Suzanne F

If you do a search on "cast iron" (without the quotes) on the Cooking forum and specify Any Date and newer, you'll get lots of information. Not every thread will have what you're asking, but a lot will. This is a topic near and dear to many of us. Or you can just cast your click here and take the easy way out. I wonder if you had the pan hot enough to mark the cheese fast without cooking it so long as to melt it? But then I've never tried it, so I could be wrong.

Jason, I wanted to dive right into my screen. Our main last night was kind of forgettable: chicken "tikka masala" with some okra added. Served with basmati and salad and numerous bottled chutneys. BUT: I started experimenting with something that might work out -- ricotta, drained; formed into balls about 1" in diameter; breaded a l'anglaise in chickpea flour+garam masala+crumbled dried methi leaves, then egg white, then panko; deep fried. I should have seasoned the cheese first -- too too bland. But the balls mostly held together (the ones that erupted were a bit obscene ) and the crust on them was great.

Do you use fresh egg whites or pasteurized? Or does it depend on how nervous the people you're serving are about raw eggs? Whichever, that sounds like a great idea. Right now, He Who Only Eats refuses to have tiramisu more than once a year (fat, and all that )even though he is a coffee+chocolate fiend. Maybe I'll try to tempt him with your lightened version.

I figure that if stuff sticks to the All-Clad while cooking, there will just be more crispy bits. I mostly use a wooden spatula to scrape in those cases. I've got other similar saute pans (Leyse), but they WARP. All-Clad is tough, man, really tough. Don't believe their hype about treating it so gently. Great stuff.

Torakris, sure you're anal, but that's one reason (among many more important) that I you.

Joiei, for your friend Tom: you should read Mark Kurlansky's book about cod. It gives a full explanation of how dried salt fish (esp. cod) was instrumental in the world-wide spread of Christianity. Totally fascinating. Thus are traditions, however seemingly bizarre , born. Now, I hope he will register on his own. And you keep posting on your own, too, please!!

Of course, of course.

C/W S: maybe you missed it along the way, but Scottish Chef's restaurant is an INDIAN restaurant. So he has every reason to serve his guests Indian food. SC: What do you feel are your best dishes? I'd give them what I feel I can nail. Of course, I'd still be gracious about accepting their criticism. Or what are the best seasonal ingredients you can get now? Maybe do dishes that use them? Whatever you make, I'll bet they'll care most about your concern for making them happy. After all, they're coming to you to give you advice. Relax!

Ask the guy at the fish counter "How's the tuna?". If he says good, buy it. I'm very lucky, I have a trustworthy fishmonger. He always tell me where it comes from, when it was caught, and when it arrived at the store. For me the smell test (no smell) and touch test (flesh should "spring" back after a poke) are also pretty reliable. And no hint of iridescent sheen.

What then, Big T?

No salad, huh?

Thanks for all the info.

Re: Mohawk Building. Yes. It's been sold to an architecture firm (James Stewart Polshek, maybe? right now I can't quite remember.) That part of town, from Chambers Street on up to Worth, is really turning into an architect ghetto (not meant in a bad way at all).

Wilfrid -- how close is that to pernil? Wondering because you didn't mention garlic.

Lissome, you made a great choice. If only because no matter how one (of the female persuasion) looked, he would have made his companion feel beautiful. I think finally I have picked my choice: Lillian Russell. The goddess of zaftig. That girl could pack it in, almost as much as her buddy Diamond Jim. But I think unlike him, she did drink alcohol -- probably Champagne?? Anyway, I'm just in awe of both of them.

One of the chefs I most enjoyed working for was Alison Barshak, when she was here in NYC at Maritime. Does anyone know what she's doing now? (I saw a mention of something in Food Arts quite a while ago, but couldn't track it down.)

I always add a pinch to my own "herbes de provence" mix, along with rosemary, fennel seed, marjoram, basil, and whatever else I feel like throwing in. Like rosemary, though, it is very, very strong -- so only a small amount in relation to everything else. I use this on lamb, chicken, in ratatouille. But it definitely adds a certain "je ne sais quois."

I have no idea how authentic it is, but have you tried Cajun on 8th Ave and 16th Street? I always enjoyed their oysters Rockefeller, Roffignac, and something else. And they'd always modify a Sazerac the way I preferred it. However, their fried chicken (admittedly not a cajun dish) was mediocre. And isn't there Sazerac House on Hudson Street (near St. Luke's)? Have not tried it, myself. Too bad the Cajun craze is over. Used to love Bon Temps Rouler (oh! their pain perdu with bourbon/cream sauce) and How's Bayou (fried chicken livers).

NickN: You've actually met Salinger? But I believe your assessment. There IS a Tom Robbins: author, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, Skinny Legs and All, and others I can't recall. I'll bet he would be fun.

PARKING?!?!? Shit, who cares? Which zoo stop is it closest to, and how many flights of steps will I have to drag my shopping cart up??? Thanks for a truly droolingly wonderful set of pictures.

Now THAT's very interesting. How do you intertwine the potato and horseradish?

Well, Strand Books was in between the liquor store and the grocery where I had to get milk, so . . . Uh oh, two more. Question: Marguerite Patten was the best selling cookbook author in the UK in the late 1960s? Oh dear!!!!!!! So much in Savoury Cooking is awful! But at least it was cheap. So was the Time-Life Cooking of the British Isles.

Downside: you'll end up having to eat a meal in between lunch and dinner. But that might not be so bad. Upside: they probably won't need to turn the table after you. Of course, they might eventually want to go home, but . . . I'm assuming you don't have to be at work bright and early on Saturday.

Sounds good to me. Rice vinegar and sesame oil for the vinaigrette. A couple of other things: 1) horseradish and microplanes are a match made in heaven. Nothing better for grating the stuff! 2) I've found that it's best to grate only as much as I need; once it's grated, it loses potency. But the whole root keeps pretty well wrapped in paper towels (don't let it get too wet; then it will rot and go moldy).

Fitz signs a ketubah? FITZ? What was your name before you changed it?? No, seriously, it's great that everything worked out so well. May the two of you have many, many years together to have fun, learn, argue, and support each other. :sniff: :sniff: (I love marriage)