Dave the Cook

That might work, or maybe that you don't have to get out of your car to get your food?

I'd ask the same question about Five Guys. Perhaps we should define "fast food."

I'll add an eighth: 2 ounces rye 1/2 ounce lemon 1/2 ounce orange 1 teaspoon grenadine This is how the first one I ever had was made, by Lucas at Holeman & Finch. It remains to this day my favorite cocktail involving orange juice -- which means that I agree with Mr. Wondrich: Having said that, with slight rebalancing, blood oranges work (a gorgeous drink; use a little less lemon juice), as do tangerines (more deeply sweet; a little extra lemon might be necessary). Seems to me that a Ward 8 made with bourbon would be cloying (but then I say that about most bourbon-based cocktails).

Are we talking about one of these versus one of these? If that's the match-up, I've watched a contest in person. On speed alone, go for the manual press. I don't have any experience with the more expensive electric juicers like this one. Maybe they're better than the Waring, but they cost a lot more, too. P.S. The "juicing part" is called a reamer. Glad to see that I'm not the only one blanking out on common terms these days.

It's too bad the paper doesn't do more than superficial reporting on the issues. They don't investigate the statement Ortiz makes: Worse, they perpetuate a chunk of -- at best -- misleading information by saying: In truth, there's a fair amount of skepticism regarding this linkage. Even the staid Mayo Clinic hedges: Emphasis mine -- just look at all those qualifiers. Of course, they go on to recommend a low-sodium diet anyway . . .

Thanks, Dave. I followed your link, but was not able to find "hamine eggs" even with a search. Am I missing something obvious? About 2/3 down the page. Look for a bizarro-world photo of a deviled egg beneath this description:

Whenever possible, we like to present an "aha" moment: something that startles students and makes them think about things in a different way. Sometimes it can be simple: recently, we did a tasting of carrots prepared four ways. The class was mildly interested until they got to the juice. We had to show them the label to prove that we hadn't added any sugar. For a pressure-cooker class, I'd consider hamine eggs, a la Dave Arnold.

Specifically, please contact me.

I don't think you need to puree, unless you object to asparagus bits in the souffle; it's a matter of the texture you want, because a well-made souffle will lift the spears into the foam matrix easily. I would steam the asparagus first to ensure tenderness, then chop roughly and fold in with the first egg-white addition.

I admit nothing relating to fish sticks. But I have to ask how you're preparing them: oven or deep fryer?

This is an interesting notion that I think many of us are minimizing. We like to say that we "throw things together," but that understates how the process works. When you choose a protein, starch or unusual vegetable, you start a chain of events: a series of subsequent decisions that ends in a meal. Being able to construct that chain successfully is the result of luck, product availability and -- most of all -- experience. It's not just the result of having cooked lots of things, though. When I cooked for five, I did just what TimS does, and I wasn't very good at throwing things together. First, the budget was more constrained; second, there were more palates to please; third, time was a critical factor. None of that invites improvisation. Now that I cook mostly for myself and work from home, I've become much more opportunistic and adventurous, and my ability to wrassle a meal has improved greatly. Nevertheless, I'm sure that some of the things I do now I could have done years ago; they just never occurred to me. Maybe we could pick this process apart a little more.

I think there's some confusion here. The LeCreuset pots that appear to be bare iron are in fact enameled. Janet describes it as "black;" I would call it gray, but the fact remains. This is the clear "ground coat" that LC applies before adding color; see here (scroll down to "Enameling." Since it's clear, you can see the raw iron through it. Further proof: it doesn't rust.

Holy crap. More than fair, I'd say. The sound you hear is that of a chicken coming home to roost.

Yesterday, I ate lunch at McDonald's and dinner from Taco Bell. In between, I taught a class on how to cook vegetables.

The same trip would take you past Varsano's, a slightly upscale pizzeria that gets mostly deserved good press. And further in the across-the-driveway vein, the Imperial Fez (good Moroccan food plus belly dancers) is about three doors up from Restaurant Eugene.

The red in red onions (and based on Matthew's experience, probably in red carrots) is from anthocyanins. These are water- and alcohol-soluble. Acid will help (think of cooking red cabbage with vinegar to keep it from turning purple), but not much. You might try a "dry" method along the lines of this technique, in the hope that the relative scarcity of water and high brine concentration will avert color loss. But since it does create its own brine, dilution of the coloring is probably only a matter of time.

You could do worse than South City Kitchen. But just to confuse you, no further away are Table 1280 (good reviews), Shout (kind of a scene, but the food is decent), J-G's Spice Market (very mixed reviews), Tamarind Seed (Thai "bistro," whatever that means; locals seem to like it) and Tap (gastropub). A little further down the block on Crescent from South City are Vickery's and Front Page, if you're in more of a bar-food state of mind.

With all due respect to Dave Arnold (and I have quite a bit), I'm not convinced that he's correct on this point -- or rather, it's not relevant to the point. In fact, I'm not convinced that proper seasoning flakes much if at all, and if it does, it's counterbalanced by the act of cooking. I suspect that flaking is a symptom of weak seasoning. If flaking takes place, thin flakes would be better than thick, but no flaking would be best.

What a great idea! Sort of reminds me of McSorley's in NYC but with better product. You'd sell more simply by having it out, I'd bet.... Peeps love to watch stuff, which accounts not only for the ubiquitous bar television, but the success of cheese shavers and, for that matter, real bartenders. So along these lines, what about a small theatre-style popcorn machine, like this? Set up a few shakers with various seasonings (e.g., the aforementioned truffle salt, Old Bay, grated parmesan, regular table salt), keep a stack of paper-lined baskets (or even popcorn boxes) close by for easy service.

Just to be clear: is the recipe written specifically for Brussels sprouts, or is it a generic gratin formula?

Shalmanese raises good points. The first is, "Was the sauce really broken, or did it just look broken because of free water?" A second related point might have something to do with seasonality. Water content can vary from season to season, plant to plant. or even from specimen to specimen. Peterson is pretty reliable, so my inclination would be to first look at variables that aren't controllable according to the recipe, before deciding that that recipe (especially one that's worked before) has a flaw in technique or ingredients.

Is it safe to assume that the last time you made it, it came out okay; otherwise you'd have asked this question then? If the answer to that is "yes," two things spring to mind: 1) did you use a different type of cheese? 2) is there any acid in the recipe? If the answer to (2) is yes, did you remember to add it?

The prevailing theory regarding fruits says that they want to be eaten -- it's a mechanism they've developed to ensure the dispersion of seeds. That's why fruits -- tomatoes, apples, cherries, peaches and the like -- are at their sweetest and prettiest when their seeds have matured. So what's the case for lemons, limes and other sour fruits? People have engineered them for greater sweetness, but in their natural state, they never become what you could call attractively sweet (they don't even develop additional sugar off the tree). Are there tropical animals that have a preference for sourness? Or does the aromatic peel attract insects or microbes that remove the protective skin? Or is the point to protect the seeds until the fruit rots and the seeds just propagate where they fall?

Don't sell yourself short. This is exactly what a chef does. Congratulations.

Sitram is a very good value, especially if you watch for TJ Maxx/Tuesday Morning/HomeGoods/etc. specials, which include Sitram often enough to keep me checking. But for my money, the absolute best stainless-clad cookware are the Demeyere Apollo and Sirocco lines (I don't know much about the newish Resto, and the handles on the John Pawson stuff are inexcusable). I'll side with those who find All-Clad not to be all that, and add a data point: not only is all-the-way-up-the-sides cladding a waste of material (and therefore money) on saute pans, it can actually be deleterious if you do much shallow frying. Since the pan sides get almost but not quite as hot as the bottom, they become a great surface for polymerizing fats -- the kind of deposits that take serious elbow grease or chemical means to remove. However, when All-Clad offers that 1-quart saucier for 19 bucks, it's a decent deal. The pan is tippy if there's nothing in it, but it's a nice piece for making small amounts of sauce or heating things up -- it can't get heavy enough fro the handle to be irritating, and since I'm usually spooning out it rather than pouring, the stupid non-lip isn't an issue. (No lid, though.)