alacarte

Thanks so much for all the information! I learn something new every day. What is the reason behind boiling it three times? Does each boil make it richer or darker or stronger?

An interesting response from one chef on the Beard House scandal. (A little background: This refers to Paul Parker, the chef at Chez Sophie. The restaurant sends an e-mail letter to interested patrons, which also is posted on their website as well.) edit: the full letter is now available on the website.

Awesome report, and mouth-watering pictures. Did that sign really indicate "deep fried chocolate covered key lime pie"? Drooollll.....

I recently had Turkish coffee, capping off an excellent meal at a Turkish restaurant. What makes "Turkish" coffee different from a regular cup o' joe, or even espresso? Is this something I can make for myself?

Perfection Salad by Laura Shapiro

Citarella - 3rd Ave & 75th Street

It was such a pleasure to stroll thru the Union Square greenmarket yesterday, even though fewer vendors were there than usual due to Labor Day. No protesters, no police barricades. Just fruits and vegetables. I bought: Lima beans in the shell from Vickie Race farms. What nice people at that stand, and nice produce too. String beans Yukon gold potatoes Fresh sesame rolls and morning glory muffins Multi-colored peppers

Thanks, I needed a good chuckle. I think we're all feeling a little stressed this week.

FYI, the usual Thursday greenmarket at the PATH station near WTC isn't there today.

Clearly I'm in the minority on the "recipes vs. no recipes" debate. That's OK. I still contend that they could include a recipe here and there without compromising the magazine, and potentially adding a lot to it -- not unlike the Gastronomica model. I'd love to see an article on menus from some of the bygone restaurants -- with menus reprinted in the original styles to go along with it. I think recipes and menus and ingredient listings from labels and more could be used to embellish and strengthen good narrative, not unlike a striking photo can uplift text. But it would have to be used sparingly and judiciously. I do agree that The New Yorker shouldn't try to ape the cooking mags. I'm going to read that Jim Harrison article tonight!

our peaches were disappointing too. could the season already be over?

thanks Redsugar! I'll try that.

this one's good for the sweet tooth: 1 part Malibu rum 2 parts Coca-Cola splash of grenadine

It amazes me that year after year the New Yorker publishes an all-food issue, but includes not a single recipe! The back-page essay by Gabrielle Hamilton, "Killing Dinner," is a standout. The last paragraph alone blew me away. Hamilton is the owner/chef of Prune restaurant in NY. I've read her writing before and been impressed by it, it's good to see more. I fully expect to see this in the next edition of "Best Food Writing."

I think the Asian-inspired Vosges chocolates are more exotic than the Torres flavors.

I suspect he was first in all of the above. Jacques Torres, one of the masterminds behind the fanciful desserts at Le Cirque in the 1990s, was one of the fancy-flavor chocolate pioneers. I know his chocolate factory has been around since 2000. I don't know how long Vosges has been around, the website doesn't say. Aaargh, you are correct, the website does not list the many wonderful chocolate flavors. How disappointing. He's done things like port wine truffles, "wicked" chocolate (with archo & chipotle pepper - my favorite), lavender, lemon verbena, earl grey. Very high end and unusual flavors -- but I have to admit that it's less "unusual" because there are so many competitors making equally fanciful flavors these days. Here's a link to Chocophile website's review of Torres. He lists some of the flavors here and notes on technique. For symmetry, here's the link to the (very brief) review of Vosges.

Try pairing sushi with Japanese plum wine. Just make sure it's flavored with plum rather than caramel, if at all possible, otherwise you can get a burnt fake-caramel flavor. You can get excellent plum wine either imported from Japan or made in California -- I've had good and bad examples of either. My current favorite is Fu-ki Plum wine, though I also like Gekkikan wine. If you find the wine is too strong for you straight up, you can cut it with lime juice or a sparkling water or tonic. I prefer mine chilled, but some purists drink it straight up. I find that plum wine is subtle enough that it doesn't overpower the clean taste of sushi or sashimi.

I've been to their Soho store. I thought the chocolate (including the Mexican hot chocolate) was pretty good, although I thought Jacques Torres did it better, and first.

I enjoyed my quick run to the greenmarket Saturday AM more than usual -- it felt like the last gasp of normalcy before the convention madness set in. I'm not planning to return until after the convention is done. I can hear the protestors' bullhorns from two blocks away on 3rd ave. I'm just assuming there will be no greenmarket at Usquare since it's the main hub for many protestors. I should have bought more stuff. We bought: Hungarian wax peppers -- this was my "impulse buy" -- they are elongated yellow and red peppers with a bit of bite to them, but not as spicy as jalapenos etc. fresh crusty bread fresh herbs -- savory and basil kirby cukes, and one large cuke for comparison soft goat cheese from Coach -- reminiscent of farmer cheese yellow peaches

I made a quick stop at Alibaba's when I made a run up to Supersol's (it's across the street, catty-corner) a few weeks ago. The salad bar blew me away -- I didn't know what to pick first, everything looked so beautiful. I ended up with cabbage salad and spiced carrots. Both were fresh and very good quality. The falafel was good too, wrapped in a piping hot pita -- although it's extra garlicky. I think I was breathing garlic fumes for the next 48 hours.

Moon Pies. So good. So fattening. Makes you feel like you could just save time by slapping one on each hip. But where's the fun in that? There's a coffee shop here in downtown NY that sells Moon Pies. It's nice to have a supplier for the occasional Moon Pie fix. Even if I didn't have the coffee shop, I could always order them from The Lee Bros. Boiled Peanuts Catalogue. Mmmmm. Moon Pies. I think I need a trip to that coffee shop now.

Anyone know if the RNC will impact the greenmarkets? For example, there's a major anti-handgun protest that will be held at Union Square (and already five protesters --unrelated to that rally-- were arrested at USquare yesterday). I don't know what day(s) the big protests are expected. Is the greenmarket closing down for the duration of the RNC? Are the farm vendors even bothering to come into town next week?

One vote for DD. Plus, they have munchkins! I know some people love their Krispy Kreme, but for some reason I find they way they smell offputting -- like rancid fat and sugar.

The King Arthur Flour cookbook also says that lard is best for frying doughnuts, but that veg shortening or oil can be used too. I checked the Craft cookbook too; pastry chef Karen DeMasco fries her cake doughnuts in peanut oil -- but I've noticed that the Craft cookbook uses peanut oil for nearly all their frying and sauteeing. Can I ask you bakers a modification question? Redsugar's recipe sounds great. If I wanted to change it a bit by adding orange juice to make an "orange cake doughnut," do you think it can be just dumped in, or should other liquid ingredients be reduced (i.e. less milk, fewer eggs, or less melted butter)?

"The Taste of America," by John L. Hess and Karen Hess. The book (and most of the columns that make up the book) first was published in the 1970s. so it's interesting to read some of their criticisms and see how much has changed...for instance, they gripe about the lack of good bread and seasonal produce available in most markets....they see supermarkets as the land of Wonder Bread and frozen peas. It's nice to see how the advances made in artisanal bread-making and greenmarkets have improved dinner table offerings.