Mottmott

No one's mentioned the Weavers Way coop in Mount Airy. It carries a decent amount of organic foods at very good prices. I particularly like shopping there because of its grocery store size scale that yet manages to have most of what one wants most of the time. I find I never buy food in the supermarket anymore (just things like Cascade, ziplock baggies, etc.) Otherwise, I use the RTM, farmers markets (esp HHSq), TJ, 9th St Market with its Asian outposts. Fish, Ippolito's. Meat Ochs, Sonny or Canuli on 9th. I bought some already cooked ribs at 11th & Washington. When I went to look for them, my son informed me they were the best he'd ever tasted and he just couldn't stop eating them to leave some for me. I hate Whole Foods, and only go there because it's an easy stop on the way home from somewhere when I'm too tired to go anywhere else, because I have to shop at night, or because I want chemical free meat. Their fish? One whiff and I keep walking. Their produce? obscenely overpriced and often not very good quality, all eye little taste. Tired and hungry I bought a 70cent navel orange to munch on the way home the other day. - 1/3 skin and 2/3 tasteless Oh, and a seasonal stop at an Acme/superfresh market for Ivins gingerbread cookies.

Last time I was in AtlanticBooks they had Chocolate. I think it was under 15.

Perhaps you could give the address and some directions for us city folk who don't get into the burbs often.

I confess to having a piece, but it's so beautiful I'm afraid to use it. Especially now since I'm sharing my kitchen with my DIL who is very busy and doesn't share my fetish about taking extreme good care of kitchen equipment. I'm also concerned about whether it needs to be seasoned in some way.

[ LOL....our homes aren't restaurants and you don't always get it your way I know it's nice and hospitable, but really....sometimes it just gets out of hand I think. ←

But when you're providing a work of love meal, chose the wines yourself. Your guests aren't even aware of your menu and what will be appropriate. That said, showing up to dinner with a cheap wine unless you know it's going to be pizza or spaghetti, etc., is, well, cheap. People who don't know much about wine should bring flowers, candy, or send diamonds to the hostess the next day.

I'm puzzled. Oxtails are wonderfully fall off the bone tender usually. Possibilities: --Boiling protein toughens it. I assume that cooking the meat in the water at the beginning is to elimated impurities, etc. I would do that step more like an egg, starting in cooler water. Dumping it into already boiling water may have been the problem. --Or perhaps during your 3 hour simmer it somehow was boiling part of the time. I usually do my long braises in the oven as a guard against this. --Perhaps despite the recipe, the pieces were larger and simply needed more time. Or maybe it was the meat, though braising is supposed to conquer all.

Thought I'd query: I saw Pepin in his new series and he moves as though he's in pain, possibly with a slight hitch/limp in his walk. Anyone? Maybe I'm imagining things..

Proportions on the parsnip/pear/cream? Sounds tempting. ← I can't answer for Elie, but usually one or two pears is just about right. You don't want the pear flavor to be pronounced, but a bit subtle. A similar recipe in Chez Panisse Vegetables gives perhaps 4 or 5 sweet potatoes to 1 pear and about 1 1/2 cups combination half and half and/or light cream. Soba ← Thanks

Proportions on the parsnip/pear/cream? Sounds tempting.

I find the PBS shows most interesting overall because I'm most interested in those that focus on the food, techniques, and things I might like to try. I'm only half interested in shows that are as much travelogue as cooking show, and am really turned off by shows that distract from the food with their kids and friends (unless the friend is another chef). I have my own kids, grandkids, and friends, thank you. I don't have my own chef. In short, I'm a grumpy task-oriented cooking show viewer for whom personality is a plus only if it doesn't upstage the food. Rose Berenbaum's series has just begun in my area. She's my idea of the perfect food show chef: a charmingly mousey teacher type who commands your attention by her absolute command of her subject. I like knowing that if you're making caramel with brown sugar that it's useful to use a white spatula so you can really see the color, that it's ready at about 300F unlike white sugar caramel that's ready at 360F. How can you not love someone so into useful detail? I also like watching professional chefs such as Trotter and Ming because of their very strong personal way of putting food together.

I believe it's possible that some amateur cooks (not me) might occasionally pull off a 4 star meal, given sufficient time, money, and some kitchen help. And it's certainly true that many professional chefs can't do it. So to my mind the divide between amateur and profession is not unpassable. But professional four star chefs put out many choices for each course, day after day, usually more than once a day.

I have my mother's sterling and an aunt's plus assorted pieces from my MIL. Depending on what's going on in my life, I use them often or seldom. Right now my son and his family are living with me and we don't use them except for special family dinners (so I don't have to keep checking the garbage disposal). I can't tell you how many of my restaurant supply stainless teaspoons have been sacrificed to the grinder god. I especially like the one that bends to the side like a drunk trying to keep it's balance. I keep it in the sugar bowl as a hopeful reminder to save the few that are left from like fate. But I will bring my aunt's silver out again for everyday dinner when I'm alone. I like the way it feels in the hand. One of the things I like about old silver, crystal, dishes, etc. is that they remind me of the people who've left it behind and I know they will go to my grandchildren in the future.

note - if you halve the recipe, the time should be reduced to 45 minutes. ← Atually I did mine at 1 hr 20 min in an LC casserole, lid on (total). Turned out great.

Ya had to do it? It's beautiful. Edited to add OT: The picture reminded me. The school my kids went to had floors made of end grain blocks. Very handsome and probably indestructible.

I have never used margarine (Yuck) and never abandoned butter in dishes that require it. What I have done, however, is to shift my diet to include more foods that aren't butter based and reduce the amount of meat I eat generally. In general, I think we make a mistake by disregarding all studies on food. Unfortunately most of us get our information from popularizing sources that skim off the most sensational aspects of a study, overstating them and ignoring qualifying information. And some studies may be simply faulty. It's also true that even good studies may naturally tend to contradict each other over time as new work is done and new information added. The overall drift of all I've learned about is that nutrition, body function, health are revealed as more complex the more we learn. Final answers are not in. But what we do learrn indicates that excessive amounts of even beneficial foods may be harmful. Common sense tells me I benefit from a very varied diet that is high in fresh fruits and vegetables, moderate amounts of animal foods, and an avoidance of highly processed foods. I acknowledge this is sometimes honored in the breach.

This morning I fried some polenta in butter and serrved it with maple syrup & Niman Applewood smoked bacon. I drank nothing as I wanted to be on empty as I was going to the Kerry/Clinton rally at the Love plaza.

You are so right! I emptied out a whole cabinet that way. And if you go that way, I suggest you check out the Enclume line. They're designed to minimize the swaying. I got 2 bars, hanging the one in front lower so I could reach it more easily. Works wonderfully.

Thanks for your wonderful blog, Anna. Be sure to update us on Miss Jess's adventure.

Anna, LC has a lifetime guarantee. If the surface is broken or degraded, they will probably replace it. I've had a couple replacements. They even sent the color of my choice. If the surface is merely discolored from use, I find that soaking it in clorox/water does the trick.

Having been in business, I often assume the person cleaning up is the owner.

Perhaps what she was really angry about: that you're not going to bake the macaroons and eclairs anymore. After all, if you're not baking them for her, then giving out the recipe to students wouldn't constitute any competition anyway.

Thanks Katie. Abbaye's a find. And for vegans, it should be pointed out that this restaurant has something for you, too.

edited to remove duplicate. Sorry

Boris, I'll give that a try. I even have some sage in the garden. Thanks. (I looked up Gnocchi a. Romano, but there seemed to be a bunch of versions.)