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More than you ever wanted to know about egg safety: http://www.aeb.org/safety/egg_handling_questions.html SB

frog?

I've always subscribed to the theory, put forth by Charles Lamb in his "Dissertation n Roast Pig", that cooking, like most of mankind's other accomplishments, was a result of serendipity. In Lamb's essay, a Ancient Chinese gentleman has a favored pig. But he must take a journey, so he encloses the pig in his house, for safe keeping. Down the road a way, the Chinese gentleman sees lightning strike his house and set it afire. Hurrying back, he arrives just as the house is "in ashes". He smells something interesting. It is the pig, roasted. He cuts off a piece and tastes it. Yummy! So, later, the Chinese gentlemman builds another house; puts a pig in it; burns down the house; and eats roast pig. With only sight modifications and refinements, the basic practice continues to this very day.

My friend Leo was an expert at setting these on a hard surface, aiming them just right, and then pounding hitting them with a sort of karate chop so the contents squirted out in a stream. He could hit a plate sized target ten to twelve feet away. One trick, if you want to try this at home, is to stand off to the side of the packet when striking it, because occasionally one will "backfire".

Many years ago I lived at a place called "The Phunny Pharm", (I don't think you need any particulars other than the spelling to envison what kind a place this was). Once after a day of hunting and fishing we decided to make a dinner of our bounty based on the title of a children's story; "Tortise and Hare Stew". The "Tortise" was a large snapping turtle we'd caught while fishing for catfish, and which we had discovered was still capable of locomotion long after being decapitated, and the "Hare" was some unfortunate rabbits we encountered while hunting for grouse. Rabbits are quite easy to butcher, but having your turtle already "cleaned, semi-boneless, and looking quite cared for" is quite an advantage. The only thing tougher than cleaning a turtle is the meat you get from it. Even after long stewing the turtle was impossible to chew, and I hate to think of the effect it might have had on the digestive tract had we managed to consume very much of it. The rabbit was okay, and the stew's vegetables filled out the meal. Inhalation of herbal substances before the meal and consumption of alcoholic beverages afterward helped considerably.

Vincent and Mary Grant Price published several books about food and cooking. "A treasury of great recipes; famous specialties of the world's foremost restaurants adapted for the American kitchen" is the hardest to find. My Sister, an inveterate used bookshop and garge sale shopper, found a copy in beautiful condition for a buck!

I have the most trouble with the smaller cartons for half-and-half or cream. I can honestly swear that I have never had one open correctly. Thankfully these products are now available with plastic caps on the top side of the container. It seems redundent, and costs more, but it's great by me!

Sure, that and a million other things we have and do ... personally, with the situation of starvation in the Sudan, where Secretary of State Colin Powell just visited, it is easy to be sickened by these eating competitions. The Third World would be appalled at the "excesses" of this culture ... and the answer is ???? It's funny how people from the "Third World" continue to aspire to come here considering how much we're told they "hate" us. In that regard they would fit in real well, since Americans themselves have no equals in hypocracy when it comes to enjoying the benefits of our hard won Freedom while at the same time decrying our own personal definitions of it's excesses. "The answer is...", paradoxicly in this example, something that used to be called "taste". SB (as guilty as the next First, Second or Third World denizen)

Would an allusion to the practices of Ancient Rome duromg it's decline trouble anyone?

Escoffier and I have the same birthday, (give or take a hundred and some years), so that might be kind of fun? SB (the younger and better looking of the two)

Often when I'm making a 2 loaf bread recipe I just make 1 loaf and 6-8 buns. Cheese, herb or tomato breads make interesting buns. For something really different try pumpernickel with a really rare burger and nothing else but raw onion!

"And, boy, is she petite!" She is "under five feet tall". The counters on her set are custom built to accomodate her "height". I love when she has Martin Scorsese's Aunt Fanny as a guest. Aunt Fanny is even shorter than Sara! Here is a real nice informal style bio: http://www.umich.edu/~newsinfo/MT/03/Win03/kitchen.html

When I was a kid Armenian Food would have been considered an oxymoron. My Mother's favorite admonishment when we didn't want to eat something was how grateful the "starving Armenians" would have been to have it. As you might suspect based on the geography, the cusine is a cross between Eastern European and Middle Eastern fare. Here are some recipes: http://www.recipesource.com/ethnic/africa/...-east/armenian/ SB (the Grape Walnut Candy looks interesting)

Sara Moulton doesn't get anywhere near the respect she's due, compared to other Food Network hosts. What an interesting person she must be? SB (thanx for the research, Chad)

There may be no connection, but I believe Sara's husband is a fairly important record company executive?

I'll wait for "Woman Cook". SB (and I'm a guy)

If you get at least a 3/4 horsepower induction motor, (1 horsepower would be even better), it should last indefinately. Also, units that are activated by a seperate wall mounted switch are generally more reliable.

I remember when my Mother first had a garbage disposal installed. One of the selling points was that it could grind up a Coke bottle, and this was back when Coke bottles were made of thick glass. Much to we kid's dismay she only did this once. Of course those Coke bottles did carry a deposit.

First; thanks again to Carolyn Tillie for undertaking this Herculean task. This issue was interesting in that it contained several pieces dealing with uncomfortable aspects of food and eating. I'll comment on one I happen to have some special insight into: "Personal History 'Binge' by Anna M. Shih A one-page, personal account of ‘how to binge.’ Slightly painful to read." I had the opportunity to read this article in it's final draft form, and to observe the change in inflection even minor editing can make. Ms Shih's original version was written in the style of a recipe, quite different in both emphasis and physical presentation from the essay published. Combined with a few minor grammatical changes, and the addition of supplementary material to suit the essay format, this undeniably poignant work was effectively altered from one variant of that word to another. From Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary: "Poignant" 2 a (1) : painfully affecting the feelings : PIERCING (2) : deeply affecting : TOUCHING While the published version indeed adhered to the theme of the issue, I think it did the author an injustice, especially considering the intense personal nature of the subject matter.

They put sooooooo muchice in to keep it sooooooooo cold! You can't imagine, and probably really don't want to heat about, the things people will do in restaurant rest rooms. Do you have to pee while he eats?

Some motives are murky, but a pure profit motive seems clear on this one. They know they can get away with it. Do you mean they somehow have a way to make you order a drink?

I sometimes buy the carrots that are peeled and cut down to look like baby carrots even though they cost twice as much. I figure the poor carrot peeler has to feed his family too.

Not England, I don't think. Wasn't she in either California or France in all of her writings? I think cooking wolves was about wartime rationing in the US... we didi that here too... Maybe? It's been a long time since I read it. I just recall picturing it taking place in London for some reason. Perhaps because it has "stiff upper lip British flair about it? In any case, the sentiment is universal. THANX SB

Somebody has to mention MFK Fisher's paean to cooking and eating under stringent circumstances, in her case, in England during the shrotages and rationing of WWII. (to say nothing of the Nazi bombongs) "How to Cook a Wolf" was first published in 1942 and revised by the author in 1951, and is available in many MFK Fisher anthologies, one being "The Art of Eating". It's worth reading not only as relevant to this topic, but as an example of food writing at it's very best.