Carole

I could easily stand corrected on this. As old a history that Philadelphia has compared to Minnesota, it certainly could have started in this area. It just that I never hear about them around here. Maybe the concept is not quite the same in both areas of the country (dinner club vs. supper club). I also don't remember that any of the supper clubs being private in Minnesota. For example, I would never call the Union League a supper club. Dinner club, for sure, but not Supper Club.You have me interested, I'm going to do some digging ...

I think you meant to say that they are a more recent phenomenon here than there. I grew up in Minnesota (many, many) decades ago and they were very popular then. That was (maybe still is?) the place to go for the very best dinner around. It's sort of an all-in-one restaurant. Usually only open for the evening meal (what Minnesotans call supper). With a lounge and music. They do a big business in weddings and special events. And of course they have liquor available. Many of them started up as private clubs. Back in the day, you could get either red or white wine but I know today they are much more sophisticated. As I said, the food was usually the best around. Lots of local ingredients – like walleye pike and wild rice.

Hi sygyzy,I didn't really like the wide mouth opening of the next model up. It seemed more fussy. And the one on the 750 isn't all that small. With the 750 all you do is engage the bowl, engage the lid (both by turning them to point towards you) and hit On or Pulse. You don't need the feed tube pusher in at all. You can easily drop things in. In my view, simple is better. This one replaced a wonderful Braun that just gave up the ghost after over 15 years of hard use. Before that I had a 9-cup Cuisinart (too small) and before that the original Cuisinart made by Robot Coupe (way way too small). I always hated the feed tubes on the Cuisinart so especially after all the negative reviews on the Cuisinart I knew I wasn't going to go that route. So even if the Cuisinart didn't do the vibration bit (which doesn't happen every time you slice), I still wouldn't have gotten the Cuisinart. I probably would have had to spend tons more money and gotten a Viking or something else .... and I sure didn't want to spend more than I had to. It's hard to beat the price for what you get ($129). But of course, you do have to be happy with it overall. Different things bother different people.

Well, last week I got the KA 750 in black (on sale - only that color - at Amazon for $129). I use it a lot for slicing (I think that's what Batard meant when they said chopping). I've done cabbage for slaw using the 2mm slicing blade and it has started to vibrate. It happens when it gets to the very end of what you're slicing and you're not pushing hard enough with the pusher. It seems to leave a piece that barely fits between the blade and the top. If you just add more ingredients or switch to pulse it stops immediately (or push harder). No doubt, this is annoying but not a showstopper for me. It makes the most beautiful shreds of cabbage ... my husband said it was worth getting it just for that. I've not had the vibration happen at all with the grater blade. I've made hummus using the small bowl and it works just fine. It actually holds quite a bit. Instead of tahini I roast sesame seeds and first grind them in the food processor, then add the rest of the ingredients – 1 can chickpeas, one roasted red pepper, olive oil, bit of water, garlic, hot pepper flakes, lime or lemon juice. It held all this just fine. And it didn't cause a mess in the larger bowl as some people have reported. I'm not likely to make soup or anything like that in it as I have an immersion blender that I prefer. I also use my immersion blender to make mayonaise (takes 15 seconds, is fool-proof, and I make it in the jar I'm going to store it in). I've made the cheese whole wheat cracker recipe KA has online. If you go to the KA website, look up your food processor, then go to the pdf of the manual, you will find it contains pages of recipes that are not in the manual that comes with your machine. And some are interesting. The crackers were very tasty and quickly disappeared. The plastic seems pretty sturdy and I love the simple food pusher system. Much better than my older Cuisinart (which became too small). And I think I'll like the food pusher style better than the one on the more expensive model KA. I definitely plan on keeping it.

No, it's totally different, not too salty. Closer to the flying fish roe, tobiko, that you find on sushi. We mix the red version with cream cheese and sauted minced shallots. Wonderful on bagels. Or you can put the caviar with some sour cream on omelets or scrambled eggs.I second the vote for all of the wonderful ABBA herring. My favorite is the one with Sour cream and Capelin Caviar. Extraordinary stuff! I also buy their dried brown beans for a version of baked beans (and using the dark syrup they carry). Oh, and the bread & butter pickles are not to be missed.

I am in the boat of not liking much wheat pasta but .... the fettuccine by La Terra E Il Cielo is fantastic. I get it at a local small shop. I couldn't find a US link but here is a link to a page that shows you what the package looks like. http://www.icampagnoli.eu/pasta.html If you can find it, I highly recommend it. It's not tough at all but instead silky and velvety on the tongue with a wonderful nuttiness.

I've used corn nuts on both salmon and chicken. Adds a nice sweet flavor. If you want to add a little more umph, you can add all sorts of different seasonings to it, e.g. chili powder. But I really like it plain best.

I have the Delta Signature Pullout Kitchen Faucet (the #470 model NOT the #140 one) and I love it. I got it for around half the list price at my local plumbing store. And installed it myself so they gave me the contractor's discount. You can also find them on Amazon. It's very important not to get a cheap faucet. They simply don't hold up to daily use and are full of problems. When you pick up a quality faucet it's heavy ... no plastic to break. Just think how often it gets used. Not a place to cut corners, especially in the kitchen.

You were right on with your description. We're about to have it with some aged prime beef and I think it'll work very well. The accompliment is Jansson's Temptation potatoes, which is very rich. We're on our way to Chick's tomorrow night for dinner (our first time). Hope to see you there.

I was at the state store yesterday and somehow I remembered your recommendation for this interesting bourbon. I'm not that sophisticated a cocktail drinker but my favorite by far is a Manhattan made with straight rye. There's something about the bite that straight rye has that I miss when using a bourbon. But the high percentage of rye caught my eye. I made one yesterday using the typical sweet vermouth (I also like Fee Bros. orange bitters) and it was lovely but not what I really like best. So today I tinkered with it slightly and instead of the sweet vermouth used martini & rossie Bianco. Very smooth, not too sweet, and I sure could get used to these!

I like the ones at Tra Na Nog in Philadelphia.

I had a Jenn-Air, around 15 years ago so I don't know how pertinent my experience will be but ... I didn't like it. It had the downdraft vent which worked fine. And gas burners with an electric oven. But it never did heat quite hot enough and the exhaust fan wasn't quite strong enough. I ended up replacing it with a Wolf (before it got bought by SubZero) and putting in new exhaust piping. I had to run the exhaust through the garage at least 20 feet to the outside. I have a Vent-a-hood and it works great with this system.I wish I could tell you that you'll be happy but I'm not so sure. I ended up giving the Jenn-Air to my sister-in-law (after only a couple of years) and she used it only a few more years before replacing it. Sorry.

I ended up ordering some of these http://www.microfibertech.com/Ultra-Microf...ack_p_0-76.html and couldn't resist doing a quality/usage compare so I also ordered one of these http://www.amazon.com/MysticMaid-G961DT-Su...99570058&sr=8-1 just to see if it was worth the extra money.I was on an automobile restorers site and they all recommended the microfiber towels. The important point for them was that the towel shouldn't scratch. I am down to only four of my old flour sack towels so I have to do something soon. They have the most wonderful emboidery that my mom did around 40 years ago. Edit: Make that 50 years ago!

I use the Scotch-Brite microfiber Kitchen Cloths for my dishcloths. No more sponges. They dry extremely quickly. They also work well to lay out as an auxillary place to put dishes, glasses, etc., to dry. Picked them up at BJ's. I have to admit I hadn't thought of using microfiber for the dish towels but it makes perfect sense. (I'm still using flour cloth towels I got from my mother over 30 years ago. They just last and last.) The microfiber cloths that I have right now are too small to use as a dish towel so I'll see what I can chase down. Edit: I just did a google seach and found tons at a car detailing web site: www.microfibertech.com/Microfiber-Towels_c_10.html Can't vouch for them but I think I'll give them a try.

Here's the whole process I use. I first roast the veal bones at 450 for around 1 1/2 hours in two half-sheet pans (around 15 pounds of bones total) and turn them halfway through. Then I add some cut-up carrots and onions (a pound or so of each) and roast another 1/2 hour. Move everything to two 16-quart pots, deglace the sheets, add more water and simmer for a good 10 hours. It usually ends up cooking overnight and I start in the morning so I end up simmering for a lot longer, I think this time it was around 16 - maybe more. Strain it all and put back into one of the pots and boil it down to around 3 quarts or so. Then it goes into the garage to cool overnight so I can remove most of the fat from the top the next day. Next I boil down by half again to 1 1/2 quarts. That's the demi-glace. Now is the tricky fussy part (and the answer to your question ). I put the 1 1/2 quarts of demi-glace into the smallest saucepan that will hold it and boil it some more. I'm trying to get all of the water out of it and this stage always takes longer than I think it will and you have to be very very careful at the end so you don't burn it. It ends up looking like when you make caramel, with large bubbles. When they break without letting out steam and it's gotten dark brown (not burnt tho!) you're done. Near the end, I turn it down very low for the last hour or two, until it just bubbles. I think this is what takes me so long, I always very afraid that I'm going to burn it so it takes me longer than it should to get to this last point. Anyway, it ends up being very much like a caramel - same color and thickness. Also the fat totally separates out to the top and can be easily removed with a spoon. I pour it into a bowl, let it cool, turn out on a cutting board and cut into around 1 1/2" cubes. I wrap these separately with cling wrap, put in a bag and freeze. I don't think you really need to freeze them but it makes me feel better. Then whenever I need a flavor boost, I just pop one or two into the sauce/saute pan and it melts quickly. Don't forget to boil some water into the saucepan you just used to make the glace de viande, put in your spoons, etc. This makes some great stock all on it's own! I really think it's worth doing the extra step of making glace de viande. You've already put in all this work so what's a couple of more hours? It lasts indefinitely, is always on hand, and works miracles. I've found some two years old that was hidden in the freezer and it was fine. Sorry I ran on so long!

This topic actually forced me to finally do something and become a participating member of eGullet. I've been getting some great items from Main Line Prime over the past few weeks, too. I picked up some excellent dry aged rib eye steaks for me and prime tenderloin for my husband. They were a real treat. Also, had some of the salmon - very tasty. Derek also ordered some veal bones for me (25 pounds). Once or twice a year I make up some veal glace de viande (one step past veal demi-glace), cut it up into small squares, wrap separately, and then use them whenever I'm making a sauce. Veal bones have become extremely hard to find and he got them to me in a couple of days. Boy, did the house smell great for a few days. I've also tried some of the cheeses he carries and am waiting until I clear out my cheese drawer a bit to buy one that has truffle/honey in it. Also, picked up some salmon filets for dinner tonight. I'm making salmon and Jansson's Temptation potatoes. His store is very close to me (too close??) so I've been shopping there instead of some of the other shops. Haven't been disappointed yet. Over the summer I had joined a CSA Farm to City vegetable co-op and had also been going to the farmer's market in Havertown on Wednesday's. The prices at Main Line Prime don't seem out of line. And what he carries is very good. And he has a wide selection. So, I'm officially hooked! And I agree, sure hope he can keep it going because I am already so spoiled.