JAZ

At the risk of sounding unsophisticated, I have to jump in here and say that I simply don't understand the idea of a cheese plate after dinner. I like cheese (although I have a very low tolerance for stinky cheese) but the last thing I want after dinner is a big -- or small -- chunk of cheese, regardless of what it's served with. I can see ordering a cheese plate for lunch, but for dessert? Maybe someone can explain it to me. What's the appeal?

Abra, if it's not too late, you should consider the roasted potatoes from Kafka's book to go with your pork. (I think they're called "melting" -- or at least, "melting" is in the title or description; unfortunately my copy is packed right now.) They're potato wedges rolled in butter and oil (or chicken fat, which is what I used), roasted on high heat, braised in some chicken broth and then finished again at high heat with more butter. I'm not a huge fan of her Roasting book, but I keep it around just for this potato recipe.

I've been to Central Market in Dallas, Dean & Deluca in Manhattan, and DeKalb Farmers' Market in Atlanta, as well as numerous San Francisco Bay Area markets: Berkeley Bowl, Draeger's, and Andronico's to name a few. They're all great markets, and I'd be happy to shop at any of them. It's awe-inspiring to see that kind of selection and quality in one place. What counts more for me than selection, though, is personal attention, which doesn't happen very often at the larger stores. I think finding a smaller good store and becoming a regular is the way to get the best shopping experience, rather than chasing down the best prices and biggest selection.

Chicken Braised in Sherry Vinegar Sauce This recipe is based on one from Sally Schneider's book A New Way to Cook. In an only-in-the-eG-Forums reversal of the usual progression of recipes, I turned a lower-fat, lower calorie recipe into one with more of both. To go back to Schneider's original, lower fat version, remove the skin from the chicken and use less fat to saute. But in that case, you're better off reducing the sauce on the stovetop after removing the chicken pieces. It won't benefit from the oven browning. 4 large chicken thigh-leg quarters (or use 6-8 thighs) 4 T chicken fat, pork fat or olive oil 1/2 c sliced shallots or onions 2/3 c medium dry sherry 1/3 c sherry vinegar 1 c chicken stock 1 14-oz. can diced tomatoes, drained 1 T Dijon style mustard 1 tsp brown sugar salt and pepper to taste 1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Sprinkle the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. If you're using chicken legs, you can snip the tendons around the chicken "ankle" with scissors to make the pieces easier to eat when serving. 2. Melt 3 tablespoons of the fat or oil in a large skillet (or oven proof braising pan if you have it). Brown the chicken pieces on both sides and remove from the pan. 3. Add the remaining tablespoon of fat to the pan. Saute the onions or shallots until slightly browned, about 6 minutes. 4. Add the sherry and stir to dissolve the browned fond from the bottom of the pan. Simmer for a few minutes to reduce by about half. 5. Add the sherry vinegar and cook for several minutes to reduce again, by about half. 6. Add 1 cup of chicken stock, a pinch of salt, the tomatoes, sugar and mustard and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer. 7. If your pan is oven safe, add the chicken pieces skin side up. If not, transfer the liquid to a large oven proof pan (with lid) and add the chicken. Add more chicken stock, if necessary, to bring the level of liquid about half to two-thirds up the sides of the chicken pieces. 8. Cover the pan and bake in the oven for 25 minutes. 9. Remove the pan from the oven and remove the lid. Turn the oven up to 375 and return the uncovered pan to the oven for another 25 minutes. The liquid will reduce and the chicken skin will get brown and crisp. 10. Take the chicken out of the oven. Depending on the amount of fat in the sauce, you may need to remove the chicken and degrease it at this point. You might also want to reduce it further. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with grits or polenta. Keywords: Main Dish, Chicken ( RG1856 )

It's been so long since I've updated my acquisitions here, I can't remember what all I've gotten. But between review copies, books for research and just things I wanted, it's at least 10 more. The Good Cook Club had a deal -- any books in the catalog for $10 and free shipping. So I got Tapas by Jose Andres, James Peterson's Duck Cookbook, Tartine, and The Improvisational Cook.

Abra, those rolls sound a lot like the buttery pan rolls from the old Sunset Bread Cookbook, except that recipe calls for twice as much butter and doesn't require any kneading. They're fabulous.

Check out the eGCI course on Plating and Presentation. There's some very good information and instructive photos there.

A french press is a good option, but I'll second the Melitta suggestion. It's what I used for years, and it's great and easy. All you need is paper filters and a kettle to boil water, and you're set. If you have a thermal carafe, you can buy a Melitta cone to fit, without buying the pot as well.

Sanbitter is a non-alcoholic Campari-like drink. It's a bit sweeter, but very close in flavor. I mix it with Aranciata or Orangina for non-drinkers at parties. I've never tried Chinotto, but I believe it's close in flavor to Picon or Torani Amer. I keep meaning to pick some up, but never remember to.

Thanks to everyone for posting to this topic. Now that Chris's show, The Hungry Detective, is on the air, we're closing this topic so we can keep the discussion of the show itself in one place. Go here to discuss the show. (If you recently posted here about the show, I've moved your post to the new topic.)

I would never count on spirits and a hot pan not catching on fire, regardless of whether the burners are off. You might get lucky, if you pan isn't very hot. But with a hot enough pan, the alcohol and vapors can certainly heat up enough to flame. I know this from experience. My advice is always to assume that spirits added to a hot pan will flame. That way, you won't be unpleasantly surprised.

Bamboo is much more dense than wood, so it'll be easier to clean -- it won't absorb as much oil from the salads, and you can scrub it harder. Supposedly, bamboo can go in the dishwasher. As to care, there is an oil specifically for bamboo, and I've been told that it's not interchangeable with the mineral oil you use on wood boards.

If you want to do stock in it, definitely get the 10-qt. As someone mentioned earlier, you can't fill a pressure cooker more than 2/3 full, so even in a 10-qt., you won't be getting a huge batch of stock. For fast soups, stews and chili, it'll be fabulous. I've done braised shortribs in 45 minutes, split pea soup in 20, beef stew in 30.

I've found that rosemary works much better with tequila than with gin. I kept thinking that gin and rosemary should work, but it's too piney for me. I had pretty good luck with tequila, grapefruit and a small rosemary sprig, shaken and served up. But you have to be careful to go easy on the rosemary, or it takes over.

Check out the eGCI course on Stovetop Cookware (click here) for a good introduction to basic materials and shapes for cookware. It might not answer all your questions, but it should give you a lot of information.

Check out this topic -- there's a wide variety of recipes.

All the recipes I've seen for the Blood and Sand call for Cherry Heering (or another sweet cherry liqueur), not kirsch.

I clean all my fine strainers with a potato brush -- the kind that looks kind of like a nail brush, but with a potato-shapped handle. The bristles are really stiff and do a great job of getting all the residual gunk out.

I tried Bourbon and Branch a couple of nights ago and was impressed. From my experience, it seems that they've ironed out whatever problems Bauer found in the service -- I would have preferred sitting at the bar, but our server was quick and very pleasant. The drinks were good; I thought there was a good mix of fairly accessible drinks with more complex ones. A nice touch was the "amuse" champagne cocktail that the server brought, so we had something to sip while we were deciding what to order. I'll definitely go back, and I'd recommend it to anyone who likes creative cocktails.

I agree with you on this one. I really like Incanto, and since it's close to my apartment, I eat there fairly often. I had also heard people rave about this dish, so when I finally ordered it I was expecting greatness -- especially since other pasta dishes I've had there were fabulous. There wasn't anything bad about it, but it just wasn't great. I thought maybe I had it on an off night for the kitchen, or that I was crazy. I'm kind of glad to know I'm not the only one who didn't love it.

I assume from your description that you mean the sauce was too thin? If that's the case, it seems to me that you should just reduce it longer, to the consistency you want it. Was there some other reason you felt that wouldn't work?

Good memory, Andie. They do rest in the slot in the handle while you're cooking. Another thing I really like about them is that the handles are welded rather than riveted, which makes the pans much easier to clean up. And more so than any other metal-handled cookware I have (Mauviel professional copper and All-Clad), the "stay-cool" handles actually stay cool. The lid handles also stay cool, totally unlike the others. On the other hand, this stuff is not cheap, though. It's not quite as expensive as copper, but it's more than All-Clad.

I think it's a mistake to lump all "stainless" pans together -- sure, there are some thin, cheap stainless pans, but there are also some very good clad or disk botton pans (aluminum or copper core). If you want the responsiveness of a thick copper bottom but not the upkeep of copper, you can do worse than Demeyere Atlantis or Sirocco saute and sauce pans. These are Sirocco -- the saute pan in front and a saucepan in back. Of course you can't tell that they have a thick copper disk bottom, but they do. In fact, the sautepan is just as heavy as a copper one the same size. They can also be used on an induction stove, so if you think you'll ever go that route, Demeyere is a much wiser choice than copper. Which is not to say that I don't like copper, because I do. I recently got a couple pieces for candy and sugar work, and they're the best pans I've ever used for that.

From the description of the sauce, I'm guessing it's rich, creamy and sweet. If that's the case, I'd suggest something a little bitter to offset both the sweetness and richness. Sauteed chard or arugula, maybe?

I was at Cortez a few weeks ago and the bartender there told me that Todd Smith, the ex-bar manager at Cortez, is one of the people behind Bourbon and Branch. Not sure if he's one of the owners or just working there, but he does make very good drinks.