Busboy

One restaurant I worked at used to just melt limp tin in the pot bottoms, and then swish it around until the sides were finished. It looked simple but I expect it's a "do not try this at home" project.

It seems in a lot of restaurants you have a choice not only of kitchen dining, but a table in the wine cellar...someones dropping hundreds of thousands of dollars on their dining rooms and no one wants to eat there. Il Laboratorio at Galileo offers a great show, as well as astounding food. I like watching chefs (and bartenders and butchers, for that matter) work - there's something balletic about it, and it certainly doesn't hurt my technique to watch the pros do it. Before I tried making risotto for the first time I leaned over the bar at Luigino's and asked the cook (it was very slow) how to make it. Delivered in tentative English and a strong Italian accent, and followed with a demonstration, (and a bowlfull) it was a lesson I've never forgotten.

Idip the tomato in flour, then a wash made of egg white and milk and then a 1/2 flour, 1/2 corn meal plus salt mixture. Deep fry. Since I'm an urban yuppie, and my Alabama grandma never made these, I have no idea how authentic this is. Almost all your ideas sound good to me (though panka may be a little cute). I had a friend from Austin who dusted them lightly with flour and fried them with oil, then assembled them in a pie crust with cream cheese.

Assuming one's guests aren't simply oafish or genuinely unreasonable, it usually seems easy enough to cook a meal that can, with minor adjustments, accommodate unusual or even rediculous requests. Why get indigestion before the meal raging about soy sauce on risotto? Ick, but so what? Throw a little low-fat cheese on one corner of the lasagne. It doesn't take any more work, and there will be some "overlap, but and everyone's happy. I have a vegetarian friend who eats at my house a couple of times a month, and when she's over mixing with the omnivors, I just cook something for dinner that can fo with either meat or, say grilled mushrooms or some simple substitute -- hell, I'm already in the kitchen or at the grill, the marginal labor involved is negligible. The first imperative if to serve a gracious meal, to create a moment that is ultimately going to be fun or special or romantic not merely because of the food, but because of the pleasure people take in eating it. It's not to show off one's kitchen skills or command of dining regulation.

We call this a "large stack" and got the idea from the Dahlia Lounge in Seattle: Slice red tomato (or whatever color catches your fancy), green tomato and the buff. Dredge the green tomatoe and the buffalo mozzarella in flour, then egg white/milk and then 1/2 flour 1/2 corn meal with a little salt. Fry the green tomato and the mozzarella until the mozzarella is just runny, stack with the red tomato in whatever order and ratio you prefer, slide a couple of fresh basil leaves in between slices. Serve with a sauce made by simmering shallots slowly in wine and butter for hours until barley brown, then adding more butter and, if you prefer, pureeing until smooth. Very crisp and summery -- a cross between boardwalk eating and the Moosewood Kitchen.

Thanks for the tip. Can't wait to try it oput.

I guess chefs have always been doing this, but I didn't use to be much of a fish-eater and have only recently stumbled across several preparations that turn out fish filets with the skin side cooked to a positive crackle, usually saltier than you'd expect ,even from ocean-going species. Last night I actually had a dish where the chef cooked sea bass in a roulade, and served the skin separately, like a piece of briny flatbread, for crunch. Otherwise the fish -- I've tried a couple of different varieties, including rouget and loupe de mer -- seems normally sauteed or pan roasted. I like the tecture it lends and skin like this always seems to be on top of a particularly juicy filet. Is this an amateur-masterable technique? PS -- I would be delighted to hear any current favorite saucings that would accompany such a preparation. I'm thinking of trying a brothy corn/mushroom thing that I hope will be similar to a great dish I had at Washington's Pesce, but am open. As I said, fish is a relatively new phenomenon in my kitchen.

They're noticable before -- I don't think they're fat, because they tend to remain suspended in the liquid, rather than floating to the top.

Maybe I should save this question for the lesson, but while we're on the subject.... I find that sometimes when I go to reheat leftover consume the next day, little specks of eggwhite (?) have somehow appeared in what was the day before a perfectly transparent liquid. Is this common? Is something I might (not) done? You can't taste them, but the specks are numerous enough to make it look a little nasty -- it looks like someone shook a dustmop over the soup pot.

But, when you're staggering the long way from the Meatpacking District to the Grammercy Park, very conveniently placed. Of course, it's easier when you're a guy.

Saw lots of pizza trucks, but never one with a wood-burning oven. Wouldn't it be great if they had one of those that drove around your neighborhood, kind of like the Good Humor man? When we were there we stumbled across wood-fired pizzarias in a lot of towns, usualy filled with French diners, so I counted them as "Fench food" and not "tourist food." Made me feel less guilty when I caved to my kids who, interestingly enough, will wolf down Ethiopian or Vietnamese food, but don't like French. Go figure. PS: Chloe -- wish I had snails, salt cod and octopus for dinner last night.

Don't be too ambitious...when in doubt, relax. That's why they invented Provence.

Last fall, I stayed for three days in Monaco and three in a small town nearby, called Beaulieu Sur Mer. I was pleased to find that the whole stretch of coast between Nice (probably further) and Monaco is connected by trains that run often and inexpensively, which gives you a lot of flexibility of you want to sleep inexpensively but see downtown Monaco. There was a wonderful, mid-priced restaurant in B-S-M called L'Agave, right across from the train station. The owner had spent 30 years in Milwaukee, which has not harmed the food there, and she seemed very easy-going, though it mught be a little much for 3 and 6. BsM also has a market in the town square every morning. The town closes up tight about 10PM. Monaco is a great place to wander around in, lots of staircases and old alleys, very clean and safe and open all night. The old city is so-so, but worth an afternoon. I never found a good mid-price place to eat there, so stuck to boulangeries and the traiteurs, which were great. My dad's eye didn't see a lot for kids to do there, it's more playground for adults, but very charming. There are a thousand inexpensive places to get pizza and steak frites up and down the coast, if you or the kids starts feeling unadventureous, and if you like fish, you should eat well every day with very little effort - even the mediocre places put out a decent loupe de mere.

I will never slice potatoes with a mandoline, without using the guard, or mouth off about my cooking skills again. Making Pommes Anna with guests already over, not using the little plastic gripper thing because, frankly, its a pain and doesnt' work well. My friend Beth warned me to be careful, that a mutual acquaintence of ours has sliced the tip of his finger off doing the same thing. I had barely gotten the words "I think I have a little more experience in the kitchen than Joel" out of my mouth before I was applying direct pressure to stop the bleeding and gin to stop the pain. Another friend finished the slicng for me while I writhed for a few minutes in the back room. The dinner went fine. The fingertip grew back. I use the guard now.

Two restaurants and two (helpful, one hopes) suggestions. Restaurants: If you are wine touring in the Gigondas/Vacqueyras/Beume de Venice area (the three villages are within 8 km of one another) we had the loveliest meal of our recent stay in that area at a place called Les Florets, a couple of KM outside Gigindas - -you can follow the signs from the main road that takes you past the village. Meals are served on a shaded terrace overlooking a beauiful valley, the service is informal but crisp. and the food is extraordinary. I had the best fish dish I have ever eaten there, inprobably combining cod (?) fresh snails and vegetables into a sort of ragout where the flavors just expolded, but never overwhelmed the fish. A beautiful setting and a great, endless meal for less than 33 Euros (even cheaper sounding when you consider that tax and tip are included). In two weeks in France, that is the restaurant my wife and I talk (endlessly) about visiting again. If you go to the Market at Isle sur la Sorgue (almost a requirement, it seems), there is a little place called Bistro d'Industrie set right next to the river, on the edge of the market, just off the main entrance to the town from the north...(just follow the river upstream until you run out of market, and you'll be there). It features crisp, thin-crust pizzas made in a wood-burning brick oven. And, if the heat keeps up, you'll appreciate that they serve the coldest beer in all of France, on tap. Suggestions Again, if you are up in the Gigondas metro area, with time to kill around sunset, get a bottle of wine and some of the cheese and bread you can't help but accumulate in Provence, and look for Seguret, a small village cantilevered onto a hillside between Gigondas and Vaison la Romaine (a good stop for Roman ruins). Take the "route touristique." The tourists seem to leave early there and my family and I watched the sunset from a completely deserted overlook, with what seemed to be the entire Rhone Valley spread out beneath us. There is a restaurant there which claims to be of note, although I didn't try it, that has a balcony overlooking the valley, as well. Don't get swept up in "marche madness." There are a lot of markets in Provence, seemingly all a mix of tourist and locals, all a mix of good stuff and trash, and all noisy, crowded and tiring. If I were to do it again -- that is, next time I go -- I would pick one or two and get there very early, and spend my other mornings at a cafe, drinking pastisse. Have a great trip. You're going to a great place. PS my favorite souvenires were bought at a plain old flea market on the north edge of Carpentras on a Sunday afternoon: six more-or-less antique place settings featuring the seemingly oversized forks and spoons you see in french country restaurants (and homes, I suppose) and a pastisse caraf with six matching glasses. So be sure to make time for aimless wandering, too. Edit to improve, if not entirely fix, grammar.

Not sure from earlier in the thread if you're covering non-stock-based sauces, but my question concerns cream sauces (to which I often add stock, if that makes me more relevant). Why do cream sauces break soemtimes and sometimes not? I'll make the same sauce exactly the same way, so it seems -- for example, sweating shallots and garlic, cooking the alcohol out of wine and reducing it, letting the pan cool, adding cream and bringing it to a boil, to be finished with stock, herbs or whatever. One time it wil break into a grainy mess, the next time it will be sublime. What am I missing? Or is that just the nature of the beast?

Maybe I'm less prepared than some of the other road trippers here, but I find that the bigger problem is that the "adult" menus are as boring, repetitive and deep fried as the kids menu. If you can even find a non-chain without spending 40 minutes driving around the countryside, they still offer the same boring crap as anyplace else. In my experience, the odds of coming across a great "hidden" chicken fried steak place or po-boy shack within 10 miles of a major highway are pretty slim. Or maybe someone has some pointers....

Running the puree through a sieve, even a relatively coarse one, should cure the "hair" problem.

Well I said come on over baby We got chicken in the barn Come on over baby We really got the bull by the horn Yeah we ain't fakin' Whole lot of bacon goin' on

When did you put the insert in the freezer? I don't have the same brand of freezer you do, but most of them say you need to freeze the insert for a full 24 hours before use. I've tried popping them in in the morning and making dessert in the evening, and that is not enough time. Better luck on your next attempt!

I was fortunate to get a piece published in recently on making ice creams and sorbets. It's no longer available for free on the Post website (though well worth the $1.75 it costs to fetch it from the archives) (maybe) but, if you'd like, I can probably e-mail it through e-gullet or possibly post it here somehow. In the mean time, here's one of the recipe's they didn't print. It's probably slightly complicated for a first atempt, but once you get a creme anglais down (or if you already have it down) it's pretty simple. Lavender-Mascarpone Ice Cream with Poached Fruit Voltaire said: “ice cream is exquisite – what a pity it isn’t illegal.” If the food police have their way, though, the following recipe may well end up banned. Until then, enjoy the richest – and yet most delicately flavored – recipe I know. Serving sizes can be adjusted down. For the ice cream: 5 large eggs yolks (6 if using organic eggs, which usually run smaller) 250 gm container mascarpone 1 cup Milk ½ cup cream ¼ cup sugar ¼ cup honey 1 sprig fresh lavender 1 tsp vanilla Mix milk and cream, add lavender, and bring to a boil. Taste the mixture occasionally as it heats – lavender varies in intensity and can easily overwhelm the ice cream. As soon as the flavor becomes distinct, but still understated, remove the lavender. While the milk-cream mixture is heating, beat sugar and honey into the egg yolks until the sugar dissolves. Pour the boiling milk/cream mixture into the egg yolks, whisking as you do. Return the mixture to the saucepan and stir continuously over low heat or a double boiler until the mixture coats the back of a spoon, or reaches 170 degrees. This may take 10-15 minutes. Pour into a bowl set in an ice bath and chill to room temperature. Whisk the mascarpone in until fully blended. Strain the mixture into a bowl and chill in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight. Freeze according to your machine’s manufacturer’s instructions, scoop into a chilled bowl and place in the freezer 1-2 hours to harden. Yield: 6 servings (about 3 cups) For the poached fruit: 1 bottle fruity white wine 3/4 cup sugar 2 cinnamon sticks 2 whole cloves 2 partially ripened pears or other fruit, pealed and halved Combine all ingredients save the fruit in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the fruit, simmer gently until fruit softens to taste. Remove from heat, allow fruit to sit in the liquid until serving time. Reheat gently if desired.

My guess: Alex from A Clockwork Orange

Well, I don't spend too much time at the chains, but calling ahead to Philadelphia Pizza for wings or Trio's for a cheesesteak meakes them pretty much as fast as a drive-thru, and the food is right there in terms nutrition and aesthetic appeal. So I'd argue for the "big tent" approach. Which puts me at the skin-popper level of fast-food junkie-ness. Twice a week, maybe.

This may be a little off topic but it seems like the place to drop this quyestion... Does anybody else find that drinking gin yields a distinctly different buzz than drinking, say, vodka or just sipping wine? Scientists say "no", but I find there's nothing quite like the narco/alcohol effect of a good martini or two.

Or a diet based on chicken tenders and kelp-based "milkshakes." Does food purchased at grease-oriented carryouts which are not chains count as 'fast food? ' Or are we discussing McDonalds et al only?