pjs

NyQuil dude? NyQuil. Poor man's Pernod. PJ

Does anyone clean their mung bean sprouts before using? You know, pinching the yellow head and the stringy tail off. Takes longer than forever, but I can't help doing it. I read somewhere that if given this task in a commercial kitchen you could quit on the spot and still qualify for unemployment benefits. PJ

The Pan Fried Duck recipe appears in "The Minimalist Cooks at Home" book. One version flavored with garlic and thyme and the other flavored like the original Paula Peck recipe, with sherry and soy. It's interesting that Suzanne F thought it needed more time in the pan. In the preface to the recipe MBittman notes that he reduced the cooking time of the original recipe to 45 minutes from an hour. PJ

The customer also needs to assess what the restaurant is capable of. I've witnessed a order for a Black and Blue steak sent back twice and finally abandoned. The place bent over backwards to try to acommodate the request but couldn't because no one out here in the boondocks knew at the time what a Black and Blue steak was. And this was a $20.00+ entree at a very good restaurant. It cast a pall over the whole dinner. BTW The first attempt was nice, hot and bloody rare. I would of gladly kept it instead of trying to one-up the kitchen. PJ

Good point Tommy. A scathing well-written letter delivered by the USPS takes more work to compose and send but it's impact on the the other end is so much more effective. E-mail is just too easy. PJ

Oh my, Lesley. All upscale NYC diners have to SERVE Black and Whites. They also have to have Linzer Tortes. PJ

Yes I did, in the 70's, but not in service. I was a whore musician in one of the many bands that sucked as bad as the food. The money was good though, which after all, is the reason for being a whore in the first place. PJ PS I graduated/was released from Van Buren in '73. Had to do an extra year due to bad behavior.

Maybe so, but for me, Lakeville and Northern is too close to the bizarro world of the Great Pink Brick--Leonard's. Hey David, you stoked my memory. There WAS another Silver Moon on Union Turnpike. Near St. John's as you mentioned. What's the deal with that? Are there so many diners in the NYC environs that they had to double-up on names? I'd happily settle for just one in my currently removed location. Whatever the fuck it was called. PJ

Flour, egg wash, and CRACKER CRUMBS! PJ

I've been playing around with fresh sage lately and as a consequence had to dry a bunch of fresh whole leaves to avoid having to toss them. I've come to the conclusion that the whole dried leaves taste better than the fresh. My jar of dried, ground sage came in a distant third. PJ

Out of business? Say it ain't so Jason. I grew up in that neighborhood and the Silver Moon was a cherished local institution. A friend of mine once owned a bar and grill next door. We could barely manage to crawl there after closing--for breakfast at 5:00am. Great food. Cheeseburger Platters with the burgers done drippin' bloody-rare, Onion Rings in Beer Batter, Tuna Clubs, Eggs over Easy, and oh, the pastries and pies! BTW it was at Union Turnpike and Lakeville Road. Smack on the city side of the NYC/Nassau border. I think the town was called Glen Oaks. PJ

McCormick's Whole Black Peppercorns are actually quite pungent in a nice way. And reasonably priced. It's what I'm using lately. PJ

I hear you fifi. I think the cooking technique/method has nothing to do with it. It is the shrimp themselves. A month or so ago the local supermarkets were selling "fresh" ruby reds relatively cheap. Examining the raw product you could tell they would be a bitch to peel once cooked. Thin papery shells. They were quite tasty though and worth the trouble. Never tried Zatarain's--should I? I usually use a shovel-full of Old Bay. PJ

Grilled celery is toxic. PJ

Given your list of ingredients here's how I would do it. The wine and most of the cornstarch is used to marinate the chicken which you then velvet and set aside. The ginger is stir-fryed, then water is added with the soy sauce and sugar and simmered. The chicken and the previously blanched broccoli is returned to the wok. Stir in some cornstarch slurry to thicken slightly. When seconds from done drizzle on the sesame oil. Personally I'd add some garlic with the ginger and use chicken stock instead of water. PJ

Pierre Franey never again worked in a restaurant after the Le Pavillon mutiny. Hard to tell if this was of his own choosing. I think it was. The Pepin book sounds like a must read. PJ

I'd like to further confuse the origin and/or recipe with this 1979 quote from P. Franey. "It was called steak Diane and it was the specialty of the house--twenty years ago and more--at the old Drake Hotel. The person most closely associated with steak Diane was known in dining circles throughout the city as Nino of the Drake. His full name was Beniamino Schiavon, born in Padua, Italy." Hope this obfuscates. PJ

Ellen, try rubbing them with veg oil before baking. Crispy skins, yum. Otherwise you've got it right. PJ

Lately I've been buying the Kasih brand imported from Jordan. I just noticed the ingredients. Tahini, Sugar, Sapponaria Officinalis, Glucose, Pistaschio, Citric Acid, Vanillin, E171, Stabilizer (E471 Vegetable Origin). Also noticed that I'm almost out--need to buy some more. PJ

My recollection of eating at the Rendezvous was great ribs in a cattle-car type environment. Should of gone to Corky's. PJ

Thanks for the heads-up FG. I've been trying to source this type of olive oil for quite some time. As usual, I procrastinated and didn't call them until today. Damn it you were right, only three of the nine varieties were still available. Next batch expected in July. I did buy a couple of bottles of second choices though and expect to be delighted with them. PJ

Suvir explained it better than I ever could. It's an intense pepper-like flavor without the sweat-inducing burn. fifi, I juliened with the fiber so I could match the size of the onion and red pepper. About 1" or so long. But I was using relatively small pieces. If you have a big hand of fiberous ginger maybe cutting on the bias is the answer. I had some leftovers when I made this. I ate them cold the next day standing up in the kitchen. PJ PS Thanks for the link Kristin.

That's the recipe Kristin. I think the people dissing the recipe in the reviews didn't prepare and cook the ginger as described. You have to match-stick it and stir-fry it until it browns. PJ

There is currently a recipe on epicurious for catfish that calls for an obscene amount of ginger. Half a pound for four servings. I'd provide a link but I don't do code since I trashed the phototypesetter. Anyway, I made it and it was awesome. Ginger used in this type of quantity takes on a whole new dimension. It becomes almost peppery. I believe the recipe was of Cambodian origin. Can anyone elaborate? PJ

I remember what McDonald's tasted like circa 1970. Holly, your recollection of Wetson's brought back repressed memories. Shame on you. Down here in in the southeast we have a great fast-food chain called "Steak 'n' Shake". When you order a burger they flatten a ball of fresh ground beef on the grill--made to order. They also serve onion rings made with actual onion rings. I'm surprised I haven't seen them mentioned here before. PJ