Suzanne F

As if either of them needed it.

Plataforma has opened a branch in Tribeca, just up the block from Layla (221 West Broadway, near Franklin). You might also check to see if these places are still extant: Churrascaria Girassol, in Astoria, Queens(718-545-8250) Green Field Churrascaria, in Corona, Queens (718-672-5202) -- the first in NYC, I believe.

I like to add a lot of lemon juice to the brine (short time only; too long and the meat goes all mushy). Sprinkle with crushed garlic and dried oregano and a bit more lemon juice before baking. Somewhat Greekish, very tender, quite delicious.

A rating for a place that charges $300 per person -- and isn't that only for the food; aren't beverages extra? Why do you need a rating, for god's sake? To help you decide whether or not you want to go? If you need a number of stars for a place like that, I respectfully submit there is something wrong with you. Besides, if you read the review, you know exactly what she thought about the place, its pluses and minuses. Having that little box with stars makes it possible for readers to decide about a restaurant without reading the complete description, and coming to their own conclusions about whether or not they want to try a place. It lets people off without making them read. I am firmly in the camp of those who wish there were no ratings ever, stars or otherwise, and that all reviews were written in the style of this one: it told me everything I want to know about the place. It was a fine piece of reportage. That is what I have enjoyed so much about Hesser's reviews: they have been news stories, not flights of fancy or autobiography (my beef with some of the other Times folks who have written or still do write about food and restaurants).

Sigh. Yeah, but it was a great race to watch! I guess we'll just have to drink gin now. (Whitney => Eli Whitney => cotton gin?? Oh, never mind.

Artichoke, you don't have to schlep the bread-and-butter all that way. If you're in NYC, you can get them, and quite a number of other varieties, at the Pathmark under the Manhattan Bridge. I've been getting many varieties of Mt. Olive pickled peppers there. And I will proudly state: I love sweet pickle relish in my tuna salad. And Hellman's mayo. So there.

That's actually one of the things I like about it. I have a tendency to stiffness in my hands, and the less I have to tighten up my grip, the better. (As an aside, does anyone know anything about the stuff Oxo puts out?) Also, contrary to what Global would have you think, the smooth, fatter handle is still fairly "grippable" when my hands are wet. I guess I'm still a child of the Sixties. I now keep my knives out on the counter, mixed up in two different blocks, one big happy commune.

Yes, please. Picture, please.

Aw-main: use it in good health. The Santoku is just about the only one I don't have -- not included in the set I bid on (and won!) at IACP. I already had a paring knife, bought just to check it out, and I loved it: the grip is sooooooooooooo much more comfortable than Global (that heel eats into my hand after only a couple of minutes' use). So I bid on the set, with a bird's beak parer, 3" parer, boning knife, slicer (and fork eh ), all-purpose serrated, and 8" chef knife, all in a really cool-looking block with sharpening fingers attached. Since it came, I've been having a blast! I find the weight somewhere in between Messermeister (yes, my first true love also) and Global -- the cute one I thought I was really lucky to land a date with, but who turned out breaking my heart (or at least hurting me in the long run ) But the best thing is that HWOE loves using the chef knife. I've been telling him for years that the knives he likes to use for making salad are really dangerous (too light, not sharp enough, lousy serrations that will give a bitch of a cut if they slip) -- but he didn't like any of mine (not even the 8" Messermeister ) so he wouldn't abandon those crappy knives. But now that he's tried the Furi chef knife, that's the one he wants to use. Meant to add: although a bit OT: maybe we should put together a proposal for a session at next year's IACP, on the value of Internet food discussion sites . . . with a BIG emphasis on eGullet.

What?!?!? No one has yet said: cook greens in it! Collards, turnip greens, dandelions, kale -- any that you would normally add a ham hock or smoked turkey wing to. Yeah, I know this is not the kind of thing nice Jewish girls from the Northeast usually do, but oh man is that good! And if you use the fat in cornbread, as you already considered, food for the g-ds.

Stone -- that was probably frizzled leeks on top. One of those garnishes I've never understood. Especially when I had to make it and use it. The onglet can be pretty good if you order it rarer than you think you should. But then, you'd better have good teeth. And you're right about the sauce -- NOT one to keep "on the side."

Definitely on top of artichoke bottoms!

I just made something tonight with ground lemons (flesh and zest), chopped mango, ginger, and chilis, dried methi, sugar, and vinegar. Cooked it down to jam consistency (still a bit of chunky mango). It is more tart/bitter than sweet. Does this qualify as a chutney?

Cheesecake is one of those foods that HWOE says he will eat only once a year (others being tiramisu, creme brulee, foie gras, cheese danish, brioche, brioche french toast, brioche bread pudding . . . ). Of course, he lies. But for that reason, I haven't made REAL cheesecake in years. Sigh. Occasionally a ricotta version -- delicious, but just not as satisfying. Those times when I have made it, I almost always used recipes from the NY Times. They had a chocolate-espresso version, mmmmmmm. And "The Ultimate Cheesecake" -- about which John Thorne has a piece, saying that to him, it isn't. But to me, it's pretty close, with ground, toasted hazelnuts. And finally, savory versions, including one that's supposed to have . . . drumroll, please . . . bacon. (But I found that substituting sauteed onions and ground toasted walnuts were not bad. Not as good as bacon, but.

Quit blushing, you actually did the right thing. So far, this is contest without end, amen. Ms Maggie just announced here that this one has yet to be decided. So you too might win a fabulous prize. (Speaking of which, um, Divine Ms M: have you noticed that I lost my color and been a "Member" -- a woman of the people -- for several months now? )

Whatever color, isn't chard just one of the best vegetables ever?

I thought Marlene's mention of Miss Vickie's might have been on this thread, but it wasn't. Oh, well, since I couldn't find it elsewhere, this thread will do as well. I just finished working on a weight-loss book written by a couple of dieticians, so I really, really needed some junk food. So I finally tasted Miss Vickie's Original flavor -- Au Bon Pain carries them, along with the Salt and Vinegar flavor. Pretty good, satisfyingly thick enough to let you know you're eating something potato, lightish on the salt. But I found them just a tad too grease-flavored. Of course, if I were in a potato-chip mood and there were nothing else at hand, they'd be just dandy.

Use instead of butter when making gravy or even a bechamel. Especially if it's for a meatless meal but you really want that beefy flavor. (I use beef fat when making the bechamel for my moussaka -- I find the overall meat flavor intensifies and doesn't get drowned out by the eggplant.)

We've had it here in the States for several years. It IS lovely, isn't it? and it still tastes like chard! But I think it works best as a simple vegetable side -- why bury that brilliant color in a quiche or other pie?

Nothing works as well with a REAL Martini as a combination of cheese and flour, heavy on the fat: Cheese sticks. Either the kind made from mille feuille dough cut in strips and sprinkled with cheese before baking, or the cheese-butter-flour dough kind (I use a variation of a James Beard recipe). Gougeres. Mmmmmmmmmmm. Or savory profiteroles -- you could fill them with all kinds of fatty, savory pastes.

Re: 14. You are more than welcome to join us here in the Big Apple!!! And re: 15: As the old French warhorses keep heading off to the glue factory, this too may be passing. Tarka: good start!

Adds to the appeal, IMHO. I quite agree. Wayne, do you pierce the wings before brining? I'm going to have to try that, since I'm also not a fryer (well, after all, I'm no spring chicken). Oddly enough, whenever I open the cupboard these days and see that new bottle of Frank's with Lime, I get this strange craving . . .

The versions I just saw the other day in my supermarket -- Mexican, Salvadorean, Guatamalan -- all listed the same ingredients: cream (I presume heavy), sour cream, cream cheese, salt, and maybe some other stuff. I didn't get any, so I don't know what each tastes/feels like. And I wonder if they're all the same, just labelled differently for each group?

Or you could grind some of it for burgers.

I too make both kinds -- don't fry enough to need all those crumbs. My favorite savory includes lots and lots of sauteed mushrooms and onions. The only protein I add besides the eggs is cheese; don't like the idea of meat, fish, or poultry in the pudding. I also tend to make both savory and sweet with a lot of liquid, so that they are pretty moist and not in need of sauce. (Although I do like a crust to form on top.) But I'd be more likely to put a sauce on a sweet one -- say, bourbon-cream-brown sugar sauce, as they used to at the late Bon Temps Rouler. And as an aside: You lucky lady!!! Mmmmm, cardoon (except for the ouch! factor )