Suzanne F

One question, if I may: are you all talking about the small (fist-size) taro or the American-football size monsters? Or can they be used interchangeably in these recipes?

Rhubarb's obviously a fruit; otherwise why would it be in a pie? kidding. carrot stems and leaves are delicious. they taste like carrots, in the same way beet greens taste like beets. I put them in salads and occasionally stir-fry them. Well, then, I guess I'll have to try them!

Sigh. Thanks for the great post and pictures. I could almost smell the sea air. That's one of the places I dream of going back to.

I've got the KA attachment (it comes with the grinder), but have never used it, so I can't really help other than to say its advantage is virtually hands-free operation, and the KA does all the heavy lifting. Me, I use a food mill with interchangeable screens. Requires more elbow grease, but works fine (and is less expensive than the KA, if you don't already have some of the parts). However: a heads-up -- All Clad has come out with a food mill! I don't know how widely available it is, but I really covet it. Nice large capacity, very very sturdy, all stainless steel. Not cheap, to be sure, but I'll bet it will last forever.

Granted, these are not really cheese, but they are foods that many of us grew up eating with pleasure, believing that they were, in fact, cheese. Maybe you did, too? Are they and their ilk now banished from your life? If not, how do you use them? And thanks so much for putting up with silliness like this along with the many good questions you are likely to get.

Here's a fairly recent thread on Tempura with vegetables. And here's The Kimchi Thread.

What is this nonsense about "not supposed to"? All the stuff people have mentioned -- with the possible exception of eyeballs (although I've probably had them fried), all that stuff is edible, and between us HWOE and I will eat it all. It breaks my heart, too, to think of all the good stuff people toss because they don't know what to do with it. Perfect example is beets: there are three parts -- root, stem, and leaf -- that alone and in combination make for goooooooood eating (if you like beets in the first place ). And I have never ever understood using only the florets of cauliflower and broccoli. In fact, the only veg leaves I would not use (besides rhubarb, if you think of it as a veg) is carrots, but even those have their partisans.

Moopheus: a few times in years past, I've gotten a variety of apple called Burgundies in the very late summer. I also saw my first falling leaves today (City Hall Park) So who knows?

I find it fascinating that all the respondents have been women except for Chromedome. Draw your own conclusions. Maybe it's just too early in the day/game? Here's mine: I don't remember the year, but it was less than 30 years ago. HWOE and I were on vacation on Nantucket for the first time. We went from town all the way out to 'Sconset, to Chanticleer. I ordered Rack of Lamb, he ordered something else. I'm a slower eater, so I still had food on my plate when he had none. I gave him my last bits of lamb. In all the time since, that is our benchmark for "I love you": I would give you my last bits of rack of lamb.

I didn't make it to the market today, since I was working at a client's (so was Moopheus, we had a nice chat). But all was not lost! HWOE went, and brought back: Corn Choy sum Blueberries Tomatoes Peaches Kirbies Mixed bagged heads of lettuce Arugula 1 Green pepper. So dinner was 3 ears of corn apiece and a big (as usual) salad, along with some bits of cheese from 2 weeks ago (not Greenmarket, but very good nonetheless). Maybe the strawberry folks have planted the late-bearing variety as well, and we'll get more later on. I hope. To quote Mario Batali's sons: What would we do without strawberries, Daddy?

Now I'm worried that my favorite cheapo Chinatown place will have to raise the price of a huge bowl of shrimp dumpling soup over $4!

You have to like busy, busy food. This is not a place for simple fare. We were there about a month ago for our anniversary and had a very good meal. (Full disclosure: I worked for Gary at three different restaurants, so he sent out some extras. ) The "Tataki of hamachi" (I think it was hamachi) was great: pristine fish, and the cucumber sorbet that accompanies is a zillion times better than the version at rm. Quail (another app) was also very good: delicately smoked, very moist and juicy, not overly sauced. The crab-cake stuffed squash blossom: eh. Very nicely fried, but short on flavor. Veal chop was cooked just right, and all the many, many other items on the plate went with it very well. But there was an awful lot going on there. Ditto the dal-crusted halibut. Fabulous pieces of fish, cooked perfectly, but with almost too much accompanying. Of desserts, the panna cotta with blueberry sorbet was one of the best things we've ever tasted. Chocolate tart was quite good, very (maybe too) rich. Cherry Biscuit -- sort of a monster financiere -- was good but gloppy. Service can be, well, iffy. I absolutely HATED our waiter, as did the table next to us, who upon inquiring where their dessert might be about fifteen minutes after ordering, got a very snippy answer from her. But the managers made it up to them, and everyone else was pretty good.

I think most tastes are acquired. After all, the only thing we all start out eating is milk of some sort. Everything else has to be introduced to our palates. Either we open ourselves to the experience, or we don't. It's so much more fun to be open! That said, I still have not "acquired" a taste for natto (only had it once) or sea cucumber (more a texture issue than one of taste, as it has none).

Have you tried doing the onions first and removing them, then doing the meat, then adding the onions back? Or do you have such a large quantity of onions that you will run into the same problem with batches?

I actually do filter it (several layers of paper towels or a couple of coffee filters) to reuse once. But after that, I figure it's too broken down, so I pour it into an empty container and put it in the regular trash.

And so was mine -- perfect spreading consistency, that is. I agree that such attention to detail at Landmarc is happily far-reaching. But in general that is the exception, I fear, rather than the rule: Far too many places pull the butter straight out of the fridge and slap it on the table, leaving the diner to tear the bread, put off for many minutes the gratification that comes of buttering good bread, or forego its use entirely. Which is why I have adopted that method when faced with a ramekin of the stuff. (Which, btw, is "Grand Reserve" at Landmarc.)

Batuta, some of the things I like about your proposed salmon menu: 1. It won't kill YOU. Nothing worse than an overly-harried host. 2. It's pretty sneaky -- tomato JAM?! strawberry SOUP?!?! COOKED mango?!?!?! All in the realm of "I never knew you could do that with [fill in the food]!" 3. The contrasts are obvious enough for anyone to get. (Tasting the difference between superb meat and supermarket meat is not as easy as it seems, especially for people who are not used to analyzing all the aspects of taste, texture, etc.) 4. It all sounds delicious. And that's the best part. Yes, please, do let us know how it turns out. And don't be discouraged if they don't all jump up and shout at once.

Not to mention that once you pass the Scylla of getting the box open, you still face the Charybdis of tearing yourself open. I can tell the future weather through the scar on my right ring finger, which I almost whacked off trying to tear off some wrap at work many years ago. Zipper bags are good, yes, but I wish they were not completely replacing the kind for which you have to press together the two sides (you know it's closed when the color changes, or whatever the line used to be). The zip thingy prevents the bag from opening fully, and it's harder to press out ALL the air.

Get on Route 9 and drive to Wilmington (halfway across the state); turn left at the light onto 100. Go past the entrance to Haystack on the left, past the large farmstand (I forget the name) on the right, and a little way past DeLar Depot (a gun store) to Le Petit Chef. This is one of the best restaurants ANYWHERE. (Just not on Tuesday; it's closed then.) PM me if you want the phone number.

We were there at the same time. I was in a party of four upstairs that was seated at 8:30 p.m. Food was outstanding. The $17 cheese course, which can serve four is the second best value in NYC (after their $12 fois gras pate). Had a 2000 Hanna Zinfandel ($24) - incredible value. This place is getting better and better. Hard pressed to find a better meal at any price in NYC - great views and ambience upstairs. You were already seated before we got there. We probably saw each other but didn't feel that cosmic connection . . . When the three of us were back last night, we sat on the ground floor, in the back opposite the bar. (I had a great view of the grill cook at work. ) This place seems to be a model case of listening to criticism and acting on it to improve, rather than bitching about how unfair it is or how misunderstood they are. Would that there were more like it in that way. So Marc, Pamela, etc., if you're lurking: please tell the cooks to use a little less dressing on the salads. Delicious, but a bit too damp.

We were back there again tonight with Bond Girl, just for dessert. This time we had "one of each" (6 different desserts for $15), and there was not a loser in the bunch. - The sorbets were the same three we had on Friday, still excellent. - Lemon tart was a good balance of sweet, tart, and bitter (from lemon zest), and as Bond Girl pointed out, not too much of an egg flavor. Thick but very tasty pate brisee crust. Definitely one of the better lemon tarts I've had, and I seek it out whenever I can. - Chocolate mousse: very deep chocolate, with a good slug of amaretto; quite firm, which we all agreed was much better than too airy. - Creme brulee: your standard vanilla, with a perfectly smooth texture, and a good bitter edge to the sugar topping. - Blueberry crisp: very buttery, very blueberry, very good. - Praline semi-freddo. This may not be what it's called on the menu, but that's what it tasted like. Good contrast of crunchy chopped praline to soft whipped cream. It's a great dessert to share, since almost all the items are rich and strongly flavored, so a few bites can be completely satisfying. HWOE and I also shared a glass of the Hunt Country Ice Wine (as was used in the Martini I had on Friday), and one of a dessert wine from chenin blanc grapes (Bonnezeaux) that was mostly crisp and lightly sweet, not syrupy.

No, no -- Jon is in New JERSEY. They're ever so much nicer there. Anyway, Jon is. Re: baskets -- at the store I go where I use baskets, they have no express lane and no belts; the checkout forms a ring around the cigarette display. The clerks just ring you up as you empty the basket onto the tiny portion of counter. Then they grab the basket and stick it on top on the cigarette display, and occasionally someone comes by to grab the stack. At the Food Emporium, the basket gets dropped onto the floor under the unloading end of the belt. That usually has enough of an overhang, since the aisle is not wide enough for the cart to fit through. At the Pathmark, however, where one can push the cart through, placing the basket at the IN end can block the cart from butting up against the belt. (Note to self: get a life! I can't believe I just spent about 10 minutes writing about grocery carts and baskets! )

Thanks for that recipe! Cooking anything without recipes demands a high tolerance for failure. Or at least for keeping a straight face when telling other people that that's really how it's supposed to turn out. But I would never, ever, ever try to bake without a recipe. I'm not that good a chemist. edit to add: Liz, I have yet to find any fruit that does not go well with ginger. YUM!!!

Boy, Chinese food in Flushing sure has improved since I grew up going to Joy Wah. That all looks soooooooooooo good. Pan, how did the tendon compare to the version at Yeah?

I'm just sorry to have missed Katy Sparks there. I loved her food at Quilty's.