John Rosevear

I'm a fan of the Black Box cab as a cooking and random-glass-here-and-there wine -- it's my default red for braising these days, and I almost always have a box on the kitchen counter. The Black Box whites are okay but seem to go off relatively quickly, even if refrigerated. I've tried a few other brands, but Black Box is the only one I've liked enough to buy a second time.

I think you're in the right window -- I have been planning on moving mine (a bit under 17 lb) from the freezer to the refrigerator tomorrow (edit: Saturday 21 November) morning.

David, when was the R&W reformulated? I'm trying to figure out whether my (definitely not new, but definitely decidedly purple) bottle is old school or new school.

My Krups GVX2 burr grinder died a sad death yesterday -- thermal fuse, we think (common and stupid problem). The cost of repair, all-in, is about the same as the cost of buying another one, and I'm inclined to do neither. What should I replace it with? We do a couple of pots of drip coffee (Capresso MT500) a day, and Aeropressed pseudo-latte a couple of times a week. The Aeropress works best with a smooth fine grind, but... we don't have a fancy home espresso rig and aren't likely to go that way anytime soon. I can't see spending more than $100 on a grinder given our needs, and even that is probably overkill. I'd like something that will last longer than a year, though -- I'm tired of plastic landfill-fodder appliances generally. Is a refurb Baratza Maestro the best way to go? How durable are they?

Trader Joe's frozen TV-dinner-like Chicken Tikka Masala meals taste disturbingly like my favorite home-cooked curry, which takes a couple of hours to put together. I'm not sure whether to be delighted (a delicious gluten-free lunch option just 5 min of microwaving away!) or depressed (all that work to end up with something that tastes like frozen food?)

One more vote for just tossing in the stems or tying 'em up together with the parsley or whatever unless I really need just the leaves for presentation. I like Robuchon's trick of tying the bouquet garni with a strip of leek leaf (use a long thin strip, pull the knot tight slooooowly), but string is fine if I don't have a leek handy.

I used the crappy-old-pot method for a long time before my wife got me the WP, and if the handle actually falls off the WP I'll probably use the crappy-old-pot method again until I get around to ordering another one... or not. My default ingredients are Amish Country yellow popcorn and coconut oil, adorned with Morton popcorn salt and Annie's butter. If I'm feeling fancy I'll mix the yellow popcorn half-and-half with one of the white Amish Country varieties. Simple and tasty.

My much-loved (and much-used, for 10 years or more) old Whirley-Pop is starting to come apart. I want to replace it, and while I'd be quite content with a brand-new Whirley-Pop, I feel the need to ask before ordering: Is there anything similar but better out there these days? If it matters, I have one of those idiotic smooth-ceramic-cooktop electric ranges at the moment, and probably won't get to replacing it for a few years.

That's exactly where the break was. Is the Four Star line considered "top end" nowadays? It used to be, but I know things have moved on somewhat.

If your grill is from Weber or a similarly prominent company, you could try calling them, explaining the situation, and asking if they'll send you the relevant parts to convert your grill. On most Webers it's a straightforward operation to convert from propane to other gases.

I'm not so sure it would... Joel Robuchon's book, which covers similar ground, doesn't have any photos. The point about size is well-taken as well... count the recipes in the Saveur book, then compare to MtAoFC. Huge difference.

I once had a blade break off a Henckels Four Star steak knife... I wrote to Henckels' US office, who asked me to send it to them for examination (I did) and immediately dispatched a replacement. I would expect Wusthof to respond the same way.

I love the Saveur book. I also love MtAoFC as-is, which in my case is a worn tattered loosened-binding copy that's 30 years old if it's a day, and I can't imagine buying an overpriced coffee-table reissue of it. To my mind, it's exactly right as-is. Not every cookbook needs photos -- in fact, very few of the cookbooks I use regularly have any.

We are fortunate to have superb well water. It would never dawn on me to use bottled -- frankly, very few brands of bottled water can compete with what comes out of my taps.

Subbing something for the brandy is an interesting idea. I'd probably try another rum before the Bacardi... Clement VSOP, maybe. David, re the lemon-oil nose... yes, exactly. Wonderful.

I'd love to be a locavore. And given that I live in a ruralish area, with plenty of local farmers and green-thumbed neighbors, you'd think it'd be easy to accomplish. Ha. About 10% of our meat and poultry, maybe two-thirds of our dairy products, most of our fresh herbs, and most of our produce from May to October is local -- defining "local" as "New England", where that ranges from "huge dairy co-op in VT" to "farm around the corner". We're making some changes and I expect we'll be up to 50% or more of the meat and poultry within a year. Much of the rest is probably hopeless without a huge expenditure of effort and significant lifestyle changes, which just aren't likely to happen anytime soon. Pollan... it's easy for a guy who lives in northern California to insist on local food. In most of the rest of the developed world, it's a little more complicated.

I did in fact make one last night. My first thought was that the lemon peel is absolutely critical to the balance of the whole thing, which surprised me a little. I'll try it again with your revised proportions, but I thought it was excellent as it was.

Take a look at Adam Perry Lang's book ("Serious Barbecue"). It's BBQ and grill-focused, but there are a whole bunch of interesting sauce and seasoning ideas for pork that have applicability beyond the grill.

I think of W&N OP as a... rawer... product than even the Bacardi 151, and of course it's a very different animal from something like Lemon Hart Demerara. I can't remember if I've ever done a side-by-side of the W&N and the Bacardi, though. Might be educational.

David's Burnt Fuselage, on the other hand, sounds like a serious contender. I'll try one tonight, maybe with a decent Bas-Armagnac I have on the shelf.

Every fall I'm reminded of how thoroughly awesome celery root can be -- roasted, baked, in soups, in stuffings... probably my favorite thing to do with it is cut it into small cubes, toss it with whatever fat and herbs seem to be appropriate, and roast it with other root vegetables. Even my kids love it.

Random thought: The French 75 is named after a type of cannon used in World War I, and was ostensibly created by fighter ace Raoul Lufbery... an apt drink (sort of) for the 11th of November.

I love the French 75. One of my all-time favorites. At the other extreme, a Death in the Afternoon must rank as the biggest waste of good ingredients ever.

Does anyone know of a current-production brand of decent borosilicate kitchen glass? Clearly Pyrex is No Longer The Thing, at least in the US. Has anyone else stepped in? Alternatively, if the Euro Pyrex is still the good stuff, can anyone recommend a source that will ship to a US address for non-crazy money?

Gin, dry vermouth, sweet vermouth, and mint, says Google. I'd never heard of it either.