Suzanne F

I don't understand. Is "severe deference" cool or warm?

Welcome pooh. No one will pooh-pooh your coming. (Sorry, I'll bet you get that all the time, if not worse.)

Yes there is, in fact, a national "character." German knives tend to have more of a curve to the blade, and they are often deeper; French are straighter and narrower. I too love the 10" Messermeister chef's knife, or I would if I still had it (it "disappeared" when I was working in a rental kitchen 6 months ago ). But I've still got the 8" -- almost as good. Great rocking action for chopping.

You want history? I miss the days (20 years ago) when Levana was a bakery that made the best tuna-salad sandwiches on REAL seeded rye bread. Then Sol saw there was a need for a fancy-schmancy restaurant in the neighborhood. Actually, I have nothing against the current incarnation, but I sure miss that rye bread. Also miss Chick Chack Chicken on University; the food was good, even if the portions of chicken were so small. Fwiw, Le Marais was where I had that "creme brulee" I so railed about on the Soy Milk in Kosher Desserts thread. Shallots is actually an outpost of a very successful Chicago restaurant. I interviewed there once; Laura (the chef) was very serious about what they do. It doesn't bother me so much that the ethnicity of the menu is literally all over the map. I mean, what better way to showcase "real" food while keeping to kosher principles?

At long last, some national press! The September 8th issue of Nation's Restaurant News has a short article, with 6 photos (half from the event, half background). The dates of the Block Party are not mentioned in the piece, I assume because NRN doesn't want readers to know they're using this as filler. I couldn't find the article online, so here are a couple of quotes from Danny Meyer: Admin: the thread for the 2004 edition of the Big Apple Barbeque Block Party may be found here.)

Gah. Dr. Phil has a diet book coming out. It is, well, pop psych of the poppest kind. In it he says things like, Never have food out where you can see it. Excuse me? Has he seen my lack of cabinet space??? (I worked on that book WTF, I got paid. )

NeroW, that's a great truc to remember: always keep the dustbuster handy in the kitchen.

Is your momma Mongolian? (A reference to Ellen Shapiro's truly amazing travel saga, which I'm too lazy to link to right now)

Another vote for Obelisk. If you knew Quilty's in NYC (Katy Sparks was the chef), that's Obelisk in DC. And even though I sound like a broken record, Nora or Asia Nora (yeah, I know you didn't mention Asian-inflected, but I just love both her places).

Technically, Jackson Heights IS in the city. It just happens to be in a part other than the island of Manhattan. A couple of years ago, we ate at Tierras Colombianas, which while in Queens , has a branch in Astoria at Broadway and 33rd Street. The main thing I remember is that the food was tasty, and there was a MOUNTAIN on it. FYI: if you want to try making it at home, Hippocrene Books should be bringing out an authentic Colombian cookbook in the next few months. It has a wide range of recipes for appetizers, meats, fish dishes, sides, and desserts. (In the interest of full disclosure, I copyedited it, and Swiss Miss is the Editor in Chief. )

beans, PLEASE do a thread on your Alaska trip! Every single morsel. Heather, have fun with this. You may find you learn as much about yourself as we learn about you -- maybe even more. (edited to correct an spelling error )

Ain't that the truth.

OT: Hey, Bloviatrix! I finally looked up "bloviate" today, because I saw it in the NY Times Book Review. And I have to say, it does NOT describe you! You are pithy in your pothtth, I mean posts! Carry on.

I know very well that the server is a real person without learning his/her name, thank you very much. I'll do my job as the customer, and they can do theirs. This is a purely economic transaction, not a search for a new friend or one-night-stand. Some years ago, we took a long weekend in Provincetown (MA) with a couple of friends. At one restaurant, the teenage girl assigned to our table (I cannot call her a waiter, nor was she actually "taking care of us") introduced herself. One of our friends said, "How nice to meet you. I'm Jim, this is my wife Rowena, and these are our friends Seymour and Lucy." The kid later knocked over the icebucket (full of ice and water but thankfully without the wine bottle), and eventually disappeared in the middle of service. I do not believe that our friend's action had anything to do with the two other events. However, at other similarly jolly times, the four of us still refer to each other by those names.

Elyse, just wear something you won't mind getting food stains on. Then you'll have a memento of the day.

So what are the particulars of the site of the party? How much will you be able to fit in the oven at once? How much counter space is there for plating? Will you have anyone to assist you in the cooking and presentation/plating? Will they empty out the fridge for you the day before? How much will you have to cook at home and schlep there? (I'm assuming you'll do all the prepping at home, so that you don't have to schlep extra weight and take extra time in an unfamiliar kitchen with unfamiliar garbage disposal.) Seems to me that WHAT you cook will be dictated in this case by HOW you can cook it. Also by the easiest serving method. (Don't plan on plating everything individually if the counter is the size of a postage stamp.) Get back to us with this info, and THEN we can talk more about what's doable. Oh, yeah, one other thing: as WHT said, RENT ALL THE DISHES AND SILVER AND NAPKINS AND OTHER STUFF YOU NEED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We love duck as much as we love lamb. I just posted on the dinner thread about having duck last night for dinner . . . It takes a lot of work to make a good roast duck from a supermarket duck. Usually, roast duck IS still greasy -- and dry at the same time. But that's not the only way to cook it, and the way I do it is easy, delicious, and adaptable to many sauces and other additions: pan-fry it. I use a basic recipe that was in the NY Times about 10 years ago; Mark Bittman also had a version 5 years ago that he had adapted from Paula Peck's 1961 Art of Good Cooking, but I prefer the 1993 recipe. I will warn you that this makes a well-done duck, but it is still tender, very moist, and flavorful. I get the butcher to cut the bird into quarters, which make sufficient portions for 4 (it's hard to get more than two servings out of a roast duck). It's also very easy to remove the extra fat then, too. Heat a covered skillet, add the duck skin down, season the flesh side, and cook uncovered over high heat for 5 minutes. Loosen the pieces of duck, put them back skin down, lower the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook another 15 minutes. Turn the pieces over, turn the heat to low, cover, and cook for about 25 minutes. Uncover, turn the duck skin down again, turn the heat back up to medium, and cook enough to re-crisp the skin. That's it, except for pouring off the fat, and deglazing the pan to make a sauce. The first step makes a mess on the top of the stove, but it's better than having fat burning onto the oven walls. And I can alter the spicing by marinating or rubbing the duck pieces first, and by adding herbs or aromatics while it's cooking. Once the duck is cooked -- the fat really does all render out, and the meat steams so it's very tender -- I pour off the fat to save, and make a pan sauce with or without vegetables, condiments, etc. Last night I tossed in a couple of rosemary branches when I turned the pieces over, and deglazed the pan with a roast garlic "stock" (I had boiled the detritus from roast garlic). Almost NO fat left to scrape off the meat. And lots to use for cooking potatoes, vegetables, other stuff. I would not do this with a lean wild duck, or a muscovy -- those I braise, when I am lucky enough to get one. But I am willing to bet that this could even convert marie-louise.

Saturday: Pan-fried/steamed duck leg quarters with rosemary 1/4d Red potatoes cooked in duck fat (saved from earlier ducks) with mixed herbs (rosemary, oregano, tarragon, lemon thyme) and roast garlic "stock" Mixed salad with red oak leaf, arugula, Boston, and romain, plus tomato and cucumber, with olive oil and home-infused basil vinegar. Green & Red Vineyard 2001 Zinfandel (St. Helena, CA) Tonight: Spaghetti alla chittara (bought, dried) with roast garlic oil, lemon juice and zest, black pepper, freshly grated (of course!) Parmesan, Romano, and Kasseri, and flat-leaf parsley Leftover braised endive wrapped in ham Salad as usual with oo and oregano-infused vinegar Wine as almost always. This time a new purchase: Paumanok Chenin Blanc, yum

But that weather map shows Isabel arriving Friday; the big do is Sunday. Not that I don't worry at all, I just plan on wearing my Wellies so I can have fun sloshing around in the mud.

alanamoana, you could have fooled me. But a point you brought up is good: at least here, we think of "Viennese" as pastry, and "German" as bread. So I would go somewhere like Orwasher for great bread, all sorts of light and dark, hearty and light. Ooh, and it's getting close to time for their seasonal Pumpkin Bread, which makes THE BEST french toast. For pastry, I'd go to a French bakery, since (and I know this will get me in trouble) good Viennese is not quite as good as good French. (Ducks )

Exactly. If you have had Elyse's pecan pie, you know that it is one of the best. And she will make it in whatever size, to order. Why don't you tell your friend that you know someone who makes incredible pies (and cookies, and other stuff, too) and then get in touch with Elyse? Actually, that's not a question, but AN ORDER!!! Elyse is on the upper west side, so your friend could have a nice walk.

Well, yeah, but HWOE prefers loin chops. Not that there's anything wrong with them . . .

Sing along here (words only) or maybe listen here with mp3 (under "Fishy Songs")?

Technically, it's "something that covers or encloses; esp: an enveloping layer (as a skin, membrane, or husk) of an organism or one of its parts." So the chicken-skin-haters would not be happy. But as you well know, when a bird is cut up in Chinese food, it's just simply cut up -- everything that it came with is still there. That's fine with us (esp. HWOE who LOVES cartilage).

Probably, we'll find a lot of members here who DO eat lamb, and love it. And some who won't touch it, for various reasons. The difference between North American eGullet members and non-eGms, though, is that if we eat it, it's because we love it; and if we hate it, we can pinpoint why -- which is to say, we don't reject it out of hand, as they (non-eGms) do. In our house, lamb is the preferred red meat. Even as much as I love steak.