DanM

Ragu recently on the Internet where mom bloggers discuss what it is like in their house when dad cooks. Ragu then sent a link to this video to dad bloggers. It is made a bit of a ruckus with some claiming that Ragu hates dads. Personally, I think that it is going a bit too far to say they hate dads. I do think this video does play on the old stereotypes that dads can't cook, take the easiest route possible (waffles, sausages, pizza, and bbq), or not interested in doing so. You could also make a case that the women in the videos are played as lushes who are not interested in actively engaging their kids. I find it hard to believe that they could not find a person who could say good things about her husband's cooking ability. Basically, poorly conceived and executed. Any thoughts? Dan

My wife is gonna be slightly unhappy when I tell her I just pre-ordered this book and Ferran Adria's new book... But honey, I bought this so I can make you wonderful dinners! Edit to add... The Amazon.co.uk price is $35.25 with shipping. I was wondering if the UK version has metric or imperial measurements. Any other differences that will be differences I should be aware of? That never works, but it is worth trying.

This is turning out to be a great fall for cookbooks. First we had Ferran Adria and Heston Blumenthal releasing simple, family meal books, and now Jean-Georges Vongerichten has joined the game. Has anyone heard any early buzz on this book? Edit to add... and it looks like Alain Ducasse will have a simple recipe book out next spring. I am really happy this trend of great chefs writing simple books is catching on. Dan

Half a small cantaloupe or other similar melon halved, cleaned out, filled with yogurt, and topped with granola.

One of my favorite fall treats are pumpkin whoopie pies with a cream cheese filling... There is a reason I no longer make them.

Shake Shack recently opened in Westport Ct and I had a chance to sample a few items.... Honestly, meh. The shroom burger was crispy but way over priced at $6.50 for such a small sandwich. The fries were nothing better than what I could get from Orida's. If I want fries, I would go to Five Guys fiirst. The custard was good though, but I admit to my bias and snobbery after living in Milwaukee and have enjoyed my weights worth of Kopps custard.

Mistakes happen at every restaurant. Most of the time, it is not the mistake that is the issue, it is the response. Once I brought up the problem, it was quickly and correctly remedied. We will go back in the future. Dan

We were at Buddha Bodai on Sunday for lunch. It is probably the only kosher Chinese restaurant I will willingly go to. My biggest bone to pick is how the menu is written. Some of the items on the menu state 3 or 4 pieces next to the item wile others are listed in the singular. When you have an item labeled as Steamed Pork Bun, I expected 1 bun, not 4. Due to this rookie mistake, we ended up with enough food for 5 people and tried to share with others, who were not interested. My favorite dish was the "tripe" dish. It was chewy translucent noodle type bits in a black bean sauce. The fish/seafood items were my least favorite. They were tough and chewy and nothing like fish. If I was in Chinatown and had to eat, I would go back, but I will not go across town for it again. Dan

We stopped by Zibetto on Sunday. My wife had cioccolata caulda and I had a cafe macchiato. The ciccolata caulda was very rich and strong. The better of the two. The macchiato was great with a perfectly made shot of espresso. Definitely worth a stop. This morning I stopped by Oren's Daily Roast on the way to the barber. The coffee of the day was Columbian and was quite good. A step up from the countless Starbucks in the area.

We ate at Morimoto on Sunday night and had a mixed, but overall good dinner. We started the meal with yosedofu and a mixed green salad. The salad is good, but nothing to get excited about. It was much larger than we expected. It covered a 10-12" plate and was at least 4" tall. Probably enough to feed 4-6 people. The only bone I can pick is that there was not enough bonito and that it was shaved too thickly. We almost skipped the yosedofu due to the lobster sauce, but they were kind enough to give us a vegetarian carrot and straw mushroom sauce. This was probably the best of the night. The tofu was soft, custard like, and creamy. The carrot sauce and a little wasabi brought it to a new level. They also brought out my wife's entree, a sampling of three udon noodles. We were probably not clear that it was her entree. It's a cold dish, so no real harm. Then we waited And waited... And waited.... An hour later I had enough and asked the manager why it was taking so long for my entree and the two sushi rolls. He looked into it and they were at our table less than a minute later. I think they were waiting for us the finish the udon. We overheard the waiter telling another employee that the mixup was due to miscommunication... I had the ishi yaki buri bop, yellowtail and rice cooked in a stone bowl. This was my second favorite dish of the night. The fish was just barely cooked through and quite soft and delicious. The rice had little crunchy bits from its contact with the bowl and was great with the sauce. The sushi was meh and nothing worth discussing. They made up for the delays by comping us the delayed dishes and they brought us a plate of sorbet to congratulate us on my wife's pregnancy (we mentioned it when ordering due to her restrictions). The raspberry wasabi sorbet was my favorite, the basil sorbet was way too strong, and the guava was good but forgetable. The food was good and in generous portions, but the service was spotty. While they did screw up, they did try to remedy the problems.

Now this is definitely an odd place. It seems like the type of place you stumble into at 3am strung out after a long night of partying.... not that I have any experience with that... And I am sure this menu on their website is fake. There is no way they can serve that many things. http://www.shopsins.com/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2011/09/ShopsinsL154.pdf Thanks for the list! My preggo wife is now craving pretzels.

Our plans for our whirlwind tour of New Yorks culinary landmarks is coming together. We are curious about some of the more odd and unusual offerings available in the city. The oddities can be in the food, restaurant/store, or the proprietor. Any suggestions? My pregnant wife thanks you. Dan

Zachary's instructions are pretty much spot on. I typically grind 20g of beans for 300ml of water to make 1 cup of coffee. I go a little heavy in case of spillage or if the machine keeps a little. I have not noticed any real difference with the extra 2g of beans. I use my trusty old tea kettle to heat the water. I do not see the need to buy a separate electric kettle. I use a Bodum burr grinder and press, which cost me less than $100 total. I keep the grounds in an old pickle jar and regularly scatter them around the veg garden as fertilizer.

Has anyone been here lately? My wife's latest pregnancy craving is anything SE Asian, especially noodles. Do they have a vegetarian noodle bowl? I wasn't sure what type of broth they used... Probably pork. Finally, what is the wait time on Sunday for an early lunch?

I wonder if adding a block of dry ice to the fridge and freezer during an impending blackout (like the one from Irene) would help to keep the food cold longer.

Some of my favorites are tuna croquettes and classic tuna melts. I might also throw a can of tuna into a pilaf, couscous, quinoa, etc... to make it a light meal.

Thomas Keller is not the only one riding the gluten free gravy train. King Arthur Flour sells their own gluten free blend. I have also heard that Peter Reinhart is working on a book about gluten free bread/baking.

Watching the episode with the Real Housewives. If I had to cook for that crowd, I would make something that looks borderline gaudy and artificial, but lifeless and tasteless on the inside.

I purchased a bag of green peanuts at a local Caribbean grocer. The only use I know of for green peanuts is to boil them. Are there any other applications?

There are also the two bastard stepchildren of pizza, hot pockets and toaster pastries. Neither of them are particularly good, and I dare say barely edible. They tend to be the staple of college students and those without free time to get something better to eat. Dan

One last question for everyone... Are there any really good coffee shops in midtown or central park area? It would be great if they roast and sell beans as I am always looking for good beans for home.

I chatted with some local chefs and got a reference for a guy who sharpens knives for many local restaurants and businesses. At $5-10 per knife, it was worth knowing that it was done correctly. Dan

I typically wizz 2 tbsp of milk per egg in a blender. Bourbon is optional, but typically skipped due to the toddler. For bread, I use stale challah sliced 3/4" to 1" thick. I give it 20-30" perside. I sprinkle of cake spice mix or nutmeg goes on after the soaking. The eggy bread is fried in a fair amount of butter.

Mellon salad can be either a simple tasty dish or completely inappropriate, depending on your friend's sense of humor. Dan

My wife had a pregnancy craving for food from a local southwestern restaurant. Like most restaurants of this genre, they give you chips and salsa with your meal. I asked them to include them with our takeout order only to discover that I was being charged $2 for about a quart of chips... and they forgot the salsa. Am I alone in thinking this is odd? Has anyone else seen this before? Dan