weinoo

I said to my wife two things as the show got under way: 1. Who buys rib eye for stroganoff? 2. Who buys steaks at Whole Foods? The tipoff was at the very beginning of the show, when Beverly talked about karma...we knew it was over right then for the know-it-all.

Not really. I don't believe you add all the dry ingredients together, you just divide by the weight of the flour.

No.

Why don't you buy a bottle or two of some other booze and start drinking the rest of the year .

A couple of years down the road, and Lupa finally has its NY Times review (proper). I agree with most everything Asimov has to say about the place, especially...

Wow - very impressive! That only makes me want to keep my resolution even more.

Now I'm not normally big on making New Year's resolutions, because I, ahem, never keep them. But, for the New Year 2012, I resolve to try at least one new "recipe" a month. Doesn't sound like much, does it? I also resolve to start writing down recipes as I bake and cook. And you?

And I think that method, albeit time-adjusted, is the best way to poach many things, including a whole chicken.

We enjoyed La Regalade St. Honore much more than LC...click Talbot's blog is a great source of restaurant info...click.

Side towels. Dry.

Perhaps it's some weird conservation of water thing. Is it done mostly by people who wash dishes in a sink full of sudsy water? I dated a Canadian woman once, and she did exactly the same thing one night after we had eaten dinner. Once being the operative word.

That sounds a little dilute to me.

Well, I think the main idea about having a concentrate is that it's space saving and it lasts for at least a week in the fridge.

I don't think it really depends that much on the roast or the bean, although good beans roasted properly will give you a good start. Here's a good ratio...(by good, I mean the one I use) Coarsely ground coffee - 1/2 lb. to 2 quarts of water. Then you can dilute the concentrate about 2 parts coffee to 1 part water.

Sam - I've had that and it's delicious (the PB that is). Is it the operation the Jim Lahey opened after Sullivan St. Bakery?

Are they baking their own now, or using Sullivan Street or Grand Daisy?

We recently got to explore a few of the hundreds (thousands?) of pizza places in Rome. In my mind, Roman style pizza basically comes in two forms...thin and kind of crisp or pizza bianca, which might be a little bit closer to what we know as focaccia, but generally thinner than what most of us typically call focaccia. Over in the topic where I wrote about the pizza we tried in Rome, the question was posed about where in NYC can one find the type of sandwich pictured here... Sullivan Street Bakery (or whatever iteration it's in now) had always been my favorite for Roman-style pizza bianca, with their various pizze topped with any number of different, delicious goodies as well as sold plain. And I think I've seen, but haven't purchased, pizza bianca at Eataly. Which makes me think that the best pizza bianca sandwich to be had here in the city would be a home made one, with purchased Sullivan St. Bakery bread and a high-quality mortadella from, say, Eataly. Any other options?

PIZZA!! There - do I have your attention? Pizza always gets everyone’s attention. I mean, New Yorkers will argue over who has the best pizza as if it had some sort of greater meaning in the universe, as if it was as important as something along the lines of who was the greatest Knick of all time. Seriously. I wonder if Romans do the same thing…argue about pizza, that is. Because on our recent trip to Rome, we got to try some of the highly-touted pizza being served up by one Gabriele Bonci, as well as the pizza at a place we first tried maybe more than a dozen years ago – and which I’ve been recommending ever since. In between, there was a sandwich or two at Roscioli, another old fave dishing up classic Roman pizza bianca by the meter, sometimes sliced in half and stuffed with delicious mortadella, as a matter of fact… Bonci, if you haven’t heard, might be Rome’s answer to Dom DeMarco, and at his emporium Pizzarium, you may wait close to an hour to sample the wares, just like you do at Di Fara’s. Only in this case, the wait is worth it, because at Pizzarium, once you’re lucky enough to get up to the counter, you’ll want to taste everything. Look at how beautiful it all looks… Significant Eater and I were trying to be reasonable (and leave ourselves room for a big dinner), so we only tried 3 of the perhaps dozen or more varieties of pizza al taglio offered on this particular day. It’s fun, because you tell ‘em (or point to) how big of of a slice you want, and it’s priced by weight. We spent around €20, could’ve eaten more, but walked away feeling good. Just like at home, I prefer my pizza with less on top; that way I get a better idea about the crust, which is basically my favorite part. Here’s the assortment we inhaled… And we both decided that this slice of zucchini, fresh ricotta and orange zest was our favorite… Signore Bonci is a star. I mean, once Bourdain has been to your joint, you’ve been anointed, haven’t you? Well, maybe, but more important to me are the opinions of Katie Parla, Gina Tringali and Elizabeth Minchilli, all of whom have written extensively about the man. And they say go, so do I and so do they... Our final night in Rome was melancholy, as it often is when a vacation ends. We took a long walk, past the Pantheon… Through Piazza Navona… And past Chiesa di Santa Maria Della Pace… To our final destination… Da Francesco is a ristorante/pizzeria that Significant Eater and I “discovered” on our first trip to Rome a dozen years ago. Back then, for around $10, you could load up your plate with a selection of antipasti from a serve yourself antipasto bar. We often laughed watching guys the size of American football players go back to their tables with plates piled high with so much food that it was a wonder it didn’t spill all over the floor. That’s no longer an option, as they were probably losing money on every plate, but the pizza, as it was back then, is still very good. I went with the porcini mushroom pie… This is real Roman pizza, thin-crusted and crisp, and you can nearly see through it... Sig Eater had sausage on her pizza… And after a nice, satisfying meal, we wandered on back to our apartment, passing this poor bastard along the way… As well as the French Embassy, better known as Palazzo Farnese… Rome's pizza offerings are certainly more extensive now than they were back during our first visit. So I suppose, just like here in NYC, there will be arguments all around as to whose pizza is the best. While I don't think you can go wrong at either of these two places, please leave me out of the discussion as to who was the greatest Roman soccer star - I've got no idea.

I was in a restaurant last week on Avenue B named "26 seats." Unfortunately, they had a few open ones for us.

Ciabatta? Ciabattini?

Checking Open Table, there are over 300 restaurants that appear to be taking reservations for Christmas Day lunch. Many of those restaurants may not be in line with what some of the previous posters feel are worthy as dining destinations, but if your request is for a the following may be good possibilities: The Mark Restaurant by Jean-Georges (in a hotel) other Jean-Georges as Kathryn mentions above David Burke Townhouse Ed's Chowder House Park Avenue Winter Many of the steak houses are also open. And there is always high-end Chinese at... Shun Lee Palace

And don't richer doughs require more yeast to help them rise?

I think jmolinari has it right. You have to try each method and see what you like best, science be damned. I've made great pizza doughs, for instance, using my Cuisinart. But yesterday, using my Cuisinart, I was about to pull whatever hair I have left, out of my head - things just weren't working right. I've just started baking again - as the weather cools, it's much less aggravating to turn the oven on. And it seems like I have to learn everything all over again.

Eric Asimov really likes the place, and tried way more food than I did before writing the above... Full review in the Times.

Thanks, Maureen, for filling in all the luscious details. You are one of the various "advisers" whose advice I took on this trip. Anyone heading to Rome - be sure and check out Maureen's web site for some great info... Of course, Trattoria Monti serves some classic Roman dishes, but isn't what I'd necessarily call a true "Roman" restaurant, if indeed there is such a thing in this day and age. And I guess claustrophobia depends on what one is used to; as a frequent restaurant diner here in NYC, I found the place to be roomy and calm. Now, Pizzarium, on the other hand...