Suzanne F

Is this the way you guys talk to each other during the day? If the dough is really, really thin, I don't think the double cooking would hurt the mussels too much, because it would be so fast. Or if you really are concerned, wrap the mussel meat in somthing else first, maybe melted leeks? Oh. this is pretty much what other people said. No surprise, actually.

Ooooh, thanks, Mark! I've bookmarked it.

To me, pound cake means only one thing: a classic "quatres quarts": a pound of butter, a pound of sugar, a pound of eggs (in the shell), and a pound of flour. Maybe with a little vanilla powder added, but nothing else. Made with an electric mixer (cream butter and sugar, beat in eggs, fold in flour) it is light; even by hand, it is moist and delicious and keeps very well.

Wade Boggs: 2 roasting chickens 2 cut-up frying chickens 1 package skinless bone-in chicken thighs 1 package skinless, boneless chicken breasts

pnapoli: check out Burger Heaven at 291 Madison (between 41st and 42nd). I had a pretty good burger recently at another of their locations (mentioned somewhere above). VERY beefy, good size. Broiled, not grilled though Decent but not great fries. Leaf lettuce, not iceberg. A variety of cheeses. You have to ask for things like pickle, relish, lettuce and tomato, but they are available.

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I also hope to see your comments -- preferably by Wednesday, since after that I'll be offline for almost a week; but don't let me rush you. I'll actually be there next Saturday morning, and would love to be able to compare notes. Would it be cheating for you to get a little one-burner hot plate? The first place I lived in where I had to cook for myself, I had that, a toaster, and an electric broiler/rotisserie that had no motor.

AHA! That's where Irving on Irving used to be! Edited to add link to recent discussion within the context of Verbena's loss.

Like the old, old joke about the kid who's thrilled to get a huge container of manure, because "There must be a pony in there somewhere." IIRC: if I recall correctly. Is that thread translating all those acronyms still around, did it pass away with OT, or am I confusing this with another site? "Truque Stoppe" --

Mmmm -- Thanks for a mouth-watering report. Very inspiring.

Wow! Gonna have to start calling you burgerbitchbulldog!

I am not going to even try to defend myself for providing that horrible, horrible candy. And not that I'm blaming my victims, but you all popped them into your mouths even after you figured out why I did not say anything about their, um, flavor(?). Hey, not everything we eat is a "gourmet tapdance." And mhesse: yes, HWOE had the exact same reaction. The funny thing was that I got them because they sounded like something he'd LOVE. The GOOD news is that that whole line of candy might not even be available in the NYC area. So no one will be faced with the prospect of eating them unawares. As for the total BC experience: once again, it was great. The burger was the best of the 3 so far, even if it was still far from perfect. (elyse, I thought it was much more manageable than ToJ; w/o fries, just the right size to finish.) The place and staff were a hoot (in the counterman's defense, he threw the burger and fries in good humor, not the way some waiters slam the food down in front of you nastily). The eclectic music was most interesting. And as always, the BC members made the event tons of fun. We had to split up into 2 booths of 5, with 1 or 2 newcomers at each table. We had bloviatrix who, although she could not partake of the food, made excellent contributions to the discussion. I only wish we'd done a "Chinese fire drill" sometime in the middle, so that we all could have chatted with the newbies. Chatting with Felonius and the-lurker-who-remains-unnamed berore and after whetted my appetite to talk with them more. A couple of observations: we have GOT to try Landmark Tavern (11th Ave and 45th Street). I stopped in on my way uptown from the Javits, and man, that burger AND ROLL looked good. And my personal epiphany, confirmed by others: it has been a lousy idea to order a burger black and blue -- it can NEVER develop the best layer of char, and while it won't cool off during the eating, it's really too cold to properly determine juiciness. IIRC, the next meating is tentatively planned for the Tuesday evening before Thanksgiving, so that Tarka can join us.

Thanks again, Rachel. I remember what goes in better than where it came out.

Yes, Rachel. I may forget times I've drunk, but never times I've eaten, especially at Craft. From what I remember about the geography of Craft as you enter: yes the vestibule; a seating area in front; the bar and wine storage, with more seating along the wall to the left; a connecting doorway to CraftBar on the right and the kitchen entrance on the left; and finally the room widens out. Access to the restrooms (downstairs) was kind of behind a screen along the back of the room? Maybe they've taken some space from some other function, such as storage, to make a downstairs dining room?

"Cut-rate" cassoulet, made almost entirely with "convenience foods:" From the freezer: chunks of roast pork (pernil); one link of Colombian chorizo, sliced; chunk of boiled ham, cubed; crisped duck skin and pork rind; pork stock and garlic stock (used to cook dried Great Northern beans, with dried rosemary, thyme, and fennel seed) From the fridge: one duck leg confit (D'Artagnan) From the closet: the aforementioned dried beans and herbs; panko and fried red onions, for the crust Salad of Belgian endive, radicchio, Boston lettuce and romaine, with home-preserved roast peppers and artichoke hearts, and herbed feta Zabaco "Dancing Bull" Zinfandel

My guess is that if you freeze it without blanching it first, it will react like celery -- go all limp, and weep when thawed. Not great to work with, and it'll lose flavor. I would cut it, blanch it, and freeze it in recipe-size portions (yes, with the blanching liquid). Either way, you'll lose the crisp texture because home freezers just can't do the zero-degree blast that processors have.

SethG: will remember that!

God (if he or she exists?) works in mysterious ways.

Good roast chicken requires no gravy. It's a conundrum: how to have fully-cooked yet moist chicken. That's why I keep searching.

Well, you can meet at the Pie Potluck in January, I hope!

I'd sprinkle some beef/oxtail powder on my lightbulbs when showing my apartment to prospective buyers, instead of cinnamon or vanilla. Ah, that cozy roast-beef smell.

If he turns out to have the same story as Ivan, well, well, I just don't know what I'll do.

Oh, NO!!! You don't really mean that, do you? Of course, it's been quite a few years since I was there. But I used to dream of that fried chicken.

Isn't Graham Kerr British? Then you could get a nice roast joint out of him.