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Now we're really knuckling down on meals. After a full Polish breakfast, followed by a 3-course pop-up lunch at ICC then a full lunch at some bar because I wanted a beer and felt bad not buying food, we waddled into Mekelburgs which you can read about in the member news section. I still have Cosme coming up tonight. Really interesting beer list. I had the NY sour. Smoked white fish Burrata - a bit sweet, a bit warm and a bit soft. Really nice. The famous porchetta sandwich. I told them to put on half as much meat which they did and it was still huge. Everything was perfect. If this were my neighborhood, I'd be there. Great grocery to go with it. Now to purge before Cosme.

But its the Why that matters. Are we talking meat with nitrates or other curing or preserving properties? Or are we just saying meats high in non-muscular matter (grisle and tendon and such)? Why would it increase the risk of cancer? (and I fully disclose that I"m on vacation so I'll be damned if you think I"m going to read the research paper before next week) The article still doesn't answer the question well. Quoting the article above...

Our meal last night at Pokpok was really good. But I too find LOS far better. My host disagrees completely. Different strokes. I didn't find the flavors as bold and pronounced as LOS. Certainly not the diversity and depth of dishes. Nothing beats crispy rice, period. Staff were great, food was super tasty, but as Mitch said, you can't compare the two.

We're staying with a friend who's a famous travel and food writer, and she's making us go to Pokpok tonight to start the week since I dare mention Lotus of Siams I've already been told to get the wings and drinking vinegar. If they have crispy rice I want to get it to compare it to LOS. Any other must-haves?

The one that folks here regularly recommend - Badger 175. Works well for me.

Over on the EZTemper page people asked how I did one of my bonbons, so here is the step by step. Sprayed Aurelian yellow cocoa butter through my asian fry scoop Then sprayed Jade green without a screen Then a white back spray and you get this

something had to give. And quite frankly I'm not committed to Prune. Maybe we'll do that Sat morning.

Starting to get my geek on for next week's trip:

I'll definitely be filling in the gaps now for lunch and breakfast, so thanks for all these suggestions.

Well, let's not be sidetracked by what the marketing department puts out. I promise to use neither word in the book just to play it safe

Publishers Marketplace is where it all gets real. No more secrets: October 16, 2015 - ACORNS & CATTAILS by Rob ConnoleyNon-fiction: Cooking James Beard nominee chef Rob Connoley's ACORNS & CATTAILS: A MODERN COOKBOOK OF FOREST, FIELD & FARM, offering a vibrant palate of modern recipes for the home cook featuring foraged plants, hunted animals, and farmed vegetables, to Nicole Frailat Skyhorse, in a nice deal, for publication in Fall 2016, by Lilly Ghahremani at Full Circle Literary (World).

The NYC taco report today had one near where I'll be that looked amazing and then a parenthesis that said, "They've been replaced by a Brazilian buffet." THEN WHY DID YOU INCLUDE IT!

Its not a loaded question. I read Eater regularly but don't have coverage in my area, so I just don't know how much of the content I can trust. I know from reading past topics about Eater, that there may be some love loss, but I'm prepping for my first NYC trip and want to know where to get the best info. For example, today they posted best taco spots, and what I like is the ability to use the map to find things that will by in proximity to me.

How odd. The obvious answer is the fat. A secondary thought is shelf life because it won't go rancid (shortening doesn't go rancid does it?). Never heard of such a thing and quite frankly not sure I'd want to eat it. At that point switch out with coconut fat.

The only thing realer is the advance check

OK, you got me on this one. How did you create the multi-color swirl?

Can you believe how long this process takes?! But here it is. Its official!

Interesting. I like Taiwanese food. HERE's their FB page.

I've heard the same thing about Cosme, but I don't have a comparison point.

Maybe they'll make a coin to commemorate the moment. And maybe it'll be worth enough to pay for all these meals.

I'm looking forward to it. This will be a great survey of the land.

All of my reservations are made. Couldn't get Take Root because they are still renovating. Monday, October 26th Cosme Tuesday, October 27th Empellon chef's table Thursday, October 29th Contra Friday, October 30th Blanca Saturday, October 31st Prune for brunch

I'm pretty much limited to using pecans, and I buy in bulk from the growers, but what I've found is people want the whole nuts which makes wholes more expensive. Me, I want irregular pieces and drops the price significantly. So I can't remember the last time I've chopped nuts. One of my regulars is a pecan farmer and he told them that there's an even lower grade which they don't publicly sell, but you can always buy by asking, and its the remnants which they sell to farmers as feed. Still food grade. Still shell free. But dirt cheap.

Sorry, I was confused. I saw the reference to my formula and thought she was talking about the recipe itself. I read back and saw that wasn't my recipe, just the technique. So...never mind. The formula is similar to one of the recipes from JMA when I did the Pastry Championship class.

I dug through my notes to find out where that recipe came from. Its apparently a JMA formula.