Suzanne F

Well, yeah Rachel, but that assumes one knows something about food. And the sad part is that the subjects in the article don't. They know so little that they think they have to follow a recipe down to the last grain of fleur de sel -- instead of just using their own "taste" and "judgment" about food. There's a huge disconnect there between eating food and understanding anything about food.

So Morton's doesn't do the whole dog-and-pony show at lunch? Oh ... maybe that's not the best way to describe it Anyway, none of that waving a slab of meat at you? That's a relief. I have an article somewhere that talked about how Morton's is the upscale version of McDonalds, in the sense that they have very detailed purchasing and cooking specs, and everything has to be exactly the same at all of their stores. So that no matter where you are in the country/world, your Morton's meal will always be the same. Supposed to be very comforting to the tired business-person.

Doesn't Daniel do the same -- that is, not offer the big tasting menu on Fr/Sat?

A food-stylist friend keeps telling me how good brewers yeast is on popcorn. She'll be interested to know that she is not alone in that belief!

Next time -- if there is a next time -- get a whole grilled fish. They do that consistently well. I've found their meat to be boring.

Oh, please, don't get me started! I love having sweets to nibble, instead of a rich or gooey, syrupy pastry. Besides, these are easy and travel well. And they are conducive to talking talking talking after the meal. Apricots (fresh or dried) stuffed with chopped pistachios and whipped cream. "Gazelle horns" -- basically an almond sablé in a crescent shape Dates, pitted and stuffed with almond paste or whole almonds. Roasted figs with yogurt and honey.

Re: externship sites: think very carefully about what you want to learn on your externship (as it's clear you're already doing) -- then go for the absolute BEST place in that category. Even if you think it might be a little bit beyond your abilities. The whole point is to learn. Especially for someone with little or no previous experience, where you do your externship can be far more important than what school you went to or how good your test scores were. My own personal experience: nobody cared that I had a perfect 4.0 average; they talked to me because I did my externship at Le Bernardin. Was I scared there? At first, of course. But once I realized that I actually knew a lot of the stuff they wanted me to do, and could learn what they were trying to teach me, it became a delight. Did I get yelled at? No, because that's not what Eric's kitchen is like. If that concerns you, look for a site where no one yells. Pretty simple, and yes, they do exist.

Helena, when you're in the City, try to stop by Buon Italia in Chelsea Market. They carry quite a variety of rices, as well as dried pastas, etc.

WATER

I've eaten there twice and enjoyed the food greatly. The spreads and breads that come at the start of the meal are exemplary; I and my husband could have eaten nothing else and been satisfied: various bean spreads, chutneys, tapenades, ratatouille variations, etc.l Just about everything I've had there was cooked just right. I found that the mix of ethnicities was not jarring. Right now, I can't remember offhand what I had, but if you give me until tomorrow, I'll have a look. I had very positive reactions to the place, the food, and the service. This is just a preliminary comment. Will say more as I can.

Thank you so much for that lesson.

Steve P: you seem to belong to the Chicago school. I do not.

A "free market" is about as exclusionary as it gets, because only those who have money or something considered valuable enough to barter may participate. That lets out a large proportion of the world's population, but Plotnicki's standards. I repeat: because it is available to ALL, only death -- and, its converse, birth -- are totally democratic. And anyone who heats coffee after it is brewed clearly has no taste and needs a more efficacious way to make coffee. LadyT: sorry, but I find when I try to melt butter in the nuker, it (the butter, that is) explodes. On the stove or warming tray works fine for me.

Oh, for god's sake, Plotnicki -- NOTHING is 100% worldwide democratic except death.

Always happy to take a leek, or two or a dozen. Sliced and "melted" gently in butter and olive oil, then frozen in 1-cup portions to add to anything and everything. Oooooh, yes, braised and served with a creamy vinaigrette (recipe from NY Times, 197x) Julienne and frizzled, as a garnish. Braised, then wrapped with ham and cheese, topped with bechamel, and baked (instead of endive)

Ron: Oh, yes, Barbara Kafka's book does actually have some excellent recipes for real food made in the nuker. I've tried a few. But I just don't see the need for trading off, say, caramelization and flavor for speed, usually. I salute those who can make decent dishes with it. But for me ... no. (I don't REALLY look down on people who use it a lot; I just don't understand them ) (edited to include name reference because I forgot how fast people answer posts here )

I am a snob about using the microwave to "cook." Feh, except for corn-on-the-cob, and heating milk for cafe con leche. Just thought I 'd stick that in, since people have been talking about making "scrambled eggs" in the nuker. NO, NO, NO, NO.

Oh, yes I did, Phaelon56. Guess you didn't notice in all my other verbiage. Since I grew up on kosher chickens, I never knew the need to brine. But even the best non-kosher chickens benefit from brining. Basically what your Kentucky friend was doing was "kashering." Not the exact prescribed method, but the same general idea. Wilfrid: poutine is a (French-?)Canadian delicacy of fries, brown gravy, and cheese curd. I've never had the, um, pleasure to actually eat it, but I've got some friends who swear by it. And of course others who swear AT it.

amen, brother

Well, between this and the Dinner thread, I have been inspired to make roast carrot, cauliflower, and shallots to go with tonight's relatively boring rib steak and mashed potatoes. And I hope there are leftovers, so that I can purée all the l.o. veg and potatoes later this week and make a soufflé.

But Wilfrid, what about poutine???? Soba, thanks for starting this thread; great ideas from everybody!

Ah, yeah -- those handles really could be scary; that's the only thing I hate about All-Clad. That size is big enough to feel uncomfortable, but too small for the helper handle. Hey, if doesn't feel right, don't get it. There are LOTS of good alternatives out there. (I just have no experience with them. )

Rachel, what size? I have mostly All-Clad, and no, they are actually very stable. And they are very very sturdy (I have MasterChef). Can't tell you how many times I've burned stuff on, yet the pot cleaned up like new. Although I'm not crazy about the long handle on the big ones; those really need the helper handle. The main thing is, if you're really going to use it to make sauces, you want even heat distribution throughout the bottom AND sides. Responsiveness to changes in flame height. A good, solid composition, because a thin pot has neither of those two qualities. And, yes, stability on the burner. But none of this matters if YOU don't feel comfortable with it. Hope this helps.

Would someone translate this chefspeak for those of us who don't speak it? Thanks. I believe the reference is to keeping a par-stock of items (butter) outside of the refrigerator and then requisitioning items from the refrigerator to keep the par stocks filled. Nick Par stocks are the amounts of what you need to have on hand of any given item, at any given time, to be able to make what you need to make. A "par sheet" is the list of par stocks, duh. In some professional kitchens, the cooks may keep whatever they need for prep and service on their stations. They can't just go to the "fridge" and pull out what they need when they need it. They have to ask pretty please (requisition) from the person who controls access to the walk-in. A pain in the butt, but in a really big place (like a hotel) it's a system to keep down pilferage. Yeah right. spqr, if you already knew this: I'm not trying to be condescending It's just that much as I love Nick, he kind of answered chefspeak with more chefspeak My home version of this is simply to keep a list on the freezer door of what I have in the freezer, fridge, and closet. I try to keep it in chronological order, so that I know what's getting old so I'd better use it first. Before I go food shopping, I look at the list of what I HAVE and compare it against the par list in my head. Do I have enough bread (in the freezer)? Do I have enough chicken stock, or do I need to make/buy more? And so on.

I wonder if that is a regional thing? We wouldn't think of having fried chicken and mashed potatoes without having made pan gravy to go with the mashers. What Ron said. Although if we're having potato salad, then, no -- no gravy. The gravy never goes on the chicken (unless Paul dips when I'm not looking )