Pierogi

Oh, I'm not sure I agree with that. To my mind, in steaming, the food shouldn't be in contact with the liquid, whereas in braising it is. I would say braising involves several different aspects: some heat transferring directly from the liquid to the meat, some through steam, and some through the condensation that collects on the lid and drips back down. Total agreement with Matthew. All classical references to brasing that I've seen are lid on, over (or in) low heat, so the condensation drips back down into the liquid to enhance the braising stock. Steaming is absolutely elevated above the liquid, so that the food only cooks from the steam generated (and trapped) by the pot and lid. I would never, ever, ever braise short ribs or brisket with the lid off. That's a sure ticket to tire treads, IMO.

Oh God (in a GOOD way)......the first time I stayed in New York, I stayed at The Roger Smith and LOVED IT ! It was so cool, and so just...unique and with such a good, funky, fun vibe. Lily's, at that point, was only open for breakfast and lunch, but I ate there a couple of times and was impressed. I check into their website periodically, just to wish I were there again, and it looks as though its only gotten funkier and cooler and funner in the intervening years. I think that's a great suggestion.

I used the same stainless steel thermal bottle for about 15 years to schlep coffee to work with me. Never noticed any metallic taste from it, and I'd think the acidic coffee would be far more likely to extract such a taste than water would be. I did clean it with baking soda frequently and rinsed it every day, but no off tastes. I just don't see how water that doesn't sit for an extremely prolonged period of time could develop a metal taste from stainless steel. Key phrase - "doesn't sit for an extremely prolonged period of time".

*slaps palm to forehead*....what a great idea !

It changes me in the respect that I buy less, and buy cheaper. I was religiously buying King Arthur flour at the supermarket at about 5 bucks for 5 pounds. I've changed to Trader Joe's brand for about $1.50 less per 5 pound bag. Is it as good as KA...? Not really, although TJ's isn't bad. But that $1.50 is a lot when you're on a very small fixed income. $20 wine isn't happening in my house any longer. $10 wine doesn't happen very often. House brand sugar and butter have become more common. And yes, I realize I could buy KA in bulk from KA, at a cheaper per pound price, but that means coming up with more money at one time, rather than spreading it out over several purchases. It may not seem like a big deal to you, but it truly is to me.

Tanquery #10 martini, not too dry, with 2 olives. Followed by several good chugs of Dom Perignon or Cristal. The former is a regular in my rotation. The latter, not so much.

Bacon wrapped hot dogs are indeed very easy to do well. As others noted, the hot dog is cooked, so you're really just worried about getting it warm all the way through. I usually wrap the hot dog in bacon, overlapping only a bit (stuffing the dog with cheese is optional, but extremely yummy and decadent), and then put it on a rack in a broiler pan or roasting pan. That elevates the wrapped dog above the rendering grease. Then put in about a 400° oven for maybe 15-20 minutes. Check halfway through, you may want to rotate the dogs to ensure even bacon crispiness. Unless, of course you've done the cheese route, which will ooze out if flipped. Maybe a brief run under the broiler at the end, but these are a pretty darned good junk food fix however you dress them. I *will* be trying them with mayo, chiles, salsa, etc. as described by Chris A. That sounds (and looks) awesome.

A couple of the recipes I refered to also mentioned that technique, and I did "baste" the edges a bit after turning, since the overhang batter hadn't gotten quite brown. But I found that the batter was stiff enough (I beat the egg whites separately and folded them into yolks and flour), that after about 2-3 minutes in the pan after I spooned it over the top of the chile, it was set enough on the top to flip without the basting. I used quite thin, flexible plastic spatulas, and I think that helped preserve the top coating, too. I didn't have near that much fat, either. Maybe just shy of 1/8-inch. As I said, the technique worked for me, so that's what I'm going to stick with. YMMV....

Oh yeah. And short ribs and brisket didn't need you to take out a second mortgage to buy.

Thanks all, for the props on the chile rellenos. I was actually stunned they turned out so pretty. Bruce, I think this a time for Julia Child's motto about being fearless in the kitchen. Especially when you turn them, because the batter looks like it's going to slide off the top, but if you use 2 large, wide, spatulas, and sort of sandwich the chile between the two, it worked. Also, handle the chiles gently after you char them, when you're skinning and seeding them, so they only have the one slit. Some of the recipes I referenced said to flour the outside and dip the chiles in the batter, and some said to lay a pool of batter in the fat, then top with the chile, let it set a bit, then cover the top with additional batter. Let that set a bit, then flip. That's what I did, it sounded easier, and seemed to me you'd get more batter on the chile. It worked well, so that's the technique I'll stay with.

"Gourmet" magazine. Of course, I miss it about the 60's, 70's, 80's and 00's too....

You and me both, Andie! I sorely, sorely miss the Dutch Girl cookies. And the Swedish Twist coffee cake, although I did find a copycat recipe for that on the web, and made it, and it turned out pretty darned close. But VdeK goodies were the best.

Rose Levy Beranbaum just did a blog post on her site about egg yolk sizes yesterday. Here would be the link: Real Baking with Rose It would be the 2nd post that's up right now, so scroll down just a bit.

Couldn't agree more that nothing is better than fresh. BUT----as I said in another thread (I think it was nickrey's eG food blog about eating in Australia....) in the roughly 300 miles of coastline between Santa Barbara and San Diego, that is considered the LA basin, where I live, there are two, count them TWO fresh fish mongers of repute. Both of them are about 35-40 miles away from my home, in LA traffic. That means a 2-3 hour round trip. Yes, we have Whole Foods, and a very few other alternatives, but they are expensive, and they are not always the best choice. Not all of us have unlimited access to freshly caught, wild, not frozen, well handled seafood. For some of us, frozen is as close as we can get, and there are some, not many, but some outlets that offer a decent, not perfect, but acceptable alternative. Trader Joe's, IMO, is one of them. I happen to believe that Trader Joe's is more careful in sourcing, and choosing vendors, than the local MegaMart. On any given day in any of the chain megamarts in the area, your choice of fish is frozen/defrosted farmed salmon, frozen/defrosted cod, fresh farmed catfish, fresh farmed tilapia and fresh farmed "swai". Not gonna buy any of those. I'll take a carefully flash-frozen piece of wild halibut over those choices any day, regardless of cost.

Chiles rellenos with Rick Bayless' basic white rice from "Mexican Everyday". With a side salad that was totally so-so and totally not worthy of a pic. It was my first time attempting rellenos, and I was very, very proud of myself.

I heartily second and third and fourth the lament about the good, fresh, VARIED, WILD seafood. It just irks me no end that "swai" (whateverthehellthatis), tilapia and catfish are the only non-frozen fish I can usually find. And they're all farmed. I'll add to the ring....Grocery stores with a) real live butchers who actually cut meat, b) real live bakers who actually made pastries and c) seasonal produce that actually tasted like something, and not styrofoam. And I also miss the Mom & Pop bakeries and butcher shops. A lot. Edit to add---although I love the luxury of having 10 olive oils and 15 vinegars and saffron and figs and blood oranges and Meyer lemons and smoked paprika and so on readily available, I have to lament and mourn the "dumbification" of the basics like meat, seafood and produce. Not sure it balances out, actually.

Made another one for a Super Bowl party. These are simiply the best brownies I've ever eaten, let alone made. The browned butter gives them such a depth of flavor, and blends so well with the cocoa, they're spectacular. I subbed pecans for the walnuts, other than that, I made them as written. From the February issue of Bon Appetit: Cocoa and brown butter brownies

Beef paprikash with egg noodles is always a good winter time warmer-upper. A little sour cream in with the stewing liquid....what could be bad?

Bruce, you absolutely NAILED it. I usually make a few regular old standbys once or twice a year (cabbage rolls, my Mom's recipe for salmon patties, bouef bourginion, etc.) but even for things I make semi-regularly, meat loaf, stews, chili, I'm always on the hunt for the next, newest and more interesting take on it. There's still SO much out there to explore !

Emily, that was my understanding too. I think I've heard it from other sources, though for the life of me I couldn't tell you who.... But supposedly, at least in Asian cuisines, the stems *AND* the roots of cilantro are prized, and used in broths and stir fries. I know when I've purchased cilantro from Asian vendors at the Farmers' Market, they come with roots attached. I'm not so picky about cilantro stems any longer, and I don't notice any particular overwhelming bitterness. But then I do like bitter flavors as a rule...

Erin, this blog has been a great insight into another world for me. This was why I got the courage to try bao earlier this week. It actually was part of my little homage to Chinese New Year. I also made won ton soup, and made the wontons from sort of scratch...used purchased wrappers, but the filling and soup were scratch. Your city is lovely, so different from the mega-sprawl of the LA basin. Living in a culture where anything that's older than 50 years or so is summarily torn down, I can't imagine what it would be like to have so much history at every turn of a corner. It must be magical. But back to food. I love the idea of putting a whole fried egg on top of fried rice, I must try that next time I make it. And I'm going to try your daikon pickle. I've just recently discovered daikon, and like it...this sounds intriguing for sure. I did have a question as well. You mentioned that most of the shops/stores/markets are closed for the holiday. Do many native Chinese eat out at restaurants during the holiday period, or is it stictly a home-based celebration? It always amazes me how many Americans are willing to eat out on Thanksgiving and Christmas, which for me, are all about being at home.

Pattie melts, burgers, chicken fried steak, meatloaf, tuna melts, all those oldies but goodies make a regular appearance in my kitchen and then on my table. Mashed potatoes are probably my favorite way to eat potatoes, I make them at least twice a month. As a matter of fact, dinner tonight was Salisbury steak with mushroom gravy and mashed potatoes. With steamed cauliflower for a veg, and fresh pineapple chunks for dessert. I loves me some Salisbury steak.

Absolute success, I'm actually quite proud of myself ! Lessons learned for sure, and the parchment sounds like way to go. Well, that, and a larger steamer !

I'm going to a friends where I think there will be 5 or 6 of us. The hosts are providing chili and nibbles and beer and that nasty "flavored malt beverage stuff aka Mike's". I'm bringing the cocoa brownies that were on the cover of the last Bon Appetit and vanilla ice cream. Brownie sundaes for dessert, baby.

My usual cilantro pesto recipe calls for roasted pumpkin seeds (pepitas) in place of the pine nuts. I'll be interested to see what others suggest for uses, since I usually just end up putting it on pasta.