Batard

Oh no, you have to try the fresh roots -- sorry, "rhizomes." Nothing like the powder. We make a lamb dish that could never get off the ground without turmeric root, it is built around the seasoning. By the way, when you cut the roots they stain everything they touch, so wear gloves unless you want yellow/orange fingers for a few days.

This seems to be used in dishes from Malaysia and Thailand also, where it is "bunga kantan" and "kaalaa" respectively. I got more useful hits searching on "Bunga Kantan" than I did googling "Torch Ginger". Chowhound even has a thread on this: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/358353 4 recipes using Torch Ginger: http://www.paradasia.com/2_Recipies_main.htm

Not sure what you mean by "after the meal", traditional Asian meals don't have individual "courses", all the food gets brought at at once or in no particular order. There's usually no heavy "desert", just something simple like fresh fruit to end the meal. Yah there's ginger or green tea ice cream, but that's so overdone. If you have to serve something, try a desert like Ice Kachang, which is really popular in Singapore and Malaysia. It looks impressive. Malaysian "Bubur Cha-Cha" would also be an exotic desert, but it has some un-desert-like ingredients in it, and may not be suited to western tastes.

I had a problem with one of their products. I was beating a little too hard on my salad spinner -- which is an amazing tool -- one day and broke the mechanism. I called OXO and they sent me a new one no questions asked. I'm not a pro cook, but I like good tools in the kitchen, and after my great experience with their products and the company, I'd recommend OXO to anyone. I have a lot of their smaller prep tools in their i-series, but have never tried their electronic stuff (like the food scale). I'm not sure I would run out and buy their Santoku, either. But I love their gadgetry.

I was working an event at the Rainbow Room in NYC, and they held an auction before dinner. One of the items being bid were two seats to Rao's for dinner. Frank Pelligrino was there and they made this whole big fuss over him. My company ran sound for the event, and Frank sang a little song for the crowd. Then the bidding started. The two seats went to someone who bid over $2,500 for them. I could not believe that someone would pay that for a guaranteed table for two at Rao's. I know Rao's has a lot of mystique and an aura of the underworld, but this is just red-sauce Italian right? I really do like their jarred marinara sauce though.

Hmmmn, not for nothing, but since these are people with professional palettes, I wonder what brand of cigarettes they smoke. Are they as discriminating with the taste of their smoke as they are with the taste of their food and wine? Are they smoking Sobranie Black Russian cigarettes? Do they roll their own from fine, carefully-selected tobaccos?

I'm gonna play the dumb guy here, and ask what it is about Bronte Pistachios that makes them so special? I know they come from a special place in Italy and that they need to marked DOP. But I googled an article which said Bronte pistachios are "sold at about 5.00 to 7.00 euro per kilo with shell and at 12.00 to 15.00 without it. " And the link Chris posted said they were "Price: $16.45" per pound. Where did the $60.00 come from? I never heard of them before, and was just wondering if this is something I needed to try before I shuffle off this mortal coil?.

Photo of the Shijimi clams:

Please let us know if the Duck Confit is worth trying. I was ambivalent about buying it last time I saw it.

Sounds like you have a better shot at getting a reservation at El Bulli. The Wall Street Journal ran an article a while back about getting reservations to difficult restaurants. http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB117...ff_main_tff_top

I wonder why that smoking ratio is so out of proportion to the rest of the population. Is there a cause and effect? I cook. Would smoking make me a better cook? * tongue in cheek *

Do you remember what kind of beer it was? I have never seen this "sludge" in a canned beer, but it is common to see some yeast slurry on the bottom of an unfiltered or bottle-conditioned beer. People who don't like the sediment usually decant the whole beer at once so that the gook at the bottom doesn't cloud up the beer. But it's harmless. I don't know what is exactly involved in the production of vinegar, but I have left wine sit and seen it turn to vinegar on its own. I've never heard of beer turning to vinegar.

I always save the skin, this is the "chef's treat" at my house. I try to leave the tiniest bit of flesh on the skin and then next day crisp it in the broiler skin up. A little rice and cucumber, a sheet of nori, and instant heaven. If I could just get salmon skin trimmed this way from a fish market I would probably eat this every day.

Jamie seems to have a proclivity for stuffed peppers. I searched around and found some different recipes online from his Naked Chef days, cookbooks, etc. But the one he made on this last episode was a much simpler version that the other ones I've seen, and that is the recipe I want to find! Couldn't even find this segment of the show on YouTube.

It made a huge difference to me. The small nuances in food that I have been missing for years has come back, and I find myself less spice-heavy than I used to be. I think I am appreciating the subtleties I was missing before, and noticing background and layered flavors more. And my sense of smell has gotten so much better, I use my nose a lot more when I am cooking and buying food now. I think I embarrass my wife because now I like to give my meals a good long sniff before digging in, and she finds that a little bit ill-mannered.

Back in college I had a Filipino friend at the dorms, and she made Kare-kare once in a while. It's a unique, rustic oxtail stew, and it's great on a very cold day or to help keep you going through exams. I think it is one of the 'signature dishes' of Filipino cuisine. You can find basic recipes everywhere on the Internet, but each family puts its own twist on the basic recipe. Make sure you serve it with bagoong to get the full effect. :)

I think the best anchovies come whole, and you need to cut the backbones out before you use them. I still think the dried salted ones are the best, they are very subtle and make a great "secret ingredient". They also need to be soaked in water or milk for a while before you use them. I've never had anchovies packed in oil that I really liked, so I stick with the whole ones packed in salt and brine. There's a huge difference, at least in my limited experience.

This is the brand I get at a local market here in NJ. http://www.turkishtaste.com/pommol.html You could also probably find it in Turkish or Middle Eastern markets.

Don't some Italian markets in you area sell salt packed anchovies by the pound? A salumeria here in town always has an open can behind the counter, so you can buy as few or as many as you like. Over a period of a year though, I know I am paying about ten times what you do. These are the kind I usually buy: http://www.pennmac.com/items/2628 But if you do buy the kilo tins, cover them with salt in an airtight container, and they should last nearly forever.

I know exactly what you mean, I had these off Beijing street carts and even had this spice in a nice lamb meal from room service at the airport hotel. There is definitely a special spice mix which is local and ubiquitous in Beijing area. We were also able to find this fresh ground in Jinan and we make our own lamb. The only problem is I could not read the labels, and my interpreter could not translate it. What little we brought home to US is gone for years now. I have been dying to find out what this spice mix is too. Someone please help!

This is a great link, I've been giggling for 20 minutes.

It's traditionally made from sheep innards and oatmeal stuff into a lamb stomach. I live to a Scottish Butcher who ships Haggis all over the US, and I cannot get past what a vile thing it seems to me. I think even Scotts secretly dislike it, and only eat it on Burns Eve. I've had Chinese Dim Sum style pig stomach. I have not made it and I like it less than beef tripe, but I think that is a good way to prepare it. It is a little strong-tasting for me, compared to beef tripe. You can also find pig stomach and intestine soup at some Korean restaurants, but it is one of those items that is usually not translated. I think it's called Kuey Chap??

I love the phrase "base variety of fresh vegetables". I think they mean it's a vegetable base, but you could also read "base" to mean "lowly", "beneath contempt", or "substandard".

I am sure we would all recognize each other since we frequent the same places. Curlz is right, that location seems to have been cursed, it changes hands all the time. That being said, there are way too many dinky Japanese places in this area, and it's really the last thing we need another version of. We don't need another Italian place, steakhouse, or Chinese place either. The last place in this area that I saw really take off was the Smitty's Smokehouse in Lyndhurst, because there is nothing like it in the area.

If you never had Salmon Skin Temaki, you are really missing out on one of food's great pleasures. That said, I would probably eat the skin myself in the kitchen with a little bit of kabayaki tare and serve the salmon to my guests without.