Gaius

From Cornell University via Science Daily... "Forty-one diners at the Spice Box restaurant in Urbana, Illinois were given a free glass of Cabernet Sauvignon to accompany a $24 prix-fixe French meal. Half the bottles claimed to be from Noah's Winery in California. The labels on the other half claimed to be from Noah's Winery in North Dakota. In both cases, the wine was an inexpensive Charles Shaw wine." Fuller coverage here... http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/...70806104111.htm

My lord...what glorious food. Leftover coxcomb. What to do with it? Comb your...oh... Grill it just enough that it's not hard to nip...but if it is, then grill it more so it crumbles to the tooth touch. Consume it with sweet wine, a drop at a time -- Sauternes or nearby French communes are probably best -- with or without bread.

Essentially -- any ruse I can see through. Reading this thread as well as the one signified as Irritating Diner Habits provides valuable information from both servers and diners. Amidst all the complaints, and realizing how difficult restaurant work is, I find it remarkable how much good service is around. [Edited primarily for spelling. Subsequent posts snipped to eliminate boring rehashes.]

One obvious tack would be to get eaters to weigh in on their most favored pizzas. Convivial Mexican? Then, of course, it's often appreciated that the most glitzy sushi emporia are not necessarily the best in town. Insider info here? I won't name places so far, except to mention we've had to leave one due to decibel level. Among places we've eaten, Lolita, Fire, Lopez, Sun Luck so far have been great. Heard about Lola...saw the Cleveland Asian-food thread post at eGullet regarding the Thai place [replete with photographs -- where is it, again?] -- and if you'd like to sling off a few recommendations as to where else we might take out or eat out, we'd be most appreciative. Care to weigh in on Moxie? [Already searched eGullet on these topics, but current status is always best.] Many thanks...

So today you've already checked out the WHole Foods at Cedar Road and Warrensville Center Road. I'm in town [in response to family matters] from New York. How does this version of Whole Foods compare with what's been in town? Whole Foods vis a vis, say, Mustard Seed [which I think is terrific]. How about Whole Foods side by side with Trader Joe's? Fresh Market? Wild Oats? Miles Farmer's Market? Or...Heinen's? Price|quality; absolute quality; breadth of selection; convenience. And not so incidentally: Any tips on where else to prowl for provisions? Regards...

Ale.

Anything with fresh, soft corn tortillas involved; the best tortillas are labor-intensive, straight from the griddle, and cannot last more than a matter of seconds before their decline; even the commercial factory tortillas, which are inferior to begin with, start to slide downhill exceedingly fast, and either disintegrate into mush or, if reheated, become combination of razorblades and gruel.

Was doing other research and ran across this listing for football party food at the Food Network site, replete with team logos... http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/et_pa_football_party ...which includes regional favorites geared to both Seattle and Pittsburgh [uh...regional, in this case, means one of the recipes is for Philly cheese steaks] -- haven't had time to peruse yet, though.

Am I the only vanilla fanatic left? Perhaps the stern mug of my avatar [accurate, by the way] has scared everyone off. Well. I'll tell you what I know about vanilla that does not align with [and sometimes goes against] both the mainstream and the experts. Vanilla is a wonderfully complex and intense substance in the high-aromatic range -- you feel it in your nose. There's some midrange presence and a few bottom notes. To see what I'm getting at, try a bite of 100% cacao and let it melt down in your mouth. If it's good stuff, you get high fruity notes, plenty of midrange, and a solid bottom. Because of these highnote volatiles and weaker, though important, supplementary attributes, vanilla is rarely the whole story in a complex dish, even when it is a featured player. [i noted this profile when I was a sensory-evaluation expert consultant for the food industry -- now retired from that profession, though my palate hasn't quit. Anyone got some wine handy? Let's see whether those "vanilla" notes are phony add-ons or from actual oak. In addition, I did graduate work in perceptual psychology. On the other hand, I like some so-called junk food and drink wine that's not the greatest with enjoyment, regardless of their scientific attributes.] Seeds are where the vanilla flavor resides. Or maybe not. Yes. This one gets me. It's recited ad infinitum in nearly every journal column or cookbook section that covers vanilla. Oh, I could be nice about it and say it's open for debate. However, let's go to where it counts -- the palate. Despite popular and expert opinion, it just ain't so. Flavor in the seeds? No. Vanilla flavor is in the beanpod. Vanilla flavor is also in the juice -- whatever little there is left when you get the cured ones, taste it and see how concentrated it tastes. Chew on some of those lovely seeds. Sniff frequently. Those seeds are pretty. I want to see them in my finished dish. Chew on the beanpod flesh. Sniff frequently. I rest my case. On the other hand, I invite alternative assessment.

An observation about tradition. Whose tradition and where? Varies from household to household and, probably, within that house -- unless they're exiled. I first had amarillo in a small market somewhere in the Oaxaca Valley. It was chicken with, I thought at the time, amarillo added onto the plain poached meat, wrapped in a large, oblong, thick Oaxacan tortilla lined with hoja santa leaf. Therefore, I thought that was "the" tradition. "A" tradition, I gather -- that cook's tradition.

Here's a cross-reference to a post by Theabroma in the Mexico regional forum... "PS: I have poached anchos in vanilla syrup and stuffed them with arroz con leche or chocolate mousse. Eats pretty good." [Oaxacan Yellow Mole, post no. 8.]

What a very nice introduction to yourself as a first post, Gaius. It will be interesting now to see more of you! Welcome! ← Pleased to be here -- and many thanks for your warm words, Carrot Top. [You can already see more of me and sense the depth of my serrano affectaton over on the "vanilla epiphany" thread.]

Two Mexican-Style Savories [Vanilla Alert!] Pechugas de la Flora Negra, estilo Reina Almendra Chop 1 fresh tomato, 1/4 white onion, 1 serrano pepper, and mix with juice of 1 lime and 1/4 teaspoon of marjoram; use to garnish tacos made from dish 1 cooked [roasted or poached] breast of chicken, meat separated into long, thick slivers Dust breast meat with ground black pepper and ground toasted ancho pepper, place in baking dish ir saucepan with wine and chicken broth 2/3 up the sides of the breast meat but not covering it; cook until liquid is bubbling; scatter coat of toasted ground almonds over chicken breasts, and continue heating. Crème de chiles: Cook down over low heat 1/4 cup of whole milk infused with 2 ground cloves, 32 scrapes of nutmeg, 3/4 inch Mexican cinnamon, and 1/4 inch Mexican vanilla bean (about 1/2 hour); add 1/4 cup heavy cream and 2/3 to 3/4 cup crème fraiche and swirl together to heat through. Plate chicken breasts alongside rice cooked in broth, spooning chicken-heating broth copiously over rice, and mounting the crème de chiles over the breasts; scatter more toasted almonds over the sauced chicken breasts and serve with freshly made tortillas. Chiles Rellenos, estilo de la Reina Almendras Makes 4 cups, serving 4 to 6 1/2 roasted breast of chicken, meat shredded marinate chicken meat overnight in: 1/4 cup yogurt 2 minced dried apricots 1/4 cup toasted, ground almonds 1/4 teaspoon each of black pepper, cumin, coriander; 1/8 teaspoon each of cloves, cinnamon, and cardamon Stuff 2 roasted and skinned poblano chiles with the chicken mixture (which should be dryish and solid); fry the stuffed chiles briefly in vegetable oil. Prepare light tomato sauce from 1/2 cup tomato pureed with 3 cloves roasted garlic, plus toasted Mexican oregano and marjoram, fried for 5 minutes, with 1/2 cup chicken stock then added for 10-minute cookdown. While chiles are heating in oven or in saucepan, pour tomato sauce gradually through the stuffed chiles until all sauce is in pan, giving a poach-braise aspect to the chile dish. Prepare: 1/2 cup crème fraiche 1/4 cup heavy cream, cooked down slowly over low heat to clotting with 1/4 inch Mexican vanilla bean and 1/2 inch Mexican cinnamon (at least 45 minutes); strain heavy cream and swirl through room-temperature crème fraiche. Plate heated peppers alongside rice and fresh tortillas; pour cream sauce over peppers, rice, and a section of the tortillas. Eat and weep. [PS: Black flower is my American translation of the pre-contact Nahuatl ixlilxochitl, a term applied to the cured vanilla pod; reina almendras is a sobriquet I apply to food dusted with fresh pan- or oven-toasted almonds, ground and then used to encrust or scattered as garnish.]

Glad to see a fine line-up of UK cheeses among these suggestions. For another soft, runny cheese [liquid at room temperature] with a UK pedigree: How about Bishop Kennedy? I find it a pleasing sibling to the exalted Stinking Bishop -- and it's about $8 less per pound round these parts. [Last winter, Stinking B was about $23, whereas B Kennedy ran somewhere around $15.] As a point of interest, I might note that the "bishop" portion of these cheeses' nomenclature alludes to the bishop pear, the juice of which is used to rinse the rind of said cheeses. There's a double-whammy embedded in the B Kennedy imagery in that, historically, Bishop Kennedy was a founder of the University of Edinburgh -- though I don't know whether the man's culinary reputation ties in with the marketing scheme. [by all means enlighten us all if I'm wrong on this.]

Chile serrano. [Please see my nose.]