Suzanne F

The followup to the Potluck was pretty typical, except that I didn't cook that night. When I do, for a dinner party, it's not that different; just one more pile of pots to wash later. Mostly I clean as I go when cooking, so even then there isn't much extra. I too am of the "put the salvageable food away first, no matter what" school. If it was good enough for the party, it's good enough to eat again; but only if it hasn't turned questionable from sitting out all night. And of course, I'm one of those hosts incapable of cooking just enough -- just enough means there wasn't enough for thirds, and that is not allowable. But of course I can't just put the food away; I have to update my freezer/fridge inventory. At least, only by hand; the computer update can wait until the next month-end shopping trip. One dishwasher load gets done. Since we never use the dry cycle, and everything has to air-dry, that precludes being able to put that first load away until the next day. :whew: Everything else needing to be washed is brought into the kitchen, though, and stacked in the sink, on the counters, on the kitchen table, on the stove -- wherever there's a flat surface. Dishes are scraped. Those in the sink are rinsed until the pile in the sink becomes too high to fit anything else under the tap. HWOE helps bring stuff into the kitchen, and may sometimes load the machine, but I tell him where to pile things, and can't imagine him ever packing up leftovers. That's it for the night of. No vacuuming. No cleaning tables, except for taking a damp cloth to sticky spots. No water spots to deal with, since tabletops are either glass or highly polyurethaned. Next morning the first clean load is put away (either of us); floor/rug vacuumed (usually HWOE). Whoever didn't put the dishes away loads the second batch. And so it goes. I never mind the cleanup. As Maggie said, it just reminds me of how much fun we all had.

If they still have any perfume left, put them into a container of sugar. Then you'll have vanilla sugar, a very nice addition to recipes. As for truffles, yes, it probably would be worth it, for white. But there are many other, less expensive ways to get truffle essence: shavings and bits, oil (not cheap for the good stuff, but a little goes a very long way). Urbani has many, many truffle products available.

Everything? Even wood chips? Probably. Good extra fiber, ya know. Edit: damn you both, MatthewB and Tommy! You made me look. At least, at the headline. Well, excuse me, now I've got to go do something similar -- just not mine, not severed, and not cooked.

Good.

Something Cajun.

Hey, don't mess with my tout-tout. I've got a similar recipe; that will go in eGRA. K?

Me too.

Why, thank you, sir.

Done. Just please don't make the same mistake again. Both states are very touchy about that. BTW: Thank you, Vengroff!

Um . . . Marlene, last time I got my mail, the state was NY, not NJ. I mean, I know Tommy is a big influence here, but. Never mind, I'll just go in and fix it, if I still can.

Pao de Quejo, Cheese Puff thingies Not exactly the Brazilian version, but South American nonetheless. This is an adaptation of a more authentic recipe. Parmesan, gruyere, or another relatively dry cheese should work; maybe even a well-drained feta, but then adjust the salt. Spice them if you like. Cassava starch = yuca flour = manioc flour = tapioca flour. If you cannot find it, process pearl tapioca in the food processor until it is ground to flour. 2 c grated cheese -- something on the dryish side 1 c cassava starch, preferably sour 1-1/2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp salt or to taste cayenne to taste, if desired 1 eggs Butter for the baking sheet Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Put the cheese, starch, baking powder, salt, and cayenne (if using) in the bowl of a food processor, with the steel blade. Process just to mix and combine cheese into other ingredients. Add the egg(s) and process until the dough forms a ball and rolls around in the bowl (3 minutes?). Roll pieces of about 1 tablespoon into balls. Space out on butter baking sheet or on a parchment-covered sheet (if cheese has relatively high fat content). Baked until golden and puffed, 20 to 25 minutes. Serve hot. makes about 3 dozen pieces Keywords: Hors d'oeuvre, Amuse, Cheese, Easy ( RG573 )

Suzanne and HWOE; dish to be determined. Anybody doing cole slaw yet? And/or potato salad. Oh, yeah, and FG's pickles. We'll either need a ride, or directions on what, NJT?

Hmmm . . . "Cheesy Balls" might work for the baker, but not the baked good.

A little lemon zest makes everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, more interesting. Thank you, Microplane!!!!!

Word.

You kidding? I'm not sure we're even going to have dinner tonight! But actually just about everything went into the freezer; we'll see how the sauces hold up. The green beans are in the veg bin; we knocked off the tomatoes from the lobster salad earlier, along with some of the terrine, goat cheese, and that yummy tapenade. Of course, I had to leave your addictive cheese thingies out on the counter so that I can keep picking at them. DAMN they're good.

Ever since HWOE knocked out a Dell notebook by spilling gingerale on it, I tend not to eat or drink while working on the computer. But at the moment, I'm savoring a rare caffeine-free Diet Coke spiked with Bacardi Citron, both left from last night's Second NY Potluck Dinner.

Mmmm, congee with pork and preserved egg, fried dough to dip. Isn't that just a variation of ham and eggs and toast, grits on the side?

Okay: here's the list of the much-consumed consumables, as complete as it can be since I forgot to ask some people to sign their stuff in, before they left. Also, I didn't note who brought the Balthazar baguettes, and neither did they; so what if they were bought? They were a very important and delicious contribution!! Listed more or less in the order in which people signed in: KyleW (in absentia; aka, from my freezer): sourdough ficelle megc: tapenade; goat cheese elyse: pao de quijo puffs and crackers; pecan pie; beer =Mark: Chicken Salad Sunrise Rachel Perlow: watermelon ice creams (several versions), watermelon sorbet, lychee and key lime sorbet; beer and soda. And ice. Jason Perlow: larb balls (steamed and deep fried), with lettuce leaf wraps, pickled vegetables, sliced cucumber, cilantro, mint, and Thai basil leaves, and dipping sauce (Rachel helped on this, too ) Plus wasabi mayonnaise for Fat Guy's brisket, and a special Appleton rum Bond Girl: spicy lobster-tomato salad; madeleines SobaAddict70: perciatelli with wild mushrooms and sausage; fusilli with roasted cauliflower, capers, and anchovies; Pellegrino Aquitaine: salad of organic (right?) lettuces with oranges, red onions, and cucumber, with a lime relish-sherry dressing (so is that cayenne in the itty-bitty jar that says "olive oil" on top?) Fat Guy and Ellen Shapiro: Brisket braised in veal-sherry stock with 3 sauces: horseradish cream, veal stock emulsion (modified from recipe from Dave the Cook), and warm reduced jus; a multi-gallon jar of "new half-sour pickles" and most of a bottle of soju which is still sitting in my freezer, nice and slushy Anil: coffee liqueur; anise liqueur; Belgian chocolates and Turkish tea which unfortunately did not get opened jhlurie: green beans; baklava; chocolate custard/yellow cake melange (tasted a lot like Boston Cream Pie, even though it didn't look like it); some sort of slabs of custard that tasted like a cross between creme caramel and the filling for galactoboureka; and some truly horrible sugar-free chocolate, the only positive of which was the label of one that proclaimed: "Zero Carbs – Zero Guilt – Zero Laxative Effect" jogoode: wine? He left early, before I made people fill in the list. Belmont3: brandade; onion-and-bacon quiche; Nyons olive-gruyere bread with roasted tomato sauce; wine Suzanne F: Chicken – Duck liver and pork terrine with mushrooms; marinated black olives; chimichurri-based creamy herb dip (baby carrots, sugar snap peas); spiced sorrel beverage, with or without 2 kinds of rum; iced tea; assorted crackers HWOE: wine I'm not sure who contributed which wines, other than HWOE who gave Dr. Konstantin Frank 2002 Dry Riesling, and Paumanok 2001 Festival Chardonnay. There was also: Falesco Vitiano 2001 from Umbria; 2000 Puligny-Montrachet; 2001 Chablis from Louis Michel et fils. As Jason's excellent photos show, the table was riot of color contrasts, the food was a riot of flavors, and the company was simply a riot. We all managed to keep our clothes on. Even though a few of the ladies got a bit steamed up looking at the "Famous Chefs Naked with their Blenders" calendar. (well, Rachel did take off her shoes, but that doesn't count.) There was not a dud in all the dishes. My personal favorites included megc's tapenade, Bond Girl's lobster-tomato salad, Aquitaine's leafy salad, and Belmont3's quiche, as well as the aforementioned and deservedly praised cheese thingies, larb balls, and Soba's pasta dishes (which, btw, were cooked fresh, from scratch). But truly, everything was great. Even =Mark's pasta salad The cleanup (yes, HWOE has participated mightily) has been worth it for the great time we all had. Sorry I forgot to show more people around the place, including checking the time and temperature from The Watchtower. Thank YOU all for coming. And for those who couldn't make it, yes, we've got to do this again, please. Here or somewhere else.

I always liked you, but now I know I love you. FG: yes, this is a HUGE can of worms/bone of contention/ etc. I have never worked FOH, so I don't know what they make, except that minimum wage for tipped employees somewhere slightly over $3, and many places illegally require waiters to give a percentage of their total tips to management. But as points of comparison: in my last restaurant job, at which I was to be the SOLE lunch cook, 6 days a week, my rate was $13/hour. As tournant at a well-known, much moved and recently re-incarnated place, I was paid $575 a week (supposedly for 40 hours, but naturally for more hours); the most I ever got was $600 a week as pastry chef -- basically a one-person production department -- which was, incidentally, $150/week less than the previous pastry chef had received, for the same exact work. At none of these jobs were there any benefits, and none paid overtime (that is, more than 40 hours, which was always the reality). Remember that cooks do the detailed prep work for their stations, even if someone else does the basic peeling vegetables, washing lettuces, etc. Some make our own sauces (and for others, as well). We start at 7 or 8AM to get ready for lunch service and stay until 5, fighting for space with the dinner crew who come in at 3 and stay until 11, 12, 1am. And as Paul O'Vendange mentions: I left a place because about 3 months total of paychecks bounced, and the owner only made good eventually on half of them. And what did he do shortly thereafter? close the place and reopen under a new business name, stiffing every worker (including the Chef) and purveyor to whom he owed money. Not all are good guys like Holly. Although, Holly: the best kitchen in the world cannot make up for an idiot server who knows nothing about the food in spite of all attempts to teach him/her, and therefore misinforms customers at the least, or gives them lousy service at worst. And very often, the kitchen WILL make up for the shortcomings of the service staff who "forget" to place an order, so that one customer's food has to be rushed while the rest of the table sits under the heat lamps, or remake something that the server fucked up while ordering ("Oh, gee, sorry I forgot to mention, sauce on the side -- what's the usual way, anyway? -- and poached instead of sauteed, and no onions.") It would be heaven if FOH really did have all the necessary "people skills" but very few practitioners, INCLUDING MANAGERS, seem to have what it takes. Those who do, get big tips from me, because they've earned it; those who don't still get tipped, but I grit my teeth as I do it.

The first dishwasher load is done, only two or three more to do (paper plates would not have done justice to the gorgeous, fabulous food). I can't list everything tonight, but it was truly a great evening for food and drink and company. Highlights of the evening were Jason re-circling the table to take new pictures everytime a new dish was presented, and some of "the girls" poring over my Naked Chefs with Their Blenders calendar. And seeing everyone, one at a time, get glassy-eyed as capacity was reached. The full list tomorrow, to identify the pix (Belmont3 also brought his camera, but he's not the geek Jason is. But he'll learn. ) Mmm, pie.

We were at Jazz Standard last Sunday (Olu Dara ), and had the St. Louis ribs (still quite tender and good, if a bit sweet), the chili with hominy (excellent vegetarian dish!) and something new to me there: Fried Chicken, served with mashed potatoes, gravy, and a biscuit. All were very, very good to superb. The chicken was very crisply coated, with plenty of salt and pepper in/on it; not at all greasy; and since (I assume) it's the same top-quality chicken they smoke, very flavorful and tender and juicy. (Not to confuse people: the fried is not also smoked, only fried). The potatoes were a bit lumpy and very buttery. The gravy tasted a bit like chicken base, but went well nonetheless. The biscuit -- oh my, the biscuit!! About 2 inches thick, obviously cut with an extremely sharp cutter, flaky, cakey, a bit sweet, no baking-powder astringency -- easily the best biscuit I've ever tasted. But they mash up bits of orange and maraschino cherries in their Old-Fashioned -- tasty but strange.

A couple of friends originally from St. Louis gave me a bottle of Maull's. Since I can't make real barbecue (no smoking, no outdoor grilling), will it make my oven-cooked ribs taste more like the real thing?

My mother crocheted. So in addition to a beautiful crochet bedspread, I've got a beautiful crochet tablecloth. The only problem with it is that she made it for our first 3' X 5' table. So when we moved into a larger place and got a bigger table, she took it back and added on extra squares around the edge, which unfortunately are a different shade of ecru. But I still use it for company, if it's only at most 8 people (with a plain white cloth underneath, so the crumbs are easier to clean up). On the plus side, I can throw it in the washing machine and dryer. When I have a huge crowd and have to piece together a giant table, it's bedsheets. Although then I will put crochet runners and dresser scarves and antimaccassars on top, to make it appropriately festive. I keep a cloth on my 36"-round kitchen table all the time, because after 30+ years of use, the finish is gone and I'm too lazy to refinish it. But for the cloths I use old kitchen curtains made from bedsheets. Reduce, re-use, recycle!

Well, I weighed the half-sheets I have, bought at Broadway Panhandler, and they came in at 1# 13oz each. But they seem super-heavy to me, more than I used to use at work. So 3# for a full sheet is probably not that far off. The 10 X 13 pans I had for years were much, much lighter, in proportion, and flexed like crazy in a hot oven. I'm so glad I finally ruined them with grease dripping off my cast iron as it seasoned.