scordelia

Selective breeding and outright cloning are two entirely different animals. Sure, with selective breeding, the farmer chooses the animals with the best traits he desires and breeds them to purify the strain of animal, but bio-diversity is maintained which helps an animal population resist environmental pressures and allows the possibility of new genetic mutations arise. Cloning would create a population of identical animals. What do you if your DNA somehow becomes compromised? In China, botanists cultivate strains of natural or wild occurring rice for use indeveloping new rice strains or to shore up an existing strain that has become prone to disease from a lack of genetic diversity. I would not buy cloned meat and I think it is better to work within the confines of nature. Hey, it's worked for billions of years! Why reinvent the wheel?

You are correct. It was a letter, not an editorial.

Glad you liked it! Chicago is a wonderful city. Sad that many people forget to visit the "Third Coast."

I would second the Protuguese rec. Vino Verde is really nice and very reasonable. Since you say you live near Seattle, you might want to go to Esquin's--excellent wine shop with a great selection and very helpful staff.

I keep mine on the counter too. We use it too fast for it to go rancid, but when my son was in kindergarten, he had a class excercise where all the kids wrote out a recipe for how they thought you cooked a turkey (it was Thanksgiving) and my son started with, "You take out a stick of butter and leave it on the counter."

The debate continues today in the Chicago Tribune. Chef Michael Kornick (formerly of Gordon's, currently at mk) disparages the Tribune's "disrepectful" coverage of Charlie Trotter (Kornick seems to forget that is was CT who suggested dining on Tramonto's liver), but here is the link: Voice of the People, April 12

My worst is my mother-in-law's Thanksgiving dinner. She is on a no fat kick (okay, Thanksgiving is not the time to be on a no fat kick). So she takes her old recipes and makes "substitutions" like Eggbeaters for eggs in the stuffing, corn starch and water instead of roux in the gravy (makes the gravy taste Chinese), Splenda in the pies. You get the picture. To top it all off, she grills the turkey with NO BASTING LIQUID. The bird is dry and has skin like leather. Of course, part of this health kick is nothing is salted either. Last Thanksgiving, we managed to be in London, so we escaped this food travesty. Have to come up with something for this year!

That's the one! Got to have butter on your hamburger bun! Also a good brat on buttered roll is mighty nice.

These are beautiful!

It's true. Salmon break out of pens all the time, especially if they are damaged by storms.

I've gotten mutton at Food4Less on Main St. in Evanston - although it's not there all the time. Have you tried some of the Mexican grocers, or maybe Patel Bros. on Devon? ← Patel does not have mutton, but I will try Food4Less! Thanks!

That's because there isn't any wild Atlantic salmon. It was over fished and the rivers polluted. New England rivers have also been dammed to create water resevoirs. While I was living in Maine, Maine tried unsuccessfully for several years to reintroduce salmon to the Union River. The lack of success was due to the dam (even though fish ladders were installed at great expense), but somehow the salmon would not get past the resevoir to the breeding area. Also, Maine rivers have a problem with lampreys breeding in them which has depleted other fish as well including trout.

Perhaps some of you could figure the exact name and location of the restaurant I am about to describe: It has a name like Chalice and it is near San Marco (you start walking from the far end of the square from the church and turn right after a few blocks). It is small and pretty. My husband and I stumbled on to it one day. There were no pictures outside, only a small menu with reasonable prices and lots of well dressed older men were enjoying their lunches (a promising sign!). In fact, while my husband and I were eating, several more older gentlemen came in and would greet the staff by name, proceed right to their tables and ask for their usuals. The restaurant claims that a restaurant has operated there from the 14th century (it is an old building). The food was very good, espeically the monkfish and the mushroom pasta (which featured about 6 varieties of beautiful baby mushrooms in a luscious sauce). They also had a lovely spread of vegetables and tidbits that you help yourself to. Our delicious 3 course lunches with wine were under 50 euros for the two of us. I wish I had taken note of the name, but if someone could figure it out and post it, then we will have a nice Venetian find.

If you have a chance, go down to Millersburg. It is rather small and has the largest population of Amish and Mennonites in OH. Naturally, it is very picturesque and has some good restaurants with hearty fare.

If you are roaming through Kentucky (which people do not realize how old it is) you can stop at the Beaumont Inn in Harrodsburg (near Lexington) for a breakfast of Johnny cakes, butter syrup and real country ham. This is the only place I have seen them as a regular menu item.

Don't forget potatoes and peanuts and sugar cane as important New World contributions.

Never have cooked mutton. Can't get in the US, but I wish I could.

That is how it is done at St. John. The marrow bones are hot and come with toast, so you scoop out the marrow and spread it on the toast and then sprinkle gray sea salt on it. The parsley salad, which was dressed with capers, is kind of on the side. My 8 year old thought it was the bomb. He ate so much of mine that I had to order a second one. ← It's served like that in France, sometimes with mustard. I was thinking of presenting the dish differently for the original poster's customers. ← The original poster could present it as a fait-a-compli with the marrow already on the toast and some nice greens to garnish. No yucky bones to freak people out.

I have only had goat stewed. I was wondering if it is tougher than than a lamb leg. It sounds like it is if you are recommending braising it.

I live in a Hindu/Pakistani/Orothodox Jewish neighborhood (interesting grocery shopping to say the least). Many of neighborhood butchers sell goat legs. I have had goat and liked it, and now I want to cook a goat leg. Any tips or ideas? Thanks!

That is how it is done at St. John. The marrow bones are hot and come with toast, so you scoop out the marrow and spread it on the toast and then sprinkle gray sea salt on it. The parsley salad, which was dressed with capers, is kind of on the side. My 8 year old thought it was the bomb. He ate so much of mine that I had to order a second one.

It is getting the PETA people riled up. There has been some lobbying of late to make horse slaughter illegal period. And then there is another bambi camp who equate eating horse with eating your dog.

No it's not! Peanut butter, bacon and red pepper jelly is one of my absolute favorites!

The peach extract is needed to make a peach flavored buttercream for a layer cake.