Suzanne F

Ah, but once you add that little bit too much of truffles to the gratin, you've lost the subtlety and elegance and made the dish nouveau riche. Given it "the canned 'new-car smell' of high-end cooking" as Asimov said today. Whereas if you made it simply and perfectly with excellent potatoes, rich fresh cream, etc, it would still be worth serious consideration because each element would contribute something special to the whole.

We ate there in the spring, before the service kinks were resolved. And they were pretty kinky at that time; quite unexpected for a Danny Meyer place. However: overall we enjoyed it. The cocktails were unusual and delicious, and the beer selections very interesting (I just can't see having wine with 'cue). The assorted platter has some hits/some misses even in the same items (loved the peppery sausage, but the skin on it was almost impenetrable; brisket was tasty but dry). The smoked chicken was close to perfect -- but yes, it needed seasoning. The Potato Salad was one of the best I've ever tasted. The cole slaw, yawn. And the bread made a great edible napkin. Of course, to people who can get the "real thing," this isn't. But I can't, so if anyone I know is desperate to go there, I won't mind accompanying them.

Both Mark and CC have given you good advice. Remember, too, that when you leave the shells on, you can char the shells delicously without over-cooking the shrimp -- and then everyone eats the shells and there's less garbage to throw out!

Osterreichischer Hof, in Salzburg, Austria. Summer, 1974. We were there to go to concerts at the Festival. Clifford Curzon had to cancel, so we had a free night. I had salmis of pheasant. It was probably the most elegant restaurant I'd ever been to (I was 25 at the time). And I had never before had food that so overwhelmed my senses with its flavor. Probably the first time that eating really thrilled me. And the Salzburger Nockerl for dessert was unlike anything I'd ever had. It might not have been the absolute best, but it was the most memorable.

Oh, no, Nina!!! Richard M. Nixon used to eat cottage cheese with ketchup!!!!! But watermelon and feta is a match made in heaven.

How much research have you done already? If you want relatively "contemporary" recipes, you can look at Colette Rossant's Memories of a Lost Egypt.

Fair enough, Robert. Yes, I suppose Ducasse/NY is worth a look, as long as one does not have particulary high hopes for the experience. It also helps to have a HUGE sweet tooth, as the vast majority of unique little touches fall into the category of pre- and post-dessert mignardises. I found our tour of the kitchen itself to be the most interesting element of the whole evening -- definitely more than the food.

JW: I will dare to ask: would you consider Alan Davidson to be a culinary anthropologist?

RS: Why is it depressing? Is Italian the only cuisine worth eating? Are there no other possibilities in this city of immigrants? Now I'm beginning to see how the threads veer off so far, so fast. Once a digression appears, it becomes the focus and the original question is forgotten. I realize that this observation itself is a digression likely to send the thread spinning into outer space. It is not meant to. I find it quite interesting to see which other restaurants erudite, well-fed eGulleteers see as essential to their experience. And Tommy, too. Or at least those they just want to try, and why. Makes me consider the whole point of restaurant-going.

Le Soleil, the Haitian storefront next to Jimmy Armstrong's. Not exactly dying, but it's been there so long, it smells good, and friends like it. But we always end up at Armstrong's. Babbo. Esca. Cello. March. Prune. Pearl Oyster Bar. AZ. All the places Nina goes in Brooklyn. Veritas. Copeland's. Pearson's. Charles's Southern Kitchen. Most of Roosevelt Avenue. ... Why? Because I want to see for myself. Why not? So many restaurants, so little time and money.

: big head smack: Of course; how could I have forgotten Mary Frances?

Hopleaf, most of your list are general-interest. Do you have a particular goal, or just want to be able to look up terms and history? For example, I have many illustrated books on ingredients used in various cuisines; does that interest you? And how scientific do you care to get? The Harold McGee suggestion is excellent, and there's also Shirley Corriher's Cookwise. I would bet that all of us can give you zillions of titles. It all depends on what you want.

Malawry -- having "been there, done that" several years ago (at a considerably more advanced age than yours ), I want you to know that I am here for you. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times (where the dickens did I hear that before??), and one for which you will need all kinds of strength -- physical, mental, emotional, moral. And it's fun. I look forward to hearing about your experiences!

Stupidity. And an ego big enough to blot out the sun.

Back to VMB's plaint: why just chopped garlic, not a paste? In addition to the chop chop chop, and adding salt, you have to turn your knife blade almost parallel to the cutting board and gently mash down on the chopped garlic. It's kind of a "press, mash, drag the knife toward you" motion. Not the Wham! of crushing a whole garlic clove. Then you scrape the garlic back into a pile, chop some more, and then mash again. Gentleness is the key, along with patience. It can take a long time to chop-and-mash enough to make a paste. I hope this makes sense.

I was quite surprised to have a hot meat-and-beet borscht at Le Zinc during the winter -- expected parve. It had a light but rich meat broth, chunks of meat, shreds of beets and cabbage, and zip from both lemon juice and vinegar. Quite delicious. It is the very first recipe in Staffmeals from Chanterelle.

Elizabeth David, because she assumes you know what you're doing and just want a few hints. And while she's giving you those hints, she's filling you in on how the dish came to be in the first place, what the local culture is where it came from, and on and on with fascinating information. Marcella Hazan, because she wants you to do it EXACTLY RIGHT. And of course Shirley Corriher, who wants you to understand just what's going on in that pan.

My mother always served it poured over hot, peeled, boiled potatoes. That made it a whole meal. (Too bad she also made us eat the tasteless, boiled-out beets.) Just remembered: she used to beat egg yolks into the sour cream, and then kept beating the whole thing as she poured in the hot beet liquid. That way the egg was cooked, and the cream did not separate out. Then she chilled it (although we might have eaten it hot, too?). She used a rotary hand egg beater; and sour salt, not lemon juice. Otherwise, almost a simple as yours.

Oh, no, Wilfrid, I LOVE to eat it, and someday I hope to have the roast duck at Ilo, which looks fantastic. And Chinese roast duck ... aaah. But I just don't like to COOK it. Besides, there are only 2 of us at home, and we do have to be a bit careful how much we eat (unlike the very first time I brought home of free-range chicken of 4 pounds or so and we ate it all at one sitting).

I haven't roasted a duck since 1993. I use my own variation of a recipe from the NY Times for "Skillet Duck" (an official variation was printed in Mark Bittman's column in 1998, and he credits Paula Peck's Art of Good Eating from 1961 as his source). For these, you use duck quarters -- so you can make any number of portions. And you can get the advantage of confit even with the breasts -- but without the fat. You can marinate the duck with herbs/spices beforehand, or sprinkle the pieces as they cook. Flavorings are only limited by your imagination and likes & dislikes. I like to french the breasts, so they lie down better in the pan. Basically, you heat a skillet with a cover to very hot. Put in the duck pieces skin side down, season, and cook over high heat for 5 minutes. Loosen the pieces. Turn the heat down to low, and cook another 5 - 10 minutes. Turn the heat down to very low, cover, and cook for another 20 minutes or so. Turn the duck pieces over, re-cover, and cook another 20 minutes. Just before serving, uncover, turn the heat back up, turn the duck pieces skin-side down again, and crisp them. You end up with steamed meat, very moist and tender, most of the fat rendered off, yet crisp skin. And quite a bit of jus in the pan, as a start for a sauce. The fat, of course, needs to be poured off, but then you've got lovely duck fat for cooking.

There are crazies everywhere. In a previous life, I was a Research Associate in the psychology department of one of the colleges of the City University of New York. Talk about bizarre behavior! (them, not me) Anyway, academia is another one of those "industries" in which the institutionalization of "child abuse" is not just permitted, but encouraged. By this I mean: the ethos of "I was treated like shit by my thesis advisor, so I'm going to treat my students like shit." Just the same as the old brigade system in the kitchen. Steve Klc's response below explains it precisely: Thankfully, with the acceptance of some 20th-century theories of management, that no longer holds in full force in the kitchen. But yes, it's still there. BTW, Edward E. Lawler III -- Trotter's co-author -- is one of the most highly respected authorities on the subject of performance appraisal

You did just fine, Jordan :pat on the hand: (Since I pretty much agree with your selections and comment, of course I'll say that.) And Happy Birthday! Wow, what was it like studying with Diana Kennedy?

Oh, Wilfrid, just because I looked up the specifics... sorry, that's just the anal-retentive obsessive-compulsive kind of girl I am. But if it's okay with Yvonne, I'll pass the dram along to you -- especially since I can't go tonight. Besides, too many people have been too angry here lately, and I don't want anybody mad at me. Anyway, Toby's suggestion makes sense. Especially since batonnet means "little baton." So perhaps it would be cut something like 1/2" X 1/2" by 2 - 3" -- bigger cuts for those hearty American appetites. All the confusion could just have been because of a typo. Even if Chef Bourdain is a good writer, that doesn't mean he's any good as a typist, or speller. (Remember the bit in "2000-Year-Old Man?" -- "Shakespeare? Naw, he was a crummy writer; you couldn't read his handwriting ... A great playwright, yes, but a lousy writer.")

I can help you a little: "GPOD" is the trade name for Idaho russets. "70" refers to the size: these would have a count of 70 potatoes in a 50# case, so each one weighs approx. 11 to 13 oz (300 - 320 g). "Baron" I can't help you with; it was unknown to me. Sorry "Batonnet" is a classic cut: 1/4 " X 1/4 " X 2 to 3" -- typical "french fry" cut (BTW: the CIA says 2 to 2-1/2") Hope this helps you. Edit: Wilfrid, you type faster than I do!!!! But Yvonne is the final arbiter of who won.

American food, like many other aspects of American culture, has benefited greatly from conflict elsewhere in the world: people forced to leave their homes who then come here, and/or Americans discovering new foods while "over there." Should we feel guilty? Or just eat and enjoy?