formerly grueldelux

Not to mention that Waltham is "Wal-tham" (with the 'th' sound elided) rather than "Walt-ham." And then, to make matters even more confusing... Waltham = "Wal-tham" but Chatham = "Chat'm" The one I still haven't gotten straight is Wareham. Where ham? Wear 'em? Hamware? -michael

I have to agree with you on this one. I'm a fan of raisins in general, and I try to keep an open mind, but I just don't want gorp in my stew. -michael

Wow, this one brings back a lot of memories. Do you have any tips on identifying the plant? My memory from summer camp days is that it's anywhere from 1 to 3 feet high with leaves that look like maple leaves (it's even perhaps a recently sprouted maple of some sort?) Is that even close? -michael Here's an Indian Cucumber photo from the state of North Carolina web site. It's odd that none of the links I could find showed the edible portion, which is the root. I did see one mention that it was used as a food by native Aemrican peoples but in certain quantities can act as a diuretic and even as a purgative (las if we cared when I was in Boy Scouts - heck, we were just thrilled to eat something that we dug up ourselves in the woods and could never find more than a few at a time). Thanks. Very interesting. Either I've distorted things in my memory or I'm remembering a different plant with a similar root. This was in Muskoka, cottage country in Ontario. Maybe that explains why it's a maple leaf.

Regarding the pizza peel, I vote for the metal ones with the wood handles because I like the fact that you can bend the handle. In my oven, with the stone on the floor it is below the level of the open (and hot) oven door, which means that my fingers are always at risk. I bend the handle where it meets the blade, creating about a 20 degree angle, enough to give clearance for my fingers. Re: pizza. I'm no expert but after years of experimentation I can say that, in my experience, no home pizza comes even close to the pizza from a kamado (can't vouch for other brands of ceramic cookers, but I'm sure many are just as good.) They've capable of reaching insane temperatures but the manufacturer doesn't really recommend going over 600-700. I find preheating for over an hour at 600 gives you enough heat to bake a steady stream of 5 minute pizzas. It's way bettter than anything I can get out of my oven. -michael

Wow, this one brings back a lot of memories. Do you have any tips on identifying the plant? My memory from summer camp days is that it's anywhere from 1 to 3 feet high with leaves that look like maple leaves (it's even perhaps a recently sprouted maple of some sort?) Is that even close? -michael

Noticed this very cheap scale. I know nothing about it but it looks like it has a lot the features one wants for only $15. (Also check out the $4.49 12" carbon steel wok and the in my opinion not hideous $5 set of espresso cups) -michael

Jack, What do you make of the style of pickling where the pickle jar or crock is more or less perpetual, with new vegetables added as pickles are removed, and with occasional replenishing of liquid, salt and flavorings? For example, Fuchsia Dunlop brilliantly explains the Sichuanese approach to pickling in "Land of Plenty." For those who haven't read the basic recipe, she has you sterilize a jar, boil then cool a brine, add it to the jar with rice wine and flavourings (eg. ginger, star anise, Sichuan pepper) then add cubes of daikon and carrot. The jar is then stored in a dark place for 24 hours (no processing.) At that point, it seems the jar basically beomes a beloved member of the family, living on for generations. Chiles, mustard greens, cucumbers etc. can all be added, and kept in the "mother liquor" for as long as required, from a few hours for tender vegetables to weeks for others. I've yet to try it, but I really like the simplicity of the approach, as well as the somewhat romantic idea of keeping a brine developing for years. I also envision making the flavorings a little more generic (i.e. less Sichuan) so that the same jar could be used for making somehat authentic pickles from any cuisine you please (Middle East, Korea, Japan etc.) Does anyone have any tips to share on this approach? What about the safety issuest? Fuchsia Dunlop's recipe has a ratio of 1/4 cup sea salt to 2 1/4 cups water. Do you suppose that as long as that approximate ratio is maintained in the jar then pickling can go on indefinitly? -michael

Which is why Connecticut was kicked out of New England like 100 years ago. But seriously, you're right. I can hardly speak for 10 square blocks of Cambridge, let alone New England. In fact the first time I heard bubblah I thought the person was insane, but then I'm not from around here. Likewise tonic. Where I'm from it's a drinking fountain and pop. -michael

Here in New England it's a bubblah. -michael

This might set a new record for dorkiness. I find that a "pasta fork" comes in very handy for handling individual eggs. -michael

Thanks for the link. Great looking scale, but don't you want more capacity? I would go with the 6001T, though it is pricey in comparison. I bought one after Fat Guy pointed them out here a few months ago, and I'm extremely happy with it. -michael

Thanks for the info. I'm now pretty sure it was contaminated. Mudbug, thanks as well. I think I've learned what to expect now. I threw out the first jar so unfortunately I don't have any pictures to share. Just picture chili-flecked sludge with clear slime sauce. Will track down MTT brand to do a final comparison.

Hi everyone. I've learned a lot form this forum, so thanks to all of you. I was just about to post a general question about fermented bean curd but saw the subject come up in this thread so I thought I'd post it here. Since I'm new to the ingredient I'd appreciate some help in understanding it. The first jar I bought was so overhwheming that I eventually determined that it must have spoiled. The liquid was quite "fizzy" and the cubes of bean curd had a clear slime sticking to them and were very mushy, with about as much structure as room temperature butter. Is this normal? I decided I needed some other samples for comparison so I purhcased two diffferent brands from two different stores. These seemed more normal to my untrained eye and palate. Intense yes, but edible. The tofu, though soft, was firm enough to be picked up with chopsticks. No slime, little fizz. What do you think? Do you think the first sample was spoiled or are those common characteristics? What should I look for an ideal sample of fermented bean curd? Or does one jar vary greatly from the next? -michael

Feel free to disregard the nonsense of my previous post. Here's a more sensible question: Are there regions that use any preserving techniques like curing, drying, smoking, (sausage making?) etc. for meat or fish or are animal proteins generally used fresh?

Steingarten at his finest. It's in It Must've Been Something I Ate, I think. I didn't mean to suggest that the subject itself was uninteresting, only that the characters in the show found it uninteresting. If it was me at that party I'd have felt relieved to find someone I could relate to. As for being based on Steingarten, I'd say it's unlikely. I don't know if you've heard but Jeffrey Steingarten is incredibly handsome and verile, not to mention a captivating speaker and stylish dresser. At parties, throngs of enthralled supplicants keep him maddeningly out of reach of the hors d'oeuvres. Clearly based on a different model.

Thank you for a very impressive piece. Even though I've had a well stocked Indian larder and a basic knowledge of Indian cookery for some time, I've never progressed beyond a couple of basic dishes (my specialty being Curried Cupboard Contents.) You've inspired me go a little further (though I have to say the subject is so vast it's a little intimidating.) I have a couple of general questions about Indian cooking: How many dishes are usually eaten at a regular, not special occasion, home dinner. I ask because I find that if I make an Indian meal of even one dish, perhaps Inauthentic Vegetable Curry, it takes a considerable amount of effort by the time you include the raita, bread, chutneys, rice etc. I imagine that adding another couple of dishes, which I assume would be normal, would make dinner preparations stretch for hours. I think I'm not alone in falling back on a basic curry. It's sort of like the Stir Fry (remember those?) standing in for all of Chinese cookery. It was definitely a cop out but at the same time it was a reasonably respectful adaptation that enabled a foreign food to make sense in our (American, Canadian etc.) lives. I assume the answer is fairly complicated because the typical work night supper would differ based on social class, the presence of domestic help etc. So rather than try to speak for all of India, perhaps you could tell what you eat on a typical night (when you eat Indian, that is.) Is Indian food reserved for occasions when you have the afternoon to cook? Or do you sometimes just make one dish and some rice and call it dinner? Is it my misconception to think of Indian home meals as consisting of multiple dishes? The other question is about noodles. My first exposure to anyting remotely Indian was a version of "spaghetti" (remember that?) that I made up and grew to love when I first started cooking. Canned tomatoes, ground beef, onions, garlic, curry powder, salt and pepper. Today I eat some slightly more sophisitcated versions (like linguine dressed with cilanto and whole spices cooked in plently of ghee, a favorite rice substitute.) When I eat these I'm not thinking fusion, nor am I trying to make something from Thailand or Singapore or Malaysia. I'm honestly trying to make an Indian dish make sense with noodles intead of rice. So that's my bias, now my question. I realize that asking why there isn't more use of noodles in India is like asking why there isn't more use of noodles in France, but why isn't there more use of noodles in India? It seems that with all those influences coming onto the continent, one of them would produce a noodle region. Is there a noodle region? Are there noodle dishes indigenous to India? Or is it more like this: India has a rich tradition with breads and rice. "Curry" is exported to places with rich noodle tradition. The marriage of curry and the noodle comes back to India via eg. "Singapore noodles" and are subsequently adapted. This is all groundless speculation, a specialty. Anyway, just wondering about noodles. -michael

You're basically right, I'll admit. But I think his interest in food was central to the comparison, and central to his lack of appeal. The more I think about it the more I agree with busboy - it must have been written by a fellow traveler, as a clever inside joke. No one would possibly find cheese talk boring, would they?

I'm clearly going to the wrong parties. For the sake of thoroughness, a couple of more points from the show. Later in the party, a drunken guest insists on smoking, against the wishes of the host. The Wallace Shawn character shows great gallantry by standing up to the guest on behalf of the Candace Bergen character. A few days later we see them together, as if she decided to take a chance on him. So you see? The food writer with unconventional looks beds Candace Bergen! Food writers do rule after all.

Typical excellent article by Amanda Hesser, but I wonder about one thing. I thought the original caesar salad does not contain anchovies. She states her dislike of the "new" versions with the pungency of garlic poorly substituting for anchovy. But isn't this "new" version the original salad, and anchovies only a phase? On re-reading, I suppose she doesn't directly address the ur-Caesar, but to me the passage still reads: caesar with anchovies - original and superior; without anchovies - newfangled and wrong. -michael

I just viewed the episode from Sex and the City from two weeks ago and I'm surprised the ranks of food writers aren't a-twitter, for you were dissed mightily therein. Here's an outline for those who haven't seen it: Carrie is summoned to lunch with a colleague, a fashion editor in her fifties played by Candace Bergen. Turns out the she is finding the dating game very difficult at her age and she practically insists that Carrie find her a date for her upcoming party. Cut to the party scene. Carrie and her boyfriend arrive, seemingly alone. Candace Bergen answers the door. Where's the date? Out pops Wallace Shawn. His unconventional looks, odd voice and short stature are essentially played for a laugh. Candace doesn't hide her dissapointment. Carrie makes introductions. This is X, he writes about food for Bon Appetite. This, this is like rubbing salt in the wound. He's unconventional looking and a food writer? You must be joking? Later scenes show the Wallace Shawn character boring other guests to tears with talk of artisanal cheese and, the killer, US rules about raw milk cheeses. He's also paying an awful lot of attention to the passed hors d'oeuvres. There's no mistaking it, the food obsessed have been dissed. So what were the intentions of the makers of Sex and the City? Was is to simply give a friendly jibe at the food enthusiast, currently clearing rooms across the country? Or were they more interested in the bigger task of depicting the complicated social hierarchies in NY, with the foodie simply the convenient slow moving target? I found it some consolation that the dissing was done by creepy fashionista socialites, but still. -michael

I can't imagine what a kamado option in a modern rice cooker would be, but it may help to know that the kamado bbq we have today is an adaptation of an ancient japanese rice cooker called a mushikamado -michael

This one from Nesco has captured my interest. It has a ceramic interior and the full temperature range of a roaster. I wonder if it can be used as a deep fryer? -michael

That price is insane! I get them for $2/pound at my local natural foods place. Paying $16 a pound for beans is completely counter to the spirit of the dish, which I prefer to interpret as "tasty dish of beans, meats and sausage." I saw a repeat of a Jacques Pepin show on cassoulet recently and I thought his attitude towards the dish was right on: Put on a pot of beans with a large cheesecloth satchel containing the usual aromatics plus a chunk of ham and some whole onions. Meanwhile, in a large roasting pan, roast a medium pork roast and a duck, draining fat regularly. Make a sausage with ground pork, garlic etc., form into a fat log and wrap tightly in plastic, tying the ends. Put in bean pot. When everything is done, chop/carve up the meats and veg., combine everything, top with breadcrumbs, broil. Flageolets, confit, clay vessels etc. are fine for a laugh but basically beside the point. michael

Speaking of caplan duval, they currently have 7 quart le creuset dutch ovens for $112 plus shipping, which is pretty good. And don't forget ebay.

From what I can tell after 12 years in Cambridge, Mass, a grinder is a baked sub. Strangely, though nearly all sub shops have the word grinder somewhere on their signage, most people don't seem to use the word all that much. You wouldn't really order, for example, a "turkey grinder." Rather, a sub becomes a grinder with the directive "toasted". So you'd say "small turkey everything no lettuce" and the guy would say "cheese? toasted?" and you'd say yes and out would come a grinder.