Dante

yeah- oddly enough, the in vitro meat thing was covered in this week's class for the Menu For The Future course I'm taking. (along with how GMO potatoes with built-in pesticide don't fall under the jurisdiction of the FDA but rather the EPA as they're not legally considered "food" and don't have to be tested as food- <shudder>) Sincerely, Dante

yeah- I would second that. One of my housemates got me one a while ago and its worked like a charm. Sincerely, Dante

Next day's lunch is always my fave. Beans and noodles I'll freeze and use for soup-making (I once got two days of meals for myself, housemates and a couple of guests using just frozen leftovers combined in fun ways). I once made waterzooi using leftover turkey from thanksgiving, then used the leftover warterzooi as filling for individual turkey pot pies which I froze for my housemates to use for lunches. Sincerely, Dante

Would like to know if anyone out there has any ideas on how to make andouille without beef or pork (housemate allergic to such). Not only looking for flavour but also the all-important texture. Anyone have any ideas on how to go about doing this? Sincerely, Dante

You can't go wrong with Jose Andres's Jaleo! If you wanna hop the Metro to Bethesda, I rather like Red Tomato If you want a nice change from the standard, I've had some good times at Tony Chang's Mongolian Restaurant (don't have a link) Now, if you want to hop the Red Line on the Metro to Wheaton, we have The Royal Mile Pub for good English, Irish and Scottish, and Dusit for Thai, and Los Chorros for Salvadoran. Sincerely, Dante

Hello there! I've tried making poultry chorizo before (one of my housemates has an allergy to beef and pork, so i have to get creative at times) , but feel I could always improve things, so I'd like to know if any one out there has tried this before and how you would go about doing it? I'd given thought to doing simulated beef chorizo using other red meats - buffalo, lamb, elk, ostrich or venison, but I'm aiming more for simulated pork chorizo this time. Sincerely, Dante

So I've been hot to do the Chili recipe from Heston Blumenthal's "Further Adventures In Search of Perfection" for a while now. I can get most of the ingredients at our local food Co-op but some of the chiles and chile powders remain elusive for me. While he does give resources, they're for UK-based companies and I live in the USA, so I was wondering if anyone out there knew of USA-based sources that would allow me to save a bit on shipping. FTR, the chiles in question are: pene de diablo somalian extra hot durango el rey madera pecos red rio tejas long peppers Thank you. Sincerely, Dante

[ Maybe kebabs or things you have to bite off of a stick (what are they called when they're made of mince and shaped around a stick then fried?). You mean Kubideh? Or do I misread you? Sincerely, Dante

Mmmm...looks like fun. And I think I have all of the ingredients at home right now. Thank you very much! Sincerely, Dante

What an intriguing name! Can anyone tell me what this entails? Sincerely, Dante

So, my S.O. and I mightb have to spend a few hours in Tilton, NH. Would like to know if anyone knows of any decent places to eat there. Sincerely, Dante

Bit of a late response, but I recently got a copy of his "Chef Tell Tells All", mainly as a sort of tribute to the man who was one of my earliest influences and inspirations. I ordered it from a second-hand place and was hugely surprised to see that not only had it been autographed by the author but that it had an autographed photo of him inside, seemingly used as a bookmark. added bonuses. Sincerely, Dante

Blue Vinney- what do we know of it? just curious. I'd heard about it ages ago but it came up in a discussion recently and it re-activated my interest. Never had or even seen it, but I've seen accounts of a revival in production. Can anyone here fill me in?

Can anyone out there recommend some good Irish pubs? Sincerely, Dante

This may be covered in other topics to some extent or another, but I'm aiming for a wider area than best, budget, gastropubs or some other narrower category. Asking for recommendations for restaurants in Boston in general- cheap, moderately expensive (tho some sense of price range would help, websites would help too), whatever. Style of food doesn't matter- we're an omnivorous bunch with rather broad palates. Sincerely, Dante (who has lived in New England for five years and still hasn't gone to Boston for any reason)

Is there any way to peel pearl onions that doesn't subject one to a seeing age of tedium? Sincerely, Dante

Indeed so. The term has become so mis- and over-used as to have become virtually meaningless except as a means of marketing products to people who don't understand that concept. It's become little more than a buzzword. Sad, really. Sincerely, Dante

Does walking distance to a Metro station count? Sincerely, Dante

Hm. I know I'd like to see that... Sincerely, Dante

Friend of mine recently asked me how to rescue pea soup that has become oversalted by the ham she put in it. Due to housemate allergy issues, I don't cook with ham much and I don't use salt in my cooking except when chemically necessary, so I'm very out of practice here. Can anyone out there help me here? I'd like to find a way to do this that doesn't dilute the flavour of the soup too much. Sincerely, Dante

Hm. Interesting...not sure of the use of the term "amatuer", tho. never seen that mentioned. People refer to me as a foodie (but I only accept use of that label for ease of communication, I don't self-identify with the term). Amateur, eh? I'm an ex-professional, with professional education too, so now I wonder what I am... Sincerely, Dante

South Park, actually...

OK- tried several techniques, including the reverse spherification (what I got from that reminded me of the H.P. Lovecraft line about "Ye liveliest awfulness". It was so hideous I threw it out in to my back yard rather then in to my trash can- I'm sure some day its children will come crawling out of the woods seeking revenge on me ) I even tried diluting the Chartreuse, using it as just a flavouring, but even the smallest amounts still interfered with the process, so I guess it's just chemically impossible. Oh well, it was a good idea, just not a viable one... Sincerely, Dante

the former. I'd got that impression. Hmmm...I hadn't thought of that...interesting... (see this post, for example). OK- I'll check that out. Thanx! Sincerely, Dante

So I've got it in my head that I'd like to try a spherification of Green Chartreuse for my impending trip to New Orleans (I'm a member of the Completely Mystical Order of the Krewe of Chartreuse), but I'm wondering about the viability of doing this with an alcoholic substance. Would I go about it in the standard manner, is there some added factor I should account for or is it chemically impossible? I've only done this with fruit juice so far. I'd really love to present the Krewe founder I'm staying with down there with a container of Chartreuse "Caviar". Sincerely, Dante