-sheila mooney

No, Iworked at HQ iwhich in those days was a big pink building on faubourg st antoine in the 11th.

riffing off of this idea: why not a version of the gremolada traditionally served with osso buco, but made with orange zest instead of lemon? that plus minced garlic and italian parsley sprinkled on at serving time would surely brighten things up. but then some of my experiments work out better than others....

gault and millau were journalists and bons vivants... with a journalist's sense of a story and headline. they coined the term to align with la nouvelle vague in cinema - a very clever idea which they parleyed it into a magazine/guidebook franchise. christian millau hired me to work at his magazine in the mid-80s but even then "nouvelle cuisine" seemed more like the company's founding myth than a vital culinary current... FWIW

great soup: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/vie...sta-Soup-238090

there you go: some people just *hate* to tip. and will spend hours rationalizing their stinginess with specious comparisons. other people feel like bigshots when they tip large -- maybe that's pathetic too, but in my world, the generous thing is always the right thing to do.

i love this stuff -- i could live on it. and as i may have mentioned elsewhere, the "brining the beans" technique is now what i use for all dried bean recipes -- great texture and flavour. btw: end of summer i made the blueberry muffins with the streusel topping and found them *delicious* - can't believe another poster tossed them! but de gustibus, right?

hilarious.

another salt tip... while i am averse to brining pork and poultry (just hate the *idea* of soaking a beautiful chicken in water) i was amazed to find how great brined dried beans are! soak 'em overnight in seriously salted water -- they cook up tender, never mushy and have great flavour. best dried cannellini ever. courtesy of a 2008 issue of Cook's Illustrated (the recipe for Tuscan Bean Stew).

spring for a chunk of grana or parmesan -- then risi e bisi will taste great even if you don't throw in pancetta; so will any kind of pasta. i used to make a fast and filling soupy-stew with farfalle, garbanzo beans, canned italian tomatoes and whatever seasonings i had around (plus grana). and then there's pot roast with the cheapest beef, carrots, potatoes and those canned tomatoes again, plus some brown sugar and vinegar... who the hell needs prime rib, anyway? bon appétit, maggie...

wow, thanks for this. i just moved into the neighborhood (half time there, half time in montreal) and i felt a bit too intimidated to go in. now that i know the drill, i'll be making a beeline...

[i have a recipe i got in france, supposedly a version of ratatouille preferred by the late bernard loiseau. no onions, no garlic. the eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, peppers are cut in small dice, lots of olive oil and herbs,s and p, baked in a clay or ceramic dish for a long time at low temp. it's different from the soupy/stewy kinds, but really delicious.

this is funny -- i usually buy ferme d'amours (which i like OK) at my local IGA (igaaahhh). i was attracted to the Chinatown chicks because they are whole and entire, from comb to claw, which is why i posted the original question. since they are "intègres" i thought they might be better -- but i hesitated because their price is so low, i assumed they must be battery raised, and therefore no better (indeed, less good) than the ferme d'amours supermarket chickens. at the atwater market i go for the pricey organic chickens as an occasional treat. i would not be excited to find the same birds as those i see in the supermarket. so where is the best place to buy a great free-range chicken, anyway?

hello-- i was eyeing the whole chickens in a chinatown supermarket yesterday (the biggest one on st laurent, on west side of street). they sure look fresh -- judging by their heads and their little feets! but do they taste good? i started to reach for one, then hesitated. what say ye? thanks for feedback... -sheila

from April 2008 Cook's Illustrated, last weekend i made the crispy skin chicken (fabulous while hot, not so great for leftovers) and the hearty tuscan bean stew (with rapini instead of kale). the big news: salting the bean-soaking water made for the most beautiful cannellini i have ever made. all those years of not daring to salt the soaking liquid! i will never make beans any other way.

i dunno -- it seems obscene to use a croissant to make a sandwich. i may be in the minority here. wouldn't you all prefer good bread?