Catherine Iino

Okay, it only took me a minute or two to get that. Actually, that's the only kind of Macintosh I like. The edible kind are completely unappealing to me--and the honeycrisps you got sound kind of like them.

tortilla chips instead of cutting and frying fresh tortillas. No illusions, but tasty.

I second the comment on the Williams Sonoma book (other books in that first series were remarkably good, too). I especially like the pear pecan muffins and the orange currant muffins.

You are absolutely right about fresh apples. I think MacIntoshes must have very little myolin; I have always disliked the ones I could buy, but we have a couple of huge old trees that have very MacIntosh-like apples (no pedigree, of course), and the apples we get from them are lovely and crisp. I'll have to read Parsons's book. Does anyone have a sense of whether, if you cook an apple that has gone mealy, the mealiness (sp?) matters?

Winter squash. If you get a huge hubbard squash, the per pound price is next to nothing, and the flesh is delicious. You could make a soup (the really simple one from the Bittman/Vongerichten cookbook always gets raves) or use it to stuff pasta or just roast it.

(My email notification of replies is not working, again--hence the little delay in my response.) The honeycrisps I've had are not as crisp as my favorites, though they are juicy. Mostly, though, it's that I haven't find the layers of flavor that chezcherie and robert40 are talking about. Their descriptions are exactly what I am looking for, but, as I said, they don't match my experience. I do like some tartness in my apples, and the honeycrisps seem to lack acidity. I don't think Haralsons are available in these parts (New England); they do sound perfect!

Apparently Honeycrisp apples have been named an "innovation that changed the world" and there's been all sorts of other hoopla, but I keep trying them, and they seem kind of bland to me. I've bought them from a bunch of different sources, from the local farmer's market to supermarkets. Is it just my taste, or have I not yet found the really good ones? (I like jonagolds and mutsu's and braeburns, for examples.)

No, you're wrong on that last conjecture. The same oils are probably more expensive elsewhere, since there's less competition and less volume. One of the peculiarities of NYC economics is that while real estate prices are, well, through the roof, much food seems to be less expensive there than in other markets. Not bushels of potatoes, maybe, but certainly imported olive oil.

I have tried making pizza dough with my natural starter (which I've used more or less weekly for twenty years to make a great boule). I could not get the crust to either brown or crisp. It was just wrong. Maybe someone can explain why? The boules, which I bake in a cast iron pot (I was there first!), have a great, crackly, golden brown crust. I bake the pizzas on a preheated baking stone at 500 degrees, and make excellent crusts with commercial yeast.

I had the same experience with my Asko. I thought it did a fantastic and quiet job with the dishes, but repairs were a pain. I resolved not to get another, then went through an absurd saga, starting last April, of trying to replace it, which involved two failed LG dishwashers, absurd dealings with Best Buy, and very chapped hands. About a month ago I finally went to our local high end appliance store, resolved to buy a Bosch or something else. I ended up buying a new Asko, on the basis of price (there's a $100 rebate at the moment), quality, and their new 3-year parts & labor warranty. So far, so good, though that doesn't mean much. But you might want to take another look at Asko; they have apparently revamped the electronics and I assume the exceptional warranty is their attempt to address the perceptions their old models engendered. Good luck.

We have a big old shagbark on our property in CT, and the only hint I have for cracking the nuts--which are indeed delicious--is to get a really heavy nut cracker. OXO makes a good one. I have not found that letting the nuts sit around for a month or two makes it any easier to get the meats out. Thanks to Sparrowgrass for the hint on smoking with the nuts and shells, though. That's a great idea.

Hi, guys-- A couple of days ago I cooked up the bag of gigantes (yes, giant beans) that I got at Sonia's. They were amazingly delicious, and brought back good memories of the expedition in July. Hope all is well with all of you-- Cathy

Adam, I'm not sure. It doesn't have an enlarged bulb at the end like a butternut squash (or like the one in the photo in Melissa's link), and the fruit is light green, but I don't think it's young--it's about 2 1/2 feet long. I will just have to experiment and report back. Thank you, Melissa. I make a much simpler curried squash soup with normal zucchini; that recipe looks tasty. I'm still curious about traditional Italian preparations, though.

Having read about how delicious the tromboncino is and having failed at growing them in my garden, I have now acquired one from a neighbor. I'd love to hear about traditional ways of preparing this wacky-looking squash. (My neighbor calls it by the Italian nickname which I can't begin to spell but which I suspect is rather off-color.)

I think you should have usable vanilla extract by Christmas. Thank you for reminding me to start the vanilla sugar I need for my Christmas cookies.

Do you treat the extract that you pour off in any way? Just put it in a bottle and go with it? Would there be any point to scraping the seeds into the extract? I've been using spoonfuls of the stuff for a couple of weeks now. It does smell much more alchoholic and less sweet than the commercial stuff, but it seems to work just fine. Last evening I put some in a batch of pear ice cream--we have a surfeit of pears from our one pear tree--and it was lovely. The Tahitian seemed like a better match for that recipe than the Madagascar, but I wasn't scientific enough to do a side-by-side test.

I don't have any pan recommendations--sorry--but I'm about the same size, but I'm pretty strong; are you sure it has to be a super light pan?

Eat it fast. Actually, I think the secret is to use bananas that are not too ripe. Not crunchy green, of course, but still quite solid. The pie will keep for a day or so with no problem. After that the whipped cream gets kind of funky anyway. Chris, you have to try the recipe I posted in recipe gullet.

My experience has been a lot like Steve's. In the summer, I'm mostly in Rhode Island, near the ocean, and I shop at the local farm stand and the farmer's markets. The farm stand charges significantly more for their "heirloom" varieties, but even though they are laid out with varietal names and tempting descriptions, they are all completely underwhelming. I thought that maybe they refrigerated them, but they deny that. So now I wonder if it just doesn't ever get really hot enough for long enough to grow a really sweet, tasty tomato near the ocean. Unfortunately, I haven't had much better luck in Connecticut . . .

Try clicking on the pink items in Kerry's last full paragraph. The links are hilarious--especially the one for oatmeal pie. My favorite cream pie is a banana cream pie made according to a recipe from Sarabeth Levine, of Sarabeth's Kitchen fame. I once donated one to a fund-raising auction and it brought in $80. I'll post the recipe. It's to die for.

Banana Cream Pie This recipe is based on one by Sarabeth Levine that appeared many years ago in, I believe, a magazine that Cuisinart used to put out. A couple of the ingredients are different, and I use the food processor a lot less than the recipe originally specified. Crust 1-1/4 c almonds 1/2 c sugar 3/4 c butter, salted, room temperature 1 large egg 1-1/2 c unbleached, all-purpose flour 1/8 tsp baking powder Filling 1 c milk 3 egg yolks 1/3 c sugar 1 T cornstarch 1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract 1/2 pkg Knox gelatin 1/4 c warm water 2 c heavy cream 4 ripe bananas 1/3 c confectioner's sugar Crust: Toast almonds, in their skins, for about 10 minutes, until fragrant. Let cool. Grind the almonds with the sugar in a food processor to a very fine powder but not a paste. Add the butter; process to blend. Add the egg, then the flour. Pulse just until blended. Divide the dough into two parts. You will need only one of these for the pie; freeze the other (or double the filling recipe). Shape each half into a disk; wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least one hour. Roll the dough out to fit a 9" pie plate. Fit it into the pan; crimp the rim; and prick the bottom and sides thoroughly with a fork. Chill for another hour. Bake the empty shell for 25-30 minutes at 350 degress, until golden brown. You shouldn't need to weight the crust. Pie Dissolve the gelatin in the water; set aside. Scald the milk (I do this in a measuring cup in the microwave). In a small saucepan, whisk together the yolks, sugar, and cornstarch. Gradually whisk in the hot milk. Cook over a medium heat, stirring constantly, until thick. Stir in the gelatin and the vanilla extract. Place plastic wrap on the surface and let cool to room temperature. Whip 3/4 cup of the cream in a chilled bowl; fold into the cooled custard. Slice the bananas quite thin. Gently fold the slices into the custard. Scrape the filling into the pie shell and chill until set. Whip the remaining cream with the confectioner's sugar and cover the filling with swirled mounds of whipped cream. Keywords: Dessert, Food Processor, Intermediate, Pie, American ( RG2021 )

Thank you so much, Edsel! It may be too late to take my daughter to Parallax on this trip, but I am sure there will be future occasions. And I will definitely get a copy of Taxel's book. Just reading through this thread has made me eager to explore Cleveland.

I just cooked up some darn good pork posole. I had a bag of dried pozole that I had brought back from Colorado last fall, but after I soaked it and cooked it I discovered it was quite rancid. I pulled out a bag of much larger, Peruvian dried hominy--which I got on our egullet Providence food tour last month--and used that. It was delicious. The kernals are about twice as big as the Mexican-style ones I've had, but the taste was pretty much the same, and the soaking/cooking process didn't take any longer.

I'm bumping this thread to ask about good places to get sushi in Cleveland, or between Cleveland and Oberlin. We are bringing my daughter out to college next week, and I know she will love it, but she foresees a lamentable lack of sushi in her life. If we could take her out for sushi while we're there, it would be a lovely treat. Is Pacific East still good? Does anyone know the name of the place in Strongsville? Thanks in advance for any suggestions. (edited to refine the question)

Paul and I had the arepas for dinner last night, stuffed with some refried beans I had in the refrigerator and some cheese. The arepas were nice change from tortillas, with their sweetness. Julie, I haven't tried the queso fresco yet, but I'll let you know. (How would you use it?) My one regret about the day is that I didn't bring bags. I'm feeling very guilty about the number of plastic bags I ended up with. My bad.