weinoo

I have no bias against appliances; I actually like Zoji products and own one or two of them. I am looking for a hot pot which has two separate sections for two types of cooking liquid, and also might take up a little less room to store.

Well, some answers are below. I'm also of the belief that a heavier pot on my dining table, with a bunch of people sticking stuff into it, might be more stable. I'm sort of about the same thinking. Thanks, Li. This restaurant, which opened a year or so ago, is all dry hot pot...MaLa Project.

Seriously, no advantage? Other than maybe better quality?

Thanks, Li...

I'm looking to purchase a Mongolian/Chinese/etc. hot pot, so that I can do hot pot at home. There are lots of them for sale on Amazon and other sites, and just yesterday I saw one in an Asian grocery I visited in Queens. But, they seem to all be made of the same thing - really, really, thin stainless steel. So while it will work on my induction cooker, or with a butane single burner unit, I was wondering if anyone has seen or owns one that might be a little bit heavier?

Kim Severson's piece in the NY Times, about Paula Wolfert's battle with dementia, is to me quite moving. I've seen it first hand (via my maternal grandmother), as many of us probably have; it's a miserable and scary disease. Paulas' books were for me, as they obviously were for many, eye openers into foreign cuisines and cultures. The recipes, while often rigorous, produced wonderful results. And the stories along the way piqued my curiosity. So the article, while bringing back some sad memories, also made me chuckle a bit, and how often can that be said about an article in the Times? I like that she's a fighter; maybe she can give us all some hope.

I think this has been written about before, but I use plain white vinegar as my rinse aid, in the rinse aid dispenser. And Cascade powder as the detergent, but I use much less than the "recommended" amount. My dishes come out sparking clean, and no etching from too much detergent.

It's taken a while, but I've gotten these to the point where they've become my daily nonstick frying/sauté pans, and I've relegated the purchased nonstick pans to a back shelf.

When you're making chicken salad, how do you deal with the cooked chicken? Do you shred it by hand? Dice it? Cube it? Or cut it into slices?

Wanting to relive a little bit of our Spanish vacation, I purchased these at one of the fish mongers up on Arthur Ave. These 4 weighed a pound... They were good, but certainly not as good as the ones we ate there. This was dinner the night before: Strozzapreti fagioli. Served with a side of sautéed Tuscan kale.

I enjoy baking some stuff when the weather cools down. Pierre Hermé's Korovas, aka World peace cookies. Thin and crispy and salty oatmeal cookies.

I'll let you know when I've corrected it!

Q: "How long do I cook that for?" A: "Until it's done." People even get mad at me when I say that.

When baking, I basically follow recipes exactly. I don't bake all that much - some cookies, flatbreads, a banana bread every now and then, and I know the recipes that I've used which work, and continue using them. I don't believe anyone said to "never use a recipe again?"

It was not a great recipe. I think there were one or two steps left out that would've made a difference. And maybe even an ingredient or two. As Jacques says about the particular recipe he's referring to in that video, different pears and pear ripeness will, of course, affect the outcome. We've all been there trying to figure out what type of apple to use for something, or whether a tomato is worthy of a particular recipe due to its ripeness and flavor, or lack thereof. In the recipe I followed to a "t," the ingredients were not the problem. It was more the prep of the ingredients as well as the steps in the overall recipe. For someone who religiously follows recipes (something I rarely do), this would've been a big disappointment.

Bologna was, and I imagine still is, fascinating and wonderful.

Last week I wanted to try a recipe (for the first time) from a cookbook I've had for over 20 years. So I did just as the recipe instructed, even though after reading the recipe I felt like it wouldn't work properly - as it was written. But dutifully, I followed the many steps. The damn recipe took hours (fortunately, there was no rush), and when it was finally finished, it pretty much sucked. As a matter of fact, I didn't even give a taste to Significant Eater. Of course I should've known better, but I wanted to give the written instructions their shot. And then I thought of this video/essay from Jacques. Which is really what a "recipe" is about in a nutshell. http://www.pbs.org/video/2365717095/

Local (South Shore, Long Island) line-caught black sea bass. J. Kenji López-Alt's best ever roasted potatoes. (These really came out great - using duck fat.) Charred broccoli.

The weather is starting to get a little chilly, so... An update of my grandmother's mushroom barley soup, with a bissel of dried porcini and some freshly chopped scallions at the end. Served with some nice bread and a smooshed avocado dressed salad.

I'm just seeing this, Shelby...jeez, does that look great!!

Seems like a lot of people like to use Worcestershire sauce in their salad dressings, something I've never done...I'm imagining it gives it a nice umami punch, similar to the anchovy in Caesar salad dressing? Will have to give it a try.

I was wondering what people dress their salads with, when making a salad and using a homemade dressing? Obviously, different salads call for different dressings. Last night, I made a simple salad of romaine leaves, cherry tomatoes (which were actually quite sweet), cucumber and Haas avocado. I derssed it with a bit of extra virgin olive oil and Spectrum's "Organic Golden Modena Italian vinegar." Salt and pepper, of course. And then I used my hands to smash up some of the avocado and incorporate it into the "dressing." I really like to do this, as it adds a rich creaminess. It was quite tasty. And you?

Don't worry - I actually plated this stuff. But here it is right out of the oven - a pair of poussins roasted with 4 kinds of potatoes (red, and 3 different sweet potatoes). Those necks on the left were a good treat for the cook.

At the same time I bought the pork chops posted in the dinner topic, I bought a package of lamb chops. Both the pork chops and these lamb chops were purchased at the Union Square Greenmarket, but from different vendors. Obviously, the butchering is a bit suspect, as this was a package alleged to be lamb loin chops. In any event, they were delish, served with a simple salad of arugula, still good tomatoes, and avocado.

Pan-fried pork chops with sautéed apples.