helenas

Please, help me to know more. Honestly, i am not a risotto fan, but recently i've learnt about so many other possibilities with italian rice - rice salad, roasted rice (riso arrosto), savory rice cake (bomba di riso). If i google the names of these dishes, they seem very popular in italia: unfortunately my italian is almost non-existent. Are there any resources on this subject? Dare i say that "Seductions of Rice" limited in their coverage of italian rice? What else? Does somebody have "risotto and other rice dishes" by Del Conto? Your opinion? Thank you.

after all discussions on favorite pasta shapes i tried ziti from wegmans(those are short and fat), and it was perfect in baked ziti with spinach, feta, cream and seared shrimp.

Suzanne, you're completely wrong! there is a dog in my house named Cherry who badly needs your advice! She absolutely refuses to eat high-end (read healthy) brands i buy in pet store, and adores all this Purina junk (fast food of the pet's world?). Does healthy and tasty dog food even exist?

but it's true! And as the editor of GQ put it, by and large, a woman doesn't want a man who is thinner than she is... Both. I usually order fish when we dine out, since as it was discussed previously, it's a pain to find a great fish to prepare at home. And in this case, i was not disappointed: your snapper was outstanding and i liked the nut crust. We didn't order cheese, because eveybody wanted dessert. Guava cheesecake was delicious, although it was more a cake, than a cheesecake. and it has only a hint of guava. Kids are still raving about the ice cream. We polished off all the fluke ( i have no problem with raw whatever) and predessert as well (is sagu the same as tapioca ?) btw, if it's not a secret, do you bake your bread or you order it from somewhere?

Dave, it's just not fair: i was tied up in meetings for the whole morning, and you stole my line OK, here it goes anyway. I can confirm what my daughter told me, Dave is such a cute guy! And i'm so impressed by my Nicholas experience. Everything was great: food, service, decor... and wine: i think i had a dream about it last night.

Winter squash season is kicked off with herbed crespelles stuffed with roasted butternut squash and smoked chicken breast, topped with gruyere and crisped to perfection.

Seems like a new shopping center? The place has a web site The Promenade, but not many details there. btw, future home of Sur La Table in NJ.

sometimes i add a pound or so of andouille chopped in as food processor; learn it from Aidells' Meat cookbook

We'll be there.

For those who're interested, here is information on Kevin Zraly's The Windows of the World Wine School. The fall class starts September 23rd.

Made my first braciolini ever. As always with my italian cooking, thanks go to Mario and Kyle!

Oh yes, like Ducasse's Bearnaise au beurre noisette, that instead of clarified butter is done with the brown one. Or this brown butter tart crust.

Wilfrid, Have you tried Notarpanaro, from Dr. Cosimo Taurino; we're introduced to it by FG, who mentioned in some of the wine thread, that this is his house red: excellent! And why don't you ask David Lynch?

Just wanted to pop up my beloved subject; maybe new members would like to share their favorites. Also any opinion on Cucumber Vinegar?

Shana Tova!

David, As you edited several beverage publications during your career, my guess you have other favorite beverages beyond wine. What are they? Thank you.

David, First of all, thank you very much for "Vino Italiano" - it's such a terrific book! Could you please answer the following question: There are a lot of wine-related classes around. Do you think, wine appreciation can be learnt there, provided you have a good teacher? What are the other ways: books, organized wine tastings, just buying wine from good wine seller and trying to write your own tasting notes? Thank you, helena

Oh Jaymes, A complete success! I stocked on potato chips, cereals, ice cream and soda. I made lasagnas, baked potatoes and i grillled, grilled, grilled: burgers and sausages, mostly. The only problem was that at the beginning i couldn't figure the right amount, so i was hungry after the first couple of dinners! But anyway, during the last meal, one of the boys told me: "Aunt Lena, i'm very picky, and i always criticise when i eat in other people's homes, but with your cooking i really have nothing to complain about - it's so tasty!" I was very touched, seriously.

I don't like my drinks straight from fridge; maybe this is one of the reasons i don't drink white wines. But how do you prefer your beer? This is a quote i found: "...The ideal beer temperature is a subject of debate in pubs all around the world, the Yanks and Aussies like their beer nearly frozen, us Brits seem to think room temperature (or sometimes even body temperature) is best, and the rest of the world is somewhere in between. Beer should not be cooled or warmed too quickly, the taste will suffer. Hot water and freezers are taboo! If your beer is cloudy or hazy, the storage temperature was to low. Allow it to stand in a warm place a few minutes before opening and the cloudiness will disappear. When beer is too cold, it will not form a proper head. When beer is too warm, it foams too much at first, losing its sparkle. That's why warm beer tastes stale..." Agree/disagree?

I'm interested to find web sites, that are beer focused. Any favorites of yours? thank you.

just want to share the good news with all my egullet friends: thanks to Dave Santos (aka chopjwu12), my daughter joined the Nicholas' team as a hostess. Thanks, Dave!

Jinmyo, how do you prepare them? Urbani carries flash-frozen porcini for $25, although it seems a bit expensive since in season you can find fresh for $20 or even below.

sounds like a perfect subject for Gastronomica

Jaymes, pelmeni, here they are: This Siberian contribution to traditional Russian cuisine are delicious meat filled dumplings. Siberian Pelmeni are of Mongolian origin ( quoted from russianfoods.com)

dilled sour cream, ketchup, melted butter...