Suzanne F

Oh, yeah. Already signed up for that one. How come they didn't put you on the Humor in Food Writing panel, too?

Susan: steamers (aka Eastern soft-shell clams) come with this . . . um . . . well, it looks just like a condom on the . . . um . . . NECK. And as described above by JJ and FG, you pull off the skin, discard the skin, swish the clam around in the broth to rinse it, and eat the clam. These are the only clams with that feature that I ever eat (that is, I don't know if other clams are thus . . . um . . . protected). Cherrystones are not, afaik.

Oh. gosh, I don't really want to follow an inquiry about worms . . . but . . . this was so tasty: "Pizza" with a base of soft lavash, topped with slices of very rare roast leg of lamb and ratatouille (both from the freezer) mixed with the last of last night's black-eyed peas, topped with herbed feta and mixed pizza cheeses. (In the baking/browning, the lamb stayed nice and rare. Yay!!) Mixed lettuces with olive oil and rosemary vinegar. Paringa Shiraz

You don't have to be Jewish to love cholent!

Ah well, I guess he writes what he knows. But you've definitely piqued my interest. Would you be willing to expound on any or all of these? Pretty please? Do you mean because now one can put something in the oven, and set the clock to start and stop cooking later so that whatever is being cooked need not cook for 18 or more hours? Hmm, interesting question. Gifted Gourmet? Bloviatrix? any thoughts?

eunny jang, I hope sometime in the future you will do a food blog here. It's great to read what you are making under straitened circumstances -- really proves that good food does not have to be expensive.

Remember, too, that those little cups of coleslaw are made up way ahead of service, and generally sit out on somebody's station for hours and hours. That said: I adore cheap coleslaw so I almost always eat it anyway. Unless it has no flavor. But I'm very particular about pickles, and usually what passes for a pickle, isn't. They are usually too soft, too turmeric-y or horror of horrors, dill-flavored. Not my idea of a good time.

Long-cooked collards in smoked turkey stock with onion, garlic, and bird chilies (and the meat added back at the end). Black-eyed peas in some sort of slightly tomatoed sauce (from the freezer; wish I could remember how I made them because they were GOOD). Very plain cornbread. Mixed lettuces and bell peppers with olive oil and Texas tarragon vinegar. Yuengling black-and-tan.

I have been told that there are tamale ladies outside the church on West 14th Street between 8th and 9th avenues on Sundays. Their schedule there is based on the church services. As for the Chinatown NYC carts: most definitely on weekends! As for hours, I have never seen any of them as early at 8am, but that doesn't mean there aren't any that early or earlier. Sorry, I have no idea how late any of them stay open.

Thinner will be crisper.

alacarte: RUN do not walk to Alfanoose on Fulton Street, just east of Broadway. THE BEST FELAFEL, but he has to move out at the end of the month. I may have to eat felafel and vegetable kibbee everyday until then. (yeah, I know, this isn't a cart, but. It is soooooooooooo good.)

I was probably one of those praising it. I find it excellent for a touch-up. It's also very good with Messermeister blades.

bigorre, you just reminded me that at one place where I worked, the salmon was covered with paper-thin slices of fennel, and maybe some shallots and cilantro? along with a sugar/salt mix. Actually, this was sandwiched between two whole sides. The memory is a little hazy, but I don't think it was cured for much more that 24 hours.

violet pastilles good (taste like flowers) rose pastilles bad (taste like cold cream)

Oh, Rabbi, you're just not into the subtleties of the vegetable medley. I have in front of me an advertisement from Nation's Restaurant News for a brand called FLAV-R-PAC and their Grande Classics Gourmet Vegetables. Believe me, you gotta have good eyes to tell these 11 blends apart (well, 9, actually, one is just bias-cut carrots and another just whole green beans). You certainly couldn't tell from the names: NEW! Key West Blend: whole green beans, bias-cut carrot, red pepper strips, and something that looks like carrots but is yellow; NEW! Malibu blend: broccoli florets, cauliflower florets, bias-cut carrots, and those yellow things; Asian Blend: broccoli florets, red pepper strips, green pepper strips, whole green beans, mushroom slices, and onion slices; Caribbean Blend: broccoli florets, red pepper strips, whole green beans, and those yellow things; Sicilian Blend: red pepper strips, whole green beans, bias-cut carrot, yellow pepper strips, and cauliflower florets; Normandy Blend: broccoli florets, cauliflower florets, bias-cut carrots, bias-cut zucchini, and bias-cut yellow squash; Cantonese Blend: broccoli florets, mushroom slices, red pepper strips, baby carrots (!), snowpeas (!!), and sliced water chestnuts (!!!); Riviera Blend: whole green beans, whole yellow beans, baby carrots; Mediterranean Blend: those yellow things, red pepper chunks, quartered artichoke hearts, asparagus tips and stems, and what looks like it might be a few leaves of spinach. You can see how I did that list with a LOT of cut-and-paste. I defy anyone to figure out what is so Norman about broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and squash. Oh, and the Riviera Blend is shown plated with barbecue-sauced ribs. Among the advertising enticements are: Profitable, SteamTable-Sized, No-Waste, Resealable Zip Packaging. Consistently outperforms fresh. Bold, High-Profit Plate Coverage. Exciting Signature Presentations. America, do you know where your vegetables are?

Another possibility is to drape a towel or plastic wrap over the open part of the pan, around the blender. At least that way, the flying sauce is contained. But as edsel says, if you can transfer the sauce to a narrower, taller pan so the blades are submerged, you shouldn't have that splash.

FYI: "Tables for Two" in the current issue (March 22, 2004) of The New Yorker is about T Salon. And it is dead on. And since I mentioned Tea Time, we got some Towkok Estate GFBOP Assam, that we are very pleased with; it's much better than the Taylors of Harrogate I get at Fairway.

A followup to my last post (November 11, 2003): ACP is definitely coming out with a book of 500 low-carb recipes from the Women's Weekly books sometime in the near future. The recipes are quite good, for the most part, with lots of fresh, flavorful ingredients, lots of grilling. And all in American English (that's where I came in ). Kitwilliams: I have Donna Hay's Off the Shelf, and it is everything Semi-Homemade Cooking should be but isn't: very tempting recipes making judicious use of pantry items.

The Chinese ladies on East Broadway directly under the Manhattan Bridge -- in front of the building with Double 8 (fka Triple 8). Meat or mustard-y greens or a little of each, on a slightly sweet bun, for $1. Premade, but yummy.

All of the above, plus: It's an addiction. If I go more than a day or two without cooking, I start to feel weird. Like something important is missing from my life.

Cory, you might check on the India board about this, if you haven't already. It may have been discussed there, as possibly also sheer korma (vermicelli pudding in a creamy sauce). Also: there's a recipe for noodle kugel here in the eGCI session on Jewish Cooking Through the Year. If you do a search on +noodle +kugel you'll probably find more.

Veal schnitzel with paprikash sauce (sorry, NOT inspired by the paprika thread; I had it in the freezer from an earlier veal paprikash overrun) Broad noodles Roasted . . . broccoli (Ha! Gotcha! -- I knew that HWOE would bitch and moan if I overcooked it yet again by steaming; THIS he liked, even though the stems were soft [well, it was a bit overage ]) Salad of leaves only with olive oil and oregano vinegar Paumonok Chenin Blanc

It's so exciting that you're going to that conference!! And there's no reason to be nervous -- just walk up to people and introduce yourself. If this is like any other food-related conference, the people will be happy to meet YOU. And being writers, they will be more than happy to talk about themselves. David Leite was there a few years ago, and he said it was the best thing he ever did for his career. The contacts! the learning! the fun! I'm doing what I do now because of a seminar that Toni Allegra ran for IACP -- she's absolutely terrific. And by way of introduction to Anne Willan -- if you talk to her, ask her about How to Cook at Home, currently in process. (I just proofed the galleys, and it looks like it's a great response to the whole Sandra Lee mishigos.) Have a great time, and in the meantime, enjoy your iced mochas.

An absolutely ghastly "beef stew," with supermarket cut-up meat of indeterminate location, and a can of Campbell's vegetarian vegetable soup. At least, that's the earliest one I remember. You have to understand, though, he was home with mono, so he was grateful for anything I came and cooked for him. (Oh, and it was my birthday -- I went out to dinner by myself later. At Barbetta, I think.)

My mother's Passover "noodles" were indeed julienne omelet. Although she might have added a smidge of matzo or cake meal for body.