gini

Nice to see so much Korean home cooking! Could your mom make some ganpoongki?

I have no idea about the beets, I've never actually tasted a pickled beet to the best of my knowledge. But fried eggs is such an obvious addition I'm surprised it even raises eyebrows. The key is to cook the egg on high heat until it's over easy. You get the crunch of the egg whites which plays off the soft texture of the meat and then you get the lovely gooey yolk which mixes in with the tomato/barbeque sauce and runs all over everything. Chefs have been topping everything under the sun with fried eggs, I would have thought burgers are one of the most obvious candidates for this treatment. I didn't say it was a bad addition, just that most of the places I visited in Australia (from Hungry Jacks to a stand at a market to the local pub I frequented) put beets, fried eggs and often sprouts on the burgers. They were standard toppings. Eggs may be obvious candidates for topping, but I don't know of other countries that seem to have adopted them across the board. (But then, I haven't been to every country.) ← Eggs on top of burgers are really popular at fast food joints in Japan. I've seen them also on menus at fast food places in the USA (fatburger, I think).

I'm really enjoying your foodblog! Recently made some bacon/cheddar/scallion muffins myself, but they weren't really all that flavorful - and I used bacon fat as most of the fat in the recipe. Maybe I need to add caraway seeds to mind - how did yours taste?

I guess all those folks who reside state-side who keep kosher aren't cooking "Jewish" foods on a daily basis, huh? Just to reiterate, many of the "Jewish" foods found in cuisines worldwide will be categorized as just that - Italian, Chinese, Spanish to most Americans. Additionally, many Jews in the states don't live in Jewish communities as Jews across the pond do so there aren't many kosher restaurants needed to sustain (and profit) from said community. Look at the demise of the deli in NY - the good ones are all in Jersey now.

Thanks for answering my questions! The cake your kids made looks really good.

Thank you so much for your wonderful blog. Best wishes to your wife. You bring back many fond memories of my trip to Japan last year - thank you! Could you please answer the following for me: Thick cut bread for making toast - when did this become popular in Japan? Why is it so thick? I see it also at my local Japanese bakery state-side. Along the same lines, I was astounded at the dessert cakes offered in tea shops - the strawberry cake especially - what role do desserts play in your life? I know that Kyoto has the market on certain things, Beppu for blowfish, and Osaka was where I first tried takokai - what is especially popular food-wise in Snow Country? arigato-gozaimasu!

We always have lamb for passover - brisket is for hannukah - and our is a butterflied leg of lamb marinated in lemon, worcestershire sauce and rosemary then grilled.

Tuesday night was a great example: Two pieces of toast with butter One chunk of St Benoit du lac cheese A few slices of salami Two spoonfuls of peanut butter Two spoonfuls of blueberry honey Three almond crescents

Sour Cherry Pie - Basically just sour cherries, a little tapioca, sugar, and 1/2 a cup cherry juice along with some almond extract in a pie shell. Lattice cover it and there you go.

I never thought of this of repulsive, until recently, when a friend looked at me and said, what the hell are you doing? Grilled cheese covered in worcestershire sauce. I think it's a perfect marraige of flavors.

In 2006, I will eat anything new and different including food of which I can't pronounce the name. Check. I will make a real effort to stop eating cowtails at work. Done. I will find new recipes to make and consume. Yep. I will learn how to make cheese cake that isn't ricotta based even though that's the only kind I like. Nope. But my ricotta cheesecake rules anyway. I will teach my honey to be somewhat efficient in the kitchen. Indeed. I will read a cookbook that I don't already know how to make the recipes in. Sorta. This is the year I will try to actually bake something sweet, including carrot cake Yes - I made a carrot cake in August! I will taste wine and understand its complexities before downing it. Working on it. I will use an apron. Nope. I will give D less of a hard time in the kitchen and remember that I'm not a caterer anymore, I'm just a home cook. Yes mame. I will cook as much as possible and stop ordering takeout from the same places. Urban Gourmet's burning down really helped out here. We will run to offset all the food we will eat - perhaps even that marathon we've been training for forever. Yay for Boston 2007! My kids consist of one 31 adult man who cannot cook. He will learn or die trying in the next year. Well, part of that is true.

I love, love Chef Mamou's.

Dear Lindt, I find it highly suspicious that you sell your holiday themed chocolates for half price. I am convinced that you are trying to make me eat an entire bag in one sitting. You have not succeeded yet, but I had three of the little balls before 9am today. Please try to keep your product more expensive for my sake. Thank you, gini

I think that you don't like blue cheese also. Gorganzola dolce is a more mild blue cheese (hence the "sweet" associated with it). Give me picante any day of the week!

Have you tried Khao Sarn or Dok Bua in Brookline yet? Those are two great places to have Thai.

Ah - looks like I caught them on a bad night - I'll have to try again. I love me some offal:).

They were so hard that when I tried to cut into one, it sprung off the plate in defiance.

10 Tables is a wonderful small neighborhood place specializing in seasonal American cuisine. Their Tuesday night 4 course wine dinner for $35 is a hard to beat value.

I think Eastern Standard is a good idea for 5 for 60 - 70 a head. The bartending is superb, the place is loud, noisy and a little trendy, and the food is very decent. Stay away from the offal, however.

I really like sitting at the bar. You can order off both the bar menu (great value) and the dining room menu. I'm not sure what they have for draft beer. The menu changes seasonally, but favorites have been: buttermilk battered duck legs, fig & pistachio crusted ribeye, tryptch of lobster, the pick plate, their burger & the bluecheese, bacon & ranch fries. For dessert, the pumpin pudding & cheese cake are both decadent.

This is probably one of my favorite restaurants in the greater Boston area - we go about once a month. It's gotten considerably better since Jason took over the kitchen & Paul still holds his own in the bar.

Challah for Rosh Hashana!

Bavarian Apple Tarte Italian Plum Torte

Pumpkin Ravioli in a browned butter sage sauce is a an old standby for me. You cut and roast the pumpkins, mix the meat with some ricotta and a little romano, then stuff into ravilio and boil. Depending how big your pumpkins are, you could also stuff them with rice and root vegetables. For a stew, I would use ground coriander, turmeric, cinnamon, ground ginger, ground cumin in a stew with onion, tomatoes, pumpkin, zucchini, garbanzo beans and raisins. Method: Heat oil in large non-stick pot or Dutch oven. Add onion and spices; cook 10 minutes or until onion is limp, stirring frequently. Add tomatoes, pumpkin, broth and lemon juice. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes. Add garbanzo beans, zucchini, parsley and raisins. Cover and simmer 10 minutes, until zucchini is tender. Season with hot pepper sauce to taste. I also like pumpkin in cocounut milk for a nice dessert.

I am consistenly amazed that people continue to compare a city of 600,000 residents to cities of 3 million residents (Chicago) or 8 million (NYC). Why not compare apples to apples here? Atlanta, New Orleans, San Francisco - these are the cities to compare Boston with. Boston just can't physically compete with NY or LA. There are reasons why it is always half a step behind Paris - there are fewer chefs, fewer patrons, fewer options. Anyway, I think that Boston has good food - not great food. I also don't think there is a best chef in Boston or a best restaurant. But there are certainly some good eats.