Pumpkin Lover

I think that curry leaves last a pretty long time in the freezer, but like rajsuman said, don't take out more than you need. Put the leaves in a Ziploc baggie, something easy to open and close, and don't let the baggie sit out in the open for a long time; just take the leaves and chuck the bag back into the cold. This is what my mom does, and I don't think her leaves have ever gotten slimy while still in the freezer.

I think someone recently mentioned the effects of the pill on PMS cravings... I can't find that exact line, but I want to agree with whatever was said about cravings subsiding after spending some time on the pill. When I was first on the pill, I'd get MAJOR cravings for two weeks (plus some strange mood swings that I wouldn't know I was having until my period was over). Then, after a few months, I switched pills from Ortho Tri-Cyclin to Nordette. People on the pill, if you want cravings to subside, I suggest monophasic pills--holy lord, did this pill stablize me! I still had cravings for two weeks, but they've subsided significantly (I've been on Nordette for a year now). Plus, no weird mood swings--just the same amount of hormone for three weeks. Glory! I have had major cheese and pasta cravings, though... pasta smothered in Alfredo sauce. Oh, god, Alfredo sauce, if I could drink a gallon of that, I'd be in heaven.

I ate their for Bastille Day on their prix fixe menu. Granted, it was PF, but I LOVED the food--the garlicky, parsleyed sauce for the escargot was fantastic with their bread. The coq au vin was awesome as well (lots of dark meat, I think), and the service was perfect.

Oh man, this is gonna be a good one. Can't wait to follow the blog!

Oh, bubble tea, my absolute favorite drink! Yay, this caps the experience for me. Tejon, you are a blogger of my heart. Great job, I had fun reading this one.

Hey, do you think one could find them in Takashimaya or Mitsukoshi (is there even a Mitsukoshi in NYC?) Is anyone familiar with the food area of Takashimaya?

ANDERSON COOPER Sorry, carry on!

Here's a working link to the candy: http://az.nifty.com/cgi-bin/shopgoods?SCD=...10&GNO=00000425

Thank ye, Nessa!

Hey everyone-- I plan on baking banana bread tonight, and all the recipes I've found call for white sugar. I've never baked banana bread before, and I was under the assumption that it usually had brown sugar in it. Can I substitute brown sugar for white sugar easily? (I have a box of brown sugar that I'd like to use up before it hardens). Thanks!

Sigh. So many places close before I can afford to eat at them! I was told, in a old quest for pumpkin ravioli in NYC, that JUdson Grill had some excellent squash ravioli at one time or another. Bill, I hope you put that recipe in your book, please.

I hear that. If a bagel's cut vertically, it means I'll have an easier time handling the extra cream cheese that poops out from the sides.

Shweet. Thanks for that v. down-to-earth answer, I appreciate it!

Hello, Steve! I have a question regarding cheese courses in restaurants. At places like Artisanal, the restaurant makes an effort to show customers how they take care of their cheeses (storage, freshness, and so on). What other restaurants do you feel take the extra effort in displaying that kind of care towards cheese? Would it be a faux pas for me to question a waiter/waitress about the way a certain restaurant cares for their cheeses, or is this something I should research before going to a specific restaurant? Thanks!

Thanks for your review! This is at the top of my Batali restaurant list. Sam Sifton did an awesome piece on a duck bigoli special that Lupa once had every Thursday. Does anyone know if the restaurant still does that special?

Well, there's a rendang recipe in that Malaysian cookbook which I'd like to try, and I'm in the beginning stages of deciding if I want to try my hand at an authentic Tom Kha Gai. I'm not sure if I have the instruments needed to open a coconut (like, a hammer), but all of this was more for my own curiosity. I should check out the Southeast Asian forums to see if anyone has posted Tom Kha Gai recipes over there... Edit to say: I don't actually remember if the rendang recipe requires coconut milk. But, tons of recipes in that cookbook, obviously, require santan, so when I'm ready to start cooking from that book, I'll know what I'm doing!

Thank you all for clearing up my confusion! This is great. One more question: this quote comes from the site that origamicrane posted-- So if a recipe calls for coconut milk, and I make it from fresh coconuts, should I let the milk sit for a while and skim off the cream? Or, is it common to use the squeezed milk right away, without letting it sit and separate?

I was just reading a thread in the India forum which was centered around Konkani cuisine. One of the recipes in the thread talks about extracting coconut milk from an actual coconut (not a can). The recipe refers to the "thick" milk and "thin" milk from the coconut. This reminds me of my mother's school cookbook from Malaysia, where the "thick" and "thin" milks were referred to as the "1st santan" and "2nd santan." How does this work? How does one get a "thick" milk and a "thin" milk from the coconut? I can't visualize it for the life of me!

I second Awash. Their combo specials are the best!

YUMMMMMMMMMMMMM! Oh god, I wish I could go back to Japan! I had no idea about the extent of pickle culture over there--I only forayed into dried fish condiments when I was in Tokyo, and they were spectacular, but damn! All of this looks amazing. I had posted in the Japan forum about a pickle I had tried in a Japanese restaurant. Helen, if you could shed any light on a pickle made with soba miso and takana, I'd be much appreciative. One more question, off the food cuff but I can't help myself (and I guess this is both for Kristin and Helen): it's very interesting that two foodbloggers from Japan are not Japanese. One of my best friends grew up in Japan (she's Indian), and went to an international school in Yokohama. She doesn't plan to live in Japan, though--I think she thinks life is too difficult over there for her as a non-Japanese (I think she's experienced quite a bit of racism ). How do you two ladies see life in Japan as non-Japanese? Is it easy or difficult to be accepted into general society? Sorry to the admins about this last question, but I couldn't help myself--I find this phenomenon to be very fascinating.

Very nicely stated! There are tons of times that I wish I could leave without my cell phone, so that I'm not bothered by my family who wonder, "why are you out of your room, you should be doing work," and all that stuff (which relates to blov's statement, Indians lose control of their lives early on in life.) Anyway, like I said, I wish I could leave the celly at home, but I'll always have it on me should I walk down a dark alleyway and something scary pops up behind me. I'm paranoid, but if I have my phone, I know that I have some modicum of safety on me. And, a story: one time on a train, v. early in the morning, a guy starts yapping on his phone. It wasn't too loud, but the rest of the train was in a kind of nappy stupor. What woke us all up was another guy who yelled with every ounce of power he had, "TAKE IT TO THE OFFICE!" That was freakin' scary.

Mario Batali's got a recipe for this in his Holiday Cooking (I think that's what it's called) cookbook. Looks great.

Oh, my, my, my. Avocado lassis, what a great idea!!

This is what made the review unbelievable for me: That had me scratching my head!

Mi Floridita, for the best cubanos in Manhattan!