SethG

What about Moon Unit? What's she been up to? And are Dweezil and Lisa going to do any duets?

Wednesday dinner: chicken enchiladas, with a green sauce half tomatillo, half poblano, and including some crushed peanuts. Courtesy Diana Kennnedy. And Mexican Rice. And fried plantain slices.

If you want to try the artichokes without mushrooms, Heather, there's at least one other stuffing (and maybe more) with no mushrooms in the book. I tried the papillote thing once before, and I had two issues: 1) The parchment paper got a little soggy under one of my fillets and ripped; and 2) Although I followed the cooking times in the book, my fish came out underdone and had to be popped back in the oven sans parchment. Despite these two issues, the fish was easy and delicious. But I ask you, should I just use foil? And how can one test for doneness using this method? Maybe I just have to rigorously check the weight of my fillets against the recipe and do a little adjusting. Edited to add: mmmmm, rouille. And congrats on the home, if I haven't congratulated you already!

Take-out from Poppy's. And some fat-free (or is it?) frozen yogurt.

Jack, I'm four days late to your blog, but I just read through it and I want to thank you for it. Your country life is inspiring to this city slicker. Love the photos, especially of your oven! And dynamite ham, too.

We're having some friends over this weekend. I'm thinking about making a Jules et Jim meal: one of the leek/potato soups salmon fillets cooked en papillote artichoke bottoms with the mushroom stuffing rice pilaf again, but this time I'll include the peas and asparagus. Anybody want to join me? And does this sound good to you? Also, if any of you have used the papillote technique, I have a couple questions.

Placing a gun in the person's hand changes the hypothetical entirely. But I think you knew that. My point, which you seem intent on missing, is that all people in prison are not murderous thugs deserving of whatever gruel we can shell out for the minimum amount of money. And the nature of the crimes committed by the people in prison is "relevant" to the issue of how they should be punished, and whether the type of food they get should be part of that punishment-- at least it is for some of us. I personally don't think we need to demonize or humiliate the people in prison any more than we already do, whatever their crimes. When you're not dismissing all prisoners as worthless, Robyn, you seem to be saying that prisoners and prisons have much bigger problems than food, and that these problems should be our focus. And I don't know that anybody disagrees with you about that. But we don't have to choose just one problem to deal with in our lives. EGullet happens to be a food site, where we can discuss how prisoners ought to be fed in our spare time. This doesn't stop any of us from doing whatever we can to reform whatever system we want to with the rest of our time. The $2.55 budget you speak of-- I think this is a good topic for discussion. But we should discuss not only what we can feed people for that kind of money, but why that is the budget and whether such a budget is reasonable, just or cruel & unusual.

Welcome to eGullet! You could try Thompson's Turkey.

Thank you, Steve. I've been refraining from adding my two cents on this because you so correctly requested that we try to avoid getting bogged down in statistics. But I do want to add one thing. Many crimes charged as "violent" do not necessarily involve violence. In New York, for example, Burglary in the Second Degree is a violent felony offense, and a person is guilty of this charge if he or she enters a dwelling unlawfully with the intent to commit a crime therein. The term "dwelling," unfortunately, is very broadly defind as a place where people spend the night, and thus includes many buildings that are not homes, like hospitals. So a person who sneaks into a storeroom at the hospital and steals some pills is guilty of... Burglary in the Second Degree, a VIOLENT FELONY OFFENSE. This is just one example, and I raise it simply to make people aware that statistics listing some percentage of inmates as "violent" are likely overinclusive. I know they are in New York.

Sunday dinner: roasted chicken with rosemary & garlic; creamed corn, made from a dried product called "Just Corn;" and a sautee of butternut squash, onions and bacon. Monday dinner: Had a Vegan over tonight. We served a Madhur Jaffrey dinner: Basmati rice with peas; stewed tomatoes; mushrooms and potaotes cooked with garlic and ginger; and Gujerati-style green beans.

I don't know how much criminal defense work you've done, Robyn, but you are the first criminal defense lawyer I've ever heard refer to his or her clients (current or former) as scum. Given this attitude, it's hardly surprising that you don't think what prisoners eat is very important. But if you read adrober's paper, I would think that you'd realize that it is important. How we treat our prisoners on a daily basis says a lot about us as nation. And the cases adrober has examined, all on the face of it concerned merely with trivial food, raise larger questions about what is truly "cruel and unusual punishment." I would hope that his post might make a few people who have no familiarity with the system think a bit about how we treat our prisoners.

adrober, thanks for posting your paper. I am a criminal defense lawyer in New York, which gives me no special insight into what prisoners are fed. I have had the occasional tour of a prison, but most of my contact with my incarcerated clients comes in visiting rooms (where they are not fed) or in pens behind courtrooms (where they are fed unappealing, but not exactly cruel, bologna and cheese sandwiches). I do have a great deal of familiarity, however, with the people who are incarcerated, and I don't think it's outside the scope of this thread for me to point out that most incarcerated people are not about to cause a riot or create a discipline problem. Most incarcerated people are not violent, and most of them have never committed a crime of violence. A large percentage are addicted to heroin or cocaine. In New York, if a prisoner is a discipline problem, that prisoner is forever saddled with what is called a "red ID." Such prisoners are segregated from other prisoners, and whenever they are moved about they have big orange padded mittens clamped around their hands. There are a vartiety of other humiliating treatments given to inmates who don't cooperate. Meddling with their food just seems like sadism to me. I also want to note that if cost is a factor, we should take into account all costs, and not just that of food. When we choose (as we in America have chosen, for the most part) to incarcerate rather than treat drug addicts, we opt for the most expensive option available. Treatment (and all kinds of other social services) is much cheaper than incarceration, yet initiatives toward treatment (rather than warehousing) of drug addicts are still the exception. Are we willing to pay to remove drug addicts off our streets-- while they serve very lengthy sentences, compared to people who commit actual violent crimes-- but skimp on the food to save money? Again, this sounds like sadism to me.

"Just drive, she said!" Hasn't anyone eaten there? Mexican Radio, at its original location, was our tiny little place for my Robin and me. We always liked the food, but we were usually bombed on a couple of "short waves" (this is one of their margaritas) before we got a table. They've since moved, but their food hasn't changed. Their thing isn't authentic regional cuisine, and it's not really haute either. It's comfort-food Mexican with a bit of flash. Their mole is very dark and rich. They have a nice, spicy sauteed chorizo appetizer. We've always liked their guac. The mains are pretty heavy and cheesy. Mostly we've had a good time there.

Thursday dinner: I was cooking from Paula Wolfert's Eatern Mediterranean book, which I just checked out from the library (hi Paula!), and I wasn't paying close enough attention. I planned on marinating some chunks of swordfish in a lemony mixture from the book, then broiling them. And I was going to make this side dish of eggplant and sauteed peppers & tomatoes. And some rice. Everything went well, but I didn't realize until I nearly finished the business about the eggplant and the peppers that this stuff was to be pureed and chilled for three hours. This salad was basically baba ganouj with peppers, which wasn't really what I was going for. My fault entirely. So I quickly steamed some broccoli, and we had that with the fish and the rice. Not bad, but boring. And the eggplant dish tastes good today. Friday dinner: Laurie Colwin's tomato pie, pan-broiled steak with Bourguignon sauce, and leftover broccoli.

I made this pie tonight, and it was really really good. I didn't blind bake. But I did let the dough refrigerate in two saran-wrapped discs for an hour. And I drained the canned tomatoes well, then sliced them and drained the slices for a while too. Both the top and bottom crusts were exceptionally biscuity (and I would say a little wee bit flaky). No sogginess. And I owe it all to you.

Sorry, but I never got 'round to the green curry fish. Maybe this week. Are any of you up for some more Julia/Jacques sometime soon? I can propose, and I'm also happy to be led. You've led me to good stuff. Another thought: We're having a vegan to dinner on Monday. I can come up with a meal on my own, but maybe you'd like to join me in something Indian, perhaps, or... what?

I guess you're the expert, "marinade," but is this really a myth? Don't milk, yogurt or buttermilk marinades tenderize chicken, at least a little bit?

Really? So when would does the bread go in? When you start the oil or after it heats up a little. Can you tell me more about this? I've eaten so much fried food thus far in life that I probably wouldn't know greasy taste if it came up and bit me on the @$$. However I'm always up for improving the flavors and/or taste of what I eat. This pre-frying of bread may also help make the oil more effective, particularly if the oil hasn't been used before. A Russ Parsons points out the title essay of his book How to Read a French Fry, brand new oil is less effective at frying than oil that's a little impure. This is one of the reasons the second batch of fried stuff often gets a much nicer, easier brown coating than the first batch. Don't ask me why, however. Russ?

Just a couple ideas. You could use thighs. You could rub the chicken, then let it sit in the fridge for a few hours or overnight. And if your marinade included yogurt, too, that would add flavor and tenderize the meat, and would be a classic addition to the spices in the dish.

I'm going to tell my Robin you said so! Tonight (Weds) was Mamster's pancetta embossed chicken, except my supermarket didn't have pancetta, so I made it with prosciutto. Not bad, but it didn't melt in quite like pancetta would have. It was crispier, more like bacon. Did I mention it wasn't bad? And roasted asparagus, which I'm now officially sick of. It's my own fault. And a celery root/fennel/apple salad from A New Way to Cook. I'm crazy for celeriac lately but I think I prefer it cooked.

Just a few thoughts about the Rockefeller Center area: Rock Center is a must-see, but you will find it absolutely mobbed around the holidays. You may find it difficult to move on the sidewalk in the immediate area. I say this not to dissuade you from going there, but to warn you to expect madness. If you go there, you should also take a look inside the lobby spaces in the buildings. The Deco-era details are superb throughout the whole complex, and no two lobbies, fountains or statues are alike. I would be interested to see what other have to say about eating around Rock Center. I always find it difficult to recommend good eating around there. If you venture west to Seventh Avenue, you aren't far from such warhorses as the Canegie and the Stage Delis. You shouldn't miss the department stores on Fifth. I always send friends to Bergdorf Goodman (across the street from FAO Schwartz), although I've never been able to afford anything they sell there. It represents to me the Platonic ideal of the expensive New York department store. If you haven't been in such a store, you'll be amazed at the prices, the hush that seems to envelop the place, and the patrons. Also great is Takashimaya, a branch of the Japanese department store. This store is filled with beautiful, expensive things. Food angle: they have a nice tea department and offer a high tea service, I believe. Another food angle: if you're in Rock Center, you should venture over to Madison Avenue, behind St. Patrick's Cathedral. On the next block uptown (I think it is between 50th and 51st on the East side of Madison) is a branch of the Belgian chocolatier Leonidas. They didn't earn a mention in the NY Times piece on chocolates the other week, but they are one of the premier chocolatiers in Belgium, and they are not a mass production outfit like Godiva. Their stuff is made with fresh buttercream and flown over from the continent several times a week. They have a wide variety of choices, and while they are not cheap, they're worth it. Walk in and buy one piece, you'll see what I mean. They now have at least one other branch in Manhattan (downtown, next to 140 Broadway); I don't know if they sell anywhere else in the U.S.

I missed posting Monday night: I sauteed some duck breasts, served them sliced over some greens. (I'm really trying to make a go of it with the greens.) And I pureed some buttercup squash, and made up some mixed long grain/wild rice. I designed the meal for speed (on the table in less than a half hour), but I thought it was pretty nice for a weeknight, actually eating with our two-year-old daughter instead of after her bedtime. But the wife's verdict was that nothing went with anything else. She still ate it all, though! Edit: and no quinces.

I wouldn't discourage anyone from walking to Peter Luger, but as a large family outing I think it has its drawbacks. I think you shouldn't cross any of the bridges in bad weather (i.e., ran or snow, or frigid frigid cold), but if it's reasonably nice the walk will be fun even if it's pretty cold. It's not too much colder or windier on the Brooklyn Bridge than it is on the ground. (Am I wrong about this, people? I don't recall it ever feeling much different.) And Elyse, how could I have left out Torres' shop? What a great idea. There are so many other ideas we should be giving Dave here. I'm going to try to come up with a few more.

Dave, I'm sure you'll want to see more of New York than the Upper West Side. If the weather is decent one morning, you should take the 2/3 train downtown to Times Square, and switch there to the N/R, taking it downtown to City Hall. Get off the train, cross City Hall Park, and walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. This is fun for the whole family, and provides a great harbor view. Once on the other side in Brooklyn (4th largest city in America!), get yourself to Old Fulton Street and to Patsy Grimaldi's pizza. This is one of a rival pair of Patsy's; the other Patsy's got to keep the name and franchise itself. This Patsy's may not be the very best brick oven pizza in NYC, but it's a fine example. There's also a good ice cream shop right down by the water, but I don't know if they're open for New Years. Then you can walk back, or take the subway back to Manhattan, or if you still want to walk you can head up the hill to Brooklyn Heights and go to the Promanade (or Esplanade) and take in another, possibly the most, stunning view of the harbor, the Statue of Liberty, and downtown Manhattan. If you're interested, Dave, I can give you more detailed directions to any and all of the above.

In the NY Times article, R.W. Apple prays that irradiation will be the breakthrough that brings the mangosteen to these shores.