slkinsey

How do you mean "nonskillet" pans? Do you mean nonstick pans, or regular uncoated pans that are in a frypan shape instead of a straight-sided shape like a cast iron skillet? As for the second part of the question, sure there are times when using more oil is good. These days, however, we're more likely looking to reduce our consumption of fat rather than increasing it. Also, there are instances where having less fat seems to produce a more crisp result.

This seems to be getting awfully far afield. Regardless what some members of academia may have to say on the matter, a critic is one who offers criticism or, as Merriam-Webster puts it: "one who engages often professionally in the analysis, evaluation, or appreciation of works of art or artistic performances" and criticism as "the art of evaluating or analyzing works of art or literature; also : writings expressing such evaluation or analysis." I would suggest that the "art" part of this definition is a bit old-fashioned, as someone these days could certainly be a "sitcom critic," and I don't imagine too many of us think of "Joey" as "Art." Yes, there may be certain areas of academia in which "criticism" has a different and more refined meaning. There are certain areas of academia in which all kinds of words have different and more refined meanings.

Oh, come on! How can you say that a day of early-afternoon mirth is a non-event? I'm sure this will be the talk of the town for at least another sev-- oh, look! Something shiny!

I think the idea of tracing the evolution of a recipe from its Italian roots to its eventual Italian-American incarnation, and documenting the various influences that may have guided its transformation is an interesting one. But in many cases, it seems like an impossible one.

Heh. Well, yea. That goes without saying, although -- what the heck? -- let's say it anyway.

I didn't say it was read by more people than Chodorow's ad in the Times. The implication above was that nobody has publicly made these arguments before. That is certainly incorrect. Well, yea. The arguments have been made before, but I would argue that they haven't been made before on anywhere near this kind of stage and to anywhere near this volume of readership. So, for whatever it's worth, by virtue of the circulation and iconic status of the NY Times, and the fact that it's literally happening in their own backyard, this does seem like the "calling out" of Bruni and the Times that's likely to make the biggest splash thus far.

This piece? In the St. Petersburg Times? I hardly think that would be read by more people than Chodorow's ad in the New York Times. It's also by no means the scathing and direct open criticism of Bruni's qualifications that Chodorow presents. Or they're being read by the same 2,500 people again and again on various different web sites.

It's not that the high proof alcohol will do something nasty to the fruit. Rather, it's the case that the high proof alcohol is already pretty nasty. The problem with using something like 151 proof Everclear, or any other grain alcohol, is that they are not highly refined. A big part of the vodka-making process is repeated re-distillation (rectification) and filtration to ensure that the result is, to the greatest extent possible, an azeotropic solution of ethanol and water at 96% abv. This is one of the things that makes vodka so smooth. Everclear and other high proof grain alcohols, on the other hand, do not seem to receive this treatment. (Companies that use high proof alcohol, such as the Italian limoncello makers, seem to do some degree of refinement to smooth out the end product, but this does not seem to be available at retail.) Try this experiment: pour yourself an ounce of 100 proof Smirnoff, and then make yourself an ounce of "100 proof Everclear" by mixing 2/3 ounce of Everclear 151 and 1/3 ounce of neutral-tasting spring water. Chill both in the freezer for an hour and then taste them. Taste them again at room temperature. The "100 proof Everclear" will be very rough compared to the 100 proof Smirnoff. As for the infusion time, that's hard to say. Just try a tiny bit of it every day until you get a flavor you like.

Points that haven't been made a thousand times before where, exactly? Here? In other internet discussion forums, on blogs and on internet sites? Although this may not be true for us -- we're here reading this, after all -- posting things on the internet hardly constitutes "public" for most of the public. A full page ad in the New York Times directly across from the restaurant reviews, on the other hand...

I don't necessarily disagree. But, then again, I'm not comparing him to reviewers like David Rosengarten and Ruth Reichl either.

Hmm. I'm not sure I agree that Grimes has paramount importance as a cocktail historian -- unless there's something beyond that one book of which I am unaware. And whether or not he wrote about food off and on for 20 years, according to Chodorow's summary of his conversations with Mrs. Grimes, they almost never went out to dinner before he became the food critic for the Times.

I wouldn't call a peach- or melon-infused vodka a "-cello" since that's something I think is probably most appropriate for citrus zest-infused, sweetened alcohol. Anyway, for what you want to do, I'd simply chop up some fruit, cover it with 100 proof vodka and infuse until you get the intensity of flavor you're after. Then strain out the fruit and sweeten with rich simple syrup to taste, if desired.

One could argue that Chodorow's many years of experience in the restaurant business gives him as much or more cred than Bruni, Platt, Grimes, etc.

I don't think the Bo Ssam was mentioned in a way that will make review-readers order it any more than people had been in the past. It's not even clear that Bruni tried the Bo Ssam, or even the baby one, since he doesn't say anyhing about it other than that it exists (I have to believe that anyone who tried it would rave).

What I think is interesting is that he's planning on starting a blog called "Following Frank and After Adam" where he plans to visit the restauraunts reviewed by the aforementioned critics and then post a review of the review. It will be at: http://chinagrillmgt.com/blog Edited: to fix URL

What's the word on non-Pomegranate flavorings in grenadine as it is was used as a cocktail ingredient? (Reduced pomegranate juice, I think, pre-dates its use in cocktails by quite a bit and is part of several culinary traditions.) Are any classics? Here's an interesting article on grenadine

InSinkErator's new models feature a multi-stage grinding system that they say handles "difficult food waste, such as beef bones, corn husks, potato skins and artichoke remnants."

Nice report. I've had any number of De Marco's slices to soak up the booze from Pegu Club on my way to the subway home. By now they've had plenty of time to work out any kinks, and I think it's safe to say that they're a big disappointment. Mushy crusts topped with rubbery cheese and an overly salty sauce that tastes of Chef Boyardee.

As chance would have it, there is a New York Times article about this, dating to 1997. However, according to the manufacturers it would seem that there is not much room for concern. They say that the waste is ground down to a "silt like consistency" by modern disposals, and that the use of extra water is minimal. They test those things using 35 pounds of frozen spare ribs! Pretty cool. This article strengthens my feeling that landlords and co-op boards aren't allowing them primarily because they figure "people have been getting along without them fine, so why take the risk, however minimal?"

leviathan, what do you mean by "cast iron frying pan"? Do you mean to say "cast iron grill pan" -- which is to say, a cast iron skilled with raised ridges on the bottom? If this is what you mean, I have to say that I don't find this pan particularly useful, except for marking meat with grill marks. And, really, who cares if your pork chop has grill marks on it unless it's because it was actually cooked on a grill? The transfer of thermal energy from the pan to the meat is nowhere near as good with a grill pan due to the reduced contact area, and they're always extremely smokey to use in the house. Although it seems like an interesting idea, in actual practice I don't think they really work very well, and I don't recommend them.

I suppose that depends a bit on the quality of your "ordinary-quality bar whiskey." In the bars I frequent, a Manhattan compounded with ordinary-quality bar whiskey is likely to be made with Rittenhouse Bonded. In other bars... I'm not sure there's a whole lot you can do with something like Banker's Club or Heaven Hill.

I always though that the citywide prohibition against garbage disposals was an environmental thing, and secondarily an infrastructure thing (handling the increased waste). Of course, plenty of NYers flush all kinds of things down the toilet that might previously have gone through a disposal. Anyway, with respect to landlords, when the building has old pipes (many of them 100+ years old) and when the tenants are largely used to getting by without a garbage disposal, it's easier and cheaper to simply say they aren't allowed. Because of the rent regulations in New York City, it's advantageous for the landlord to turn over the lease frequently anyway.

The earliest citation that I have found for the Margarita is from 1953, and that was a article in Esquire. Right. But "invented in" and "became 'top 50 popular' in" aren't the same thing.

I think of the Margarita as a drink that exploded in popularity (largely in its crappy over-sweetened frozen version) sometime in the late 70s/early 80s.

Yea, haddock is the poor man's cod. Personally, I wouldn't be too locked into cooking it whole. And, unless you've got 6 friends coming over, a fair bit of it will go to waste anyway if you cook it whole. What about taking off the fillets, cooking the fat part of the fillets (poached would be great), and saving the thin parts for chowder, which you could make tomorrow using the rack and trim to make a broth.