Peter the eater

I like the bowls. My stove is several steps from my cutting board so I make many trips, using some bowls more than once. Also, my board is round with an 18" diameter and my knife of choice is 12" so there's not much room for making piles.

I agree. ← Maybe Katz's is more like the Prado, and that Reuben Sandwich isn't a Reuben, it's a Goya -- The Nude Maja. All that exposed flesh and nothing concealing it. . .

I have to say, Musk Sticks sounds more like an antiperspirant deodorant than a confection. Having said that, I'd try some if I had some. Musk, for me, is a strong scent that I associate with the wild muskrats of my childhood in Ontario and Quebec. As a food flavor, I'm sure it's hard to ignore.

Don't know what's up with your Chinatown chicken livers, maybe they were old and/or poorly stored. The Chinatown I once lived near in Toronto had some great items and others that were total rubbish. If I could only buy one organic grocery item, it would be liver for the reasons you alluded to -- it's the major detox organ of the animal's body.

Atlantic shrimp, sea cucumber, urchin and hagfish are doing well.

Darienne, what's DH stand for -- Designated Hitter? Dumber Half? Dearest Hubby? Fooey, that pepper mill is beautiful. Where did you get it and what's it made of?

I'm not terribly obsessive about anything in my kitchen anymore. It's become quite a dilemma for me -- collecting thing is fun, but materialism really sucks. If I had to pick something, I think it's the copper pots. The lining is easily scratched by sharp metal implements, so it's got to be stuff like nylon and wood. I have no idea where I would go to get them re-tinned.

The freezer attached to my fridge has lots of small things that have fast turnover. The things in the chest freezer stay there for many weeks or months. kitchen freezer: fruit juice concentrate, berries, peas, corn, portioned meat in vacpacs, ice cream, ice, stock. cellar freezer: last year's pig, whole chickens, deer, big packs of red meat, blue freezer packs.

That's the problem with air conditioning -- it's the antithesis of hearth.

Microplanes belong in the kitchen. This year I realized there should be more than just the regular one. I brought the others in from the wood shop -- coarse, medium, fine, superfine, and tunneling-electron-microscope fine.

Andie, that's an impressive collection to say the least. I love the vinegars that I have, but I'm nowhere near the intervention level others may have achieved mostly because I've lost plenty due to shelf-life expiration, spillage, fruit flies, etc. How old are the very old vinegars, and will they keep getting better?

Indian food. sometimes garam masala. occasionally I'll use just a tiny bit as a substitute for saffron -- not so much the flavor but the color. Me too, mostly for color. Turmeric is to yellow what beets are to red. Daisy17, did you mean "from Turkey" and not "for turkey?

Not much is truly new in the food world. There will always be new cooks with new voices, occasionally there are new ingredients or maybe a new leap in technology but the fundamental questions and answers are constant. I'm with you Tri2cook, it's a blast to read about our foodie counterparts from a century or two (or more) ago.

Congrats on the new digs -your spices look very nice in those containers. I tried to keep a bunch on my fridge but they always came off at the wrong time. A stationary surface like yours will help. My current dozen would be: 1. crunchy salt 2. whole black pepper 3. garlic powder 4. whole nutmeg 5. my own curry powder 6. whole allspice 7. ginger 8. cayenne 9. red pepper flakes 10. smoked paprika 11. turmeric 12. cinnamon

I think so. After the swallow, it's all beyond the palate. I like the idea of classic purées because it's all about the flavour -- the cutting and chewing is already done for you. Drinks are a bit like that.

How does the systematic education a palate differ between food and drink?

That image is positively mesmerizing. If Katz's is the Louvre, then that sandwich must be the Mona Lisa.

Yes. Palm a fat ginger rhizome in one hand, move the spoon across the motionless slab with the other thumb and fingers. Unless it's old and dry, it works.

I buy the big chunks, lose the little nobs, scrape with a teaspoon, then slice or microplane. Fresh ginger is absolutely one of the best deals at the market. I can fill my hat for two or three bucks. It's got such unmistakable juicy flavor and heat, plus all those other mysterious homeopathic benefits.

I don't have an online source, just a nearby farm. I'd never had mutton until two years ago -- what a revelation. It's got the rich taste of lamb that I love and the tenderness if handled properly. And it's a lot less expensive. My theory as to why mutton has had such a bad rap has to do with trimming the fat -- do it -- that's where the nastiness lies. Lean mutton and lamb, in my experience, are very similar.

Today I saw a cubic yard of these grapes at my local Frootique. The novelty has now diminished. The boxes are from California and they have the words Zante and Champagne, but not Corinth.

It's a complex question. I think there's a continuum, from the most primal taste tools needed for survival, to the highest of art forms. My palate changes daily, and so does my knowledge and experience.

Frogs and frog legs are hugely under-appreciated, in my experience. Canadians don't eat amphibians, unless they've been metabolized by predatory fish like pike and bass. As a Class of Chordates, they are extremely sensitive to changes in habitat and for that reason they're slightly sacred, and slightly scared, at least the wild ones are. David, they are a delicacy. The legs can be exquisite -- I've made some at home a few times, mostly to scare/impress guests. Simple thin batter, shallow fry.

We enjoyed a five pound fresh duck yesterday following the "Duck Pate in It's Own Skin" recipe from The Way To Cook, page 254. Sadly, no camera therefore no photos. The process is therapeutic -- remove the skin and bones, arrange the meat plus seasoned ground pork in a terrine lined with the duck skin, some pistachios, allspice, thyme, onion, garlic, eggs, cognac, etc. Et voilà! Rustic, hearty, ducky, and French.

A breast of lamb, to me, means the rib portions up front that surround the lungs and heart. Good for braising or perhaps stuffing with bread crumbs, herbs, bacon, etc. I've got some in the freezer as well as some pork and beef ribs. That would be an interesting side-by-side-by-side intercostal comparison. Around here, beef is the most expensive and pork is the cheapest and IMO the most delicious.