Peter the eater

That sounds right to me. 1, 5, 13 seem fairly Irish and 9, 12 more English or Welsh. 11 has Dutch relatives while 14 is widespread. 15 is a Cape Breton thing.

That's a thing of beauty, howsmatt. Can you describe the sear process for your drooling readers?

That's one crap-yourself-funny account of ovamania. Some obsess over the centering of the yolk in a well-cooked egg, or how to remove the fly-away watery white, or how to get that green ring without the stink, or how to slow cook the perfect Hamine egg. Maggie, your mission puts you in special company. Maybe it's my own low standards or perhaps laziness but I kinda like a medium egg on the soft side. My solution is boil an extra and make sure I crack him (I guess that should be her) a little early so I can rescue the others. No dog so I slurp the altruistic pawn while the others cook on for a bit, once I see I'm past the 100% opaque albumen stage of course. It may be a little late but I found an apt 3:20 track for you. It's a vinyl 45 of mine, a bootleg of a Buddy Holly track being covered by -- wait for it -- the Beatles. But wait, there's more! The title of the song is "Crying, Waiting, Hoping".

That's the fun part -- creativity is boundless. The one and only Obama Burger I've had involved a chunk of pineapple I assume because of his Hawaiian background. Watching today's news coverage of his trip to Ottawa and learning of his familial connections to the North, I'm inclined to include a strip of Canadian back bacon braided with salty city and sweet country American ham strips. Well, maybe not. Batard, could you provide us with the metric equivalent for a Buttload?

Coconut crabs! Cool. I'd seen pictures of these before, and just lumped them in as land crabs. The claws are what gets my attention in the photos. But, checking out the wiki habitat map, it looks like they didn't land on the mainland (or, if they did, they were quickly eaten). It does look like they may be present in the Philippines, though, so I think we'll have to talk Rona into finding some on her next trip there! ← Imagine what a crab would taste like if it only ever ate coconuts . . . apparently it has an oil sack or something that's the ultimate union of crab and coconut. There's a good bit about them in Bourdain's No Reservations French Polynesia episode.

I'll be trying this method out on thick pork chops soon, the freezer is full of the stuff. And so I did. Below is a very thick pork chop edge-seared in butter, then both sides browned and made firm, then roasted in a convection oven at 325F until just cooked through. The big bonus here was a skillet with the delicious beginnings of a pan sauce. I softened a small diced onion, sprinkled in some flour, added apple juice and cranberries, and finished it with vinegar, salt and a jalapeno. Sprinkle cracked black pepper and garnish with yellow slices of dried apple.

I can feel the love all the way from frozen Nova Scotia. I'm going to find a use for those elephant commands -- why say drink spray when you can say bong bone? The soft shell crab looks very good. Can you get coconut crab (Birgus latro) there? I've been fantasizing about this bizarre creature since learning about it last week.

So far I've encounter three burgers dedicated to or inspired by the new President. One was in Chicago and another in DC -- both logical places to find such a creation. The third one I actually purchased, photographed and ate in Tampa: This one features a beef patty between two slices of grilled rye bread with bacon, onion, pineapple and jack cheese. I was skeptical, but it was outstanding. The grilled bread stood up to the moisture and provided a strong and surprisingly pleasant flavor component. It was a nine out of ten -- some blue cheese or hot peppers might make it a perfect ten. Who has an Obama Burger story to share?

I'm in. This is just what I need to put a dent in my weird Asian food drawer -- a neglected stash of impulse items whose labels I can't read. Friday is fish market so I'll start tomorrow.

I've no knowledge of Cheezits, but Goldfish are in heavy rotation at my house. The most popular ones are the rainbow kind.

Cheese whiz, uni and marmite. If there's a bonus for not using seafood I'll switch the sea urchin for root beer.

Last night was a AB:NR six hour marathon for me -- trapped indoors in sunny Florida with a sick child. We watched Argentina, Brazil, Russia, Chicago, French Polynesia and The Philippines, and all were worthy as usual. I also recognized a few faces in Chicago. I've never been to the Philippines but look forward to hearing what the experts here have to say.

Pot. Knives get smaller and more dull with time, pots get seasoned. Plus my top pot is ten times more expensive than my top knife.

Before I got to the end of your initial post I thought of the typical North American Thanksgiving dinner, which has it all. But that one's an anomaly occurring only once a year. The question is: Of those five I'm usually missing one or two at home cooked meals. I'd add spicy-hot to the fray since its like a vitamin for me.

There's this one which is teeming with acumen.

Crêpes-repas featuring lobster or smoked salmon are the cat's ass.

Well, if El Taller can do it then how hard can it be? (meant to be read with a sarcastic tone) Actually, I did find a technique that fits. A mackerel fillet is carefully skinned, the meat is poached, made boneless and seasoned before being rolled back into the skin -- which has been warmed in a vinegar/salt/sugar mix. No picture, but I'll be trying to duplicate that recipe in the near future.

Good luck with the pork kidneys. I don't have any more to add . . . except that IMO the kidneys from a suckling pig are twice as nice as those from a big old hog.

That's the Holy Grail as far as I'm concerned. Of course, by definition a french fry must be fried. Deep frying is messy, expensive, dangerous and unhealthy -- which is why I won't do it everyday, once a week's good. My best "baked fry" is still inferior to the fried fry, but the gap's narrowing. Tonight we had baked fries using no.1 russet potatoes from Prince Edward Island, the Idaho of eastern Canada. The best way I know is: 1. scrub don't peel the potatoes 2. cut long and thin 3. soak in warm water for at least a few hours 4. drain and dry as much as possible 5. toss to barely coat in oil (1:1 canola:olive) 6. bake at 375F on a rack on a pan You never really know if there done until you taste one -- light golden brown at 25 minutes is usually close. Problem is they go downhill fast as the chocolaty brown stage hits -- dry and bitter. Here's a crappy picture which shows the uncooked spuds on a rack: note: if anyone knows why a 1 year old Cannon PowerShot A460 should suddenly start taking over-exposed and striated images, please send me a PM. The video feature still works perfectly.

I love the cheescloth idea. Seems most people are using twine, do you see a difference between the cloth hanging and the string hanging? Great looking pics too. Thanks. ← To be honest, that pancetta got better after an additional two weeks in the veggie crisper. And by then I had a proper meat slicer -- thin translucent slices made a difference.

Helen, I'm beginning to understand the potential of a well-packed bento. A parent could really make a statement. My kids love the toy factor -- little bits with faces, mini-this, kitty-that. I'm just happy to give them something without a Disney Princess. Question: I've scanned the 12 pages of this topic but I don't know (or missed) if there's a refrigerated bento tradition - something to be consumed just above freezing. I know I like the room temperature stuff, I just wonder if there's protocol for the chilly dishes.

Chef Bradley, home-made pancetta is a good thing. I've done it and was pleased. Here's a picture: post #39

[Moderator note: The original Bentos topic became too large for our servers to handle efficiently, so we've divided it up; the preceding part of this discussion is here: Bentos (2003-2008)] I'm now much more informed and rather well outfitted with a ton of bento accessories, thanks for your help Erin, and the kids are loving it. Here's some photographic evidence of happy children: That was an hour ago, the shot looks weird not because of Photoshop editing but because the batteries were failing - another new experience. Here are my current impressions of bento: 1. Creative potential is immense 2. Logical use of leftovers 3. Total control over portion size and content 4. You get out of it what you put into it, like everything else in life I'm sure I'll come up with some ill-informed questions soon, thanks in advance Kris, Helen, Hiroyuki, Nakji, et.al.

Cracklins are the perfect no-carb snack. I don't know about your Mexican market, but scrunchions are a traditional home-cooked treat in eastern Canada. Fresh, frozen or salt pork is very slowly rendered in a pan on the stove until only the protein remains. Cut thin strips and take your time. In springtime Quebec you can find them served at the sugar shack with maple syrup. They call them "the ears of Jesus" or "oreilles de crisse".

I've been reading Busboy's topic about Crispy Fish Skin and was reminded of another fish skin issue that's stumped me for a long time: Is it possible to retain the beautiful raw skin colors of, say, an iridescent blue mackerel once it's cooked? I know the skin can look largely unchanged if pickled or cured in salt, but are there techniques out there to cook the flesh but keep the raw beauty intact?