Suzanne F

Yay, Monkeymay!!!!!!!!! Some of the previous posts reminded me of a non-public occurence: when I was stewarding at restaurant school, I found a live frog in a crate of basil. Since one of the other stewards was of suspect mental health, and might have dropped the frog out the 16th-floor window, I put the frog in a plastic container with water, lettuce, and air holes in the top. When I had the chance, I took it out of school to a park and released it. And of course there were the mice who emerged from my cans of macadamia nuts, when I was doing pastry. I tossed them (the nuts, that is; I cherished the mouse visits). Roaches on the wall no longer upset me much. In my food, however . . .

I make it to the table, AND I usually put it in a dish. But plain, accompanied by Finn Crisp, some other flatbread, or even just saltines. Or mixed into eggs before cooking. Just can't get interested in eating it with fruit, although I used to love it with chives. I think the upside-down thing has to do with the whey that leaches out and collects on top. If the container is inverted, then when you set it upright to open, all that liquid is now on the bottom. Then again, it could be something about less exposure to air. I admit to consuming fat-free. Hey, it keeps very well, and sometimes the container gets buried in the fridge.

AND there's a special place in heaven for restaurants that provide that kind of service: it's called "profitability." But having met Rory, I'm not surprised. And her husband, too.

Since I bought some fresh water chestnuts over the weekend, I made: shrimp lo mein with diced water chestnuts, bean sprouts (unplucked ), snow peas, green peas, diced red bell pepper, and lots of cilantro. The water chestnuts were SOOOOOOOOOOO sweet and crunchy. How can anyone not love them? Or maybe those who hate them never had fresh? (Canned are indeed vile. )

Well no, BBhasin, I always thought saag = spinach. So that doesn't seem right. On the other hand, broccoli is always available here in the U.S., and if treated well it is delicious. I just looked on some information sites for Indian food, and none of them even mentions broccoli. Since other cruciferous vegetables are used (cauliflower, for example), I wonder why NOT broccoli?

Errr . . . That is a hard act to follow. But: Last night we were having dinner at Salmon River (this is NOT a recommendation, NY folks). Once we finally got someone to pour us some water . . . it seemed to have been from a pitcher of seltzer with lemon (no doubt meant for the kitchen). "This doesn't taste like plain water," we said. Glasses whisked away, replaced, and eventually filled with plain old water. For mains we ordered a "Crispy Skinned Cod" and the Crab Cake Sandwich. We'll ignore the fact that no one was bussing tables. When the runner brought our food, I heard him mutter something about "Who gets the sa------ ?" HWOE took the sandwich, I took the cod. We each start dividing everything in half. HWOE puts the tomato slices and romaine leaves on top of the cake, then tastes the slaw and puts some of that on; then finally cuts the sandwich in half and takes a bite. "This is delicious," he says, "but it doesn't taste anything like crab." "It doesn't LOOK like crab, either," I respond. Well, no: the runner brought a salmon cake sandwich. Ooops. The crabcake sandwich came out pretty quickly, but had no slaw (which HWOE liked a lot). There were only about 4 or 5 tables occupied, yet they messed up at least one other's order as well. I would have to say that they have THE MOST CLUELESS STAFF I've encountered since Riverrun closed.

Okay, a storage tip for all of you whose cilantro turns into The Creature from the Black Lagoon: Take the cilantro and make it into a nice bunch, with all the roots or cut stems together. Place the bunch in a jar, root end down, just as you would put flowers into a vase. Fill the jar with cold water. Place a plastic bag over the bouquet and jar. (It helps if there are a few holes in the bag; otherwise you'll have to change the bag every other day or so because water will collect on the leaves.) Put the whole arrangement in the fridge. The cilantro will keep for quite a while this way (see above for note on aspiration condensation). This method also works for parsley and watercress.

Our Bangladeshi research assistant told us that she has never seen broccoli at home, but she's learning to like it here, now. The recipe booklet that came with the Cooking of India volume of Time-Life's Foods of the world has a recipe for Sag (Fried Spinach and Broccoli Puree). Half and half spinach and broccoli (by weight) pureed with water, then fried in ghee with ginger, onions, cumin, turmeric, ground coriander, and garam masala. Very good; also good made with mustard greens or collards instead. The volume is by Santha Rama Rau, and the recipes by Devika Taja, from Goa.

In Hong Kong Supermarket (New York City) today, I noticed a Japanese brand called "Vermont." Among others, they had an apple-and-honey flavored version. Anyone know about this brand? I always find S&B too salty.

Fat Guy and Ellen: does this mean we'll see photos of you in the Times Sunday Style section? That seems to be the m.o. for all the parties they write about (w/recipes!). That's my prefered way of hosting.

Funny you should say that: HWOE insists that cilantro tastes "spicy." I have no idea whether it really does, to him, or whether it's just because it's almost always in association with spicy foods. In any case, we both adore the flavor, and I almost always have a bunch in a jar of water in the fridge.

Um, cabingirl, Holly is a he. But lots of newbies make that mistake. Check out his website, Holly Eats -- especially if you are anywhere around Philadelphia.

Nick, is that your hair holding up the tent ceiling in last year's picture?

Ethiopian Doro Wat: chicken-and-egg stew.

Sure you can make pork stock just like any other; it will be a bit sweet, though. But I usually use chicken stock for pork sauces/gravies. This is one use where the canned stuff is perfect: just a hint of flavor, not enough to overpower the meat flavor.

Here's another citation of the Meat Pie and Ketchup Crisps that Niall mentioned. clicky here for 10:04:03

I'm sure FG got it right with Business is business. (Hey, btw, where's Plotz??)My one visit there was a lunch in 1996 (in the era of Kunz). The service was superb. The food was so-so (no discernible mustard flavor in the mustard-sauced rabbit). The room was gorgeous but oppressive: I felt as though I were the middle layer of a wedding cake.

Me too! Please note that it's only to defrost it, not to actually heat it (rubber bread, anyone?). Have you ever tried to separate a frozen English muffin? Twenty to thirty seconds in the nuker, (well, 40 for the sandwich size), and you can pop those guys into nice, nook-and-cranny halves ready for the toaster oven!

Well, I guess you can't get sumac, can you? But what about cardamom? A bit sweet, a bit peppery. One of the "secret" spices I put in kofta. That would be my first choice. Or even just a tiny pinch of cinnamon. When people don't expect it, they actually have a hard time identifying it as the flavor. Of course, I have no idea about the pesachdige-ness of spices; I never had to be that strict. If it worries you, go with cinnamon.

He Who Only Eats grew up on spaghetti with tomato juice and American cheese. But g-d bless him, he knew there had to be more to life. I fed him his first oyster :sniff sniff: and introduced him to a gustatory world he has grown to love. We have explored Thai and Sichuan and all sorts of great stuff together. HOWEVER: he has trouble holding his liquor, wine actually, so by the time we were 2/3 through dinner at Jean Georges, he was trying to nibble me as much as the food. This is not really a complaint.

I'm curious about heating water in the nuker. Doesn't it take as long as -- or even longer than -- heating it on the stove? That's what I've always thought. Because H2O molecules don't jiggle as much as, say, sugar or fat. I have a big old one, from my in-laws' first house in Florida, from 1986. I cannot imagine thawing meat in it. I reheat leftovers, and heat milk for cafe con leche. I "steam" potatoes (new, yukon gold, etc.) that will be cooked further. The only other thing I actually cook is corn on the cob: remove the silk, close up the husks again, and nuke 7 minutes per ear. Oh yeah, and popcorn.

I now use a method adapted from Seductions of Rice and have had no problems (and no extra expense): Wash 2 cups basmati rice in several changes of cold water. Soak the rice in 2 1/2 cups water for at least 30 minutes. Bring rice and water to a boil; stir, cover, and turn down heat to low. Cook 15 minutes. Turn off heat and let rice sit (covered) for 10 minutes. Mix in a little ghee, if desired. Perfect every time.

Man, this is a tough room. C-? Hey, that's what I'm about, among other things. Watch for a future piece on TDG. Yes, we ARE a tough room, because we all care A LOT. Don't feel bad. PS: the word is "libel" -- Yes, you do lose points from me for bad spelling.

pizza

That's okay. You got a C- in recipe writing, but you passed the test.