fresco

But, with, say, broccoli, the difference must be only a couple of minutes. Think steaming produces a better tasting vegetable.

Out of curiosity, why would you boil vegetables rather than steam them?

Gas

For about a week now (ever since I managed to smash the glass door on our gas Kitchenaid range) I've been using the Weber grill to bake bread. And much to my surprise, the Weber produces a much better (crisper) crust than the Kitchenaid, although it is, you'll understand, far more basic. The Kitchenaid is convection. The Weber is covered, and fueled with natural gas. I use a baking stone, just as I did with the range. I try to keep the heat around 400 degrees, but it's cold outside, so I don't worry if it creeps up a bit. Anyone care to speculate as to why the results are better on an outdoor grill?

I dunno, but if you read down in this piece, the author claims that Reisling has the highest acidity "in the wine world." Do you have some authority for sauternes? http://web.ask.com/redir?bpg=http%3a%2f%2f....html&qte=0&o=0

Plus, they're a damn good deal these days.

White? Specifically, Reislings.

Jaymes, it sounds like the problem is that not all of your friends and acquaintances were of the same quality as your recipes.

And I'm pretty sure a papaya-based marinade, or, as chinese cooks have been known to employ, a bit of baking soda, would tenderize meat to the point of mush.

Did you mention that while it was an easy recipe, it was not idiot proof?

Another one I've learned to be skeptical about is "never lift the lid when you're cooking..." especially rice. I almost always do, and it doesn't seem to make a damn bit of difference. Conversely, I have noticed that an unwatched pot can boil dry.

The "Hi, I'm" is annoying, but I always assumed it was some dumb rule imposed on wait staff and certainly not worth badgering or taunting them for. But come to think of it, any place where that happens is pretty well never worth a second visit.

I've found that if you use a large enough pot in proportion to the pasta it never sticks.

Interesting. The first thing that occurs to me, as well, for dinner New Year's Eve is seafood. Wonder what the connection is.

One aspect of all this that hasn't been addressed, perhaps because it is the most difficult to pin down, is individual talent and how that affects a dish. There was a time, soon after the publication of The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test, when hundreds, perhaps thousands, of journalists with literary pretensions began writing in the Tom Wolfe manner. The results were not pretty, although Tom Wolfe's style works just fine for Tom Wolfe.

When you have people over for dinner, aren't you "sharing" your recipes? If a dish is particularly good, or unusual, it's bound to spark a discussion of ingredients and technique. Difficult in those circumstances to say "Just eat and don't ask any questions."

Here is their site: http://www.burmesterporto.com/en/historia/historia.htm

I think it would be tough to top the pros.

I'm sure this is by no means always the case, but it would be interesting to know how many of these closely guarded "family" recipes were actually cadged from a newspaper, magazine or cookbook.

What about the Spanish cavas? A few years ago, everyone was touting them. Now, you don't hear much. Have they been overtaken?

There are, to my way of thinking, a few good reasons to share recipes. 1. For most of us, no recipe is entirely original. We borrowed from someone else. 2. The person requesting the recipe might well reciprocate. 3. The world can certainly do with more people cooking better meals. 4. At a minimum, the world can certainly do with more people cooking.

So beef has become dangerous? No more carpaccio? It's not risk-free. http://www.ifst.org/hottop1.htm

With the increasing incidence of e.coli contamination in beef, and increasingly virulent strains of e.coli occurring, I suggest, with respect, that you may want to give that some more thought.

Mussel and monkfish stew with fennel, tomato, potato, white wine and heavy cream. Spatchcocked, grilled chicken with green beans and potatoes for the fish-averse son and his posse.

In that case, I guess the possibility exists that your entire meal was anomalous. Another possibility is that awarding a restaurant four stars helps to ensure that it won't be, by creating a flood of new business that the establishment is not capable of handling in a consistently four-star manner. Rave reviews have been known to be the ruination of restaurants. Perhaps it works with the Times's star system as well.