Jinmyo

Re catfish. I had forgotten how much I love working with and eating this fish. Mayhaw Man, those particular "green beans" actually came from France as the local beans were all those huge pencil thick things. That's about $2 worth of beans just on that one plate. So "haricot vert", thank you very much. edit: This isn't really what I'd serve but here's a fun dinner I made for myself a bit ago. Macedonean lamb sausages with colcannon (with onion and poblano) and a wee salad. Bangers n mash:

Welcome to eGullet. And which regional cheeses did you have in mind? In fact, what regions of Italy? Being a bit more specific might help.

Fresh corn tortilla chips topped with creme fraiche, chives, and salted cod roe. Shaved cucumber salad with lime. Skillet catfish with cumin, ancho chile, garlic, allspice. Haricots vert, ramps (wild garlic) around polenta disc and roasted red pepper/chile sauce, halved baby tomato. Cheese course. edit: My homage to Mayhaw Man and the American South.

Good show, Andy.

I saw Food & Wine the other day. I left-clicked, right-clicked, double-clicked, held down the shift key. Nothing. Useless.

Hi, Amanda. I see. Thanks. Then I can't judge the book. And perhaps there was an arc throughout that I will have missed entirely. When I have an opportunity I'll find a copy and read through it. By the way, I hope that you have some good projects coming up. The reviewing stint has been hard on you.

I second the recommendation for The Apprentice by St. Jacques. Somewhere in here, bourdain was raving about it when it first came out. So much so and so well that it made the review I had been asked to do irrelevant. Pepin's generosity of spirit, width and depth of experience, and tireless dedication to teaching made for a fine book. "Seriously Old School." It is the lack of the above that I found so evident in the Mr. Latte articles that became the book that I commented on when they were mere articles. Instead I just felt embarassed for Mandy's friends and family for how she [portrayed herself] treated them and for her for her blithe callowness. I was appalled. As I read the articles week by week instead of chapter after chapter as in the book perhaps I missed seeing the journey of self-discovery. Instead it just seemed to end in matrimony.

Another restaurant betrayed by the FOH. Always sad to hear.

Suzanne, yes, "contempt" seems the right word.

The name by itself and in itself is a bit aloof, Lesley, and I certainly don't care for the name, per se. But that wouldn't stop me from dining there, per se, were I given the opportunity.

REALLY?

Wow.

I sear and then braise with a mixture of vegetable juices (tomato, onion, celery, peppers, carrots, various herbs) and often with red wine (usually some Italian plonk or a reasonable Shiraz) for three or more hours. Then lioft out the short ribs, refrigerate, refrigerate the stock. Next day, clean up the ribs, strain the braising stock several times through a lined chinois. I'll often have ginger and lemongrass in the braising juices if the application is going to Eastward.

Oh, sequim, I'm sorry that your pleasure was spoiled. I don't know what the illustrations were in the book as I read the articles online weekly as they were published in the NYT Magazine. Those were indeed quite retro which I found distasteful as they added to the sense of frippery and lightheadedness of the narrative voice. But that's just my taste. And an affect from my hope for Mandy Hesser's growth into a food writer who will be worth reading twenty years and more from now rather than a mere pattern of dust motes dancing winsomely in the light momentarily and then falling away. If you enjoyed it, my opinion, and perhaps those expressed by others as well, should also just be motes you brush away.

Suzanne, we are talking about the Mr. Latte tittering are we not? Well, the book was about self discovery, as it relates to her relationships with food and family and her courtship with Tad. And tittering is a well known by product of falling in love. I gather you did not find the book as disturbing as I found the articles then.

Thanks, Big E. You should post a bt more frequently.

Suzanne, we are talking about the Mr. Latte tittering are we not?

Isn't this the actual cut of meat a lot of Korean groceries/butchers already sell in big frozen pre-sliced packs? Assuming you live in an area with Korean butchers, I mean. Not that I've ever seen.

Egad.

Salumi with mesclun salad. Pizzas. Lots of small thin-crust pizzas. This is spinach and smoked mozz. Mine. Also: Fontina and bacon. Mozz, asiago, fontina, fuilano. As above but with anchovies. As above but with arugula atop. Chopped tomato and sopresseta with chevre and fennel seed. Basil pesto and slivers of parm reggiano. For 26. markf424, I agree that Steve's smoked haddock and bashers with egg looks wonderful.

Lardons and poached egg on frisee is the perfect salad. But just about any salad that is well made will do. Mesclun with a quick vinaigrette tucked under some sliced duck breast. (Sorry, Rochelle, salad is made to accompany duck, not the other way around.) Or tucked under or atop any grilled fish. Salade nicoise is great and wonderful with watercress, eunny jang. I've yet to have a Cobb salad that wasn't a bad idea, Basilgirl. What is your way of making them? edit: But my favourite salads are always slaws whether remoulade or just cole slaw.

Yes. Also icewine and Ontario lamb. Quebec: Oka cheese.

We have a long long history of discussing Amanda Hesser's work on eG. She did a Q&A for us and is a registered member. She will sometimes post responses to comments made about an article. She's just part of the eG scene. Naturally her interem reviews as restaurant critic will provoke much discussion.

Sam, that's so sweet.

You're always welcome, Toliver.