Suzanne F

No, Suvir, it is the CHEF who is most kind and generous. This means that jaybee, tigerwoman, the 2 anonyms (they know who they are), and froggy are in -- to make 43 for sure.

Not cooking the whole thing this year, but last year's was: Aunt Bette's chopped liver and crackersGarlic Broad Beans and other nibbles from Aju Ichiban Green salad with a vinaigrette of xvoo, white balsamic & homemade lemon thyme vinegars Butternut Squash and Apple Soup; Oat Rolls (both bought from places only recently reopened post-9/11) Roast Kosher Turkey Roast Kosher Chicken (the turkey was kind of small) Dressing with mushrooms, fennel, and leeks Turkey/chicken gravy Broccoli Rabe sautéed with garlic Sweet Potatoes mashed with coconut milk, preserved lemon-flavored ginger, and candied lemon and topped with flaked coconut "Succotash" of pinto beans, chayote, corn, jerusalem artichokes, onions, tomatoes, and kosher smoked turkey (the year before, I used bacon and cream) Many and varied chutneys (some bought, some homemade) Jack and Joy's Cranberries with walnuts and maple syrup Bought Strawberry/blackberry and Apple pies (apple was supposed to be peach/blueberry, but they delivered the wrong kind; no one minded) Iced Almond Milk Amaretti, Petit Beurre, and Ginger Crisp cookies (all bought) Wine; Cider Coffee

God works in mysterious ways. Want to hop on a plane, Jin??? We'd love to have you join us!

My mother-in-law's version was tomato juice and American cheese with spaghetti. I think ketchup was too spicy for her. Fortunately, I did not meet my husband until many years later.

awbrig -- the way it works in NYC is: the place is given some fines and a specified period of time to correct the violations. If there are a certain number and type of critical violations on the first visit, the inspector can shut the place down. If the violations are critical but not so numerous or so severe, another inspection takes place; if the violations are still not cleared up, there are bigger fines. There might be a hearing process, I'm not sure. But if the violations are not cleared up, the place will be closed until they are. Health Dept. inspectors in NYC tend to be very, very honest, because they are trained sanitarians who know that people could die if they let something slip by. Unlike Buildings Dept inspectors, who can't see the connection between accepting $$$ to let an unsafe condition exist, and the harm (such as death) that comes to people from that condition. (And I used to work for the City govt! )

Hey -- I've been in many kitchens, and I've been through the NYC Dept of Health Food Safety Certification course. I doubt there is a kitchen anywhere on earth that could come out with no infractions whatsoever. After all, every time the pavement gets opened, the rats and mice have to move somewhere . Don't look at number of infractions. Look at the CRITICAL violations. Those are the ones that can make you sick; a lot of the others are for things like not having a certificate on display, or for having what they think is personal stuff on your station (such as the Vitamin C I kept on the pastry station to prevent the apples I was juicing for sorbet from oxidizing ). Besides, the inspectors never seem to show up when the raw sewage is pouring down into the rear walkin, or when the mice are jumping in and out of the cans of macadamia nuts. (Don't worry, all -- that place is long since gone, and me from it. )

Lxt, while I personally was set on the path to intellectual maturity (whether or not I ever reach it is debatable, although not, regrettably, in this venue) via the Cartesian system of reasoning, I must say that I found your analysis quite compelling. And on the basis of my own bi-weekly research, I concur with many of your conclusions. My own encounter with the baby pig occurred on 7 June of this year. The meat was over rice; I was over joy with the succulence of the flesh and the brittle perfection of the rind/skin. I might be in concordance with you about the salinity of the animal, but its juxtaposition against steamed rice mitigated any negative sensing. Of "salt-baked" preparations, I have only experienced the soft-shell crabs, at the height of their season. I could not say if the crisp texture was lost over time, because we snarfled the creatures up with such rapidity that they had no chance even to cool. God, they were fabulous in their simplicity! The lack of crispness to the duck on chives could be attibuted to the circumstance of the portion of duck having been nuked. But my consort and I have found over the last several months that the TASTE of the duck is getting better and better, with a greater proportion of bbq flavor to the rich duck flavor. (However, their duck still does not quite live up to the memory of ones purchased in years past from a cart on Canal Street -- although the price at NY Noodletown is still well below that of the cart adjusted upwards for inflation.) I am a bit befuddled by the description of the casserole. We have on several occasions partaken of a sizzling casserole of Chinese sausages and TARO, but never one with the former plus chicken. Ours has always sizzled gratifyingly, and offered the additional pleasure of caramelized sauced taro, made so by the heat of the clay pot. Then again, we usually receive and eat that first, while we can still appreciate the kitchen's handiwork. As for philosophy, I will continue to question, gather information, and analyze before I attempt to reach any conclusions about the perfection of the baby pig, or any other dishes, at NY Noodletown. As the advertisements used to say, "Getting there is half the fun."

Well, tell your wife she is missing one of the great pleasures of the world! My mom also always put in slices of Hebrew National hot dogs, and sometimes fine egg noodles, too. A great dish! What's strange about THAT???? (So much better than jelly!)Mine really is pretty strange by comparison, though: I can remember sitting in my high chair, eating chicken feet, necks, and stomachs after they were used to make soup. Actually, not the feet that often, because my mother mostly kept those for herself

Due to a cancellation I received today via PM, we have 38 confirmed and 5 on the waiting list, for a total of 43.

Jin, I think I would die of anemia if not for frozen spinach. It is one of the very few frozen veg I will ever have in the house. So when a last-minute urge strikes for a green veg besides lettuce, I've got it at hand. As long as it's kept well and doesn't get freezer burn, I find it adequate (especially when sauced or used on pizza). If I am an apostate, so be it. Tamarind: that's what I've got, so I shall try your sauce. Thanks. Been wanting to make tonkatsu lately.

Jinmyo -- is the tamarind you use in your tonkatsu sauce the jarred paste, or the moist packaged pulp? Friday was plain NY strip steaks and plain baked potatoes (well, with a little yogurt on top), and our usual mixed salad with olive oil and cheap balsamic. So to keep from falling asleep while eating: a bastardized Indian-flavored spinach: chopped onions, garlic, and grated ginger sautéed in canola oil until golden, then Madras curry powder plus a little extra ground fenugreek, cumin, and coriander sautéed in; about a cup of flaked coconut (rinsed off the sugar first) and a cup of chicken broth, let that simmer an hour or so. At the last minute, added a package of frozen chopped spinach, cooking just enough to thaw and heat it, and mixed in chopped mint and cilantro just before serving. Unauthentic, but pretty good, and definitely more interesting than the rest of the meal.

So are we still on for tomorrow (Monday) at 11am, by the demo area? At that time, there will be a "Chefs Championship" featuring Florida seafood going on (mlpc, Chefette, Patrice, and one more chef aren't on until 12:30). Maybe by the ChefWorks table just as you come up on the demos? I'll probably be in "smart casual" -- blue jeans, a nice shirt, and a black leather jacket -- and a HUGE black tote bag marked "Shaw Contract" (no relation) from last year's show. See ya!

Yes, the bacon was, of course, Nueskies. The best on earth (or at least, to me it is ) But no, it was in their own booth, not at DeBragga and Spitler. Their (DeB & S) booth was on the upper level, and they didn't seem to be giving out ANY food Being up there made them so much more "serious" as a source of supplies, and of people; I assume that they are still carrying on with the informal "employment agency" that Marc Sarrazin used to do. Can you guess what might be in a can of Campbell's "Bechamel Base?" I'm afraid to even consider it. Maybe some of that new "Signature Secrets" culinary thickener? And once again, Suvir is too modest: his "Apple Halwa Samosas" were just as fabulous as Meredith's Fritters and Quince. Both gave excellent presentations.

You guys are making me very jealous, because it's just about impossible to get a decent NY bagel in Manhattan anymore. And strange though they seemed to me when I first had them (in Montreal), Montreal bagels are quite delicious. Sigh.

MEETING PLACE WARNING There is NO Heineken booth at this show. The only large brewery booth is Anheuser-Busch, #1511 on the upper level -- right by one of the entrances. Just thought people should know, so no one wastes too much time looking.

A very big Welcome to you, Patrick! Quite an auspicious debut -- I hung on your every mouthful.

Has anybody tried it using maple sugar? And maybe a touch of allspice? Kind of like a bacon maple-walnut sundae. Or would that be overkill?

To quote the sainted Mario of Babbo: (This comes from the current Australian Vogue Entertaining + Travel; hence the British spellings.)

Nice report, Yvonne. The current Australian Vogue Entertaining + Travel has an article on Mario, with 6 recipes from Holiday Food. Unfortunately, that piece is not on their website. edit: my guess is that the "love letters" refer to some sort of, um, protection. Just a guess though.

As far as I understand them/it (?), chilaquiles are/is highly personal use of whatever happens to be around. My favorite local Mexican+ place does a big, totally filling chilaquiles with tortilla chips, chopped roast vegetables, salsa, cheese, etc. etc. and meat if you want. (The Little Bigger Place, Warren and West Broadway, lower Manhattan) One of those foods that only has a feeling behind it, never a formal recipe.

When you get the lobsters Friday, ask the store to give you some seaweed. Keep the lobsters on the seaweed in a brown paper bag, in the fridge, and they should be all right until you're ready to cook them. Simon is right about stabbing them in the back of the head. Or, if the recipe calls for cooking the raw lobster in pieces, just twist them apart while they're still alive. (Suzanne ducks from all the outraged reactions of people who think this cruel. If you do, apologize to them first.)

Sorry, Tommy -- I agree with you. Floor staff should be clean, neat, properly dressed, etc. before interacting with the public. HOWEVER ... In both instances I wonder: why didn't management do their proper job of training the staff, and checking them before service? If a diner (critic or not) could notice the smelly waiter, why didn't a supervisor explain that s/he had better (literally) clean up his/her act? If this situation was the first occurrence, management abdicated its responsibility by not training the waiter. If it was not, management still didn't do their job properly, because the waiter should not have even been on the floor (although firing might have been appropriate). In any case, management should never have allowed that waiter on the floor, and management failed just as much as the waiter. The Stony Hill incident also points to poor training and supervision. If I were the owner, I would not allow my managers to be so lax in carrying out their training and supervision duties.

Everything SOUNDS so exotic -- "Witlof, Capsicum, Gruyere and Fennel Salad" is so much more appealing than "Endive, Pepper etc etc." The styling is gorgeous. And the reversal of seasons means a refreshing change in January from "50 things to do with cabbage" to "50 things to do with bright spring veggies"

At least I know what you look like, CC. We'll embarrass ourselves together, going up to people and saying, Excuse me, are you from egullet?

Might have been fennel; I forgot to note. But sigh, whatever it was ...