patrickamory

Blether - I've come across references to the Millser in posts from Japanese people, but it does not seem to be available in the US. Kerry - thanks for the ebay link to the Little Pro Plus!

http://www.amazon.com/Oster-2-Speed-250-Watt-Blender-Silver/dp/B0000AZUW9 Maybe they sell a sturdier version in Canada? Thanks again everyone. rotuts, I'm still a bit wary of buying a coffee grinder for wet ingredients, but maybe I'll give that a try - it's certainly cheap enough. So the Cuisinart mini-prep is just too flimsy, is that the consensus? I've done some searching on the Little Pro Plus but with no luck. Any other options out there? If not, I'll start by sending away for the Kitchen Aid coffee grinder and report back how that goes.

Further to this, investigating the suggestions so far - It looks to me like the two recommendations from rotuts are for dry-grinding - do you find them okay for wet ingredients? The first is explicitly a coffee grinder. The Cuisinart 15-piece compact from Panaderia Canadiense looks attractive for the many cups - I could whip up a batch of chopped shallot in one, then a batch of chopped galangal in another, and a batch of garlic in a third, without having to clean the container each time - is that correct? However one of the Amazon reviews says: "you have to add liquid, it's not a food processor". That comment was in reference to making purees, but if the ingredients are quickly whipped up to stick to the sides up the cup so that you have to scrape them down or add liquid to get them back to the blades, that's not ideal... That Oster gets a huge number of one-star reviews on Amazon for its flimsiness, but perhaps people are trying to use it to crush ice or similar for smoothies? At this point, the Cuisinart mini-prep recommended by JAZ and Country (whoops, sounds like a radio station!) looks like my best option... unless people have more suggestions of course, or if I'm not fully understanding the other recommendations. Thanks again everyone!

Wow fast response. Thanks for all the recommendations - I'm going to check them out. (My current large blender, which hardly ever gets used, is a 1940s or '50s Waring model that does not fit a mason jar. I really should throw it out, except that it's so cool looking.)

I own a full-size Cuisinart and an Ultra Pride+ wetgrinder, but I'd like a small blender/grinder as well, primarily to mince ingredients to prepare them for the wetgrinder's pounding action - the big food processor is too large for this purpose. I live in a small NYC apartment and don't want a full-size blender. This is not for dry ingredients - I use a spice (coffee) grinder for those. (Note: I'm not looking to make smoothies - this thing doesn't have to be industrial.) The Bamix wand plus processor attachment looks perfect, but I don't want to spend $450. Also, I'm not particularly interested in a stick blender. The small grinder in an Indian mixie such as the Asia Kitchen Machine also looks perfect, but there doesn't seem to be a way to get just the small one - you need to buy the entire machine, and they are huge and expensive! I used to own a Braun Multimix but it broke quickly twice. It's also not easy to store, since the pieces are so awkwardly shaped. I'd love something perhaps the same size or slightly larger than a coffee grinder that can be used for wet ingredients such as garlic, lemongrass, shallots, maybe one medium-sized onion, etc. Any suggestions? I've searched the forums and can't come up with any up-to-date recommendations besides the Bamix + processor attachment.

I wonder if there is a middle ground... the equivalent of an old-school British larder. Old European (pre-central heating) "room temperature" - also perfect for butter, eggs and wine. Would keep them from going off for longer without creating the mealiness.

Your comment seems to be contradictory. You say it lacks stickiness but coheres with the sauce better. Wouldn't those two things go hand in hand? Hmm. I meant to say that the pasta pieces don't stick to each other in the water, but seems to pick up the sauce better. I don't know whether those two phenomena are related.

I've never seen that but it totally qualifies.

I've seen these articles too. All I know is that I've made pasta with tons of water in a huge stockpot, and with not much water in a smaller pot - and it's always better in the big pot. Texture, salt absorption, lack of stickiness - and then better cohering with the sauce. Marcella Hazan's process. I'm sticking to what works.

I was not blown away by my one meal at Corton. I found it precious, and the setting is probably polarizing - some might find it beautiful or exciting. I thought it was overly theatrical and not particularly comfortable. Of course, that would apply to some of the other restaurants on your shortlist. Big vote for Ssam Bar any day of the week. If you're interested in good noodles, Totto Ramen in Hell's Kitchen is pretty incredible. No reservations, expect an hour wait at least. My one meal at Per Se was fabulous, but Thomas Keller was present. There has been recent talk that he's been spread too thin with his various restaurants and it's not as consistent. The view is, obviously, incredible. I've really gone off Craft over the years. Collichio might be another chef who is spread too thin via his various franchises. Also, the small plate concept - so original when first introduced - has been widely imitated. There's an emphasis on sweet, obvious flavors. If I wanted great steak, I'd go to a great steakhouse (or as some here would suggest, Minetta Tavern). Finally, I think you might be missing some of the best New York has to offer by focusing on the big name Manhattan celebrity chef places. If you could extend to Williamsburg, Diner offers absolutely killer locavore food. The barbecue at Fette Sau is terrific. Roberta's in Bushwick, which I've not yet been to, received 3 stars from Sifton for their tasting menu (very difficult to get), 2 stars for normal food, but everyone I know who's been there has been blown away.

Sorry for the delayed response on this - LAMB TAIL FAT for Persian cooking comes only from Karakul sheep. They have a little hump in place of a tail, and a large quantity of fat is stored there. They are also known as "fat-tailed sheep." Only 10 or 15 farms in the US raise Karakul sheep (there are some other breeds of fat-tailed sheep). And yes, it is supposed to have a distinctive flavor. Unfortunately I've never had it. I think others have answered the ghee question better than I - Jennifer McLagan goes into far more detail in her book 'Fat', and if poster v. gautam sees this thread, he or she will definitely have something to say on the subject - I'd also check out this thread:

This is process is the first step in making most Thai curry pastes. The salt is a necessary ingredient for the paste, but also provides an abrasive that helps reduce the garlic pieces to paste, ready to receive the next ingredient. In the classic Thai procedure, the garlic and salt are pounded in a straight up and down motion (no circular or side-to-side movements), using a large granite mortar & pestle. P.S. I really like the look of that little marble mortar & pestle! As if I need another kitchen implement of any kind

Purely going on flavor, not health, here are my preferences for cooking fats: MANTECA (Mexican lard) - essential for Mexican cooking. It is brown from all the pork bits left in it and has a deeply porky, satisfying flavor. SUET - for chili GHEE - for most Northern Indian dishes and all Persian dishes - a good brand is essential, e.g. Vindavran. Note that ghee is not the same as clarified butter! COCONUT OIL - for some Thai dishes and many southern Indian ones RENDERED PORK FAT - for many Northern Thai dishes CRACKED COCONUT CREAM - for many Southern and Central Thai dishes BUTTER for most northern European dishes OLIVE OIL for the south and for sauteeing fatty cuts like pork chops that will shortly give up their own fat... plus... "VEGETABLE OIL" - I guess it's usually canola, I have no idea whether it's healthy, but often it's exactly what you want when you don't wish the fat to contribute a certain flavor to a dish. I use it for most of my southern Indian dishes and some northern ones (even ones that may later have a second part fried in ghee). It's also great for deep-frying. Also... LAMB TAIL FAT is considered a necessity for many Persian dishes. It's almost impossible to source in the US, unfortunately - the food processors discard the tail - my partner was invited to come slaughter his own at one farm that raises the breed, so that the tail could be saved. He hasn't taken them up on that opportunity. P.S. - I highly recommend Jennifer McLagan's book "Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient." Beautiful, informative & packed with interesting information from recipes to advice on rendering different fats, as well as health info.

Ortiz makes some great canned tuna. If I recall rightly, there was an especially toothsome version that came in a small can for $17.99. I can't remember what it was, and the can was smaller than a regular small can... but man was it delicious. Belly tuna perhaps? The canned Spanish version of toro?

Mallet - why take off the rubber bands? Just curious - to avoid rubber off-smells? Watch out for those claws - they shoot back to almost 180 degrees!

Curious, why not? We summer on a Maine island, and usually steam our lobsters with a mixture of fresh ocean water and seaweed.

Great great thread. Jenni, I don't know if you're familiar with Julie Sahni's books, but is the Punjabi garam masala to which you refer similar to what she calls Mughal garam masala? The spices for that all roasted, and it is distinctly different from basic garam masala. I make it in advance and keep it for several months - it would be pretty involved to make it separately for every new dish. I do understand the importance of making masalas (or masale) from fresh whenever possible.

This isn't a US thing, it's just an incompetent thing (unless the restaurant warns you in advance that items will be served as soon as they are ready and are meant to be eaten that way - family style rather than in courses).

Joe Beef?

Reporting back on the Danicoop San Marzanos: they are incredible. I made Marcella Hazan's pasta sauce with tomato, butter and onion - which I thought was the ultimate test of the quality of a tomato. They ended up tasting roasted, complex, with just right balance of acidity and sweetness, and incredible, creamy depth. My partner walked up to the stove and exclaimed, "It smells like pizza!" I just ordered another 12 cans from Gustiamo. Unfortunately at $4.50 for half a standard tomato can (400 grams, or about half a standard 28-oz. can), they are not cheap. There is a fixed ground shipping charge of about $20 for an order of 7 cans or more, so large orders bring the per-unit shipping cost down.

Yes, they are still good. But everything has gone downhill in the last ten years, hasn't it? Ha! Well it certainly feels that way sometimes... not to change the subject, but it's much harder to get great old-school Italian-American in the city these days. I really miss Andy's Colonial Tavern in East Harlem, for instance. Sal's spaghetti with white clam sauce was to die for.

I bet a lot of this depends on what city you're in. My guess is New Yorkers don't want to know their servers' names, or be interrupted to ask how things are going. My guess is that it might be different elsewhere in America. A lot has to do with what kind of restaurant it is too - diner, casual, new hotspot, ultra-formal. So far as the rest of the world goes, I'm in the dark.

Is Yonah Schimmel's really still good? I haven't been there in probably ten years, but I thought the consensus was that it had gone downhill.

The alkaline noodles? You're making them?

Rye is my usual, bit iirc from childhood in the 50's, "club rolls" were quite an acceptable alternative. And in fact, at Katz's, I highly recommend the brisket on the club roll! Pastrami on the rye. Get samples, tip well, and order your meat juicy.