Suzanne F

Just happened on this thread via another: aaaaaaah!!! Thank you, thank you! We will be in Vancouver in a couple of weeks, staying with friends who are also jazz fans, so now I can suggest some places to go!

Will you be interviewing WHILE you're in school? Then at least you can let them know you are working on learning. And being able to learn, and learn fast, is a tremendously important skill. If you can demonstrate in the interview that you are a good learner, that can outrank experience (especially when you have none! ) A good chef will give you a trail based on how you present yourself in the interview (how interested you are in the kind of food s/he does, whether you seem like you would fit in with the rest of the team, etc.), then when you trail you demonstrate (or not ) how well and how fast you learn to do things as they are shown to you. When you get to that point, how much experience you have or don't have is less important, because each chef wants you to do things her/his way; the worst thing a job-seeker can do is say, "Well, that's not the way we did it at (vill in the blank)." The chef wants to see if you can be molded into a good worker. Besides, the kind of jobs you'd be interviewing for would not require you to know much* -- usually prep or garde manger, where you just do whatever you are told/shown how to do. Not to worry about whether or not you know how to poach a chicken breast or make a gallon of hollandaise. *Although: if you know product, that's a huge advantage. That is, knowing different vegetables and herbs and such -- because when they send you into the walk-in for something, it's a definite plus if you can find the right item. As for what to where on a trail: your school whites are fine, as long as they are CLEAN. Shoes, like knives, are a very personal choice. The last I had were Rockport lace-ups; I tend to fall off clogs. You want something that gives your foot good support and cushions your step. And that has a non-slip sole (super-important!). Looks are not an issue; safety and comfort are.

I just want to reiterate the advice to wear clothes that are comfortable but not too casual. For a woman, I think nice slacks and a shirt or knit top are better than a skirt: for one thing, unless you're going for front of house (and possibly not even then) you won't be wearing a skirt, so why bother with the whole get-up? Likewise heels, unless you are more comfortable in them (although you had better get used to clunky lace-ups or clogs if you're going for b-o-h). NOT sandals: because you might have to walk through the kitchen, and trust me, that's no place for sandals, even on a quick stroll-through. No big jewelry -- earrings or rings (wedding is okay, but none is better). Neat hair, not flowing tresses. Don't worry about hats, scarves, etc. And no, do NOT wear whites to an interview! That is the height of pretension and presumptuousness, as far as I'm concerned. Whites are for when you trail -- and even then, don't wear them there, but change into them when you get there. Would you want to be operated on by a surgeon who wore his/her scrubs in the subway first? TJHarris and others' advice about eating there first is dead on: you will know what their food is like, and can ask insightful questions. Just remember that an interview is also a chance for you to learn, as well as for the employer to learn about you. What you ask is as important as what you say. Even more so, if you have little or no experience.

What's that? The goose fat that I confit salmon in. Sometimes tuna or swordfish. Just a few minutes at 80C. Not to get too far off course, but -- I use olive oil for tuna confit. Nothing fancy in the way of oil, in fact I re-used some in which I had slow-poached spiced shrimp (aka Mosca's barbecue shrimp). How long does yours keep? I've got more than I can finish up this week (made it about 2 weeks ago) and hope it will still be good for another couple of weeks (fully immersed in oil).

OTOH: an oyster wet from rinsing is also to be avoided. It may be less crunchy, but all the lovely juices have slipped down the drain, instead of your throat.

How could I have forgotten: when I was a kid, my mother one day "lost " a package of beef liver. Some days later, we discovered that it had slip down into the folded-up laundry cart, between the covered laundry sink and the broom closet. (non-food): And then, the first summer HWOE and I lived in Detroit, there was this awful smell coming from the dumpster in the alley behind the house, all through a long July 4th weekend. It turned out that someone's dog had fallen out of a sixth-floor apartment window several blocks away, and ours was the first dumpster the bereaved owner found. (Mods: feel free to delete this post.)

I got the link lamington posted to work by deleting the hypen: http://www.australianbeef.com.au Clicking on How To . . . and then on Know Your Meat Cuts gets you to a couple of good charts. And on the beef chart, what we in the US call brisket is labelled . . . brisket. Silverside is from the opposite end of the cow. Thanks, lamington!!!!

I had some many years ago at Mesa Grill -- when Wayne Harley Brachman was the pastry chef there (there's a recipe for it in his book Cakes and Cowpokes). Except for the tendency of the corn kernels to stick to my teeth -- which happens to all forms of fresh corn -- it was one of the best things I'd ever tasted. And yes, it really does need great corn. The second recipe GG linked to is one that really piques my curiosity: the honey, chile, and lemon zest should make it even more special than any other version.

Oh, yeah! Professional kitchens can be a source of constant YUCK! stories. A chef I worked for kept coming up with ideas to try -- he'd buy stuff to use, but for whatever reasons, he'd not go through with the whole thing. Like the time he thought he might serve Roast Baby Lamb on Easter . . . or the opaque plastic bucket of sausage casings that just kept getting moved from shelf to shelf, for several months. Eventually, when we had to empty out that walk-in, I made the mistake of removing the lid. Oh, that guy was a never-ending source of "science experiments."

Butter? We don' need no stinkin' butter. When we have corn, like Sparrowgrass that's ALL we have (well, some salad with fresh leaves and tomatoes, of course, but that's all). Just corn, de-silked, husks returned to their virgin positions, and the whole ears . . . nuked. Then I play Smith-Corona and HWOE is the platen. Which brings up another possibly gender-related set of eating patterns: when eating, say, 2 tamales or 2 enchilada, do you eat all the way through one and then tackle the other (the lengthwise approach), or do you, um, rounder them???

I just got some decent ones in Rego Park -- between the Union Turnpike subway stop (E train) and a funeral home a bit closer in on Queens Blvd. (The father of a friend.) Not a very long trip, since the E train now runs express in Queens. And the pelmeni were pretty good -- a mix of beef and pork with onion, about the size of tortellini, cooked up quite fast. But if you really want to stay in Manhattan, you could try the still-somewhat Ukrainian neighborhood near 8th Street around 1st and 2nd avenues (ask Pan, he lives near there).

Okay, a heads-up for all the honeyphiles here: I am currently working on a book titled Robbing the Bees: a Biography of Honey, by Holley Bishop. Free Press (part of Simon & Schuster) is the publisher. Rarely have I worked on such an enjoyable, well-written, fact-filled book! All sorts of information about the history of bees, bee-keeping, honey production (by bees and humans), the use of bees in warfare . . . and I'm only a little more than halfway through it. The recipes included are both ancient and modern. I suppose it will be out sometime next spring. I never thought much about the stuff before (other than finding that leatherwood is just too strong a flavor for my palate), but now I'm fascinated.

Would you include other Jimmy Bradley restaurants, such as Mermaid Inn? Once the buzz is gone, of course. They certainly do offer good food, neither expensive nor cheap-o. I have to add: Le Zinc, one of my local go-to places. (Les Halles is a go-to too, but only because it's closer. It's nowhere near as good as Le Zinc.) And may I add an extra question: would you travel (i.e., go beyond walking distance) to get to your preferred middlebrow place(s), or would you only stay in your nabe? Me, I only travel for exceptional food. But then, I'm walking distance to C-town, Tribeca, and Soho.

I rarely cook from the recipes I read. But there are some magazines that are good as reference guides: - Another vote for Fine Cooking -- a great resource for learning about ingredients, and the recipes always work. When there's an article by a "famous" chef or noted authority, it's more likely to work than the recipes you read in chefs' coffee-table cookbooks. - And a vote for Australian Vogue E + T -- I've subscribed since 1998, there's no problem having it sent to New York City. Food Arts is great (even though it no longer has the Vita-Prep ads), but I wouldn't call it a cooking magazine. I like reading Saveur, but view it as strictly for reference; and I cannot stand the usual suspects, any of them (F&W, Bon Appetit, Gourmet). They just don't have enough of the WHY of anything, and the recipes don't much interest me.

For those interested in the tin: my Pathmark carries three-sleeve-size tins of THE REAL THING (Nabisco Saltines, with salt and fat and all those good things!) -- for the Hispanic market (Nabisco galletas). So when I go shopping after vacation, I will get one for myself -- anyone else want one???

Saltines (Nabisco, please; NEVER the Keebler version) were one of the staples of my childhood. And youth. And young adulthood. And middle age. And whatever stage I'm in now. Although for many years now I've only eaten the unsalted variety (Unsaltines?) Tried the whole wheat, tried the low-fat: there's nothing as satisfying as a simple saltine. For us, it was 4 saltines and one slice of American cheese, folded/torn into quarters. Or that last little bit of tuna salad, as the elegant pre-dinner nibble. Or just a thin layer of butter (sweet, of course) to bring out the inherent nuttiness-saltiness-wheatiness of the cracker. Crumbled into Campbell's Vegetarian Vegetable Soup to give it body or, for a real treat, floated whole on my mother's chicken broth, to bloat and sog and become one with the golden liquid. (That sounds gross, but really was wonderful.) I haven't checked out the link GG posted, but I'll bet it's for "Souffled Crackers" -- soak the saltines in water, then bake them dry again. Who has to go to all that trouble? Saltines are one of the rare foods that are perfect as they come out of the package. In fact, I just has some for dinner tonight, along side my room temp pasta/tuna/white bean/tomato melange on fresh salad greens. Heaven! So this morning I checked the link to Paula Deen's "recipe" -- not what I thought, but simply gilding the lily. It's a sad state of affairs when people need to be told how to doll up crackers. The "souffle saltines" I was thinking of just soaks them in water, then bakes them to re-crisp. Somehow, I seem to remember that Kim W-B posted something about that, ages ago.

I've never dealt with squash blossoms myself, but I've eaten several versions in restaurants: Chanterelle stuffs them with truffled chicken mousse (or lobster mousse) and steams them; Thalassa leaves them raw and stuffs them with cooked lump crabmeat; The Biltmore Room stuffs them with a crabcake mixture, pannees them, and fries them. And no doubt somebody does the classic: dipping them (unstuffed) in tempura batter and deep-frying them.

Since HWOE forgot to go to WTC on Thursday (and I was out all day), we ended up at Greenwich Street today: Some incredibly beautiful Boston and red leaf lettuces -- very sweet Arugula almost as strong as the Migliorellis' Kirbies Grape tomatoes Peaches that have to be eaten over the sink Bunches of herbs -- parsley, oregano, rosemary, thyme, and "spicy basil" (very small leaves, buds, and flowers) to use for herb vinegars and a 5. 5-pound chicken -- brined and roasted tonight with 1/2 a lemon and some of the thyme in the cavity -- MMMMMMMMMMMMMM!

If it's not too late to offer advice: if you'll have access to a good electric mixer: chocolate mousse. Really easy, very impressive, and oh so French! And you can use pasteurized egg whites, in case anyone worries. Although the suggestion of crepes is good -- you can make stacks and stacks of them ahead of time, then just finish big pans of them with butter/sugar/lemon juice and zest and liqueur just before serving. This even works in chafing dishes (even the Costco kind with aluminum pans and flimsy frames.) And of course chocolate sauce and whipped cream are alway a welcome topping.

Interesting: I wonder if that was part of the deal to buy the business. The first place I remember being in that building was, I think, owned by the team who opened the Odious, I mean the Odeon, and Cafe Luxembourg on West 70th Street -- Lynn Wagenacht and Steven something? I could be wrong, but I don't think there's anything else in the building besides the restaurant. So it would make sense that the Murphys could have bought the whole schmear. And with interest rates still relatively low, if that's the only use for the building, it might not be costing them all that much. Which, to reach the logical conclusion, means that they can get away charging reasonable prices.

Sorry, Sam and FG, but according to my New Cassell's French Dictionary, published by Funk & Wagnalls, the FIRST definition for poêle is: The second definition is "stove." Third is "Pall (at a funeral)," as in pall-bearer. Julia Child, in Volume 1 of Mastering the Art of French Cooking (page 6) says: I have always known poêlée to mean cooked in a skillet.

I hate it when important stuff gets announced in a Saturday Times. At least JUdson had a decent run, and Bill Telepan with it for quite a while.

Take the T to Haymarket and walk through the open-air market. (I'm not sure about the days/times, but locals can tell you). Not only is the market fascinating, but if you check out the ground you'll see embedded artwork, very cool. Then walk through the North End -- a combination of "Little Italy" and American history (North Church of Paul Revere fame). The main drag has some very neat stores and restaurants -- years ago we ate at Calamari Cafe (not its official name, but I think that's what's painted on the window) and enjoyed it a lot; I think when I was last through that neighborhood about 18 months ago it was still there. And Boston has a Chinatown, too, so inexpensive lunches are not an impossibility.

Hot damn! another neat thing learned here!!! Thanks, andie!!!!!!!!!

The New Food Lover's Companion (3rd edition) says: Does that help?