Peter the eater

I watch these shows way out of order, tonight I saw the New Orleans episode and I agree Dieck, it was excellent. Scrolling back through this topic for mention of the episode I also agree with cathrynapple: I think that's part but of the appeal, the food stuff is always there but so is the rest: the back story, the workers, the families, the traditions. I'm nominating the Tony and his crew for an Emmy!

Bridgestone, that steak looks obscenely delicious. T-bones like that one remind me why I'd fail as a vegetarian. Did you make your Bearnaise with what looks like sage or the more traditional taragon/chervil combo? What went on the meat - just salt flakes and butter?

Hiroyuki, what do you make of these clams - do they look the same as the hokkigai you have? I have never seen a Japanese word on the labels at my fish market - obviously the seller is assuming the buyers know the word. Do your surf clams come from the Sea of Japan or the Pacific, or both?

No, it was consumed as is, in all that golden glory. I see the epicurious recipe suggests coring the head prior to baking - also a good idea but I didn't bother since mine was on the small side and when I twist/snap the stem I usually get most of it out. Stems get a raw deal. I used to throw out every broccoli stem I cut, until I peeled one and ate it. Its as good or better than the florets.

Nice shot, Peter. I agree with the cooking time: I did the same thing the other night and wished I had left them a bit firmer. I wonder how long you really need to cook them to be "mostly safe." I'm sure the 10 minute recommendation is a "cover our butts" time. ← Whenever a municipality puts a boil order out to ensure safe drinking water from the city's supply they always say ten minutes. I assume this is ample time to kill the bugs.

The PC lychee product looks like this: The price was a mere $0.99 for 2 liters, like most of the house brand sodas. Begs the question "why does the 1 liter soda cost six dollars at the movie theater?". I'll give the drink a 7.5/10. Right now I'm enjoying it with an ounce and a quarter of Beefeater gin so the new score is a full 8.

It was around an hour and a half at 350F if memory serves. There was a small chicken in the oven at the time. The florets look so golden because the whole head got a mist of olive oil from a manual pump sprayer before going in.

This topic should be converted into a giant coffee table book with a million glossy pages. Here's a pork shoulder roast with asparagus (store sign said product of Canada, label said New Jersey - either way good) and scalloped potatoes:

For anyone who still doubts or is somehow unaware of the extreme deliciousness of whole roasted cauliflower . . . it's true:

This topic seems like good place to share my new appreciation for Arctic surf clams: These guys were harvested by Clearwater Seafood way up north past Newfoundland hundreds of kilometers offshore. The vendors pitch them as sweet and delicate and I have to agree. I've had hokkigai before but until now haven't brought them home as an ingredient to be messed around with. I had no sticky rice and no nori so they got chopped and warmed up in couscous served with fiddleheads. It seems they get chewy as they are cooked so I'll go totally raw next time.

We've now got them here in Nova Scotia - I think they showed up on the 24th of May. My batch looked like this: I boiled them for ten minutes, add salt and then melted butter. They'd probably be even better with less time cooking but there has been stories of bacteria in the fronds. Better safe than sorry. I recall a post from mid 2007 where someone in Ontario was thinking of pureeing fiddleheads for a catering job - along with pickerel I think - and I replied how I simply couldn't bring myself to liquefy such short lived beauties. Now I have a new answer . . . trim off the stem for the puree and keep the tight coils intact.

I’ll offer another analogy . . . it’s has been said that there is never a true revolution in architecture unless there is a new material or substantial technology. The early architectural modernists went from iron to steel, fine-tuned the recipe for concrete, discovered petroleum-based products, float glass, etc. and by the time WWII was over, modernists had transformed our built environment into something truly original. I can see some similarities with what the new chefs are doing – using technologies and ingredients that have never seen the inside of a kitchen before. But then came the architectural postmodernists who took great issue with the apparent lack of humanity and tradition, and quite frankly they were right. It may be good to be challenging but it’s more important to be successful – artistically, socially, financially, etc. Buildings and food are not they same thing, but if gastronomy did come to the modernist table but just a century or so late then maybe its demise might resemble that of other art forms. Guess I better get working on some reservations.

This is an excellent discussion. Are "Challenging" Restaurants Pleasurable?, And is that a good or bad thing? I haven't been to Alinea, El Bulli nor WD-50 but I'm certain I'd take great pleasure in the challenge put to me as an enthusiastic restaurant goer. This is a good thing. I can also imagine a scenario where one might disagree. Maybe you're just trying to make a business deal over dinner, or maybe your spouse drags you out for another adventurous anniversary meal. Some people just don't want to be challenged by the food that's in front of them - not ever - just like I don't want to be challenged by the food from the drive-through window at the burger place. What do you think? I think its an exciting time to be a chef at the forefront of the profession. The MG visionaries and technoemotional food artists have really stirred the pot and as far as I'm concerned that's their job.

First of all, thank you for a topic title and description that one can actually sing instead of just read. And secondly, I'm not sure why it has to be in the fridge but I'm sure you're wise to do so - it says to on the label. I figure it's like soy sauce and all-peanut peanut butter, eat it all in a week or two to avoid refrigeration. I'd never bought wheat germ until I had babies - it's considered a superfood for the new to solids crowd. Beyond that, it's good in burgers like bread crumbs are and maybe in the morning porridge.

(start emasculated voice) I'm pretty much my wife's intern (end emasculated voice) but now that we have dozens of silicon inserts or in some cases replacements for the various pans I don't mind the clean up so much. The mini muffin tray with a six by ten array was the worst.

Capers on pizza is a good idea, or anywhere else there are a lot of ingredients competing for your taste buds.

Chris, your chicken looks spot on. These days I find FC to be the food mag I love the most. I got hooked on the Taunton format years ago, and their utility and clarity. For me it's the perfect balance of text book and sexy photo periodical. I'm not one to follow recipes but I usually get influenced enough to make stuff from their pages in some way or another. Now that the challenge is on I'll try something and report back.

Sworthen, congrats on the new house. Oooooh, a kitchen design question. A galley kitchen is spatially the most efficient - I often recommend this arrangement to clients. I'd lose the tiles. Some are better than others, but ultimately a bunch of grout lines on the counter will be a bother. They're also very brittle and cracks will eventually show up in the grout and possibly the tiles. There are lots of ways to utilize that 2'x2'x3' dead space created by a counter corner. Why not simply slide a basket into the corner full of stuff you rarely use? You could save hundreds or even thousands on "magic" hardware. Spend it on groceries.Having said that, there are some impressive contraptions available if you are willing to spend. Some are quite new so nobody really knows how they'll perform in a decade or two. Having designed, built, or at least specified over a hundred residential kitchens I'm quite sure simple is usually best. Let us know what you do!

I'm enjoying the bounty and look forward to the leg photos! No mention of the pancreas, was it too small? Around here it's sold along with the thymus as sweetbreads. Although anatomically very different, I can't tell them apart unless I'm the one cooking them. As far as the lungs go . . . I got nothing.

Great post, John. I think your words above sum it up for me and I'll bet for many of the readers here. My wife grew up on a similar looking sheep farm and although it was before I met her I have heard the stories and seen the photos. There is something very gracious about living on a family farm, the people I know who have grown up this way tend to be practical and lacking pretense. The next best thing would be to visit one to buy at least some of your groceries there, as you have just done. edit: that "small chainsaw" looks like a DeWalt reciprocating saw

I enjoy seeing the seafood products and prices from nearby, thanks JD. I've not seen a clam called topneck at my market - is it different from a little neck or cherrystone? Do you ever see Arctic surf clams? How about snow crab?

As soon as I read this topic title and description I knew I'd be seeing the word lychee - I saw the product and almost bought a bottle. Me too! I have a soft drink less than once a week but I am often lured to the PC products since they are so attractively packaged. I agree that some of the sodas are a lot better than others, packaging aside. It's amusing to see the ones that tank show up later with prices slashed, like sparkling whatever-berry $0.99 per case. I like PC pomegranate and grapefruit soda. IMO the blueberry one looks better than it tastes. Its a funny thing how some flavors just don't seem to cut it in the world of carbonation. Why, for example, is there no chocolate soda? Or is there? Vanilla is represented in most versions of cream soda, although not in the original version invented here in Nova Scotia over a hundred years ago (85 years after we invented ice hockey).

Thanks so much Susan, your contributions are hugely appreciated!

Absolutely, I couldn't agree more. I asked a foodie friend (last name Olanescu and very proud of his Romanian heritage) who saw the episode and was thrilled to see the officials exposed as the bafoons they are.

So far, the covers this year have been: Jan - chocolate pudding pie Feb - blueberry pancakes Mar - corned beef sandwhich Apr - cupcakes May - steak frites Jun - cherry pie What do you think of this list? This looks like a departure from previous years. All of these things strike me as diner food and I'd go even further and say retro. Being a total omnivore, I do like all of the cover recipes and I'm pleased to see classics revisited, but I still won't forgive the use of a mix for the pancakes. BTW here's our attempt on the May's cover, omitting cognac in the sauce: