Jmahl

For dessert some reto banana cake. A 1950's family recipe, probable taken for the New York Post home delivery. Ate this stuff as a kid. A well deserved resting place for aging bananas. Still pretty good. Jmahl

Ditto: Chef Tony is an authentic professional. As said, go in with an open mind - get back with your experience. We are waiting. Jmahl

Chefette has it right. Molten cake is not a "standalone." Just as Cefette says, a fruit sauce and an anglaise are natural compliments. You can put the sweetness in the sauce and dust with powdered sugar to finish. Good eating, Jmahl

Take a quick trip to Del Rio, and when visiting Mexico you can pick up a liter of Campari at the duty free for about $8.00. If you think its difficult to find Campari try to find Cynar. Oh, you will have to pay an extra dollar at the state tax office if its open when you come back across the bridge. Jmahl

There is the Splendid Table on NPR http://splendidtable.publicradio.org/ and then there is the Food Program on the BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/foodprogramme.shtml And the BBC even has a program about veggies. I have to listen every week.

When I was growing up in the Bronx I remember visiting Bathgate Avenue and the live poultry market - here is a story from 1937 that gives you the flavor although I was there ten years later. Great Story about Bathgate Ave Is it there any more?

You may want to try a beauty supply house. Also, as suggested, a craft store may have what you are looking for.

You working cooks, what keeps you going? What makes you go in every day -- and take the heat. Is it the craft? Is it the only thing that you know? or, is it because you can? This is your chance to tell the the folks who sit out there what it is really like. I ask the questions because I admire what you do.

Ling: You are outrageous. Ling will rule the world. This thread should be renamed, "Ling's desserts." A rabid admirer. Jmahl

Wonderful pictorial - views almost like a movie. My grandmother made cheese knishes with a dough like yours. She filled them with a combination of farmer and cottage cheese and a little sugar. Then she rolled them and formed them into compact "S" about 8" in length and 4" across and fulled her baking dish. I can taste them just thinking about them. They were glorious.

Growing up in NY and then living away for many years I miss the Grotto Azzura - which I have read has a new incarnation. I also miss Sam Woo on Mott Street in Chinatown. In the sixties I was there with friends one night and Woody Allen joined us. What I mean is he sat next to us. At that time my wife did not know who he was. I also miss the fountain restaurant at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The food was nothing but sitting around that reflecting pool was glorious.

These are exactly the kinds of issues I was thinking about when I stated the thread "Taking the Heat" last week. Its like there is a cast system in place. I have left a tip for the kitchen but not often enough. Its O.K. to drool over a beautifully presented plate -- but these are real people issues and people who claim to be food fans ought to be talking about them. Jmahl

For the more sensitive among us - I believe it is the alimentary canal. Good eating, Jmahl

Sara: Is there any thought to start to use weights when publishing recipes at Gourmet? OH, and what do they mean by "salting." Love your show. Jmahl

Dear Susan: I bake a cake that looks nearly identical to the Chocolate Souffle from 2001 on page 131 of the mag. I used a French recipe that varies only slightly from the recipe in the mag. Here's a photo. That's the chocolate cake on the right, with a Ricotta tart on the left. Yes, I cracked the crust on the tart when I tried to slice it. I should have used my short carving knife. It has a much narrower blade. I was too lazy to go to the drawer. And that's my hand --trying to decorate the plate. This weekend I will look for a recipe to try out from the mag- I will report back. Jmahl

I just had for dinner some reheated shortribs with leftover polenta washed down with a glass of leftover South African Red. It was good on Sunday and better, I believe, today. See my post on 65 Years of Gourmet Recipes for pics. Good eating to all, Jmahl

You guys and gals who sweat it out every day -- tell us about your life. Your glories, your beefs. We eat your food - let us hear from you. Jmahl

I have had a Krups machine some six years. Use it two days a week. Its makes decent expresso -- the steamer died a year ago. Not bad for a machine that costs under $200.00.

Susan, As you requested, these are the short ribs in coffee ancho chili sauce. In my opinion a keeper recipe. I followed the recipe to the letter, except instead of a half cup of coffee I used a shot of expresso and more liquid from the chilies - prepared on Saturday and re-heated and served in Sunday to develop the flavors. - This also allowed a lot of the fat to be skimmed off while solid. I served the short ribs with polenta. I think they would go better with caramelized onion mashed potatoes. Anyway, delicious eating with a good - gutsy red. We had a Thorn-Clarke, Terra Barossa 2004 Cabernet Importers Reserve from Australia. The Terra Barossa handled the heat and spice without flinching. I plan to do a couple more recipes from that edition. Is it o.k., to post to your thread? Jmahl

I don't see a lot of talk about the guy or gal sweating it out every day and very night in front of the stove. Not the big name talent - but that working cook. How they are treated, how they are paid - what life is like - and the tensions between the back of the house and the front. We all enjoy what they do, but do we think about them or pay them their due. What are your thoughts?

No competition here, (who can compete with Ling? not I), but here is my Honey Ricotta Cheesecake for dessert.

I've been to Bordeaux and had the Canneles and yours look great. Another example of the depth of talented people that visit this site.

Amazing, it looks like Paris.

Scott123: I have had the same thoughts over the years. If you are not looking for absolute clarity leave it alone. When I make vegetable soup I leave it alone. After a while the dreaded "scum" disappears. Nobody dies.

YES, they exist. (pocket pepper mills). As far as spending $600 for dinner. What does it cost to go to a ball game so that you can eat bad franks and warm light beer ? I know were I would rather be.