Suzanne F

Arrow sounds good. I happened to stop in at Zabar's today, and their widemouth pint Ball jars were $.99 each, with rings and lids. How's that for you? (But don't let me interfere between you and MatthewB )

And I misread what you wrote. That's okay, splat away! haide, the language(s) you need will probably depend on where you go to school, and what language the course is taught in. (Holly, forgive me for ending the sentence a preposition with?) But my guess is that many of the bigger schools in non-English-speaking locations may have sessions in English ? Believe me, the French Culinary Institute in NYC does NOT require knowledge of French.

I like that a lot. No value judgments.

dave88: what's with you today? wrong side of the bed? on the rag?? If it exists, we will taste it. This is not an advert for any of those; just the question "are any of these products any good on their own merits?" Legitimate question, and as you may have noticed the answers tend toward: NO. Calm down, my friend.

To me, "vanilla pulp" would be the seeds you scrape out of the inside of the bean when you split it open. They are dark but tiny -- almost impossible to strain out, I imagine. Don't have the book, but FoodMan could be right about the photo. Think how many people make their living as Food Stylists.

MatthewB, do they have to be cookbooks per se or can they be food books (such as reference books, or books with descriptions but not formal recipes)?

lamington, you're right to some extent. I just thought it was interesting that the origins of the adjective, to be found in the verb, were so negative. To me it sounds like some very good marketing -- turning what was originally to be avoided into something supposedly desirable. At bottom, my point was that the idea of a "sophisticated palate" is a lot of hogwash. It smacks of elitism, of class divisions, and ignores the simple fact that if it tastes good, it IS good. And what tastes good to some doesn't taste good to others, but neither view is morally or ethically or socially right or wrong.

Just checked the phone book but didn't see them (don't remember the name) Anyway, if they're there, they're on the left (east) side of Lex as you head downtown. Also in the neighborhood is Marburger, on Irving Place and 16th.

OED: Sophisticate v. trans 1. a. To mix (commodities) with some foreign or inferior substance; to render impure in this way; to adulterate. Now somewhat rare. b. To deal with in some artificial way. c. To render artificial, to deprive of simplicity, in respect to manners or ideas; to convert into something artificial. 2. To corrupt or spoil by admixture of some baser principle or quality; to render less genuine or honest. 3. To corrupt, pervert, mislead (a person, the understanding, etc.) 4. To falsify by mis-statement or by unauthorized alteration. 5. instrans. to practice sophistication. Sophistication 1. a. The use or employment of sophistry; the process of investing with specious fallacies or of misleading by means of these; falsification. b. a sophism, a quibble, a fallacious argument. 2. a. Disingenuous alteration or perversion of somethng; conversion into some less genuine form. b. Deceptive modification. For the record, though, the version of the OED that I have seems not to have any use citations after 1900.

Coffee.

Your question sent me straight to the dictionary (Webster 10). VERY interesting. Sophisticate as a verb means 1: to alter deceptively, esp. adulterate; 2: to deprive of genuineness, naturalness, or simplicity; 3: to make complicated or complex. There aren't many more positives in the definition of sophisticated: 1: not in a natural, pure, or original state; 2: deprived of native or original simplicity: as a: highly complicated or developed; b: having a refined knowledge of the ways of the world cultivated esp. through wide experience; 3: devoid of grossness: as a: finely experienced and aware; b: intellectually appealing.

Gee, I don't know. I use 8-ounce, and it's been so long since I bought them. I reuse and reuse and reuse. But I thought of another possible source: medical supply stores, if the jars don't have to be canning jars. There's a good one on Lexington in the 20s (near Baruch College). I'll bet they have all sizes of jars, probably with plastic screw caps.

Welcome, haide! Now that you're here, have a look at Malawry's Diary of a Cooking School Student and at Louisa Chu's "Food. France. Now." pieces in The Daily Gullet (click on the mouse in the guy's tummy above left). There are also other sites that devote much serious discussion to your concerns, such as this one with a forum for Culinary Students. Depending on where you are, there might be nighttime programs that allow you to keep your day job while studying. Also, some community colleges have excellent programs at a much lower cost than the "big name" private institutions. What Holly said about studying management is dead on. If you really want to start a restaurant or other food-related business, you'd better know the specific aspects of the business that are different from other industries. However, I disagree with Holly on his last point: DON'T quit your day job to try out the industry. Instead, try to get a nighttime/weekend job, at least 3 or 4 days a week (full-time is better). You'll be exhausted, yes, but you won't be giving up your income just yet as you learn whether or not you REALLY want to make the change. FWIW: I was 46 when I started in a Culinary Arts/Restaurant Management program -- not with the expectation of becoming a chef and having my own place, but just to be able to work in the industry. And since then I have worked the line, done pastry, sold catering, run a kitchen for a manufacturer, and done consulting to a startup. If you'd like to talk privately, pm or email me. I'd be happy to help you if I can. I love food and I love working with food!!

Hardware stores also carry them -- Garber's in the Village for sure. Also check out places like Odd Lot, Jack's, and "Self Service" on Broadway and White (?) in Tribeca. I'm pretty sure I've seen them at Self Service, which reminds me of the Woolworth of my youth. Sigh.

Thanks, Tom, for giving us your time! It used to seem that the overthrow of a government somewhere in the world would give rise to new "ethnic" restaurants in DC, opened by well-educated former officials who couldn't go home. (Such as the proliferation of Ethiopian restaurants following Haile Selassie's overthrow). I don't want to sound callous, but do you think that turmoil like that helps to improve the dining scene in DC and elsewhere in the US?

There's a branch of Totonno's on the Upper East Side (2nd Ave between 80th and 81st). Have you tried that? Has anyone? Can anyone compare the two?

The old take-out menu from one of our favorite neighborhood restaurants (pan-Asian foods) had a cartoon in it of two chefs with one stirring a big pot and telling the other: "It's great; you just add a fifth of scotch to it before serving and everybody loves it." Take that as you wish.

Never stir the rice once the cover is on. Leave it alone until you've just got to check it to see if it's done. Maybe Tommy and I are finally agreeing on something. Did your eye jump while you were reading? Because the instructions as I posted them are The pot does not get covered, except perhaps while bringing the water to its initial boil (before adding the rice); this is what Alford and Duguid refer to as the "lots-of-water" technique, and it works for many kinds of rice (they say NOT Thai jasmine or Japanese rice). And, of course, if you are cooking rice with the husk still on, it will take longer.

Even at 2 in the morning, standing in front of the open fridge? HWOE swears that the smell wafting out of a freshly-opened bottle of beer (such as Red Hook ESB) is one of the finest, most fleeting aromas in the world. I'm just afraid that someday he's going to get the neck of the bottle stuck in his nose.

Different varieties of rice need different proportions of water. Some need to be rinsed, some do not. There is no "one right way" for all kinds of rice. You might want to have a look at Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid's Seductions of Rice for cooking methods for different varieties. If you still have crappy cheap rice that you want to use up: bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil; add however much rice you want to cook (assume it will double in bulk); bring the water back to a boil, and stir the whole thing occasionally to keep the stuff from sticking to the bottom of the pan; cook uncovered at a rolling boil for about 15 minutes; but start checking at 13 minutes to see if the rice is done; when the rice is tender but not yet splitting, drain it thoroughly, mix in a LOT of butter, and serve.

One more vote against corn-based pasta. Tasted like neither pasta nor corn, and it was extremely difficult to cook so that the inside was done without the outside surface going all mushy.

The only one of mine to fall apart -- other than, yes, the paperback of Fannie Farmer that I bought in about 1967 -- is Barbara Kafka's Microwave Gourmet. Not, I hasten to add, because I use it so much. It's just cheaply bound.

The first time I was there, at the eGullet event, so many of the dishes (tandoori and non-tandoori) were new to me that I found just about everything wonderful. So I gushed when posting. The second time, the tandoori foods were still wonderful (ones I'd had before as well as new ones), and the non-tandoori ranged from just okay to very good. The third time, tandoori still ***, other eh. Although that time I finally got the chai pot de creme, which was worth waiting for. So if and when I go again, I'll know: stick to the tandoor. (Ouch, that's HOT!) And I apologize for giving the wrong impression.

The copyright dates in The Good Cook are 1980, 1981, and 1982.

I'm shameless. And CHEAP. Unless something has fuzz of an unexpected color growing on it, or is heaving and bubbling, or has exuded a strange gooey fluid when none existed before, or smells like it could be used with a piece of newsprint to clean windows, I keep it and use it until it's gone or develops one of the above conditions. I've never had to toss chipotles in adobo, or UNOPENED packages of chorizo (although I usually keep that in the freezer). My guess is that there are enough natural preservatives (e.g., vinegar; hot pepper) in them that they'll outlast me. The point about "when in doubt, throw it out" is a good one. I just have a very high threshhold of doubt. And we've never yet gotten sick from anything I've cooked at home.