maggiethecat

92,792. I would kill for a blackberry cobbler .

I refer you to Anthony Bourdain in "Cook's Tour" for the most passionate, reasoned denunciation of veganism I've ever read. He makes the economic point too: In Viet Nam a chicken can literally be the difference between life and death for a family. They're supposed to hunt out all-organic nuts and berries?

Very, very close, andie. Mine sits sqautter, but the principle and general appearance are the same. (I should have known yoiu'd have one!) Another thought, Dave. There will be kids there, right? If they have some time on their hands, give them any old juicer and jars labelled "Lime" "Lemon" and "Orange." Think of a suitable bribe, and have them squeeze up a storm.

Have you given consideration to the Collins family, the Fizz clan and their sugar-free cousins, the Rickeys? All long and summery -- a lime rickey is amazingly refreshing. No family party is complete without a soda siphon, with which the kiddies can squirt each other while the grownups admire your mixology. (My brother and I passed many the cocktail hour getting soda water all over the kitchen walls.) Muddling technique is one of my measures of a man -- it's no matter for indifference.

I just returned from the kitchen where I counted the following citrus juicers: 1)Standard Pyrex bumpy-thing- on- a- saucer variety, c. 1930. Belonged to my mother-in-law. 2)Standard Pyrex bumpy-thing on a saucer, thirty years old, mine. 3)Bird-shaped silver-plated tiny one-slice of lemon for tea squeezer, a present from my grandmother, from her trip to Colonial Williamsburg. 4)Wooden reamer, 25 cents from my local resale shop--bought two months ago and my current favourite 5) The Ward Cleaver style countertop variety(pale yellow) whereby you insert the citrus half into a dome, press down on a lever, and watch the juice flow into a glass. 6)Standard bumpy-thing model, but red and white plastic with a removeable bowl rather than an attached saucer. My mother bought this a few years ago at the St. Lawrence market when we were on a family vacation in Toronto and decided we wanted to have our own margartitas in the privacy of their hotel suite. It works well -- the bump is sharper and smaller and the bowl holds a cup and a half of juice. 7)Oh, for a camera that works! Also from my mother, a weird model from the twenties or thirties that I've never seen anywhere but my kitchen and hers. It's probably aluminum, is half-moon shaped and sits on four stumpy legs. There's a curved strainer that removes for cleaning, and this improbable device has a long, long handle which gives incredible leverage. It can hold six lime halves, or half a grapefruit, but there's no bumpy-reamer thing. It flattens the citrus halves sideways, removing all juice and pulp. It's wild -- I think Mummy picked them up at an antique acution. None of these is a perfect solution. The more I think about it, the more I want the 19.95 Hamilton Beach model andie describes. Good luck on your quest, Archie.

Well, hell, no diet is balanced with only three choices! Bread Eggs Bacon

MSL raised the visual bar for any food/lifestyle mag around from Gourmet to House and Garden let alone the direct stylistic knockoffs like Real Simple and Oprah's mag. If she had achieved nothing else in life, Martha Stewart made publishers pull up their socks and do better --as she did for her devoted readers, me among them. And yes, her recipes work.

My mother placed a mid-week long distance call to me a couple of years ago, so agog was she about the plastic wrap/cermaic grater trick. I haven't tried it yet -- I'm a knife person--but Mummy swears by it.

Roux rocks. I can remember my thirteen year old Diana self when I learned to make a bechamel -- the base for souffles, cream sauce for salmon patties, for mac and cheese and on and on. Braising-- stew, Beef B , coq au vin. And pastry without fear.

I think you need to include the statement in arabic and hebrew. ← THis gets my vote for cutest piggie. Ahhhh. (The English and French look fine.)

A travelogue with photos from Dr. Balic -- always en eGullet treat. I'm a market (and manzanilla) junkie myself. Have you had a chance to taste the snails yet? (Um, I hope Mrs. Balic didn't leave you on a permanent basis. Just off to the beach, right?)

Of course! 92,215

Maybe there are regional accents in Vietnam? My son-in-law to be's name is Nguyen, and his parents are from Vietnam. He insists that the proninciation is closer to foe than to fuh.

So true. Gringo arrogance will get whupped by the True North Strong and Free. You never heard of Jon Vickers, Tenor Man?

I have been bored and put off by food trends since the seventies: fondue-- with flamenco guitars--, chain crepe places, balsamic vinegar, Benihana, very al dente pasta, couscous, Atkins, foam and spittle, Mongolian Wok joints, sun dried--you name it. Fact is, they were all good. And they still are; it's only our low boredom threshold and our desire to be tickled with the next new thing that prevents us from admitting that the Magic Pan or trickled coulis weren't exciting the first, or ten times.

Fresh dill is so good you might find yourself looking for ways to use it. Extra bonus: it self-seeds like mad -- One plant this year, twenty next year. Unlike mint, it's easy to get rid of excessive dill--just yank.

Rachel: Upperline is my (and my daughter's) favourite place in NO too. I recommeded it to my cubicle mate, who'll be there this weekend. Not only is the food fabulous, but the service, the setting, and JoAnn make the experience indelible. I am very jealous.

Brava, Ada -- you are now the go-to person for Pleasures of Cooking. I'm delighted we kept them in the family, as it were. I don't know about copyright laws---this is a catalogue from the mid 70s. I am wearing a Marimekko tucked shirt and arranging flowers with the John Hancock Building in the background.

LizzieH: I am glad that you and yours are OK, but we all mourn the loss of your library. Do any of us have duplicates we could send to Lizzie? Shoot her a PM if you can. 91,673

Brooks and Dave are having a fried chicken cook-off, right? In addition to the fond memories and the twenty pounds of potatoes we peeled, and the pig --- well, I'm going to give it my best shot!

Make lots. I know it's a between meals kinda thing but never underestimate the appetites of people presented with really good food. (Me, for example!) I'm with Suzi on the tea sandwiches--check out Martha's "Hors D'Ouevres" for a brilliant treatment of the subject, and general inspiration. If you use good bread, which I know you will, they can sit in a fridge overnight without going soggy. Deviled eggs a la guajolote, with bacon garnish and a little bacon fat in with the mayo. And check out Mayhaw Man's blue cheese dip on his recent catering thread. Petit fours: Perfect!

The set, I'm informed, went for about 500 bucks -- a bargain, and I hope an eGullet member got it. Trip down memory lane: I found the copy of the first ever Crate and Barrel catalogue on the bookshelf today. I had a page to myself, employee model and spokesgrrl, mostly because the photograper had a thing for chicks with glasses. (If you don't already know never be immoratalized with your specs on---it dates you. God, I was 23) But then I leafed throuigh the catalogue and checked the price of Cuiz One: $190.00. I paid $195.00 dollars for its replacement last Christmas. And, I'm talkin over twenty years later.

Jean, rest assured. There are many of us in your age bracket, and many young enough to be your kids. That is one of the fascinating things about eGullet -- age disappears. We're all passioante about the same things, and you might have someone twenty years older on your left and twenty years younger on your right. And you interact as contemporaries.

I agree with Kokh that your on the right track, and his (or her) suggestions are excellent. Vinaigrette is one of those wonderfully variable sauces that you can twist and tweak depending on your taste and what ingredients you have on hand. I am invoking Martha Stewart. Somewhere she wrote that everyone said her vinaigrette was just the best, and you know, it probably is. She divulged her truc: a big pinch of sugar-- not even a quarter teaspoon. I tried it, and once again, she was right. It doesn't add sweetness, but it adds a little depth and roundness.

91,550. What an interesting haul! Balinese, autographed Child and Claiborne, and -- Peter Max!?He wrote a cookbook? Ah, I'm having cannabis scented brown rice flashbacks