Suzanne F

And go to a few concerts at the Barge. Followed, or preceded, or both, by some ice cream from the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory.

Lou, thanks for that! Sounds like the ultimate nibble. Crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside.

Now THAT'S music to my ears.

I kind of got the feeling that the Times is treating food as yet one more minority -- you know, there's Black History Month, and Women's History Month, and the rest of the year nothing much matters. Not that I'm accusing the Times of such behavior. But it strikes me as odd that they should have put so many eggs into today's basket, so to speak.

Finally had "yook hwe" last night, at Kori, a hippish restaurant in Tribeca (a block north of 66). Thank you, Kristin, for turning me on to it. The presentation was beautiful: a rounded mound of bright red julienned beef atop a leaf of red Boston lettuce; pure white sliced raw mushrooms on either side of the leaf; a pile of lightly dressed Asian pear at one end; a little cup of rust-colored chili paste; and a quail egg nestled in the top of the meat. Looking at it was good, but eating was better! Mixed the egg into the meat, which was already mixed with sesame oil and a little soy sauce, not much else. But the meat itself was almost sweet, and had much better texture than when ground or chopped for tartare. Also, it was 100% lean and 100% trimmed of integuement. Cool, but not ice cold. He Who Only Eats is more of a worrier than I, even though I'm the one who got gastroenteritis from steak tartare. So at first he only wanted a taste. But after that first taste, he changed his mind to going halves. Well, I love him, what can i do? Kang Suh, here I come next!

Add to my list: yuke, or "yook hwe" as it is listed at Kori (in NYC). Finally had it last night. Ah, yes. Even HWOE, who has an unnatural fear of eating raw beef* scarfed down half the portion. *He still worries about gastroenteritis, even though it was I who got it from steak tartare.

Also today in the Book Review: a review of Pepin's The Apprentice; Under the title, "Bites of Passage" a look at 4 food autobiographies: Cooking for Mr. Latte by Amanda Hesser Fried Butter by Abe Opincar Untangling My Chopsticks by Victoria Abbott Riccardi Feeding a Yen by Calvin Trillin. And a combined review of memoirs by Colette Rossant (about Paris) and Patrizia Chen (about Italy). There's also a Books in Brief review of The Bobby Gold Stories.

There are wonderful oysters from New England. Why do you think there seems to be a paucity of fried oysters, though? Because it's almost sacrilegious to cook a Belon? Or they just never caught on much in the region for historical reasons? While we're at it, do you have any favorite fried oyster sources? Recipes for batters to use? (I prefer batter-fried to crumbed for oysters, myself.) Thanks, and have fun while you're here.

Kristin, I love you anyway. BTW: congrats on the "official" eG post of whatever-it-is on the Japan board! Recognition of much work well done.

AHA! That explains why the food at the journalism awards is not that good!

Monica, has anyone died yet from your cooking? . . . I thought not. Carry on with whatever you've been doing, and let those who worry, worry. But, Fat Guy, celery is just LOADED with sodium, no?

A juicy, RARE burger, crusted with salt, pepper, and carcinogens. Porterhouse, hold the butter. Any grotty bit that can be coaxed and braised into something unctuous and rich with melted collagens. Oxtails, yes! Short ribs, you bet! Shin, sure!! (But my heart belongs first to prime rib )

If someone somewhere eats a food for nourishment and/or pleasure, I will at least try it. I may not look for it in the future, but at least I won't refuse to taste anything. Can't say that I like natto, but now that I know it is sometimes served "disguised," I might even try it a second time.

Ellen, maybe it's time for you to try again? When I searched on Amazon, the most recent book with that subject they list is from 1994 (Michael McLaughlin's More Back of the Box Gourmet); others dated from 1981, 1982, 1984, and 1992. Tastes may have changed, and the recipes on the packages may have, too.

Alacarte: nice to see it in "print!" But I feel for your m-i-l -- just proves GIGO. If you want good food, ya gotta use good ingredients!! My favorite Brattleboro microbrewery, McNeill's, sometimes does a root beer. I'll have to try it when I'm up there this summer.

There's a book of dips coming out soon (might be out already?) by Rick Rodgers that includes that one and variations. Thought you might like to know.

I saw in Naton's Restaurant News that Jean-George Vongerichten and Phil Suarez are investors in WD50. Just thought I'd pass that on.

That's all that matters.

David -- I believe there are some websites specifically for that sort of recipe. Sorry, though, I couldn't find any just now. Edit-ion: Scroll down a bit. Sandra Levine provides a link. Thanks, Sandy.

This morning I made a cake to bring to my final cookbook editing class tonight. I have made this cake numerous times; it is always delicious and beautiful, and never fails to impress people. The thing is, though, the recipe is on the label of a can of Solo Almond Filling! Do you have any never-fail dishes that started with a recipe on a package? Do you still make them as presented on the box/can/bag, or have you adapted them somehow? Edit-ion: the recipe is in the eGRA HERE as "Almond Cake" Boy, is it easy to enter a recipe! Thanks, Darren and all!

MySiuMai: Welcome! Keep those posts coming. We've done it once -- provided the space for a couple of friends' wedding reception. Another of their friends was the daughter of a caterer, so it was an easy and interesting time for all. Also, it gave us a deadline for finishing the work on our loft, which we had moved into a year before. This was over 20 years ago, and I still have a few of the glasses and ashtrays that the caterer left.

Almond Cake Serves 10 as Dessert. Even though this comes off the label of a product, it's mighty fine. Needless to say, I've made a few changes, but IT WORKS. One important point: you MUST use Solo Almond Filling. No almond paste. No marzipan. PRODUCT only! This contains coconut, almonds, and dairy. 1 c butter, softened 1 c sugar (I like 1/2 & 1/2 white and brown) 3 eggs 1 pkg (12.5oz can) Solo Almond Filling 2-1/4 c all-purpose (plain) flour 2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 c milk 1/4 tsp almond extract (optional) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan or 12-cup Bundt pan. Beat the butter and sugar(s) with an electric mixer with a paddle (if available) until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each. The batter may look broken, but it's okay; it will come together later. Add the almond filling and mix well. At this point you may have to scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add 1/4 of the dry ingredients, mix well, and then add 1/3 of the milk and mix that in. Repeat. Repeat again, adding the almond extract (if used) with last of the milk. Add the last of the dry ingredients and mix well. Scrape down the sides of the bowl if necessary; mix until the batter is blended. The batter will be fairly thick and gloppy. Plop the batter into the pan, and gently spread it evenly in the pan. Bake in the center of the oven for 50 to 55 minutes. The cake is done when a tester inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean and dry. Don't worry if the top cracks; you'll turn it over anyway. Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Then turn the cake out of the pan and let cool completely. If you like, drizzle a chocolate glaze over the cooled cake. You can also mix about 1/2 cup of finely chopped chocolate or cocoa nibs into the batter for an almond-chocolate chip cake. Keywords: Easy, Cake, Dessert, Kosher ( RG460 )

Do you put a heat diffuser between the pan and the heat coil? (I don't know if that would actually help as much as constant stirring, but you never know )

I didn't say a reviewer can't be an expert. But I guess I'd better explain what I DO mean. That seems to me to warrant a separate thread. I will come back here and link to it once I get it going. I'm back. This is the thread.

Ah, well in that case, sure why not? You will have to give the baking pan a good shake from time to time or stir them occasionally, so the potatoes brown evenly and don't stick. Should work fine. Then just sprinkle with the minced parsley before plating or after putting in the chafer (if it's to be buffet service). Although to be obnoxious, you can't really call them "a la parisienne" then, since they won't be made the "classic" (= Escoffier) way. Not with garlic, sans meat glaze, and roasted instead of fried. But I answer myself: so what?