[Asian Cookbooks for Beginners]

pim, I would suggest that for beginners, you keep up the practice in the recipe you posted of suggesting brands for such thing as chilli paste, shrimp paste, etc. That was very helpful.

[Junk Food Is Satan's tool to make us fat]

my personal spin on this - with evidence particularly from ice-cream and chocolate - is that if you eat low quality (junk) food it is fundamentally unsatisfying; whereas if you eat good, high quality food, a little is enough. it is like panning for gold - the lower the richness of the seam the more you have to process to get your fix...

enthusiast, my personal experience supports this notion. I'm an acknowledged sweets freak. My control of this is to get a large box of Valhrona feves, ostensibly for baking, but in fact to take the edge off my chocolate yen. Four of them = 1 oz. A half dozen of them is enough for me. And I don't even need to eat them every day. But if I were out and grabbed a bag of, say, Hershey's kisses, I'd go through the bag and still crave chocolate. Similarly with baked goods. If I make them at home or get them from a good bakery, I can be satisfied with small amounts, a couple canneles, a single scone and jam, a slice of rich pound cake, etc. But a box of Enterman chocolate covered donuts? Scarf time.

A couple other general observations:

First for those who hoot and holler about people ridiculous and/or greedy enough to sue mfgrs and ff venues for fattening foods, keep in mind that it has made people more aware of the issue generally. It has particularly highlighted the issue in regard to children's lunches.

Second we should note that food manufacturerers (ex: oreos) and ff chains (ex: McD) are changing what they are offering us. McD is even considering using only meat that has not been fed antibiotics for growth. And, btw, has anyone considered that the growth hormones in meat may be adding to our growth, too?

I agree with FG that all the evidence is not in yet, and perhaps in a matter such as this the evidence will never be complete. But I for one eat ff on the rarest of occasions, mostly on car trips, try to avoid processed foods as much as possible, and buy as much organic fruits and vegetables and meat, milk, eggs that are hormone and antibiotic free. Epidemiological "evidence" can be, I believe, a word to the wise in the absence of anything else.

Which brings me to my third point, that a lot of the problem comes from social conventions and economic constraints. Many people cannot afford to eat as I try to do or they may live in a social environment that does not support it.

[Asian Cookbooks for Beginners]

pim, thanks for the variations upon a theme. I think I'll probably go with shrimp.

OK, so: "upcoming eGullet Culinary Institute Ethnic Cuisine classes"??? I did a search. Nothing. Now that the subject's sprung, how about a few more details. It sounds like a great idea.

Re: Thompson. As someone who usually lives solo, I like a recipe in serving size that can be used as is or easily scaled up for entertaining. Scaling up is somehow easier than scaling down. I'm sure after I've explored the cuisine and become familiar with the way ingredients and dishes interact, it will all make more sense to me. For me now, it's as if the the phonemes and morphemes are in disarray, scattered sounds, instead of forming a language. I like Thai food, but can't always figure out what went into making me like the dish, identifying nam pla (sounds so much more inviting than fish sauce) with the same ease as sensing the presence of worstershire.

Judging by my own experience, I think the chief impediment to explore cooking unfamiliar cuisines is that no book prepares me for the flood of new ingredients when I enter the market. Nor does it lead me to combine them as easily as I do in familiar cuisines. I can cook many things in the American, English, French, Italian style without reference to particular recipes. What I have done is to occasionally incorporate some ingredients as supplements to my usual array of condiments, spices, flavors in ways that probably have little to do with their use in their native cuisine. (For example, I read somewhere that the Chinese use dried tangerine peel, so I dried and added it as an element in my braises. It enriches my cooking. Someday I'll take time to research how it's used in Chinese cuisine.)

Even a book such as Uncommon Vegetables...doesn't cover grape or apple eggplant, though their names may be clues. And the little line drawings of fruits and vegetables are mostly useful for those you already know. Because Citron is missing, I still don't know whether it's the same in Asia as in Italy. So I look forward to eGullet's exploration of Ethnic Cuisines. It would be nice to have a version of "Culinary Artistry" for Asian Cuisine. I've seen nothing like that in the bookstore or library.

[Asian Cookbooks for Beginners]

Wow, Pim, I like your introduction! The only thing I need special shopping for is the Chilli paste! No new techniques, no coconuts to crack, no apple eggplants to try to find. It's as simple as heading to the Italian Market for some extra good Parmesan. In fact, it is heading to the Italian Market where some Asian supermarkets are in the neighborhood. I'll probably try it this weekend.

It looks like a great dish. It also looks adaptable. For example, could it be made with shrimp? Would that be, using the "A" word, "authentic"? (One of my houseguests doesn't eat meat, fowl, etc., but does eat seafood.)

I've been studying Thompson and I think the tough part will be finding ingredients and cracking coconuts. Oh, and pounding pastes in the mortar.

Is there a book or web site that pictures the vegetables commonly used in Thai or other Asian cuisines? I've been shopping at an Asian market for Jasmine rice, shallots, and other swinger ingredients. But many of the ingredients are mystery ingredients. Sometimes I do buy something and incorporate it into my everyday cooking, like the sweet chilli sauce that does nice things to all sorts of dishes.

But fooling around with the unknown can be dangerous, too. Years ago, I came upon some fresh tamarind, took a nibble, bit on a seed, wound up with a root canal and cap.

[Asian Markets]

I'd be interested in your impressions of the local Asian markets. I've shopped at a few of them, but wonder if some are better sources for Thai, some for Vietnamese, some Chinese, Japanese, etc.

[Olive Oil Questions, Options, Favorites]

Thanks for all the input. Personally, because they seem more healthful, I use grapeseed oil for most high heat procedures, EVOO for most everything else that doesn't require or benefit from butter, peanut oil for the occasional stir fry, and various nut oils for special uses. But my DIL is a one-oil kind of gal.

I'd like to see Jason and Katherine duke out the issue of EVOO for frying as they seem in complete disagreement. Perhaps when Carolyn gets her feet firmly planted in her new job she can referee.

What I have heard/read of EVOO suggests that it shouldn't be used for deep frying (which I don't do much of anyway), but using it to saute is a murky issue. I notice on the food shows and in some recipes many chefs call for EVOO whenever they don't use butter, but it may just be some I-can-burn-money sort of affection whereby one uses the wrong product just because it is more expensive.

Hopefully some sort of concensus can be reached by eGullet. Or at least a useful discussion.

[Asian Cookbooks for Beginners]

Thanks for all the suggestions. Thai and Vietnamese seem relatively healthy cuisines and I like the tastes I've sampled in restaurants, so I'll probably start with them and perhaps some Chinese. I already have a few of the books mentioned and looked at the Trang book at B&N just today.

As I already have Thai Food and HSSS..., a bunch of Mai Pham'r recipes, and the Tropp books, perhaps some of you might suggest some good already tested ones that are not too complex for me to begin with. Instant success is such an incentive.

Several large Asian Markets in the area will make finding ingredients relatively easy, though when I've ventured in, I did find a language barrier.

[Asian Cookbooks for Beginners]

Which cookbook would you suggest for an experienced home cook that wants to explore cooking Asian foods at home? I have several cookbooks already, but will add anything helpful.

[Olive Oil Questions, Options, Favorites]

What oil would you stock for everyday if you are a live-to-cook sharing the kitchen with a cook-to-live DIL. Nunez oil is used to fry veggie burgers, tofu dogs, and an occasional potato. And if I bring in a cheaper oil for frying, the Nunez still goes while the other languishes. We go through it like water! It's not just cost, it's seeing it wasted on foods I won't even eat.

I need an acceptable general purpose EVOO that I can buy in 3-5 liter cans that will meet the challenge of vegetarian processed foods, yet make an acceptable salad. Then, I'll just pour it into the Nunez bottle. :)

[Cookbooks – How Many Do You Own? (Part 1)]

Seems to be a theme here of people sneaking books into their houses.

As I live alone, I needn't sneak em in, but I feel guilty about having so many and I store them upstairs.

Oh, and I've added about 20 books since I posted earlier.

[TDG: Desperate Measures: Storage]

Eek! Has no one here heard of glass jars, metal lids? Transparent, easy to open, dw safe. And they look so neat on the pantry shelves with their contents all exposed for quick identification.

You can get them (square sided ones) large enough to hold 5# of flour or sugar (including at Target). They also come in smaller sizes. I like these squat sqare jars better than those too-tall French jars with the clamp down lid, though I do use them, too.

I also like various sizes of canning jars (which can also be had with squared off sides). The smaller ones are great for spices if you buy them loose and they stack nicely. And if you lose the lids, you can just buy new ones.

Not to mention all the jars you can recycle in your kitchen rather than the recycling bin.

[Silpat vs airbake vs flat cookie sheet]

I also use the thin sheets of reusable silicon (?)"parchment" (sorry, I'm not sure what it's called) that can be reused hundreds of time, cut to size, and store easily. (I store them wrapped around my rolling pin). Unlike silpats, which recommend against cutting, these are meant to be cut to fit your pans. I'm not sure it's any cheaper than using parchment paper, but it saves you from having to cut parchment all the time.

[Stainless or Non Stick for Rice]

I use a 2 qt LeCreuset Dutch oven. It makes great rice and cleans as easily as nonstick.

[sage]

This thread has almost solved my problem. I'm supposed to take a "casserole" to a family party this Saturday. As I have a nice sage plant, I think I'll make a ricotta/sage filling for some homemade pasta, sauce and bake it. (Though not in NYC, I have access to a great Italian deli that makes ricotta daily.)

I'm open to suggestions for the sauce while there's still time to shop. What would complement the sage filling, not overwhelming it?

[Meat Grinder Uses]

If you're getting out the grill, make the best hamburgers of your life by grinding the meat yourself on the coarser setting.

[Gas stoves]

I'd call the Gas Company. It's a safety issue; they'll fix it or tag it and the landlord will have to replace it. (In most places.) Just make sure your next stove has an electronic pilot.

[Shad]

I saw some shad roe about a week ago at Whole Foods (20th st) - 37.+/lb. Guess I'll wait a couple weeks.

[Best affordable chocolate brand?]

I recently bought guanaja feves for a little less than $50. The feves are dangerous because you can just dip in a nibble a few.

[Adding stuff to eggs when scrambling]

At the moment my favorite scrambled eggs: well whipped with a smidge of cream or half and half, salt, pepper. Then cooked very very very slowly in a panful of butter stirred continuously, as you lift and lower the pan from the flame to keep it from finishing too quickly. Meanwhile, the toast cooks on an iron griddle promising echoes of toasting bread atop an iron stove in the corner of a cold Tuscan villa.

[Apples: Favorites?]

Northern Spies in a good year. Oh, the perfume of it.

This year I didn't even see any.

[Cookbooks – How Many Do You Own? (Part 1)]

Add another 325-350 for me plus 8 more that I recently ordered but which haven't arrived and one all wrapped up to give as a present.

[Recipe Storage]

Mostly I use the computer. It's wonderful for making notes on changes and certainly saves my cookbooks. It also enables me to bring up all the recipes using the ingredients I want to use.

Some have been typed in, some downloaded from the net, others scanned in either from books or mags. The beauty of this is the quickfinder program brings up any recipe containing, say, brussel sprouts or even a particular spice or herb. I can either print it/them out or drag my laptop into the kitchen, parking it several feet from the action. (The exercise I get walking back and forth works off some calories in advance )

I don't use a recipe program, just file them as documents in WP or type format from the web.

[Recipes]

Baking: I always use recipes, no matter how many times I've made it (except for tarts).

Day to day cooking: What I cook is usually governed by what I find in the market. Most of the time I wing it as I enjoy improvising.

I read a lot of cookbooks, and I am often inspired by something I saw in a recipe. Occasionally I will test out some recipe that I intend to use as a company dish. And if I am making a food I've never cooked before or trying out a new technique, I will usually follow a recipe before I begin playing with it.

I try to take some notes on my more successful improvisations.

[storing tupperware.]

For pantry storage, I prefer glass jars; for the freezer, ziplock bags. In the fridge, sometimes glass jars, sometimes ziplocks, sometimes in a covered bowl. No tupper.

[Case-ready beef]

There's another good reason to shop at real butcher shops. If we don't, they will disappear, totally. I suppose in some small towns they already have.