NeroW

Did the old standby grab-the-hot-pan-handle today.

Have been working on beef short ribs (braised). I dredge and brown them, then brown up a good amount of mirepoix, then add a good amount of garlic, a couple dried ancho (or guajillo) chilies, and a few anchovy fillets. Also about half a fresh pineapple. Then I deglaze with red wine, add some beef stock and some Dijon mustard, put the ribs back in the pan, add a good amount of fresh rosemary, cover, and braise. After a few hours I strain the liquid, reduce it down by quite a bit, mount in some butter, add some more rosemary, and eat. I like it with mushy things: polenta or mashed potatoes. Tweaked this quite a bit. At first I thought the chile/anchovy/mustard thing was weird. It's actually quite good. A Korean friend of mine suggested the pineapple.

My Jacard machine (that little needle thing meant to tenderize meat) is a piece of useless crap. I much prefer the meat mallet for mechanical tenderization purposes. I also have a Chef Wizard . . . one of those 8-in-one kitchen tools, someone bought it for me as a gag. It's really

The sauce is there to support the food. The sauce goes on the plate. Unless it is gravy, in which case it goes on the potatoes.

We did this once. Last winter. We did a "Risk: The Game of World Domination" party, where we served foods from each continent in the game of Risk. By the end of the 2nd day of prep, I wanted to crawl into the pantry and not come out for a long time. The picture that best describes it is of my sister, wearing a doo-rag, a Kitchen Bitch apron, and a tank top, scattering the anchovies atop a pissaladiere, scowling, and giving the camera the finger. I'm not saying we didn't have a good time. I'm just saying . . . well, we didn't have a good time. At first I thought it was fun to just be able to go all crazy and mish-mash the foods together--but upon reflection, we didn't have enough help, it was a huge expense, etc., etc. I wouldn't do it again.

Gratineed macaroni and cheese.

Vegetables that were already square. What I wouldn't give for a square potato and a square onion.

Yes. My friend once had a bowl that he made out of a Red Delicious apple. When I smokeed out of it, it made me cough. So do carrot and potato bowls.

I have Bird by Bird, too. Why does it make you depressed? Because instead of reading it, I should just be writing!

Hello! I can't believe I haven't asked this before, but are any of you from Kalamazoo? The reason I ask is because I am, and I want to do my externship at one of the restaurants there. I am moving back to Kalamazoo after I graduate from c. school in Chicago, so I figure I might as well extern there and then continue working in that kitchen after graduation, if it all goes well. I'll be in Kalamazoo for about 10 months before I go to France in 2005. Anyone working in a kitchen there right now? If so, where? If so, can you hook me up with a job? I am particularly interested in the Kalamazoo Country Club, The Park Club downtown, and that little galley kitchen at Arie's Singapore is awful cute

One of my New Year's Resolutions (and the only one I have managed to keep ) was to read mostly food-related books. So far I have finished MFK Fisher's Serve It Forth, Leslie Brenner's American Appetite, and I am halfway through Jeffrey Steingarten's The Man Who Ate Everything. He is extremely amusing. I'm also plowing through another book--very dry--about astrological and alchemical elements in High Middle Ages cooking. Can't remember what that one's called, but when I checked it out at the library, I thought it was about something entirely different . . . Non-food-related, I finished Erik Larsen's Devil in the White City (fantastic and highly recommended) and Nickel and Dimed in America by Barbara Ehrenreich. I'm also about halfway through Bird By Bird by Anne Lamott (sp??), one of those books that's supposed to make you want to write, but instead makes you horribly depressed.

Big N Tasty with cheese. But my favorite is Wendy's Bacon Double-cheeseburger. I like the metallic taste.

Dude, you're bursting my bubble with this shit. Well then, may I respectfully suggest you take your bigot asshole offensive racial stereotyping and fuck right off? You may . . .

Dude, you're bursting my bubble with this shit.

Have you been watching me?

I haven't been avoiding it. Last night at the grocery store, there was a woman whose cart was absolutely loaded with beef. Is it on sale?

I agree.

This reminds me of something that happened a few days ago. My BF and I were having a beer in a restaurant--not high-end, mind you, but not a chain either, just a rather nice place in the lobby of a rather nice hotel. It was just after 5 PM and the place was filling up with businesspeople ready to enjoy happy hour--drinking, smoking cigarettes, etc. We were seated next to a table of four--2 couples, one of which had an infant in tow. The baby was adorable (it had grown out of the stage where babies look like aliens) and neither my BF or myself had any problem sitting next to it. I love babies, and my BF has one himself--but he didn't have it on him When the couple prepared to leave, the mother started putting the baby into its little pink bunny-rabbit snowsuit. The baby didn't like it (neither would I, why babies should have to wear ridiculous clothing meant to emphasize their helplessness is beyond me), and it began screaming in protest. The following dialogue ensued: Sheepish father, to infant: "You're ruining your image, you know. Now everyone is going to think you're a bad baby." Indignant mother, to father: "Oh, she is not. No one is even noticing." Father, to mother: "Of course they are! People don't like it." Mother, to everyone within earshot: "You're being silly! No one minds when a baby cries! Everyone knows babies cry sometimes! Everyone loves babies! Everyone wants one around!" It is this attitude that gets under my skin. I love babies. I know that they cry sometimes. And I don't mind sitting next to one in any kind of restaurant. But not everyone loves babies, not everyone is willing to make allowances for them, and the righteousness of this mother in assuming that everyone is is what pisses me off. Many people do not want children around, are childfree by choice, and purposely avoid situations where they may encounter children. For this mother to assume that everyone wants a baby around is just ignorant. I don't care what kind of restaurant you're in--it's this attitude of entitlement that infuriates me. The larger issue of parents vs. non-parents is not one that can be discussed here on eGullet, but it is of greatest importance to me as a childfree woman--especially in the workplace, where my employee benefits and workload are concerned. The question of should a baby be in a high-end restaurant is just one of many questions that must be asked as more and more Americans remain childfree by choice. But needless to say, I was happy when the baby was safely bunny-suited, and they left us to our beers--not so much because the screaming baby was gone, but because her mother was.

What the hell?

No, not really. Maybe just a bit.

I'm glad to hear someone does this. The part that struck me as strange was the letting-them-sit-off-heat part. fresco, for one dozen eggs, about how long would you say?

I was eating my way through a packet of chocolate-covered coffee beans the other night, and I got to thinking: how many of the beans would I have to eat to get the "lift" I get from one cup of coffee? There were 42 beans in the packet. I estimate that when I brew coffee at home, I grind 55-60 beans for one 12-cup pot. Should this just be simple math, or does the brewing process have an effect on the caffeine itself? Do I have to apply heat and water to the beans in order to get the caffeine to "come out"? Or can I just eat the beans raw and get the same effect?

In The Way To Cook, Julia Child instructs us to hard-boil eggs like this: Cover with cold water. Bring to the boil. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand exactly 17 minutes. Shock in an ice bath. I prepared them once according to this method, and had no success. The yolks had that lovely green, iron sulfide ring, and they were a major hassle to peel (which I understand could have been partially due to the age of the eggs). At school, they taught us to cover them with cold water, bring to the boil, and let simmer for exactly 12 minutes from the point of boiling. They've always worked for me when I do them this way. Does anyone use Julia Child's method? If so, what was I doing wrong? Because it can't be her--it must be me!

Not "seems to be." Is.

Christmas Eve: Smoked salmon (caught and smoked by uncle and cousin) Cracked-pepper crackers Pesto/walnut/cheese spread Spanakopita Chicken "pillows" Spinach salad with hot bacon dressing My aunt's delicious fish chowder with salt pork Baguette We were supposed to eat cream cheese tartlets with whipped cream and blackberries that my sister made, but everyone was too buzzed from the champagne punch, so we forgot them. Christmas Day: Boneless prime rib roast with a spicy/sweet rub and "au jus" Cheese grits The ubiquitous green bean casserole EDIT: and the night before Christmas Eve, I did a quick curry of chicken thighs with ginger/garlic/cilantro/jalapeno/peas in a light yogurt sauce, served over Basmati rice. It were good. Especially cold the next morning.