mixmaster b

I enjoyed a Pinks hot dog one year after a big night out. It was great! I haven't been back, but I do remember it with pleasure... Elvis. I try, I REALLY try, to like the new stuff, but I just can't get into it. He is a great performer, though, and a brilliant lyricist! Pinks and Elvis are an odd combo, though, Hollywood!

I have a Kitchen Aid K5A that was my grandmother's. I don't know when she got it--at least 30 years ago, I would guess. It is great--still going strong. The cool thing is that the replacement whisks and various attachments fit it perfectly--no planned obsolence there! (The pasta rollers are great!) Like others, I can't vouch for the new models. Perhaps the suggested e-bay run is in order!

Ooh, this sounds good! Okay, I had a look in the Babbo book and there is another recipe: Amarina 1 tsp Angostura bitters 1 sugar cube Put the bitters in a spoon, add sugar cube, grop into flute. Add: 1/2 oz limoncello prosecco Have not tried this but it sounds nice. Here are some recipes from my friends' book, Cocktail Parties with a Twist. The recipes call for lots of bothersome fresh squeezed (i.e. by you ) juices and such, but all their drinks are marvelous! This one is good: Maiden's Blush 1 oz vodka 1/2 oz limoncello 1 oz tangerine juice 1/2 oz raspberry juice Shake w/ ice, strain, serve. I haven't tried this: Sheets to the Wind 1 1/2 oz vodka 1/2 oz limoncello 1 oz fresh raspberry juice 1 oz fresh peach juice Shake w/ ice, strain, serve garnished with sugared raspberries. If you experiment a bit, I bet you could get a very nice (and much simpler) drink with vodka, limoncello, and some citrus juice (orange, tangerine, grapefruit, or blood orange) served either on the rocks or strained into a cocktail glass. Let us know how the limoncello-ing goes!

Trillium- I think you might have Chez Panisse Cafe and Cafe Fanny mixed up. (Unless an upstairs dining room has opened at Fanny in the past year or two.) Chez Panisse and Chez Panisse Cafe occupy the same building (cafe upstairs, restaurant downstairs) on Shattuck Avenue. Cafe Fanny is down on San Pablo, sandwiched between Kermit Lynch and Acme Bakery. They have no table service, and serve only breakfast and lunch--wonderful cafe au lait, simple sandwiches, poached eggs, etc. As for CP being the BEST RESTAURANT IN THE US, I tend to agree that Gourmet must be full if it. The food is so simple that it seems inappropriate to call it *the best* restaurant. While I don't believe that is is necessary to torture food with convoluted technique, I don't think serving up a plain slice of perfect melon as dessert should be judged as the apex of the culinary arts! And I tend to agree with Fat Guy--the food is the thing. Great service and atmosphere are important, but great cooking should be the main focus of a list of the country's best restaurants. (Philosophy, politics, and historical value should not influence the decision at all.) That being said, I do think there is room for CP on the top 50 list, because, when things are going properly (which they usually are, in my experience) the food really is marvelous--often better and more satisfying than some of the more sophisticated stuff I have had. And, to be even more convoluted, I think I have to say that Chez Panisse (the whole deal--I can't really differentiate between the cafe and the restaurant--they are so similar) is my FAVORITE restaurant. I love it there-the vibe, the food, the philosophy. It all adds up to a special place for me, and maybe Ruth (or whoever) was using too personal a yardstick when the choice was made. I am very surprised by the number of negative/not-interested comments from folks who have not been to CP. It is a place you just have to go and try and judge for yourself. I am saddened to hear that Marcus had a bad meal, but this place has been around for decades--thriving because the food is good (Berkeley would not support a place for so long based on philosophy alone--too many other good places to eat--and it is mainly a local place). Most spots have bad nights, as we have seen again and again on this board, but they are often the exception, not the rule. Edit: Foodie 52, you have to go back before you can say this! I have been to the restaurant/cafe 4 or 5 times in the past 5 years, and it has been wonderful each time. (Planning to be in NoCal next week, might have to go again to see if it is all washed up, as many here say...)

Here is one idea: 1 tsp grappa 1/2 oz limoncello in champagne flute fill with Prosecco This was from the Babbo cookbook, minus the sugarcube called for (ech--too sweet.) There may be a few more recipes there or in one other book I have in mind. I will check this evening. Dana, does a small shot after dinner hold no appeal? I like it cold from the freezer in a small glass, but I don't get around to having it very often. Posting this recipe reminds me I want to start a champagne cocktail thread. Apologies in advance for multiple posts of the above recipe.

Could it be trated like a daikon? Sliced rather thinly and pickled in the Japanese style? (More experienced pickle-makers will need to fill in the datails.) I have also had it with dim sum, steamed and served with dipping sause. (I think XO sauce, but soy/vinegar/chili oil mic dues nicely as well.) BTW, Kyle, the title of this thread is truly poetic!

Maybe a little info on the difference between fresh, real wasabi and the faux horseradish wasabi we normally get. Are there different Japanese words for each type? I have heard the pickled ginger is not the be eaten with the sushi, but in between pieces as a palate cleanser. Is this right? In LA we gat lots of Nobu-style seared fish called tataki. Is tatkai an American invention, or is it authentic? I love to see the chefs using the little blowtorches--kind of like sushi shop class!

Thanks for the info on suppli, Jinmyo. Yum! Orik, your dinner sounds great--celebratory indeed! We had friends over last night, too--I was more the hostess/sous chef, and my S.O. did most of the work: Proseco cocktails with grappa and limoncello Squash ravioli with sage butter Roast pork tenderloin wrapped in proscuitto, served with tangerine sauce (a lovely, clear concoction of reduced vinegar, tangerine syrup, garlic, pan drippings, a bit of juice) Sauteed radicchio Herb salad with lemon dressing Individual flourless dark chocolate cakes served with milk chocolate ice cream (all thanks to the S.O. ), consumed with glasses of Brachetto D'Acqui. (I love that stuff!) I was very proud--we managed to be ready on time, and serve dinner at a reasonable hour, without long pauses between the couses!!! It was a first for us--hopefully the first of many! The menu worked well and was pretty good, but I feel like we have done similar things in the past. It is hard to strike a balance between getting a dish right (repetition helps) and doing experimentation, when we have limited time to entertain...

This whole dinner sounds wonderful! Can you say a bit more about the Suppli? I have never heard of them. Do you dip the lobster in butter, then form a risotto ball around it? I wonder if another ingredient could be subbed for the lobster. Also, was it leftover risotto, or made specifically for the dish? Thanks!

Jaymes, I have been very curious about rosso e biancos. Have you made them since your return? Do you think they would be good with everyday vermouth like Noilly Pratt or Martini? I keep my vermouth in the fridge, too. Doesn't it keep better? I am very fond of proseco before dinner. And French 75's are very good, too. I have been experimenting with a variety of champagne cocktails--maybe a new thread is in order! Also, as Nightscotsman says, a nice glass of Lillet with an orange slice is always a good thing.

I can't believe I forgot to post one of the best dishes of the night: A huge grilled Santa Barbara shrimp, served with the deep-fried head presented next to it. The shrimp was served in the shell, split down the middle. The amazing part was that it was full of roe, bright red-orange and with a wonderful, elusive flavor. I have never experienced shrimp roe before. Is it common? The flavor and texture, contrasted with the just-cooked flesh of the shrimp, was almost unbearably good!

Wow! Thanks for this great post. The wines sound really memorable! Reading about the meal and the experience was very enjoyable. I think this might be as close to a meal at Ginza Shushi-ko as I get, as I prefer not to have to take out a personal loan to cover dinner. As for other sushi restaurants, I am still very much enamored of Mori Sushi on Pico. I love Takao, also, especially the sashimi salad type dishes. Nozawa is good but I like a firmer style of rice. Can't comment on Sushi Yasuda, but Jewel Bako (one dinner last April) was outstanding!

I am sorry to hear that Marcus had a bad experience at Chez. The concepts are so straight-forward, and the food so simply prepared, that it is not surprising that there will be misses. It is hard to overlook a flaw in a simple dish. Chez Panisse is one of my favorite restaurants--not that I have been lucky enough to sample so many high-end places. But I have always had warm and attentive service, both in the cafe and the restaurant. The room is really pleasant, and I always feel very relaxed and at home there. I have also had great luck with the food--and I happen to like the fixed menu experience, because I sample things I might otherwise avoid, and often find it rewarding. The attitude has never seemed holier-than-thou to me. (But then, I was raised in Berkeley, so maybe I just don't notice it! ) If nothing else, Chez Panisse is interesting as a point of reference for the emergence of California cooking. The fixed menu evolved, as I am sure everyone here knows, from the restaurant's roots: Alice Waters cooking dinner for a bunch of friends. So to me it does not imply that they don't care about your experience, or are pedantically sticking to some sort of vision--after all, you can always go to the cafe and order very similar dishes a la carte. (Plus, it keeps the cost relatively reasonable, something I approve of!) I really don't think that the poor service Marcus and his wife received stemmed from a philosophy of not caring about the customer. It sounds more like amatuer hour at Chez--a waitress that didn't have a clue how to handle the situation, or enough to give decent guidance/service on the wine, a cook who was not capable of getting a good crisp skin on the bird...a poor showing. I can't say a thing about the wine list--but I know they have a friendly attitude towards customers who bring their own wine. Something to plan for on the next visit! Nick has it right--the food is not an earth-shattering display of culinary inventiveness or over-the top luxury. At its best (and how it should be, consitently, IMO) it is delicious, enjoyable stuff, the way a ripe peach is wonderful. It's just simple cooking, and when it is done well, it makes you want to eat like that every day! (Special occasions excluded, of course!)

Wow! This sounds spectactular. I wish Awbrig had been there with his camera!

I think JD's post is exactly right. Since the "rules" seem to be fuzzy, it makes sense that behavior would change in different situations. In the "gastronomic situation", I would feel awful if a group that I was dining with waited for me and their food got cold. It would make me feel that I had been horribly inconsiderate by being absent and neglecting to urge others to start if the food did come during my absence. In this situation, think it would be nice of the group to try to eat the dish slowly. I know it seems like a strange compromise, and certainly too convoluted to become a "rule of etiquette", but it would enable everyone to sample to food at the (hopefully) correct temperature, but would ensure that the absent diner did not come back to find that everyone had already finished the course. Perhaps the restauraunts should offer an "intermission" during a long tasting menu, to give diners a chance to stech their legs, use the facilities, etc. It certainly is difficult for the restaurant to orchestrate everything perfectly, and having a diner up at the wrong moment can put a wrench in the works. Intermission would help the restaurant provide better service by making the patterns of the diners more predictable.

I would LOVE to be a fan of "New Food Fast." I've been looking for it for several months, but have been told it's on "back order with the publisher." Anyone know where I can find a copy??? Wow, I had no idea this book was so scarce. I thought I could dig up a copy from somewhere on the web. The only place I found it is at Alibris, and there, used copies are selling at $30+. Guess I better stop spilling stuff on my copy. I was told at my local booksellers (Cook's Library in LA) that Donna Hay has recently moved to a new publisher, and that New Food Fast will probably re-issued by said publisher. Looking on Amazon, it looks like Whitecap was the old publisher and William Morrow is the new one. I think I will forgo the collectors copies in hopes of a new edition!

I second Ann Willan. I adore La Varenne, which is a comprehensive manual of cooking with lots of great pictures. Really a technique book with some recipes, it has a ton of good, solid info. It will be useful for years, too--it has everyhing from selecting and baking a potato to making a terrine--a whole spectrum of levels, with baking included along with cooking. (Also a nice bit on how to use a mandoline!) I think it might be my desert island book because it helps me get my head around what I am cooking and then get creative, as opposed to simply following recipes. (That being said, Joy of Cooking was my first cookbook, too, and I learned lots from it.) If you are inclined, also check out Larousse Gastronomique, as well. A very old-scool book with alphabetical listings of every type of (Eurocentric) food imaginable. Interesting that these are so firmly based in French thinking--I guess that, while not Plotniki-ist in my perspective, I still put a lot of value on those basic French techniques! (Not that I really know so many of them yet, but I am learning! ) And I agree with Dave The Cook's statement about e-gullet being a great place for advice. The only danger is that you might get more that you know what to do with! Edit: Toby is absolutely right about cooking what sounds good to you. With that as your inspiration, you can't go wrong! A good reference guide is great used as a companion to a recipe that you want to master, as well as teaching and inspiring on its own. The main thing is to let your own palate and preferences guide you!

Pecan Pie is my favorite; I am really excited to try Jaymes' recipe! I alsways mess with my recipes to add bourbon and maple syrup, but I have had consistency trouble. I will try this recipe for sure! Thanks. And for me, a dollop of whipped cream, no sugar. Mmmmm... PIE!

I have a knife that I got for sashimi--it seems to be great for that, but the blade seems to run through everything else unvenly. I feel like I have to fight with it to get a straight slice--I have always thought it was because the blade was sharpened on only 1 side. Do I have the wrong type of knife? Can you share some pointers for selecting a good all purpose knife? Are they all made with only 1 side of the blade sharpened? Thanks! PS I don't need to shave with it!

Elizabeth_11- Thanks for the toffee recipes! I will try them this weekend. And thanks for starting this great thread! Timo- Thanks! I have the Gourmet at home but I haven't had a chance to look through it yet. Too bad it's not so great this year. I will have a look at the pignoli recipe. Shermar- These sound great! Will you post your recipe? Would they be nice before dinner, like a more sophisticated version of Cheese Straws? (BTW, foodandwine.com has an outstanding recipe for cheese straws here. They are perfect to put out before a big dinner, so your guests don't fill up on them.)

Just remebered one I have been searching for a recipe on--Pignoli cookies! I made a batch not too long ago from a recipe that was very similar to macaroons, but the texture was not right. I love the ones that they have at Ferrara's in Little Italy. I haven't had them in years. Does anyone have a good recipe?

I love to make Christmas cookies, too. I usually make dark/white chocolate checkerboards, chocolate-mint sandwich cookies, some type of powdered-sugar dusted nut cookie (this year I think I will try maggiethecat's recipe--Thanks!), sables, french-style macaroons (still searching for the perfect recipe), and maybe meringues. I love the recipes where you roll the dough into a log and freeze it, then slice of the cookies. You can make a ton that way with little effort. Plus I try new things each year depending on what looks good. I am a big sucker for the magazine recipes because they always look so great! The pix are very motivating. This year we have been experimenting with candy. There is a great recipe on epicurious for pistachio brittle that started it all off. So far we have tried tangerine jellies, candied tangerine peel, hard mints, dark chocolate fudge, and caramels. Candy is very different than anything I have ever cooked before. Kind of like baking, but so far it all seems to depend on precise boiling of sugar syrups! If anyone has a good recipe for English toffee, PLEASE share it! I have also gotten a load of beautiful pastry books, thanks to lots of advice from the e-Gullet community, so maybe my holiday baking will be a bit more influenced by classic French baking...

I got Global knives recently. I like them, but I must admit that I am having a bit of trouble getting used to the feel. (I was a Wusthof girl for years, but lost one knife and broke another, and switched to Global because the S.O. picked them out...) I like the Global very much for veggies and delicate work. The lightness and balance are nice, and as a home cook, I have no trouble with slipping or blisters. It seems easy enough to sharpen. I give it a few goes on the steel before I use it and it is fine. (We have one of the sharpening contraptions for when it gets a bit duller. Learning to use the stone will be one of my resolutions for 2003!) I miss the Wusthof for heavier jobs--big root veggies, bones, etc. You can get good deals at Bed, Bath and Beyond. They send out those 20% off coupons all the time. We used one on a set of 3 global knives and got a great deal.

I got the book right before Thanksgiving and have been enjoying it. The style is erudite and engaging, and I am impressed with the vocabulary! I have started a list of unfamiliar words. (I assume most of the e-Gullet smarty-pants who are reading this book already know them all, but I will post them if anyone else is infested! ) The parts about cannibalism and scurvy were a bit much for me. I am very pleased to be on to the third chapter. I find the discussion of the evolution of farming and its negative effects on humanity fascinating. There is one thing I am curious about. This is the first book I have read on the history of food, and I am surprised that so many of the ideas put forth (e.g. the campfire and cooking as the start of society and the thing that separates humans from animals) are so theoretical. Many of the concepts are presented as fact, but they seem more like theories/opinions to me. He is also very fond of stating that other theories are wrong, but he rarely offers any evidence. I understand that there are no absolutes, as the developments being discussed are often prehistoric, but the tone still surprises me. In all, I am reading the book as one person's perspective, kind of like op-ed as opposed to the front page. Is this assessment accurate? How do others see it?

Cure for post-holiday blues? Tough one considering weather and all. Ride bike through Hyde Park? Drink? Yes drink I think. I recommend this thread whole-heartedly. Also, bolognese just like Tommy's should help, followed by peaches or pears baked for a long time in red wine and sugar. Hope you feel better!