davecap

To help preserve the herbs, I take a papertowel, wet it with cool water and then wring out completely. Then roll the herb up in the towel and store in the vegetable drawer. For longer storing, you can take a small container with a shall ow amount of water and place the herbs stem side down in the water. I have found that the more tender herbs, such as basil, do not last very long in the fridge and are best used right away. When I have to buy herbs, I only try to buy what I need immediately as the herbs in most groceries are pretty expensive and I can't see throwing $2.99 out the window. The prices make me crazy, but that is another thread. I don't know if you have access to a small yard or a deck, but starting a small herb garden, whether in planters or in the ground, in the spring is a great way to beat the store prices and have access to herbs most of the year. Best of luck.

who is going to be the chef?

I do not know about sharpening this particular brand of knife, but as far as buying a whetstone, check out the stores in your local chinatown, as I have found them to have decent stones for a very good price.

You should always call ... and mention the kids, they'll try to seat you somewhere more accomodating. ← We took my daughter there last winter when she was just a year and a half, sat at the bar and she had the best time watching the cooks do their thing.

Vinegar, I love vinegar. Baked potato with red wine vinegar is great, reminds me of boardwalk french fries, chips to you all, which in the States are a big summer time treat. Apple cider vinegar isahugew ingredientin my mustard based barbecue sauce. It is also good for keeping themoldoffof my chorizo that is curing in the basement.

My favorite cakes are nice and simple in appearance. Smooth icing, nice piping. Great! Your cake came out fantastic and I am sure it tasted as good. What was underneath that great icing job?

I have been using All-Clad here in the States for years. Great durable pan. I use the stainless pan with aluminum core, but you can get copper pans, non-stick, etc. Very, very durable, take the heat in the oven no problem, very strong rivets on handle and clean up pretty easily. When gets extra dirty can use a little 0000 steel wool and looks like new. They are pretty expensive here, maybe $300 for a three pan set with two lids, but worthit, and I think they will be with me forever.

Here in the US, I go the hardware store and they sell cheesecloth in the paint department as a filter, lot cheaper than the grocery.

Second that. Its been a couple years for me as well, but their gnocchi had perfect texture. Totally untrendy as well. ← I have had some good gnocchi at "Gnocchi" which is down off South Street. It is a small BYOB, with some simple but tasty dishes. May have to wait a few minutes unless get there early,as they are usually busy.

I have a question regarding sausage making- I saw a story on a commercial sausage maker, who in order to keep the ground meat and ingredients cold, actually added pieces of dry ice to the mix. Has anyone tried this? And if so, what was the result? Worth the expense?

my mom makes a great grilled chicken - break down a whole chicken into halves, then rub all over with bacon grease - inside and out - sprinkle with paprika, dried oregano, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Grill on a medium fire - most tasty! Gets a crust from the grilling and all the spices.

Since it is strawberry season, how about a genoise or pound cake with vanilla buttercream and sliced strawberrys?

I am working on some pancetta and it is hanging in my garage with a black bag around it to keep the light out. After two weeks of walking right by it, my wife finally said "what is that?" and I told her it was my pancetta, like, what, you never see pancetta hanging in here before?! She just gave the roll the eyes and said she must have the only husband making his own pancetta in the county. It really is kinda funny when you think about it! But when I slice that baby up, she will be more than happy to have some.

How about high class Thai - Patara on Fulham Road - excellent food and really creative dishes - when we went over thewinter were serving some vension and wild boar

Ray's Seafood in Little Silver does them really well. Either fried or pan sauteed with garlic and oil over your choice of pasta. ← I am in Philly and I was looking for soft shells the other week and called Whole Foods, who said they are no longer carrying soft shells, as they have had customers voice their "concerns" over the treatment of the live softshells. The Washington Post ran a little squib about this last week. Whole foods does not carry live lobsters either. Call your fish market before you go to save yourself sometime.

Not sure where to get them in NJ, but we are ordering them from http://www.seaviewlobster.com/ for the Fourth of July.

I agree that $3.50 for an ice cream seems expensive, and the first time I went to the creamery, I was a little taken back. I can't recall the exact price, but the quart prices are overall pretty reasonable. For some reason I compare all ice cream. price and flavor, to my experience living in Italy in the late 1980's where you could get a big cup of gelato, with three or four flavors, for $1.00. Those were the days!

We live close to the Creamery and love going there. We are sad when it closes in the Fall. Normally, if you go there on a Saturday or Sunday evening, the nice kids who work there get you in and out pretty quickly. The ice cream is really good, though one has to remember that it is a different style than a gelato type of ice cream, and I love gelato too. I am just a big fan of the creamery. We order it in the winter to ship to people out of state and the owners are the ones who handle the orders. We bring it with us when we go out of town, and people have started asking if we are bringing it when we come.

How about some bacon or some sausage? I get my pork belly with the skin on, take it off myself and make some great pork rinds. My 2 two year old daughter loves the crunch. Tom Aikens makes a great braised pork belly, recipe below, that is then sauteed with scallops and a white chicken stock infused with rosemary. Braised Pork Belly 1 whole pork belly half a bunch of thyme 1 bunch parsley 2 garlic bulbs, split in half 5 carrots, peeled and split in half 4 leeks, split in half 5 onions, peeled and halved 8 shallots, peeled and halved 1 bunch celery, cleaned and roughly chopped 2 tablespoons sea salt Step 1: Place the Belly in a pot of cold water for 24 hours, then drain and refresh with cold water and bring to a boil. As soon as boiling, drain the water, and repeat the fresh water/boiling procedure. Step 2: Refresh the belly with cold water and add the aromatics and the salt. At this stage, if you like different poaching flavors, you could add whatever you want, juniper, cardamom, star anise, whatever. I like star anise so I would add to the poaching liquid. Step 3: Bring the pot to a boil, reduce to medium heat. Cover and let poach for approximately 5 hours, until the belly is fully cooked through. Step 4: When the belly is cooked, place on a parchment lined pan and cover with plastic wrap or more parchment. Place another sheet pan on top with some weights in it to keep the belly flat. Place in the refrigerator fro @ 12 hours. The weighted sheet pan with make the belly lay flat and will encourage browning on all sides when searing.

one of the links to a Firenze dining guide lists Trattoria Za Za. I would highly recommend that too. The food is very simple, and I mean that in the most complimentary way - pasta with pesto, walnut sauce, crostini (various), wine by the carafe, and if the weather is nice sit outside. I have many memories of great meals there. This is not a michelin restaurant, but a local, good food place. Traditional dishes like pappa al pomodoro, tre ministre, etc are also very good. It is right near the Mercato Centrale, in the square on the back side of the actual market building. As for good pizza in Firenze, when you are walking through the open air market in the Mercato, look for a place with the sign outfront that says "pizza a taglio" - it is great. The restaurant is behind some stalls, so keep your eye out. You buy your pizza by the weight and they have numerous varieties- the dough, the sauce and everything is good. have a great trip

I would reiterate the fact that the roads are very dangerous, no lights,and other people are drinking. Try to avoid walking any great distances at night. But back to the fun stuff - like eating. Here is a list of restaurants in Castellina - Albergaccio di Castellina (see also) (Castellina in Chianti Via Fiorentina, 35 Tel. +39 577 741042 - 741056 (Ab.) E-mail c/o assopec@chiantinet.it) - also mentioned in Fodor's (p. 126) Antica Trattoria La Torre: In the main square, Castellina in Chianti. Closed Fridays. Ristorante le tre Porte - Via Trento e Trieste 4/6/8 TEl 0577 742939 al gallopapa Ristorante Enoteca - (where Randi & Mimi ate the second night) Pizzeria Il Fodaccio - pizzeria with a lively atmospher. I went to Tre Porte a few years ago and it was wonderful. I had Cinghiale, wild boar, and my wife had ravioli with pumpkin and sage, zucca e salvia, with a brown butter sauce. A great meal and good prices - wine prices were reasonable too. Buon viaggio!

i think what you talking about is capicola ham,which comes in spicy and sweet versions. The hot version is great if you like hot meats. Great sliced thin and eaten as is. Here is brief description from one of my local italian markets: Dry-cured butt capicola with a thin spicy red-pepper coating. Imported from Italy. Sliced thin for a sandwich with fresh mozzarella and olive oil. Antipasta trays

I heated the oil to 120 degrees, monitoring with a thermometer, and cooked the salmon for about 35 minutes. Came out great, but like the other person suggested, it can be expensive. That's why I really do not want to throw out all that oil. Thanks for the suggestions.

thanks for the recommendations!

I poached some wild salmon in olive oil last night and am curious how long the olive oil would last in the fridge for future uses. I filtered it through cheese cloth and the oil does not have any salmony overtones.