nerissa

Do y'all keep your vinegars in the frig? All of my mirins, vinegars, oils are kept on the shelf or with the alcohol (cool and dark). Oh, by the way, balsamic, all the way. Though lately, I have been experimenting with sherry vinegar.

tamarind, red chile pickle, dijon mustard I would drink EEVO if I could. Cook with sesame oil for some asian dishes. Canola oil for frying. What do I go for in a pinch? Fresh herbs or curry leaves. We always have those in the frig or growing in a pot (not the latter ).

Tarts? Can we stop at Rhea's after going to Fritz Brenner's? Made a steak last night..and roasted parnsips and carrots. This past weeked, I was on a real potato kick..tortilla espanola, potato chips (2 bags).

Ellen, great photos! And, I have to agree with awbrig, next time I am checking in as dog. Interesting thing about the Evian, though. My parents draw their water from a well and it tastes fantastics...our dogs won't drink normal tap water, so when we travel, we have to give them bottled water. I have tried giving them tap water, and they sort of look like me as to say "You expect me to drink that?"

Can we have more pictures of Momo, please? Congratulations on the nomination.

Ohhh, sorry to hear. I never went to Udupi while I was living in DC. But, now that I am in Chicago, we go the one on Devon Ave. at least once a month. And it is always wonderful...except the masala filling was not that well spiced. My boyfriend had the tomato, chile,and onion uddapam which was fantastic--better than usual. Have you tried Amma's in Georgetown?

Canteloupe. Doesn't stop me from eating it, though.

people can stop caring you know. You might as well talk to the cat. (Apologies to John Cleese)

G-- I have grown arugula in a clay pot...it does pretty well. I just bring in the pot when I want to munch. I am pretty sure you can grow other lettuces in pots. Snowangel-- your son Peter sounds like he has inherited your gardening genes. Ah to be 7 again and asleep in the garden.

Tortilla Espanola Mesclun greens with reduced balsamic and EEVO. Drank (ok, drinking) Pinot Noir

QUOTE: What is happening on this thread is that those who are partial to Indian cuisine, cannot tolerate the truth being told that it pretty much revolves around wet meat with a variety of different saucing techniques, and tandooris which from my experience most often puts out dry and overcooked meats.] Actually, a number of us have pointed out that indian cuisine is too varied and diverse to even center around "wet meats"...it is impossible to make a claim about india or cuisine that is that limiting. Southern Indian (e.g. Mysore) is vegetarian. It "revolves" around various crepes, pancakes, flatbreads and so forth. QUOTE: And rather then face up to those limitations in the cuisine, they would prefer to play the race card rather then argue it on the merits. Anil did it earlier in the thread and a bunch of us ignored it. This time I am pointing out that it is offensive and not the slightest bit funny. And it is no accident that it is cropping up at the point in the conversation where I have put forth an argument that Anil doesn't seem to have an answer to. ] I searched under Anil and couldn't find any such post; I also scanned the 1st 3 pages. I entirely agree that such use is offensive-- the only race card that was played beside you came from someone who made a poor joke probably out of frustration and pain from banging his head on the table*. I really don't think anyone is accusing you of being a racist; I do not think Anil's use of prejudice below is meant along racist lines. Prejudice and racism are kissing cousins, but many of us have our prejudices, whether we like it or not. I really doubt that you are a racist, as I think Fat Guy and Jason would kick you out the front door. And, besides, I have not seen any hint of such in those posts of yours that I have read. Can I respectfully say that you just are not getting it? You talk at length about high cuisine and technique, but I do not believe you have defined it in this thread. I welcome your view. Feel free to point out where you may have defined these terms. I suspect that you will offer definitions for these terms that say something along the lines like "how the French or the chef(s) at El Bulli do it". *Edited to add "head on the"

Oh yes, I completely agree with the "live music" as a deterrent. I feel the same way about karokee, although this is more relevant to drinking threads. One exception is one of my old favorite mexican places here in Chicago, where they occasionally have the lonely old man playing a guitar. Did you see "A Cook's Tour" last night in which bourdain discussed the elements which make a good bar. He was pretty on target. I am reminded of this because Karokee and singles scenes were no-nos in his book.

it's refreshing to see someone besides my self use that phrase. Call me an illiterate putz but, uh, isn't the phrase, "chomping" at the bit. Thanks roz... I also called my mother to verify this, and she, the horsewoman, said, it has to do with the way a horse's jaw works, where they are also pulling at the same time (using the jaw).

9 pages of discussion about something your gut is telling you????????????? I remain in the "I give up" state. Tony - I doubt it's called Chiravate anywhere in the north. That's a name quite specific to Maharashtra. I am becoming a national of the "I-give-up" state. I hear they are accepting applications.

Hardly. You may be the only one who is champing at the bit for Tyler bashing. I have nothing against the guy.

Ehh. I found his multiple "This is ultimate New York" annoying. He seemed out of his element when he was in Italy. All the pizza's looked yummy--my ears perked up at the mention of truffles.

How did you know? May it become us that we choose men who can cook and are foodies.

+ 1 for me too. Larousse Gastronimque Birthday present.

Steve Plotnicki: You can continue to define indian cuisine however you like it. This is a free market after all. But, you haven't even tried to differentiate between the different regional cusines, although many others have on this thread. I will keep it simple, southern indian food (with which I am more familiar *) has nothing to do with these gravies...er...sauces you talk about as being the exact same thing. ( I see your reply to Miss J below). It is about complex proteins and vegetables, except that in some regions its strictly vegetarian, and in other places it is not. A while back, you admitted that you had never eaten good indian food in a private home. This is telling, and I hope someday you have the experience. Why can't you just admit that you prefer French food, which is not exactly a crime in these parts, rather than saying it is "overspiced" when you do not seem to have the experience to understand how and where balance is achieved in indian cuisine? *Edit: "than" deleted

Kris, sorry to hear you are having such a bad week....You still manage to turn out a pretty tasting sounding dinner. I made a cassoulet for dinner tonight. It was 40 degrees and rainy.

Tommy- you were right. I had confused Liza, with another lovely resident of Lower Manhattan, Suzanne F. My apologies. Still, it is the most sensible idea.

I went through Hurricane Hugo, which was forecasted as a category 5 hurricane...some people say it was much worse. My incalitrant father refused to seek higher ground at our mtn. house. He was afraid that we wouldn't be able to get back into the city afterwards. The weatherman irresponsibly broke down on live t.v. and said that he was praying for those who were not evacuating. At that time, we lived in a 3 story 19th c. house with 50 windows...my parents boarded up every single one and every window on my grandparent's house. The storm took half of our roof anyway. We survived because the eye was centered on downtown charleston-the worst of the storm was slightly north of the eye, and it destroyed several towns. Anyway--I recommend that if you think you might loose power, to start emptying your freezers. My neighborhood pooled its resources; one of our neighbors was a pastry chef and she had to empty a local restaurants' freezer. Another neighbor had a gas grill; we gathered on the porch and ate very well as no one had power that month. The aftermath in that respect was a pleasant experience--as the city fell dark and quiet each night. We felt safe enough because a neighbor was a prominent judge and therefore we had constant National Guard presence. We opened up our 1st floor shower to the neighborhood, as we were the only ones with hot water. I do remember, however, a distinct lack of fresh fruit and veggies. We were lucky because of our neighbors and the local restaurant scene... had access to some. Like many others, I have enough dried beans and grains to last for a while. I am not planning to go crazy at the supermarket. I don't know how much one can plan for the unforseeable. Suzanne's F.'s tips about organizing your papers is the most sensible idea posted here.

Jin, as usual, I am quite impressed. Roast chicken, with lime, lemon thyme, shallot. Pan gravy made from the drippings Salad greens with balsamic/sherry vinegar reduction dressing... broiled goat cheese croquettes served on top.

I find this to be a really interesting thread. Soba, What is your conception of U.S. snacking patterns? I understand it as irrational, patternless--as people just pick up a bag of chips or cookies at the quickie mart and down them without thinking about whether or not they are hungry. What tokakris describes seems more healthy--if you define mealtimes, you tend to think about what you have eaten earlier and what you will be eating at that prescribed time.

Rachel's and others comments about bending to picky eaters hit home. My sister and I were sugar and junk deprived as well growing up...parents on a macrobiotic kick. Anyway--I know 2 sets of kids very well (babysitting/living with family) who are picky eaters... both have been diagnosed as anorexic by their doctors. One was 9; the boy was 11. She will only eat Mac and Cheese. He will only eat Tortelinni and pizza. I used to pack his lunches and all the good Whole Foods stuff came back uneaten. Mothers--please be careful about talking about how "fat" you are in the company of your children. Neither of the mothers were extreme in any way, but constant comments do seep in. I also feel strongly about this... so, forgive my ranting.