RDCollins

Prime in the Bellagio. Food and service are great, surroundings are elegant, and the dancing water show or whatever it's called is not nearly as geeky as it sounds.

One more vote for "unless piece of plastic crap." Consider this: It can't chop an onion unless you: 1. Get a knife and cut the ends off the onion; 2. Peel the onion; 3. Find the UPOPC; 4. Put the onion in the UPOPC; 5. Give the UPOPC a hard whack like in the TV ads (it's obviously not easy), and hope that you don't break either the cheap plastic frame or the cheap metal blades. Then you have to: 1. Wash the knife; 2. Wash the UPOC (or throw it in the trash if it's broken). Since you have to use a knife to cut the ends off the onion and then peel it, it seems to me that 8 or 10 more strokes of the knife is: 1. Faster; 2. Simpler; 3. Results in less cleanup; 4. Allows you more control over the results (i.e., size and shape of the onion pieces -- sometimes I want thin slices that produce long strands of onion, sometimes I want big chunks for stews and soups, sometimes I want tiny little pieces, and sometimes I want medium cubes of onion -- the Whack-O-Matic UPOPC gives you one choice, and that don't cut it, so to speak. Buy your friends a good chef's knife, and they'll still be thanking you in 40 years. I know because I have a set of Wusthof knives that I've used everyday since 1968, and they're like new. I think about the friend who gave me one of them every time I use it. I doubt that would be the case if he had opted for the UPOPC.

Just dump it -- life's to short to suffer for the sake of a few bucks. Next time, make meals in advance so he won't poison your kids while you're gone. Tell him that they've have gotten impossibly fussy and won't eat anything except what you've made -- anything to keep him out of the kitchen.

Yesterday was the 40th anniversary of the blind date on which I met my wife, so I pulled one of my better bottles from the cellar, a spectacular 1992 Beringer Private Reserve Cab. I paired it with the simplest and best thing for a big red: grilled beef steak, specifically a bone-in top sirloin that was on sale at the market for $4.77 a pound, if you can believe that, and it was really very good. Also had grilled asparagus and a baked yam. My preference when pairing food with good wine is to keep flavors simple, not a lot of spice or herbs, no cloying sauces, especially when the wine is intended to be the star of the show, as it was last night.

I've been collecting wine for 30 years. In my judgment, the two worst enemies of wine are heat and light. Ideally, long-term storage of wine should be in a dark room or cabinet at between 55 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Lower temperatures will impede development of the wines, especially the reds. Significantly higher temperatures will damage the wine in time, but normal room temps for a year or so are normally OK. The wine should be stored on its side to keep the cork from drying out. If you're serious about collecting wine, either find a local wine-storage facility or look into buying a wine locker, such as a Vinotemp. A normal refrigerator is fine for whites, at least for the short term.

You call 3 guys drinking a bit over 4 bottles a night CARNAGE? I've had some nights that would be considered Nuclear Meltdown by those standards ← Hey, ease off, bucko! We're old farts, and we did it three nights in a row. Took us a week to recover. Besides, we quaffed some good sh*t, and the food was awesome!

Oy, vey! What an idiot! I'm sorry -- I can't imagine how I misunderstood you. Sorry about that. I'm old and I drink way too much.

It sounds like it didn't rise properly, so I'd say back to basics: Make sure the butter and sugar are well creamed before adding the other ingredients. Make sure your baking powder is fresh. Have everything at room temperature, especially the butter. Measure carefully -- baking is like chemistry, and ratios of ingredients matter greatly. Mix thoroughly, but don't over beat the batter once the flour has been added. Run a knife around the pan to get out any large air bubbles once the batter is in the pans. Check the oven temperature -- buy a good oven thermometer and do not rely on the dial. Cook by feel, not by time -- time is only approximate; cake should bounce back when lightly touched, not leave goo on a toothpick stuck in the center, and should just begin to pull away from the sides of the pan when it is done. Cool on a rack; handle gently until fully cooled.

I don't have them catalogued, but I count about 750 cookbooks in our collection. That includes about 450 hardbacks, some of which are quite rare. Nearly all are American, and the collection focuses on mid-20th century cookbooks. Click here for one photo of the books. Click here for another photo of the cookbooks.

Excuse me??? Please don't presume to speak for me, or for any9one else for that matter. I've been drinking and collecting wine since 1966, and I do have a modest cellar of about 500 bottles. I may not be an "expert," but I goddamn well know what I like!

No, no, no... carnage would be bottles on their side and bodies waking in a drunken stupor, not knowing what hit them. Your picture has all your bottles neatly lined up, with corks! You obviously weren't wasted enough! ← But this was taken the morning after.... Count them, there are 13 1/2 bottles, 3 nights, 3 guys -- you do the math!

Two college pals and I spent 3 nights at the rental home one of my friends owns in Cambria, California. The weather wasn't too good so we mostly cooked and ate and drank wine, including several bottles of Malbec that one fellow had brought from Argentina, and several older bottles from my cellar. Click here for a photo of the carnage.

My wife and I collect cookbooks, concentrating on mid-20th century American. We have about 1000 in our library, and we frequently try recipes from them. One of my recent favorites, which was an enormous hit with my college buddies from the 60s, was this, which Adapted from Margaret Costa’s Four Seasons Cookery Book CARBONADE FLAMANDE Don’t let all the simple directions scare you — this delicious stew is easy to make, although it takes about an hour to put together and 2½ hours to cook. Serve it with a hearty red wine and a simple vegetable, such as steamed carrots or broccoli; the bread replaces the potatoes usually served with stews. 3 Large Onions 2 Cloves Garlic 3 Tablespoons Butter, Divided 2 Pounds Boneless Stewing Beef ½ Cup Flour, Divided Salt & Pepper ½ Pint English Brown Ale (Newcastle, Samuel Smith, Bass, Etc.) 1 Teaspoon Red W ine Vinegar 1 14½ -Ounce Can Beef Stock Water as Needed 2 Teaspoons Brown Sugar ¼ Teaspoon Powdered Thyme 4 Thick Slices of French Bread Dijon Mustard 1. Peel onions, cut in half from end to end, thinly slice, and set aside. 2. Crush or finely chop garlic and set aside (separate from onions). 3. Cut meat across the grain into strips about 1 inch wide, 3 inches long, ½ inch thick, trimming off fat. 4. Melt 1½ Tablespoons of butter in a large skillet or a heavy, deep, pan with tight-fitting lid; if using a skillet, have a 5 to 6 quart covered casserole dish ready. 5. Add onions to butter and cook over medium heat until browned, about 30 minutes. 6. Add garlic and brown sugar when onions are nearly done, stir and cook for two minutes. 7. Remove the onion mixture from pan, put in bowl and set aside (put in casserole dish if using). 8. Reserve 2 Tablespoons of flour, then put the rest in a plastic bag and add a little salt and pepper; put about a of the beef slices in the bag and shake to coat with flour. 9. Add 1/3 of the remaining butter to pan. 10. Add the floured beef slices to pan and brown on all sides, then remove and add to onions; repeat steps 8, 9, and 10 with remaining flour, meat, and butter until all of the meat has been browned. 11. Return all of the onion mixture and browned meat to the pan. 12. Blend in the reserved 2 Tablespoons of flour and stir well. 13. Add the ale and vinegar and stir. 14. Add the stock and just enough water to barely cover meat and onions and stir. 15. Add 1 Teaspoon of salt, ½ Teaspoon of pepper, and the fresh herbs or powdered thyme, and stir well, scraping up any brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pan and stirring them into the mixture. 16. Cover pan tightly, or transfer meat mixture to casserole dish and cover it tightly; cook in oven, preheated to 300 degrees Fahrenheit, for 2½ hours, stirring every 30 minutes. Add water if necessary. 17. When meat is nearly done, spread mustard liberally on slices of French bread. 18. Remove lid and lay the bread on top of the meat, mustard side down, and cook uncovered until the bread is brown and crisp. 19. Serve with toasted bread on top of meat, mustard side down.

Carbonade Flamande (Beef Stew with Beer & Onions) Serves 4 as Main Dish. Don’t let all the simple directions scare you — this delicious stew is easy to make, although it takes about an hour to put together and 2½ hours to cook. Serve it with a hearty red wine and a simple vegetable, such as steamed carrots or broccoli; the bread replaces the potatoes usually served with stews. 3 Large Onions 2 Cloves Garlic 3 T Butter, Divided 2 lb Boneless Stewing Beef 1/2 c Flour, Divided Salt & Pepper 1 c English Brown Ale (Newcastle, Samuel Smith, Bass, Etc.) 1 tsp Red Wine Vinegar 1 Can (14.5 Ounces) Beef Stock Water as Needed 2 tsp Brown Sugar 1/4 tsp Powdered Thyme 4 Thick Slices of French Bread Dijon Mustard 1. Peel onions, cut in half from end to end, thinly slice, and set aside. 2. Crush or finely chop garlic and set aside (separate from onions). 3. Cut meat across the grain into strips about 1 inch wide, 3 inches long, 1/2 inch thick, trimming off fat. 4. Melt 1 1/2 Tablespoons of butter in a large skillet or a heavy, deep, pan with tight-fitting lid; if using a skillet, have a 5 to 6 quart covered casserole dish ready. 5. Add onions to butter and cook over medium heat until browned, about 30 minutes. 6. Add garlic and brown sugar when onions are nearly done, stir and cook for two minutes. 7. Remove the onion mixture from pan, put in bowl and set aside (put in casserole dish if using). 8. Reserve 2 Tablespoons of flour, then put the rest in a plastic bag and add a little salt and pepper; put about 1/3 of the beef slices in the bag and shake to coat with flour. 9. Add 1/3 of the remaining butter to pan. 10. Add the floured beef slices to pan and brown on all sides, then remove and add to onions; repeat steps 8, 9, and 10 with remaining flour, meat, and butter until all of the meat has been browned. 11. Return all of the onion mixture and browned meat to the pan. 12. Blend in the reserved 2 Tablespoons of flour and stir well. 13. Add the ale and vinegar and stir. 14. Add the stock and just enough water to barely cover meat and onions and stir. 15. Add 1 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of pepper, and the powdered thyme, and stir well, scraping up any brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pan and stirring them into the mixture. 16. Cover pan tightly, or transfer meat mixture to casserole dish and cover it tightly; cook in oven, preheated to 300 degrees Fahrenheit, for 2 1/2 hours, stirring every 30 minutes. Add more water if necessary. 17. When meat is nearly done, spread mustard liberally on slices of French bread. 18. Remove lid and lay the bread on top of the meat, mustard side down, and cook uncovered until the bread is brown and crisp. 19. Serve with toasted bread on top of meat, mustard side down. Keywords: Main Dish, Intermediate, Beef, Dinner ( RG1787 )

I suppose it depends on what you mean by expensive, but Salter makes very good digital scales. I've had a Model 1100 for about 3 years. It weighs to 11 pounds in either ounces or grams in 1/10 ounce increments, and it allows you to place a bowl on the scale, press a button to set the scale to zero, and then add ingredients, thus weighing only the ingredients. Amazon has several choices, with free shipping and no tax. The Model 1100 is $45.

I had to cook on electric for several years for the same reason as you -- bought a house, couldn't afford to replace the stove, and didn't get around to redoing the kitchen for about 20 years! Better late than never, I guess. Anyway, the biggest change is learning to adjust the heat without the visual aid of the flame -- you just learn to do that by the setting on the dial. Another big difference is the lack of instant on and off. When you turn electric on, it takes a minute to get to temperature, and if you tend to wander away during that time, you can have a small disaster on your hands. Similarly, when you turn it off, it stays hotter than gas for several seconds. It's therefore best to remove the pan from the heat rather than just turning it off. That said, electric can be very efficient and very hot -- boiling water for a pot of pasta is often quicker than on a standard gas range. HTH!

I posted a very similar comment on another forum a few weeks ago and got a variety of different opinions. Specifically, I noted that I've always viewed "sifted flour" and "flour, sifted" to mean two different things. "1 cup of sifted flour" to me means to sift the flour, then measure it; "1 cup of flour, sifted" means to measure the flour, then sift it. I assume recipe writers mean what they say and say what they mean, although I suspect I give most too much credit. In any case, this thread got me off my duff and I did a little experiment just now. I measured out a cup of Gold Medal Flour that had been opened and added to the canister about two weeks ago, so it was fresh and pretty fluffy. I used a metal measuring cup, spooned the flour into it without packing it, and leveled it with a knife. I then weighed the flour on a digital scale (without the measuring cup). I then sifted that cup of flour using a standard kitchen sifter that has 3 or 4 screens, spooned it into the same measuring cup and leveled it with a knife. I had about 3 Tablespoons of sifted flour left over. I then weighed that cup of flour, again without the cup. Here are the results: 1 Cup Unsifted Flour = 4 5/8 ounces 1 Cup Sifted Flour = 3 3/4 ounces That's a difference of .875 ounces of about 23.3 percent (by weight, not volume), enough to cause a significant change in the texture of many baked goods. Perhaps the best solution is to weigh flour and other dry ingredients rather than measure them by volume, which I've been told is standard practice in commercial bakeries, but unfortunately few home recipes in the U.S. are written in that format. I'd be interested in hearing from others who try this experiment.

Peanut Butter (Chunky) and Honey on Toasted English Muffins!

One big problem with Chardonnay in cooking is that it's often very oaky, which will add an odd flavor to something deletact like halibut. If you decide to use Chardonnay, pick one that is not oaked. As for Pinot Grigio, much of what is available in the U.S. is so bland that you might as well use water. I would probably opt for either a good Chenin Blanc or Sauvignon Blanc, both for cooking and to serve the fish with. As W.C. Fields said, "I always cook with wine; sometimes I even put it in the food!"

One good source of Pennsylvania Dutch recipes is a 1935 book entitled The Pennsylvania Dutch And Their Cookery by J. George Frederick. It was reissued in 1966, but is long out of print. In addition to many authentic recipes, the book includes a lot of fascinating information about Pennsylvania Dutch culture. There are usually a couple of copies available on www.eBay.com for under $10.