mizducky

Nu, so you don't vant that the Danishes should go to waste?? Think of your zayde in Minsk--he never even TASTED a Danish! ← Bravo! Reminds me of a story my mom told me--no longer remember if she actually witnessed the following or she got it from some comedian: a big family (grandkids, grandparents, etc.) are just exiting a restaurant. As they go out past the cashier, one of the little granddaughters scoops a huge number of mints out of the bowl there, piling them all into her little purse. "Bubbe," the kid says, "I took some mints for you too." Bubbe responds in finest fashion: "With the prices this place charges, I can take my own mints." On that note, I too would probably try to scarf both a bagel-and-fixin's plus a danish. Even if the danish looked a little iffy. Just on general principle, you understand. Yup, don't want that food to go to waste, y'know. But the bagel would get priority. Unless it was one of those bagels with raisins in it--or, horror of horrors, blueberries!--in which case, hell with 'em, you might as well be eating a danish in the first place.

Y'know, I think I could do it. Once, at least. Just to say that I had personally done it and knew what was involved. In fact, I would like, sometime in my life, to be involved in a hunt with some hunting-for-subsistence-type hunters, and at least witness them as they properly skinned, cleaned, and butchered some of their bag, just so I could see how it was done. Why I probably wouldn't want to do this kind of thing more than once is more pragmatic than anything else--from what I understand, the process can be an ungodly messy affair. Maybe I'm just a major klutz--no, wait, I *know* I'm a major klutz! Anyway, the few times I've cleaned and scaled a big fish all by myself, I was picking fish scales off of myself, the counter, the floor, everywhere, for what seemed like days afterward--those damn things just shot off everywhere. I can just feature myself dealing with little drips and dribbles of, erm, butchering procedings going similarly ballistic. Maybe one of the things I'd learn would be how to keep the mess manageable, I dunno. I just know myself, and know the mess would find me. I used to know a woman up in the Puget Sound area who raised her own angora rabbits for both their fur (she was a spinner, weaver, and knitter) and for food. If I could get fresh rabbits from someone like that, I'd give it a whirl. At least once, as I said. Slightly off on a tangent: I was in the local 99 Ranch market the other day and saw containers of fresh pig's blood in one of the butchers' cooler chests, along with all sorts of other intriguing porcine pieces (ears, snouts, trotters, tails, kidneys, tongue, belly, I don't remember what-all else)--it was the proverbial "everything but the oink" scenario right there before me. Yeah, it was already all nicely broken down into neatly-wrapped little packages ... but at least the ears and snouts and tails gave some clue that they did once hail from an actual critter, and not the Magic Unidentified Meat Factory. This packaged pig's blood behaved quite interestingly, by the way. From a little distance it actually looks like liver; on closer inspection it appeared to have congealed/clotted/whatever into a wiggly mass. I may have to try cooking with it sometime if for no other reason than to learn more about its behavior as a food substance. (Yes, I am a geek. Why do you ask? )

Oy. I am now extremely conscious of the fact that I haven't eaten lunch yet. (Hmmmm ... where can I go get some dim sum real fast? ... )

I'll be happy to hear from any Providence natives too. (Chris Amerault (sp?), while not a native, does currently live there, but I suspect he's offline at the moment.) While we're waiting, though ... here's another article from the Providence Journal that indicates that there's a certain amount of disagreement even amongst Rhode Island residents (including, presumably, Providence residents) on which color/style of chowder is in fact the most authentic, and glves a little more background on chowders in the state and in general. (Apparently I must have been hanging with those Rhode Islanders who swear by the no-tomatoes chowder as opposed to the with-tomatoes chowder...) Just sayin' ...

What they all said. (Gee, I had no idea that Rhode Island was the home of Hasbro. If my siblings and I had known that as kids, we would have definitely persuaded the parental units to spend some of our Rhode Island vacation time on a factory tour.)

Hmmmm ... while I'm not from Rhode Island, I spent a lot of my summers there as a kid, and my understanding was that Rhode Island style chowder was based on a thinner broth base than the cream/milk-based New England style, but did not contain any tomatoes. Here's a recipe for Rhode Island chowder from the Providence Journal--note the little introductory comment. Note also that they do give instructions at bottom to transform this into either New England or Manhattan style. My favorite Rhode Island restaurant when I was a kid was Aunt Carrie's in Narragansett. I don't know if they're as good now as I remember, but I'm pretty sure they must still have chowder on their menu.

Some random observations: I too had been calling TV food shows "food porn" for years now. In fact, a lot of my geeky friends (erm, that probably describes *all* my friends--geeks tend to attract other geeks ) have long had a tendency to call any special-interest magazine, TV show, etc. catering to the particular object of their geek-obsession [mumble]-porn, where "mumble" was the fetish-object in question. So, yeah, at first I too was going "duh, heard this before..." But on reflection I think that Kaufman is right to point a finger at the Food Network, because they seem to have consciously, deliberately intensified the porn-metaphor aspect of their shows to a degree hitherto unknown in that genre. To follow the metaphor, Julia Child's original show might be thought of as the almost-amateur porn of the dawn of the movie industry, which to our modern jaded eyes looks really innocent and innocuous; but what we forget about both Julia and that early movie porn is how groundbreakingly daring, enticing, even startling the stuff looked to viewers of that era seeing such fare for the very first time. But since those early days, yes, things have gotten a lot less innocent and a lot more in-your-face: the camera and the mic have gotten a whole lot closer to the food, focusing much more intently on the sensuality of the sights and sounds--especially anything that glistens or makes wet smacking noises! And then there are those danged chef-stars who actually make moaning noises on-camera. Okay, I distinctly remember Graham Kerr in his Galloping Gourmet days making some very provocative moany sounds on-air too ... but hey, he was so deliberately comedic that the whole thing could be laughed off as a big goof, including the moaning and his flirting with female guests. The new food-porn might include some humor, but it does not allow the humor to dilute or distract from the subject at hand. No horsing around when we zoom right in for that money shot, baby! Now certainly food is a sensual experience by definition, but sensual does not automatically equate to sexual, and some types of sensuality are decidedly more erotic than others. I would submit that a clip of a photogenic host moaning while making wet smacking sounds with a wet glistening hunk o' food is playing a helluva lot harder on the erotic aspect of sensuality than a lot of other presentations the directors could have chosen. Even in the past few years that I'd been watching Food Network, I'd noticed the porno-factor ramping up considerably, the shots and mic-ing getting tighter and tighter on the wetness and the smacking sounds. Actually I found it rather annoying--I preferred the longer shots where I could actually see what the chef was doing. As far as I was concerned, the more porno-y the shows got, the *less* useful learning I was getting out of them, because vital info was winding up on the (now virtual) cutting-room floor in preference to all those close shots of glisten-and-smack. This was one of many reasons why I once again stopped watching all TV about a year ago--Food Network, up to then one of my fave channels, was becoming less and less interesting to me the more it focused on food-porn, celebrities, and repetitive "clip" shows, rather than shows focusing on substantive info. That a lot of advertising uses a lot of these same techniques only adds to the cogency of the argument IMO. In a certain sense, all commercial TV is advertising; even when they're not actually broadcasting a commercial, they're hooking you in so that you'll stay put for the commercials, or putting those damn animated bugs in the corners of the screen to ballyhoo the next show-ful of commercials. Hell, the way US public radio and TV have had to give ever-greater airtime to their corporate sponsors and fundraisers to make up for the increasing cuts in their government support, they're becoming more and more about advertising too. This in turn intensifies the increased porn-ification of a lot of different types of TV, not just food TV--the bottom line drives the networks' programming choices, such that sure-fire effortless viewer attractors such as this metaphorical porn will continue to have a distinct economic advantage over programming aimed more at the conscious mentality than that gut "I wanna!!!" reaction. All this said, I have nothing against the erotic as such--heck, I think the erotic is a whole lotta fun (as anyone can determine from reading my blog recently ). But like I said, I do get annoyed when I'm trying to get other levels of info and entertainment out of my media, and I can't find it because it's all been replaced by cheep-o mindless types of porn. "Mindless" is the operative word here; there is such a thing as erotic that doesn't require one to check one's brains at the door. I'm just not holding my breath about finding such on my TV. Oh, yeah, about the observations concerning Iron Chef: the S/M metaphor works for me, but I'd submit that IC adds the additional "kink", highly popular in certain corners of Euro-American/Caucasian porn, of fetishizing bits of Asian culture as exotic/decadent/erotic.

I threw out all of my oldies but goodies when I last moved. However, we do have a few aged things haunting our cupboards, presumably abandoned by one or another of Fearless Housemate's previous housemates. The oldest thing--I think--is this poor orphaned packet of microwave popcorn. Nobody in this house seems to care for popcorn, let alone that horrid microwave stuff; but nobody seems willing to just toss the damn thing, either (hey--someone might want it someday!) so it just stays there, or periodically slithers out and hits one in the head when one is searching for something else. Next time it does that, I swear, I will send the poor thing off to that big Compost Heap in the Sky.

Aha! Yes, I had sometimes wondered about that "special brown sauce" thang, whether it bore any relation to authentic Chinese cooking or was an invention for restaurants catering to Caucasians, etc. So, thanks for enlightening me! (And for giving me another way to play with the dark soy sauce, which I love even when I don't quite know what I'm doing with it. ) I'm beginning to get the impression that a whole lot of everyday Chinese cooking takes off from combining various bottled condiments into a sauce. Would you call that an accurate impression?

Fleshy, it sounds like. Yes? Makes sense to me...... ← "Fleshy" ... that's definitely one way of putting it. Yep. There are more explicit ways of putting it, to be sure, but I suspect they probably don't belong on this forum ...

Y'know, looking at some of the other pictures people posted, I found myself thinking "gee, that doesn't look anywhere near as bad as that person fears it does." But this is the first photo I've seen in this thread that scares me almost as much as the one I posted. However, I for one think rustic dishes are *supposed* to look rustic. And I'm willing to bet your cassoulet tasted just great. Unlike my disaster, which tasted pretty much the way it looked.

Heh. Like some others here, I've found that if I cook any kind of a meal at all for the object of my affections, it usually works. Okay, there was the one time I tried fondue--it was an excellent fondue, but it just took too damned long to eat! By the time we finished chasing all that cheese around the li'l fondue pot, we kinda realized we were a little bored with each other ... though in hindsight, finding that out early rather than the morning after might have been a good thing after all. Meanwhile, if anyone wants to seduce me with food, they should think raw. Like sushi or oysters. Or almost raw, like prime rib. Or flammable, like bourbon--that'll get the fires burning, alright. And a little dark chocolate never hurts.

For what it's worth, lots of food packages here in the US are marked "Not for resale." For instance, the individual packets of instant oatmeal in my boxful of same each bear a notice that they're not for resale. And I've seen it elsewhere as well. I too think the original article is perfectly sensible and not at all controversial.

I dunno, but back when I worked for a large software company, I saw food-related mishegas raised to levels I hadn't even dreamed of. It was like the entire company was a huge Skinnerian behavioral lab, with the "technicians" (management) periodically doling out "food pellets" (mainly pizza and beer, with variations) to the "lab rats" (employees) to keep them running in that damn maze known as the Schedule. Only occasionally the rats would escape and engage in mayhem on the food supply or the facilities. But anyway, in this context "healthy" food simply would not do for rat-reward purposes. Nope, you had to have your Basic Four Food Groups: salt, sugar, grease, and drugs (in this context, either caffeine or alcohol; although I wouldn't have put it past a few of the most extreme programmer geeks to have been running something a little stronger...)

Sorry--took me awhile to get on over to eGullet this morning! Definite diner fan over here ... Now *that* is what I call a diner. What a beauty. Actually, I do think I've seen pictures of the exterior of that one before, but never so many great shots of the interior--thanks for those! Looks very reminiscent of the one in Watertown MA I used to frequent with my buddies--or at least my memories of same, because it appears it has been snazzed up a bit since last I went there. There are apparently a very few classic Pullman-style diner buildings out here in California--I haven't seen or been to any of these yet, though there's been several notices of that authentic-looking Truckee establishment here on eGullet. The more common style for diners out here seems to be the 1950's "Googie" look ... or little storefronts that, back East, would be called coffee shops rather than diners, though the food is definitely of the same ilk (often with the addition of Americanized Mexican favorites like taco plates and such; but as you know, such regional variations on diner cuisine are common, such as the terrific moussaka that turns up on the menus of Greek-run diners in the New York Metro area). Meanwhile here in San Diego, it looks like the diner dining niche has been substantially filled by the large number of mom-n-pop taquerias ... plus the bazillions of fast-food burger joints (this is, after all, the corporate headquarters for Jack in the Box).

Heheheheheh ... for a moment there, I thought you were heading into a limerick. You know, like "There once was a young man from Prov'dence" ... (it does scan if you omit the middle syllable of Providence like that...) Mazel tov!!! (And welcome to eGullet!) Love the restaurant's placement right next to the tattoo parlor.

Thankfully, my mother never inflicted those on us, but I recall leafing through her Betty Crocker cookbook and seeing them ... even as a kid, they made me shudder. But the 50s-era Jewish cookbook my mom bequeathed to me goes Betty Crocker one better--it sports a Hanukkah "recipe" for a composed salad in the shape of a menorah.

[raising hand] Me me me! Actually, I keep away from it most of the time, lest I should eat too much and regret it. But man, that stuff is good! ← Oops, missed this the first time around. Another halwah/halvah fan here. Haven't had any in ages. Need to fix that sometime soon. Heh. As a former resident of New England, I think it should be clarified that "P-Town" is the more-or-less official nickname for Provincetown MA, all the way on the end of Cape Cod; but that our fearless blogger is holding forth from Providence, Rhode Island, which, while a perfectly delightful city in its own right, is a very different kettle of fish (so to speak) from the equally-delightful Provincetown. (sez she who has spent some very wild and wonderful weekends in Provincetown in her time...)

Well, I didn't guess your identity as the new blogger, but at least I mostly guessed the content of the paper plate (I erred on the NY system weiner's exact name, but I did ID it as some variety of chili dog). I know, I know ... that and a dollar will get me a cup of DD coffee (or however much it costs these days). Sorry to hear you haven't found the Ur-Cannoli yet--I recall going on similar quests in Boston back when I lived there. As to suggestions for stuff for you to check out on our behalf: I've only been through Providence on (many) trips between New York and Boston, but when I was a kid my parents used to take the family on vacations to the Rhode Island seashore nearly every summer--the icy cold waters didn't bother us because the beaches were so gorgeous and uncrowded. And there was yummy food! Chris, is there any possibility of you making a field trip down to the Narragansett area? I know it isn't all that far a shlep. And I wouldn't mind knowing if Aunt Carrie's still lives up to my (inevitably nostalgia-encrusted) memories. And speaking of Emeril, I recall he's an alumnus of Johnson and Wales. How much of a presence is that school in the Providence culinary scene? Is there anything photogenic over there that you might be able to check out for us? (I'm guessing they probably have some kind of training dining room open to the public, like other culinary schools I've lived near...) And oh yeah--anything in the way of Portuguese food would be lovely to see too.

Neither child mishaps nor rain nor gloom of night stays these bloggers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds! Bravo, you two!

I love that you used the shells in the plating too. Especially since the shells underline a small point of confusion for me. Growing up on the East Coast, I was used to seeing razor clams having shells like that, basically shaped vaguely like an old-fashioned straight razor, whence the name. But when I lived in the Pacific Northwest, I discovered that the West Coast has a variety of clams they also call razor clams ... only their shells, while a little elongated, are definitely more clam-shaped than razor-shaped. Same name, (apparently) different species: Pacific razor clam - Siliqua patula Atlantic razor clam - Ensis directus And now that I've gone a-Googling, I find this Wikipedia article that says that the East Coast clam I grew up calling a razor clam, the Ensis directus, is actually more properly known as a jackknife clam--and that there is also a true Atlantic razor clam Siliqua costata. So now I'm even more confused! But I bet they all taste great.

The West Coast has such great produce. Was it different for you when you were living out east? ← Weeeeelllll ... when I was waltzing around with quasi-vegetarianism back on the East Coast, it was mainly in and around Boston/Cambridge, which I have often joked is the East Coast's most West-Coast-like city. Okay, well, that's admittedly an over-exaggeration. But Boston's huge student population seems to encourage a community interest in vegetarianism and other alternative/counter-cultural ways of life like unto the West Coast, which IMO influenced the availability of some decent vegetarian eats. I suspect, though, that if I'd tried to find good vegetarian dining in other parts of the East Coast--say out in the suburbs of New York where I grew up--that I'd have had a much harder time of it. IMO, access to good ingredients is only part of the equation--an important part, to be sure, but not sufficient in itself. Cooking professionals who truly understand the cuisine is another part, and a population interested and numerous enough to financially support those professionals is another. (Which IMO can be said about many other cuisines besides vegetarian, actually ... )

Those of you who have had such lousy experiences at vegetarian restaurants--well, I dunno what to say. I have been to a bunch of vegetarian restaurants and can't think of one I've been to that I thought of as lousy--and in fact, found several to be excellent. Maybe I've just had the good luck to live in places where there was enough of a vegetarian population to create demand for good vegetarian restaurants.

<Raising hand halfway> Once in a while my mom served salad with that set, but I think she got over it. The mini-clones always seemed sticky when they were supposedly clean. ← Our first salad bowl was a big brown earthenware affair, but somewhere in there we acquired one of those salad bowls made of thin slats of wood woven together and then laminated, plus little individual bowls to match. We never did pick up the rubbing-with-garlic-clove thing. And we did wash the big bowl--my mom's rule was to wash *everything* within an inch of its life. Good thing it was a cheapo bowl! At least she didn't insist on putting it through the dishwasher--I bet it would have fallen apart into its constituent slats. We also had those damfool plastic "salad scissors"--you know the gizmo I mean: a salad spoon and fork designed to interlock into a kind of scissors/tongs affair. They were cheap 'n' tacky as all hell, but there's no denying they were a lot easier than your standard salad servers for a kid to manipulate without flinging salad across the room (and all over his or her siblings ... ) (Why yes, my mom did adore flea markets and swap meets--why do you ask? )

Heh. I am frequently bemused, when shopping at our local Asian markets, by the bazillions of different brands under which various items are available. Of course, I'm certain lots of immigrants to the US feel similarly confused in American supermarkets. Susan (and Kris, feel free to chime in too)--are there specific brands of various Asian food items that you prefer? I've picked up a little bit of knowledge just through sheer osmosis, but would love to know more.