CathyL

What vengroff said. Talk with your server about the kinds of things you'd like to try, and how adventurous you want to be.

Chicken roasted with citrus, garlic & cumin from Bobby Flay's recipe in the NY Times this week. (Cluck.) Very flavorful. I could have left it in the oven another 10 minutes or so. And next time I'll ignore Bobby's don't-bother advice about trussing: the citrus wedges kept falling out of the cavity while the bird was breast down for browning.

We're all natural comedians.

Heather, it's so much better to sharpen your own. There's a past thread here that might be helpful. I got some very useful guidance from the Professional Cutlery Direct web site: click. With a little practice, sharpening is not difficult at all, and quite satisfying.

I often make a simple, spare version from John Thorne's Pot on the Fire, which has a wonderful chapter on the dish. Sauté chopped onion, minced garlic and chopped red bell pepper in EVOO. Add a little hot red pepper and oregano. Pour in a scant cup of Zinfandel or the like and reduce by one-third. Add 2 pounds fresh tomatoes, peeled/cored/chopped, or a 28-ounce can of the same. Salt, pepper, and simmer for a bit. Add a pound of cod or other firm white fish, simmer until it almost falls apart, and eat with good crusty bread.

Aw Jin, you're not a grinch. I respect your point, but sometimes an old reliable is what's needed. When I want to make friends and myself happy, and I'm too otherwise occupied to be adventurous, it's comforting to have a few unassailables up my sleeve. Besides, as an intermittent cook, I learn each time I do, even if it's a dish I've made many times before. One thing or another is always different.

Wasn't it the beach BBQ where Hal Rubenstein got arrested for disturbing the peace or some such?

Definitely something off the smoker, due to the novelty factor in Manhattan. Probably ribs - which I always do with a wonderful wet rub I found in John Thorne's Serious Pig: the key flavors are garlic, black mustard seeds, juniper berries, brown sugar and chipotle. B.S. (before smoker) my tried-and-true showstopper was butterflied chicken, stuffed under the skin and roasted, based on a recipe in Richard Olney's Simple French Food. It's dead simple but beautiful and delicious. Non-cooks are always impressed.

Shredded it by tucking a chunk under their horses' saddles, where it was pounded into submission by the rigors of the ride. Or is that a non-urban legend?

True, but we're only on page 2.

Voila. Steve Cuozzo on Upstairs at 21 [i'm beginning to regret sending Ed a link to this discussion...what the hell, he's thick-skinned. And maybe he'll sign on and join in?]

On another thread, Suzanne mentioned Culinary Artistry by Dornenburg and Page. A highlight of the book is a quite comprehensive listing of ingredients, flavors and how they interact, compiled through discussions with many great chefs. It makes you think about how things taste and why some combinations work better than others. Less scholarly than the lexicon Really Nice mentioned - which sounds fascinating - but perhaps more approachable by us non-chef types. Really Nice, in the search for out-of-print books I've gotten better/faster results with Barnes & Noble and Ex Libris than with Amazon.

Stella, they sound scrumptious. I love shortbread. Thanks for posting the recipe.

I use either Tellicherry or Sarawak, which are a bit hotter. Penzeys carries both; the quality is always good.

Suzanne, what a hoot! The article doesn't mention the role of Dorothy Hamilton, founder/CEO of the French Culinary Institute, in bringing Chef Bobo to Calhoun. Dorothy's daughter is a student there. Friends with a Calhoun kid say his culinary horizons have expanded considerably. Before Bobo arrived, the kid would only eat white food.

Kim, food-wise friends were at Ryland for their anniversary about 3 months ago and said the entire experience was superb. They did separate tasting menus (vegetarian for her) with wine pairings.

Roast bone-in pork loin with citrus and caramel (from Jean-Georges' Simple to Spectacular) - delicious but a bit dry, damned newfangled fat-free pork. It looked more marbled than it was. Salad of romaine and baby spinach with walnut oil and sherry vinegar Broccoli rabe with garlic and hot pepper Ka'kat (little sesame-studded rolls), an Alford/Duguid recipe from Baking with Julia, an exercise inspired by the upcoming bread event. Is there any kitchen pursuit more satisfying than kneading yeast dough?

I'm a fourth. I'm a fifth. Romaine is the default salad green here, often with raw mushrooms and sweet onion, sometimes with endive and radicchio. I'm doing sherry vinaigrette a lot lately, especially since Liza gave me a bottle of O brand sherry vinegar; it's the mellowest, most flavorful one I've ever tasted. Dinner tonight, in addition to romaine/mushroom/onion salad, is skin-on salmon fillets, currently marinating in dark soy, garlic, lemon juice and a bit of sugar. I'm going to sear them on both sides and then finish in the oven.

I recently tried the cornmeal biscotti recipe from Claudia Fleming's cookbook and thought they were lovely. Flavored with orange, rosemary and anise seeds.

Fraises des bois.

Me too.

The sweetbreads were so delicious I asked Ali to marry me, but apparently I'd have to be Second Wife after Nina. Jin, they were intensely lemoned, which was a nice contrast with the darkly savory mushroom sauce. No other seasoning jumped out at me but I don't know this cuisine at all. I rather enjoyed the eyeball. The tripe (yes, Toby, chickpeas) and the calf foot soup were especially wonderful. The company, as noted, was the best part of a really fun evening.

About 185-190º - it takes maybe 8 to 10 hours, until the strips are still a little chewy and I've never tried making salmon jerky. Tommy, it's fine refrigerated for a week or so. For longer storage it's good to use a curing agent like Tender Quick. I never do because it doesn't last long enough.

I like brisket, sliced with the grain, and a marinade of soy, brown sugar and molasses. I do it on the smoker - apple and sugar maple, usually.

Nice article, Suvir. And another must-try recipe! This was one of my favorite dishes at the Diwan dinner.