Suzanne F

Ivory salmon. Just had some last night. Wow.

only if we can get them with Gully on the crown. The Rachel Perlow Commemorative Apparel line.

What Jinmyo said. And even if you're not leaving, good luck in your future pursuits.

HWOE was coming home from Connecticut via Grand Central, so I asked him to bring some fish from Wild Edibles. To go with whatever he brought, I made an Asian-style slaw with cabbage, carrot, scallion green, and green chile, dressed with sweet chile sauce, lemongrass, and white wine vinegar. Cooked some jasmine rice. Chopped some cilantro, parsley, mint, and recao to sprinkle on top. And he arrived with . . . Alaskan ivory salmon, to cook in the cast-iron grill pan. A once-a-year treat. Paumonok Barrel Fermented Chardonnay, and we are very, very happy.

Our half-gallons of skim at the CVS (yeah, it's a drugstore, but they have the cheapest milk in the neighborhood -- City Hall area, lower Manhattan -- and the closest source) jumped from something like $1.75 to about $2.30. Jeez.

Oh, please, why must every change be greeted with ?

Jumping in to say: he's a guy who knows what a Venn diagram is: Today's Diner's Journal in the NY Times

In addition to what's already been said: No matter what the filling will be, coat the bread with a thin layer of butter first. This will act as a barrier to slow down the sogging. (Plus, of course, it adds a hint of yummy butter flavor. ) Hours before and wrapped as lala says, yes. The day before, well maybe, but the quality will suffer. You can also do almost all of the prep a day ahead, making the fillings, prepping the vegetables, even buttering the bread. Wrap each element separately and well. Then assemble and cut the sandwiches shortly before the event.

Which reminds me: always, ALWAYS ask for the carcass from the Peking Duck. The only slightly unsettling part is when the head pops up out of the stockpot.

Ya-roo, your check is in the mail. Hey, where's mine?? Oh, never mind -- I've only been telling that to other public administration types. When I tried this I either got into a fight or was invited into the restroom. I think we need an eGullet lapel pin. Whassamatter? This isn't classy enough for formal occasions?

Oh, so I'm supoposed to read through all those 57 pages? Never mind; what I said here is the most important bit, anyway.

Considering that it started out as a mystery, shouldn't that read: Maigret??

Went to dinner and a show with friends tonight. Their son had made waffles last Saturday, which were okay but tasted a little bit wrong. He figured he'd make them again on Sunday, for Mothers' Day. They were horrible this time. Gee, he said, I made them just like I did yesterday's, which weren't great but weren't THIS bad. Sometime later he remembered: both days he had used baking soda instead of baking powder. And even later he remembered that instead of three teaspoons of the stuff, he had used three TABLESPOONS.

Book I'm working on now says do not cover, and do use two levels of heat: high first to sear, then medium to finish: - For a 1 to 1-1/4 inch thick, 14 to 16-ounce strip, 2-1/2 minutes per side on high, then 2-1/2 to 3 minutes per side on mediium. - For a 2-inch thick, 1-1/2 pound boneless rib-eye, 4 minutes per side on high, then 2-1/2 to 3 minutes per side on mediium. - For a 1-1/4 inch thick, 1 to 1-1/4 pound bone-in rib-eye, 2-1/2 minutes per side on high, then 2-1/2 to 3 minutes per side on mediium. And the author also makes the mistake of saying 180 degrees instead of 90, for quadrillage.

Buried in this thread is a reference to a recipe by Florence Lin. Hope this helps. Edited to correct my manners: Welcome, Bert!

Shred, saute, and add to spaghetti sauce. Never made it, but I've seen a recipe using cabbage instead of apples as a filling for strudel. Also seen a savory version, without sugar or raisins, but with sauteed onion and mushrooms -- kind of like redfox's recipe but wrapped in dough and baked instead of mixed with noodles.

Am I the only person here with a copy of Desserts with a Difference by Sally and Martin Stone (Clarkson Potter, © 1993)? Maybe so. But every dessert in it contains vegetables -- and, I expect, looks about as threatening as carrot cake.

Well, that's related to the comment by Mimi Sheraton today: My sentiments exactly!

William, welcome! Do not worry about your English. (Some of us are still getting used to pinyin.) This is going to be a very good trade, between you and us: you get to practice your English, and we get to learn more about Chinese food. Yes, many many people all over the world love it! And here, we want to know how it is made in China, not just by Chinese who adapt the recipes to other tastes. And yes, we have many carnivores here, too. But also vegetarians -- we just like FOOD!

Add one more: the purveyor(s) of product. If you want to know who's gone to C.O.D., or not using top-quality stuff any more, ask the guys who deliver the ingredients. Trish -- you mean that has an absolutely gorgeous sink but stocks it with cheapo z-fold paper towels? (Was that mentioned in the piece?) Are you sure you really want to know???

Mabelline -- what great ideas! (Now, if I could only get Rotel at my supermarket ) One more vote for Thai-style salads. Although I can eat them anytime, and do. My trick for them is to always have some roasted meat or poultry in the freezer: just thaw and toss with the greens, herbs, cellophane or somen noodles, etc. The only prep is cooking the noodles (just a couple of minutes), washing all the leaves, and slicing/dicing what needs to be cut. No big deal, and what a payoff!

"Daring" is a relative term. When I was doing desserts at Match Uptown, where Gary Robins had been the chef (and whose recipes we were still making), I tried to introduce a replacement for the "Seasonal Berries" that was on the menu year-round. Still a fruit salad, but one with really seasonal fruits, cubes of jicama, and a chile-and-lime syrup. "Oh, no!" said the chef at the time. "Too unusual for our customers." Excuse me? We were still doing the Mango Sundae with coconut ice cream, tamarind sauce, diced mango-with-lime-and-cayenne, etc. and a Lemongrass Sorbet, among other things. If it fits the menu, why not? I doubt any of the restaurants in the article stick to basic-meat-and-potatoes menus.

IIRC, castor oil comes from the castor bean. You might be mixing it up with cod liver oil (now doesn't THAT sound yummy? ) There's another thread somewhere on white tuna/escolar -- I think I started that one after having some at a nearby sushi place. After the responses there and on the thread linked to above, I decided not to try it again, even though I had no ill effects. Why tempt fate (I do that all the time anyway with my leftovers )?

Just confirms my opinion of Hyatt. Not to give the details*, but the absolute worst hotel experiences I ever had in my life were at a Hyatt -- on multiple occasions. (Well, they were trying to make it up to me by giving me extra nights and all sorts of "freebies" -- except that everything just built on the previous awful occurrence. ) *I will, however, say that it was the Hyatt on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Wouldn't you think a location like that would know better????

Almost finished processing a dozen and a half baby artichokes tonight. The work will be done tomorrow morning: Trimmed off and peeled stems. (discarded outside trim; set aside stems) Pulled off outside leaves, until pale inside leaves were visible (set aside pulled-off leaves) Cut off barbed tops (1/3) of remaining artichoke (set aside trimmed-off leaf tops) Trimmed bottoms of artichokes neatly (set aside trimmed-off bits) Cut trimmed artichokes in quarters; cut out and set aside fuzzy chokes. Stewed quartered artichokes in white wine, water, and olive oil, with black peppercorns, black cardamom, and coriander seeds. Put away in fridge in canning jars (with liquid) when done. Boiled all the trimmings with plain water until the fleshy parts were soft. "Pureed" solids in food processor; mixed back with liquid; strained through cheesecloth-lined strainer; pulled corners up and hung cheesecloth bag to drip out remaining puree overnight. In the morning, I'll squeeze out any remaining puree into the liquid, then pack and freeze it. The resulting "stock" is great for artichoke soup, as a liquid for cooking lamb, and whatever else that can benefit from the flavor of artichokes.