kitchensqueen

I have to second Two Brothers. Domaine DuPage is a good beer, and they do specialty stouts from time to time that are wonderful.

I've been reading John Thorne's book "Pot on the Fire: Further Exploits of a Renegade Cook", and in his essay "Cioppino in the Rough" I came across an intriguing paragraph (p. 298): "Peasant food is rooted as a matter of course in what is abundant and cheap, enhanced when possible by calculatedly careful touches of the expensive: the grating of Parmesan, the paper-thin sliver of proscuitto, the drizzle of olive oil. Our cooking lays its emphasis on ample provision of the relatively expensive and relegates what is abundant and cheap to the background - where it is sometimes not eaten at all. This means that very expensive items traditionally used primarily to point up what we ourselves push to the back of the plate - say, the forty dollar truffle shaved over the bowl of pasta - make us anxious, since they fly in the face of our sense of value. This is why the 'Average American,' who would think nothing - should the cash be at hand - of treating himself to a sixteen-ounce sirloin, be he connoisseur or no, still considers it only sensible, even today, to replace 'costly' olive oil with that pressed from cottonseed." I'm curious to know what others think of this idea that Americans tend to reverse the roles of "cheap" and "expensive" ingredients and/or foods in our diets?

No no, me too! At least wine with character, even if it's "bad", gives you something to discuss at the dinner table. :-)

Yeah, I wonder how that would work. I think that overall only a small percentage of glass bottled wines are even suitable for aging in the first place, but what if a producer made a boxed wine with the intention of aging? Is it even possible? Boxes don't allow limited light, have different chemical compositions, are generally stored upright... all these factors. I wonder if anyone has even thought to try it. If I were a wine producer myself, I might be tempted to stand up to the challenge, just for the hell of it.

This is an excellent question; it really made me think. As far as edibles are concerned, I'd have to say the perfect snickerdoodles that my mom used to send me each Christmas ranks as one of the best thins I've ever gotten. I'd eat them in one sitting, and they're the gold standard I aspire to when making them myself. As far as non-edibles are concerned, last Christmas I received both Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child et al (from my husband) and The German Cookbook by Mimi Sheraton (from my mother in law). I almost cried with joy.

Eh, I just had a couple of Fat Tires. Goes alright with breakfast for dinner.

Just to throw in my two cents... At first, I was pretty annoyed with the move towards synthetic corks and screw caps, because I like the ritual of properly opening a bottle of wine and that's the way it's always been done. For some reason, I (and I think a lot of others) are just attached to that. However, I'm starting to change a little bit. I'm notorious for corking the wine. Nearly without exception, no matter how careful I am, I will pierce the cork. And sometimes that cork (on that expensive bottle) will shatter into dust and no amount of filtering and decanting will get rid of it. That's disappointing. The synthetic cork makes me feel competent, and we end up with drinkable wine. And there are some times when a corked wine actually isn't convenient - picnics, camping, etc. it's nice to take a minimum of stuff and have minimum effort.

Haresfur mentioned kayaking, and it's true of any outdoor endeavor. Box is better than bottle. And you can get them in single serving or large packs to suit your needs. Boxed wines also seem to be more bang for your buck in their price points - the boxes hold a little more than a standard bottle.

I first got into boxed wines when camping - no scary, heavy glass bottles that need a corkscrew and might break in your pack while lugging it through the wilderness. The Three Thieves Bandit wine is actually pretty decent. Epicurious lists it as one of their top five boxed wines, and I really like their cabernet and chardonnay. And everything does taste better outdoors.

Saveur offers e-editions downloadable as PDFs as a subscription option.

I've not used the above-mentioned magazines, but I do love the French Saveurs magazine - it's got awesome articles on food travel and highlights innovative products and such, but the best part is the tear out recipe cards at the back. It's a great way to keep up with the language.

Hahaha, well I was going to say I'm going to make a crumb coffee cake tonight, but the rest of you put me to shame. :-) Beautiful stuff!

I love reading this thread. My all time "favorite" experience was when my server came by and said "looks like you're going to be needing a 'doggie bag' for that". When I assured her that I wasn't (because our plates had only arrived 15 minutes prior), she came back 5 minutes later and plunked one down anyway! It wasn't a high end place on par with The French Laundry or anything, but come on! Must we cast common courtesy aside?

I'm not sure why having an actual Julia Child in the movie is even relevant, unless it's a sales gimmick. She (in a proper, real-life form) wasn't even in the book, and she didn't much care for the project anyway... They need to make sure they have an authentic copy of Mastering, not Meryl Streep.

Hahaha I have always wondered about that myself!

You are a goldmine of information. :-) I'm going to check into the purveyors you mention - for some reason, it never occurred to me to source things from the pros for home cooking. Why not though? And I think I'm going to try this recipe with half made with caul fat and half made without, so I can't really examine the differences side by side. I'm raring to go - hopefully next weekend I'll have the time devote to it. Will keep everyone posted as to the results!

A group is just what I need. Time to google Nance Klehm; thanks for the tip Marmish.

The whole thing. It's the size of a small closet, has no natural light and only 2 literal feet of counter space. But with upgraded lighting, creating storage where none existed (everything on the walls!) and setting claustrophobia aside, I can still turn out some pretty good meals.

Magictofu, thanks for the tips on where to find morels - when I was a kid we always searched for them in forests, but I never paid any attention to the type of trees. And I had no idea that milkweed shoots are edible! I would assume at the very youngest stage? What's the best way to prepare them?

I keep flirting with it at the bookstore and not taking it home... I think it's an intriguing read, but I'm skeptical about the viability of the recipes in the home kitchen. Has anyone tried them?

Fantastic info. It makes sense not to use the tamis - texture is something I love about this dish. But why the addition of caul fat? That's not something that's coming to me intuitively... I've never seen carp on the market - does it go by another name commercially or there a key to locating it?

I'm a little surprised they told you, and didn't just deliver you a well-done burger without saying anything.

I just checked out the Esquire list and am excited to see two of my local Chicago favorites on here - Duke of Perth and Red Lion. There is nothing better than fish n chips and a pint in front of the fire when it's cool out at Duke - and no tvs!

I covet everyone's beverages - sounds so good! Especially the Montana Cocktail that thirtyoneknots is having. Gin is a great vehicle for a good mixed drink. Alas, I'm in a red wine mood coinciding with a budget mood - three buck chuck cab for me tonight...

Thanks - this shrimp recipe you posted looks good. The issue I've been having with the recipes I've been finding online is they don't specify which type of fish to use - most of the time I've eaten it, it's been some type of white fish but I can't identify the flavor of it with all the spicing. Also, since I don't use a food processor, I suppose the old school method of fine dice and pushing through a tamis would produce the same effect? And I'm guessing I can suss out yard long beans at my local ethnic markets - are they different varieties?