slkinsey

Sorry, Thomas. It's no longer a free article on the LA Times site.

Hmmm... still, that oven cleaner stuff sprays on like a foam and doesn't drip off (else it would run down the walls and drip off the ceiling of your oven). I bet it would work well.

I wonder how they would clean up if you sprayed in a whole bunch of industrial-strength oven cleaner, let the whole thing marinade for a few hours, and then went after it with a hose fitted with a spray nozzle. How do you clean these things, usually?

Thanks for the comments, jeunefilleparis. As yours is the first post on Mix after Doug Psaltis' departure as chef de cuisine, I'll take the opportunity to make this the new thread for reviews and discussion about Mix. The archival thread containing discussion about Mix under Doug Psaltis' tenure may be found here

Now, see... that would look a lot less like a person if the direct view of the pig was obscurred with a nice cloudy citrus brining liquid.

Dude (and I say "dude" in the non gender-specific sense )... Do you have any idea how awesome it will be if you actually do fill your exploding friend's bathtub with a citrus-brined whole pig? You'll have conversation fuel for years to come! Oh, and pictures are a must. Lots of pictures.

There is *absolutely no way* I will be able to get this girl to put a dead pig in her bathtub. I'm having enough trouble resigning her to the idea of putting it in her car. Well... where are you going to put the pig, then? I say you present her with a fait accompli: "Oh... well, I naturally assumed we'd have to defrost it in your bathtub overnight. Otherwise, we'll all be eating raw pork tomorrow. Wherever shall we put the pig? Whatever shall I do?" Or, hey, you could always get one of those kiddie pools... See... you're thinking about it, aren't you? I would think that flavored brining wouldn't work very well with most kinds of roasting because the flavor from the brine would be obscurred by the smoke. With luau style, however, it should work very well. I also stuff the cavity of the pig with fresh herbs. I'm not sure that a vanilla or juniper bring is really what you might want for a pit cooked pig, though. I'd consider dumping a few big bottles of lemon and lime juice and a few jugs of orange and grapefruit juice into the brine. That would be tasty. Oh... I agree with Brooks about the farting. Be sure to keep her away from any open flames.

I'll bet it wasn't anymore difficult than the trouble that Sam had getting that guy out of the trunk and into the hole. It's much easier if you run 'em through the band saw a few times first.

Just wrap it in a sheet of heavy plastic. A couple of heavy duty large trash bags would probably do the trick too. Or, you could always treat it like a body and wrap it up in a rug. But I tend to do that kind of thing only when I'm driving to a secluded spot in the woods with a couple of shovels. In all my previous pig-roasting experience, the pig has been frozen pretty hard when I took delivery and keeping it refrigerated was the least of my concerns. If yours is frozen (fairly likely, I'd say), I recommend defrosting and brining it at the same time overnight in the bathtub.

Um, er, would that be more than 1?? That all depends on the size of the butt. In your case, it would be around a metric ton.

'Ray! Updated list below: Totonno Pizzeria Napolitano -- Coney Island May 14, 2004 1524 Neptune Ave. Between 15th and 16th Sts. 718-372-8606 JosephB and Donna slkinsey and bergerka docsconz Blondie Alacarte Pan jogoode kurl phaelon56 Eric_Malson SarahD

Sounds good. I didn't bother raking out the fire, I just wrapped the pig in lots of cheesecloth and chicken wire, dropped it in, then pushed the rocks on top of it and buried the pit. The fire goes out right quick when you do that anyway. I cannot stress enough how important it is to have a buttload of big rocks, though, as they are the only meaningful source of heat.

My one word of advice... make sure you get a lot of rocks, and burn a big-ass fire in the pit for several hours before you throw in the pig. Otherwise, you wind up with a lot of rare pork. The web site I reference above was a big help to me when I did my (200 lb) luau style pig.

Interesting... my experience has consistently been the exact opposite. We have never been rushed, and have always felt as though we could take all the time we wanted. Now, that said... as you know, we at the slkinsey household prefer to eat at a somewhat later hour than many. Our typical reservation time at Peter Luger is somewhere in the neighborhood of 9:00 PM. This means that we are probably the last turn of whatever table we occupy, and we typically close the place down. Someone going in with a 6:30 reservation might very well have a totally different experience in this regard. Lucky for me, porterhouse steak at 6:30 has never appealed to me. For one, I feel strange having a pre-dinner Manhattan at 6:00.

NeroW, how are you planning on roasting the pig? There are several "pit roasting" methods: Turning on a spit over a pit Placed whole into a closed smoker (this is what Varmint did at the pig pickin') Butterflied and roasted over an open pit (as described in this eGCI course) "Luau style" "roasting" where the pig is wrapped and buried in the ground with hot rocks (as described here) I've done whole pigs using just about all these methods at one time or another. And yea, it's the whole (gutted) pig, head and all. I have no idea if the brain is removed from the skull.

Tito Schipa in Neapolitan Song Nothing like it to put you in the mood for cooking in the Italian style with a light touch.

Brilliant vodka has a really nice bottle, as does Amaro Nonino, but the hand-blown Italian grappa bottles take the prize.

I like the hummus at Jerusalem Cafe up on 104th and B'way, but nothing compares to what I can make at home.

I like Diesel Sweeties. Here's one. Here's another. Plus, the occasional Red Meat, like this one.

Interesting. It had never occurred to me to use Carpano Punt e Mes as a vermouth-category ingredient as opposed to a Campari-category ingredient. How does it work in a Manhattan? Do you have to use a smaller amount than you might vermouth to balance the drink?

Interesting article. Sounds like they prefer their margaritas a lot sweeter than I do mine, as they use something they call "Mezcal mix" (water, sugar and lime juice) instead of just lime juice. To my taste, the triple sec provides all the sweetness the drink needs. It's worthy of note that the basic formula for a margarita (base liquor, triple sec and citrus juice) works fantastically in a wide variety of combinations. This formula is what Gary Regan calls a "New Orleans sour" in The Joy of Mixology, and it includes such favorites as the margarita and cosmopolitan. Just last night, Fat Guy and I were poking through his liquor cabinet looking for something to make into a cocktail. I thought of the NO sour formula and we ended up throwing together some Cane rum, Cointreau triple sec and lime juice. It was damn tasty.

Although I can't speak to Canadian retailers, I have consistently found that the best deals on cookware are to be had on the Internet.

Now that Per Se is up and running, I have created a separate thread for discussion relating to the fire, including PR, reopening, rescheduling, and any other related discussion. This thread will remain as the main thread for reviews and discussions about the food at Per Se.

It's only important to spend enough to make sure the pot has a thick aluminum bottom. If the Cuisinart Chef's Classic has that, and if it's big enough for you (it would be a little small for me), then there is no reason to spend more. It depends, I suppose, on how many delicate sauces you make and, and how often. There is no doubt that the Falk saucepan is an amazing performer, but it may not be worth an additional 65 bucks unless you would really take advantage of it frequently. They're both good pans. If you do decide to get the All-Clad pan, make sure you check out Cookware and More. That 2 quart MasterChef saucepan you're thinking of buying for 90 bucks? They'll sell you a "second" for 64 dollars. Staub is my favorite maker of enameled cast iron. A quality product all the way around. As for round versus oval, I'd go with round. Oval is really only useful for braising large, long pieces of meat (whole leg of lamb, goose, etc.). As for the utility of a 5 - 7 quart enameled cast iron casserole, I have found them very useful. They are the best for braising and low/slow dishes like stews. I also like them very much for long simmered pasta sauces. Whether or not these are things you find yourself wanting to do should inform your decision about whether or not you want to invest in one of these pots. Glad to hear that you are enjoying the Falk saucière (aka curved sauteuse evasée). So far, everyone I've recommended it to has loved it, and it's definintely the most used pan in my kitchen.

Definitely good stuff. Although I am not a nonstick fan in general, I do agree that everyone ought to have at least one large nonstick skillet for certain tasks that would otherwise be difficult. Calphalon Commercial nonstick is my favorite, and while I'll be sorry to see this line go away, there are tremendous deals to be had. I got two 12" frypans for 25 bucks each on Amazon. This is very good advice, and somethiing I point out in the cookware class. It cannot be said too often.