Suzanne F

Liz, you're just going to have to join the spreadsheet sister/brotherhood! Wow, you could even make a map, shelf by shelf, showing what's where in the depths of the pantry. Then you keep the list on the inside of the door. You could even color-code everything, and . . . uh oh, I'm getting a little carried away, aren't I? Or you could get some lazy susans (does Rubbermaid still make them?) so that you can spin stuff from the back to the front. With labeling, too, I put being cheap ahead of being pretty: I still have boxes of pin-feed computer print labels left over from when I used to mail out a couple of newsletters. So I just write on those (contents and date), and slap them on the containers. Sometimes they wash off all right, sometimes I have to scrape them, and sometimes I just paste new ones right on top. (I use those to date canned goods, too -- but then I cut them up into little pieces. See what I mean about being cheap? )

Ah, the food of my youth, along with Egg Foo Yung and Wor Shu Op! Now I've got to go find some again.

The only problem with Rubbermaid is that they change their line too often. Once I find a container of theirs I love enough to actually PAY FOR, they stop making it. Missed my chance when Lechter's went out of business. And no, this is definitely not just a guy thing. Dare I say again that it's an obsessive-compulsive/anal thing?

Why not? Sounds like a good system to me. But maybe that's because I do something similar. Only I keep my list as a database on the computer, and update/repost the printout on the fridge every month. See, indiagirl, you're totally normal, just like me . . .

Just before I served dinner tonight, I got a phone call from a friend. She had to describe HER dinner-making: too tired to do much of anything, she baked a potato and started sauteeing some collard greens. Took a container of lentil soup out of the freezer, and added it to the greens, figuring she'd pour the mixture over the potato and have a full, satisfying meal. As the "soup" was melting down over the greens, she noticed there were items in it that she didn't remember having put in the lentil soup when she made it. On closer inspection, she realized it was not lentil soup at all, but a container of "Spot's Stew," a hand-made hoo-hah cat food (much like the stuff I'm working on for a client). So she scooped it off the collards and put it away in the fridge, rinsed the greens, and proceeded with the REAL container of soup. And me? Leftovers kugel, aka baked glop: various leftover starches mixed with leftover cooked chayote, various bits of cheese, and a few eggs to hold it together. Would I ever serve anything like this to company? But it tasted good. Oh, and salad made by HWOE, of course. Plus half of a bottle of Paumonok Festival Chardonnay.

Having been through the mouse phase (mine preferred Hershey's chocolate chips to Nestle's), the mealy bug phase (what the hell, they float in the pasta water), and the Yugoslavian-paprika-bug phase (we thought the brick wall behind the cabinet was crumbling), I transfer or bag up almost all staples as soon as I get them home. In Pyrex and similar unbranded storage jars; in Rubbermaid boxes; in quart-size mayonnaise jars; in two-gallon plastic jars that originally held peeled garlic cloves (taken home from work); in 5-pounds-of-honey jars; and in my favorite, the plastic jars that Skippy Superchunk Peanut Butter comes in (I only wish they were square, to fit better in the freezer). In other words: Tupperware is great, but it costs money. I'd rather pay for the contents, and get the container collaterally. Besides, nobody sees inside my cabinets but me, and I'm not THAT obsessive. Jonathan -- why on earth would you throw away a container that still works? Oh, and try glue traps for your mice; you might even get to pet the little critters as you take them out to the trash bin. At least, you won't have a huge mess to clean up.

Just in case jg488's post of the NY Times story gets deleted, for the story in its place, drink deeply here. Mark Bittman's story on finding "a bottle in a haystack." It is indeed a helpful article. (Yes, actually, jg, you are kind of breaking an eGullet rule by including the whole story, but you'll learn )

bp1123: repeat after me: "It's my party, and I can specify whatever I want." Or, as Hollywood pointed out, your husband can, since it's really HIS party. What I mean is, the more information you can give the person (waiter, sommelier) you're asking for advice, the better the advice will be for you. If you can tell him/her some of the wines you enjoy, or the flavors you like in wine, that will point the way to felicity. Announce what you will be eating, so you can get a wine that will not be too strong or too weak for the food. And by all means, specify a price range: otherwise you may be setting yourself up for a nasty surprise. A good restaurant with a good -- and big -- list should be able to give you good advice; just ask.

There's very little to add to davidscooking post; he's quite right about the cooking method being so important. That said, though , may I say that I also add vinegar (usually cider) and a little brown sugar or molasses to my "jerk sauce." If you're going to cook it properly -- live fire grill or smoker -- don't add the sugar; it will burn. But if, like me, you can only make "chicken in jerk sauce" in the oven, do add a bit. I wish I had a formal recipe to tell, but I just throw stuff in the fp or blender, let 'er rip, taste and adjust. WARNING: always start out with fewer scotch bonnets than you think you'll need!!!

In New York City: Cafe Sabarsky, at the Neue Galerie (Ronald Lauder's Austrian museum on Museum Mile) -- run by Kurt Gutenbrenner of Wallse. This too can be visited on its own. Haven't been to the Jewish Museum in years, but I believe their cafe is still supplied by Manna, a catering company owned by a neighbor of mine. I just remember that the brownie I had there was the absolute best Kosher brownie I'd ever tasted. (Please do not turn this into another argument about kosher food!!)

That's interesting. I wonder why that would be? Brainwashing?

Bacon, anchovies, tuna, and onion are NORDIC?!?!?!? Okay, lutefisk I could see, but these??? And Pizza Hut is owned by KFC, at least in Japan? Who knew? Ah well, I'm sure many Japanese would be aghast at what passes here for sushi.

Yes, welcome! Excellent report; I feel as though I ate the food myself (but without any of the calories ). If I may ask, how much is the Cafe Boulud prix fixe lunch? You've made it clear that lunch can be an excellent way to go at really good places. To be honest, I wasn't surprised at your experience with Chanterelle -- it's one of my favorites for both food and (customer) service. Hope you'll visit both NYC and eGullet with some regularity! So, is there anything good to eat up where you are? Do tell, please . . .

Tommy, you're a pretty smart fella yourself, after all. (I'd go with tiny roasted florets -- more texture contrast).

Where, please? Restaurant??

Roz, I was hoping someone else would mention couscous. A gussied-up fruity couscous is a wonderful accompaniment to simple plain lamb chops or baked chicken or fish. And Torakris, you need a new husband Not liking dried fruit in savory dishes? Tagines, ooh. Stuffed pork or veal roasts, yes!

Along the lines of "Hamburger Helper" -- what about TofuMate? Disclaimer: have not tried it; merely found it while looking for recipes using soft tofu.

Yes. Thanks for the info (all of it)

If you DO use white -- which is perfectly acceptable, even classic -- Riesling works quite well. We are fond of Dr. Konstantin Frank Jonnisberg Riesling, from the Finger Lakes in NY state. Lots of flavor and very reasonable price. (Found it at dinner with Jason and Rachel at Gage and Tollner last year ) Since you don't have much experience cooking with wine: Whatever you use, don't cook with anything you couldn't drink. That is, don't just buy something cheap; the taste of the wine WILL make a difference, and bad wine will make a bad dish. (I once ruined a beef stew with a bottle of Michigan wine that smelled like mucilage )

Hey -- I listened to my body, and it was saying, " " Must have been very hungry.

The Eva Solo is also available through the Museum of Modern Art, but at $85 US. $68 for members, and between today and Sunday (4/6) there's a special members' sale with 20% off.

One of my first favorite food writers was (and still is) Calvin Trillin. His whole style revolves around stating serious content in a humorous way. His stuff is flat-out funny. Another favorite is MFK Fisher. She sometimes used humor (think of the story, "I Was Really Very Hungry"), but she was rarely, if ever, funny. Sometimes I wish TC Boyle wrote about food. If a writer is going to use humor, he or she had better know how to make it serve the content. It's all a part of whether or not the WRITING is good.

No, probably only Soba will shudder, but he's pretty understanding about other people's feelings about chicken breasts. I'm with you. If you want to get really elaborate, you can always bone them and stuff them with a forcemeat before braising them. (Sorry, I don't have a recipe at hand, 'cause I never do it myself ). Otherwise, I prefer to leave them bone-in, skin-on. Marinate in jerk sauce or Jamaican seasonings (allspice, thyme, Scotch Bonnet pepper, vinegar, garlic, and so on) and then grill. Serve with coconut rice. Chicken "cacciatore": braise with wild mushrooms and tomatoes. Serve over polenta. Marinated with lemon juice, garlic, oregano, and marjoram and baked, for "Greek style." Just don't marinate for very long, or they'll turn mushy. Oh dear, I could spend all day here!

Ah, yes -- another one of those little errors I'd pushed out of my consciousness. Although in my case, it exploded all on its own, all over the inside of the oven. "Did you hear that noise? I wonder what it could have been . . . "

Oh my. Your plastic pal who's fun to be with.