Lochina

Land of Plenty is Dunlop's Sichuan cookbook, not her Hunanese one (which is called Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook). I can't speak for most of the recipes in Land of Plenty because I've only made a few, but many of them do seem to tend toward spiciness.

Wow--such GREAT photos! Thanks for the responses. Here are images of two recipes I've tried so far (both extremely quick and easy, and absolutely delicious): Dry-Fried Green Beans Gong Bao Chicken The green beans, especially, are super convenient. They take about 5 minutes to make, I've been making them for lunch (sometimes with a different vegetable, like broccoli) to eat over white rice. P.S. If you're interested in reading a post on my blog about this cookbook, click here: For the Love of Food

I intern at a food magazine and this same phenomenon occurred to one of the editors I work with there (sadly ironic for someone whose profession is food) just last week. As I understand it there is no remedy, you just have to wait it out.

I was recently reminiscing with a friend about things we associate with our childhoods, including but not limited to the Spirograph, Lite Brite, that paint spinner/splatter toy, and, yes, Yoohoo Chocolate Drink (no strawberry for me, thanks!) When my friend brought up Yoohoo I suddenly had a powerful craving/nostalgia for it and as we were out walking we stopped into 4 convenience stores (aka bodegas) and couldn't find it -- only that impostor that uses real milk, Nesquik. ANYWAY--does anyone out there still drink Yoohoo? Where do you find it? Do you, too, have powerful childhood memories associated with it? Is it as good as I remember it being? Please share!

It appears that there is not yet a topic devoted to this cookbook. It's my new favorite. I was wondering who out there has cooked from it, what you've made, and what you've thought of the recipes. So far I've just made Dry-Fried Green Beans I (twice)--absolutely delicious and dead simple--and Gong Bao (Kung Pao) Chicken, also very quick and easy and with a huge payoff. So post your impressions here!

Don't waste your time on him! Creating and enjoying food with the person you're dating should be one of the most fun parts of the relationship, not the one that creates the most conflict.

Eagle Provisions, a sweet family-owned Polish grocery in "South Slope," Brooklyn, has a huge selection of well-priced beers from all over the world and country. Corner of 5th Avenue and 18th St.

Thanks! I just got back from a major spree at the Brooklyn location of Hong Kong Supermarket, getting basically all the Sichuan ingredients I'll need to cook from Land of Plenty--for a total of $22. However, I couldn't locate the most important ingredient--the peppercorns. I found a bag of "Chinese Prickly Ash," thought it probably was the peppercorns, decided not to buy it in case it was something different, and came home to have Google inform that that is in fact an alternate name for Szechuan peppercorn. D'oh! I couldn't tell anything about the quality, though--I smelled them and they were not very fragrant. Any experience buying really good Szechuan peppercorns in New York? Where?

P.S. Any recipe recommendations from the book, i.e., which recipe should I start with? I've only cooked Chinese food successfully a handful of times.

Thank you all SO much! Off to Chinatown...

I'm planning on going to a Chinese supermarket later today to pick up the basic staples I'll need for cooking from this cookbook. However, I left my copy at work and won't have access to it until Monday. If you own it, could you please reply (or PM me) with a list of the basic ingredients needed? She has a page toward the front of her ingredient guide that says something like, "these are the basic ingredients needed for the recipes in this book," and then lists about 8-10 things. Please save me an extra trip to the bookstore! Thanks!

I'm reading Fuschia Dunlop's excellent book on Sichuan regional cooking, entitled Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper (I highly recommend it). Reading about 50 pages from this book every day has inspired me to try to cook from it, as well as from her more recipe-specific cookbook Land of Plenty. I need to pick up some stapes like pickled chiles, chili bean paste, Sichuan peppercorns, and fermented black beans, to start. I've shopped around in Chinatown before, but I'm hoping someone has a great recommendation for a place where I can pick up most of these ingredients. Please let me know!

I enjoy Sabra and used to eat it all the time in college--the store near campus sold it. But I find it a little too creamy and smooth, if there is such a thing. I like some texture in my hummus. Anyone with me? My solution is usually to make hummus at home. Cheap, and with a food processor almost instantaneous.

DesertCulinary, I'd love to make those mouthwatering-looking chocolate cupcakes for a friend's birthday. Would you be able to post the recipe or PM it to me? Thanks!

I can't answer all of them, but here are the ones I know: 1. Teenage Wasteland, The Who 2. Hotel California, The Eagles 5. Going to California, Led Zeppelin 6. Savoy Truffle, The Beatles 8. Tangled Up in Blue, Bob Dylan Can you tell I'm obsessed with 70s rock? And I'm only 21 ETA: I looked up the ones I didn't know, and I'm so annoyed I didn't recognize #7!

IlCuoco, I'm assuming you add the juice of the limes, or do you add them sliced?

Bryan, As a student currently studying abroad in Barcelona, I thoroughly enjoyed living vicariously through your meal choices. My parents are coming to visit for 10 days starting on the 9th and you can bet we'll be hitting up some of these restaurants, on my parents' tab . I was wondering, which tapas stall did you choose at the Boqueria? I didn't see any name in that post. Thanks!

Thanks so much for these reccomendations, everyone! I got back from my trip last night, and, needless to say, had an amazing time--and, thanks to you all, ate well. The places I visited were: -Nerbone. For our first meal (lunch) in Italy, we got the incredibly cheap boiled beef sandwiches and they were filling and delicious. -Borgo Antico. Great scene, very lively, with big plates of 7 euro pasta and great house wine. I had gnocchi with a Mediterranean sauce (a vegetable ragu). -Trattoria Sabatino. My favorite stop of the trip. No tourists whatsoever, just big Italian families enjoying a leisurely lunch. I had a slice of roast pork loin stuffed with a paste of garlic and rosemary, followed by a homemade pinenut/vanilla cake served with macerated strawberries. Yum! -Carabe, for gelato. I had gelato all over Florence and this did happen to be my favorite. I had stracciatelli and almond in a cone. Another food highlight worth mentioning is procuring a picnic lunch at the Mercato Centrale to bring on our day trip to Siena. Hearty Tuscan bread, two types of cheese (cacciocavalo and tomino), a carton of tiny, sweet wild strawberries, and a selection of dried fruits and nuts fed us well and was extremely cheap! -

The four "foodie" foods that I disliked for many years, and felt I needed to come to like in order to call myself a true foodie, were: Olives Sushi Smoked salmon/other smoked fishes Cilantro I continued to eat these things despite not liking them, and can now honestly say that I love all four.

Hello all, On Friday I'll be leaving to spend 4 days in Florence. I'm a student and am looking for CHEAP reccomendations for restaurants--mostly for dinner. If a thread already exists on this topic, please refer me to it. Thanks!

Thanks for the heads up! I did indeed read and enjoy johnder's blog, but I forgot all about his Applewood report.

Anyone care to comment on their experience at Applewood? I'm going there for my 21st birthday dinner next week.

hzrt8w, I also thought it was a margarita, based on the same train of thought that you had.

Hmmm...I didn't mean a green coconut, I did mean the brown-husked hairy one. It's still fresh, though, isn't it?

I have two fresh coconuts from my veggie coop sitting in my fridge, and I have no idea what to do with them. Any ideas/recipes? Thanks!