huiray

I wish the videographer had stopped moving around so much, though, and wish he had pulled back to show views of the whole thing. I found the video very frustrating in that regard and therefore unrewarding. IMO.

Anna N, Looks good. I like steak for breakfast too. No issues at all with having a honking big piece of meat first thing in the morning. :-) And yes, indeed - that price for the one you had - pretty good!

Y'all are expecting Texan chili or similar when you think of Cincy chili or Skyline chili, and also based on what "chili" means to you. It is not Texan chili. It does not pack heat by design. It IS a meat sauce of GREEK derivation, meant to be served the way it is. :-) Take it for what it is. It is a regional style of "meat sauce", and y'all are free to dislike it if it does not taste like what you are used to, heh. ;-)

Couple of late dinners. ----------------- • Soup: Opo squash (浦瓜), pork spare ribs, smashed garlic, snow fungus, water, sea salt. • Linguine [Ferrara] w/ Hazan tomato sauce. (w/ deseeded, deskinned ripe tomatoes) ----------------- • Pork & Shrimp wontons, w/ blanched Taiwan Bok Choi & skinny wonton noodles. Stock of chicken broth, simmered w/ dried far koo (花菇) and their stems, dried oysters, some dried anchovies (ikan bilis), sliced fresh ginger, smashed clove of garlic (Music), chicken fat, veggie oil.

Yesterday's lunch: De-ribbed Tuscan kale blanched in boiling oiled water; couple of natural-case Wieners [Dietz & Watson] cooked in that oiled boiling water; "Vegetarian Noodles" (dried) [White Elephant brand] cooked in salted water then tossed w/ leftover Marcella Hazan tomato sauce.

Nice, Liuzhou.

It *is* odd, about that sous-chef at Per Se expounding on toxins being processed in pig skin - and human skin (and presumably not elsewhere). Is that person still there at Per Se, and if so how do they regard his, um, food credentials?

Sorry to hear of this. Condolences to his family and friends.

I've never had goose eggs, I think. How do these differ from duck or chicken eggs?

Well, there you go. Said I don't know much about it, other than that it's sweet, and that doesn't appeal to me. However, should add that I've never had it and, if I know me, I'd probably like it just fine at "Skyline," with heaps of cheese and onions. ..... Heh. Well, take a look at this.

The recipe sounds OK to me. Cinnamon, cloves, allspice in chili or a ground meat sauce? It's fine to me. Although not a "chili", I make a meat sauce for pasta from time to time where the ingredients that go in aside from the ground meat(s) include the requisite onions, of course (sautéed/browned), tomatoes, KETCHUP (Heinz) frequently, rice vinegar, soy sauce, several sticks of cinnamon, a good handful of cloves, simmer...YUM! That posted recipe does not use sugar. Question: what do you all mean when you say it is "sweet"? I suppose it is the taste sensation of the cinnamon/cloves/allspice that gives the "impression" of sweetness? To me I would tend more to simply think of or describe the taste sensation from these spices as just cinnamon-y, clove-y, etc. BTW, Cincy chili is not served on rice. It is served on spaghetti almost always ordered with at least heaps of finely shredded cheddar cheese (3-way). I like Skyline chili, usually 4-way onions. Cincy chili and the best known purveyor of it (Skyline) has got a lot of grief on eG, unjustly in my view, although a few others have spoken up in its defense on eG too.

The Chinese, for one, have been eating pork belly skin for eons. Many of the signature dishes and pork preparations of East and SE Asian cuisines would be UNIMAGINABLE without the skin on the pork belly.

Just buy a good (frozen) brand from your local Indian grocery, thaw it and pan-fry it in your US kitchen. ;-)

Looks yummy, Anna N. You are too kind in your comments about my lunches.

Citric acid has 3 carboxylate groups. A 1:1 citric acid/baking soda mixture will give you monosodium citrate. Is the commercial or MC "sodium citrate" the monosodium citrate, or the (more probable) trisodium citrate? In any case, cessation of "bubbling of CO2" is not indicative of one reaching the end-point of the titration, it can be misleading because this acid-base reaction is not the "strongest" in the class and CO2 has appreciable solubility in water. Also, the extent of hydration and purity of the two components will have an impact on the actual weight of the two substances you need to add together because the effective molecular weights of the substances will be affected.

I guess you have never NOT carved pumpkins nor had any friends or neighbors who did NOT carve pumpkins? Hmm. Well, I have never carved one myself either (and have no wish to start doing so) and have no interest in carving one. However, a simple Google search for "how to carve a pumpkin" turns up lots of step-by-step instructions in clear language (and also videos of the whole process) with tips and comments, especially points for the beginner's attention...which I believe is along the lines of what the OP asked for. :-) (Shel_B, note the first basic point all these tutorials mention - cut the top off at a 45 degree angle, not straight down. :-) )

There are quite a few examples of whole fish dishes in the Dinner and Lunch threads, and some on the Chinese Eats at Home thread(s). The Eating My Way Through The Ecuadorian Fishery thread also shows many (all?) whole fish cooked as the intact fish although they are then generally served chunked off the frame. Take a look at those threads, if one is so inclined.

Steve, yes, do look at what I said in response to Plantes - perhaps that might answer your question at least in part? As I mentioned there I may not be the best person to look to for an illustrative guide to the most typical and formularized breakfast-lunch-dinner sequence of dishes in "Eastern Cooking", as I tend not to draw sharp lines between types of food for any of the meals. I simply eat what pleases me. Note that I do tend to make lunch my main meal of the day (although I do not engage in manual labor) but, again, with many exceptions. In any case, "Eastern Cooking" covers an awful lot of ground, and what might be thought of as frequently/often eaten for each of the meals will vary enormously between regions, countries, cuisines, sub-continental areas each bearing their own internal regionalities. One thing that can be said is that although buns and breads are often found here and there (and dumplings of some sort hither and yon) (i.e. other than dim-sum, which is well known to all, I imagine) - for breakfast, for example, and which can be sweet in nature - in the majority of cases (not all) the prevailing taste profile for breakfast dishes will tend to be savory, not sweet. Have you heard of Kaya Toast, often served in Hainanese kopitiams in Malaysia & Singapore with soft-boiled eggs and thick Hainanese coffee (w/ sugar & evaporated/condensed milk = "Kopi-C") for breakfast? :-) For those unfamiliar with this (and the combination thereof) this might be a twist on Eggs & Toast w/ marmalade in the West... :-D

Breakfast today: Part 1: Nongshim Kimchi Bowl Noodle (this one), with lots and lots of additional fresh scallions added in. Part 2: Last of the chicken broth from Sunday (broth only)(see here also), simmered w/ fresh yellow & orange farm-fresh carrots & conventional Western celery heart pieces, plus rounds of the remnant of a leftover pan-fried Merguez sausage (see here).

Late lunch/early dinner yesterday: • Pan-fried Merguez sausages [smoking Goose, this one; via Goose the Market]; a chunky cultivar of Maitake mushrooms (see here) sautéed in the pan residues & oil; Austrian Crescent & Purple Peruvian fingerling potatoes simply simmered in salted water & tossed in the pan remnants to coat w/ a little oil. • Chicken broth w/ fresh leafy celery wilted in it.

Nice dish, Steve!! :-) Reminds me a bit too of the last episode of Top Chef in New Orleans, which featured the Vietnamese community in N.O. - in which the winning dish was said to best "represent the spirit of the Vietnamese Community in New Orleans", not that it was the best "Vietnamese Dish".

Couple of recent dinners. ----------------------------- • Short-cut pork spare ribs steamed w/ soy bean/broad bean paste (陳年豆瓣醬) [Mingteh Food] (this one), chopped smashed garlic, julienned ginger, sliced fresh Chinese mushrooms (tung koo), vegetable oil, slight drizzle of sesame oil, dash of Shaohsing wine. Garnished w/ chopped scallions & coriander leaves. • Halved Brussels sprouts & sliced Marconi pepper sautéed w/ garlic & vegetable oil. • White rice (Basmati). ------------------------------------- • Beef short ribs browned in vegetable oil (seasoned by frying smashed garlic in it then reserving the garlic), tossed w/ mutenka shiro miso paste [Maruman] (see here and here for more info), the garlic added back in, sufficient water added & the mix simmered for a bit; halved/trimmed bamboo shoots [First World brand] added, followed after a while by young daikon, lily buds, Chinese-type shiitake mushrooms (far koo), and the mix braised for about 1½ - 2 hours or so in total. • White rice (Basmati).

Couple of past lunches. --------------------------- Lunch • Salad of romaine & red leaf lettuces, red Russian kale, a Marconi pepper, and Napa cabbage heart. Dressed w/ a vinaigrette of smooth Dijon mustard [Grey Poupon], ‘Stoneground Xxspress Mustard’ [Local Folks Foods], sugar, sea salt, ‘Aged Gourmet Rice Vinegar’ [Kong Yen], EV olive oil [Fresh Foods], generous fresh ground black pepper, fresh lime juice, generous rice wine (ryori-shu) [Morita]. • Leftover beef short ribs stewed w/ young daikon, lily buds, bamboo shoots, Chinese-type shiitake mushrooms (far koo), garlic, mutenka shiro miso paste [Maruman] (see here and here for more info). Gussied up w/ more of some ingredients & re-stewing for a bit. ----------------------------- Lunch Part I. • Steamed char siu bao [Prime Food]. • Steamed pork, scallop & shrimp dumplings (shui gow) [Wei Chuan], dressed w/ chopped scallions. (no pic, I was tucking into it before I remembered the camera) Part II. • Teochew-style steamed fresh striped bass. Live fish from the tank the day before. Dressed w/ Shaoh Xing wine [Lam Sheng Kee], sliced ripe tomato, sliced scallions & ginger (also stuffed into fish cavity), vegetable oil, sea salt, slight drizzle of light soy sauce, sliced preserved sour mustard (syun choi/harm choy) [Pigeon brand], pickled plums [Hana]; then steamed till just done. • Cauliflower florets “stir-fried”/sautéed w/ garlic in vegetable oil. • White rice (Basmati).

Breakfast today: • Chicken broth w/ celery leaves & carrots & mee sua [Hung-Ming]. Broth made w/ a stewing chicken (chopped up), leafy celery, orange & yellow carrots, sliced ginger, sea salt; simmered about 6 hrs. Flesh & bones discarded, skin retained. • Three soft-boiled (light green shelled) farm eggs. Drizzled w/ light soy sauce & dusted w/ white pepper.

Panaderia, what is the heritage of the "Zapallo del Sol"? Does it share a heritage or overlap with Mexican pumpkins? Has it been maintained as a single cultivar without any "breeding", similar to what the specialtyproduce website talks about? Does it have green coloration when picked at "peak maturity" but lose the green with age to give just orange and beige coloration, as that website also mentions, or is it always only orange and beige? How big are they? I'm curious, and also about what overlap, if any, there is between what we see here in the US resulting from breeding of these various lines and what you see and what Liuzhou sees in China (via Taiwan, presumably, which could have been brought in there from another place...like the US? Or S. America/Central America?).