wingding

The sauce in the vindaloo is a blend of many spices,tamarind,and vinegar-it has a wonderful aroma while it's cooking,and a delicious flavor.Appams are one of the many things that I love about Madhur Jaffreys' two books;A Taste of India,and Flavors of India-regional home recipes that I've never heard of before,many of them delicious and different from the N.Y. Indian restaurant dishes that most of us are familiar with..

The most interesting Indian meal that I ever had was a lunch thali at the Oberoi hotel in Calcutta.I had never had Bengali food,and all the mustardy and acidic accents were very intriguing.The paan at the end of the meal was a kick as well.The tandoor food at Bukhara,in New Dehli was incredible-the best dishes were Pomfret,and a dish of lentils that also had the smoky taste of the tandoor.As for things that I have cooked myself from Indian cookbooks;Appams,from Madhur Jaffreys' Taste of India',and Julie Sahnis' Vindaloo recipe,which I've made many times..

Two of their wonderful seasonal flatbreads are the one with cherry tomatoes and an oregano leaf poked in the bread in a grid pattern[available now!]and the grape and anise seed bread[in the fall].

I love cooking with coconut milk,but don't use it as often as I'd like,because of the fat content.Cha-Koah,from Thailand,is my brand of choice.I use it when making southern Indian fish stews.One of my favorite summer treats is halo-halo,a southeast asian drink/dessert made with shaved ice,coconut milk,condensed milk,and little bits of beans,jello,and who knows what else...I use dessicated coconut when making ice cream;roast the coconut a bit,and infuse milk/cream with it.

Your query interested me,and I went to Larrouse-Oursinade was mentioned,and recipes are included, as a soup or sauce from Provence,and sea urchin is the predominant flavor.It might also be good in a rouille.

This would seem to be a difficult task-if you get a little box of sea urchin,or gather some yourself,you will find that it's difficult to get a consistent great flavor from one piece to the next-do you want the flavor of sea urchin to be predominant?The faint ammonia taste might be a drawback in large quantity..

Re; the original statement in the beginning of this thread.Totally untrue story....if I was said waiter,I'd be careful.Loose lips sink ships....

The traditional way of seasoning canelle molds is with melted beeswax-it is part of the flavor,and is available at good arts and craft stores.

I have about the same patience for watching Iron Chef as I do for most sports-about 8 minutes and I'm bored.But the hosts' baroque outfits,and the fact that he opens the show by taking a big bite out of a raw yellow pepper are bizarre-and the dialogue only gets more wacky as the show progresses.But I don't have the patience for it,or many other cooking shows,for that matter..

Good luck-school can be fun!I heartily recommend Birkenstock clogs;have tried a few different kinds,and find them to be very comfortable,durable,and ugly as hell.

In your opinion,what chefs in Italy are doing interesting cooking these days?

I love Edna Lewis's books,and remember seeing her often at the Union Square Greenmarket years ago;I barely had heard of her at that point,but was struck by the way that she carried herself,and her personal style.Particularily interesting to me are the writings about her family in Freetown;how they lived and cooked,and the stories of New York in the 50s'.

Take a ferry from Trapani to Pantellaria, if you have time.The architecture [damusi houses ] are unique to the island,and it is a wild,magical place.Go fishing and exploring,and find out what fresh fish really tastes like.

I know,I'm just being a wiseass....returning to my old saw that foodies ought to laugh at themselves once in a while,and realize that we're talking about food,not curing cancer....

Why is caviar on a staircase funny?[am I missing something?]Do people laugh when presented with this dish?Chuckle knowledgably?Roll on the floor in gales of laughter?

Once upon a time,my family went out for a celebration dinner at a Chinese restaurant in Westchester.We decided to go all out and order the 'Captains' Meal'.Well,it was tasty and all,and for the dessert finale,they came out with a gong,banged the gong with great ceremony,and served us some fried bananas and ice cream,or something like that.We were too busy laughing to notice,and what the hell,it made the celebration more fun....humor in dishes[unintended humor is WAY more funny to me]

Silly desserts make some people very happy....god bless 'em.Just don't ask me to do it.I spent many years working as a textile designer,and over the years,as the market changed,I had to do more and more corny work to make ends meet.At the same time my own tastes were changing.I began to see much more beauty in simple lines and textures.I changed careers,and now cook.I like simple elegance in taste,texture,and presentation.It's something I strive for,successfully or not.Someone like Thomas Keller,with lots of talent and experience,can make whimsical food that is,at the same time,quite elegant.It's a matter of personal style;you can have fun eating a dish without bells,buzzers and clown hats...

I have tremendous respect for Jaques Torres as a craftsman and chef.I just have a very different aesthetic-there's plenty of room in the world for all of us!

Whoopie pies.........As an aside ,I can't stand desserts that look like bridges,clowns,or stoves.Or chopped liver statuettes...No graven images with my food!

I especially like the artificial vines that hide the speakers up on the back wall,and the white lace curtain in front of the kitchen window.But who cares,the onglet and fries is a destination dish for me....

Couscous and Other Good Food From Morocco;Paula Wolfert;Harper & Row

Oh,if Lester Bangs had been a food writer,and someone cooked like Birdland...or White Riot...or Pale Blue Eyes[i've been going through my tapes].

In Paula Wolferts' couscous book, there is a chicken tagine made with a long cooked tomato jam,that is a knockout.Honey is added at the end of the hours of tomato simmering,and the sauce is very rich and intense.A great dish to make in high tomato season.I'm looking forward to making some again in August.

I think that to make any of these reduced milk desserts successfully,it is important to be conscientious of what kind of milk to use....whole milk!,from a local dairy will produce way better results.In N.Y.,Ronnyrook or Chrome Dairy is a good choice.The reduced milk has a flavor in and of itself....

If you peel off the outer layer of a snoball,it makes an excellent surprise doorknob cover.....