Suzanne F

I'm shocked, SHOCKED!!! Gifted Gourmet, don't you have better uses for your time than reading that trash?

Not that this is something I would never do again . . . well, maybe it is, sort of . . . but it is another rice story: I recently "liberated" a very, very large plastic jar from someone's discards. I washed it out carefully, and used it to store the 10 pounds of rice I bought. Little did I know that there was a crack in the bottom of the jar, and the water that collects on the counter where the jar sat would seep in. The worst of it is that it did NOT ferment and give me sake; it just got moldy. So I guess I will never again use storage jars I have not fully tested.

That's right! Sam, you shouldn't have cut the capers. I'll be that would have been perfect. Oh well, next time.

Well, I didn't find that veg book at Borders, but how could I leave empty-handed? So three more for me. Two books that I worked on (unfortunately I do not receive free copies; I bought these): Jessica B. Harris's On the Side and the very first book I was supposed to do, Secrets of Colombian Cooking, which turned out to be a HUGE learning experience all around. Also, Mr. Cutlets's Meat Me in Manhattan, just because.

Well, I guess that's better than a restaurant for bulimics. Can you imagine the restrooms?

You mean that was YOU coming in as I was going out? Damn! Sorry we were ships that passed in the, um, late afternoon.

Ooh, the OVEN!!!! (sorry, but we haven't turned the heat on in my building yet, and seeing those pix really warms me up ). Just one thing, though, Sam: I'm not sure what YOU mean by "oven spring" but in baking circles, that's the rise of the dough when it initially meets the heat of the oven, iirc. Your photo is of something else --plyabilty?

I can't feel totally sad when I think that these farmers are still there for us. This past Thursday I filled in the salad bin -- thought I wasn't getting much, but thanks to the Migliorellis I got red leaf, green oak leaf, lolla rossa, escarole (some of which will end up in brodo), and arugula (not for much longer, though ) and a few plum tomatoes -- bye-bye tomatoes, see you next year! Also a bunch of beets and one of tiny turnips; I can't wait to steam the roots and saute the greens. Yum. And today a friend gave me a bunch of rainbow chard from yesterday at Union Square. I think tomorrow's dinner will be multi-veg.

You mean Honmura An? (Mercer between Houston and Prince) They mostly do soba (buckwheat) noodles and udon. At one point they received 3 stars from the NY Times, but over many years there has been dissent. I've not eaten there, but always wanted to because I LOVE noodles, esp. those two.

Jinmyo, how could you be so mean??? Correct about the salad, though. And he also makes the absolute best oatmeal (dryish, thick, and chunky; not a bit of slime or glue the way he does it. ) But he makes the tea too weak for my taste. Soemone else thought it meant "Husband Without Equal", and while I have had no others to compare him against, I think that's about right, too.

Thanks for the report. If I hadn't had a huge lunch today, I would be starving after reading it. And the lesson to be learned is: seek advice, but go with your instincts.

Link didn't work when I just tried: http://www.macsac.org/foodbk.php Is it correct? or shall I just try again later? Still no luck several hours later, but if Rachel Sincere says it's availabe at B & N, that gives me a start. Thanks.

Hillvalley, ist that produce book you mention available commercially? It sounds like a perfect addition to my (growing ) reference library.

Yeah well, except for the first round, the pictures will be of a pitiful few slices left on the pan, because we all dove in before Sam could remember to get the camera out of his pocket. My first time turned out to be as much fun and serious discussion as Burger Club, without the forms and scales and thermometers. Oh, and with excellent pizza. I was full, and left, by the time the roasted red pepper pizza came out, but if I had to rank the others, it would be: 1. Clam -- the cheese protected the shelled clam meat, and the brininess was bracing. 2. Sausage -- very lean sausage, so while it was a tad rubbery, it was NOT greasy. 3. Pepperoni -- again, not greasy, and not too much meat, so I could still taste the other elements. 4. Mozzarella -- the basic pie. Needed herbs (to my palate), but an excellent balance of crisp, charred crust, cheese, and tart tomato. 5. Calamari -- a little salt and pepper would have worked wonders, given the tang of the tomato and the tender calamari. But bland, bland, bland. It was great to see friends again and meet some new people. MobyP, I apologize if my enthusiasm carried me away and I embarrassed you. And tupac, it looked as though you managed to force yourself to eat at that odd hour.

Sorry, gotta disagree with you on that. I recently worked on a book of HST's "essays" (actually his sports pieces from ESPN), and comparing the two, HST can't write his way out of the brown paper bag the bottle came in. I mean, when HST writes about a wild turkey that got fried on his property, he means it got electrocuted, for gosh sakes, not taken from raw to edible.

I second the motion. And the adulation for the knife.

Well, I grew up hearing it called "Honeymoon Salad." Great minds, etc. etc. Last night I made up for the previous night's partial disaster with: Baked mayo/"Hispanic rub"/panko crusted pork chops (inspired by the Schnitzel thread) Succotash of chayote, corn, kidney beans, and bottled salsa (extra seasoned with fresh onion, garlic, fresh chile, and sherry vinegar; cooked according to Santa Marcella's principle of layering, and what a difference that made!) Kitchen sink guacamole: avocado, black and green olives, rehydrated home-dried grape tomatoes, onion, garlic, cilantro, chipotle paste, and lots of lime juice Salad of mixed greens, cucumber, tomato, and red and green peppers, with creamy garlic dressing Beer: Saranac Pale Ale for HWOE, Sierra Nevada Wheat Beer for me

While I've been through all of those reviewers, I can't pick a favorite any more than I could pick a favorite flavor of ice cream; they all brought something different to my palate, and all had plusses and minuses. Nor could I name any one person who would be good to fill the slot, because I don't know anyone who fulfills my dream list of job requirements (not even me ): Has culinary training, in food prep, wine/beverages, and management Has worked both FOH and BOH Has top-notch reporting skills; is NOT a memoirist or fiction writer manque Can spell and use proper grammar; knows how and when to use adjectives, adverbs, etc. Has traveled extensively throughout the world and eaten both "authentic" and nonauthentic versions of dishes on their home territory Come to think of it, the closest person to fulfilling those reqs (lacking only the first two) is R.W. Apple. But didn't they consider him and didn't he turn it down?? But wait . . . there IS someone we all know, someone with the training, with most of the food experience, who reports well and has already been-there-done-that with both memoir and fiction, who is one hell of a writer, and had travelled -- and eaten -- the world. Can you say . . . ? ? ? ?

Bux, is it possible to compare-and-contrast the fluke at Bar Tonno to the fluke at Blue Hill?

Oh, my, don't let Heston Blumenthal or Ferran Adria see this thread! They are already doing similar alchemy at their restaurants with Western dishes.

Well, all righty, then.

I did the mayonnaise thing tonight on a couple of shoulder pork chops (inspired somewhat by the thread that inspired this one), and it worked quite well. But I learned something. Usually I'll just spread one side with mayo, place the food mayo-side down on the crumbs, pat it down, spread mayo on the naked side, flip it, and pat down again. Tonight after spreading the mayo on the first chop, I sprinkled on a spice rub before plopping it on the crumbs. The crumbs didn't adhere nearly as well as they normally do. So when I did the second chop, after sprinkling the spices, I smeared them into the mayo. That worked just fine. Then browned the chops on top of the stove in just a little oil, finished cooking them in the oven. A LOT of fat melted out/off, so I'm not concerned that using mayo adds any extra fat that stays with the dish.

Thanks for the "full coverage" reminder, irodguy. Yes, indeed. For the record, egg whites by themselves also work. And -- purists, look away lest I shock you : mayonnaise, without the flour undercoat, also works.

In addition to what Marlene said, I think this does indeed warrant its own thread. Here you go.

On the Schnitzel thread, achevres asks how to keep the breading from coming off when the breaded item is cut after cooking. We're talking mostly about breading "a l'anglaise," that is, flour then egg then crumbs. I can think of four ways, three of which require action before cooking, and one after: First, the cause of breading falling off is steam that builds up between the food and the crust, so make sure that the food is DRY before you flour it. If there is juice exuding from the food, blot it off. This may seem counter-intuitive, but a piece of meat or fish has enough internal moisture to hold onto the flour, which holds on the egg, which holds on the crumbs. Second, I don't like to put water in my egg wash for that reason. No added water = less steam. I prefer plain egg, or if HWOE is in anti-cholesterol scare mode, an "egg product" like Egg Beaters. Not my choice, but I love him. Third: as Marlene said in the schnitzel thread, let the breaded food sit in the fridge for a while before you cook it. Uncovered. This gives it a chance to dry some more. I don't go with freezing, because that just encourages the food to give up moisture once it hits the hot pan. (Croquettes are a different story.) And finally: after cooking, rush that stuff right out onto peoples' plates! The longer it sits, the more likely it is to collect steam under the breading. So remember, steam is the enemy of crunchy fried breaded foods.