maggiethecat

Thought that applied to porcupines. Kerry: I for real laughed out loud. Lior: from camels to chocolates,this is one incredible food trip.

I bought a box of TJ's Cheese Sticks this week: crispy, flaky, cheesy. Recommended.

Derek J: It's been three years since I ate an Alinea and I'm still smiling. I laughed with delight through every course. [Moderator note: This topic continues in [CHI] Alinea – Grant Achatz – Reviews & Discussion (Part 4)]

I agree with Alex and others -- a saltimbocca of veal, chicken or pork filets, sauced with Marsala, parsley and a little lemon juice is easy and astoundingly good. Serve on a baby bed of polenta, preceed with an artichoke salad with chokes from cans or bottles. They use them in Italy,y'know. Men don't like to admit that they love dessert, but take it from a vecchia signora, they do. Make a tiramisu the day before and serve it with lashes of whipped cream. You're all good.

Jaymes's Caramel Popcorn cooling on the counter -- Lord does it smell good!

I second making puff pastry, and doing anything at all with phyllo.

I think I own every Pepin cookbook, plus the articles from "The Pleasures of Cooking" and the Time-Life books. I'll be buying "Essential Pepin."

I find I have all the ingredients for Jaymes's Caramel Corn except the popcorn. That will change tomorrow.

Trader Joe's is a beach party, Aldi's , with its stipped down everything, feels like a wake. That said, all Aldi's canned stuff is delicious and reliable.

I got an A+ but the term that prevented me from perfect is admitting I murdered Gewürtzraminer (Geh-VERTZ-trah-mee-nur)until a few years ago. That, and knowing about mispronunciations of mine I don't know about yet, keeps me humble.

I'm not dismissing the serious and thoughtful intent of your post. We do filtered coffee maker coffee and French press in rotation. As a caffeine/nicotine freak ( a marriage made in heaven or hell)I'm not going to worry about the Joe. My son-in-law is Vietnamese American and all his ancient Aunts and Uncles have been drinking unfiltered coffee for ninety years. I'll take my chances on coffee. My death will result from Pall Malls, bacon and eggs, or a jealous lover.( )

That sounds like a sound strategy. The thing is, a nice fatty marbled pork butt cooked low and slow is one of those cuts that doesn't need brine for tenderness. That said,if you're devoted to H20 and NaCl, go for it and report back.

Yessssss! A Niman Ranch gift certificate, some wine with labels of which I won't be ashamed, a pound of turbinado sugar. Edited to add: Tickets to dinner at Next.

174,449.

I'd like (blush) a toaster oven. My daughter has one, and I used it a few weeks ago to make terrific toast, which my crappy toaster doesn't. Plus, I prefer the way a toaster oven melts cheese on a bagel over the action of a microwave. Four shiny new sheet pans. The honkin' biggest Le Creuset casserole. Gift certificates to D'Artagnan, Penzeys, and King Arthur. A big bottle of the VSOPest cognac around. A quart of great vanilla. Saffron. A dishwasher. Santa, go crazy!

Well, I wrote about the White Sauce question here:My link and the ingredients for a bechamel have been open to question for a coupla hundred years. I say, go with the half and half and thin, if necessary with milk or stock. May I add that onions in cheese cream sauce sounds swoon worthy?

That's 174,096.

It just goes to show, there's room for disagreement among knowledgeable eG members and NYT readers. After the first few "Cooking with Dexter" pieces in the Sunday magazine, I stopped reading. All were heavy on father-son sentiment, light on info about food/cooking for the reader. Nothing against shared father-son kitchen experiences, mind you, but it got old fast. Different ingredient/meal/etc., same story. And the articles were all about home cooking, few if any had anything to say about restaurants. I hope to be pleasantly surprised by the new reviews. Linda, the father/son thing never got old for me, but as you say there's a big difference between a cooking column and a restaurant review column. I expect good things from Pete Wells. And as I typed this, I thought: Why the heck do I care about restaurant reviews in NYC? I mean, I'm not eating there soon, and heaven knows Chicago has an important restaurant scene! I think that it's because the critic's chair at "The Times" has required decent writing. I really liked Bruni and Sifton. The only other reviewer with the reliable writing chops of Ruth, Frank, Sam or Pete is Jonathan Gold in LA.

I will never again leave the immersion blender in the jar -- turned off -- while I take a taste of the tomato sauce. Because, well,my finger slipped, turned on the blender, cut my index finger to the bone and made the side of the fridge look like the set of a slasher flick.

Your blog has taught me more about your country than anywhere ever. I'm astounded , flabbergasted, in love. Thank you.

I'm an expat Canadian too. When I moved to the States I was amazed that there was no oatmeal in choc chip cookies. Did your mother have the "Curity Cookbook?"

There may be a similar topic I've forgotten, but I just wanna know! Undercooked poultry is not only yucky (so is overcooked)it's dangerous. So, why do the breasts of our web-footed friends, the ducks, get away with being cooked rare, even saignant? None of us would eat a turkey or chicken or pea fowl served pink. What's the deal with ducks? Why don't we get killed by red duck juices? Do you get befuddled and mystified between the fridge and the stove?

I fell in love with MadTown when we went up there for a college suss-out with our daughter. Berkeley or Ann Arbor in Wisconsin, but with that Wisconsin whiff of fresh air and great food. (We liked Iowa City on that tour, but it didn't have the feel that old school progressive parents like us sniffed in Madison.) I've known better for many years to think of Wisconsin of the land of cheese curds and fish fries -- not that there's anything the matter with them. I swear, if those folks in, say, Palo Alto, knew how Madison was gaming them about food, they'd be shocked. Shocked!

Well, Chicago isn't as truly madly deeply involved with food ethics as California is, but we passed the foie gras ban first. In two years it was history, because the chefs and diners here laughed at it, and lobbied against it. I suspect that California, which is soooo much more politically correct, will take much longer to overturn the law. So, well, come eat in Chicago.

Good news -- back in May , last time I ate at Phillipe's, coffee was still a dime.