Huevos del Toro

No, we call it Ring of Fire. And the medical folks call it jalaproctitis (Diehl and Bauer, N. Eng. J. Med. 299(20):1137-1138). But "Ring of Fire" is so much more descriptive! Regardless, I'll continue to pay the piper for the privilege of enjoying spicy foods.

Received from my daughter: "The Indian Grocery Store Demystified" by Linda Bladholm "Quick & Easy Indian Cooking" by Madhur Jaffrey Received from a friend: Goose Fat Gave: Liquor filled chocolates (made in the kitchen of a friend)

I've had those too but the kicker was the Eskimo Ice Cream. There was no fish in the stuff I ate. What made it doubly disgusting was the seal oil. It was extremely rancid. The Eskimos loved it but I had a hard time getting it past my nose. The blubber (muktuk?) wasn't nearly as bad.

Raw Beluga whale flipper. We (two Eskimos and I) harpooned one in the ice pack outside of Kotzebue AK, roped it to the side of the boat and headed back to land. We were about 20 miles out. One reached over the side, whacked off a chunk of flipper, cut it into bite-sized pieces and passed them out. It tasted, as far as I can describe it, like a rich nut-meat and had the consistancy of a rubber tire. Chew the flavor out, spit it overboard and go on to the next piece.

Here are a couple of different ways so pickle ginger. One like Jinmyo's and one using Mirin and Sake. This source also indicates the pink color occurs naturally upon aging.

I did a couple of mini-heads today for my compadres at the American Legion. Rest assured these people are pretty much meat and potatoes people. I wouldn't reveal what I was doing back in the kitchen. It took the better part of 40 minutes to get it to the browned stage. I used only S&P and OO. I also served it with little cups of Tahini. A few said it was OK, even good. Some said it tasted like hash browns (bad? No!). I'd do it again but cut them a little thicker. They tended to begin falling apart with the turning and re-arranging. I can certainly see how it can be so addicting. I ended up eating most of it myself! GET AWAY, DAMMIT! IT'S MINE! Next I'm going to do some grated Brussels sprouts! And to think these are some of the vegetables I loathed as a child. Go figure!

Many already know of Julia Child’s exploits during World War II, but for those who don’t this excerpt may be of some interest. It is taken from an article entitled “Shadow Women”, detailing several female spies, and reproduced with the written permission of The American Legion from The American Legion Magazine, November 2003, pg. 47 Julia McWilliams was another OSS hire. She came onboard after her rejection by the U.S. Navy. Her 6-foot-2 frame exceeded Navy height restrictions for women. She served the OSS both in the United States and China, earning the Emblem of Meritorious Civilian Service as head of the registry of the OSS Secretariat in China. After the war, she married OSS colleague Paul Child, attended the world-renowned Le Cordon Bleu culinary academy, and gained stardom as a cooking expert, television personality and author. Julia Child also developed a shark repellant for NASA to protect astronauts after splashdown. “Julia told me that of all the things she did in her 90 years of living, her fondest memories were with the OSS in East Asia during World War II,” McCarthy said. “She was one of 900 women who were transferred overseas in 1944”. "Reprinted with permission of The American Legion Magazine, copyright November 2003." And you thought she only COOKED? Foolish people! edited to add "Foolish people!"

Received 1 pint of goose fat. She kept the other pint and a half!

I was perusing a Wine Enthusiast sale catalog the other day and ran across some Laguiole Steak Knife sets, 6 for $50 on sale, regularly $60. They come with SS handles, Pearlized ($40/$50) or Black ($40/$50). Also the Chateau Laguiole Palissander Steak Knife Set of 6, regularly $110, on sale for $100. I don't know if the sale is still on. They're sleek looking knives though.

Crtl "C" is copy. Ctrl "X" is cut, Ctrl "V" is paste. Just highlight what you want, then use the Control keys. That puts it into the invisible clipboard. Then you can paste it anywhere you want. It's one of my mainstays.

I actually LIKE that. Did Santa bring you therapy for Christmas?

When I was a child my mother would make those disgusting fruit cakes, wrap them in brandy soaked cheesecloth and store them for a year. Late at night my brother and I would unwrap each one, squeeze the brandy out, drink it, and re-wrap them. I don't think she ever caught on! What awful children we were!

A savory souffle works great! I, too, dislike that smarmy marshmallow sweetness! I made one for Thanksgiving and it turned out great.

Here's one way you could ventilate your loft!

This, paraphrased, from Shirley Corriher’s “CookWise”, pg. 326-327: Blanching vegetables quickly drives the intercellular air out. This natural air in the vegetable clouds the true colors. When forced out by blanching the natural colors become more vibrant. This is not cooking. The vegetables remain raw. All green vegetables have two types of chlorophyll – chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b. Type A is a bright blue-green and type B is a yellow-green. Type A outnumbers type B three to one. When the magnesium in the cells is lost by heating the color changes. Heating damages the cells and releases natural acids which then attack the chlorophyll, causing it to turn brownish-yellow-green. To preserve color, cook no longer than 7 minutes. Cut smaller if you want to cook thoroughly but retain color. Use a large quantity of water to dilute the acids exuded from the vegetables. Keep the pot uncovered, allowing the acids to evaporate. Steaming and stirfrying also work to minimize color changes. Adding a pinch of soda to neutralize the acids works but it also breaks down cell walls and makes crisp vegetables mushy. So, the trick, it seems, is to cook quickly in a large quantity of water, uncovered.

Professional Cutlery Direct has a large selection of steak knives...Forschner, Global, Henckels, LamsonSharp, Messermeister, Sabatier, Thiers-Issard, & Wusthof-Trident.

MASHED POTATO, RUTABAGA AND PARSNIP CASSEROLE WITH CARAMELIZED ONIONS Bon Appétit November 1994 I also used turnips in this dish and loved it. Simple yet tasty.

I stumbled into this, Tripe soup with Barley and Posole, and it looks delicious. It supposedly replaces Campbell's Pepper Pot soup but is vastly superior.

It's official. Good news – I want to go out with a bang, so there is at long last going to be a J/JP Party! On Wednesday, December 17th from 6 to 8 pm (and beyond?!) Eric and I will be at the Fat Black Pussycat at 130 West 3rd Street, between 6th Ave and MacDougal, expecting anyone and everyone to show up for a Julie/Julia Project wake. I’ve never been to this place, so I make no promises, but I’m reserving a lounge just for us. So come! I want to meet you all in the flesh, and lift a gimlet or three to you!

Menudo is the only way I've had tripe. Never made it myself but I like it and eat it every chance I get. I HAVE heard that making menudo smells up the house but after it becomes soup it smells just fine. Gotta chop up some cilantro to put in it. Question; Is what I've heard referred to as "lace tripe" the same as "honeycomb tripe"? Isn't that the layer that's supposed to be the most tender?

HORSERADISH? Yep. Many years ago, while visiting my brother in Sacramento, he took me to a local bar which was known for their delicious corned beef and cabbage. It arrived with a compliment of “homemade” horseradish sauce. I’d never been a fan of horseradish, having tasted only the wimpy supermarket versions. Brother dear is a devoted fan of the root so as he sat quietly watching me (and not warning me!), I piled a big gob on the corned beef and gobbled it up. He sat there, smirking, while I stopped breathing, went blind, and cried rivers. All the little a#%hole could do was laugh while I was dying. I found later that that particular horseradish sauce was made by a local gentlemen who then sold it to the neighborhood restaurants and bars. He had to make it outdoors because if he did it indoors he’d have to burn the house to get rid of the odor. Thirty years later we still joke about that day.

I think what we have here is a topic for next years' eGCI! I, for one, would be most appreciative. Yum..crepes!

Ah yes, Sawmill gravy. Yum!

I happen to like pats of butter on my toast. The trick, for me, is to apply thin pats spaced close enough together to insure a bite of butter with each bite of toast. Tearing is prevented by applying numerous pats and not trying to spread them. This is also one case where I prefer salted butter, the only case, in fact, that I can think of. I've tried melting the butter on the toast but you lose the crunchiness of the bread. I like the firmness and coolness of the pats of butter, contrasting with the crunchiness and heat of the toast. Hey, I've got this down "pat". (pun intended )

I was curious too. I googled it and got this teaser...Black salt is pink. It is used in Indian recipes and adds a very unusual flavor totally different than its aroma. I tried to go to the link but our firewall blocked me. Look at the URL and you'll see why. culinaryexotica.com/blacsalfromi.html