rlibkind

Katie, I am so regretful I didn't know about this (but don't feel too sorry, I was in Oslo imbibing Aquavits when your notice went out). I love good apple brandies (I include Laird's among them), but the Dupont calvados which I've tried, the Vielle Reserve, is delicious. In fact, I've just about finished off the bottle I purchased in the fall to get me through the winter!

I agree: any cut of chuck will do just fine. To me, though, in a braise marbling isn't that important, since the fat is going to melt away, unlike in a steak where the fat will largely remain within the meat to add succulence. What is important in a braise is that there be sufficient connective tissue, which when properly braised will turn gelatinous and create a succulent product.

I don't think there's a need to stuff. I'd braise using a nice Riesling, keeping it simple. Maybe some salt, pepper, rosemary into the pot.

No, No, No! A duck is a fowl! A fluke is a fish!

Trimbach must be on tour. See Eric Asimov's "The Pour" blog from the NY Times web site. If your report is accurate, it won't match the 25 vintages at the NYC event at Daniel.

Bob, what name do the RTM vendors use for the stuff? ← Salicornia. Only vendor who ever has it is Iovine Brothers Produce.

I've used it as a side with scallops. Quick blanch. It's occasionally available at Philadelphia's Reading Terminal Market.

There's good pork to be had in Iowa, so I recommend: "The Whole Beast: Nose to Tail Eating" by Fergus Henderson.

fwiw, believe it or not, I frequent one deli (Hershel's in Philadelphia's Reading Terminal Market) who brines (not dry cures) fresh navels for pastrami. HE DOES NOT SMOKE THE PASTRAMI! His seasoned brine and the spice/herb mixture treatment before cooking in the oven does it all. I was dumbfounded, because it's a superior product even without the smoking. (No liquid smoke, either.) I grew up on Katz's, as well as great local delis in North Jersey, and Hershel's holds its own. I'm still amazed he can create such a great product with no smoke. I know, it's hard to believe, but true.

Google Translate isn't perfect, but it does a surprisingly good job. Loved those oysters (and your aperitif.no article on them). Any recommendations on where to get Norwegian oysters when I'm in Oslo later this month? Alas, though I fell in love with Bergen (and the Fisketorget and the city's eponymous soup) on my previous visit 15 years ago, we're not going to be able to make it there this trip.

As of this writing, it's now three bells online Hey, mistakes were made . . .

Made our quarterly repeat visit to Lacroix Sunday. Don't remember everything, but some highlights: Off the fish table, what is perhaps the finest piece of smoked, peppered mackerel I've had the pleasure of eating: still moist, peppery without overdosing. Among the hor d'oeuvres: Foie gras with house-made smoked marshmallows! Fennel soup with nice crispy banana bits (think Bacos but made of bananas) The tenderest grilled octopus ever. Lamb tataki (barely cooked) with pistachio worked for me. The red beet gelle looked like a baby whole beet, but it was an über beet jelly (think canned cranberry sauce, but good) served in a spoon with something crunchy (turned out it was pop rocks). Little capon rillette balls looked like the midwest's famous sauerkraut balls, but tasted better. The chipotle-apricot bread (micro-muffins) packed a nice little wallop. I wasn't enthralled with the pine nut panna cotta served (and infused by) smoked black trumpet fungi, but it certainly tasted mushroomy. Oh, the duck croissants were nothing to sneeze at. There was a wonderful celery salad with carrots, peanuts and Campari. The "toasted bagel panzanella" included little bits of smoked salmon. Onto the kitchen for the main events, where I did manage to pass up a few items but still went wild, because there was just so much I had to taste, even if it didn't make sense eating them together: Their tiny fried potatoes (crunchy cubic centimeter bits topped with crunchy crystals of French sea salt) continue to amaze me. Just perfect. This went well with the herb sautéed mushrooms. Tommy DiNic shouldn't have to worry, but I found the duck confit served with rabe and provolone compelling. Maybe Tommy should add it to his menu? One can never get enough bacon, so I had a couple of bacon slices along with the crispy pork belly atop white beans. When I was last at Lacroix for Sunday brunch in October, they had a corned veal breast. Today it was an uncorned roasted veal breast; better than the corned version! The braised red cabbage (excellent with the pork belly or veal) was striking by the use of blackberries as the sweetening agent. My one regret: not picking up a little ramekin of the "rustic" lobster bread pudding. How could that possibly be "rustic"? To accompany all this I had a sparkler (the cremant). To accompany the cheese and dessert courses I selected a semilon, which was fine but not nearly as good as the Muscat I ordered last October. Okay, the desserts: I always start with a little cheese. Of the four on the cheese table, I selected a hard, truffle-inflected cheese, a little dab of roquefort, and some brie. Next was the liquid nitrogen station back in the kitchen. Today they were doing a chocolate malt foam surrounding a dollop of chocolate ganache. Of the ice cream toppings (I skipped the ice cream), the pears poached with verbena sounded the most interesting; I should have tasted those! The "Black Forest Cake" was topped with some brandy-soaked dried cherries, and was hardly a cake at all, rather lots of sweet cream flavored as a black forest cake. She Who Must Be Obeyed went back for seconds of the citrus poppyseed cake, which has more "frosting" than cake, though the little round plug of cake was quite nice, too. Oh, it was adorned with some gold leaf. There were the little lemon meringue tartlets, a cilantro-infused cake-ish treat, and something with some pistachio flavoring, too, as well as a few others I didn't try. All were designed in high style, all were full of sweet fat, all were satisfying. Once again, SWMBO regretted not adhering to her motto: "Live is short, eat dessert first." So, does Lacroix uphold the initial "expensive, expansive, exceptional" label I gave it? Yes (our tab for two with three drinks and gratuity was just a little under $200), Yes and Yes.

She Who Must Be Obeyed and I are heading back to Oslo 15 years after my first, brief visit there; this one will only be for five nights, too. We'll be staying just off Stortingsgata, so anywhere in that vicinity or an easy tram ride away for dinner would be nice. We're not looking for fancy, just decent, hearty food on the lower end of the price spectrum (that's an oxymoron in Oslo, I know). Also, here are a few places for dinner that appear to be within our budget. Any opinions? Fyret Mat og Drikke. I love Akavits, and the small plates looked tasty and priced for a budget. Café Tekethopa Dovrehallen Rest.- Bar. Looks like industrial food, but it's in our price range. Amundsen & Nobile Thanks for any updates and hints you can offer. In addition, any particularly good street foods for a quick, very cheap lunch? We'll be filling up at breakfast at our hotel.

Drive north on I-94. Cross state line into Wisconsin. Find a liquor store. Buy Spotted Cow. The Woodman's in Kenosha at Exit 344 of I-94 probably has it.

After overnight soaking in cold water (salt herring is not dried; it's packed in brine), you need to pickle it for a few days. Use white vinegar and dilute 1:1 with water, add pickle spices/herbs you like (dill weed or seed, coriander seed, mustard seed, allspice, bay leaf, peppercorns, whatever), and just a little sugar (with 1-1/2 cup of vinegar/water mix, most recipes called for 1/4 cup sugar; I'd cut that back to one tablespoon unless you want to taste more sugar). Combine the brine ingredients and pour over the herring, with some sliced onions on top, then let it pickle in the fridge for three days. If you want it more sour, by all means go ahead. I've seen recipes for a 3:1 vinegar/water ratio that call for only a scant amount of sugar. The old Settlement Cookbook, for example, calls for 3 cups vinegar, 1 cup water and 1 tablespoon sugar to pickle 12 whole herrings (24 fillets).

Most of the canned and jarred herrings you find are on the sweet side. If you've got a German or Eastern European food store, your chances of finding what you're lookiing for are improved. A properly prepared Bismarck won't be too sweet, nor a rollmop, which is nothing more than a Bismarck rolled around an onion or pickle. If you're located near NYC or Philadelphia, try one of the big Russian supermarkets. In Chicago or Cleveland, there's got to be larger Slavic grocery stores that would probably offer a less sweet herring. But just like in other stores, smaller cans or jars of herring are likely to be too sugary. If a store as a nice display of herrings either in trays in refrigerated cases hand-packed, your odds improve. If you are more adventurous, you could mail-order salt herring (you can get it in fillets rather than whole if you wish) and make your own pickled herring.

An online business travel newsletter I subscribe to (Joe Sent Me) recently wrote about off-airport eats and one of the places he recommended was totally unfamiliar to me: Bomb Bomb BBQ Grill & Italian Restaurant at 1026 Wolf. A really strange-sounding combination of red gravy and bbq. But I figure any place that has fried shark as an appetizer along with calimari can't be that bad. Anyone been or care to comment?

A shad correction. It seems my earlier report that the shad at John Yi's were harvested from Southern U.S. rivers was mistaken. According to the signs, these comes from European waters. Further research shows that there are two species of European shad inhabiting eastern Atlantic waters from Morrocco north to Norway, though the commercial shad fishery is centered in the Gironde-Garonne-Dordogne basin of France. Although these fillets, whole fish and roe sets looked fine, you're probably better off waiting for the local run, which arrives in late April and early May. Or visit the annual Lambertville shad festival, scheduled this year for April 25 and 26.

Full menu can be found at Soul BYOB. Not your average soul food menu.

In Racine, Wisconsin, one local chain takes the circle and cuts it into diamond shapes. It's actually a fairly good pie, with an exceedingly thin, almost cracker-like, crust.

My abominable pizza is the one served at Alexander Hamilton Junior High School, Elizabeth NJ, c 1960: white bread, plain tomato sauce, American cheese. Not at all unlike the Old Forge, Pa., version (apologies to Rich P)!

No fresh pretzels! At least temporarily, as Fisher's has demolished its existing stand in order to build a new one, which should be open by Flower Show, which begins Feb. 28. When it reopens, Fisher's will be strictly a candy vendor. In the meantime, Fisher's is selling candy in the spaces formerly occupied by Dutch Country Meats and Every Day Gourmet, as shown in the photo. Across the aisle, Miller's Twists is well along on construction, anticipating opening Feb. 25, which is when you can satisfy your fresh-baked pretzel addiction. (In the meantime, you can indulge on a fine example of street pretzel sold at the Pennslylvania General Store.) As previous reported, Miller's has bought Fisher's pretzel and ice cream business and is moving it to the west side of the Green Court seating area. Right now seating is scarce in the Green Court, but will be restored to pretty much the previous level when the Fair Food Farmstand makes its move to the 12th Street side in May. Fair Food Funding Gain Fair Food is closing in on its funding needs for the move, thanks to a $50,000 state grant being arranged through State Rep. Dwight Evans, who just happen to chair the House's Appropriation Committee. Members of the Fair Food staff attended Pennsylvania Association of Sustainable Agriculture Conference in State College earlier this month, and in addition to attending various workshops also exhibited a "mini" farmstand. One of the goals was to find new farmers to let them know how the Fair Food Farmstand can help in selling their products. Stands To Remodel Lancaster County Dairy needs more space, Old City Coffee's adjacent stand is a jury-rigged mess. Solution: Old City reduces its footprint in a redesigned stall, making the operation more efficient (particularly important on a morning like today, when attendees and exhibitors from the crafts show at the Convention Center caused long lines). And Lancaster County Dairy gets the space it needs.

Earl Livengood became the first regional farmer to directly market at Greensgrow's Kensington urban farm. Greensgrow, entering its twelfth season, is a favored nursery among many Center City backyard gardeners. (I love their pepper plants; She Who Must Be Obeyed was ecstatic last spring when she discovered Moonflowers there.) The Kensington non-profit also hosts a CSA and sells its own produce and that of other regional farms, urban and rural. It also supplies city chefs who want local produce. Now, however, Greensgrow founder Mary Seton Corboy would like to see area farmers sell their product directly at Greengrow, located at East Cumberland between Almond and Gaul streets, just a couple of blocks from Aramingo Avenue and its strip malls and fast-food franchises. She and her market and CSA manager, Natalie, are seeking participants both from the current crop of growers who supply Greensgrow's own retail operation, and others. Earl, who is also selling this winter at Clark Park's Farmers Market (where his helper John greeted customers today), plans to try it for a few weeks to see how it goes and whether it's worth his time and effort. Winter sales at the Reading Terminal Market, he told me last month, tend to be okay for the first couple hours in the morning but then die. One advantage at Greensgrow when compared to outdoor farmers' markets operated by The Food Trust and Food To City is that Livengood doesn't have to set up his own awning to protect him and the produce from the elements. Greensgrow plans to located any farmers they can attract within the largest structure, which in spring, summer and fall is filled with plants for sale. Greensgrow's own retail operation reopens for the 2009 season April 28, selling produce, meats and dairy products from many of the same farmers who market through Fair Food and/or participate directly in regional farmers' markets.

A sure sign of spring is shad -- even if it comes from Southern rivers. (The local run in the Delaware doesn't begin until May.) Buck shad sold at John Yi today a $3.99, roe shad at $4.99 and roe sets commanded $7.99. Based on how good it was a few weeks ago, I bought some haddock fillet at $7.99. I'll pan fry it tonight, perhaps in a panko crust.

More about citrus, or at least, price reports from Iovine Brothers. The prices have held relatively steady except for a whopping reduction in the cost of limes. For the past week limes have been selling for a dime apiece, as reported in the new recession thread. With Hass avocados under a buck (89 cents), it's once more guacamole time. On to the other citrus: * Honeybells, small 8 for $1 * Honeybells, large 2 for $1 * Temple oranges, 4 for $1 * Cara Cara oranges, 5 for $2 * White grapefruit, 89 cents * Jumbo red grapefruit, 3 for $1 * Small ruby grapefruit, 4 for $1 * Navel oranges, 3 for $1 * Mineola oranges, small 4 for $1 * Mineola oranges, large 2 for $1.49 * Jumanji oranges, 2 for $1.49 * Juice oranges, 4 for $1 Also at Iovine's, red peppers 99 cents, greens $1.29, red and green frying peppers $1.29. Oh, and black truffles, $300/pound, with the two packs I saw priced at $18 apiece. Makes a heck of an omelet.