Timo

... as an american under age 21, i can't (legally) vouch for any of ms. immer's wine tips, of course. but, i can say that watching master sommeliers romp through the sands of hawaii in wine trivia competitions is highly entertaining (kudos for the show andrea!) but... while innocently perusing the wine aisle at target this weekend, i was affronted with a whole new wall of (gasp!) boxed wines! these were not ordinary, generic, franzia or whatever-the-heck-brand wines in a box. they were a new (to me atleast) line of specially designed wineboxes for target. have we finally just given up on trying to make americans drink wine out of a bottle instead of a box and just put the good wine in a box instead? i thought the wineboxes were on the way out? -timo edit:, ah, my bad - they are called wine "cubes" at target, not wine boxes. and it comes from lodi vineyards. and you can read about it here if you want!

oh - so has anyone gone to the opening yet? they are so much fun! i want pictures! i am so happy for the londoners. i feel like we are finally reimbursing you all for giving the world graham norton! (a fair trade?)

ha! i was just talking about ben & jerry's on my blog.... the euphori-lock is def the best thing about b&j. next to cherry garcia, of course. college essentials sure, i thought to bring a bike lock. i even brought a master lock for the gym. but did i think to bring a euphori lock? triple time no. and, as we've discovered, a euphori lock could be the most important one. a euphori lock is like a bike lock for your pint of ben & jerry's. mini fridges are a little weak in terms of freezing power, so if you really want to keep a pint solid, you have to keep it in the hall freezer. then, of course, you can't sleep at night knowing your chubby hubby is definitely not safe. ha! problem solved with pint lock. just clip it on, rest easy, and eat ice cream for breakfast.

when i was in costa rica a few years ago, they had these great fruits that they called (in english) rose apples. the best way i can describe one is a cross between a pear and an apple maybe... more of a pear shape but with red skin like an apple. but the flavor was incredible, better than a pear or an apple (but with flavor components of each...) i've never seen these in the states, and can't find much online about them. has anyone else ever had these? do they go by another name in the states?

anyone have a recipe for coleslaw made with jicama? coleslaw is one of those foods that i don't even like to see other people eat. . . in fact i don't like pork bbq because of the association there... (in virginia this is much too big a deal btw...) BUT.. i love jicama slaw. it does not qualify as colesalw for me, it is something more ethereal....

andrew- homestar runner rocks my world! oh, and just so this isnt otc... um... i like gay food too... yeah.

what a nice piece! i was not around during the the "waters era" (unless we are still in this era...)but the topic still fascinates me. i was especially impressed with ms. waters' commitment to educating youth about where their food comes from. thanks for the heads up about it!

talk about fusion...

whats your take on pairing chocolates with wine? can it ever be a very worthwhile pairing? do you have any specific chocolate recommendations when it is to be paired with wine? (brands, cocoa percentage, etc.)

hmmm... holi was also on st. patrick's day, which also fell near purim this year. it is hard to combine indian cuisine with irish cuisine and jewish cuisine, but i atleast made an attempt... we ate aloo parathas (potato stuffed indian flatbreads- the potato is the irish part, the flatbread is the indian) with hamantaschen for dessert. glad this does not happen every year

i also recommend the salter digi scale that nightscotman uses. i bought one at williams-sonoma because they were on clearance after the holidays. it was gift wrapped and everything, now, of course, i am irreversibly spoiled by it and am too lazy to use measuring cups and the like. a scale will simplify your life beyond belief.

thanks jody! i'm glad it worked out! i think i'll try it myself this weekend... last weekend the supermarket was already out of the canned fillings, so i guess i have no choice but to make my own this year!

thanks for the smarts JFLinLA! now i just need to work up the courage to try it myself...

I made aloo paratha this weekend, using a recipe from Mark Bittman's "How To Cook Everything" In the intro, Mr. Bittman mentions that the recipe is originally from Julie Sahni, and that he has really only changed it by using cumin instead of ajwain to season the dough. he describes ajwain as "a thyme-like spice" and suggests that the two can be used interchangeably. is this off the mark at all? i have a very small knowledge base concerning Indain spices (I am learning more every day, thanks to eGullet!) so it surprised me to see that thyme and ajwain could be so similar. are there other instances of this? or, is ajwain simply just another name for thyme? thanks in advance for any help! my apologies if this has already been covered in a previous thread, but i seem to be very inept at using the "search" function...

for me Padma was the first Indian celebrity chef i came to like. prasad - I saw her first when she took Martha Stewart on a tour through an Indian neighborhood in New York, and then again on the food network on My Country, My Kitchen. She is very mellow, but at the same time very knowledgable and passionate about her work it seems. Very relaxing to watch, if you get a chance to catch these programs.

my friend's mom makes the most incredible hamantashen, and she makes them in copious amounts, so i have only bothered to make my own once or twice. poppy is my favorite, but i was wondering if the filling is simply ground poppies with some sugar, or if there is more to it. anyone have a formula? JFLinLA- i'm also interested in trying the poppy filling out without the sugar... maybe costco still sells splanda in bulk. haha, no, i wouldn't resort to that. but, let us know if you have any success please! i'll do the same. thanks everyone!

sorry in advance, this is not a comment on the different grades of syrup. but, a question about syrup had been bugging me for awhile now, and maybe a syrup expert out there could answer it for me... I am wondering what "hickory syrup" is... awhile back i remember reading an article about it, but can't remember where or when. is it just a marketing ploy, or is this really a different syrup? made with hickory sap? i am just curious and intrigued here, sorry i don't have more specific info.

Thanks everyone! it is comforting to know where all this stuff comes from... but i don't know if it will make me love the pastrami more, or less.. ha, jk

so, i could easily find this somewhere on the net, but it is so much more fun to talk to all you eGulleters! http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/fun/blondie....p?date=20030224 so, anyone care to elaborate? what is the dif? thanks in advance!

hi, sorry to interrupt, but... this is an incredibly interesting thread, but I have to admit I stopped reading once it reached 20 pages or so... anyway, what I am wondering is, why don't some of you start food diary blogs? I think this would be the perfect use for a blog. of course, it would mean less posts for eGullet. well, if anyone is interested, I use blogger to publish my blog, I would recommend it. You all have really interesting things to say, it would be great to share it all with the rest of the internet, and eGullet. Let me know if anyone decides to do a blog, I would be a devoted daily reader! -Tim

hi, sorry to interrupt, but... this is an incredibly interesting thread, but I have to admit I stopped reading once it reached 20 pages or so... anyway, what I am wondering is, why don't some of you start food diary blogs? I think this would be the perfect use for a blog. of course, it would mean less posts for eGullet. well, if anyone is interested, I use blogger to publish my blog, I would recommend it. You all have really interesting things to say, it would be great to share it all with the rest of the internet, and eGullet. Let me know if anyone decides to do a blog, I would be a devoted daily reader! -Tim

oh, if you find yourself in shockoe bottom, stop at "17.5" it is a little (great!) coffee shop halfway down 17th (hence the name, haha) i think they use locally roasted beans, so maybe this has some connection to the roaster that steve mentioned. but, this is not a restaurant....

when i first saw the bubble tea in chinatown, it reminded me of a soft drink i used to enjoy: orbitz was like juice, but with little gel balls floating in it. i thought it was ace at the time (i was about 12 or so..) but now the thought is a little revolting... needless to say, orbitz has been discontinued. did anyone else ever drink this? i think bubble tea is a definite step up! tapioca pearls taste better than jello spheres. trust me...

um, since we're on the topic. WHY THE HECK ARE SPRING OREOS PURPLE THIS YEAR???!!!!!!!!!????? Whatever happened to "spring-sky blue" creme filling, or the "baby chick yellow". I love oreos (single-stuf only please) but purple is just not a very springy color....

awww... give sara a break, I think she's sweet. and... I have to admit, I used to think Bobby Flay was a bit cocky. But, his show tonight about chocolate in New York turned even me into a fan. (chocolate is a powerful thing) I think this particular episode was a bit more up to par, perhaps only because it was more recently produced. Sure, it seemed a bit rushed, and sure, the girl band was a bit (!!!) annoying after awhile... but, I enjoyed it! ... even chocolate can not make me a fan of Emeril though.