Eric_Malson

Is this because there is no accepted traditional way to prepare ferret? Or is it that ferret meat simply doesn't taste good?

This bespeaks my experiences exactly in France and Italy. In fact, there is so much information about French cooking and food around, I might even venture to suggest skipping it this first time around and go for the more visceral experience. This is unspeakably excellent advice, in my opinion. Most of my travel experience has been in Spain, particularly the north, so the rest of this drivel...um, I mean, post....will be from that perspective. My first trip to Spain almost 20 years was such an eye-opening experience that it was, in its own quiet way, almost shattering. I had never before had food that was so vibrant, so earthy, so honest and so just plain there (if that makes any sense at all). And to mix with these people that loved good food and drink and generally enjoyed life so much more than most Americans....it was quite a stimulant. To echo Mr. lastsupper's advice, definitely do as much research as you can, starting now--it's fun. Assuming you're seriously investigating Spain, I would begin, if I were you, by getting hold of Penelope Casas's excellent Spanish cookbooks, particularly The Foods and Wines of Spain and Delicioso!, which focuses on Spanish regional cooking, plus a more general travel book Discovering Spain: An Uncommon Guide. An American who married a Spaniard, she's very readable and talks about the things you want to know about: what to eat in which parts of the country, origins and backgrounds of dishes, with lots of anecdotes. Often a recipe of hers will begin with a story, like how she was eating this dish in a particular restaurant and was so taken with it that she asked for the recipe....the story sometimes ends with her being invited into to the kitchen to be shown how it's prepared! It seems to me this is just the sort of experience you want, if at all possible. There is a much greater chance of having this sort of experience, I believe, if you get out of the cities and into the countryside and smaller towns. Which leads me to my next suggestion--rent a car. Public transport, while generally quite good in Spain, can severely limit you when tramping around the countryside with odd schedules, etc. And it's quite possible to get reasonable weekly or even monthly rates through websites like Europcar, or even Expedia. Also, once you're out of the larger cities, in general, accommodations quickly become much more affordable. It's still quite possible to find rooms in pension-type places (you know, bathroom down the hall, sink in room--but perfectly comfortable) in much of Spain for ten to fifteen dollars a night. And people are more approachable outside of cities, so it's a bit easier to strike up a conversation about, say, how and what they cook. My real best advice, though, is to form a romantic liaison with a local who's really into food once you're there.....take it from me! Is this a possibility? If I were a first-timer, just getting my feet wet, that is the direction I would be thinking. But it's possible I haven't understood your wants quite precisely....I also have no thought of ever pursuing cooking as a career. But maybe there's something useful for you in this.

Funny, that has changed over the years.... Nowadays, it's a Portuguese chicken and rice dish, the one I posted the recipe for on the Chicken Thighs Thread. When I'm well-organized and in the groove, I can usually make this in half an hour. A few years ago it was Spaghetti alla matriciana....so simple, and so tasty. Several years before that it was spaghetti with oil and garlic, usually with a couple of anchovy filets and some dried red pepper tossed in. Looks the common themes are one-pot meals that contain a nice, comforting amount of STARCH in some form or other.

I love that phrase, and it's a very good description (to these of us who know and love it, that is....if you've never had it, the phrase may not help you much). This Ohio boy loves the stuff and has to have it every time he's home. It may not be a taste that's readily acquired later in life....I don't know, since I acquired it as a kid. Take our word for it--it's great stuff.

I wish I agreed with you about Floataway, I really do. Perhaps it was bad luck, but my one meal there was decidedly unmemorable. Everything was somewhat pallid, flavor-wise, and prepared without much discernible care (not bad enough to complain about--just not quite up to par, like slightly over-cooked vegetables and an inexplicably watery entree that involved chopped, cured meat--very strange). This was all the way down the line--appetizers, main courses desserts, both mine and my dining companion's. I kept wishing the entire time we had spent the extra five bucks and gone for Bacchanalia. But like I said, it was just once (and they blew it)....perhaps it was just an off night. And, of course, now I'm wishing I hadn't missed Pig-n-Chik.

Why, thank you! As a matter of fact, I have been to Woodfire Grill. There's a reason it went unmentioned. Actually, it was a perfectly decent meal, but not the least bit memorable. And since it is somewhat expensive, I felt the money would have been much better spent elsewhere. Like, say....Bacchanalia! All things taken into account, I really do find Bacchanalia to be a bargain. The last I heard, they were open for lunch, too on selected days of the week (like, I think, weekends--call and ask)--they never were before. Lunch would also have the advantage of being, presumably, even less expensive. It would also, presumably, be prix-fixe like dinner, which is not just an option, but the only option here. So the price of the prix-fixe is all you will pay for food....period. If you were considering paying Woodfire Grill prices, why not try Fogo do Chão? Presumably you like meat, since that is basically the point of Woodfire. It's a Brazilian rodizio--the waiters bringing a continual round of skewered meats to your table--so more fun with other people, but still possible for one. F.d.C. is a chain, but of these types of places (to which I am, more or less, addicted), it has the consistenly best quality of any I've tried. And their prix-fixe is about 40 bucks (dessert not included). Virginia-Highlands did seem like a cool neighborhood...I dearly wish it had been more easily accessible without one's own wheels. So you have been to Harold's? I met very few Atlantans that actually had, aside from the one that took me. Most everyone I met seemed to like Dusty's, but I've had barbecue that good in NYC (their brunswick stew IS stellar, though). South City Kitchen, in addition to having good food, takes their wine list seriously. A varied and interesting selection. And I must reiterate....if you like Vietnamese food at all, check out Bien Thuy. It is amazing. There's an active thread elsewhere about Vietnamese iced coffee with condensed milk....I had that for the first time there, and it is totally delicious. I could go for one of those right now....

I've spent quite a bit of time as a "working visitor" to Atlanta. The opera put us up in Midtown, and I, for one, was not paid enough to even consider renting a car, so most of these are quite easily accessible from Midtown by public transport or on foot. And most of my meals were solo, so that shouldn't be a problem for you at any of the following: First of all, the institutions.... Mary Mac's Tea Room--224 Ponce de Leon (a couple of blocks east of Peachtree). Yes, it's touristy, and no, it's not what it used to be, but it's still good Southern-grandma style cooking at very reasonable prices. I'm told the Colonnade is even better, but I never made it there. Harold's Barbecue--171 McDonough Blvd. SE. Not easy to find if you don't know where you're going (it's near the penitentiary), but ask directions....it's well worth the trouble. The only REAL old-fashioned Southern barbecue I know of in Atlanta, and I made it my mission to find out. Go for lunch--they close early and the good stuff sells out. GREAT pulled pork. The Varsity Drive-Inn--61 North Avenue (Midtown). An absolute must, but be ready for some significant grease intake. Chili-dogs (with the trademark streak of yellow mustard down their length....sometimes referred to as "Yankee dogs" because of the "yellow streak"), chili burgers, and fab onion rings. People say the frozen orange drink, whatever it's called, is great, too. And others.... Silver Skillet--200 14th St. NW (Midtown). A bit like Booby and June's....probably not as good (I never made it to B & J's), but still pretty darn good. Southern breakfasts! South City Kitchen--1144 Crescent Ave. (Midtown). After Bacchanalia, my most all-round enjoyable meals in Atlanta on the upscale-end of the spectrum were here. Modern interpretations of old Southern specialties. A tad pricey, but not ridiculous, and if you go a bit on the late side (evening), perfectly comfortable for a solo diner. That's pretty much it for Midtown restaurants I actually would go back to, and I tried most of them. A bit farther afield...... La Tavola Trattoria--992 Virginia Ave. (Virginia-Highland). Somewhat expensive, but good Italian food. Surin's Thai Bowl--1044 Greenwood Ave. (Virginia-Highland). Very reasonably-priced, delicious Thai food. (May I just say that Virginia-Highlands is a huge pain in the ass to get to without a car?) Huey's--1816 Peachtree St. (in sort of lower Buckhead). Very good beignets and, I'm told, pretty good cajun food. Great breakfast spot when you don't feel like the typical Southern avalanche of fat and calories. R. Thomas--1812 Peachtree St. (right next door to Huey's). I never tried this place, but it was very higly recommended to me by a trustworthy source. Very eclectic menu, and quite inexpensive....it sounds to me a bit like a diner on quaaludes, and it's open 24 hours! And now, for possibly my favorite restaurant in Atlanta.....drumroll, please!....... Bien Thuy--5095-F Buford Highway. Easily the best Vietnamese food I have ever tasted (having never been to Viet Nam)....if only NYC had a Vietnamese restaurant this good. Yes, it's most of the way to Doraville out Buford Highway, but more than worth the trip. There's a spectacular barbecued pork and rice cake dish, and the hot pots are wonderful (not to mention the most delicious pho I've ever tasted). Actually, everything I've tried here has been top notch. Ridiculously cheap. Just a few doors SW on Buford Hwy. from Bien Thuy is what most people agree is Atlanta's best Chinese restaurant, Little Szechwan. It IS good, but avoid most anything that sounds like ordinary Chinese food here (tends not to be too interesting)--the odder it sounds, the better it generally is here. The one time I went to Taqueria del Sol, I only had to wait about 15 minutes (this was around 8:30 it night). It's good, and way cheap. Convince your bride to go to Bacchanalia! By far the most enjoyable upscale meal I had in Atlanta, and, at least compared to NYC prices, very reasonable. Multi-course prix-fixe was, I think, $58. This includes dessert, so the only extras are wine, liquor and coffee. VERY well worth the price, IMO.

There is an Irish pub--I can't remember the name--in the same complex as the Angelika Film Center in Dallas, TX. I went there with the British conductor of my show, who told the bartender that this was better Guiness than he gets in London. That seemed odd to me, until the bartender explained that their kegs came from Ireland, and most of the Guiness sold in England was made in England. It was an excellent pint (or three).

The other cheese was Portuguese (naturally) queijo da Serra, one of the great cheeses of the world, IMHO. I find it so interesting that sopa alentejana is always such a hit. Nothing could be simpler in concept or execution. A monument to the idea of of simple, good food and its integrity, I guess. Thanks Sam and Kathleen for "volunteering" your wonderful space....after my remodeling, we'll do it my place, I promise!

Yet another thread that I somehow never noticed before. I love chicken thighs, too, and almost always use them when a recipe calls for a whole cut-up chicken--just never been too fond of white meat (NO comments from the peanut gallery, please!) My favorite thing to do with chicken thighs is to make a Portuguese chicken with rice, or arroz de frango (this has the advantage of feeding my saudades de Portugal at the same time). If you have a cleaver (I didn't until relatively recently, and my cleaver technique leaves a LOT to be desired), chop each thigh into two, or, if they're large, three pieces. The thighs can be left whole, but then increase the initial saute time. Sprinkle them, if you like, with a little coarse salt and black pepper. Saute about 2 oz of chopped bacon in 2 tbsp. olive oil, 1 tbsp. butter, and 1 tbsp. lard (this combination of frying fats is very Portuguese) until the bacon begins to turn golden. Add the chicken pieces, along with a finely chopped medium onion, a minced clove or two of garlic, and a thinly-sliced small chorizo, and fry until the chicken pieces begin to cook through (at least 12 minutes before adding the rice if you've left the thighs whole, less if you've cut them up). I also like to add a couple of generous pinches of crushed red pepper and a couple of bay leaves, but these are optional. Assuming you've used 2 lbs. or so of chicken.... Add a half cup of white wine at some point while the chicken pieces are frying. Add 2-1/2 cups of rice (I like short grain or paella rice for this dish, medium grain is OK, too....long grain is an abomination). Give a good stir to coat the grains. Then add 5 cups of hot beef bouillon (also very Portuguese, using beef stock with chicken--Portuguese home cooking always uses bouillon cubes....they just don't bother about making stock most of the time, but if you really want to use good stock for this, go right ahead). Cover, but keep the lid cracked, and simmer for 10-12 minutes. Remove from heat, stir the rice and meat with a fork, cover tightly and let sit for 5 minutes, and it's ready. A little chopped parsely is nice. Portuguese rice dishes (except for the traditional duck rice) are usually slightly soupy. The quanitities here are, obviously, pretty flexible. Just be sure to use 2 parts liquid to 1 part rice, plus some wine, and it should come out the right consistency. And to be truly Portuguese, drink a Portuguese red wine with this. Edit: Sam Kinsey just reminded me that this rice dish is especially good made with rabbit. If you substitute rabbit for the chicken, the dish becomes arroz de coelho à Minhota. There was a restaurant near the University in Lisbon that used to have this as a daily special on Thursdays. It was so good I would often make a special trip whenever I could (the University was nowhere near my house or workplace) just to eat it. I think we have a dinner plan for tonight.

That is SUCH an awesome picture! No one would ever know that you're really......oops! ....uh.....never mind....

I take it you mean Casa Botín in Madrid. That ought to spark some comment! I have trouble imagining anyone on this site agreeing with that.

Thanks, all....that gives me a plan should I ever get off my ass and go find someone willing to sell me a plucked and cleaned chicken AND its blood! Still open to suggestions on where the best place (in NYC) to do this might be. I guess I want to avoid going there (I don't actually know where this live market in Harlem is, much less how to call them to ask ahead of time) only to find out they won't give me my blood for whatever reason.

I have been thinking that one of these days I would like to try my hand at making one of my very favorite Portuguese dishes, galinha de cabidela. This is basically a stew of chicken and rice, with the chicken having first been stewed in its giblets, and the whole thing is finished with chicken blood. I was talking about this with Sam Kinsey, who mentioned there was a live market in Harlem that had live chickens. When I asked him if he thought they would kill (and hopefully pluck!) the chicken for me and give me the blood along with it so I could make this dish, he raised a very good question: "Wouldn't the blood coagulate if it sits around a while?" Would it? I have no idea, since I've never cooked with blood and don't know anyone who has. If so, how long does one have before it does? And while I'm at it, does anyone know any other sources for chickens+blood in NYC? I'd like to know what all the options are!

As a matter of fact......I did. My therapy for dealing with the crippling disappointment of not getting a trip to the Iberian peninsula this summer was to reread some old Portugal threads, and I see this question went unanswered. So, the least I can do.... I definitely share your love for Sintra. I think the glowing phrases Lord Byron wrote about it are still true almost two centuries later. The obligatory food experience in Sintra is the pastry shop Casa da Piriquita (R. Padarias 1, right across the street from the Paço Real with its huge, conical chimneys). It's famous for its queijadas--small, sweet, cheese-and-egg tarts, but my favorite offering there is the travesseiros--a variation on the perpetual pastry-with-sweetened-egg theme, but this has a lighter, flakier pastry and lighter hand with the sweetened eggs than most. They're baked with a dusting of cinnamon and granulated sugar....warm from the oven, they are heavenly. If you want a real meal in Sintra, just a couple of doors up the from Piriquita is an excellent and reasonably priced restaurant, Alcobaça. As always with such places, I say peruse the pratos do dia--they usually ain't the daily specials for nothing! Now, if you've got a car, all sorts of wonderful possiblities are opened up to you. Drive to the coast--you'll probably end up at Guincho, the westernmost point in continental Europe (or is that Cabo da Roca? I can never remember). Enjoy the spectacular views from the bluffs, then drive south on the highway just a few kilometers and stop for a meal at Mestre Zé, an upscale (but worth it) restaurant specializing, naturally, in seafood. Order the cataplana de marisco, the most delicious version of this dish I have ever tasted. The dish is named after the vessel it is cooked in....a cataplana is a pan made from copper, shaped more or less like two woks hinged together. One of the wok sections folds over on top of the other, like a dome-shaped lid, so that it can then be fastened and put in the oven. To call Mestre Zé's cataplana de marisco a "seafood stew" would not in any way suggest its magnificence, but that's the general idea. Lobster, squid, shrimp all cooked perfectly in a sauce of tomato and onions (and one couldn't possibly leave chouriço out of such a mix!) and cream. It is one of the top 5 dishes I ever tasted in Portugal. Also toward the coast from Sintra is the village of Almoçageme. Here, one eats at the Restaurante Toca do Júlio. Everything is good.....on Saturdays, they have one of the better versions of cozido one is likely to find, and Sundays they have a killer feijoada. Driving the other direction from Sintra, inland, toward Mafra, is a town called Negrais. They have their own way of making leitão (roast suckling pig)--it's almost as famous as Mealhada's. I have never been to Negrais, but I have heard repeatedly from unimpeachable sources it is worth the drive. Apparently there is one restaurant there that everyone agrees is THE one to eat in.....just go, and ask around. On the way to Cascais from Sintra (in fact, most of the way to Cascais), past Malveira da Serra, is the village of Alcorvim, near Alcabideche, which everyone knows because of the monstrous mall CascaiShopping. The village itself is quiet and sleepy, and blessed with an excellent restaurant, Farta Pão. That's about all I remember from Sintra. I can't find find any information on the excellent German restaurant I tried there several years ago--it may be gone. I'm not sure this therapy had the desired effect.....I seem to want to go for a visit more than ever now.

The very first thing I thought of when I started reading this thread was Les Enfants du Paradis.....some of the most memorable food and banquet scenes ever filmed, IMHO--I'm surprised no one else mentioned it. Man, I haven't seen that movie in over 20 years! I'd love to see it again....I'll have to start looking around for it.

Mee. There are several around the city....this one was on 9th Ave., corner of 53rd. If they hadn't screwed up royally, I probably never would have tried that dish at all. I had ordered a plate of soy sauce chicken, and they waited 15 f**king minutes to tell me they were out of it, well after my other dish had come (this sort of thing is, unfortunately, not an isolated incident there). So I had to pick something else that a) I felt like eating, and b) contrasted nicely with the dish that had already appeared. This eliminated most of the things I usually order there. Fortunately for my relationship with the restaurant, the dish was spectacular.

Technically, I'm not eating it right now....I just ate it. I considered putting this on the "Chinese sausage" thread, but it's not really apropos there, and I couldn't find a general "egg dishes" thread, alas. So here it is--I had to tell someone, and since this site is my substitute for a real life these days, you guys are it! I just got back from a better-than-average Chinese noodle shop here in NYC, where I had a dish I had never ordered before: "tender steamed egg with Chinese sausage". I've always loved the flavor of Chinese sausage, and this is just the sort of dish (unusual-sounding) that I would order right away, but I've been to this joint dozens of times and for some reason never tried it before tonight. It looks like a large bowl full of pale flan, but when one begins to spoon out the egg, the hidden treasure of dozens of slices of Chinese sausage is revealed. Presumably it is simply beaten eggs with the sausage all steamed together in the bowl, but it completely transcended my expectations....the eggs came out feather-light and delicate, the sausage, the perfect sweet-savory foil. For me, this is almost the perfect comfort food: simple.....delicious.

Whew! I'm so relieved! I should have found the post in question and reread it before posting, but I could not remember what thread it was in, or even what it referred to. I guess I just fixated on the epithet "icy", which would not necessarily be my assessment of her style. Goddess, she is.

Hmmm....more than I thought--about 50. I feel retarded. But since I've also accumulated 1,000 LPs, almost as many CDs, over 2,000 musical scores, and probably close to 1,000 books of literature, I suppose it's, in some way, excusable. Maggie, didn't I notice a disparaging remark from you somewhere about Elizabeth David's writing? I'm so disappointed, fellow Hon...she is one of my cooking heroes. I love her writing, and find I return to her books more often than any of my others.

This seems like the place to ask.....has anyone bought, or does anyone know anything about, a food processor marketed in late-night infomercials as the "Ulitmate Chopper"? Ultimate Chopper (Notice each one comes with a free Miracle Blade Slicer! A $30 value!) I have never owned a food processor and have been thinking about buying one for some time--one that's versatile, not-too-big/not-too-small, powerful, well-made. This one looks like it might fit the bill (their demonstration of the machine processing concrete into dust impressed me!), but I'm curious if anyone has any firsthand experience with it. Is it any better/worse than others on the market? Alternatively, if anyone has any recommendations for such a food processor, I'd love to hear them! (feel free to PM me rather than taking up thread space, if you like)

I seem to get inspired to add to this thread when I'm eating midnight snacks (I suppose because I'm usually online at the same time! ). Tonight: maccherone alla carbonara. This one turned out especially well, probably because I finally bought and used pancetta instead of my usual bacon-because-it's-in-the-house. This might be a topic for a separate thread, but how do you make your carbonara? I have always heard it is traditionally just eggs, bacon/pancetta/cured-pork-product (which? guanciale?), grated cheese. But occasionally I hear dissenting voices.....just wondering.

I don't know any way as quick as smashing with a cleaver which, obviously, doesn't work for shallots. Just be sure to cut the shallots in halves or quarters before peeling.....that way, the skin will usually come off each half or quarter fairly easily, often in one piece.

I'm jealous! Don't be, at least not too much.....I'll be working 8 hours in a day in what I hear is a VERY small town.

Inspired by the relatively recent appearance of the "what do you put in your fried rice" thread, a midnight snack of my fave.....rice with bacon, egg, scallion, and some coarse salt. It's truly heaven!