Dave the Cook

Nick went through this last year: see if this helps.

You mean order one of everything?

Modest male pride (how many women just lost it?) prevents me from reminding you that I generously allowed you to order the oysters while I played second fiddle with the gumbo (80-20 was about right, as I recall). But we went through that "can I make it better at home" thing, too, didn't we? That lamb stew was the best thing we didn't eat at Varmint's (or Dr. Mrs. Varmint's Mom's), in my opinion. I wish I knew what it was.

Yup. Here's how it works: at some point in your life, some wacko from North Carolina may ask you to concoct a stew recipe that calls for large amounts of duck meat. Since you'll have to go through three versions of this stew to get a recipe that will satisfy his crazed vision of what a stew is, you'll end up with a lot of duck fat. At least, that's what happened to me. You can use up only so much of this fat by roasting potatoes or smearing it on cooled grits for subsequent broiling. Believe me, I've used duck fat on everything. Still had cups of it left over. Then Maggie suggested: confit! It's yummy, and it keeps practically forever. So ask her how to spell it. Besides, she knows French.

I'd forgotten about this one. I've never been, but mayapple's description is consistent with everything I've heard and read.

Based on your criteria, I agree with Missy. Floataway is an excellent choice. Woodfire Grill on Cheshire Bridge, and Sotto Sotto in Inman Park also fit the bill, I think. One wild card: Brasserie Le Coze (related to NYC's Le Bernardin), but it's in Lenox Square. Some people think that's fun, some don't. The food is good, the crowd is interesting -- and any cab driver will be able to find it. Joel, Kyma and Aria are all in Buckhead (and all good), but miss on one or more criteria.

I rarely purchase parts either. Once in a while, though, whole legs (thigh and drumstick) go on sale for 15 to 25 cents a pound, as long as you buy ten pounds or more. Those are weeks I make stock and confit.

Thanks, Monica, for reporting back. I was hoping you would. Although I was pretty sure how this would turn out, I was holding out a small hope that we might learn something new. I was also hoping you could shed some light on how dreck like this ends up in cookbooks. You did: not every cookbook has the advantage of a conscientious reviewer like you.

I'll take a look at the Torres, too. I'm a promiscuous poultry hacker (spatchcock), but nearly abstinent at apres-dejeuner. Erin, you can always modify it after Sunday to say "former poultry hacking virgin." And: congratulations, Seth.

Is that a sig line, or what?

Good menu, Heather. I don't think another vegetable is necessary -- there's veg with the chicken, and we've got a salad. I read the recipe last night. Matthew, it's a good introduction to butchering poultry (Seth is right, pictures help, though. I think he's also correct that it's a fricassee). Is it everybody else's understanding that the breasts come entirely off the bone?

Obviously, the facts are on your side. I'm just surprised, that's all. But to get back to Varmint's original post: this explains something that happened to me the other day. I was driving past a newly opened home improvement store, one side of which fronts on a four-lane divided parkway. As I approached the store, a cart rolled down the entrance/exit drive of the parking lot and into the road. It skidded at an angle across one lane, then toppled over into the second, and lay there, like an opossum playing, well, opossum. The drive wasn't steep, and the cart wasn't going real fast. (I should point out that in Atlanta, stuff like this happens all the time; in fact, there is a city-wide mystery as to who is strewing ladders across expressway lanes just before morning rush hour. Until recently, it happened two or three times a week.) On the way home today, I pulled into the lot of the store. Sure enough, there was an electrified barrier, and the (molded plastic) carts all sported ankle bracelets. The system must have hobbled the cart as it left the hands of a careless customer, and subsequently, the parking lot. Sad, really.

I wasn't saying I didn't believe it. It just seems cheap given the materials: 50 - 60 pounds of chrome-plated steel, four extra-heavy-duty five-inch casters with two or three sets of bearings each, and a good bit of welding and fabrication, even if it's done by a robot. There does seem to be an active market in used carts, and that's probably keeping prices down. I see plastic carts at Wal-Mart and Target, but not at the big grocery stores (Kroger, Publix).

Amazingly, 100,000 is like the minimum acceptable BTU/hr rating for a commercial wok burner. The baseline seems more often to be 125,000 and the local place I used to go (before it lost its lease) had a water-cooled unit from Imperial Range that had those 32-tip jet burners at 160,000. Downtown at the restaurant supply places I've seen wok burners that are in the 200,000 category and I've heard tell of these new-fangled burners that are built on a concrete foundation with turbine-driven air intakes tunnels that crank well in excess of that. Just for reference, here's an outdoor unit rated at 185,000 BTU. Probably not suitable for an NYC fire escape landing, but surbanites with concrete patios might benefit. fish fryer

This link says $75 to $100: Shopping cart story I saw this information confirmed in a Newsweek article, but now I can't find it. This seems really cheap to me. Checking out the sites for manufacturers (Unarco, Technibilt, United Steel & Wire) provides little information on pricing. They're apparently sold through reps. I couldn't find any reps on line.

Is that better or worse than, "this doesn't suck"?

You didn't get a spatchcocking lesson from the G-man last Saturday? I'm in for Saturday. Seth, one of us can PM you the recipe, though the pictures might be tough. . . . spatchcock

True. Munchos' package graphics seem to have gotten stuck in a time warp, too -- they still have that 1972 World's Fair/Food of the New Millenium look to them.

My guess is that what is missing is something called (and I'm spelling it phonetically since I don't know the correct spelling) "wok hey". The "hey" is literally the "chi" of the wok...the built up character/flavor that a wok develops the longer it is used. A well-used well-seasoned wok will be almost black on its interior and this is a key part of the magic of chinese cooking. A poor analogy would be a well-seasoned cast iron skillet. But a well-seasoned cast iron skillet won't really add that extra flavor, that extra "something", to your food like a well-seasoned wok will. I have a cheap sheet metal wok I bought for $10 in a chinese grocery store that is finally gaining some of this seasoning after years of use. "Wok hey" is something that can never develop in a non-stick or hard anodized pan. My understanding of wok hey relates to the seasoning of the pan, not the seasoning of the food. It's something that's very difficult to achieve at home because it requires extremely high heat. Even "professional for home" ranges can't pump out the BTUs in the same quantity as a commercial wok installation. Your best bet is to walk outside -- and wok outside, over an open LNG or propane burner like the ones that come with turkey fryers. Maybe Tolliver's experience demonstrates that time alone can achieve a similar effect; it just takes a while. I don't think flavor per se is transferred from the pan to the food (a pan that contributes flavor directly would be a dirty pan, wouldn't it?) Rather, the searing ability of the pan is enhanced, and this is what helps create flavor. Edit: thanks for taking one for the team, Fat Guy.

I never counted. But then, I'm a one-at-a-time chip eater. The thing is, Pringles stacking ability merely masks the fact that they're crumblier than ordinary chips (part of their appeal, IMO). I think they only seem less messy than ordinary chips, when in fact, they're just messy in a different way. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

I also use them in fruitcake along with other dried berries, and on hot or cold cereal. But Blondie's right -- they tend to get snacked away if I don't hide them.

I find it interesting that the spokespeople in the USA Today focused on the "neatness" factor. Although I've noticed that the Snack Stacks are popular with pre-teens (notoriously attached to novelty), I don't buy Pringles because they're "clean eats." Does anybody here consume Pringles because they're orderly and manageable?

Thanksgiving's coming! They're on sale, and they're everywhere. What do you suppose the shelf life is? Can I lay in a year's supply just for this dish? edit: yes, a squeeze of lemon. Wine might be better, but I can't think of a way to incorporate it and burn off some alcohol, too.

The bones were there . Don't get your little pink thong in a twist. They're just shorter than I'm used to seeing. I was pretty sure you'd do it bone-in; that's why I asked. I don't know what that method is called, either. It does make for easier carving. But there is something satisfyingly lavish about a bone-in hunk of prime rib on a suitably-sized plate.