Paula E

rotuts: Will have to check out Chinatown next time we are down. Great tip. LindaK: something will have to be invented...a vacuum/static electricity charged crumb catcher...Fat Guy will have to get on it with his Quirky friends. Sometimes a napkin just isn't enough.

Well, if you want char sui in your bahn mi, you're in good company with Bruce. Though personally, I think the sweetness would be all wrong in bahn mi and would compete badly with the bright flavors of the pickled/fresh vegetables and herbs. Plus, there's already plenty of richness from the pate and mayo. Char sui is definitely not a substitute for the pate, which does not add sweetness, just the opposite--the light smear of liver pate gives the sandwich a funky, earthy note. A good bahn mi has a lot going on flavor-wise but is still balanced. My favorite bahn mi shop offers a bbq pork option that I'm pretty sure is a slow-roasted shoulder, but definitely not caramelized. I'll stop by tomorrow for lunch and find out. What is your favorite bahn mi shop? My husband and I have ventured no further than the stall at Super 88 in Allston. Dangerously delicious. The spicy sauce they use...is it this Maggi? I've no idea how I could duplicate the wondrous bread...shatteringly crispy on the surface yet meltingly soft inside. No roll up here will come close. And half the sandwich is all about the bread!

I don't know why you doubt the health concerns. It has been common knowledge that HIV is transmitted in bodily fluids since the early 90's. Breast milk is a bodily fluid, after all. Sorry I wasn't clear. Wasn't talking so much about diseases being transmitted, but the medications used to treat diseases, which can be transmitted through breast milk. Or, for that matter, drugs used NOT to treat diseases. And this was me going off on a tangent imagining the use of breast milk outside the family scene. No insult in any way intended!

There's a reason its called liquid gold. Are you sure they aren't just selling something they think might taste like breastmilk? I can't imagine any lactating woman parting with something so hard won on something as trivial as dessert. But maybe I'm just naive. And the health questions... Seems like something to look up in Snopes.

We've been using our Soda Stream for a couple of years now. We go through at least 2 bottles a day. Couldn't be happier with it. Since we live in the middle of nowhere, we have had great luck just returning the empty gas canisters to the company after receiving our fresh ones. Good turn around and have never had a problem with it. Plus, if you can get some of that Lingonberry syrup at an Ikea grocery, you've got a tasty soda treat.

Hey Chris, I've got one recently-promoted-to first grader (yes, this is unpardonable bragging) and a very demanding 16 month old. I feel your pain. Today I've got stock on the stove. Impling #1 is on harvest break, so she is here for the week. Simmering stock (apart from skimming) lets me play with my girls. It will also give me at least 8 nights of pho for the horde. I make a big vat of chili on the weekends to reheat during the week. I also make pulled pork, which keeps very well for quick meals. I've done vats of split pea soup, lentils, scotch broth (hmm, Fall is here...time for more soup). Peanut noodles are a godsend for the Implings, and also keep well. Thai Cucumber salad is a quick fix at the last minute. As you can see, my way of dealing is to cook in advance things that can be reheated easily. Dr. Science has a pretty erratic schedule at times, so some days there's no knowing when he'll get home. Cooking ahead preserves my sanity and let's me have more time with the girls. Not that it happens to work out all the time. When I'm in a fix, I break out the bahmi goreng or butter chicken paste and cheat! And you can always sear a steak and throw it on a bed of arugula pretty easily. And don't forget to breathe.

Miso soup. Absolute ambrosia when I have a cold. And when I don't, for that matter. Hot buttered rum helps too.

Hi TIm, Thanks for the tip. Will do.

Katie: will do. Hope to get there for a quick blast of oyster love. Didn't know about the renovations. It's always fascinating to go back to Philly and see what time has done. New buildings where there was nothing before, other places just the same as they ever were (for better or worse). Can't wait to see the new look! We do actually have a sentimental reason for heading back to Le Bec Fin. The first and only time we went was just after Dr. Science was accepted into med school. After all these years, it would be coming full circle. Plus they have an awesome dessert cart. Thanks for the corkage tip, percyn. Will pass it along! I'm trying to get reservations to bibou, but the online reservation service tells me I am too early. Does anyone happen to know how far in advance you can make a reservation there? Is it two months? Thanks, everyone.

Thanks phil! Would love some updated recommendations for Indonesian. I can't believe there are actually options now! When I was in Philly, Indonesia was the only place in town to find Indonesian...at least, both traditional and Dutch colonial (half of Dr. Science's family hails from the Netherlands). Recommendations for Mexican would be great too. Although for sheer orneriness (I can't believe that is actually a word) the matriarch at La Lupe was always unsurpassed. Plus they had fabulous food, and real Coke. Re Oyster House: Yes. And I hear (somewhere on these boards, perchance?) that Katie Loeb mixes a mean cocktail. It's funny to think of Little Fish "buffed up". It would have been impossible for them to have scaled down. Unless they moved into a food cart! I loved that tiny space on Catharine though. Ethereal seafood. And on a busy night, you actually felt like a sardine. A very happy one, though. Checked out Cochon's website. Out of six entrees listed on their menu, only two were actually pig. Am I right in assuming they have more options on special? What do you recommend there? I've read good things about bibou, but I am not an experienced wine drinker, and with the level of food it looks like they are serving, I would love some wine pairing hints. On the higher priced end of things, we may go to the Fountain. We wanted to go years ago, but it was always out of our means. Worth it? Looks like there are some serious mixed reviews here on eGullet. Or is there a better alternative? Thanks again for all the great feedback!

Bumping this up, as I am visiting Philly from Nov 5th until the 11th and would love to revisit some old favorites, as well as try some new places. We already have a reservation at Vetri (we had our anniversary dinner there back when it first opened). But that is as far as we've planned. It's been years since I've lived in Philly, and I've no idea if some of our favorite BYOB's are even still around. Dr. Science and I had our favorite stomping grounds. McGillin's (can't help it...it's a cozy pub, and treated the locals well), Capogiro, Indonesia (now in South Philly...at least, I hope), La Lupe, Tony Luke's, Tamarind, Mr. Martino's Trattoria. Some of the most memorable oysters I've eaten (New Englander here) were from Oyster House. Only I ate my six pack perched on the curb of Walnut Street during one of Philly's Food Fairs. I'd love to go to the actual bar and gorge myself. I know Django closed a few years back. Are they still doing the country table thing? We used to love going to Little Fish on 6th & Catharine. Are they still around? It looks like our little neighborhood bakery is now Cochon, or it could be just the wonky way Google maps has with addresses. Chloe was a little jewel of a restaurant on Arch St. between 2nd & 3rd. We loved that little BYOB. Transcendental foie gras. Are they still cooking? sygyzy, What have you decided on?

Amazing images victornet. It's wonderful how sculptural it all is. Kind of like visiting a museum of edible art. I'm so glad there are such talented people creating such astonishing and intimate works of art. Wish I could partake...

We just brought home our first ice cream maker (DeLonghi) and have cranked out the classics (5 year old has her own ideas about ice cream, vanilla and strawberry being the only flavors in the universe). Thought I'd tempt her with chocolate raspberry, but no go. Can't say I'm terribly disappointed... more for me! I'd love to try making a sorbet with Limoncello. Anyone ever done this?

ditto on the lobster. Indian Pudding with vanilla ice cream. Steamers (some grilled linguica alongside would not be amiss). Corn on the cob. oyster stew. If you do go the baked beans route...be sure to make the steamed brown bread to go along with it, and perhaps some fishcakes. Personally, I'd go the lobster route...and steamers...heck, I just need to get to a good clambake.

I understand and support the practice of cooking with local and sustainable ingredients, but in the name of sanity, put the fact as a footnote on the menu rather than...well what The Kitchen Table did. Maybe they ingested one to many Buds while writing? Any how, thanks for digging up the thread...it led to a pleasant morning of surfing.

This week is perfect for cucumber salads. Our favorite here is an easy one with cukes, red onion. rice wine vinegar, sugar, salt, chili flakes, and dry roasted peanuts for the top. Simple, cold and tasty.

Any ingredient necessary for good Mexican, Thai, Japanese, Chinese...etc. so forth and so on...requires a 7 hour road trip to Boston. Isolated, is my feeling. I was so happy to find a little tiny shop for Japanese groceries in Brookline Village. I stocked up on bonito flakes and konbu and rice crackers for my wee one. We love the Super 88 as well, though all the frozen things that used to make my life easier with two small implings are impossible to transport now. Also impossible to find basmati rice up here on the other side of the forest (ME). And since we love us some tasty Indian... The blueberries up here are awesome, though. And the broccoli. And potatoes. Fiddleheads, when they are out. But what I wouldn't give for a cold seaweed salad today.

Julia Child. When I was a kid (say around 8 or 9) my older brother and I would watch the French Chef on PBS. She always had us howling with laughter, but I also loved it when she did desserts. I think the first thing I made was her chocolate mousse. I stepped up to a pound cake with strawberries and cream creation crowned with a net of caramel for one Mothers Day. (I think I was 15 when I made that). I remember spending the better part of Saturday afternoons (our day to cook) with my brother making spaghetti sauce. We were very exacting about the amount of herbs. We were big on oregano, as I recall. Which was kind of astonishing, now that I think of it, as I come from an old New England family whose idea of seasoning was salt and pepper, with an occasional hit of tabasco as seafood demanded. Mom taught me how to cook pancakes and french toast, roast chickens, stuffing, gravy, potatoes, sauteed and stuffed mushrooms. Baked beans, clear-the-fridge soup, and boiled corn on the cob. Boiled veggie, period. I learned to cook over a fire in Girl Scouts. We dug a huge pit for an old cast iron dutch oven, built the fire in the pit, and slow braised dinner over the hot coals. I asked my parents to take me to a French restaurant in Pembroke MA for my high school graduation instead of a party. Beautiful meal. Too bad I can't remember the name of the place. It was in a beautiful old Victorian house, as I recall. I don't think it is still there. In college I cooked when I was rich enough to afford groceries, otherwise existed on soft pretzels (Philly style). After graduation, I finally got my chance to really cook. Living in Philly, we had access to a phenomenal Asian grocery off Washington, Reading Terminal, the Italian Market. I had money for cookbooks and utensils. I met a fabulous someone who loved going out to eat as much as I did, and introduced me to Indonesian food. We had freedom, and a modest amount of money to have fun with. Then, medical school happened. Ten years later, two tots later, I barely have time to post, let alone cook without a disgruntled baby protesting my lack of attention. I know it will happen again. In the meantime, I wait. And lurk here. Off to intervene.

Here's another 44 to tack on. Living in small apartments is not conducive to a large collection. But now that we have a big ol' house... I'd forgotten all about "Still Life with Bottle: Whiskey According to Ralph Steadman" I'll be curling up with that one soon, possibly with a glass of something smooth and toasty.

The man was also undoubtedly a Dr. Seuss fan. Going with the sauce definition, my daughter eats it unmounted (without milk). We don't apparently mix our wet and dry at 5 years of age. I, personally, avoid cereal. More of a hot chocolate woman in the morning. Which, just to confuse matters, is served in a bowl in France, is it not? Does this make it a sauce, rather than a beverage?

Not familiar with those, probably because they were out of my student price range (anything more than a pretzel was extravagant) at the time. Once I actually was bringing in money, though, I had a great time. Wish I could have gone to Deux Cheminées before it closed. Alas...

Toblerone M&Ms (dark please) Carr's Ginger Lemon Cremes (so help me I"ll eat an entire box in one sitting if no one intervenes) A long time ago, my answers would have been Mounds, Bit O Honey, and Charleston Chew, but the latter two items are difficult to find nowadays. Re Goldenburgs Peanut Chews: My husband loves these. When we lived in Philly he especially enjoyed tormenting the pigeons in Washington Square Park. He would throw a chew down, and suddenly, Alfred Hitchcock lived. The birds would go insane over the chew (frantically pecking but unable to eat it) until some brave enterprising squirrel dived into the mass of freaking feathers and made off with the loot. Poor pigeons.

The chocolate dragon was beautiful. My question is...how the heck do you wash solidified chocolate out of your hair?

YES! Thank you thank you Capaneus! My husband and I were so sad for them. Mademoiselle de Paris was such a special place. mrbigjas...the brioche...oh yes. And in December the most beautiful buche de noel I'd ever seen. How could I forget Rindelaub's? Their apple fritters, hot out of the ovens...oh my. Is there anything in town now to compare with either of them? Now to find a recipe for those apple pastry...

I just had to do a major freezer audit so we could fit our shipment of beef (also in bits) into the chest freezer. I managed to keep my stock, applesauce, and some cranberries in there. Barely. In our kitchen freezer : wild maine blueberries (makes wonderful smoothies for the picky 5 year old) waffles ice cream (vanilla) various and sundry nuts (for salads and baking) english muffin bread (from our local baker) cornmeal squash puree (for the 7 month old) peas coffee beans more cranberries and more beef (stew meat that wouldn't fit in the chest freezer) oh. And frozen pumpkin cake. But that's my secret. Sssshhhh.