slkinsey

A grinder is a large sandwich, usually served on a small loaf of "Italian" or "French" bread. Also known as a submarine, sub, hero, hoagie, po' boy, etc.

Some of us -- particularly yours truly -- exercise our mouths more than any other part. Guilty here! (sigh)

Aren't they? Let's say it together: "seeeeeelf baaaaasting spiiiiikes."

Raw cast iron is not recommended for the kinds of low/slow braising and cooking of long-simmered tomato sauces for which one uses an enameled cast iron casserole. It's too reactive.

From today's New York Times: American-made buffalo mozzarella from Star Hill Dairy in Vermont is available at Whole Foods. $6.99 each. FREE hot chocolate on cold days in the lobby of the Regency Hotel on 61st Street! Union Square Wines Group (includes Union Square Wines and Spirits, Vintage Grape, Columbus Wines and Spirits and Park East Wines and Spirits) is having a winter wine sale. 22% off 1/19 - 1/24; 21% off 1/26 - 1/31; 20% off 2/2 - 2/7 Sherry Lehman is having a big sale to celebrate their 70th year on Madison Avenue. Many special deals, including an interesting feature: the "unsung heroes of Bordeaux" featuring 12 wines all under $20/bottle.

Oh yea? I thought that was the word for people who spend 600% more on a yearly basis using a Brita filter. Seriously, though, I am not the least bit concerned about lead and heavy metals in NYC tap water. And the efficiency of my filter (those test results were after 20,000 gallons had run through the filter) is such that I have even less concern. Indeed, if in fact I did have a lead or heavy metal problem in my tap water, I am certain that the water coming from my filter would contain lower levels than the water from the tap after 30 seconds. All that said, it's not a big deal to run the tap 30 seconds before turning on the under-counter filter or flushing out a plumbed-in espresso machine, assuming that the filter and/or machine was plumbed into the same water line. That simple procedure should satisfy even the most paranoid.

Totally. The only qualitative difference will have to do with the enamel.

Round shape is best. 7 - 8 quarts is most versatile. All the brands are more or less the same, although the less expensive brands may have fewer layers of enamel and lower quality enamel. I prefer Staub, especially for the lids. Le Creuset is the most promoted and general favorite. Chasseur is almost identical to Le Creuset, and less expensive. Descoware is good stuff you can get on eBay (the company is defunkt).

Bring it on, lard ass! I bet you're not so tough without that dog!

I still don't think it's significant. In fact, I'd bet you the water coming out of my plumbed-in filter tastes the same or better than the water coming out of your Brita. Less sediment, too. My filter removes lead from water with 97% efficiency, and all heavy metals and other contaminants to well below the EPA's maximum contaminant levels (test results). This is not to say, by the way, that I have the best filter in the world. It's quire reasonably priced, and I am sure one can do better. It is true, FWIW, that cold water holds more dissolved gas than warm water. I don't know how much this effects coffee.

Go for lunch. No reservations needed, AFAIK. And you get an entire day to walk it off. Edited: "walk it off" not "talk it off."

That's a good point, Suzanne, and a reason why I would never plumb in an espresso machine without a very fine sediment filter on the front end of the line. Even in NYC which has, as you point out, some of the best municipal water in the country, I still have to clean out my 0.5 micron ceramic sediment filter around 4 times a year to keep the filter tap running fast.

It depends on the filter and on the diameter of the pipe that's plumbed to the machine. There's no reason not to use a low-diameter pipe with low flow-rate to the machine. As for the filter, it depends on the filter. I would argue that my two-stage under the counter filter is a lot better than your Britta, and will continue to be better until I replace the filters three years from now. As for the sitting-in-the-pipes problem... I think you're going to have to run your sink a lot longer than 30 seconds before you start pulling in fresh water straight from the Croton reservoir. All the water that comes out of your tap has been sitting in the pipes.

It's always fun getting up to speed with a new machine. I remember when I got my Rancilio and I pulled something like 18 shots trying to get the grind right. Well, of course I drank them all... Needless to say, it was a jittery day at casa slkinsey!

It totally depends on how much coffee you make. In situations where one or more people work at home or maintain a home office, and if these people are using the machine 4-5 times a day (not all that unusual for some), then having a plumbed-in, double boiler machine makes a certain amount of sense.

I was thinking of the lime caviar as specifically being made from those Australian finger limes, which apparently are filled with tiny caviar-like sacs rather than the usual citrus configuration. While they are still rare and largely unavailable, I can see "lime caviar" from Australian finger limes being used in high-end places. Once they (hopefully) become more ubiquitous, it will turn into a middle-brow cliché.

I had an interesting conversation with Mr. Cutlets the other night about Peter Luger. He remarked that he didn't think it was a great idea that they seem to bring the steak directly from the broiler to the table and proceed to cut it into pieces. Now that I think about it, it doesn't seem like such a hot idea to me either. I wonder if it would be possible to have the waiters bring the steak to the table uncut so it could rest for a while. I also wonder whether it actually would make much of a difference, and to what extent. I sense a side-by-side testing in my Peter Luger future.

Michael, you are so ahead of the curve. You beat the Times in bringing attention back to Col Legno (that's "with wood" for the non-Italophiles) by two years! I was glad to read the review in the Times, but I'm even more glad to read that you liked it. Anyone want to share favorite dishes to try?

I have seen both sweet limes and key limes at the 74th street Fairway in recent weeks. What I really want to try, though, are some of those Australian finger limes. What do you want to bet we start seeing "lime caviar" on fancy restaurant menus over the next two to three years?

This is a very salient point you make here. One does not have to agree with another person to respect that person. I would even go so far as to suggest that one does not have to respect another person's opinion to respect that person. You and I, for example, have taken opposing positions and gone around the tree on a number of subjects. And yet, at the end of the day, it was all a good time. I think we came away from it appreciating our counterpart's position a little better, appreciating our counterpart a little better and liking each other a little more. I certainly know that, based on our debates, I tend to check out your posts to see if something interesting is going on. That is only good, in my opinion.

The inclusion of the word "hickory" in the name and your mention of pork ribs makes me wonder if this place serves echt Texas barbeque, which is to say: mesquite-smoked brisket with a thinish, tomato-based, black-peppery sauce on the side. What do you think of the Goode Company Barbeque on Kirby for TX barbeque?

Thanks for the report, fimbul. That is, as you have discovered for yourself and nicely summarized for us, the main drawback of buying a pre-configured set of cookware: most of the time you only get real use out of around 50%.

Under cooked as in how? Do you mean that the water was not all absorbed in the amount of time you expected, or was it the case that the water was absorbed but the rice was crunchy? What is the technique you use? I always cook rice in a Le Creuset pot, and have never experienced any problems -- but mayube I have adjusted my technique to work with the pot. If the problem you're having is that the rice is too wet after the usual amount of time, I'd recommend using less water. If you use the same technique I use (bring the rice to a boil uncovered, then reduce to minimum heat and cover for 20 minutes) you might boil the rice uncovered a little while longer than usual to reduce the liquid. The lids on enameled cast iron are much heavier than "regular" lids, and as a result I find that there is less evaporation when maintaining a low simmer with the pan covered. This means that one has to adjust by starting with less water, or anyway making sure there is less water in the pan when you cover it. If the opposite is true, and your rice is crunchy at the end, I'd recommend a little more water, covering the pot a little earlier and using a lower heat setting when the pot is covered. The point of all this is that different cookware really can change the way a certain dish turns out. When using cookware with unusual and particular properties, often times one must adjust the cooking technique slightly.

It is worthwhile to point out, while we're at it, that all the most potent toxins known to humankind are of "natural" origin (which is to say, produced by animals, plants, bacteria, etc. as opposed to chemical reactions in a laboratory or factory).

I don't have anything substantial to add other than to thank Ya-Roo for one of the more interesting threads I've read for some time. Keep it coming.