Suzanne F

The dan dan noodles were hot? Really? Jeez, I must be totally desensitized. I just thought they were really tasty -- and remember, I was the one who mixed them to make sure they were coated with the sauce. The vegetables all served as respite from the heat and fat: the bitter melon was much better when eaten with the cured pork (bacon-y stuff); the pumpkin -- which was much firmer than I expected -- was just slightly sweet and nutty; the string beans shouted CRUNCHY STRING BEAN; and the pea shoots were sweet and pea-y, the slices of garlic with them incredibly sweet. Oh all right: my public apology to HWOE who kept shouting, "Pea shoots! Pea shoots!" even though I kept shushing him: he was right to want them. Yeah, the waiter seemed surprised and pleased with our ordering; a few warnings about fattiness and bones, but none of that "You no like" which is sometimes given. And when the duck dish we wanted was unavailable, the one he suggested made a lovely contrast in flavor, fat, and spiciness. BTW: thanks to the super math skills of MHesse, our tables drinkers and nondrinkers alike paid their fair share. I suggest he use this as a problem once he starts teaching: The answer turned out to be: a ridiculously low number.

I don't know the answer, but want to continue the questioning. Because the Pathmark I frequent has just brought in a line of Peruvian products and I'm fascinated.

Amen, sister!

Practice! Seriously, it's easier than you think. Go outside with your skillet (10" is a good size to start with) and a bag of dried beans. Start with a handful or two of beans in the pan and start flipping. When you get the knack of making them turn over en masse, add another handful and repeat. You'll pick it up fairly quickly, though you might feel a right fool while you're doing it. When you get back in the kitchen, start small - a fried egg, toasting spices to go in the mill/mortar, etc. One other thing - once the food is in the air, pay attention to the pan, not the food. The food's got one direction to go, and that's down. If you make sure that the pan is under the food, gravity will take care of the rest. Absolutely! When I was in culinary school, that was the one thing I was afraid of doing. So I flipped tentatively, and naturally screwed it up. Then when we did a unit on eggs, my chef-instructor had me do one over-easy, and then said, "Flip it again." I did. "Again." I did. Then: "Keep flipping it until I tell you to stop" and WALKED OUT OF THE KITCHEN. Grumble, flip, grumble, flip, grumble, flip, flip . . . And ever since, no problem. I like the egg idea because it bends more than a piece of toast, and is less likely to scatter than beans. Although beans make fine practice once you've mastered the egg flip. The motion is sort of a push away, bounce the pan up as it reaches its farthest distance from you, then circle the pan up and around back towards you. Oh, that's what lala just said.

That's David, lxt's husband.

Further comment on the beef tendon: the tendon itself had less flavor than the version at Yeah Shanghai, and was not as chewy (I think it was cut thinner), but I still loved it. It, the tripe/ox tongue, and the jellyfish were all similar in texture, but different enough to keep it interesting. The rabbit was on the bone, too, but the pieces were meatier than the dry-spiced chicken, so not as bothersome. (When I ordered the rabbit, the waiter warned me it was on the bone. No problem, said I. Well, Stone was at the other table. Anyway, no one at our table complained.) I was kind of surprised that the other 2 chicken dishes were NOT on the bone. But it sure made then easier to scarf them down. One more thing about the rabbit: unlike the other dishes that had whole peppercorns, the rabbit had ground; it made a big difference. At first no one could figure out what that subtle floral note was. But later we got it. Edited to add: Hathor, nothing was mouth-searingly hot, honest. Numbing, yes (love those peppercorns). But not killer hot. Even though we ordered a lot of dishes with the same peppery sauce, everything was subtle and tasted different. At any rate, I never saw steam coming out of anyone's ears, and the water and beer disappeared at normal rates.

So now we know where he got his heart! Welcome! I am just in awe of all you guys ate, both the variety and the amount. Thanks for a great report -- the first in a series, I hope.

Admin: Preceding posts, which were purely organizational, have been deleted. The thread now begins with descriptions of a group dinner at Grand Sichuan International Midtown involving many eGullet Society members. Big dinner at Grand Sichuan last night. The meu was: Shrimp Shumai and Pork Shumai (just about the only real disappointment of the meal) Ox Tongue & Tripe w. Hot & Pepper Sauce Beef Tendon w. Hot & Pepper Sauce Diced Rabbit Meat w. Spicy & Peppery Sauce Roast Pork Buns Jellyfish with Scallion Oil Sauteed Bitter Melon Sliced Pumpkin Family Style Tea Smoked Duck (substituted for the Mixed Pickled Vegetable with Duck that was unavailable) Auzhou Chicken Kung Bao Chicken Sichuan Softshell Crabs (also a little disappointing, at least to HWOE and me) Sauteed Pea Shoots Cured Pork with Garlic Shoots, from the "Mao's Home Cooking" section And that's just from one of the 2 tables. The other guys ordered different stuff, and kept running their excess over to us. I think it is safe to say that the Cured Pork was a major highlight (but of course!). When we ordered it, the waiter said, "It's very fatty" to which we replied, "That's okay, we like bacon." Was that appropriately understated? All in all, it was a terrific meal, at a great price (for our table, the food worked out to $20 per person!!!!!!!! ), with great company.

Oh, yeah: load that pot up to the top with sliced onions and try it again. After all, 2 onions will collapse to less than one small serving and the stuff keeps a long, long time in the fridge. If it lasts once you smell and taste the finished product

Yes, it does. The results also depends on the shape and size of the pot, the amount of water in the pot as it begins to cool, the shape and size of the egg, the location of the pan as it cools and the ambient air temperature of your kitchen (assuming the pan is left to cool in the kitchen). You're being ironic, right? That method has worked for me with all kinds and sizes and shapes of eggs, in cheapo aluminum, Le Creuset, AllClad, etc etc. It's great to know the science behind it all (thanks Jack et al); now may I please be allowed to forget it and just do what works?

I deduce then that the conference was in either Baltimore or London. Which? Bawlmer. JAZ and I were roomies, and if I may be so bold, I became the envy of many when I got a big hug from Tony Bourdain before his panel. Which, by the way, was quite interesting (Kitchen Memoir: Trend or Fad; and boy oh boy you should have heard Michael Ruhlmann lay into the dishonesty of Ruth Reichl's fabrications [in response to my, um, leading question] ) And for the purpose of this thread, I should have 3 more books coming, all by Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken, as a result of the silent auction at the conference.

If you like China 46 (and how could anyone who's eaten there NOT love it), do not even think of trying PF Chang's. And if you do try it, don't say I didn't warn you.

Last night (Wednesday): a rare occurrence of using up leftovers the night immediately following: Spaghetti with "Artichokes Four Ways" from Tuesday (roasted & jarred, sauteed frozen, pulp from leaves [from the freezer], and truffled crema di carciofi), plus confit duck hearts and gizzards, with a little sauteed shallot and roast garlic puree and reduced duck jus. Red-and-green leaves salad with white balsamic/thyme vinaigrette Paumanok Festival Chardonnay

Gee, Briarhill, sorry you're having problems. (Not that I can do anything about it, though. ) FWIW, I have a covered Magnalite 12-inch skillet -- originally non-stick, now partly coated but not flaking -- that is somewhere between 33 and 36 years old, and other than the coating, in great shape. I might be interested in checking out their other stuff. But do you still have to season the polished stuff? Gee whiz, more bacon and fried chicken??

Risotto: You probably COULD add the liquid more at one time, but the big deal is the stirring. You want to gently dislodge the surface starch and dissolve it in the liquid -- that's how you get that creamy feel. Hard-cooked eggs: Surely this was dealt with in eGCI? Well anyway: the key to beautiful eggs is to NOT OVERCOOK THEM. I prefer the Julia Child method: put in a pot with cold water, bring gently to a boil, turn off the heat, cover, and let sit for 10 to 15 minutes. As for peeling them: I drain them immediately and run cold water over them, cracking the shells slightly. By the time the eggs are completely cool, the shells are easy to remove. (There's also something about whether fresher or less-fresh eggs peel more easily, but I forget which. Sorry.)

Actually, no. Letting meat rest allows the juices to be re-absorbed. And if some does come out, just pour it back over.

I recently had a "Manhattan" made with Woodford, Triple Sec, and sweet vermouth, garnished with a twist of lemon. Now you see why I put that in quotes.

PF Chang's does amazing things with cabbage. As filler in dishes where you'd never expect it. It's great if you have no access to Chinese food.

Since I like to have roast garlic puree on hand, I break up the head into individual, unpeeled cloves, put them in a baking dish with olive oil, and bake as already directed above until the cloves are lightly browned -- if they get too dark, they will end up burnt and bitter. I let them cool some, then dump the whole mess into a food mill. Drain off the oil (and of course save it in a jar in the fridge), then pass the garlic through the mill. The skins stay, and I end up with a lovely puree. Keeps quite well in the fridge, especially if I put some of the oil back on top to seal it. I don't have the fun of squeezing the soft sweet garlic out of the cloves that way, but I've got it for whenever I need it.

Sure. Thirty-six members in all, including Elizabeth Schneider, Irena Chalmers, Suzanne Hamlin, and Darra Goldstein. If you want the whole list, PM me.

I'm surprised that would work, only because of the enzymes in the pineapple, which break down gelatin. But maybe using 2 packets allows the gelatin to overpower the munching enzymes. But aside from that,

Is this place any relation to Giovanni Esposito, on Ninth Avenue in "the city"? If so, surely their sausage is beyond reproach. A couple of years ago we decided to check out trendy Smith Street. Where did we end up eating? A Latino place with a steam table and the best pernil I ever ate -- even better than mine. Next door was a butcher shop with both Italian (their original heritage) and Latino stuff (for the current neighborhood residents). I bought both ethnicities of sausage, and both were excellent. Anyone know the name of the place, and the exact address? I would love to go back.

Back from the IACP conference -- I won't count all the recipe booklets I picked up (even though they are pretty page-y), although Jenn-Air's The Art of Convection and the Canol Industry's Canola Cooks II should qualify. And then there are the 2 books the Hazelnut people were giving away. . . And, of course, the 4 others I bought off the reduced-price table from Books for Cooks. So that's a total of 8 more. BTW: my criterion is: if it goes on the bookshelf, it's a book; into the file cabinet or magazine holders, no.

Same way you'd thicken gravy itself. Use a roux. Mix equal parts flour and butter (oil or crisco if you prefer) and brown in a little pan. Lighter colored rouxs give you thicker gravies and sauces. A roux is equal parts butter and flour? Who knew? Apparently everyone but me To be utterly technical, a roux is the cooked version. The uncooked version of equal parts butter and flour, uncooked, is a beurre manie. another way to thicken the sauce in stews that doesn't resort to rouxs or slurries (or reduction, if reducing too much will make the sauce bitter), is to take out some of the vegetables (you may wish to add a few more to begin with), puree them in a blender, then add the puree back into the stew. ok, then here's another stupid question. Do you melt the butter first and add the flour to it and mix together, or do you add each part to the sauce separately? If you mix the flour with softened butter, you've got "beurre manié." You pinch off bits of it and stir it well into the sauce to be thickened. You can add it little by little, letting each addition cook, before adding the next bit. This is different from a roux, for which you melt the butter, stir in the flour and cook it to the desired color, and then add the liquid (or if you're making gumbo, adding the cooked roux to the liquid). Beurre manié is easier to use, IMO, when thickening sauces that are already there in the pot. And you can made up a batch of it to keep in the fridge or freezer in small balls, for whenever you need it.

Apparently the Cookbook Award selection committee of the International Association of Culinary Professionals was charmed, since they picked Cooking for Mr. Latte as the best book of 2004 in the Literary Food Writing Category.