blurby

Asafetida. There is no substitute and it is not optional.

Great list! I'll start looking into these. To all those who mentioned Reinhart: I have BBA and enjoy his writing, though it isn't quite the retelling that I have in mind. I also enjoyed the introductory text of Bread Alone

I'm just finishing (and very much enjoying) Ruhlman's The Making of a Chef. I think of myself as more of a baker and, of course, my favorite chapter was the skinny bit he had on his time spent in bread baking. I'd love to find a similar book more focused on the experience of a baker. Preferably a bread baker although pastry in general would be interesting. Any suggestions?

I'm always saving random stuff because of my neurosis around throwing away food. Often I have no idea what I'll use it for (and throw it away eventually anyway) but other times it turns out to be a miracle ingredient in my fridge. For example, last week I made a lamb curry where ground lamb was added to an already heavily spiced base and then allowed to stew for a while. Later it was clear that an undesirable amount of fat had rendered out, so I poured off the gravy, chilled it, scraped off about half a cup of heavily spiced solidified lamb fat, and then returned the gravy to the curry. I couldn't throw away the fat of course so I popped it in the fridge. Today I decide to use it in place of butter when scrambling eggs - amazing! Soft lamb flavor and a very nicely spicy but not overtly 'Indian' profile. I'm thrilled I've got a sizable chunk of the stuff left! What about you? What have you saved without knowing how good it would be?

There's one still left on 15th st, up around 70th. Isn't there one right on Market at the intersection with Ballard Way, or did that close down?

I dont know if this was mentioned yet but I'm in love with Quaker Baked Cheddar Snack Mix. Nice and crisp, salty, with that great fake cheese flavor. There's something about the sweetness of the Oatmeal Squares in the mix that sets off the whole deal.

Yup, Whym is gone. As is Cafe Stellina on 12th up on Capitol Hill. Voracious has had good coverage of comings and goings lately.

Forget about 1 or 2, there's no standard for child's size either :-P Last saturday my friend and I went to get ice cream, but after he received his 'child's sized' I didn't order any and we just split what he got (At least 1C. if not 1.5) Two men in their late 20's splitting a child's size ice cream cone... even I looked at me funny.

Wow! That's possibly the most amazing dessert I've ever seen! And Goldsworthy would certainly approve; the temporary nature of his art resonates with the temporary nature of artfully prepared food. Ann_T: Any change of a recipe for that rhubarb pie? It looks great!

Rhubarb is out in force at the farmers market so I picked up two big bunches today. I'd like to make a batch of jam, and I really like the idea of throwing in some candied ginger and perhaps a splash of vanilla. There doesn't seem to be any sure-bet recipe when I Google. The quantity of sugar varies wildly (I prefer not sickly-sweet jam) and some don't include any sort of jelling agent as far as I can tell. My understanding is that rhubarb contains virtually no pectin so you have to add either industrial pectin or some other fruit like lemon or apple. Anyone care to share their most favorite recipe?

Living by oneself and not always being able to have 10 people over for an all out brunch party I'm wondering how I can make eggs benedict for myself and not waste a ton of butter and eggs in the process. Is there a good way of keeping leftover hollandaise? Even better, can be frozen? Quality will of course suffer, but if it's not too bad I'd love to know Even better, does anyone have a good smallish-batch technique that would make this easier to manage (for me and my cardiologist)?

+1 on ZigZag of course, there's no denying it's great. I love Sun Liquor though, and not only because it's in my neighborhood. The bartenders are great, the drinks are great, and the atmosphere is not the crowded, loud, hipster crush that you find all over Cap. Hill.

This was right on! I made a snack of chevre, tomato jam, and red chili on some turkish flatbread. Really good combination! The acidity and funk of the cheese counteracts the sweetness very well.

I made a batch of Bittman's tomato jam after picking up some really nice romas at the market on Sunday. The stuff is quite good; spicy though a bit sweeter than I would have probably opted for had I know. My question is... what do you pair this stuff with? It's fine on a slice of bread but I can't think of a single thing to combine with it.

I really love this recipe for Vermont Maple Granola from King Arthur flour. It uses a whole cup per batch. The final granola is incredibly crunchy (not tooth shattering though) and has a wonderful aroma of maple and vanilla.

One thing I noticed almost everywhere I ate was that the ubiquitous garnish of lettuce, tomato, carrot, cabbage, etc. was almost universally ignored by the Czechs. Me, I grew up on salads and this little nod towards roughage was badly needed. Still, I felt like all eyes in the room were staring that the american chowing down on the 'inedible' decoration.

My favorite of the cafes I went to! Excellent french onion soup. And if you have not had it you must get the hot chocolate with egg liqueur. One of the most delicious things I've ever had

Buuuut maybe you have some recipes for that trinity to share? I just got back from Prague (4/12-4/20) and I'm going to miss the 'ol Vepřo-knedlo-zelo; particularly the potato knedlíky

Apparently it's a tequila bar called Santo Tequila, started by the same guy from Havana Review Here

Now this I can get behind! I'm an extra-crunchy Jif guy myself. I also have a huge weakness for the honey-roasted grind-your-own peanut butter that you can get at Whole Foods. When that's unavailable I buy a jar of cashew butter from Trader Joes and mix in my own flavorings (it's pretty bland otherwise). Best so far (all with salt): Molasses and cinnamon Honey, cinnamon, and black pepper Crystalized ginger and black pepper Great blog! All the mentions of Wegmans make me nostalgic. I grew up in Ithaca NY and went to college in Rochester; birthplace of Wegmans! Every college student there knows that going to Wegmans is an event, not just a shopping trip.

Nope, I do this too. I would rather have too small of a spoon than too large when dealing with sweet things and cereal. Stews, soups, and chowder demand a large (but not obscene) spoon with good heft.

How has no one mentioned gjetost yet? I always pick some up at IKEA. Also good: jarlsberg, lingonberry jam, gooseberry jam, anything wasa, smoked-salmonish-paste-in-a-tube

Leftovers. I can not comprehend people who refuse to eat leftovers. Not only do I love leftovers but I think it's incredibly conceited to turn up (or outright waste) good food that hasn't gotten any worse. (I'm of course talking about things that actually last, like stews and curries, and not things like green salad in a plastic tub)

I've heard from a ton of people that they avoid red velvet cake because of food coloring (and thus chemicals). I totally agree that food coloring probably isn't the best thing for you, but for > 90% of us I'm sure we consume FAR more chemicals (and food coloring) through non-red-velvet-cake avenues than through the occasional slice. Almost everything that irks me is this kind of lose of perspective. Another example: people who won't eat rich dough baked goods because of the butter but will spread an opaque layer of butter or cream-cheese on a bagel

I used a small amount and only because I had a nice fresh stalk. I did like it, especially with the other herbs, but it would be easy to over do. I have to admit, when I pair up herbs I often think of Simon & Garfunkle's "parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme" to decide