Pontormo

Gruel. --Oliver

Lunch? What's lunch? --Oliver

"How can he maintain excellence and consistency and continue to grow at the same time? He asks himself this all the time. Keller drags on his cigarette, and a new image comes into his mind. Grant's scallop dish."--Michael Ruhlman, The Soul of a Chef When I head from the Metro and walk towards the National Gallery of Art, I hurry through the part of Washington, D.C. known as Penn Quarter. After decades of still nothingness, this part of the heart of the city is starting to pump. Condos fill cavities of abandoned office buildings where the removal of scaffolds reveals thick white organic form clinging to the grid of the newly cleaned facades. First came the coffee shops and tea rooms, then the new restaurants whose kitchens open to parking lots and wide sidewalks where I pass. Always, always, it seems, there's a skinny guy in a white jacket and checkered pants leaning against the wall smoking. Sometimes he isn't skinny. But so far, he's always a he and he's always smoking. This is something I want to ask you about, especially you who work in kitchens or have worked in kitchens or sell things to people who work in kitchens. I would like to know if you smoke or if you have an opinion about professional cooks who smoke. Did you start before you ever entered a kitchen? Or was it so inherently part of that culture that you just picked it up? Are you a non-smoker in a kitchen with many smokers? Are a non-smoker who does not believe smoking is all that prevalent in the culinary world? Have you quit or tried to quit? Has quitting affected your relationships with colleagues or interactions in the kitchen? How does smoking affect the life, work and professional skills of a cook? I would think smoking would compromise one's judgment of flavor, interferring with both smell and taste, yet major figures in the culinary world smoke. Marcella Hazan, for one, so I guess I am opening this topic up to teachers and cookbook authors, too. Autobiography? Observations? Thoughts?

Moi! Just a little bit melty...but kept at a distance from the slightly warm slice. Otherwise, I am with you all the way! I vouch for hearing about but never witnessing the practice and I have lived up and down the east coast, in the midwest and out near the Rockies. If I pair (very sharp, aged) cheddar with apples, I prefer the latter crisp, fresh and in wedges with a very good book. An excellent Stilton is nice, too, especially with Gold Rush apples purchased that morning from Eddy the farmer in the parking lot of the church down the block and shared with friends from Maine. As for cheese in pastry, I have made a pear tart with a Gorgonzola crust (the recipe was in Gourmet years ago) that was wonderful. P.S. How about cheddar cheese ice cream with warm apple pie?

Honey, food matters. Otherwise, they'd serve broccoli when George Bush, Sr. is invited. Food matters in the way that any and every thing matters at the White House. Symbolism is big. Symoblism is VERY big in Washington, D.C. and in the White House and their counterparts throughout the world. That's why John Travolta was not invited this time around. That's why there are photographs of the Duchess in her cashmere jacket and taffeta silk skirt next to Mrs. Bush in her red gown with columnist after columnist picking apart the nuances and reactions to the other 49 ensembles brought to the States for the royal visit. No, fashion is not the main event, but it matters. That's why it was such a big deal when the search was on to hire the new Executive Chef at the White House. S/he had to say something about the Bush presidency distinct from the Clinton presidency and more importantly had to say something about the nation to the rest of the world when the rest of the world came to it. That's why there was so much hoop dee doo when finally a woman was chosen for the honor of serving that role, promoted from within, no less, instead of the other finalist, a recognized chef from the Bush's beloved Texas. For Laura Bush, the choice of a female chef mattered. And, yes, food does matter, it matters a lot which is why the menu was carefully chosen. It was meant to represent us well. Just like the British oak planted at a public school in the District of Columbia matters. That's why the guests didn't eat pizza or sandwiches or takeout.

Oops, I forgot the beer ! Good ol American micro breweries.....but a few cases of Coors for some in that crowd.

Feed em all pizza, then, or order Chinese.

Very classy response, Carrot Top. I was hoping you would channel a spirit from the past, but you are quite right to speak to the professionalism and success of a woman who is very much in the spotlight.

Sir Bear, then might I suggest: Spam Spam and Spam followed by Trifle?

*Deborah*, I should have added a space after the vegetables in the main course above to acknowledge a separate salad course. Also, there should have been a space between the cheese course and the petit fours to accommodate the fact that there was a properly stately succession of five courses, you're right. And Ms. Goodman, thank you, thank you for being the first brave soul. I am licking my lips. Crab cakes are in fact something that we in D.C. enjoy. Now, were I Laura Bush, I would ask if we could tweak the Southern focus just a wee bit to accommodate wines from California and add some lovely organic vegetables. Maybe a nice light winter squash soup first if a double step easing into the main courses would not be too too. Perhaps a green salad course (not too fond of the mint Romaine there in the real event as much as the dressing sounds yummy) or some saute'ed greens or even a mean batch of the real Southern deal if it's too late in the season for butterbeans. Still, I wonder if there is anything we could do to honour the British, besides accommodating the prince's interests in organic produce. Maybe something with clotted cream? I'll leave it up to our New York-based doctor to choose the dairy products. Any suggestions from the other side of the Pond?

Shucks! When I saw your name underlined, I thought someone was adding a menu!

So John Travolta couldn't make it this time. Yo Yo Ma played for his supper as did Kathryn Scott who sat at the piano for hers. Reports say Condolezza Rice looked stunning in her red birthday gown and Love escorted Katharine Armstrong. Guests dined on the following: Celery Broth with Crispy Rock Shrimp Medallions of Buffalo Tenderlion Wild Rice Pancakes Roasted Corn Glazed Parsnips and Young Carrots Mint Romaine Lettuce with Blood Orange Vinaigrette Vermont Camembert Cheese and Spiced Walnuts Petit Fours Chartreuse Ice Cream with Red and Green Grape Sauce They quaffed: Newton Chardonnay (Unfiltered) 2002 Peter Michael Pinot Noir (Le Moulin Rouge) 2002 Iron Horse (Wedding Cuvee; a nice gesture, don't you think?) 2002 The gold-rimmed china of the Clinton White House was used. Now this event has been much publicized here in D.C. since President Bush is more of a blue jeans kind of guy and such elegant spectacles have been rare over the past half of a decade. More importantly, this was the big public debut of the new female executive chef of the White House, Cristeta Comerford. Let's say she didn't get the job and you did. What would be on the menu? Please be gentle, reader. No ranting. You are free to take this very, very seriously and show off. Or not. Inhabit your own skin if you are comfortable in it, or pretend you're oh, Mary Francis or I don't know, Gordon Ramsay, Nero Wolfe, or someone from the past. Keep your honored guests and hosts and location and season in mind. (Prince Charles is known, after all, for promoting organic farming. The hosts own a ranch.) I'd love to see what you come up with.

Since the day marks the foiled attempt of Guy Fawkes to blow up the Houses of Parliament, it was (? still is?) traditional for children to burn a straw effigy of the arsonist. I say, then, why not serve paglia e fieno as a first course and have crepes flambe'e as dessert? Not exactly traditionally British, but the UK has changed. The crepes might be decorated with Guy's likeness. Dosing the flames would signal the strength of Britannia Herself.

Hey! You think being that funny, charming, plus singing and dancing is easy? Just because the guy hasn't played a disturbed genius, mentally challenged math freak, blind depressive or fatally ill yet noble husband/doctor/father in a drama with lots of chiarascuro lighting and somber music.... Lithgow is a highly respected Broadway actor. Sorry, but I gotta stand up for the guy. Won't touch the soup, though. I know he's doing it for the money. Nothing wrong about that.

Egads! I had no idea when I first posted this topic that there would be such passionate reactions from you all. The photos above indeed look as yummy as a very good sodium nitrate free slightly charred hot dog, Mr. and Ms. Perlow. And the gratin sounds absolutely terrific!!!!!, though I'd be tempted to use pancetta (cheaper with the added bonus of even more fat) instead of prosciutto. The funkier breadcrumbs are a wonderful addition. Now Madison is up there on the shrine I have built to honor my lares, or household guardian spirits. Below you will find what I posted eons and eons ago, shortly after my initial post. It err somehow got lost in the mail, but I thought you might be interested to see how grate minds think alike: MY RECOMMENDATION: Meanwhile, I am happy to report that the gratin actually worked with the leftovers. I took a cue from Deborah Madison in Local Flavors who suggests making one with Chanterelles & cream. I used what I had, first draining and squeezing all the water out. Good move. I saute'ed sliced cri[e whatever]mini mushrooms in butter, added salt and pepper, a little fresh thyme and sour cream. Mixed all with squash. Topped with butter and Parm, baked until starting to brown. Pretty damn good!

Has your sister tried a REALLY good cornbread stuffing? I ask from experience since I was allergic to wheat as a child and recognize the desire not to be deprived of one of a family's great traditions. Not wanting a rice or grain stuffing, but some sort of bread stuffing seems to stem from this attitude...also not wishing one's personal allergy to affect or deprive everyone else is part of it too. The thing is, at least way back in the Stone Age when my family tried to use those alternative flours to bake various kinds of breads, the texture was always extremely tight, a kind of intense dense. The taste of the grain was powerful when it came to barley, especially (I had a wheat allergy, not a gluten allergy) and I hated the difference. Cornbread on the other hand can be made very light and porous. Bittman has a recipe that asks you to beat the egg whites and that makes the stuff even lighter. Good to sop up everything else you put in the stuffing and so good that she shouldn't miss the stale Pepperidge Farm white bread. Mashed potatoes sound yummy, too, but if you want bread...

Please don't do this. Risotto develops the consistency of library paste after sitting around for a while, although I have been known to make enough to have one serving reheated and doctored a bit for lunch the next day. It's also much better made with a real chicken stock and, well, enough said. Though traditional with osso bucco, it is not exactly a "go with" dish, but rather, a first course or even here in North America, a main course if the portion is large enough. With brisket, mashed potatoes with fennel would be better, though I wouldn't wish 150 servings of those on anybody. Boiled potatoes with lots of parsley, salt and pepper and butter. Want to get them to say, "Oooo, what's that?" Peruvian blue potatoes roasted mit schmaltz. Or do polenta, prepped well in advance and then broiled with a little butter and grated cheese if you wish to do something Italian. Or what the other guy said. Plain old rice made into a salad perhaps or mixed with other grains. Rice is nice. Not really edited, but rather, opened again, to say, hey, wait, you've already got noodles! You have a small salad bar. Give yourself a break. You don't really need a first course when you have a spread like that. Put more effort into a nice dessert or perhaps buy some nice cheeses to complement fruit and fresh walnuts.

Me, I like the single plain wooden chopstick more than the fork. Good for getting all the last bits of coffee out of the grinder and stirring the yogurt when you first rip the tamper-proof foil off. Handy when the cast on your broken foot begins to itch. Shouldn't have kicked that drunken aristocrat lying in the gutter, powdered wig askew, gravy stains turning the delicate lace on her sleeve a muddy brown...

Duff's! Not terribly exciting, but good, in my neighborhood, 'cross the street from Left Bank Books and a favorite of long time St. Louis residents who also came from different places. I think it was also a favorite of the locals, the ones who ask what high school you went to after shaking hands. Also, I remember a very good Chinese restaurant in a small strip mall off a highway where they made an amazing fried rice with shrimp and barbecued pork. (There were quite a few very good Chinese places introduced to me by a Chinese friend who had moved to St. Louis as a child.) I think there was an Indian restaurant in the strip mall on the other side of the street. How's that for precision? Now, are you counting fresh peach concrete?

All these years after putting on a children's play in Girl Scout camp and I can still remember: "What shall we do about poor little Tigger? If he never eats nuthin he'll never get bigger! He doesn't like hunny or haycorns or thistles Because of the taste or because of the bristles And all the good things that an animal likes Have the wrong kind of swallow And too many spikes!" Here's to Pooh!

Since personal messages are sometimes a better way to go when the steam starts to rise from beneath the turtleneck, I would like to bring to your attention something that a wiser, more established member of the society has brought to mine: Why So Few Women Are Great Chefs Now, mind you, I am posting this link after vowing not to post here again. So in the spirit of what some men look for, according to Dowd's research, I will restrict my words to these few and log out. (In case you're wondering, I am wearing brown suede slip ons with rubberized soles and thick-ribbed black cotton socks.) Edited to fix link....I hope.

Yes, I agree, we're really starting to get off topic, here and what was fascinating to me last week is starting to run its course. Bryan, it sounds as if you did not anticipate some of the reactions you have received to your posts here and have a number of sincere questions that the thread engendered. (Sorry.) I encourage you to consider taking one elective in Women's Studies or Gender Studies some time in the near future if you're not graduating in December. Duke University's press is well known for its publications in the field and one of the best students I ever taught abroad was a double-major in Women's Studies and ???? (I forget if it was Government or a science ) at Duke. I have good friends whose son just graduated summa from the University of Toronto. One of his biggest fans is the professor who taught a class in Women's Studies where he was the only brave male student (this should not be the case, but sadly often is). He got an A+ and worked on a research project related to his major.

This is exactly the kind of information that I was seeking! Thanks! Edited to acknowledge doronin's explanation.

Disclaimer: I don't have anything really to add of any original or creative nature. Suggestions made already that anticipate ones I would give (stews or braises, roasts, soups, bread, fruit crisps and yes, casseroles like macaroni and cheese with a touch of Gorgonzola). I personally hate to cook when I am hungry, especially when it's dark and cold and in a city where a 25-minute commute can take up to an hour and a half if not more. Therefore, I always make several things on the weekend and am not allergic to my freezer.* This week included a three-lentil soup with pancetta, pumpkin and thyme and a huge loaf of oatmeal-studded bread. There are great apples and pears from the market and aged cheddar cheese...and Gorgonzola. I have at least two colors of beets to roast and toss with roasted walnuts, orange juice and olive oil and if soup isn't enough, they'll be there. There's eggplant stew in the freezer and chicken to add to it, peanut sauce (same chicken, rice spring roll wrappers, cilantro....) tomato sauce, cauliflower soup, vegetarian chili and gnocchi to thaw and top with butter and pineapple sage...all from weekends past, except for the sage. Frozen fruit and sliced, nearly rotten bananas are there too for moments of desparation when a yogurt smoothie with fresh local organic gingerroot makes sense. A friend with four to feed tends to keep an unbaked meatloaf in her freezer, or half of a double batch of something prepared the week before. I usually keep enormous quantities of chicken stock in the freezer and restock the supply whenever there's a sale on chicken legs at Whole Foods. I just depleted the last batch. Especially since the market still has all sorts of sturdy greens, including my favorite cavolo nero (dinosaur), I turn to Judy Rodgers and her soothing list of things to do with chicken stock, stale bread, an egg, kale and the like. Would kids be happy with that? It sounds like yours are pretty well trained. There's always miso way back on the second shelf in the fridge and soba noodles, tofu, scallions and carrots. If I intend to do actual cooking beyond pasta for the ragu [anyone know how to format diacritics here?], I like to have a pureed soup on hand that can be sipped from a mug while everything else is being done. Otherwise, I reach for the jar of raw almonds. What struck me about your Utopian plan was not just what your children did to compromise it. The variety seemed rather ambitious. Do you and others not count on leftovers? I would think shrimp would be scarfed down all at once, but isn't a pot roast worth at least two nights of pot roast (maybe changing some veg the second time around, but why bother) and then even, if big enough, a third night as a ragu over wide thick egg noodles, maybe with flavors altered by dried porcini and their soaking liquid and some fresh mushrooms? If Harriet the Spy could eat a tomato sandwich every day of the year way back in the sixties... *It amazes me when food sections of newspapers publish yet another article about the time-saving, resourcefulness of planning and cooking ahead as if readers might not have thought of this themselves.

But why? Is it mere convenience? See questions in my original post above. I once tried using dried buttermilk, but was not impressed. It may have been the brand, definitely not KAF's. These days, I buy fresh buttermilk at least twice a month since I love the stuff in pancakes and baked goods. It freezes well, although I only tried that once to see if an assertion was true. I tried reading McGee, and can now report that Marco Polo saw powdered milk produced in Asia way back when. Nothing's said in Bread Alone and it is my beloved old James Beard that is hiding from me.