jeniac42

I always feel that the splatters would be less likely to end on my shirt in the first place were the top half of my shirt area not so prominent. It's like having a shelf to catch everything that doesn't make it into my mouth! Great! I've loved everyone's stories here. I think my most embarassing restaurant story is one from when I was very young; I think I had just learned to walk/talk/etc. My mother reports that, as we were dining, I felt the need to wander around to another table and ask if anyone had a quarter for me. Some guy gave me a quarter and then, thinking we were so poor that this tiny kid had to beg, paid for our meals. My mother was completely horrified.

Thanks for all the replies. Amazingly, when I came into work today at 1:30 MY BOOK WAS ON MY CHAIR ALREADY! Let's hear it for faster-than-anticipated shipping! I haven't had time to open it and take a look yet, but I should do after five. Then I can start dreaming of all the delicious meat products in my future....

Marlene, that menu sounds wonderful. I am sure it will be appreciated by the family. I'm sorry for your loss. Last month we lost my 25 year old brother in law in a car accident, and then both my parents were also in the hospital the following week. Most people did not bring food, which is something that would have been very welcome. Due to a lack of time we wound up eating almost nothing but fast food for several weeks, and when you are already feeling bad that doesn't help at all. So when one of our family friends gave us meatloaf and potato salad we were really grateful. That is all by way of saying that I think what you are doing is really great.

Malawry, for the spicy sauce, I use Kewpie mayo mixed with sriracha and a little bit of toasted sesame oil. It tastes right to me; let me know what you think. I haven't made sushi at home in a long time. I never did quite get the flavor of the rice where I wanted it. I think I'll have to try again soon; I love taco rice and I guarantee you I can't buy taco maki around here, and I believe that's got to go into my lunchbox sometime SOON.

A quick question, and I'm sorry if it's been addressed - I couldn't find the Search within Topic button. While I anxiously await the arrival of my book, can anyone tell me what ingredients are required for the salmon that seems to be the For Beginners Who Are Scared recipe from this book? A PM would be fine if copyright is an issue here. The book's scheduled to arrive on Wednesday, and I'd like to start curing that night when I get home from work (at 11:30pm), which means I should go shopping tomorrow. I do not like fennel at all and planned on leaving it out, which I may have already stated. Mistake? Perhaps I will just use the seeds, as Elie did on page 1 of this thread.

My little sister (who's 22) has been asking me to make crepes for her for a few weeks now, but there just hasn't had time. Thanks, eGullet, for cookoff-induced impetus to actually make them for her! I don't think she'd like the mille crepes (picky eater - everything has to be exactly the way she imagines it, which is fine), but I certainly think I'll just make a big stack of crepes (wagon fulla pamcakes?) and give that a go, because it looks absolutely amazing.

OK, you bunch of pushers. I just spent the entire day (I'm at work, and it's slow, OK?) reading all fifty pages of this thread, and I finally just gave in and ordered the book on Amazon. I asked for it for Christmas, and again for my birthday, didn't get it, and reading all your posts just pushed me over the edge. I got the KA grinder and stuffer attachment for Christmas, though; I made the same error as someone else, a-way upthread - the first time I used it I failed to put the KNIFE BLADE into the grinder, and then couldn't figure out why it was so hard to get the meat to come through. I hate the plastic plunger and keep meaning to buy a dowel or something instead - meat gets stuck in the "cross" part of the plunger and comes back out. And I agree about the quality of the KA stuffer attachment... ugh. But before I buy the Grizzly or other stuffer, I have to convince myself I'll have the time to make enough sausage to make it worthwhile. I'm sure my first foray will be with the salmon, because that seems nonthreatening. Then on to air-cured whole meats. Chris, I really like your curing box setup and will likely steal that idea. I have to check the temp/humidity in my basement sometime soon. ETA: Susan, I also bought a Weber kettle this weekend and will be using it for all of my smoking needs - your posts have convinced me it will all work out. Right? Right.

Oh, this looks simple and very delicious. I think I might spend some time this weekend making these and a couple other kinds of flavored nuts.

How long does this keep? I first tried the rou song (which I knew as "pork floss") in a kimbap made at a demo class, and I loved it. Then a couple of months ago I bought a container at the grocery store (red type); my boyfriend pushed it to the back of the cupboard and I forgot about it. Maybe I should just buy a new container, it's not too expensive. I like to eat it plain and on rice, and of course in onigiri.

Ah, camping. I have never camped in an RV, though I did live in one for a couple of weeks in between apartment leases. This is the home-away-from-home we got last year: Cooking on the provided campfire grate makes me wish I had a stove; as you can see, the angle causes strange things to happen to fried eggs: And the dining room table/prep station, featuring toothpaste AND soap!

Here are some snacks I got in Chicago. First, a special edition Hello Kitty tin with Gaufres from Fugetsudo Bakery in Kobe. I find them a little bit too sweet; they have a strawberry cream type filling that seems a little bit greasy to me: Next, various Pocky. I love the Lucky Mini Almond sticks and the Coconut Pocky are REALLY GOOD. The Pineapple Pocky is not great to me, but I prefer chocolate. I haven't tried the sweet potato? Pocky yet:

I ate one; the reasons for my eating it are too serious, I think, for this thread. It needed more gravy and less tough corn and really frankly just to taste better. I deem it Not Very Good, but certainly better than... um... well, I'm not sure.

I was in Chicago for a few days and ate dinner at Katsu. Katsu's wife really likes nattou, and one of my hosts asked her to make two nattou preparations. As I mentioned before, I hadn't really been enjoying nattou, but these dishes were really good and have changed my mind about it. First there was nattou with maguro and nori: I thought the contrast between the soft texture of the maguro and the firm soybeans with the sticky and slimy threads was really wonderful. Next we had "agedashi nattou": This was nattou stuffed into an aburaage pouch, served with soy/dashi sauce, grated daikon, kaiware, and nametake mushrooms. I would recommend this dish to anyone who doesn't like the smell of nattou, because it really was tamed by the other flavors in the dish.

Wow. I somehow missed the previous thread on this so I'm glad I spotted this one. A summer off from classes; plenty of time to spend in the kitchen... hmm. I've emailed to get more information about the Activa. I have to admit I'm a wee bit creeped out about not getting it on wet skin and not inhaling it. I suppose once it's bound to the meat it's safe?

I already gained a mother, a daughter, a sister and a niece through this recipe. Where may you fit in? ← Hmm, I didn't see cousin in the list! Seriously, I think I am going to try to make this in two weeks after I get back from Chicago. It looks delicious.

How had I missed this pictorial until now? The photo of the chickens suspended from a paper towel holder is the best MacGyver kitchen trick I think I've ever seen in my life. I think I'm going to have to make this recipe soon just to try that. Ah Leung, your pictorials are always wonderful but you really outdid yourself with this one! Is there still any room left for extra family members?

I have to admit that I really like the superchewy texture of shirataki and konnyaku. The first time I opened a package I thought it smelled like dirt but I've come to love it. I just eat the noodles with soy sauce if I can't think of anything else. Then again, I always loved finger jello, AKA knox blox? when I was growing up. I used to have my mom use extra gelatin so it would set up as chewy as possible. Hm. Maybe I need to break open the bag of shirataki in the fridge for lunch tomorrow. I think it might be good with okonomiyaki!

Are you looking for something like an onsen tamago, or hot springs egg (which was discussed recently in a Mark Bittman NY Times article), or is it firmer than that? There is also a recipe with fairly soft-cooked eggs in the 24-page miso supplement from a recent Orange Page magazine (someone mentioned this in the miso thread); I haven't translated it yet, but I plan to. It's for eggs with a wasabi garnish, and the yolks aren't liquid, but they're still translucent rather than being fully set. I'm sorry but I can't find the picture online.

OK, so I had a lot of leftovers in the fridge, so I found this thread again and thought I would give okonomiyaki a try. This one had caramelized onions, yu choy instead of cabbage (I didn't have any cabbage), leftover sauteed corn with green peppers and paprika, and BACON on top. I used 1 egg, some flour, a little water with dashi-no-moto, put the bacon on one side of the pancake, and topped it with Bulldog sauce, Kewpie mayo, and katsuobushi. It was really good and I will definitely be eating this more often.

Last week I bought the seasonal bamboo shoot cookies from Meiji. I really love these... they're gone already.　　I might post a picture of the inside flap which says ゆでて食べていけません！ (I think this means "don't boil us and eat us!") next to a little drawing of some bamboo shoots with sweat drops coming off of them. The package also mentions a contest for the 30th anniversary of kinoko no yama cookies (the ones shaped like mushrooms), although my Japanese isn't good enough to figure out what it is, exactly. Maybe there are special editions of the kinoko no yama available in Japan?

On Saturday I went to the Chinese grocery store, where they sell freshly-made tofu. It was pretty warm outside so when I got home I decided to eat my first hiyayakko of the season. I used soy sauce, bonito, and sesame seeds. The taste of the fresh tofu is really much better than what I buy at the grocery store.

I've never heard of anyone shaking their lunches before. That was bizarre. OTOH, it's a great idea for bibimbap and there's probably some company who makes a good living on shake and eat bibimbap haha! ←

I have to admit I still haven't eaten any more natto. I'd like to try it in a different preparation next time, maybe with some other flavors....

I apologize for this somewhat naive question, but I've been unable to sort out the information I've found online. (Actually, I think I know the answer and I just don't like it, so I'm asking again.) Is Chef Matsumoto now working anywhere in Chicago? I bought some very cheap airline tickets on a whim, because I've never been, and I read all about the wonder that was Matsumoto last night. I dreamt of the kaiseki, and woke up today to read further and find that the restaurant is now a different place (Chiyo). If it is the case that Chef Matsumoto is no longer offering kaiseki in Chicago, can anyone recommend a place that would come even remotely close? I am trapped in Pittsburgh, where there is little to be had in the way of good Japanese food, and would really like to experience something phenomenal on this trip. I believe in you, Chicago! Help me out here!

Snekse, I think you're right about the flash causing the image to look flatter. I did it because it was the only technique I could remember, and for some reason using the camera's WB feature didn't occur to me. Whoops! I will play around with it more once I have a dining room table (ie place to take reasonable photos) and a larger memory card. I've only got a 16MB SD and we all know how inadequate that is!