JAZ

Silicone handles would help on the stove top, but not in the oven -- silicone eventually heats up (which is why it's used for bakeware). The "heat-proof" part refers to the fact that it won't melt, not that it doesn't get hot. That's the reason I think silicone potholders are a bad idea -- they're fine for a short time, but if you're holding a pan for a long period of time, say, to take cookies off a baking sheet, they become unbearably hot by the time you're done.

I have, by conservative estimate, at least three dozen dishtowels. Some decorative and virtually useless, others ugly but absorbent. Flour sack and terry, Jaquard and waffle-weave. I always kept a few out at any given time, and crammed the rest of them into a drawer. When I moved, I realized how many I had, and how few I actually used. Meanwhile, whenever I taught or assisted with classes, we'd always have a big stack of towels to grab whenever we needed them, which of course is a fabulous way to work. Yet somehow, I never thought to use my towels at home that way. I used a lot of paper towels for everything from drying greens to wiping up spills, but most of the cloth towels lived in the drawers. Until I moved. In my new place, I don't have the drawer space for the towels. Plus, it finally sunk in how much easier it is to work in any kitchen if you have a stack of towels out and easily accessible. So now I keep a couple of stacks of them on top of the fridge -- flour sack for things like drying lettuce or dishes, thick terry "bar towels" for grabbing hot pans (dry) or wiping my hands (damp), plus a small stack of miscellaneous old towels for spills. The clean towels are stacked up on the left, with a basket on the right for dirty towels. It's working like a dream, and I just wish I'd started doing it years ago. I'm sure I'm not the only one who does this, right? How do you store and use your dishtowels?

On the Lodge web site, there's no description of how the Signature Series is constructed. Is the body of the pan just cast iron (seasoned or raw), or is it coated with something?

Call me weird, but I kind of like the challenge of cooking in other people's kitchens. Maybe because I've done it a lot, I find that being able to adapt is oddly satisfying (after I get over the frustration, of course). I have learned to take my knives and a few other indispensible tools to vacation rentals, though. And sometimes I make serendipitous discoveries when I'm forced to adapt. When I moved, it took me a while to get my cookware unpacked. I finally found enough to make a curry, but realized that I didn't have the pan I usually use for rice. I ended up using an egg poaching pan (minus the insert for the eggs) -- kind of a small saute pan with a glass lid. Whether it was the pan or the new stove (electric for the first time in quite a while), it was the best rice I've ever made. Perfect. I now have a new rice pan.

This subject has been thoroughly discussed before, so we're closing this topic. Further discussion of MSG can be continued on the topics Matthew Grant linked to above, or on a new topic, if, indeed, there's something new to say. Thanks.

Since for the most part, this topic has strayed far from the original subject of how supermarket strikes affect shopping habits, we're closing it. Thanks for participating.

The good thing about the Kitchenaid is that it comes with the mini-bowl and blade, so it's like getting two in one. I would definitely get the 12-cup.

I've been meaning to post this for a while. I had dinner at Eugene a couple of months ago with a friend and was very impressed with both the food and the service. We did have to wait for 20 minutes or so for our table, but that gave us a chance to try a cocktail in the bar and chat with the bartender, so it wasn't a waste of time. The cocktails are a good mix of "classics" and solid new creations and were well executed. Dinner was uniformly good. We started with the oysters that Voodoo mentioned; I loved the granita. My favorite dish of the night was turbot with cippoline onions and wild mushrooms; the fish was done perfectly and wasn't overpowered by the vegetables and sauce. The service was professional, although not particularly formal, I thought. Other than having to wait, I had no complaints at all. I'll definitely return; I'd like to try the tasting menu.

I really like the flavor of licorice, and have been known to drink Pernod on the rocks. But aside from the drinks (like the CR#2) where the glass is rinsed with it, I don't know of many cocktails that call for it. I've been using basil in a few drinks, some of which have been very good. Since basil has licorice undertones, I wonder if Pernod and the like would be good in similar drinks. I'll have to experiment. When you get the French Pearl figured out, let us know. It's a great drink.

I've tried a couple of tequila drinks with a pinch of salt, and what I found was that the Margarita with a blanco was much brighter with a pinch of salt. With a splash of grapefruit juice added to the usual mix, it was also nice. But a version with reposado and a splash of blood orange juice didn't fare as well. The salt didn't harm it in the least, but it didn't add anything either. In fact, I added more lime juice to it because it tasted a little flat. This salt thing is very interesting.

Chow mein noodles -- the crispy ones. My mother used to add these to Chex mix, and also made "haystacks" with these and peanuts, covered in chocolate. Lately, I've rediscovered them for sprinkling over Asian-style salads.

In his book The Joy of Coffee, Corby Kummer has a recipe for Praline Crisp cookies that calls for browning butter and then re-solidifying it before creaming it with the sugar. The browned butter makes these cookies so wonderful that I've copied it for several other recipes.

Interesting. Earlier tonight, I tried a Daiquiri with a pinch of salt added. I found it oddly muted -- even after an additional squeeze of lime, it seemed flat and lifeless. It's the exact opposite of what I would have predicted. Maybe salt is best left to grapefruit drinks. I'm planning to test that theory, tomorrow probably.

My sister used to make a savory version with cheese and (I think) tomatoes and sausage. It was good, but I always preferred the plain one.

I remember reading several recipes for limeade-type drinks from various Southeast Asian countries that include salt in the drink itself, so that might be a place to start. I think that, of the citrus juices, salt works best with lime and grapefruit, then lemon, with orange last. Maybe that's because salt works to soften bitterness, so it would make sense that the more bitter fruits would take to a pinch of salt.

Here's one I was playing around with last summer. Since I've been finding pretty good peaches in the market lately, I've revisited it and have decided to call it the Peachy Keen. 1/2 peach, cut into chunks 5-6 basil leaves 2 oz. gin 1/2 oz. Velvet Falernum 1/2 oz. lime juice Big dash peach bitters Muddle peach and basil with the gin. Add rest of ingredients and ice. Shake. Strain (I use a regular small strainer rather than a cocktail strainer).

A couple of comments: Have you considered Demeyere cookware (which can be used on induction ranges)? I have several pieces in the Sirocco line and love it. Most pieces have a copper disk bottom (skillets and sauciers don't -- they have a thick aluminum core), so the responsiveness is good. They're also dishwasher safe. I love them. Also, you haven't really said what kind of cooking you do, so it's a little hard to say what the "minimum" is. The list that gariotin posted is a good start, but (for instance) if you plan to make stock, a 6-qt. stockpot probably won't be nearly big enough. On the other hand, there's no reason to get a 12- or 16-qt. stockpot if you're not going to make stock. As another example, if you want to make stews and braises, I think you'd want a cast iron (either plain or enamel-coated) 4-qt. or larger dutch oven. If the 6-qt. stockpot is heavy enough, it might be able to do double-duty, but often stockpots aren't designed for browning and braising. And it seems that you plan to make candy -- you'll need something heavy bottomed and at least 4 quarts for most batches of candy. You really can't use a cast iron dutch oven style pan for that -- it retains way too much heat. Sometimes you just can't make pans do "double duty."

Candyfreak by Steve Almond (subtitled "A Journey through the Chocolate Underbelly of America"). Part history, part reminiscence, and lots of chocolate. This could have been a rather ordinary tribute to candy, but the author is such a good writer, it's one of those books I want to read over and over. For instance, this is his description of watching marshmallow bunnies being enrobed in chocolate:

Gary and Mardee Regan's Tart Gin Cooler (from New Classic Cocktails) is a great drink that incorporates tonic. Pour over ice: 2 oz gin, 3 oz grapefruit juice, 3 oz tonic water and a dash of Peychaud bitters, stir to combine. Great summertime drink.

Incanto is open on Sundays, and it would be a perfect choice given your specifications. It's not downtown, but it is in SF, and it's easy to get to on the MUNI streetcar. (Here is a topic on Incanto, and here is a topic on a dinner we had there a while back -- scroll down for the dinner posts, plus photos.) There's also a relatively new Italian place downtown, Perbacco, that I've heard good things about, but I moved before it opened, so I don't have any personal experience with it.

The Oxo one does look good (and it's certainly cheaper than my WMF strainer) -- what's the function of the black rubber piece on the back? John, is that the one you have, or does Oxo make another?

I've been on a search for a nice looking, yet functional cocktail strainer. For a long time, I used the basic one you see everywhere -- small, stainless and ugly. It worked okay, although I always found that there was nothing to funnel the liquid, so it was easy to spill as I poured. Mostly, though, it just looked and felt cheap and flimsy. I like my bar tools to look nice as well as function well; hence the search. The problem was that most of the "nicer" strainers, in sets or sold singly, had major design flaws -- the spring wasn't large enough to keep the strainer in the shaker securely, or the handle was long (what's the point of that?). That was the main reason I never bought the Rosle strainer -- that and the price, although I could have gotten a substantial discount. I finally found one that I'm happy with -- this one by WMF. It looks nice (it's made of brushed stainless), fits the strainer snugly and pours well. But I'd still like to know if there are others out there worth getting -- after all, I can always use two good strainers. What does everyone else use?

While I agree that a lot of horseradish makes a Bloody Mary too much like cocktail sauce, I'd argue that a little (I use less than 1/4 tsp. per drink) adds a second layer of heat that you can't get from chile-based hot sauces. Made with just a touch of horseradish, a Bloody Mary doesn't taste like cocktail sauce, or even like horseradish -- it just has a nice fresh burst of heat. I like it.

An immersion blender is not a substitute for a hand-held mixer. Some of the more powerful ones can whip cream and egg whites, but they're not designed for other mixing tasks. No banana bread, in other words. I personally think immersion blenders are inefficient and a waste of valuable kitchen space, but I know I'm in the minority.

When I came home tonight after a day of cranky and crazy customers, none of my recent "usual" drinks sounded quite right. It struck me that a) I hadn't had a Gimlet in ages; b) it used to be my standard drink; and c) I really wanted one. Sometimes you don't realize how soothing and comforting a drink is when you're drinking it regularly. In this case, absence really did make the heart grow fonder. It was exactly what I needed -- comfort in a glass.