pastameshugana

Recovering from being ill and not eating for three days, eggs on toast. Toasted the bread in butter in the skillet, then sauteed onions & tomatoes, runny eggs and the last of my cave-aged gruyere. Too bad I couldn't finish it! The tomato and gruyere was a really nice combination.

Bhuwhahahahaaaa!! I hereby award you three Internets!

DCarch - I think it was easily missed that your statement was a double-negative. You said you assumed the materials used 'cannot NOT' be contaminated...and it was read that you said the materials 'cannot be contaminated.' I got where you're coming from!

My first dinner in Buenos Aires, at a little hotel. It was a simple buffet (salad bar, really), with a grill in the back. My friend ordered 'lomo' for me, and it was the only beef I've ever eaten that caused me to involuntarily smile. I'm smiling now...just thinking about it!

Ok - I just got delivery of my new sani-tuff board. I love the size and heft of it, plus it feels very nice on the knife (does that make sense?). It's got a little bit of a bite, but not too much. My question: It was delivered with a fine dusting of what I assume is rubber powder on it. I've tried rinsing it, scrubbing it - it just keeps generating it. Obviously this won't work for actual use. Does anyone have any ideas? It seems like when I scrub it the rubber is 'pilling' into a very fine dust.

I got blessed with a purty, roomy kitchen in the house we just bought. However, the big open space in the middle is about to give way to a prep island. We were about to get it custom made when we found this at Sams Club. It's the perfect size, matches the decor/appliances, and has space underneath for whatever. That with my new sani-tuff cutting board and I ought to be happy for a week or so! Oh yeah, and I asked DW for a new range hood for my birthday. She said she would if I bought her a 60's mustang for her birthday (two weeks after mine), so we'll see how that works out.

I just picked up an 18x24 sani-tuff through Amazon. Who else has opinions on these boards?

Nayan, Thanks for the lead - I think we're on the right track.

Okay, My wife/kids and I lived in Bangalore for 2.5 years, and one of the dishes we fell in love with that I've yet to be able to reproduce was called chicken sholay kebab. I've googled like crazy and can't find anything like what we had. I know each region/restaurant puts their own spin on things, so we were (obviously) in Bangalore, the restaurant was a small chain called Nandhini's, which purported to be an Andhra-style house. The kebabs were red in color, seemed to me they were fried. The red was a ground paste of spices that was fried onto the chicken. They were plated with a handful of fresh curry leaves. The flavor was a mild spiciness, with all the richness of mixed spices, and a bit of a garlicky hit. Has anyone seen a dish like this - have any ideas on how to start? Thanks in advance!

When we lived in Bangalore, I tried quite a few of the local ones, and my favorite was always Kho-Cha. Just seemed to be 'right'. I'm not enough of a tea person to describe in detail what I liked about it. Of course, I also took a liking to mixing my kho-cha assam and darjeeling in the last year or so we were there... I don't know if you can get Kho-Cha here, I haven't tried as I brought back a big pile when we came back to the us.

About MSG, but from a completely different angle: I was totally ignorant of MSG when I moved to India a few years back (I'm since back in the US). My favorite (absolutely) chinese restaurant was a little hole in the wall tucked away in a Bangalore Neighborhood (Xian by Ulsoor if you ever make it to B'Lore). Absolutely amazing. I still dream about their food. One day we took another couple there, and the man said 'no msg' when ordering. Since we eat family style, it was no MSG in everything. I had no idea what he was talking about (ignored it, really) until the food came and was quite bland in every area. We made it a point to not eat there with them again! Since then, I've become of the opinion that MSG is a gift from God to make Chinese food taste 'more wonderful-er'. I've even got a package of it in my pantry right now. My $0.02,

I'll 2nd Robert on Rosemary's. Was just there a couple of weeks ago and had a wonderful meal.

Well, last week we ended up at Rosemary's for a 5-course tasting menu. We were meeting local friends and they really wanted to try it. I must say, we were extremely happy and had an excellent time. From the outside, it's a very unassuming place on the west side of town, a store-front operation. Inside, very nice, casual but well put together. The tasting menu (which I didn't get a copy of...) was a great experience, and at $80/head was a great deal. My memory has become fuzzy...but there was: Salmon Tartar w/Watercress, Saffron Sauce & Caraway Cracker - memorable and spicy - would love to have on a lunch plate Seared Sea Scallops w/Parsnip Potato Puree, Apple Cider Beurre Blanc, Crispy Prosciutto & Parsnip Strips - softest scallop I've ever put in my mouth - amazing. Pan Fried Veal Sweetbreads w/Black Beluga Lentils & Bloody Mary Butter - 1st time for sweetbreads, and was apprehensive - I must say it was a highlight. It's hard to describe that flavor (any takers) but now I'm craving it! Roasted Rack of Lamb w/Kalamata Olive Creamed Potatoes & Balsamic Reduction Sauce - the lamb was cooked just right, and was quite nice, but not very exciting after what had gone before. Dessert trio: Chocolate mousse, Creme Brulee, and a Lambic beer concoction that was put together at the table with ice cream to make a sort of 'adult' root beer with a raspberry zing. We were very pleased with the food/atmosphere/service. Give it a shot!

I just got an email from Raku - the 10 course Kaiseki is 100, 15 course is 150, per person.

That looks beautiful! I've got a metal mag strip, but might have to upgrade to the mag block...

Erin, I've fallen in love with 'Secrets of a Jewish Baker' - it's a tad eclectic, but as a non-baker, it's certainly opened up new avenues for me. My $0.02,

For shame - Sage is dark the days we'll be in town...

Robert, Do you have any experience with Rosemary's?

A new vent hood and a tap by the stove!

I feel sick...

My wife and I are headed back to Vegas Dec 20th, and are looking for an experience. Being as our culinary voyeurism didn't develop until after we had left Vegas (go figure) and were living overseas, we really don't know where to turn. I'd love a French tasting menu (but I'm a French food virgin), or really just something *wow* for an evening experience. Japanese tastings sound exciting...Italian we love... The problem is that every restaurant sounds amazing when you're reading about it online. For a hands-down great experience, with new flavors, where to go?

Hyperpalate - glad to hear about Esoji and the 'cheesecake place.' That's run by a dear friend of mine and his wife (his wife makes the cakes). So sorry to hear that Genovese's has suffered so badly these days. It's been a few moons (years probably) since I've been.

The sandwich is tradition on the day of and day after. -Then we did Turkey quesadillas -A pot of turkey posole -Turkey Alfredo for dinner (basic alfredo sauce, rehead the chopped turkey w/garlic & onion & chilli, serve over fettuccine) -Today (since I've been sick) Mrs. Meshugana made a pot of Turkey Noodle Soup Forgot to save the carcass for stock - but I've got a spare turkey we may cook up next month and I'll try my hand at making my first pot of stock.

Clap clap clap. Bravo, mi amigo!

Ha! I was just browsing backwards and realized that was the second time in this thread in one year that I referenced crying. Am I overly sentimental? Or is beef just that beautiful? Now I'm positively facing an existential dilemma...