bad. I'm sure that Chefpeon will have luck with it though. Mine turned out great. The recipe I used is basically one that I posted a link to above but with a few changes: http://www.trinigourmet.com/index.php/trinidad-black-cake/ I added fresh ginger and more spices, and added them to the fruit mixture, and not the cake batter, I added one extra lb of fruit and didn't add any almond extract, but didn't really change much else. It ended up being about the following proportions: 1 lb flour 1 lb butter 1 lb eggs 1 lb brown sugar 1 batch of browning (1 lb brown sugar and 1/2 cup boiling water + 1 T butter) 4 tsp. baking powder 4 lbs dried fruits + cinnamon, cloves and fresh ginger with alcohol to cover (topping it off as they absorbed more)- 1 1/2 cups saved to start my next batch. I used dark rum and port 2 tsp lemon essence 2 tsp vanilla 2 tsp lime rind I combined everything in the order suggested in the above recipe (i.e., cream the butter and sugar, add eggs one at a time, add dry ingredients, add wet ingredients). However, I didn't process the fruit to a paste, I only processed the fruit until it was in in smaller pieces, but still had some texture. Of course some pieces were smaller than others. The fruit I used was the following (everything dried): pineapple mango prunes golden raisins raisins cherries apricots The batter was extremely liquid due to all of the alcohol, and it filled 11", 10", and 8" springform pans until just about 3" tall or maybe a bit more. I layered the pans with parchment paper and didn't grease anything. I baked at 250 F for 3 hours on the dot and the knife came out clean. The cakes, however, still seemed VERY jiggly, so I was a bit worried, even though I tested all three cakes a few times, and they had pulled away from the sides of the pans. Not to worry, after cooling, they weren't jiggly at all. They have a dense and thick pudding quality to them, but can definitely be sliced. I soaked all three with good rum, and will wrap 2 out of the 3 and age them for a few weeks. The third, and smallest, I'm sad to say, will not make it to the aging process, because it is too good, and I wouldn't be able to stand the wait! Anyway, I'll be wrapping them in rum-drenched cheese cloth, then plastic wrap, then foil, then throwing them in a ziplock, like Humingbirdkiss recommended. I'll post after the aging process to tell you all how the flavor has changed. Best, Alan

Hi all, Anyone get their cakes going yet? I'll be making mine today after almost 3 months of macerating the fruit. Then, I'll be aging them until early August until I have some family over to visit. Best, Alan

Just received the Tropp book today from the library. So far it looks great. I have realized that some of my favorite dishes ar the spicy ones from Szechuan province. Is this the area in China with the spiciest food, or is Hunan? Also, for someone who likes spicy food, would this books be a good choice: http://www.amazon.com/Land-Plenty-Treasury...83686436&sr=8-1 It seems to have very good reviews. Best, Alan

I just found a "Very Good" used copy of the Buwei Yang Chao book on Amazon for $1.80, so I ordered it. I also was able to request the Tropp book from my library. I am also keeping my eyes on the Kuo book and the first two Pei-Mei books. I guess that should probably get me started. Thank you to everyone for all the suggestions and help. Very Best, Alan

Hi all, Thank you for the recommendations so far. Please don't hesitate to recommend other options, or to throw your weight behind options that have already been suggested. Soon, I'll take a good long look at what I can find out about these different choices on-line, and I'll probably have a few more questions. However, so far I'm really happy with all of the feedback. Best, Alan

Any books by Irene Kuo, Wei-Chuan publishing, or Pei-Mei that really stand out in your mind? Best, Alan

Hi all, I'd like some recommendations for a cookbook that deals with the most common Chinese cooking techniques, spice combinations, and types of dishes. I know that no single cookbook can cover everything, or even most things, Chinese, but I assume that there is something that does a very good job of covering the basics in a fairly detailed way. That is what I'm looking for. I would rather have a higher percentage of information and explanation than glossy photos, though I'm not opposed to photos. Also, if there is a particular cookbook writer that is respected more than many others, then it would be nice to have her/his name. Best, Alan

No they aren't. After removal from the pod the seeds are coated with a pulp that first must be removed. They are also not brown or crisp at all, and don't taste like chocolate in the very least. To remove the pulp, change the color, texture, and flavor, they must be fermented/cured, and then dried properly. At that point (after the fermentation and drying to between 6 and 8% moisture) they can look similar to roasted beans, but despite the fact that, as Robert mentioned, they can, as fermented beans, have a slight chocolate flavor, they will not have developed a flavor or aroma reminiscent of the roasted product, and the bitterness and astringency, even acridity, will still be relatively high. Another thing that some of these "raw" companies may be overlooking (note: I don't have any one in particular in mind when I say this), or are not coming out and saying, is that the enzymes are inactivated during fermentation and drying, and that the polyphenols are greatly reduced. Additionally, the temperature of the fermenting mass can easily rise to between 112 and 122 F, and during drying, depending upon the technique (i.e., mechanical or sun-based), and care taken, the temperature can even rise to between 130 and 140 F. I am not a raw foods expert in the least, but that doesn't sound like "raw" to me. Best, Alan