slkinsey

It's just like the way the Italians leave the vongole, etc. in their shells in pasta dishes. It is a sign to the customers that they are fresh and don't come from a can.

A good pint of draught Guinness alongside a dozen raw oysters is a match made in heaven.

Thank you! I also do not get PBJ. Frankly, there are certain things I simply refuse to eat now that I am out of grade school: PBJ, boloney sandwiches, and mac 'n' cheese from the box. Now, on the other hand... a nice peanut butter and bacon sandwich can be extremely tasty (especially if you fry it in the leftover bacon fat) -- although it's probably been 15 years since I had one.

I would add: Heavy Glass Shaker with a Metal Top (top including cap, strainer and spout) -even better on the eye -great control from gentle swirling to all out bruising -doesn't get very cold to the touch, since glass is a very poor conductor of heat and Cocktail Pitcher -also easy on the eye -the tops for making cocktails en masse

Too much information. Oh yea... first I put on my cocktail cape and sword... Jeez... you put in one extra space, mistype one little letter.

For me, it's vintage glass-and-silver shakers all the way. I only go to my (1950s era) metal shaker if I have a drink I really want to shake the hell out of. The GF got me a really cool amythyst shaker for my birthday last year that is also quite strong and good for a vigorous shake. I have never -- not even once -- had the problem of the cap sticking on one of my shakers due to negative pressure caused by rapid cooling. If I am making a relatively pure cocktail (like a martini or a manhattan), I always swirl or stir the cocktail and the ice inside the cocktail mixer rather than shaking. My parents have a shaker I really covet... it is relatively short and wide with gently curved sides. This makes it easy to swirl the cocktail and the ice by simply holding the shaker in an upright position and moving it in a circle along a horizontal plane. I think of it more as a cocktail swirler than a cocktail shaker. I also have an interesting cocktail mixer that really is a swirler. It is gently cone-shaped, with the top of the vessel being around 50% wider than the base. It has an open top and a wide silver pouring rim with an ice catcher that covers around 40% of the top circumference. Clearly, this was designed so the cocktail would be stirred rather than shaken (indeed, shaking would be impossible as there is no top). If I'm making martinis for a lot of people, I have a tall narrow martini pitcher I use for that purpose. Everything is stirred with my grandfather's long-handled sterling silver cocktail stirrer, and I like to serve in my ancestral bar wear (e.g., my silver manhattan glasses) whenever appropriate. My thoughts on the Boston shaker when used as a shaker is that it encourages too much movement and crashing together of the ice cubes, which leads to excess dilution, ice chips and muddying of the flavors.

The guys at Alleva and Di Paolo in Manhattan are no slouches in that department either.

Eh...? The gargle stuff is mostly bunk and superstition. Although I do find that I prefer seltzer water because I feel that the bubbles help stimulate saliva production. On a day-to-day basis it's all about getting enough sleep and keeping yourself properly hydrated. If the mucous gets a little thick... that's what Humibid is for. It is important, however, to make sure one isn't eating too much too late in the evening, as sleep is prime time for acid reflux (which, for a variety of reasons, is something that is fairly common among classical singers). For this reason, I always dose myself with Gaviscon before I go to sleep. On performance days, I like to eat protein around 4 hours before the curtain. Of course, after the show I'm always ravenous -- but that comes with the territory. Apples and pears are a great way to keep the mouth moist because they stimulate the production of saliva and the juices are fairly similar to saliva chemically.

I have one from this litter, one from this litter and one from this litter.

Bottarga di muggine and bottarga di tonno are quite different. It's like saying, "in my world we just call it fish."

Thanks! I would have never known without asking! Very tasty, magical stuff... salty, vaguely musky(?), a little fishy... I enjoy it grated over pasta (secca, not fresca) that has been barely dressed with a tomato/olive oil sauce and sprinkled with a touch of red pepper flakes.

Although not as bad as the two most common cardinal sins: rinsing the pasta and putting oil in the pasta water.

This is even easier if you have a stock pot with a pasta insert. Also, cooking the pasta in the sauce for the last two minutes -- thinning with retained pasta cooking water as necessary -- makes an even bigger difference..

I've always found the idea of spahgetti alla chitarra as pasta secca somewhat strange. I always make it fresh using my chitarra (which looks exactly like this).

I used to own a ferret. I agree. Humph. I say they mix just fine. Maybe you're just not hanging around with the right class of ferret. Anyway, the trick with ferrets is that they "imprint" on what they think of as "food" at an early age, so it is very important to get them started on a wide variety of appropriate foods as soon as possible. Unfortunately, what most people think of as appropriate food for ferrets is some kind of kibble. The thing is... ferrets are primary carnivores and really don't have any grinding teeth, so there are all kinds of issues that crop up if you get your ferrets to imprint only on kibble -- which is mostly carbohydrates anyway, and thus not so good for a primary carnivore. What the domestic ferret's wild cousins (fishers, weasels, minks, wolverines, polecats, etc.) eat is mostly whole small animals... skin, bones, feathers, fur, organs, stomach contents, etc. So ferrets should eat many different kinds of meat, have plenty of raw bones and a limited amount of kibble as a stand in for the fur and stomach contents. I have never known a ferret who was imprinted as a kit on a wide variety of foods, includiing meat, to choose kibble over meat. This is, unfortunately, fairly common for ferrets who were raised on kibble.

It looks like I've been tapped by Soba to do the next foodblog in this thread, so here goes... Lunch was wonton and roast pork soup with udon noodles and truly first rate cold sesame noodles at "Spade's Noodles, Rice, & More" on 37th and 3rd. A very cheap, surprisingly good Chinese restaurant for a quick lunch in Midtown East. Dinner was my version of pasta puttanesca: tomato, lots of oil-packed anchovies (there were no salt-packed in the house), lots of capers, gaeta olives and Sicilian colossal olives (pitted by me using the "whack with the flat of a knife" method), onion, garlic, red pepper flakes and plenty of fresh minced parsley. As I sat down at the table, I realized that I didn't have any pecorino -- my grating cheese of choice for this sauce -- and so I grabbed a chunk of bottarga di muggine... That sent it right over the top and into another category of deliciousness entirely. I probably would have made a salad, but was busy playing with the ferrets and didn't have time. Dessert was Ben & Jerry's Coffee Heath Bar Crunch -- my favorite. Tonight the ferrets are having a little bit of a whole chicken (including bones, skin, fat, giblets, etc.) that I ran through a grinder and lightly cooked. Perhaps I'll give them a whole gizzard or two as well so they can tear something apart.

I have had very good luck finding vintage cocktail shakers on eBay. Personally, I like the glass and metal shakers rather than the all metal ones.

If you're going to be in Asheville, why not check out nearby Black Mountain, also known as the Front Porch of Western North Carolina? OK, I admit I'm biased, because I have a house in the mountains outside Black Mountain... but it's a great place with some cool places to eat.

OK, but I'll start tomorrow, as my budget is into deficit spending until I get paid. Nothing interesting about the bread crusts, gruel and water on which I have been subsisting of late (notwithstanding Eric Malson bringing ingredients over to my apartment for a great Portugese meal a few days ago). I also promise an interesting glimpse into the culinary lives of Asher, Zebulun and Issachar -- my three baby ferrets.

Must be a bitch to force feed penguins for the foie. And what would you feed them? My guess: blubber. Can you imagine liver from penguins artificially fattened on fat?

Had penguin today again. 42nd day in a row. Maybe I'll make a penguin stew tomorrow. Except I don't have any vegetables. Thus, I guess it's roasted penguin again. ...after 53 consecutive meals of roast penguin, penguin stew, poached penguin, penguin francese, McPenguin sandwiches and penguin Wellington, I have finally decided to return to my first love... blubber.

A slice of bacon in time makes room for nine (more).

Since that's the case, you should stay tuned for the eGCI article on making pizza on the grill. You can have your pizza and commune with nature!

Ah, good point! I, too, have noticed that Campari is commonly an aperitivo (or just a drink all by itself) and never a digestivo. Since an amaro is, in essence, a digestivo then Campari cannot be an amaro. Same thing for Cynar, you think? I also wouldn't think of Cynar after dinner.

Of course, adding grated cheese to a dish with anchovies, capers and olives is a bit like saying "have a little salt with your salt" -- but that's probably why I like it. mmmmmmm... salt.