Suzanne F

Isn't that Goya Naranja Agria stuff terrific? That's what I'm using in the pernil marinade. I look forward to having another posting duel with you about pork marinated with orange! And thanks for picking up the blog. Now I can go back to my normal diet of foie gras, caviar, and potato chips.

Because Kitchen Bouquet at least adds good color, but not much of a bad taste. Whereas Maggi adds little color and a very, very bad taste. However, KB is long since banned from my kitchen (a good wine needs no bush, and a good gravy needs no coloring).

Me too. Remember, if you do it through the link here, eGullet gets a pittance.

So do you refuse to eat at McDonald's as well? I should hope so!

You mean you only cook? Damn! Okay, I'll think of someone else.

This, IMHO, is the key statement. But generalizations are so tricky. EMPHASIS ADDED BECAUSE MATTHEWB IS SHOWING GREAT SENSE HERE. I quite smoking 16 years ago. My palate is far more developed now. Because I no longer smoke? Hell no! because I've learned a lot since 1987. I had a pretty goddamn good palate back then, quite open to nuance in food and wine. It would be false logic to say that the absence of smoking led the improvement in my palate. No chef I worked for -- whether a smoker or not -- ever put a dish on the menu without extensive tastings and comments by a lot of people. So the scientific sampling included smokers and non.

A trip to the NY Aquarium must always be accompanied by a visit to Nathan's. That's just a given. Usually we stop there on the way home, which can wreak havoc with my ability to eat dinner. So today we stopped there first -- easy to do, since we had to take the subway to Stillwell Avenue, right where Nathan's is located (the stop closer to the Aquarium is closed). So I had 1 hot dog with mustard, and a small order of fries with ketchup. And a sip of HWOE's root beer. We had a terrific time at the Aquarium, as always. Ah, California sea otters! And they have a new exhibit called "Alien Stingers" on jellyfish, sea anemones, and coral -- my favorites!. But of course we were getting hungry by the time we left. Shall we have fish at Thalassa ($$$) or shore. ($)? Or stay in Brooklyn and eat somewhere by Sheepshead Bay (not Lundy's)? Or Middle Eastern on Atlantic Avenue near Court Street? We ended up deciding that 1 hot dog each had not been enough, so I would make hot dogs at home. On the subway home, I had some water and a bite of fabulous Greenmarket peach; HWOE ate the rest of the peach and a half-awful, half great nectarine. So dinner was Hebrew National Reduced Fat hot dogs, 2 each, one on a regular white Arnold hot dog roll, the other on an Arnold whole wheat hot dog roll (okay, but why bother?). With (not all on the same hot dog): Dijon mustard, grainy mustard, sauerkraut, sweet pickle relish, and pickled tamarind sprouts. Plus, of course, salad. And beer -- I had a Bass Ale. Followed by a little more of that Haagen Dazs coffee/chocolate ice cream with some coffee liquer and chocolate-infused tequila poured over. It's about time I gave this up. How about . . . fifi!

Glad I could make you happy, Roz!! It's kind of like those perennial "What do great chefs REALLY like to eat?" articles. Not that I'm anywhere near a chef, but. . . Just a quick post for today: "Jamon Serrano" from a company in Virginia on Balthazar baguette, with butter 1/4 of a not-very-good canteloupe Cranberry cocktail spritzer. Now we're off to the Aquarium. See y'all later!

Nick: now THAT made me burst a seam! Fermented black beans good Maggi bad

Don't worry, Kristin, you're in good company: Snowangel has told us -- and backed up with a photo, although not for that reason -- that she too is mammarily-challenged. And of the eGullet members on my list of "I wish I were more like . . . " she's way up there (you, too). So cheer up!

Unfortunately, dinner was as warned: - Leftover squid ink penne with a cuvee of tomato sauces (nuked) - Mrs. Paul's so-called Crab Cakes - French's "GourMayo" in supposed Wasabi and Chipotle flavors. Hey, I had coupons, so I figured I'd try them. And I can tell you now:DON'T BOTHER. Not as disgusting as Ranch Dip, but not worth the space they take up in the fridge. - HWOE's salad w/olive oil and (supermarket) balsamic -- but about half the vegetables were from the Greenmarket, so it was still pretty good. - Red Hook IPA. When putting my leftover salad in the fridge, I found YESTERDAY'S l.o. salad I'd forgotten about. No wonder there's no room in there. I think I'll transfer the turkey stock to the slow cooker before I go to sleep. It needs to reduce more.

Well, I for one am thrilled that fifi is a closet SSB*! Please keep it up, we need your skills. We'll give you all the Maggi you can drink if you keep explaining things so well. Pretty please? *Smug Scientific Bastard, although she is neither smug nor a bastard (other title holders weren't, either ) BTW: I had a gorgeous iridescent green beetle poop in my hand recently. It was even more of a surprise than when a frog peed on me.

I wear a 38C. . . . oops, wrong thread.

Lady T, if the turkey stock smells rather strange, it's because I made some "roast garlic stock" at the same time. When I went to puree the garlic cloves I roasted yesterday, I discovered they were rather well done, rather than done well. But with extra oil in the blender jar, they did become a tar-like paste. Usually I puree with the food mill, and have just a mush of skins left. But since the skins were still whole, and the puree so thick, I thought perhaps I would make "stock" by boiling the garlic clove skins. Then I could use the stock to thin the puree. The stock is now cooling, but I have yet to combine it with the paste. While HWOE has been making the salad now, I've been enjoying an aperitif of Paumonok Festival Chardonnay (left from last night's sauce), followed by another white grape/peach spritzer. Gotta go now to finish my part of dinner: reheated penne from a couple of days ago, and "product" (frozen crab cakes, not homemade, alas). PS: Elyse, the check is in the mail.

You know, you can buy cheese powders from King Arthur Flour. Alanz, maybe you could try making your own version of Kraft Mac & Cheese? And report on it here?

Did you all miss me?? Let's see: another half a peach this morning (different peach, though) and a cup of instant Bustelo with skim milk, and vitamins. Then off to the Food Emporium on the other side of town. I hate that store since they started giving "bonus points" instead of discounts. I mean, do I really need a free meal at The Olive Garden, or some such place? No. I want lower prices, dammit!! Once home, nibbling while putting stuff away: - Terra Chips Zesty Tomato and Mediterranean, 2 new flavored versions of the veggie chips. Pretty darn good, the Mediterranean having a slight edge over the tomato, because the flavoring is sprayed on unevenly. - a couple of pieces of cheddar cheese (nothing special). - a couple of glasses of La Gitana, followed by a bottle of Bass Ale. - and . . . and . . . ?? I think that's been it so far today. But I started a big old pot of turkey stock, because they had some reduced-price wings: 4 huge ones, about 7 pounds, plus a couple of leeks, several carrots, celery stalks, parsley sprigs, whole peppercorns, and a dried bouquet garni that I'd forgotten I had. And the rest of the chicken broth I used for last night's pan sauce. Now I've got to strain the stock and throw the bones back in while I reduce it some. Bye.

To let people in on the joke: a non-cooking former member here decided to try to roast a chicken. It was a most exciting event, with many of us glued to our computers all night as she posted about her progress. The one really big mistake she made was to coat the poor bird with Maggi -- so then she wondered why it didn't taste very good.

Well that should solve the transportation question for some of us: we'll just ride our brooms there! Thanks for the pix, Rachel. Counting the days!!!!

Me too. Ranch dressing or dip on ANYTHING is an abomination. The stuff has no flavor, just a nasty aftertaste. I bought some recently just to see what it was like (never tried it before), and it is disgusting. Nothing I mix with it covers that awful MSG taste. This may become the second time in my life that I threw out supposedly edible (= not spoiled) food. The only other use of condiments that disgusts me is people salting and/or peppering their food before they taste it. BTW: when I was little, I loved ketchup on both hot dogs and scrambled eggs. I especially liked to mush the eggs and ketchup together. Thank god, I've long since grown out of both of those. I also have preferred Dijon mustard to ketchup on burgers for a long, long time.

I will say again that a bechamel should never be grainy. And while I agree that one is not limited to bechamel sauce as a base for macaroni and cheese, the original point of Chad's post was that he used a bechamel base; that means something very specific in terms of ingredients and method. We were trying to figure out why a bechamel-based macaroni and cheese might feel grainy; AFTER THAT the idea of other types of saucing came up. Please let me know where you cook, because if you think it's acceptable for bechamel to feel grainy, I do NOT want to eat there.

I am proud and pleased to announce that tonight, after taking the saute pan holding Mamster's Pancetta Embossed Chicken out of the oven, I did not attempt to grip the handle without a mitt until said handle had cooled down to a mere 120 or so degrees. A FIRST!!

There used to be a Cajun restaurant in Tribeca called How's Bayou. Yeah, yeah, I know. But they served an app of deep-fried chicken livers that I still dream about -- a mountain of crunchy-on-the-outside, soft-on-the-inside livers for only $4.95.

Some of us would think Maggi Seasoning is "the Devil's Head Oil." (did I get that right, Jinmyo?) Others believe it is indispensible in "authentic" abuela-style Mexican cooking (isn't that what you said, fifi?). Which side are you on, Which side are you on, Which side are you on, tell me Which side are you on? (with deepest apologies to the gallant warriors of the union movement)

Fifi, be that as it may, IT STILL STINKS. See why I say "authentic is just a way to keep the masses down" ?

Just don't put any fish in the samosas!