feedmec00kies

America's Test Kitchen had something about grilled pizza as well (they had recipes listed for both charcoal and gas grill). ATK's recipe, like the bon appetit version Peter the eater mentioned, involves grilling the dough on one side, and then flipping it and adding the toppings. I haven't tried either the charcoal or gas grill version yet, but the gas grill version is here if you're interested.

Agreed. It also bothers me (am I being overly sensitive?) that the attack is on Chinese food. I think it was discussed in the thread about your work-in-progress, Fat Guy, that the focus on Chinese food might be because Chinese food is thought of as healthier. However, I think it bothers me because it makes me think about MSG, and how it feels like there's a racial bias/scapegoating.. No one complains that they can't eat Doritos because they're sensitive to MSG... ::grumblegrumble:: Anyway, back to food trends... please do! I, for one, would be interested. ← Ok, so I've had to really think about the gourmet/artisanal movement because I wrote a paper on the commodification and "artisanization" of beer in the United States for a final for one of my classes last semester. The thing is, the story of beer is related to the story of many food products in the United States, so I see elements applying to the movement in general (I don’t know how it is in other countries; I’m only speaking from my experience and minor research). Much of food has gone through a process of "democratization". This term, as used by Michael Schudson in Advertising, the Uneasy Persuasion, refers to the process by which these products become standardized, reliable, and easy to ingest (sometimes termed as “McDonaldized”). It’s “democratized” because the largest number of individuals are able to enjoy it. Ideally, a product should require less expertise or skill on the part of the user; unskilled consumers are able to avoid embarrassment through standard products and shopping situations, making him or her equal to the “adept” consumer. Goods also are easier to use when they are milder, or more “convenient” (It should be noted that Schudson states that “convenience is an attribute that has as much to do with the social uses and social meaning of a product as with its engineering.”) Also, reducing consumer “risk” – the risk of appearning unknowledgeable or unskilled – is critical. This is the phenomenon that, for example, finds some Americans eating at fast food restaurants when abroad; this isn’t necessarily an unwillingness to engage in a foreign culture, but a lack of skill (in this case, an understanding of that place’s culinary traditions, mental/”physical” ability to handle new foods, and possibly a developed palate) and a fear of looking foolish. However, it is important to note that while such traits make products “democratized” in terms of its consumers, they often lose the traits that differentiate themselves from each other, leading to an “un-democratized” market. This is where the gourmet movement comes in. Although there are certain factors that are specific to beer, such as homebrewing, quite a few parallels can be drawn to other “gourmet” foods. I think the increased movement of people, such as military service personnel, business travelers, etc, has an effect because people are introduced to foods and products – especially the same kinds of foods, but produced at different levels (macro vs. micro) that were to them in the United States. These people come back and start to demand these products at home. It’s relatable to the kind of response of dissatisfaction towards standardized, commodified products that have become familiar. In a weblog post from November 2006, anthropologist-cum-economist Grant McCracken outlines the reasons he sees for the “artisanal movement.” Among his suggestions are a preference for things that are “human scale” or “hand made,” “unbranded,” “personalized” and “authentic,” as well as “a preference for the new connosieurship.” There is a particular understanding of “authenticity” (yes, a loaded term) and people can feel that these “gourmet”/”artisanal” products is “human scale” or “personalized”. To a certain extent, the producers are themselves able to be the ones who build relationships with retailers, bartenders, and consumers (I bet Marx would have liked that!), though it really depends on the product. These goods fit a different need that has developed for consumers, from something quick and easy to ingest – the “democratized” goods - to something that has its own importance, outside of its place as an object and a commodity. You can more easily look at that hunk of cheese and think about the scale that it is produced at easier than you can with that cellophane-wrapped package of Kraft brand American “Cheese”. And, for the cynical among us, even if a person doesn’t actually care about Marxian alienation, they can always build up their image by making a big deal about their fancy cheese (as I’m sure many people do). Either way, it’s still homo faber for those in a service economy; it’s easier to conflate meaning in gourmet goods than commodities. McCracken discusses the “preference for the new connosieurship” in that entry, and I think it’s important to this discussion. He states that “it is a roomy connosieurship. Unlike French wine, there are no rules and regs[sic] that constrain how something is served, how long it must breath[sic], or the food with which it may be eaten. There are no real demands for reverence. Artisanal foods can be served and eaten in any way. No special forks required.” Although this may be true for many of these foods, there can be and are constraints on how it is served (like craft beer); the “roominess” of that “connoisseurship” is created alternatively. The kind of information which would be necessary for connoisseurship – what kind of glassware to use; proper drinking temperature; what kind of attributes to look for in the taste, appearance, body and aroma; and the issue of food pairings, if we’re looking at craft beer – has been made more readily available through the internet, especially through websites such as RateBeer.com and BeerAdvocate.com, in the past decade. In a way, these resources lower the threshold for “connoisseurship,” effectively democratizing beer in an alternative way; instead of making beer “milder” to appeal to the masses, connoisseurship has been made “milder” to help bridge the gap by helping to alleviate any lack of skill or knowledge. Everyone wins! Of course, it should be noted, I think it really depends on the area you're living in and the people around you. Some people might just think you're crazy or stuck up or European! Ok, I hope that informative and not too confusing. Feedback/discussion is welcome, of course; I don’t believe I’m all-knowledgeable on the subject, and conversation helps the brain-juices start flowing.

That was me, actually Thanks for the suggestion, I'll try looking for it at Whole Foods down here around NYC. And I've certainly heard that beer pairs better than wine with cheese before. I haven't had much wine - I actually prefer (decent) beer to wine usually - but I could imagine that it's actually true. They seem to be making those kinds of points about beer more and more often, lately, probably since the market share for craft beer has been growing and it's getting more attention as of late.

Ted Fairhead, you do have a point. I kind of got distracted by my frustration with certain personalities on the Food Network, but it's true that the Food Network has had its place in culinary tradition, whatever levels of cuisine it might dwell in. I guess because I come from a family where cooking is considered important, I never needed to be introduced to how easy/simple/exciting cooking could be, and therefore I haven't been affected by the Food Network in that way. However, although I admittedly compared them earlier, I don't think it's really possible or fair to compare the influence of Julia Child and Emeril Lagasse. They operate(d) (well, Julia Child still has televised programs running, but she isn't actively able to influence anything anymore) within different generations and what I see to be different situations, even if they both are/were some of the most-viewed television chefs of their time. My impression is that Julia Child most directly affected the earlier (but not first) generations who were learning less and less how to cook from their parents, because the American family was living in different situations (mothers working outside the home and different household arrangements, for example; this already had started happening, which is when/why cookbooks first started emerging). My impression (though admittedly as someone born a long while after she made her first appearance) is that her show appealed to people who wanted to cook but needed to learn more about it from watching, because they didn't really have someone to show them all these things in the flesh. For Emeril Lagasse, I feel like his place is more to attract non-cooks who might see cooking more as a chore, possibly in light of shows like Julia's which focused more on haute cuisine. He is there to make it exciting, which is why the late-night-show setup works; I don't think that too many television cooks can pull that off without losing respect or credibility, especially at Julia Child's time (I can't tell if Martin Yan's show "Yan Can Cook" is seen as ridiculous or hokey by most people, since I was a child when it was on regularly). So yes, maybe his viewership is huge, but I still don't know if I could consider him to be "arguably the most influential chef of all time." I just find that kind of statement to be really loaded; it ignores all sorts of factors in the culture that the person is/was operating in. And Flamenco.. I didn't get any particular "conservative" vibe either.

oh yeah, rooftop1000, i totally forgot about allergies.. and maybe i am reading a certain tone into your reply that you didn't intend, raoul duke, but i didn't act like it was alright to adulterate food if it's "harmless". it's a terrible practice and it can potentially hurt or kill many people. the first thing that comes to mind about the dangers of adulterated food is the whole anti-freeze-in-wine thing that happened in the 1980s from wines coming from Europe..

put it in a mcdonalds wrapper

What?! That isn't really true, is it? Is he really that influential? More than Julia Child??? JULIA FREAKIN' CHILD???? ::dies:: [RANT]I'm sorry, but it really drives me nuts when someone rightly criticizes mediocrity (I share Bourdain's view when it comes to teaching) and everyone feels bad for the person/group they are criticizing; they completely ignore it's validity. It reminds me of the time that my dad and I, on our way out of a Yo-Yo Ma performance at Tanglewood, discussed how his performance was lackluster and weak (particularly in view of his ability), and we got dirty looks from people. Yeah, I didn't read his schpiel, so maybe it was harsh, but it frustrates me that the message goes COMPLETELY unheard because people are upset that it's "too mean", even if there are valid points to it. It's like wanting teachers to grade in green pen so it's not as daunting or something. BAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! [/RANT] Now that I've gotten that out... I don't know, this article didn't really seem to quite "get it," IMO. Am I missing something?

Yeah, I actually just had a piece of it recently; my boyfriend gave me a piece because he mentioned trying it and he said it was almost too spicy for him. It was very good, but I've had spicier. Yeah, the heat itself isn't really what I desire, but sometimes if there isn't any noticeable heat, it's less likely that there's enough ginger flavor, which is the reason I tend towards the spicier stuff..

:laugh: In all seriousness.. so because i couldn't think, i decided to do a little research on the interwebs. This was the first thing i found talking about 2007... So the highlights they chose from some article in the Miami Herald were... I see highlight number 2 as really just an extension of the artisanal/gourmet food movement that's been growing for the last few decades, so I don't think I can call it a "trend'. The gourmet movement seems to be gaining momentum lately, especially with movements like the slow food movement becoming more visible to the general public. I'm still trying to figure out some things, but there are all sorts of reasons I see for the gourmet thing.. I'm not going to go into them right now because that's a whole other story, but I could if people wanted to hear it. Also, I couldn't read that Miami Herald piece, but I feel like I've seen a growing popularity of bottled iced teas, especially lower sugar varieties from Honest Tea and Ito En. The drop in sugar in some of these might be a result of the (somewhat ineffective) "health food" thing that's always around, and I see other brands like Nestle and Liptons trying to make new lines which just seem to attempt to cash in on that "gourmet" trend these teas also fit in, in the same way that Budweiser Select tries to compete with more conventional (microbrewery-produced) craft beers.

I was always under the impression people in the US ate dinner around 6:00 (give or take an hour). I always felt like a freak when I was younger because we ate dinner late (more like 9:00), likely because my (Asian) mother was used to eating dinner late. One of the few people who didn't think it was weird was a friend of mine who was born in Hong Kong, who also was accustomed to late dinners. I didn't really like to tell people I was eating that late, because they reacted to it like it was strange. When I've cooked for myself (such as when I was at school), I usually ate around 6 or 6:30. I've only sporadically eaten breakfast in the last few years, because I'm slow in the mornings, though sometimes I'd remember to bring a little plastic container of cereal with me. I usually snack on things throughout the day, because I can't ingest that much at a time and I seem to be perpetually hungry, needing food every few hours. Depending on how hungry I was and how big my dinner was, I'd sometimes eat dinner at 6 and then eat a significantly-sized snack that borders on a small dinner at 9 or 10 (especially when, at school, I was going to bed at 2am... but then again I was waking up at 9 or 10am).

Correct me if I'm wrong, but some of the issues the article talked about sound awfully similar to the problems facing small-scale American farmers (vs. big agro-business) in light of the recent (last few decades) incarnations of the Farm Bill... Don't get me started on THAT one. Fortunately, as far as I can tell there is no health risk from counterfeit olive oil, but it's certainly not nice to know that you could have potentially been swindled, and that there are honest folks who are suffering. Thanks for posting that article, busboy! It was interesting to understand a little more about olive oil.

Hey that's what the quote in my signature refers to! I've been meaning to start getting into tasting notes and such, and I'd be glad to start sharing them (once I actually, you know, have them.. I should also start taking pictures...). It's kind of why I subscribed to this thread. I love cheese, and as I've realized with beer, the more I focus on "rating" or taking notes, the more I pay attention to all the little details and complexities. A lot of the cheese I've been eating in the last few years has been purchased at the European cheese shop at the Rochester Public Market in Rochester, NY. Their focus is largely on Italian, probably since the family running it is Italian (they also have some other grocery goods and their own olive oil), but there's also a large selection of French, and some Spanish, with a sprinkling of other European cheeses. If you're in the area and haven't been to the public market, you're nuts! Otherwise, lately I've been just buying cheese from the Fairway Supermarket in Plainview, NY and went to the Wegmans in Rochester (the one University of Rochester students affectionately call "Super Wegs", and another one) when it was too cold out or took too much time to take the extra trip to the public market. Yesterday, I had some cypress midnight moon (goat) at Spuyten Duyvil in Williamsburg; very tasty! They always have cheese and meat that you can munch on with your beer, and they're all dee-lish. Other cheeses outside of the usual suspects I've really enjoyed include (but are not limited to): - aged goudas - I think I favor Prima Donna, but maybe it's Rembrandt - sage derby - some are better than others - bel chimay with beer - made by Belgian Trappist monks, they wash the rind of the cheese with their own beer; the beer is also tasty, btw - manchego - mimollette - irish vintage cheddar - brillat savarin - it's like buttah! i used to like st. andre's when it was first introduced in this area (and when it was the first triple-creme cheese I had eaten), but I've found that it's never ripe when it's in the store now except sometimes in the mini-wheels, and those mini-wheels are bad news (at least for soft cheese).. so i stopped buying it. however... who can beat a cheese named after a french gastronome? - pretty much any decent soft goat cheese - saga blue.. it's not the most complicated or strong-of-flavor (and i like my strongly-flavored cheeses), but it will always have a spot in my heart. i kind of grew up with it (and apparently my mom ate a LOT of it when she was pregnant with me). it's certainly in the realm of comfort food for me (not that cheese in general is not comforting..!) i've had a cheese-eating slow-down lately, but i think that'll change soon when i move into manhattan and start buying it more again. Mmmmmm... cheese! ::sighs::

nothing specific, but first thing i thought of were chain restaurants... ugh, those are pretty up there. lots of those popular catering places aren't great either; you know, places known for their expense and "ambiance" over other things (like tavern on the green, hehe). reminds me of the bad dinner they had at my high school prom at the waldorf-astoria. i don't know if they're known for bad food or what the catering situation was, but it seemed like someone simply said "pfft, high school students don't know anything about food. let's give them some lukewarm/overcooked/soggy stuff that resembles food." i think the guilt of having someone pay for me to not want to eat something would be the determining factor though. i am usually involved in the decision process for going out to dinner, so it's usually not a problem, and i somehow haven't had a meal that bad. i don't think i'd let my boyfriend choose any more random asian restaurants though.. last time that happened, we went to some unknown noodle shop somewhere in downtown manhattan (don't remember where) against my better judgement, but neither of us were happy with it so it could have been worse (i could have been with someone who liked it...). i don't know, i don't think i've been in the situation where i've gone to eat with someone with really awful taste (my parents have to for business very often, unfortunately for them). and just my POV, but i think that regardless of my sex or gender, i would not allow the concepts of "bad food" and "desire for sex" to become acquainted in my little life those two should never, ever, ever mix!

cream of mushroom soup????

So after reading this post on GUS (grown up soda) by Pam R, and this post about making non-alcoholic ginger beer by hummingbirdkiss, I decided to make a branch-off topic from the GUS post about bottled ginger sodas (for lack of a better general word), since I didn't want to totally hijack the thread. I like ginger a lot, and so for ginger sodas I've been drinking Reed's Extra Ginger Brew because that's the first one I really liked. It purportedly contains 25 grams of ginger, which is more than their regular one, obviously (hence the "extra"). I like things that aren't too sweet (I personally wouldn't mind if they took a little of the sugar out of the Reed's); basically, just barely enough sugar to give it a little sweetness to balance the spiciness. I like the Reed's a lot, but I'm curious about what's out there because it's easier to ask opinions than to spend the money to try every one of them (although that's not quite out of the question... problem is that not many places let you break 4- or 6-packs of every drink they sell, and I haven't seen any ginger sodas at the beer stores I've been in which will sell you singles). And I know, I know, I could make it myself if I wanted... and eventually I probably will... but I'm lazy and there are so many other things I want to make first! Plus, being bottled is nice and convenient....erm, even if it looks sketchy when I drink it while driving. Also, any other prepared ginger foods (like candies and such)? I like the Ginger People ginger chews (although spicy apple is a little too hot for me), though their "Gin-Gins" (hard candies) are too sweet and not gingery enough for me. I haven't had their ginger beer though, but I had their ginger soother and wasn't too impressed. I also have a bag of dried ginger from Trader Joe's that I like to much a piece or two from once in a while. MMmmmmmmm... ginger! And to think I used to hate it all those years.. (What do you want, I was a kid! Those slices kept popping up in the steamed fish my mom would make and whatever other Chinese things she made with ginger in it.. it was too much for me to handle back then.)

I decided to try the dry meyer lemon variety since it sounded tasty and I like my sour drinks. IMO, though, I actually greatly prefer San Pellegrino Limonata to it. GUS was just not strong enough in the lemony flavor department, and it wasn't as sour as I would have liked (especially compared to the S. Pellegrino). Also, I think S. Pellegrino has some lemon pulp, and I'm a sucker for pulp (I barely can drink store-bought OJ without it). Plus, when I'm drinking soda, it's usually because I really want carbonation at the moment, and I felt that GUS was somewhat lacking in that department. That being said, the San Pellegrino isn't much easier to find than GUS as far as I can tell, and is less likely to be available as a single refrigerated bottle/can that you can drink right away. It's probably available in the same kinds of stores though. I know Fairway in Plainview has it, so it's most certainly in the NYC Fairways, and I'm pretty sure I've seen 6-packs of it at the Whole Foods in Chelsea. I also could find 6-packs of bottles at the Wegmans I used to go to when I was at school in Rochester; I actually was reintroduced to it (I had it when I was younger) because it was sold at the European cheese shop at the Rochester Public Market. (The shop was run by an Italian family, which is probably why they carried it. They also carried their own olive oil which was quite tasty). And, to answer the original question so my post doesn't look like a complete and total hijack: Yes, I think it's worth it to spend more money on good soda, but that's because 1. I don't (and never did) drink that much soda and 2. I'm very picky about things with sugar (I have a low tolerance for sugary things; sometimes they make me nauseous).

i don't know where in east hampton you're going to be and how close it'll be to where i'm suggesting, but if you have the chance and you like beer and it's not too far you should try going to southampton publick house.. it's a brewpub and they make some great beers. food's not supposed to be too bad either, but that's by word of mouth. my boyfriend and i are planning to go probably in the fall, when they release this year's eisbock or something.

When I was really little, we lived in Forest Hills (Queens, NY), and would frequently pass a kosher-Chinese restaurant on 108th street called "Cho-Sen" (now apparently "Cho-Sen Garden"). How's that for hilarious names for Kosher-Chinese restaurants?! (It's certainly up there with "He-Brew"... though beer isn't really something you think of when you think of the typical Jewish Christmas Eve...) As for treif (non-kosher) foods.. my dad was never really iffy about shellfish, but for years when my sister and I were little we referred to pork as "meat" to soften the blow (we don't really eat any pork anymore except a few things that are all in Chinese restaurants, and I think it was because we were low on money and pork is cheap). He grew up in the former Soviet Union, but his family managed to try and hold on to whatever bits of Judaism they could, so he grew up avoiding treif foods. I don't think he grew up with shellfish around him to be weirded out by it. As for chow fun; my dad is Jewish and I consider myself somewhat culturally Jewish, but my mom is Chinese and I also consider myself to be of Chinese descent... So, I feel like that's cheating, because I ate lots of Chinese food in all my years, and I often didn't know the names (my mom cooked it or did the ordering from the menu). P.S. The edit is because I fixed my grammar.

soy sauce? i'm not positive, but i could have swore there was (also?) oyster sauce or "oyster flavored sauce" (usually mushroom-based, i think) in chow mein sauce, but maybe that's more lo mein (i don't know my chinese-american-ized noodle dishes that well - i prefer to just eat my noodles asian-noodle-soup-style)... i agree with the last two posts that the white color to it must be corn starch, because there really aren't dairy products in chinese cooking and they don't use tofu or something as a base to sauces either, though i don't think it would contribute that much color in the quantity you'd need to thicken. if you are sure about it being creamy and white, you're probably looking for a more "westernized" version; that, i have no idea about

Hi all! I went to Sripraphai with my family this evening for dinner, and I figured I'd add my 2 cents. Warning: Prepare for the wordiness!!! We ordered (and shared)... Fried Soft Shell Crab with Shredded Green Mango Sauce - Good, IMO. Didn't seem overcooked or anything (Disclosure: I haven't had soft-shell crab until recently for whatever reason, but I have to admit that something about it bothers me on some level, which I haven't determined, so I might not be the best judge of it). Also, the menu online says spicy, but I didn't notice anything remarkable about it's heat. "Sauce", it should be noted, was just another salad-type thing with julienned green mangoes. I'd order it again... if I could just figure out and get past my "thing" about soft-shelled crabs. Roasted Duck Salad - Also pretty good, though it could have used a little more duck (and a little thinner slices to match the other ingredients a little more, IM-neurotic-O). I'd probably order it again, or perhaps try one of the papaya salads or something; I very much enjoy these kinds of salad (and am partial to duck as prepared by Asians). Beef Offal Soup - Great! Probably my favorite of the dishes we ordered. It was the spiciest of the dishes, and fortunately my family shared it because it was quite spicy (probably closer to or at where it should be) and my stomach has revolted against such things in the last year or so. I did turn to my sister and say "Less beef, more offal!" - I think that's because I wasn't expecting any sliced beef in it, and was actually hoping for more tripe (light on tripe, but lots of tasty.. tendons? I can't remember what the sort of firm gelatin-like textured thing is, but I'm pretty sure it's tendon... we ate quite a bit of it when I was in elementary school and we got it prepared from a Chinese market near us.) Definitely order it again, though perhaps (only perhaps, though) I'd ask to tone down the heat a little (I prefer to taste foods past the heat rather than die or burn a hole through my stomach, but I feel sacrilegious about toning it down sometimes). Sauteed Drunken Noodles (we chose sliced beef) - I was actually not really impressed. My mom remarked, "It's not bad, but I prefer the Cantonese version better." I usually love (and I really mean love) those wide noodles, but the whole thing kind of was stuck together and somewhat unremarkable to me. I feel that there were a lot of things that could have improved about the dish, but maybe I'm missing something..? I'd most likely skip it next time. Pan Fried Mussels with Bean Sprouts - I liked it. The main part of the dish kind of reminds me of Korean pancakes (the savory things that have scallions and seafood in them) because the mussels seem to be trapped in a very loose batter with a similar flavor (though these seemed to have fried in a little deeper oil). Mussels cooked properly (not overcooked). The bean sprouts are actually more tacked-on, since they aren't in the batter with the mussels but rather underneath and seem to be sauteed a bit before plated. I'd order it again. Fried Fish with Curry Sauce (we chose whole red snapper) - I actually didn't find the fish quite so badly cooked as I got from other people's comments here, but I still don't think it's anything to write home about. The spices and seasoning was nice, but otherwise unremarkable. Probably wouldn't order it again; I'd rather find something that more piqued my interest. Spiciness for us... When I (as the family liaison, for whatever reason) was first asked "how spicy?" I said to the waitress "Uh, spicy is fine; just give us things at whatever level they're supposed to be at for the dish." I can't tell if we suffered from "CSS". All the dishes except for the mussels seem to be labeled "spicy" on the NY Mag menu. The beef offal soup was quite spicy, but but the others weren't very noticeably so. Maybe they were less spicy than the generic "spicy" marker on the NY Mag website? Perhaps, perhaps. Also, my mom is very clearly Asian, so I don't know if that was taken into account by the waitress or not. I don't really think it's that big a deal, honestly, unless it very clearly detracts from the dish - I don't think any of them were that kind of dish. Service... Yes, dishes kind of came on top of each other (beef offal soup, soft-shell crab, roasted duck salad, mussels, fish, noodles), but I don't really think that's a huge issue - we were ordering family style and I wasn't really thinking of any of them as "appetizers". Didn't really have much issue with service, either. They seemed quite nice, and although there were one or two minor snags, I'm not really bothered by service unless it's really terrible. I honestly haven't had much Thai food (especially in the NYC metro area), so my views are based less on any idea of "good Thai" versus "bad Thai" and more on "good food" versus "bad food". this was only my first experience at Sripraphai, so I have nothing to report in comparison. I'd try it again - I'd switch dishes up a bit to try a few different things. EDIT: Update on spiciness I may have been mistaken; we ate the leftover fish from yesterday, and it is indeed spicy. Maybe the beef offal soup threw us off from tasting anything else?

oh good, i'm not the only one using binder clips i started using them because i'm cheap (aka didn't want to buy those bag clips), and although i have a decent idea of the "origami" you speak of, it's easier to use binder clips when other people are involved in eating from the bags you buy (which often is the case when you purchase/share food with another and also are willing to share with friends in a dorm) if i'm not crazy, the origami thing is folding one top corner down to the opposite side, then doing the same with the other so the top now comes to a point. then, you fold the point down to below the point where the sides cross and form a pockety thing, and then fold the point under at this point and tuck it into that gap... like this! ..though i've found it works better with paper bags because they retain their creases better, but of course that would kind of be besides the point of avoiding staleness and such.

a restaurant i really liked (though i've only been there once) was gobo. i don't know if their locations vary in quality, but just in case i went to their west village location. unfortunately, i didn't eat out much in manhattan as a vegetarian (i went to gobo last summer, i think, after i had switched back to an omnivore diet), but another place i went to i wasn't too impressed by. i think it might vary by dish (as many restaurants do), but some things i really liked were the salt & pepper king oyster mushrooms (listed as a small dish on their website... you can find the menus by clicking "taste" at the top of their site..) and the yam & yucca fries (an appetizer). there's a new york times review of it here. i think it might be a matter of selection and such whether or not you're happy there, but i think it'll have a big enough range of foods for everyone, and the atmosphere will be more of the kind you'd want for a special dinner. hope that helps!

thanks for the suggestions and the anecdotes everyone i guess everyone has their own specific ways of dealing with it, but it clearly boils down to division of labor (in some respect). we'll probably do separate nights or separate dishes (nights would work better for me, because it's much harder for me to let him do his thing if i'm involved in the kitchen; i know this from experience). i won't relegate him to clean-up, because he'd grow to resent that very quickly. he is interested in cooking (to answer your question, Terrasanct ...it's not just my desire to not have to do it all myself ). unfortunately, he hasn't done much regular cooking because he still has the mentality of "cooking is a lot of effort" that a lot of non-cooks have, and since he gets home at 7:30 and sometimes isn't hungry until 9 (because he drank beer when he got home), it doesn't seem reasonable for him to then go into the effort to chop and fry and such. i did buy him 2 cookbooks and he's made things from them and told me if he liked them or not, or that certain dishes look really tasty but he hasn't tried them, etc. he's a foodie-type, though he's more focused on beer (and i'm pretty general.. i also don't have the collector-type personality that aids him in his quest for beers). torrilin: number 4 of your list is probably the biggest sticking point for me. our differences usually play out in the "vision" aspect. we usually disagree on what spices and ingredients will be good together, and i think a lot of it has to do with different styles that we grew up with. his mom is of the "steam and boil the veggies!" variety, and my mom (although prone to boil veggies from time to time, blech) did a lot more stir-frying (being asian). we seem to have similar tastes in food when we go out to eat, but i feel like his taste in home cooking is a little more... well, no offense to anyone, but a little more of what was associated as "american" (bring on the green bean casseroles!) in my family's household (my parents are both immigrants; my first in-person interaction with a green bean casserole was a few months ago). it kind of horrifies me at some level, because i know he has a developed palate. i think i'm going to have to start drinking in the kitchen to stop freaking out so much about vision yeah, busboy... i know what you mean about cutting things. it's one of the things that actually drives me craziest of all. if i'm in a bad mood or don't control myself it'll make me completely flip out, and of course most people just don't seem to understand... as for that times article.. i love that picture that goes along with it in the web edition. you can just see him criticize her chopping and grating with his eyes... i have to admit, it's nice to hear about how other people deal with this (i actually looked for a preexisting topic, but i couldn't get the right kinds of words together to find it!)

so i've cooked a few times with my boyfriend in the past (at his/his mom's house and in his dorm suite at school), and it's clear we're very different as far as experience, views on food preparation, etc. there has been in the past a tendency for tension and even some bickering. he's admitted that he's afraid to cook with me, because i'm a bit on the controlling side when i cook (which i admit, especially with someone i haven't cooked much with... i'm, as they say, "neurotic" and "anal-retentive" as a cook, but i think that's what makes me a decent cook and strive to be a better cook). on my end, i've found that i forget to do things that are usually second nature (like browning things properly before just letting them sit and cook). it also kind of makes me anxious when i cook with him that he doesn't pay the same attention to detail with food preparation that i do, which tends to either dissolve to the neurotic and anal-retentive behavior. or, i just continue to be anxious (which might be why i forget those important details like browning). i'm pretty confident in my cooking abilities, yet i feel like he doubts me so they kind of cancel each other out. soon, we're going to move in together (the wait has been due to the difference in our graduation years and the fact that i'm still looking for a job), and moving in together will inevitably involve cooking. i know we'll find some way to work out these problems (possibly by alternating nights where only one of us cooks dinner until things get a little more relaxed). hopefully it won't take too long... long story short, has anyone else had these problems with a significant other (or maybe someone you cook regularly with, though i've cooked with people and not had as much trouble cooking, just with the interpersonal stuff )? how the heck did you (plural) handle it? are we probably doomed to forever never standing in the same kitchen again? i remember there was some ny times article (that i showed him, btw) that talked about this stuff, but i'll be damned if i got any sort of help from it.

Is this where I admit to buying one a few years ago and then NEVER using it. I guess that proves that at least in my kitchen it must be useless. ← i bet you could cut that thing so it make a flat sheet and use it to help open jars though (not as easily as the jar openers, but just to give yourself a little more friction)