patrickamory

Theoretically, salt added before the bean skins soften make them toughen up. Don't know if that's actually true. Theoretically, salt added before the bean skins soften make them toughen up. Don't know if that's actually true. In my experience, it's not.

Returning to the thread with more specific information. For plain full-fat yogurt, I highly recommend Karoun Dairies.

You want to start with salt pork, to make the classic pot. Check out John Thorne's Serious Pig.

Lovely colorado look to the sauce Bruce. I made a tagine of chicken in tomato sauce with preserved lemon and capers. I added some pimentón as well, and substituted hyssop for the parsley. The result is a sort of Moroccan puttanesca:

I'd really love it if I could get the coconut grater attachment for my Ultra Pride+. It's not available in the versions sold outside the US.

Also, if we're just talking about cheap food rather than cucina povera, maybe we're getting away from the original topic, but I like and recommend Miriam Unger's Good Cheap Food.

Oh man, so many incredible meals posted here in the last couple of days. Soba and Soba, beautiful looking pasta. I love celery so will definitely try the latter. robirdstx turkey thigh with gravy mashed potatoes and peas. this looks FANTASTIC. I can literally smell it coming out of the screen. Prawncrackers let me add my voice to the chorus of appreciation on your smoked eel. Way way way up my alley. And eel fat as the jamon iberico fat of the sea - I can easily imagine. (Did you skin them alive a la Richard Olney? I quail) the croquettas look toothsome as well...

I've never been, but the review pretty much exactly summed up what I'd expect Le Cirque to be like in 2012.

Loving the brick-like look of those ribs robirdstx

Oh my! That pasta is beautiful.

I'll second this. One of my favorite books on food - one of my favorite books, period.

Beans borrachos, but perforce New England style for various reasons... no bacon, no poblanos, no chicharrones, plus we had Pearl's hot dogs in the house. So I rendered salt pork in place of bacon, roasted and peeled a jalapeno instead of poblano, and cut up hot dogs in place of extra pork. Beans were RG borlottis. And added some pimenton de la vera for some of the missing smokiness. It was pretty tasty... a sort of Bos-Tex franks and beans: Of course we had to have hot dogs as well, in top-split New England rolls:

Thanks to the man who inspired me to invest in an Ultra Pride+!

It's interesting, Prawncrackers, I find the first photo more toothsome. I generally tend to like warmer, more blown-out food images, but for some reason the sharpness of the first photo really gets my appetite going. Maybe it just says "crispy bacon" to me.

Like many of the great Yogi's sayings, there's a grain of truth beneath the absurdity.

Interesting. I think heat in general reduces my appetite, as in hot weather. A hot kitchen would probably do the same. The other point about nervousness and exhaustion affecting appetite - I think that has happened to me preparing certain meals for guests. I don't think the process of preparing food, for me, decreases my appetite - if all is going well, it usually increases it!

Thanks dcarch and Soba! Improved through your suggestions over the past few months.

Pork chops marinated in pimentón de la Vera and salt for 5 hours, then sauteed, served with a syrup of pan juices and sherry; Algerian chickpea dersa; cold green bean salad with hyssop and mint.

I equally dislike the trend toward loud, no-reservations places with uncomfortable seating! When I say "over" it's slightly tongue-in-cheek... over for me that is.

Bring them on... I made a batch a couple of months ago for baked beans, and have it frozen. Chowder would be an obvious idea...

Tasting menus are over. Painfully long waits, painfully long dinners. The endless interruptions and explanations of exactly what is in each dish. At the end it's almost impossible to remember what you've eaten. I enjoy fine dining very much, but I wholeheartedly emphathize with Bittman on this one. After my last experience at The Modern I have no intention of going back, or going to any restaurant like it. Bring back traditional French service, and please remember that dining out is about more than the food. In the meantime, I'd prefer to eat at Acme or Pok Pok over Per Se any day.

If the roots are left au naturel, they can extend out a few inches, into graceful long sweeping tendrils... all usable except the some of the smallest ones, where the tiniest bit of scraping just pulverizes them.

Momofuku noodles with ginger and scallions, jazzed up with some pimentón de la vera and Tianjin preserved vegetables:

I think we need a definition of "casual."

Oh my God Shane those wings and shoulder chops look incredible. I gave Meenal's murgh cholay another try, but this time substituted young frozen peas for the chickpeas, added at the very end and cooked until just done. This dish is just tremendous, I urge you to try it! As mentioned previously, I use a mix of yogurt and sour cream for the curd specified in the recipe. (Also, Blether, if you're reading this, the Millser large container is perfect for blending the cooked onions and the curd.)