CathyL

me too. Me three. We referred to our bulldog's play crouch as 'fighting position,' by the way. Years ago we lived in a garden apartment that occasionally attracted field mice to and through the back door. One morning I woke up to an odd noise from the kitchen. A small mouse (very cute, actually) had landed in the dog's water bowl and was paddling away trying to escape. The dog, awake and sprawled comfortably nearby, seemed bored. Not enough sport to be worth the chase, I guess. I lifted the mouse by the tail and carried it outside. The dog went back to sleep. To Nina's original question: I'm mindful of cross-contamination and I don't buy shrink-wrapped supermarket chicken or ground beef, but would certainly fail a sanitation inspection otherwise. Good sense and caution are appropriate - especially if, like snowangel, anyone in the household has medical issues - but too many people have been scared out of the kitchen by the food police.

Who said measure?

Shiva, 3:1 is my neighborhood usually, although it varies depending on the oil. And the vinegar. And how much mustard. I like to mince a shallot and steep it in the vinegar before the oil goes in.

Chefette, adding corn syrup to a ganache intended for glazing is a brilliant idea. I make ganache in a food processor, whirring the chocolate into fine crumbs and then pouring in hot cream. What are your thoughts about this method?

This is a problem? People coming with someone can bring a single bottle of wine for the pair. That shouldn't be hard to coordinate. Thanks for doing this, Nina. And Suvir, of course (of course).

Colonel, why put a water pan under the meat unless you have a fire under the meat? Dave, I am indeed a goddess, and I thank you for mentioning it.

Yes, 140 external. I usually put chilled meat on the smoker and start out with a grill temp of under 200, running it up over the first hour or so, for a little more smoke action. No real reason not to finish it in the oven, except for the traditional alcoholic beverage consumption part. I never wrap brisket in foil but I know a lot of real-by-god Texans do. Dana, I don't soak wood chunks - if the fire is low enough they smolder without bursting into flames.

Dave, get an untrimmed brisket, ideally about 8-9 pounds. Trim off some of the fat but leave at least 1/4" layer. Apply a dry rub the day (or several hours) before cooking if you like, or stick with salt and pepper. Build a small fire on one side of your grilll. Add a few chunks of smoking wood - I much prefer oak to mesquite, but I'm not from Texas. Put the meat on the other side of the grill, fat side up. You want to cook the brisket by convection - i.e., hot smoky air - rather than by radiant heat. If you're using briquets rather than lump charcoal, keep a chimneyful of glowing coals to add as the first load burns down. Keep the temperature at grill level around 225-250 degrees but don't worry about a few spikes or dips. You can add additional smoking wood, but once the meat's exterior hits about 140 degrees it won't absorb much more smoke flavor. The time it will take to become tender depends on many factors, but allow yourself a good 15 hours. I judge more by texture than by temperature; if you stick a fork in the flat (not the point) and it slips out easily, it's done. The internal temp will probably be in the 180 range. If it's done before you're ready to serve, wrap it in foil and stash it in a picnic cooler; it will stay hot for hours that way. Make sure to slice across the grain. Hope this helps; ask more questions or PM me if you like. Or just wait for Col. Klink to show up.

I would also be very happy with a vegetarian meal.

Malawry, that is the best three-paragraph cooking lesson I've ever read.

Akiko, it sounds like a very nice dinner as is. How about lightly pickled onions or sliced cukes or something else tangy alongside the sandwich? And some fruit & cheese for dessert.

No subs necessary - just leave them out. Jason, Lebanese hash goes in blondies not brownies. Where's your respect for tradition?

Suvir, has your opinion of the cilantro chutney changed or is what's served in the restaurant different from what's sold at retail? I used to enjoy their cilantro chutney as a condiment for grilled pork, but I haven't tasted it since you taught me the true way.

I'll follow Suvir anywhere. Count me in.

Excellent advice, Tommy. The prerequisite for a thong is a Brazilian bikini wax.

Another fun, irreverent, practical book: Sip by Sip by Michael Bonadies. (Yes, this a plug for the boss. But it really is a good book!)

We had an 8:30 reservation Friday night and the couple joining us cancelled that morning. Fortunately, Liza and Davy were available to join us, and the evening was upgraded from business-ish dinner to pure hedonism. Amuses - On a white rectangular plate, working from right to left: a tall shot glass of cool basil soup, garnished with slightly warm shrimp fondue; a tiny sharp cheddar panini, topped with slivers of pickled green tomato; a little spoon with three perfect raspberries (from the Union Square market, Davy told us), topped with fleur de sel gelée. Each was lovely, especially the soup. JG employs contrasting temperatures to very nice effect, and his AGs are often surprising and whimsical but never too cute. Starters: For me, strips of raw bluefin tuna and red snapper, garnished with radish, mashed avocado and ginger vinaigrette. Vibrant, clean flavors. Davy ordered the seared scallops and cauliflower with caper/raisin emulsion, a signature dish I never tire of. Roy had the crab tasting, 3 mounds of Peekytoe, each dressed differently. And Liza had young garlic soup, ladled into her bowl at table and garnished with half a dozen frog legs that had been crisply coated and lightly fried. The legs had a most appealing texture – like sweetbreads, although not as firm – and a subtle flavor. Middle course: Foie gras sandwiched with buttery brioche and toasted, accompanied by a ramekin of fig jam that tasted like the Platonic ideal of spiced apple butter, figs be damned. Mains: My roasted veal loin was 4 or 5 perfectly rosy slices, scented with cumin, resting on a slick of parsnip purée, garnished with 3 little bundles of parsnip matchsticks wrapped in bacon and roasted. The sauce was sparked with quince and mustard. More components than JG usually combines on one plate but it was incredibly harmonious. For Roy: caramelized sirloin, cut in strips and served with 2 dipping sauces – one mustard-based, the other soy-based with horseradish foam. Outrageously good. For Davy: lobster with a tiny dice of vegetables, tapioca and gewurtztraminer foam, anointed tableside with passion fruit purée. I’ve had seasonal variants of this dish several times. It may be the best lobster preparation I’ve ever tasted. Liza’s slow-cooked salmon was also yummy although I’ve forgotten all the details. We drank a Gruner Veltliner, of course (of course), from Weininger. (Roy doesn’t partake so we didn’t have to take his beef dish into account when choosing.) At this point, Davy (who had spent a long day in the rain at Union Square) and Roy were probably ready to go home, but Liza and I wanted cheese. We sampled two blues (both tasted mostly of salt to me), a good Tomme de Savoie, a soft stinky Reblochon and an ash-covered runny goat. The baby-faced sommelier suggested a half bottle of Nebbiolo Passito, 1997, from Alessandro Gianni. (I just wrote down everything on the label…) He said it was wild, and it was – almost raisiny. Dessert: The prix fixe includes one of three four-part samplers. We asked for one of each and they brought a second Chocolate as the 4th plate. Our server gave me a menu, which is transcribed below. The standout among the desserts for me was the kalamanzi cream – panna cotta-like in texture, deeply aromatic lime in flavor. CHOCOLATE Warm Chocolate Cake, Vanilla Ice Cream Chocolate Caramel Mousse, Hazelnut Succès, Salted Peanut White Chocolate-Tarragon Millefeuilles, Grapefruit Chilled Juniper Spiced Chocolate Soup, Devon Cream EXOTIC Chocolate Passion Soufflé, Passion Sauce Roasted Pineapple With Cardamom, Coconut Sorbet Soft Kalamanzi Cream, Champagne Grapes, Matcha Meringue Mango Soup, Papaya, Litchi Ginger Sorbet AUTUMN Chocolate Cinnamon Chiboust Cheesecake, Sangria Stewed Figs Fall Fruit Fricassée, Brioche, Crème Fraîche Concord Grape Soup, Buttermillk Panna Cotta After this came petits fours and house-made marshmallows, upon which I could only gaze.

Saturday night, a gloomy-weather standby: bastard cioppino of cod cooked with onion, garlic, red pepper and red wine. Last night, a T'giving tryout of a Richard Olney recipe I haven't made in a while: winter squash gratin. Cubes of butternut tossed with garlic, parsley, S&P and a little flour, piled into an oiled earthenware dish, more EVOO drizzled, baked in a 325 oven for 2+ hours. Very nice indeed.

Zaatar is a dry mix of herbs/spices. There's an interesting discussion here that includes citations from Paula Wolfert and Claudia Roden. Apparently zaatar is also an herb with an oregano/thyme/marjoram flavor.

spqr, that is so beautiful.

We went last night and had an excellent dinner...I'll post details tomorrow.

Part of that assembly line isn't in the kitchen, though. The front of the house is also part of it. Theoretically you could put haute cuisine in a Chinese-food takeout container and eat it on the subway, but at that point it's so out of context that it's probably not haute cuisine. So while I agree with what you're saying I think you're de-emphasizing the importance of setting. When Grace Kelly gets the homebound Jimmy Stewart that meal from 21 in Rear Window, they don't just send the food up to the apartment -- they send the waiter too. A very important point, FG. Jean-Georges says his eponymous restaurant sprang from a need to get back to his roots - haute cuisine. Including the rituals of tableside service, where finishing a dish allows the customer to savor the aroma and visuals of final preparation. That's expensive to pull off, and the labor is a bigger line item for HC restaurants than kitchen talent or ingredients. But there's a consensus here (well, as much as there can be such on eGullet) that without haute service it's not haute cuisine. As Steve P. suggests, what we're discussing is not just cooking at the highest level but dining at the highest level. I'd be interested in more perspectives from restaurant chefs and other industry folk.

I'm late to this thread, as usual... We need to distinguish between 'complicated' in execution vs. presentation. Consider a consomme that's been simmered, skimmed, rafted and strained to perfect clarity. It could be presented very simply, but the purity and intensity of flavor - achieved through painstaking technique - make it HC. It's not a matter of molding or garnishing or drowning in cream and butter, although I agree many people would associate all that with haute cuisine.

Yeah, bread on a stick is fun. Do I remember we did it with biscuit dough rather than yeast dough?? Easier to mix and no rising required. After you take it off the stick, fill it with butter and jam for breakfast. No one's mentioned hobo packs: chicken, hamburger, sausages etc., sealed in foil with onions, peppers, catsup, potatoes and cooked in the campfire embers.

Nougatine's kitchen is indeed downstairs, as are the prep areas for Jean Georges, the walk-ins and the pastry kitchen. The visible kitchen upstairs is where JG dishes are assembled, cooked and plated. The Nougatine kitchen also does room service for the hotel. When I was a tourist downstairs for a week, it tickled me to hear someone yell 'One cheeseburger!' amidst all the exotica we were slicing and dicing.