Suzanne F

eGullet members have a mostly loving relationship with offal. You've already discussed tripe, with a side trip to spleen. What are some of your other favorite stops along the offal high- (or maybe low-) way?

I'm not sure that elyse is entirely serious. Now, snap traps: THOSE are inhumane -- to the person who has to clean up the bloody mess.

Joe, remember we have a tentative date for a weekday burger at City Hall when you get back (after 11/6, right?). We'll work it out publicly, so anyone else who's interested can join us. Just had an idea: Since Le Zinc (whose burger I know and love) is just up the block from City Hall, maybe we can coordinate ordering at each place and meet on the street between the two? Well, then again maybe not. Any good burgers on Sicily?

Squeat -- the Indian-Portuguese part I can understand. Look at the food of Goa, which here in NYC is sort of represented in the definitely fusion cooking of Floyd Cardoz at Tabla.

From what I've read, quite a bit of South African cooking itself is a mix of English, Indian, Portuguese, Dutch, Malay./ndonesian, Huguenot French, German, and, of course, the many original tribes.

Escoffier suggests cooking the barley separately before adding it to consomme. But what did he know? BTW: great minds think alike! I started some beef stock yesterday, and am making mushroom/barley soup for tonight! except that I don't have any barley, so I'm using farro. Not as starchy, so it won't get all slick and gluey in the soup.

SethG: mea culpa. I thought you had that version and just was trying to be the respectable husband and father. I'll dig around where I saw it and let you know a link. Sorry. It's a hoot, much more interesting than Jeffrey Steingarten's, if you can believe that. BTW: I mentioned you to the butcher at Jubilee today -- he remembered getting you the turkey.

I bought the Muir Glen just to try them (and I probably had a money-off coupon ). I couldn't really tell how good they were in this dish -- too much else going on. But I've got another can that I'll use more pristinely. Tomatoes, along with corn, are the only canned veg I will ever, ever have around. Maybe because I had to eat canned peas a lot, and sometimes canned asparagus as a kid.

But you would've had you had either of the items on you, right? :blush: You know me too well.

I'm probably making reservations. Busboy, re: FIL and BIL and the dreaded bird: have them help you do a Thompson's turkey, but do the version that requires that you drink at every basting and every other step before and after. You won't mind it a bit.

About to start prep for: Moules mariniere (or, to mix languages, mussels marinara) using a can of Muir Glen "Fire Roasted" tomatoes) a baguette from Balthazar Bakery Red-and-green leaves only salad with olive oil and herb vinegar Pinot noir, as yet unchosen from the rack. Aren't mussels just the greatest???

Anyone mention Crepes Suzette yet?

Hey, what's wrong? This is the first post of the day here. Today in Midtown I ate at Burger Heaven on 53rd street. Someone must have mentioned this chain already Anyway, the burger itself was better than either Molly's or ToJ: just plain tastier meat, really really BEEFY Proper proportion of juice to grease. Not too huge, not too small, just right in size. Broiled in a salamander, so no real char although they don't seem to clean the surface on which they place the burger, so there were some black flakes of flavor anyway. Cannot get it black and blue, because of the cooking method, but "rare" was just fine. With carryover, by the time I finished, it was getting closer to medium-rare. Still juicy and tasty. Boring bun, but nicely toasted. You have to ask for pickles, onion, and their "famous red relish." I did not. And you gotta pay extra for lettuce and tomato (but not for cooked onions; go figure). A customer down at the end of the counter was bitching that they didn't have iceberg lettuce, only leaf. The cheddar was excellent, the bacon okay although not enough (only 2 strips). The fries well, it's good we don't factor in the fries. Not majorly bad, just eh. At least everything came HOT, right from cooking and plating. And the server was very efficient and sweet. No, I did NOT poke the burger with a thermometer, nor did I fill out the form. Edited to add a link to menu with locations (PDF file).

Well god knows it doesn't dissolve in liquid. What do you do, throw up a handful, blast it with an acetylene torch, and watch it sparkle? Or is it a substitute for fertilizer? (Note to mr. Ashcroft: JOKE JOKE)

Probably at my house, in Lower Manhattan. Open plan loft; worked fine for the last potluck in July. Mmmmm, lemon meringue

I know that artisanal kimchee can go off pretty quickly, especially varieties in which the vegetables are not submerged in brine. But isn't the commercial stuff processed (e.g., pasteurized) to prolong its shelf life?

Oh, Pan, you silly boy. This is eGullet: we might be embarrassed at the culinary shortcomings of others, but never by our own. There, feel better now? (Wo)man cannot live by pie alone -- try as we might. Got to wash it down somehow. Yes, please, wine is absolutely necessary.

What would be the right texture for the situation in which you want to serve it? As a rich ending to a light meal, or vice versa? That matters a lot, I think. John Thorne has a piece on "The Ultimate Cheesecake" recipe that appeared in the NY Times in 1974. His basic premise is that there is no perfect recipe, as the Times would have us believe; everyone's taste is different. Of course, he's right. That said, it's a great recipe, and I've made it quite a few times (it's just ground toasted nuts, cream cheese, heavy cream, eggs, sugar, and vanilla, in a light graham cracker crust). Very rich, somewhat soft. But looking for it, I found in my files a recipe for the cheesecake at The Tasting Room, similar in its simplicity, but using the nuts for the crust, and only egg whites to make a meringue into which the cream cheese and vanilla are folded. It too looks very, very yummy. At any rate, Amanda Hesser liked it a lot. I suppose any cheesecake recipe could be made in individual portions -- just use ramekins instead of a cake pan, and bake for a shorter time. Still in a water bath, though, because the heat has to be gentle. The real experts here can give you more concrete advice, I'm sure.

Wow. You know, FG, you really should consider a career as a food writer. I WANT THAT CLAM CHOWDER NOW

This is one reason why I love eG! HWOE just had a great suggestion: our favorite neighborhood pie supplier (fruit pies, that is ) might be able to be the space on a weekend. The Little Bigger Place, one of the great survivor stories of 9/11. Shall I talk the mis amigos there, for maybe a Sunday afternoon?

Jonathan: thank you for the information and link. It all makes perfect sense to me. And I think you are quite correct in your assumption (quoted above). There are some -- Elizabeth Schneider comes to mind -- who are willing to, and the resulting books are so far above everything else. Dear project: Oh, my. Thank you. And you may call me Suzanne. Actually, what I do now is copyedit and proofread (and soon, I hope, index) cookbooks. Someone else does the heavy lifting -- or not, as I fear I find too often -- and I then come in and make it usable. At least that's what I try to do: bring it as close as possible to the kind of book I would want to see, while still keeping the author's style and voice.

I have an awesome recipe for meat pies--came from a Mrs. Lovett. It looks pretty complicated, though, so maybe I'll just have Kirk ghost-bake for me. Jamie Two comments: Jeez, Kirk, you really ARE cute! and Mrs. Lovett, eh? Maybe we'll pass. Unless we can raid the OA membership.

Point by point responses: The scale is my Salton kitchen scale. I think I talked about it on this weighty thread. "the ominous black thingy" is a digital instant-read thermometer. Hey, we're serious about our research. BC decided that every event needs its own version of American Gothic posted. Whether or not anyone listens to us is up for discussion. "E=bc² " is elsewhere, right? Sometimes mass-produced taste just fine. I'm no expert. The membership is shifty, I mean shifting, so it's not always the same at each meeting. Refer back to Rule 1. You bet. Salt on fries is good. And those fries were great!

Superbowl Sunday? What's that? That's actually okay, too. Just be warned that in case anyone does want to watch, our tv is about 25 years old (at least it's color) and tends toward double vision. Truly, any date in January is fine. Sundays are better than Saturdays, so that the bloviatrixies can come. And to explain yet again: pie is what you make of it: pie, tart, empanada, fried pie, shepherd's pie (preferably made with fresh shepherd), starry-gazy pie, crustless pie, quiche, deconstructed pie . . . got it now?

why not indeed.