Suvir Saran

The one I ate at Eds was made with waxy potatoes and was mayo based with eggs and pickled cucumbers... It is my all time favorite.. he also adds a generous amount of fresh herbs... I cannot resist eating large bowlfuls of it. I was sent home with a large box of Potato Salad Schoenfeld .... and I shall eat it tomorrow for lunch.

And after mold.. they get soft and mushy... scary

I do that all the time as well. It does work wonders.

How does Sabatier rate? Or does it not?

Mary Ann served Im Jaddara last night (Saturday Night). She used less water than the recipe above. It was delicious. She serve it with a very generous garnish of fried brown onions.

Cook and freeze. The story of my life at present - and my father before me. How else can you eat well (halfway decent) when you have so little time to cook? what kind of stuff do you cook and freeze?

Well to me food that is being tested and worked on cannot be served to a customer that is paying for it. That is my humble opinion. And certainly I may be totally wrong. I practice this even at home. I never serve food I am inventing and playing around with to friends I invite for a meal at my home. But if a certain friend was invited only to partake in my exercise with cooking, that is fine. When I say home and body, I call a dish with at least a minimal magic a body. And a plate that bodies home. I have seen far too many plates filled with food that was not worthy of even a dustbin. But the chef that created it could not understand how their learning experience should not always be shared with people that are traveling great distances for a certain experience. If I wanted mediocre and unknown food, I would not go to a restaurant that I have found through a review done on them. But if I go to a place by chance, I have no expectations and I am fed bad food or great food, I am more forgiving. But expecting at the very least something wonderful, I look for that. And when I am served a mere apology in the way of fusion, inventive and innovative, I see through it and realize that the chef really does not respect themselves or the diner that is paying dearly for their meal. It is insulting to me and more importantly, very telling about the chef. It is that food that has no body and thus does not need a home (plate). It needs more imagination, intuition and inspiration. And certainly with time, it can have all of that. Timing is everything. And yet time is what we often forget. In being the owners of everything we do and live around, we often forget that time cannot be owned. It exists in its own right, just as each of our creations and us. But to make either one of these seem brilliant, a partnership is necessary between all of them. For a perfect meal that is at once innovative, inspirational and imaginative, one would also need to be indulging in it at the right time. When it is just mature enough to be in its youth and full of vigor. Fresh but not premature. Strong and stable and yet not half in the grave. All things wonderful have a long life to live. But many creators forget that if one is developing something one hopes to see as a success, one also has to understand having a vision that will last. And a lasting vision is worth investing in. There is no need to rush its launching. I think I may have lost you... so I will stop. I cherish and respect innovation, imagination, inspiration and the new. When one does not have these, one might as well not live. And yet, I have little patience to romance those apologies that one often has to face in the name of these very valuable and intrinsic realities of life.

Suvir, if you ever think of hiring a full-time taster, I'd be prepared to consider moving to NYC. John, my cookbook has almost come to completion and my co-writer Stephani Lyness pretty much played t he role of a full time taster and also cop. She stood and watched me make every recipe that has been written for the book. Tested it with me and wrote down every little detail that went into preparing each dish. I gained a lot by having her join me in my venture. Maybe if my first book is successful and worthy, I will write another.. and I would love to have your valuable tastebuds. I am not sure I could compensate one like you adequately, but I can fantasize about it.

Just tonight, I was at the home of Ed Schoenfeld, one of the best cooks in NYC.. If not one of the top 10 cooks in the country. I had several opportunities and every reason to be not vegetarian. But I was vegetarian and my mind did not even think once about trying the couple of really good stuff served on the table. I have no desire. I could have eaten the steak and chicken he made... but I did not. I enjoyed the potato salad (happens to be the best I have ever and will ever eat, how could life ever get any more perfect), cole slaw and corn bread. I have to plead with Ed to not make any more dishes just for me. He is family to me... and he took a long time before getting this free with me.. He always made me pasta or something vegetarian.... But now, he knows that I can be happy eating just the starches and yet find the meal memorable. Ed also knows that I do make exceptions to my rule of being largely vegetarian, but he will never even ask me to taste a bite of what he prepares. In fact traveling with him and many other respectable chefs and gourmands, I have eaten the best meats and meals of a lifetime... and even then, I had to beg to get a taste or an order... much to his chagrin. For he wondered if I were doing that only to find acceptance (and this latter was not acceptable to him), but when I told him I wanted to try. He loved the fact that I was having these forbidden fruits for one from my sub-sect of Hinduism, at the most appropriate places. At Ed's table today, there were two or at least one other person claiming to be vegetarian and the next thing I see what this person eating dark meat from the chicken platter. That is funny and hypocritical to me. I have eaten most all meats and seafood... And yet, at private gatherings at the home of friends and acquaintances I never falter from my being vegetarian. Even as I travel, I only reserve my meat eating forays for those restaurants and meals that I am told by the few people I really trust as being the best I could ever taste of a certain dish or meat or seafood. My body is not used to meat at all. Not even fish. In fact I find myself very tired and full after eating any kind of flesh. It takes days for me to recover from even just a few bites of flesh. I feel maybe it is my mind coloring my real well being, but I have been told by even very "western and non-emotional" doctor friends that I am not wrong in feeling as I do. I am vegetarian only for my family was vegetarian and for I grew up in a home that never had any flesh come to the kitchen. IN fact in our home no meat, chicken or fish was ever cooked or served. No alcohol was ever poured and no cigarette was ever lit. And I think it will hold true even after my parents move on from this state of their being. My brother is as staunch with this as my father and grandfather. He will continue that tradition long after I am sure. I have no feeling of being any more humane than any of my friends or family that eat meat. I have no feeling of being on a higher moral platform for I am vegetarian. I never run into Vegan or vegetarian restaurants. In fact my friends are amused that I actually plead not to be taken to those establishments... For I have eaten some of the worst vegetarian meals in such places. I am always nervous when I read "vegan". I am suspicious that it means bad food. I have been surprised sometimes.. but rarely and not enough to make me go looking for more such places. I have not done a PhD on vegetarian vs. non vegetarian lifestyle and nor have I known anyone that has spent equal amounts of time eating good food and diverse food from both these lifestyles and then made an intelligent decision, so I have no role models I really trust about either one being more attractive, healthful or better in any way. So, I choose to simply enjoy each meal as best as I can.. And try my best to follow some of those customs that my father learned from his parents and was able to share with me.... If I was not a foodie like I have become.. Maybe I would still have been purely vegetarian like him. But even he (my father the pure vegetarian) runs away from fanatic vegetarians. They scare him. He feels labels are useless and dangerous. And I tend to agree with him. I have never felt the need to be assigned a niche where I should fit and be comfortable. I am happy being somewhat conspicuous but not totally exotic and alone and fanatic. Again, I am not sure if I am worthy of being assigned any praise.... But I do believe I am mostly vegetarian. And I will be so for the rest of my life.

I made my version of Grandma Hayes corn bread to take to Ed Schoenfelds home today. It was his son Eric’s birthday dinner. Ed was cooking steak, roast chicken, potato salad (my favorite in the whole wide world), buttermilk cole slaw and a appetizer of chanterelle mushrooms (Ed had brought them back from his trip to Washington State and Mt. Rainier), lily flower stamens and bamboo shoot moo shoo pancakes. For the main meal, I thought the bread would be a perfect mate. And it was just that. Everyone wanted the recipe and I was all embarrassed for Grandma has taught me how to make it with Jiffy Mix. Here I was with foodies and this simple corn bread was getting all the attention. I added kernels from two fresh corns into Grandmas recipe and used buttermilk instead of milk. It did taste very good. And I have made it almost every night since I got back from Charleston. This is what I did: 1 package Jiffy Mix 1/3 cup flour 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black peppercorn 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon cayenne 2 Serrano chiles, very finely minced Kernels from 2 corns on the cobs (did I write this correctly?) 1 egg Buttermilk, just enough to make a mix that resembles muffin batter 3/4 stick of butter 8 inch round baking tin I preheated oven to 350?F. In the tin I melted the butter. When it was melted, I pulled it out and sat it on the stove. I mixed all the dry ingredients and the minced pepper together. Added the eggs and buttermilk together and mixed quickly and lightly. Put the tin back in the oven for a couple of minutes, when the butter was hot again, I brought the tin out, poured the batter into it, moved the tin around so that the melted butter that had come on top of batter was evenly distributed all over the batter. Baked for 35 minutes until the top was beginning to get golden and the toothpick came out dry. Placed the tin on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Turned over onto a platter (Bottom side up.. Grandma said that is tradition) and rubbed the cake (the bottom now the top) with the remainder of the butter stick.

For me it is Insomnia. Get on average 2-3 hours of sleep a day. WOW!! I am one of those you don't want to be around if I get less than 7 hours. 8 is preferable. The book I took to bed with me last night? A Spoonful of Ginger by Nina Simonds a really great book discussing the medicinal/healing effects of food, yin and yang principles, and some of the best recipes I have ever pulled out of a cookbook. I have owned it ever since it came out.. and I have never opened it yet. Maybe it will be in my next batch of books I read. Thanks!

How could I forget the "love" in the question... sorry. I "love" Foie Gras, Steak and Wild Boar pickle. If I were not vegetarian... I could eat them every day.

It is not possible. I was at a dinner with Eric Asimov this week, and he introduced me as a non-fanatic and non-issue vegetarian. I thought he had bared my soul in front of the person he was accompanied by. He said it perfectly. I am vegetarian. My parents are true ovo-lacto vegetarian. I stray every now and then. More often at times when I am in the midst of such adventure and find the need to document such occurence as I may feel the need to speak or write about later. I am a failure in many ways as a vegetarian and yet I never eat meat when dining with friends for pleasure. I am sure none of this makes sense. But it does to me in some strange way. My parents who raised me vegetarian and whose homes have always and will always remain vegetarian seem to understand and respect what I do. And I try, not to sway too often. Months can go by without my eating any meat. And then I can be in a city with great restaurants and I could be found eating Foie Gras and Steak at every meal. Did I confuse you even more? I am sorry.

thanks for another great post wingding.

Beautifully said!

That is the wise thing to do. And I have done that in my restaurants. With my food and also encouraged chefs that worked in the kitchen to do the same. But it was nothing written on a menu, nothing announced to the public. We selected a very few regulars who were told these tastes were nothing more than "mere" trial and error play. And for giving us that feedback, I would pick their tab that night. So, even if our trials turned disastrous, which most times they were not, the guest was able to enjoy what they came for. And felt they got much more. A win-win situation. And no, you did not wander off... you got it right. There is a huge distinction between what you suggest here and what is loosely understood and innovative and inventive cooking. It is often given a home even before it has a body. Does it have a soul? That would take even longer to fathom or find. But that could be an endless search for many an artistic creation.

Interesting convergence of words. What could it possibly mean? We think UNILATERAL these days!

The cake stopped jiggling. I had it baking for 45-50 minutes. It became a nice beautiful brown by the end of it. Moist yet perfectly cooked so the skewer I put in came out clean. It was a huge success. I owe many thanks to every on here and most especially to mhadam. The cake has the most amazing texture and a captivating and enticing aroma. All through dinner, our friends were greedily awaiting dessert time. I had made my signature lemon poppy seed cake and the pistachio cake. My favorite was the pistachio. Thanks mhadam!

9 x 6

For me it is Insomnia. Get on average 2-3 hours of sleep a day.

35 minutes later... it is still trembling. That pistachio cake that is.

That is exactly what needs to be done. Innovation is very important. A natural course of life and certainly of the arts. Why should one treat the culinary arts in any different way. I agree with you about first getting the new trends ironed out before sharing with guests. My problem is with the chefs doing homework on guests. That is a mockery of what restaurant dining is all about.

How are you enjoying this one? What made you buy it?

I did everything by the recipe. The cake has been in the oven for over 25 minutes. It is still trembling and not cooked. What did I do wrong? What to do?

It takes one to know one!