Suzanne F

And I am Marie of Romania. (with apologies to Dorothy Parker)

So did He Who Only Eats. Every Friday, that's how the chicken got cooked. HWOE managed to set the kitchen on fire with it one week; a piece of trussing string got caught on the coil.

If you can get them to try Korean, Cho Dang Gol on 35th Street specializes in homemade dubu (tofu), and has some warm-and-comforting, not-spicy dishes with it. They also have stuff like kalbi and bulgogi -- not spicy if you leave off the chili paste.

bloviatrix: maybe you can "page through it" on Amazon?? I'm not sure about its disappearance from stores, unless that means it has sold out. I dare not go into bookstores any more. kit: Here's a quick rundown. Remember, this book is for the standard home cook who is not yet enlightened to the Way of the Scale. What weights there are, are ounces; volumes are cups, teaspoons, tablespoons. Both volume and weight: butter, nuts (which I find especially helpful ), sometimes fruit Volume only: liquids; sugar; salt; cornstarch; flour ; ground spices Weight only: chocolate Count only: eggs; sometimes fruit; cinnamon sticks alacarte: We were a little concerned about the Karen Finley reference; glad you like it.

BOOM!!!!!!!

SethG: they sure as hell make money on that stuff, tons of money. I used to work for a company that supplied some items for their Xmas catalogue. We went through months and months of product development for them (as far as I know, without any compensation), and they paid us a fraction of what the catalogue cost was.

One of the people doing a demo at the IHM&RS at the Javits Center in 2002 did a dessert demo using them. You might check on the Pastry board for posts about the demo, or check Steve Klc's website for the recipes. Pretty neat stuff!

Turning puts "grill marks" on two sides. No other reason, I mean it's an OVEN for goodness sake! Which brings me to the long-ago-discussed stovetop "potato baker" that we of a certain age remember from our childhoods. At least, I remember it. Anyone else besides Sandra Levine?

If my tongue got numb, it was just because we had so many bottles of wine at our table.

It's easier to work with. And adds no extra water. And won't burn at that temperature, as butter might. Next question? (Snowangel: never in a million years would I tell YOU that you are doing anything wrong. Besides, when the craving suddenly hits, I too have been known to nuke a potato I just don't refer to it as a "baked" potato then.)

Oops, didn't realize the first sentence got posted already. I'm having some trouble posting today. But to finish: Mudpuppie: YOU'RE STILL DOING IT ALL WRONG!!! Well, not ALL wrong: your mix-ins are more than acceptable. Wrapping in foil results in a steamed potato, not a baked potato. Not oiling the skin AND wrapping in foil result in limp skin. Baking at 375 for an hour might be acceptable if you didn't mess up the rest. Here's what you should do: Russet; well-scrubbed and dried, pierced at each end (the one time I forgot to pierce, I had exploded potato all over the oven) Rubbed lightly with oil (I use olive) Salt or not as your whim carries you (I don't, but see no harm in it) Placed directly on the rack of an oven set no lower than 400º, preferably 425º Left for half an hour; turned over; left for another half hour. Twice as long if one of those Morton's steakhouse monstrosities, big enough to feed a family of four for a week. Removed from the oven, placed on a large plate, cut open in half the long way. From there on, you're doing the right thing (although I usually just like salt, pepper, butter OR sour cream OR yogurt, maybe some chives or scallion; cottage cheese if it's the whole meal). Regular cheese only if it is to be twice-baked.

Ooh, for once I'm going to say to someone: YOU'RE DOING IT ALL WRONG!!!

Apparently the title has been changed, and it will be out in April. It's now called Before & After : Living & Eating Well After Weight Loss Surgery and the author is using only her married name: Susan Maria Leach Here's a link to it on Jessica's Biscuit. And here it is on Amazon.

Last summer, I copyedited a book, Extreme Measures, by Susan Nunziato Leach, which is just the one your wife needs. I don't know if it's been published yet (HarperCollins), but it had a ton of information on what to expect before and after the surgery, and a lot of recipes for shakes, soups, desserts, and real food. The premise of the recipes is that regular eaters would enjoy them, too, just in larger portions. I thought most of them looked pretty good, actually -- provided the people eating them like shrimp, and spicy food! Unfortunately, I do not have any of the material from the book, or I would tell you more of what it said. I do remember that as others here have said, you have to watch the OTHER stuff in protein powders, because if they're made for body-builders they have way too much carbohydrates for your wife and will induce a very scary and unpleasant reaction.

Thanks, SWW. I saw both Lucky Stiff and Once on This Island and enjoyed both. The premise of Lucky Stiff was kind of creepy, but how do you not love a show that has a song with the refrain, "At times like these, a girl could use . . . a dog."?

Hats of meat?

Considering that we've just had NY Times Magazine "food writer" Jonathan Reynolds (in quotes because I don't think much of his columns, to put it mildly) "acting" and cooking -- well, deep frying a turkey -- and a few months ago that troupe of Korean chef/acrobats cooking a meal onstage, who knows how much lower the taste of the theater-going public can drop. I can't believe that a meal for a maximum of 404 customers, served all at once, will be the gourmet tapdance one should expect from those name chefs. OH, and for those who don't know, it was Lynn Ahrens and Stephen (or Steven) Flaherty they probably meant. Flattery will get you nowhere.

Sounds like they're all in training to work in restaurants. The only experience I can remember (yes, probably blocked out the rest) was of one period working at a summer theater. The entire company -- student interns, actors, techies -- lived in a couple of off-campus houses. I would make a batch of hard-cooked eggs and keep them in the fridge. One of the "famous" actresses always wondered why she couldn't make a scrambled egg in the morning. I was to cowed to complain; I mean, she had been on Broadway!

I'm in. OMG, 3 eGullet eating events in one week! :ballooning smilie:

What everybody else already said: a huge THANK YOU to the organizers, list-keepers, menu-choosers, ride-providers, etc. etc. And to Cecil (whom we thought Jason was calling "Sea-salt" at one point; maybe that's because our table had the most bottles of wine?) and the restaurant staff -- Great job! Many of the dishes were new to me: Chive box dumpling, Ruby Pork, Fried Tofu-skin Wrapped Flounder, Capsicum Cellophane Noodles -- and whether old or new, all were delicious! I have to say, the Sticky-Rice Stuffed Chicken was far superior to the one last year at Sweet n Tart: better presentation, more actual chicken meat, and neat stuff like lotus seeds and red dates in the rice. It was great to see some familiar faces and some new ones. And, yes: gung hay fat guy!

Well, radishes with bread and butter are very French . . .

Oh. My. God. Come on, tell us the truth: your name is really Andrew MacLauchlan Too bad about the ding on the top edge of the Cafe Caramelo Cake.

FG: they're yours. Good, make some room in my cabinet. I'll bring them tomorrow. Oops, just checked, I'm one jar short (9 instead of 10), but it shouldn't be difficult to find another that will fit. Brown Cow is a commercial brand of yogurt. Very good, very healthy, and would in fact be a great starter. "Incubation" is the period/conditions in which the good bacteria grow, to turn scalded milk into yogurt. The electric apparati keep the milk at the correct temperature (as do the heating pad and other methods) to let the beneficial bacteria eat and grow. The only thing to worry about is not letting the yogurt incubate too long, in which case it can get too tart and thin out again. It may take you some experimentation until you find the right length of time for the output you like.

Gee, that only applies to what, 2 million? If you need to figure out how to find us at the restaurant, just look at the pie potluck thread; you'll see me in all my fat and fuzzy glory.

The relatively new place at the confluence of Mott, Worth, Park Row, and all the rest, A & B Lobster King, had some very tasty offerings from the carts. Including some items we'd not seen before. But for someone who IS familiar with dim sum, ordering off the menu will gain some even more interesting items. For the novice, there's always Dim Sum GoGo. Beautiful items, and nonthreathening.