Catherine Iino

Big bump. I had some nice shad (alosa sapidissima, according to Wikipedia) in Connecticut last evening, and it occurs to me that it could be cured like shime saba. It's a nice, flavorful, oily fish with lots of bones. Has anyone tried this?

Sorry to have posted and then disappeared; it's been a helluva few weeks. Thank you so much, edsel, for the suggestions. I think I'm going to try calling Lolita tomorrow, but I'm wondering how casual it is? We don't want stuffy and formal, but it is a big occasion, so a sort of festive dignity would be what I am aiming for.

New York City bagels/pizza are unique and better because of the NYC water in them.

I'm sad to hear it. My father took me there when I was a teenager, and I remember that part of the shtick was that you might be asked to change tables--maybe even floors--in the middle of a meal. That was decades ago, but I would rather think that those pieces of local texture are still there.

I think I was not clear in my last post: what I bought were absolutely not almonds. Actually, the store had green almonds as well. Inside the pods I did buy are green . . . chickpeas. No question about it.

Absolutely. I have found a few recipes on the Web, for salads, hummus, and edamame-style snacks. Just wondered if any egulleteers had thoughts.

I bought some lovely fresh green chickpeas in their pods yesterday at a Syrian grocery store in Paterson, New Jersey. Any recommendations for what to do with them?

I made a matzoh lasagna this year that was so good I would consider using matzoh instead of packaged pasta any time of year.

Thanks. That sounds doable.

I just got a Capresso infinity, and it grinds beautifully. My question is, do you-all really clean out the grinder mechanism after each use? I just know that's not going to happen in my house.

Apologies if this has been answered somewhere in the past. I want to make Rose Levy Beranbaum's Cocoa Souffle Roll, substituting almond oil for the butter. There are only 2 tbsp butter in the recipe, melted into the dissolved cocoa. This substitution shouldn't be a problem, should it?

(with apologies to J.S. Meeker) My daughter will be graduating from Oberlin in May. We'd like to go up to Cleveland for a celebratory dinner over the weekend. From the Heartland gathering report, its sounds as if Lolita would be the place to go. Any other suggestions, cautions? Thanks for any thoughts.

I use the food processor quite frequently to mix bread dough, with the metal blade. One trick is to put the dry ingredients in the bowl, mix them, and then add the liquid all at once, so that the dough is whirling by the time it is fully hydrated and doesn't have a chance to stick. Really wet doughs, however, are always a problem; they work up into the shaft and really drag on the whole blade mechanism. I would use a Kitchenaid stand mixer for those rather than the food processor.

I'm just looking at the deep-fried mac&cheese and the krispy kreme pudding. Yeow.

This is why you are fat: http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/17/which-paula-deen-recipe-tops-them-all/

That looks very doable--thanks! May I ask, do you make them only when the humidity is relatively low? In my non-air-conditioned kitchen, I gave up on meringues during the summer (in Connecticut); I assume macarons would present the same problems.

Just to report back, I brought home macarons from Pierre Herme and Gerard Mulot. They were holding up pretty well after four days, although they lost a bit of the contrast between the crunchy exterior and the soft filling. The cassis ones, however, were brilliant purple when I bought them but faded severely to a not particularly appetizing gray. One of the best things I ate in Paris was a pastry from the Mulot shop, which was basically a relatively large macaron, split and filled with a light pastry cream and fresh raspberries. Wow. Might just have to learn to make macarons.

Thanks. The macarons are all over, of course, and irresistible. So much to eat, so little time.

Bump. I'm in Paris and would like to bring some macarons home (to the U.S.) to my daughter. How long will they keep, do you think?

Oops! I had missed the Chateaubriand/LRSH thread; thanks so much for pointing me there. I'll check out Talbott's site as well. Have already spent many hours with Paris by Mouth, thanks to an earlier egullet reference. What would I do without you all?

One more question: any views on Le Pre Catalan? Not open Sunday, but have heard very good things about it and would like to go there on another night. Thanks again!

My husband and I will be in Paris for several days in January. His birthday is on the eighth, which is a Sunday. So far, Le Cinq looks to me like the best bet for that day, but the latest comments on the Le Cinq topic here give me pause. The most recent comments are, however, almost two years old. Any updates? Or recommendations for better places, either for that night or one of the others? We're willing to pay for fabulous food. We tend to prefer places somewhat less molecular, for lack of a better word, than Pierre Gagnaire. I do plan to go to L'Atelier Joel Robuchon, but stools at a counter don't seem right for the big birthday dinner. Also, does anyone have a current view on Le Chateaubriand? I see it's listed on the 50 Best Restaurants site. I'm eager for any advice. Thanks!

Thanks. Interesting.

On Chris Amirault's recommendation, I was going to get a bottle of the Aberlour A'bunadh as a present for my brother today, but got stymied. The store had three choices, a 17-year-old one (I think) that says it's aged in sherry casks, and two somewhat younger ones that say they're double-casked (I think). Obviously, I am an ignoramus among the cognoscenti, but my brother does like single-malts. Has anyone tasted the "sherry" one? The store's tasting notes say it picks up a lot of the sherry taste, which I love but my brother might not. Also, is Jura Superstition a brand name, or what? Thanks for helping me out.

Have you been to Liuzzi Cheese in North Haven, Connecticut? Incredibly delicious mozzarella and ricotta, no matter how they are making it--but I would bet it's not from curds. A wonderful deli all around.