Wilfrid

Oh, that has to be tax deductible. Surely, surely.

I have never been able to fid the OED online. Should be easy. Do you have a link, Professor?

Tommy, if you have time, would it be preferable to wear rubber gloves when preparing lobsters in order to mitigate any cold or slimy sensations which might be experienced?

Cutting them up while alive is what I have seen professional chefs mostly do. No more questions.

it doesn't. Bringing to the boil does!! FULE S And then why is that more kindly than dropping them into boiling water. Isn't it just slower and more painful? I ask, not to be picky, but because I am entirely prepared to amend the way I prepare lobsters if I think it will relieve any putative suffering. NIT

How does placing lobsters in cold water send them to sleep?

Improvised a pork stir fry from what was available. I do need to go shopping. Only thing worth mentioning was that I shredded some iceberg lettuce and cucumber and threw it in, and it gave the finished dish some excellent crunch. Not a decent scrap of cheese in the house.

I fear that mental image will never be erased. I think it was because it was absolutely the very first thing I learnt about her after her name.

Oh that would come in handy at Blue Hill, if you were dining with Majumdar.

I agree with you, Steve, I was only trying to work out what it should cost if those wines were served. Tommy, pay attention for christ's sake, this is all very important stuff.

Deja vu. But I am puzzled about this notion of "supporting" Blue Hill. Does it mean the dinner was intended to help promote the restaurant, or was it some way of raising money for the restaurant - and if the latter, why? Because I do agree that the question whether the price was reasonable is logically distinct from the question whether Cabby had a good time and didn't mind the price. The sober calculation seems to be that the meal was about 45% over-priced, and that does seem worthy of notice.

It's useful, for example, in swanky food discussions.

And can you pull strings and get us all in too?

I can see that doing five in one night will help to nudge Cabby's weekly average up.

Cabby, I couldn't find your comments about value. I am still slightly staggered by the cost. An $80 meal, as Steve said - and must we assume these wines were being poured by the glass? The Pol Roger might set you back $18, but I can't make the wine bill more than about $60. Were they pouring multiple glasses? Could I also ask if the price included tip, tax and everything. I don't know how they get from $80 + $60= $140 to the actual price of $375.

Yarg.

I've never come across a thrush, and I don't fancy stuffing a terrine in my suitcase, but keep the ideas coming.

I take that back. I didn't understand it. Dodge, I now think you were quoting someone else about the two restaurants, but it really is hard to follow when you use one [ to start a quote, then don't close it. if you hate the quote function, couldn't you at least use a "?

I am suspicious of what you describe. I suppose some such combinations may be appealing, but my starting point is: if you like Tomme de Savoie, and if you've got a good one, how could you come to the conclusion that it could be improved by a jelly donut garnish? (S)he who is tired of cheese is tired of life.

A terrine would be great, but I have several reasons for wanting to keep the dishes fairly straightforward - limited time, strange kitchen, not wanting to try kitchen owner's patience, etc. I think my menus are always a little more on the heavy side than the light side - that's fine by me, but I do try to control portions.

I have read that several times and I think I understand it, but why don't you just say which restaurants you mean? ]

It's the baseball bat he's carrying that bothers me.

Moi aussi

Cheese. Plate. Knife and fork. The other gear should be an occasional treat only. Sorry, but I am weary of restaurants offending good cheese by serving it with overwhelming garnishes of fruits, chutneys and oily salads, and encouraging you to spread it over multi-flavored breads and crackers. So I rarely do it at home. The cheese is the thing.

Judicious shopping has created an excess of cider and heavy cream in my refrigerator, so I gave the treatment to a couple of pork cutlets last night. Served over caramelized apple rings, with the cream and cider sauce. Managed to ignore the calvados.