weinoo

After living in our apartment for what is now close to 14 years, Significant Eater and I have decided to take the plunge and renovate our kitchen and bath. There will be challenges, not the least of which is that our's is a cooperative apartment building; everything (design mostly) has to be approved by management and board of directors. We bought new appliances when I and a friend did a make-believe renovation in 2005...pix of my kitchen appear way back in the blog we did in 2011. The amazing thing about the appliances we bought in '05 is that the dishwasher (Miele), range (Bosch) and fridge (Amana/Maytag) have never needed a single service call. So they've done their jobs well. Actually, I wouldn't mind keeping the Miele, but I realize that keeping a 12 year old dishwasher in a brand new reno is probably not the greatest idea. Now here are the questions. I plan on going fairly high-end for appliances - like I want a pro range and believe I will be able to vent it legally to the outside via my bathroom window (at least that is what both our architect and the president of the coop told me). What appliances are people liking these days, in terms of performance and reliability? I don't want to say price is no object, because it is. But I'd like to hear everything.

When life hands me this: I cook this: Risotto with ramps and white asparagus.

Ham and pea soup (which was served before the paella posted above) repurposed as ramen. With asparagus, pea shoots, mussels and clams.

Hey, who you calling Scuba? Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Last night's paella mixta. Chicken, Long Island shellfish - scallops and clams. Grilled scallions and grilled first ramps of the season.

Took another drive to Whitestone, Queens yesterday; all of a sudden I spot this place, which I'd never seen nor heard of: I knew I had a bunch of mushrooms at home; I just didn't know what I was going to do with them. But fresh Durso's fettuccini with mushrooms turned out to be a good idea.

Tammy, the guy who wrote The Spice Companion has a highly-regarded store here in NYC. The store is called La Boîte, and Lior collaborates with a diverse array of chefs and others, from Jim Meehan on cocktail seasonings to Eric Ripert on, well, other stuff.

No more you say?

I've heard somewhat the same thing, Paul. A friend mentioned it wasn't terrible, but it was no Franny's.

Nothing's hidden in this city. But, Le Coucou has been a favorite since its opening. An old classic like Le Bernardin (where we had dinner a week ago) is still wonderful. Other very enjoyable meals we've recently had include Beatrice Inn, Wildair (which is casual and doesn't take reservations), Ssam Bar, and Le Coq Rico. If you want to go to Brooklyn (which is basically a short subway ride), Olstead and Faun are both worthy choices.

I just added these 2 used books to my collection...trying to up my game:

Slightly off-topic, but good Sichuan restaurants have really upped their game in New York City over the past decade. Even in Manhattan, there are a good dozen places to get quality Sichuan food in restaurants.

I want a hot pot specific pot simply because they're the only ones I've seen with separate compartments for different types of cooking broth. I'm sure I could use an enameled cast iron casserole that I already own to play around with one broth. I've also seen both the clay pot versions (I think they're used for shabu shabu?) and the ones that get filled with charcoal in the center, though using one of those in my apartment might not be the wisest choice .

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!