alacarte

Got my copy! Where last year's edition celebrated blogs and online writing, this year it feels like more excerpts from books than in previous editions. Not so much online writing/blogs, and a good mix of magazine & newspaper pieces.

I've stopped going to TJ's altogether. I've been disappointed by every product I've tried, I just don't understand the 'cult status' of some products. And the overcrowding is just insane.

Lucky you to have a whole bottle to play with! Country has a good Belle de Brillet drink -- they have chopped-up pears soaked in the liqueur and then it's topped with a fizz of Champagne. How does Belle de Brillet stack up against other pear liqueurs, like Poire d'Anjou?

I set up a season pass on Tivo for the program. I'm still disappointed that they used the silly word "Foodie" in the title. I felt it was worthwhile watching. The first episode focused on China, and I felt it did a good job of making it entertaining and accessible, without dumbing things down. They brought in lots of different viewpoints, and I had one truly horrified moment watching a man blow air into a raw duck carcass in preparation for making Peking Duck. No one should have that kind of contact with a bird....Asian bird flu, anyone? Yeech. I wondered if the show would be all pretty food porn -- definitely not. The one small improvement I'd like to see is a bit more narration in between each segment, something leading me in and explaining why this segment was chosen, and how it relates to the others.

FYI, if you can't find the fresh stuff, you can get bottled yuzu juice in most any Asian store.

I'd take Pegu off your list, it's not set up for large groups. You might be better off at Dos Caminos next door...and then the last stragglers left can take the party over to Pegu.

Another vote for the Modern. That said -- Country doesn't suck. (I know, ringing endorsement) I've been to Country a couple of times now, and depending on what's on the menu, sometimes it's more successful than others. Most of the time the food is quite good and interesting -- a salad composed entirely of mandoline-sliced-thin Greenmarket vegetables comes to mind, and I'm a fan of their cocktails, especially the mezzanine champagne lounge. The service there also is extraordinarily solicitous. I always feel very "well taken care of" there. But the clientele can be very touristy (don't forget, it's in a hotel), and the neighborhood around Country is kind of odd -- not quite business district, not quite residential, often close to empty at night. I don't think you'll go wrong with either, but Modern is likely to be the better experience.

Congrats on the book, Kendra! And love the chow-chow recipe....

I like it. It's been pulling my attention to some new things that don't typically make the pages of NY Mag. I like the breezy, insider-y but still accessible tone. It does a good job of walking the line between being too inside-baseball (as most blogs are, IMHO -- I hate blogs that refer to chefs by first names and assume you know who everyone is) and dumbing things down too much. He takes you inside the tent but still puts things in context. I can't figure out how to get the RSS feed to work either.

Great coverage. I had hoped to attend but couldn't carve out the time, so thanks for letting me attend vicariously. More please! You look SO happy -- even downright giddy -- in the photo with Albert Adria and Sergi Arola. I'm glad you had fun!

Vanessa, I researched doughnuts for an article I wrote on apple cider doughnuts a couple of years ago. Here's the section on the history of doughnuts. No specific mention of doughnut holes, sorry. My personal speculation is that the dough was first shaped into rings to allow easier storage and draining of fat. The earliest doughnuts (at least, the ones that had holes at all) probably were hand-shaped into rings, so there were no "holes," at least at first. Fast-forward to the industrial age and mass production, and then the holes likely were stamped out. But this is just my guesswork. You might want to check if your local library has a copy of the Oxford Encyclopedia of Food & Drink or other food encyclopedias. If you find the origin of doughnut holes, I hope you'll post it here, I would love to know!

I can tell you that rocoto peppers are commonly used in Peruvian cooking, often are sold in North America in jars of rosy-red rocoto paste, and can be darn spicy!

hahaha!!! I love it. I'm going to make sure there's an ocean of coffee, tea, and OJ, plus baked goods to eat as soon as everyone comes through the door. And a lot of smoked fish. If I've taken anything away from this thread, that it is. And thanks for being so supportive, too, I appreciate it. It's funny how cooking for a secular occasion (Thanksgiving) or a non-occasion (dinner for friends) doesn't provoke the same anxiety as a religious holiday.

I like black olives very much. Open a can of jumbos, pop one on each finger, enjoy like you're all of six years old. But if you're looking to substitute for a recipe for someone who can't stand olives, you might try adding capers instead to add a bit of saltiness and tang, like olives do, or perhaps capers and an anchovy or two. But the texture won't be the same.

PJ is adorable! I think he may steal the show on your blog. In fact, I think he already did! Have a good trip to the Cape. Have a lobster roll for me...

god, yes. but I have to use the stove as a countertop because I'm already using my countertops as surrogate cookbook shelf and pantry!

Yes, I guess I am nervous. Anytime I'm in charge of feeding my ultra-picky and food-neurotic (or just plain neurotic?) in-laws, it requires a lot of forethought. The note about coffee is a good one, it hadn't occurred to me to have coffee on hand at dinnertime, coffee's always a morning thing to me. Thank you!

I can't believe I'm posting this/obsessing about this in August, but here goes. My observant in-laws recently switched synagogues to one down the block from my apartment. So this year, we are breaking the Yom Kippur fast chez moi. Make no mistake: they take Yom Kippur very seriously, and will have been fasting since sundown the previous evening. What do you serve someone who hasn't eaten in 24 hours? (I know, "anything.") It has to be kosher, of course. Probably dairy -- I assume that would be easier on the digestive system? Usually my MIL serves challah, cheeses, smoked salmon, and a dreadful dairy-noodle casserole that I have no intention of emulating. PS, I am NOT fasting. Any ideas? Thank you!

I love the ending to this essay. I know that compulsion to cook, even when you're too rattled/anxious/overwhelmed with life to focus on eating. As soon as I read that last paragraph, I had to go back and reread the rest of the essay again. Looking forward to reading part 2.

The more I read this article by eG's own JJ Goode, the more I like it. So I'm sharing the link to this article, which is brave, un-self-pitying, and yes, hilarious. Link to JJ's article on Leite's Culinaria JJ, I'm dying to know which culinary school you had that interesting run-in with....

This was my first year at the FFS as well. My first impression is that there's a surprising amount of ordinary chocolate out there, and lots of surprisingly wonderful olives and cheeses. Did anyone attend any of the educational seminars? I'm curious how the "reaching the 20-something demographic" seminar went, though I was unable to attend.

I tried the iced mocha at Tisserie today. It's very good. They melt the chocolate for the drink while you are waiting. The chocolate had a nice flavor to it, not too sweet, and no trace of bitterness. I imagine it must work better for a hot drink vs. a cold drink though -- once it hits the ice it solidifies again so you have teeny bits of chocolate coming up through the straw rather than a blended drink. But that's not entirely unpleasant, and doesn't create a grainy texture like powdered chocolate does, it's still relatively smooth. I burst out laughing when I saw the sandwiches served on what they describe as fancy regional "rounds." Um, it's a bagel.

Rolf's on 3rd Ave and 20th St. should also make your short list

Hmmm. Interesting how many of the types of iced coffee in the article were previously mentioned in this thread: Shakerato. Ice cubes made of coffee. Vietnamese coffee. If there had been a mention of Japan-style iced coffee I'd be suspicious. Hmmmm.

I don't care for metromint -- it reminds me of drinking watered-down mouthwash.