Pan

I think dinner conversation was to a large extent poor training for me. As the younger of two sons, no-one paid attention to me, so the only way I could get a word in edgewise was to try to yell louder than the others. You can imagine what that training in loud interruption did for me when I applied it in a school setting. What was more useful was that I always asked questions, and my parents tended to take my questions seriously. Some of you have no doubt noticed that I still learn things by asking questions.

I'll say this: The radio was often on and playing classical music with dinner at my folks' place while I was growing up. The TV had to be turned off.

Agreed, but I also think that the "How we ate growing up" thread is fun. I really can't say anything much about how I eat nowadays because I'm a single man living by myself. If I eat at the computer, so what?

I'm not going to talk in this thread about the way I ate while growing up, because I already talked about it in the How we ate growing up thread, and I encourage anyone participating in this thread who hasn't already looked at that one to check out. This thread is not a duplication of that thread, but that thread is relevant to this one.

I'd say there's very little chance indeed that it would have been tested if it had not been a downer. And I wonder just how many downers haven't been tested prior to slaughtering.

I don't think you have to be a lawyer to know that an establishment has the right to eject any person who misbehaves. Can the people who were thrown out try to sue? Sure they can. Will it go to court? I don't know. This society is very litigious, as we all know. But the idea that a person who is making a complete ass out of himself/herself and disturbing the peace can't be expelled from a restaurant is nonsense.

Your children may feel they're deprived, but they understand that different people have different rules, and the ability to adapt to different expectations in different contexts is one of the more important things children have to learn.

I saw the I, Claudius series on TV, but it was a long time ago. What does "Quicker than boiled asparagus" mean?

You don't seem to have given up a childlike imagination. (Good for you!)

If any of us have a better plan, we should put it forward. Testing or at least inspecting every animal prior to slaughtering would have been a better plan. Oh, did you mean cheaper? Testing each downer prior to processing, maybe? A specialized plant (with a trained lab tech) could do this. Send all the downers there. I posted quickly and perhaps a bit too tersely, but what I meant by "inspecting" is that any animal that shows any signs of being unfit should be separated from those going to be slaughtered. Then, yes, tests could be run to determine whether the animal would be safe to eat, anyway. I don't think these problems obtain to kosher slaughtering, by the way. A major part of kashrut is that animals with blemishes are treif (forbidden for human consumption).

What's takoyaki, Helen?

Geoff, I've never been to Patria, so I have nothing to say about the place. I don't favor fusion, but that's neither here nor there. I brought my recital dress (gray suit, white button-down shirt, tie, formal shoes) with me to France in the summer of 2002 for the specific purpose of wearing it for formal dinners, but that was my choice. As long as you wear semi-formal clothing (neat pants and button-down shirt, no sneakers), you should be fine. Do keep in mind, however, that some of those rooms are airconditioned to a level that makes wearing a jacket comfortable and that you might be a bit cold not wearing one, or a sweater.

If any of us have a better plan, we should put it forward. Testing or at least inspecting every animal prior to slaughtering would have been a better plan. Oh, did you mean cheaper?

Mabelline, hot oil is no sacrilege for Chinese people. It's very common for hot oil to be available for patrons to use or not as they please in Chinese restaurants in New York. Frankly, I usually use the brown dipping sauce provided by the house in a miniature saucer, but I do sometimes add hot oil. I use hot oil more often to add to soups (noodle soups, wonton soup, etc.). Kris, that hiyashi kitsune kishimen looks very good. Actually, it would hit the spot right about now...

Thanks for your responses and for this great blog, Jackal.

I presume that means a hot day?

Here's another: It's easier to get flies with honey than vinegar.

Shumai can have shrimp in them too, right Louisa?

I just thought of another good English one: The fruit doesn't fall far from the tree.

Well, in English, there are always expressions like "Too many cooks spoil the broth," though I don't have much occasion to use that one. There's a nice Malay expression, which unfortunately doesn't translate very poetically into English: Banyak udang, banyak garam. Banyak orang, banyak ragam. Lots of shrimp, lots of salt. Lots of people, lots of kinds. Food is the hook, but it's really a statement about the diverse characters of people. Also, the first pantun (a traditional type of poem with two rhymed couplets) I was taught in Malaysia uses food as a hook: Cempedak diluar pagar Ambil galah, tolong jolokkan. Saya budak baru belajar Kalau salah, tolong tunjukkan. Again, the translation won't be so poetic: Cempedak [a strong-tasting type of jackfruit] outside the gate Take a pole, please knock it down. I'm a child who just started studying If I'm wrong, please point it out.

Could you switch to lamburgers?

The mad cow thread is worth looking at. So far, I've avoided any beef for the - what, two days? - since the BSE was discovered in Washington state. I'll wait a while until the situation becomes clearer or I miss stuff like Shanghainese Beef Tendon in Hot Oil too much.

I'll further confirm it, with respect to Moet-Chandon California. It's in the interest of French companies to preserve the specialness of the Champagne denomination controlee'.

Well, I finally finished reading the blog. That was fantastic! I notice that you share my appreciation for panforte. I spent a good part of 2 summers in Siena and loved it. One question about British holidays: I had understood that Michaelmas was a holiday - apparently not a bank holiday, but are there operative traditions surrounding it? You can tell why I'd be interested.

What are hundreds and thousands, Jackal? Some type of sprinkles, I figure?