muon

Here's a recipe from Epicurious: CARAMELIZED BACON. No nuts or flour though - --m.

Don't know Cold Stone -- but one is opening in Times Square (42 between 7/8 -- north side, east of Chevy's). I pass it every day on my way to work -- I'd say it'll be open within a month. --m. EDIT: fixed location.

Home for the holidays, helping mum in the kitchen. We were making butternut squash -- cut in half, cut side down in about an inch of water (started out that way, anyway), in a glass dish in the oven. Popped open the oven for a peek, noticed that the water had evaporated -- no prob, time for a refill. Filled a measuring cup with **cold** water from the tap, pulled the rack out, poured about 1/2 in the dish ... and KA-BOOOM -- hot glass grenade. The kitchen gods were looking out for me that night -- hot glass shrapnel all over the kitchen, and luckily none of it embedded in my face, which was about 12 inches away. Never, never, never pour cold water in a glass dish just from the oven.

My favorite is the 'red' flavor. And as far as secret recipes -- learned this one from my mom. Follow the directions on flavor packet (add water) -- but here's the trick -- pour the last little bit of water directly into the flavor packet and then dump into the pitcher, prior to refrigeration. It gives that little extra burst of red flavor. --m.

Spanish mackerel. Also called horse mackerel. I thought Spanish mackerel was sawara. Or does that just apply to sushi/sashimi. Or am I completely off base? --m. I have no idea what sawara is in English, but it isn't the same as aji. It is very white in color more like cod. Guess it is time to pull out the dictionary. From http://www.bento.com/sushivoc.html : aji -- horse mackerel sawara -- Spanish mackerel Whew. So I do know what I'm ordering ... --m.

Spanish mackerel. Also called horse mackerel. I thought Spanish mackerel was sawara. Or does that just apply to sushi/sashimi. Or am I completely off base? --m.

The scope-creep on this one will be fun to watch. Suggestion: rather than getting all fancy with new software, why can't we just have Andy enable sharing on his hard drive, over the net, and then we can browse the recipes stored there (along with everything else) at our leisure? --m.

Others may be interested in the recipe for chicken schawarma I found, while trying to figure out the acceptable way to spell schawarma (which I've subsequently given up on). http://food4.epicurious.com/HyperNews/get/...00/13911/1.html Adding this to the to-do list. --m.

Steve -- appreciate your thoughts. Just to clarify I think that Karam is very good, and so far the best schwerma (schwarma/schawarma/schawerma, et. al.) that I've found in New York. I can see how my post appears highly critical -- that wasn't my true intention. While I feel like their chicken sandwich is good -- from my perspective what can be had from Zankou, in LA, is significantly better. I wish I could do a side-by-side comparison with those that share an interest in this topic, and have been helpful in pointing me to some local possibilities. Just to be clear, I have an subjective standard against which my comparisons are based. Whether or not that's reasonable, or I'll find exactly what I'm looking for, remains to be seen. I've come pretty close at Karam, and I'll definitely be back. Also -- I appreciate that Karam may be more authentic Lebanese than what I've experienced to date (admittedly not a very broad experience). Subjectively however, I found it more fatty than I would prefer, or have had in the past. I am also not fond of chicken gristle. Again, I think my post is being interpreted as being more critical that I really intended it to be. I noted finding the gristle, well, because it was a notable. Let me stress though that this only happened in one of the three sandwiches I had, and I wouldn't be surprised if it's also happened to diners at Zankou ... just luckily not me. It wouldn't have stopped me from going back there though. As I try these other places, I'll also try to experience the other great wonders of Lebanese cuisine in the city. But I won't give up on my primary mission.

Ultimately -- without a doubt. My singular obsession (as far as this thread goes) is finding the ultimate chicken schwerma in New York -- a mini-me of Zankou. What I miss from LA is that good -- it would be a serious contender if I were ever to happen to find myself on death row, and planning a menu. Typically, I don't eat significant amounts at a single sitting. Today, I had to limit myself to a chicken schwerma and a kibbee -- I was by myself. The kibbee was good, but today was all about the schwerma. The initial take was a little off because I didn't order it the right way. Take two was significantly closer to what I was looking for. If I was with someone else, there were a number of other things I would have liked to share: -- kafta -- makanek -- sujok -- babaghanouj -- tabouleh -- dolmos/grape leaves -- lentil soup -- fool mddammas When I go back to Karam, I'll bring a larger crew and diversify my selections somewhat. Man cannot live by schwerma alone!

Phase 1 complete. Headed down to Karam this afternoon, for 'chicken schwerma' -- which is simply 'chicken' sandwich on their menu. I had one chicken sandwich and a kibbee ball there. When I sat down to eat the sandwich -- I realized with the first bite that I should have asked for it without lettuce (shredded iceberg -- I didn't realize it would be on there). The iceberg neutralizes the stronger tastes from the garlic paste and turnip pickles. Althought I was disappointed, I definitely detected potential. This first sandwich also came without hot peppers. I ordered two more to go -- without lettuce, and with hot peppers on the side. I was a little worried they wouldn't travel well -- being that I wouldn't make it home for a couple of hours. So they came along with me to the office for about an hour, then Barnes & Noble in Union Square, then home and into the refrigerator. If you were at B&N around 5/5:30, and smelled my garlicky dinner, apologies -- I tried to get through the literature/fiction and DVD sections quickly. I refrigerated the takeout for a few hours, then microwaved them for 90 seconds before eating. I was afraid the pita would have deteriorated into a wet bread sponge, but it held up extremely well. The peppers were ok, but not what I was hoping for either -- they were a milder green pepper, without any crunch or snap. All things considered, take two was significantly better -- without lettuce and with peppers is the way to go. Karam wasn't a bullseye -- but it's close enough to suffice. The flavors were there, but much less intense. Karam is much better than other schwermas I've found in New York (Zankou is the standard against which I'm comparing these other joints): * chicken meat -- a little more bland and dry than Zankou in LA, and also a little more fatty (I also got a bonus piece of gristle in one sandwich) -- the chicken at Zankou is much more juicy and garlicky. * garlic paste/sauce -- very, very close; similar consistency but slightly less tangy and intense than Zankou. * turnip pickles -- spot on. * yellow hot peppers -- the biggest disappointment; the green pickled peppers they did have are less spicy and more smokey than what I was looking for. Shwermanalysis summary (to date): Zankou: A+ Karam: B- Thanks everyone for this find! --m.

About to kick off Phase 1 of my schwermanalysis. Based on eGullet feedback received, the list includes the following places. They're in descending order, based on the inferred strength of comments received for each. Karam -- Bay Ridge, Brooklyn Alfanoose -- Chinatown/Lower Manhattan Bennie's -- Englewood, NJ Azuri -- Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan Famous Pita -- Midwood, Brooklyn El Manara -- Astoria, Queens Zaytoon's -- Brooklyn Ali Baba's -- Upper West Side (including on the list, but the recommendation was very weak) I'm starting with Karam. I tried to call Alfanoose, but I'm not sure if they're open on a Sunday -- not answering the phone. For Bennie's, I'll have to glom onto a friend to get out there -- not sure about the public transportation scenario. So I'll bundle up, bring the MP3 player and couple of magazines, and take the L to the R to 86th in Brooklyn. Keep hitting that refresh button -- update to follow.

Question -- are these items available, and would the quality be consistent, for someone walking in off the street (given La Niña's connection to the owner)? One casualty of this site, specifically the New York forum, is that my a-list of restaurants to experience is growing significantly faster than my ability to do so. Di Fara's is on the short list -- as well as DB Bistro Moderne, and about a dozen Lebanese take-outs in the tri-state area -- additions within the past week. And this, to a person for whom living expenses have dramatically increased in the past month, and now has a personal commitment to make more meals at home. Perhaps I should not leave the confines of the cooking forum. -- m.

This brings back happy memories. I was definitely the 'pickiest' eater in the family. We had three table by-laws: A) you had to try a least a little of everything; B) you had to clean your plate; and C) you couldn't leave the table until you were finished. I can remember several nights of being left alone sitting at the table, in the dark with a 1/2 eaten plate in front of me, when everyone else was finished and watching the '70s version of must-see-TV in the family room. My parents weren't cruel by any means, I think the lights-off thing was done a couple of times for dramatic impact (on me). Didn't work very well. I was perfectly happy to sit there until I was told I could go upstairs to my room -- that meant I won. Although it's a biased view, I don't think I was really *that* picky of an eater -- but I was a very slow eater, and never had a large appetite. I think by-law C above is the one I had the most issues with. I can think of only two things that I would NOT touch, after a bit of experience: beets and brussel sprouts. For me, the issue was obstinance -- it became a battle of wills between me and my father for domination. I was a reasonable, but very logical child -- a nightmare, I'm sure, for any parent. If I thought something was beyond unreasonable, I wouldn't do it. For example, my loathing of brussel sprouts was well known -- as was my father's like for them. So we had them on occasion. Because of table by-law A, when we did have them, one half of a brussel sprout would be placed on my dinner plate. I would push it to the edge with the tip of a knife (very deliberately -- I could be dramatic also), and eat everything else. And then I'd put the utensils down, and the debate would start. And there I would sit. I think I got a perverse satisfaction out of not being controlled. There were periods of time where some foods were blacklisted, because of bad experiences -- that list includes cauliflower, peanuts, cracker jacks, and milk ... all at different times. When I reached early adulthood, I challenged myself to take on my food phobias -- with most of them I realized the issues were mostly mental, and not because of a strong conflict with my palate. The worst memories though, are from spending summers in North Carolina with my grandparents -- who largely had the same table by-laws. For a child having issues with brussel sprouts and beets and cream style corn and fried okra, dinner at my great aunt & uncles farm was treacherous terrain. I don't remember direct confrontations over dining, but I do remember some issues. Luckily my Aunt Grace & Uncle Claude always had a number of dogs circling the room -- I think I probably mastered sleight-of-hand during those years. This is all, of course, a matter of perspective. I think I'm going to call my parents this week and get theirs. Great thread though - --m.

Cabrales -- thanks for the details -- I'm pushing the db burger up higher on my short list, based on your post. Do you (or any others) know for how long this latest incarnation (with truffle shavings) will be offered? I doubt I can get to DB Bistro Moderne within the next month. Also we knew this was going to come at some point -- but Texans appear to mock New York burger wars, with 29.6lbs burger, for $41. --m.