Dave the Cook

Your choice: The title is a pun on Thomas Pynchon's book The Crying of Lot 49. or Forty-nine is the number of latkes required to feed two adult Jews and a baby.

For pork, I can't recommend the Berkshire pork from Riverview Farms highly enough. Unfortunately, distribution is quirky. Star Provisions carries some cuts, as does New York Butcher Shoppe (which, being in Alpharetta, is way the heck out of your way, but might be worth a stop if you're in the area). Riverview Farms also shows up at the Morningside Farmers Market, but they sell out of everything but sausage pretty early. I've been thinking that if you called them a few days ahead, they might be willing to fill an order. Riverview also raises grass-fed beef, which I've not tried.

We're saddened to announce the death of Bill Benge, better known among eGullet Society members as Flocko. Bill passed away last Friday. He was 60 years old. Although Bill signed up with us in June of 2003, many of us didn't really get to know him until just last month. In his wonderful and very personal blog, he took us into his Moab, Utah, home and introduced us to the tiny town where he spent most of his adult life, regaling us with great stories and some very great food. We will miss you, Bill. His friends in Moab were kind enough to forward his obituary from the Canyon Country Zephyr. This passage is particulary fitting: For the next week, we invite you to honor Bill's presence on eG Forums and to share your remembrances here of his love and appreciation for food, cooking and eating. As soon as we have more information about memorials and where to send sympathies, we will let everyone know. The posting queue for this topic will be moderated. This means that your post will not appear immediately. Out of respect for Bill and for our own Society guidelines, all posts should relate to Bill, his life in food and his participation in eG Forums. Thank you for your cooperation.

With deep sympathies to his family, friends and Society members, we announce the death of Bill Benge (aka Flocko). There's perhaps no more fitting memorial to him than his own blog, Dining in the Desert). If you haven't read it, please do. If you followed along, it's well worth a review. Bill was a fun, smart participant, and we will miss him. We invite you to honor Bill's participation, and to share your memories of his appreciation for great food and good cooking. Click here.

I wouldn't leave out the corn syrup -- I'd bet that it's purpose is structural in this recipe. Since structure is what's at issue here, omitting it is likely to give you disappointing results. Have you tried a turkey injector?

Now that I've discovered where all the Pittsburghers are hanging out, let me direct your attention to the Society's home page, where phlox herself holds the top spot this week with her delightful story about the bakeries of Squirrel Hill. (If you happen upon this post at a later date, you can still find A Loaf of My Own in the Daily Gullet forum.)

I'm perfectly happy with Diane's choice of words. A bit of disclosure: I edited this piece. I put the question to her, and he stuck by "crisp." That's fine; around here, push goes to the author (usually). She gets credit for forthrightness and determination, as well. I'm not asking for this discussion because I lost the argument. I'm asking because I think either 1) describing a baguette crust as "crisp" is inaccurate, or 2) my definition of "crisp" needs calibration. (A third possibility: a crisp-crust baguette is the ideal, and I've just never had one. We'll set that aside for now.) So let me go at it another way: to me, a potato chip is crisp. Describing anything that's not crisp in the way that a potato chip is crisp requires qualification -- or another word. But when you start qualifying ("very crisp and somewhat dense golden crust"), you step in ambiguity, especially with vague words like "very" and "somewhat." I don't think you're really talking about "crisp" any more. Can something be both crisp and dense? Seems to me that's not a potato chip. That's one of those baked imposters.

Speaking as someone who imitated him to great romantic success in late adolescence, I am second to no one in admiration of (or maybe gratitude for) Mr. Hopkins. But even he falls short of specificity (albeit on a different point) here. "Things"? Is this bread? Strips of bacon? McNuggets?

A lovely story, Diane. Thank you. If you don't mind, I'd like to put a question to the forum -- one that you raised in my mind. You say, in describing the most recent baguette, "Its crust wasn’t as crisp as it could have been . . . " I'd like to see some discussion on the word "crisp," because I don't think that quite captures it. Neither does "crunchy," of course, though that's the next adjective in line. A great crust is somewhere in between, and it has something else as well. I refuse to give up and say it's ineffable, inimitable, indescribable, undescribable, beyond words, inexpressible, unspeakable, untellable or unutterable. These are words of failure. We're supposed to be advancing the literary craft of cuisine here. Please discuss. Also, please say more about Pittsburgh pizza.

I remember the Spud Nut in Richmond, but as far as I can tell, potato flour doughnuts started (predictably, I suppose) in the Northwest US. There's still a Spud Nut cafe there, though I'm not sure it's related to the one Chef Carey wrote about. Since we're going to have to wait for the next installment, maybe the author could be persuaded to entertain us in the interim with a few details about his experience at the "best restaurant in Richmond, Indiana. It was in a motel, the chef was Austrian, the manager German and the sous chef a redneck . . . " I could be wrong, but I'm guessing the hotel would have been the Leland?

If I'm not mistaken, Harold McGee discusses the issue in the 2004 edition of On Food and Cooking.

Sometimes it just takes us a while to get our thoughts together! In my case, it was because you took me back a ways. I spent a great deal of my youth in Richmond (and attended Earlham, as a matter of fact). My father was born there, and his parents lived on NW 7th Street for better than 60 years. It was there that I first tasted Rice Chex, grapefruit juice, homegrown tomatoes (Grandpa Cecil was a composter before composting was cool), something Grandma called a frog-eye (a slice of bread with a hole in the middle; the bread was fried in butter, an egg fresh from my uncle's henhouse having been broken into the hole); and countless other culinary treasures, including what was then known as Colonel Sanders' Kentucy Fried Chicken. But you wanted to talk about restaurants, a tough topic in a city whose skyline was dominated for decades by the silo tower of the Purina pet food plant. The place I best remember wasn't anything -- foodwise -- to write home about; it was just the site of countless Sunday-after-meeting dinners (Richmond is chock-full of Quakers). So your story led me to do a little research. I don't know how sad it will make you, Chef Carey, but I shed a tear when I came across a record of the recent demise of Miller Cafeteria, a true Richmond landmark.

This also happens to pretty much everyone.

If the water-mousse isn't good enough, there's the "Holy sh*t, our best customer just said he/she wants chocolate mousse for dessert, and we don't have it on the menu tonight" version that I learned: Dream Whip folded into an equal measure of canned chocolate pudding.

You could make your own Worcestershire Sauce.

go through the website, click your state . ← The locator page is obtusely named "Menu." Here's a direct link: click!.

I've found bellies at Asian and Hispanic markets, but they seem to use the best specimens to cut into serving sizes that -- at about 1-1/2 inches wide -- are too narrow for doing bacon in a practical manner. When I've gotten whole bellies, they've been on the scrawny side. Cheap, but proving the rule that you often get what you pay for. My next one will come from here: Riverview Farms. I've never had the belly, but I tried some chops a little while back: marbled, deep pink, porky; the pig of my youth. They don't have on-line ordering yet, but they respond to e-mail. They also use something called a telephone.

If I understand what Emma is saying, I agree: by the time they're pre-teens, the die is cast. Either they've internalized the idea of good food, or they require a re-education for which no one has time. I know there's lots of stuff in their freezer and pantry that I wouldn't use, but I also know that my kids not only love coming to my place to eat (and not just because they love me), they recognize good food when they come across it. My oldest is a line cook at an Atlanta restaurant, where he is relentless in pushing new dishes onto a tired menu; my youngest wants to be a pastry chef -- that is, of course, if the professional skateboarding career doesn't pan out. (Too bad I have no idea of how to teach him pastry.) My middle went through the teen-girl vegetarian stage, but came back to pork, as I knew she would. And when we went to the Atlanta Chili Cook-off this weekend, she correctly identified all the entries that weren't awful (not that there were many). I don't freak out over the refrigerator contents any more; I've learned not to look.

That guideline is for "fresh" and vacuum-packed product. Shelf-stable packaging (also known as "retort" packaging; example here) allows storage for up to a year at room temperature.

The eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters is very pleased to announce the second season of the eG Scholarships program. Applications are now being considered for five scholarships: The eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters Matthew X. Hassett Memorial Culinary Arts Scholarship One $5,000 cash scholarship for a pre-enrolled student, currently enrolled student or career professional, toward any culinary degree or certificate program at any accredited domestic or foreign culinary school. This scholarship, in memory of eGullet Society staff member Matthew X. Hassett, is valid from 1 July 2007 through 30 June 2008, and may be used for tuition, tuition and residence, or tuition and supplies. The eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters Professional Chef Independent Study Scholarship One $5,000 cash scholarship for a professional chef (culinary or pastry) to conduct independent study worldwide. This scholarship is available for a professional chef with a demonstrated commitment to advancing his or her skills as a chef or pastry chef. This scholarship is valid for research and travel conducted between 1 July 2007 and 30 June 2008. No extensions will be granted. All applicants are required to include a project proposal that clearly demonstrates the utilization of skills obtained during study; an itemized budget detailing the use of this award; a tentative travel schedule with dates and locations; and a current resume to qualify for this scholarship. The Day/eGullet Society Staff Culinary Journalist Independent Study Scholarship One $5,000 cash scholarship for a career journalist to conduct independent study and research worldwide; designed to further writing on an original and innovative culinary topic. This scholarship is available to a career journalist who demonstrates commitment to advancing his or her skills as a writer, and whose work is primarily focused on food, wine or some other aspect of gastronomy and the culinary arts. All applicants are required to include a project proposal that demonstrates true literary merit in both promise and achievement at writing (not just knowledge of food); an itemized budget detailing the use of this award; a tentative travel schedule with dates and locations; and a current resume to qualify for this scholarship. This scholarship is valid for research and travel conducted between 1 July 2007 and 30 June 2008. No extensions will be granted. Funding for the Day/eGullet Society Culinary Journalist Independent Study Scholarship is provided by Jonathan Day and Melissa Taylor, eGullet Society staff contributions and the eGullet Society general fund. The eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters Culinary Journalist Independent Study Scholarship One $5,000 cash scholarship for a career journalist to conduct independent study and research worldwide; designed to further writing on an original and innovative culinary topic. This scholarship is available to a career journalist who demonstrates commitment to advancing his or her skills as a writer, and whose work is primarily focused on food, wine or some other aspect of gastronomy and the culinary arts. All applicants are required to include a project proposal that demonstrates true literary merit in both promise and achievement at writing (not just knowledge of food); an itemized budget detailing the use of this award; a tentative travel schedule with dates and locations; and a current resume to qualify for this scholarship. This scholarship is valid for research and travel conducted between 1 July 2007 and 30 June 2008. No extensions will be granted. The eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters Humanitarian Scholarship One $5,000 cash scholarship for a displaced victim of Hurricane Katrina, toward any culinary degree or certificate program at any accredited domestic or foreign culinary school. Recipient must be a pre-enrolled student, currently enrolled student, or career professional. This scholarship is valid from 1 July 2007 through 30 June 2008, and must be used for tuition, tuition and residence, or tuition and supplies. Proof of residence as of 29 August 2005, in an area rendered temporarily uninhabitable by Hurricane Katrina, is required. The eG Scholarships program is administered by the Culinary Trust, a not-for-profit organization that administers scholarships for, among others, the International Association of Culinary Professionals, the Julia Child Endowment Fund and the Culinary Institute of America. Scholarship applications and information are available now on the Culinary Trust website. The Culinary Trust administers these scholarships independently, and has a long-standing reputation for objectivity and dedication to excellence. The Culinary Trust team stands ready to address all technical and administrative inquiries about the eG Scholarships program. Scholarship applications are being accepted now, and must be postmarked no later than 15 December 2006. A team of independent judges will review the applications, and eG Scholarships recipients will be notified on 31 March 2007. The eG Scholarships program is a public service of the eGullet Society, and is open to members and non-members alike. Current and former eGullet Society staff are not eligible. <div align="center">* * * * *</div> The expanded eG Scholarships program is possible thanks to donations from eGullet Society members, staff and sponsors. We intend to increase our scholarship offerings again next year, but to do so we need substantially increased member support in the coming year. 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But if your billing information has changed, you will need to update your PayPal profile in order for us to be able to renew your subscription. Of course, we hope you will consider upgrading to a higher donor level: if you are currently giving $50 annually, perhaps for the coming year, you will consider $100 or more. The eGullet Society is steadfast in its dedication to increasing awareness of the arts of cooking, eating and drinking, and the literature of food and drink. The expansion of the eG Scholarships program is a major step forward in the pursuit of our mission. With your support, we can look forward to taking many more such steps together.

This was a true Society collaboration. Sam suggested the pairing of tequila and Maraschino. Janet suggested a variation on the Hemingway Daiquiri. I just did some experimentation, and played guniea pig. I'd suggest that when using a reposado, you bump the citrus a tiny bit.

Wimp.

Don't worry the nitrites in the bacon probably killed the bugs. ← Yeah, but there's the fertile ground of half-cooked eggs. I'm still okay, but it takes about seven hours for an e coli infection to take root. You okay, mrbigjas?

Oh, man. The day was going so well. I ate bagged spinach tonight -- quickly cooked as part of a bastardized carbonara, so it probably didn't reach the necessary temperature to kill bugs. I'll keep everyone posted.

Almost all of the salt sold in this country is produced by vacuum evaporators, including the two major brands of Kosher salt. This industrial process, the main point of which (besides crystallization of course) is to remove impurities, begs the question of whether or not the brine came from the sea, since it's impurities that give sea salt its allure. The salient characterisitcs of Kosher salt are crystal size and shape (there are a couple of ways to go about this) and rabbinical supervision.