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Jaymes, thank you very much for checking into ICO. I've almost settled on going there because it seems that the cooking classes are really an integral part of the language program there, which sounds perfect for me. But in the interests of making fully informed decisions, Caroline, do you know how much it costs to take cooking lessons from Maria Ricaud? Thank you, everyone, for your suggestions. And keep them coming!

Thank you for your suggestions. I wish I had just a little more money, but unfortunately it looks like every school in Cuernavaca is too expensive for me. I have been thinking about attending this school in Oaxaca, largely because it seems like such an incredible deal: http://www.instculturaloax.com.mx/workshops.html One of the things I like about it is that one of the afternoon workshops is a regional cooking class--I think I could attend every Monday through Thursday! Do you know/have you heard anything about this program?

I'm thinking about doing intensive Spanish in Mexico for the month of August. I'd like to learn how to cook authentic & delicious Mexican food while I'm there, too. Do you have any ideas about the best place in Mexico to do this? Obviously, Oaxaca comes to mind ... some great language schools and the food is wonderful. Anywhere else?

yes, i always assume that anything in a jar with vinegar will keep pretty much forever. but the salted radish just come by themselves in a plastic packet, no vinegar.

Thanks, this was exactly the kind of information I was looking for. I'm going to try the salted radish in those wonderful Sichuan green beans (I remember seeing the Wild Ginger recipe somewhere on this site). By the way, how long can I keep the salted radish in the fridge before it spoils?

What is the thinking behind releasing five new "How to Cook Everything" books at the same time? Are the recipes new? If so, how did you have time to develop and test them all! What do these books offer that the original does not?

Thank you for participating in this Q&A. I really enjoy your columns in the New York Times. In the last couple of years I have noticed that you have been incorporating more Asian flavors and ingredients into your Minimalist recipes, which formerly were more oriented towards streamlining classic European and American dishes. Is this because you yourself have been more interested in cooking Asian or Asian-influenced food at home? Because you think that this cuisine is particularly well-suited to minimalist cooking? Or because you want to encourage your fans to try new things? In the future, will we see the Minimalist column reach out to incorporate other non-European cuisines (Mexican, South Asian, African, etc.)? I suppose an easy answer to all these questions could be "yes." I am interested, though, to know what considerations, if any, you take into account when you explore non-European cuisines in your Minimalist column.

I was thinking cab, I don't know why I wrote pinot. Still haven't figured out how to edit posts.... Anyway, thanks for your responses. I'm looking for clever/funny ways to pay off this bet ... that "Good Ordinary Claret" sounds perfect but I am in the U.S. Is there something comparable that is available to me in California? I also appreciate the historical insight -- I always wondered what exactly they were drinking when they brought out the claret in books. It did occur to me that I could pay off this bet with a case of Two-Buck Chuck ... I don't know if my friend would appreciate the joke, though, when saddled with 12 bottles of the stuff.

My friend and I engaged in a classic English wager. The stakes were "a rump and a dozen" -- a rump of beef and a dozen bottles of claret. I lost. Now I have to buy my friend a bottle of claret (the stakes were modified in consideration of my limited pocketbook) and I have a couple of questions. Does claret = bordeaux = pinot noir? Do you have any suggestions for a good but reasonably priced bottle of claret? I would especially like to find something that has characteristics similar to the classic "claret" that English men--and I do mean "men"--would drink a hundred years ago when the ladies retired to the drawing room. Thanks for your suggestions!

Friday: leftover khmer chicken curry. Later: Sapphire martinis and french fries (not homemade). Saturday: carnitas (thanks, Jaymes!) and guacomole. cline syrah. Sunday: potato, red pepper, and zucchini gratin. little more leftover curry. big glass of port for dessert.

As always, this is quite a menu, Jinmyo! I join the chorus that wants to know more about the hiyayako tofu .... and the shattered chicken dish .... please? Last night, an impromptu dinner party cooked from Hot Sour Salty Sweet: Steamed dumplings of minced pork and salted radish, served with a shoyu/rice vinegar dipping sauce Khmer chicken curry Sauteed morning glories with garlic, fermented bean paste, and fish sauce Jasmine rice Water, Gewurtztramminer, and Two-Buck Chuck Mochi (purchased) for dessert Everything turned out great, it was a fun evening.

Last night we made some steamed dumplings with minced pork and salted radish. Delicious! The salted radish added such a great flavor and texture (coriander roots didn't hurt either). Now I have half a package of salted radish to use up. Any ideas of what I can do with it?

This is an interesting adjunct to the "how detailed should a recipe be?" thread. Here are a few comments from someone who has never gone to culinary school or worked in a professional kitchen and likes her recipes to be detailed, thank you very much! 1. -pan sear off presentation side until golden brown What is the "off presentation side"? I have never heard this term. Does it mean the side you do not want to present? 2. -remove from pan and place on baking sheet I assume with the presentation side up, so that means the golden brown side should be down? or up? 3. -baste fish and bake for 5-7 minutes ( basting a couple of times in oven) The oven in my apartment is crap and never holds a consistent temperature. So, what should the fish look like when it is done? Should it still be translucent? Flake easily with a fork? Is the timing the same for both sea bass (or substitute sablefish) and halibut? 4. In general, I like both a visual cue (golden brown) and an estimate of how long it should take to get there (two to three minutes), so an instruction would read, pan sear over medium-high heat for two to three minutes, or until golden brown. This helps me figure out what end result I am aiming for. It also helps me cook at the right temperature. Words like "medium" and "medium high" really aren't very descriptive of temperature because the definitions are so subjective and different ranges/ovens vary widely. 5. On a substantive note, I like crispy fish skin and would probably do this recipe skin on if I were making it at home. Why do you recommend removing the skin? Is it just because a lot of restaurant customers don't like it? I don't always follow recipes exactly, but I like to have a clear idea of what the author of the recipe intended, both in terms of the final result and the means of getting there.

Marcella Hazan's recipe for tomato sauce with butter and onion is also delicious and very easy. Basically, you take a 28-oz. can of tomatoes, squeeze or cut the tomatoes into chunks, and simmer them with half an onion (peeled but not chopped) and 5 T of butter for 45 minutes, by which time the tomato pieces will have dissolved into a sweet, intensely tomatoey sauce. In the summer you can use an equivalent amount of fresh tomatoes: peel and seed, then add the chopped tomatoes with their juices.

I don't have Thai Food but I recently acquired Hot Sour Salty Sweet and I LOVE this book. So far everything I've cooked from it has been fantastic. The instructions are so clear and easy to follow, yet the results taste far better than what you will get at most restaurants. I also like the regional approach. I find it helpful as an introductory resource, and I am happy to have great recipes for Vietnamese shrimp rolls and Thai curries, Yunnan greens and Cambodian fish soup, etc. etc., without buying lots of different books.

You can order casings from Niman Ranch. (Sorry, I don't know how to post links, but the address is www.nimanranch.com). As with everything Niman, they are expensive, but I'm sure they are good quality. In Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet they recommend using half of a two-liter Coke bottle to stuff sausages. I was thinking about trying it since I don't have a KitchenAid. If you are interested in making Thai or Vietnamese sausages, their recipe looks great; also I think there are a number of recipes in David Thompson's Thai Food.

in l.a. we have a famous old deli called langers. some say it has the best pastrami in the country. (personally, i like katz's.) anyway, one of the most popular sandwiches at langers is pastrami or corned beef with coleslaw and russian dressing.

the asparagus, pancetta, and egg dish sounds awesome, but (i think) a little heavy if it is to be followed by cotechino and lentils. why not try shaved brussels sprouts (or asparagus or fennel, depending on availability) lupa-style (e.g. shaved on a mandoline, tossed with evoo, lemon juice, s&p, and pecorino)? i like the sound of espresso granita for dessert.

halibut, smeared with white miso, baked with splash of mirin and chiffonade of kaffir lime leaves. (idea blatantly ripped off the miso thread. it was quite good but next time i will try steaming so that the scent of kaffir can infuse the flesh.) spinach sauteed in evoo.

sounds like the shaved brussels sprouts at lupa. yum.

i ordered this cocktail last night (i asked the bartender for a "lemon drop, not too sweet, with bitters"). thanks jaz, it was delicious! i was worried that it would be too sweet but the bitters really balanced out the sugar. the drink had a somewhat smoky, slightly medicinal undertone that i really liked. and it was a lovely color! this drink will join my usual rotation (these days: vodka gimlets and slightly dirty sapphire martinis).

i really liked the fish "tacos."

what about aromatics (garlic, ginger, celery, carrot, whatever)? do i reduce them (so as not to overwhelm the lesser amount of meat) or not (so as not to have a bland broth)? everyone's suggestions are wonderful; i will try them and report back.

thank you so much for your advice! i did suspect from the beginning that an hour was too long (and yes i kept the lid on). i was a vegetarian for years and years so i am just learning to cook meat. i never understood before what to do about the liquid when reducing the amount of meat in a recipe, but now i know, thank you. bashful3, do you make your own beef broth or is there some kind of acceptable commercial product? doesn't the breading get soggy from sitting in the broth for 30 minutes?

i followed a recipe from the nyt two weeks ago (amanda hesser recipe accompanying riesling article), which calls for dusting the chops in spices, searing, pouring in wine, chix broth, garlic etc., and into a low oven (325) for an hour. i halved the meat and spices and reduced the liquid somewhat. by the end of the hour, the liquid had cooked away (leaving a sticky black residue on the bottom of the pan) and the chops were definitely overcooked (not completely inedible, but drier than i like). so, obviously, i should have checked on them earlier. but why didn't the recipe work? was my oven too hot? is an hour just too long to braise pork chops? do two chops cook faster than four? was there not enough liquid in the pan? what should i do differently next time? thanks for your help.