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I think that's right. Very good, of course ridiculously cheap. They had a large selection of moon cakes too. Hal

Check out the book Small kitchens : making every inch count by Robin Murrell. Yes its a little dated, and yes a lot of the kitchens are European, but its a book with lots of conceptual ideas. One kitchen was entirely made of one large metro shelving unit -- sink, stove, storage, bookshelves, everything! I just checked Amazon and this book appears to be out of print, but its available at Half.com for $4.00. In addition to lots of pictures there is an appendix that has table/counter height dimensions and other ergonomic planning information. Hal

There is a vietnamese place in the same complex as 7 Stars but on the ground level. It is not the place closer to the street that says they have Vietnamese and Thai, its the other Vietnamese place. I can edit in the name tonight. Hal

I'm experiencing the same lost-post amnesia. Maybe I only thought I wrote about a cheese shop I went to in Paris. Regardless, we went to a cheese shop in the 17th that will vac seal cheeses for travel. L'ermitage Demours, 88 r. Pierre Demours. Hal

For someone like me who can only put in a 30" range without doing a WHOLE LOT of renovations like moving walls I'm having a hard time talking myself out of this oven. Hal

Ok here's the photos of the process. First is to open the box, I ordered 10 pounds of mixed size Green Manzinilla olives from Penna Olives for $14 plus shipping. The box is just a little under 12" square. Some years they seem less bruised than others, and this year I think I ordered them a little late, hence the small brown bruises. As I mention above, I slit or pierce each olive with a paring knife and then soak them in water until they are no longer unpalatably bitter, usually about 2 weeks. I change the water every day. A lid helps to keep the olives submerged, which cuts down on oxidation, the chance for mold, and brown mushy fruits (at least that's been my experience). I'll post more photos as I get further along in the process. Hal

Try as I might, I just can't learn to love the convection feature of my oven. I don't think this has been done yet, but how about a EGCI class on oven, convection, and broiler use? Hal

Can someone explain the differences between a gas or electric oven and/or broiler? What do you want for general use and why? Is one better for baking and another better for roasting? Thanks H

Peter, I can't tell you what a pleasant surprise it was to finish my 3rd reading (in a row!) of your book American Pie, only to see that you'd be hosting a Q&A the next week. Thank you for so thoroughly answering all the questions. I hope you'll stick around as a member and regular participant, there is always room for another food lover. Hal

Take fifi's idea and add baskets from Pier One or Cost Plus. Instant storage, fill with exotic potatoes and squash from the farmers market. Hal

HUGE IMPROVEMENT You 'tha man! h

Dave, Regarding the dressers being too narrow, how about putting two short bookcases , back to back, on one side of the dresser to lengthen it? Slap this counter 73" x 26" counter on the top and whammo you've got storage and bookcases for cookbooks. Want to get crafty, mount it all on a piece of 1" plywood with some heavy duty casters or a mobile base and you've got a rolling island. With regard to the pot rack, even a 2x2 piece of maple stock with a few screw hooks screwed into it makes a pot rack. Hal

Dave, I've been lazy so I'm just now getting around to replying and all the good ideas have been taken! Anyway on Ikea, while I think their furniture is crap, their kitchen cabinets and the cabinetry system are great. If you ever think of replacing everything, do yourself the favor and look at the cabinets. (I have to say this to everyone I meet, but I apologize for digressing.) Ikea sells butcher block counter top. No its not 2" thich Boos Block Maple, but it is 1 1/4" thick beech (or birch) -- beech is what is commonly used in Europe. I think a 6' run of countertop is around $80, and countertop is easily replaced. If you're like me then you'll just cut on the countertop and ditch all those stupid cutting boards (except one for meat). If you can be patient regarding the stove, spend some time looking at the Atlanta Re-Store (there may be others as well). I got my current kitchen stove at the Seattle Re-Store -- a gas Jenn Air range -- for $200. Its not the most powerful stove in the world, but for $200, its hard to go wrong. I see a lot of newer (less than 5 yrs old) electric induction ranges (the ones with glass that turn red) for very cheap -- I think everyone is upgrading to the newest 12 burner Wolf in their custom kitchens. If you need a micro, LG sells a microwave with a built in toaster. At least it saves one outlet. You can see them here. Also, I'd be surprised if it costs a plumber more than $300 to get gas into your kitchen. Depending on how comfortable you are with this, you could do it yourself, though I probably shouldn't advocate that. Hal

Too late for me, I needed to get them going and so 1/2 I put a slit in and 1/2 I just poked with the tip of a paring knife. We'll see which ends up being better. I tried to crack them with a wooden paddle but they just ended up mushing, so I think they're not quite as fresh as the should be. I've taken some pictures of the process, I'll try to get them up this weekend. Hal

I'll be in SF in a few weeks for about 4 days. I've got reservations at Zuni and will try to hit somewhere in the North End and the Cheese Board in Berkeley. EG is full of "where should I eat in SF?" threads, and I've been working my way through these. It just dawned on me that Gerald Hirigoyen's Piperade is in SF. It is worth a trip? Worth the money? I'm a fan of Basque cooking and of his cookbook, so I'm tempted, but I thought I'd get some feedback here. Thanks, Hal

I'll add something here, that is pertinent to canned tomatoes. You'll notice that some cans have a white enamel coating on the inside. This helps a lot to keep down the tinny,flavor that plagues so many canned acidic foods (tomatoes, grapefruit juice, etc.). The manufactures who use enameled cans are taking an extra step to keep the flavors fresh. Maybe for restaurant supply there isn't so much choice but for us supermarket consumers, you might as well exercise the choice. Hal

I'm due to recieve 10 pounds of fresh olives any day now in the mail. I've been curing my own now for about 4 years, but am curious if anyone else does this and what your technique is? My general technique is to slit each olive, and then soak in fresh water until they taste about right (if you can bite it without making a face its done). You should change the water daily and remove any scum that accumulates. Once they are tasty, put the olives in a brine solution with a little added vinegar if you wish. Hal

Any seed savers out there interested in trading good seeds for the PNW? I've got 2 varieties of tomatoes that work well, a large beefsteak heirloom, and another, Isis Candy, that produces clusters of red and yellow fruits. I'll also probably have some chile seeds for Thai Dragon chiles, and probalby an extra plant if someone wants to pot it for winter. Hal

Thai Cafe, just a few blocks away is very good, and has the nicest people working there. No yohimbe-monkey musk martinis though, just Singha. Hal

I've been religiously working with your recipe for the Napoletana pizza from American Pie. I've got a great start and am already baking pizzas that are better than anything I can get at a restaurant. However I'm running into small technical issues regarding the crust. First off let me state that this is a great recipe that turns out consistently good results. I've begun to play with the ratios a bit, but my question is directed more toward the dough stretching technique. I just can't seem to get a good round shape or quite up to the 9" diameter that I think I should be getting. Additionally it seems that as I stretch the dough, I end up with a "windowpane" at the center, and a slightly thicker edge than I think I should have. As I try to fix this I usually end up tearing a hole and then the patching ends up being a mess. Should I try a different AP flour that might have a slightly higher gluten content? Right now I'm using the generic AP flour, but have been advised to add a small amount of cake flour to the dough mix. Are there specific yeasts and flours you'd recommend? I know a lot of bakers speak highly of the King Arthur products. Will additional kneading or a longer rest after the initial mixing help to strengthen the dough? As a side question, how wet should a finished Napoletana pizza be? It seems that between the sauce and the fiore di late I wind up with a fairly wet pizza after baking (around 6 minutes at 600F). I've started to strain some of the puree out of the sauce and I let the cheese drain for an hour prior to baking. I know this is a knife and fork pizza but it seems a little wetter than I think it should be. As an aside, my pizza marinara seems perfect, if not a little dry. This leads me to suspect that the cheese releases a lot of moisture in the oven. Too much cheese or just the wrong kind? Hal

I've had mixed results. The best advice I can offer is to try to smell them before you buy them. If it is very fragrant, and you like the smell, then buy it and make risotto or whatever strikes your fancy. Generally they are only $5 each, so the price is not much, but only the really fragrant ones contribute anything to the dish. hal

I got sucked into this thread because I feared someone might speak poorly of Little Tavern, and was not about to let that happen. Thankfully others were here to leap to the Institution's defense. I think there is still a Little Tavern operating in Laurel, MD on Route 1. Its on my list to check the next time I'm back at my parents. Hal

One option that should be mentioned is that most restaurants will not turn away free labor. If you're willing to do this, I think most places will let you do a stage there, probably in prep or the pantry, a few nights a week. It would at least let you try out how you like working in a professional kitchen. Hal

Anyone know if Double Front, in Missoula is still open? If you pass through on the way back, you might see if it is, and have yourself some of the freshest, best damn fried chicken ever. Maybe they still have .99 budweisers too. Hal

Thanks everyone for the quick replies. Did this last night for poulet a l'estragon, however when I tried to chop the knuckles off the legs, the bones just shattered? Knife is very sharp, but obviously I did something wrong. I did manage to cut myself though! What's the secret to hacking the leg bone? Hal