browniebaker

I'm also eagerly awaiting a lesson on pronouncing "chai," but I can help with "prix fixe." It's "pree FEEKS" And if you want to get it absolutely right, the "r" is pronounced at the back of the palate as if you are about to expectorate -- but make that throat-scraping sound subtle and don't overdo it, or it'll be like high-school French class all over again!

The saying that dinner guests should number more than the graces and fewer than the muses seems to make practical sense: four seems to be the bare minimum for good conversation although I prefer six for more interaction, and eight is the most I could ever imagine cooking for. Six is my favorite, as my table most comfortably seats six. I could accomodate eight, and even ten if the chairs touch, but I can't imagine voluntarily having more than eight, ever.

One of the most frivolous kitchen luxuries I ever heard of was having two dishwashers side by side, so the dishes just go between the two dishwashers and you never have to put any dishes away.

Pan, have you tried South Indian filter coffee? It's got that smooth, creamy, almost chocolaty taste that the candies have. rjwong, browniebaker, and hzrt8w, I've never had preserved plums. Are they more sweet or savory? ← Wah mui are the salty ones, dry wrinkled grey coloured plums with a touch of sweet. These are sold loose in a bag or small plastic containers. One kind is REALLY salty. I remember my mom pouring hot water over these to make a briny drink whenever we had sore throats. Chun pei mui are the double paper wrapper moist (should be!) sweet preserved plums flavoured with licorice. ← I know the more-salty-than-sweet, dried, wrinkly plums. They last in the mouth for hours! But my absolute favorite are the more-sweet-than-salty, moist, syrupy plums that are typically sold in small bags, not individually wrapped or anything. I can't decide which I like better, the red ones that are glossy and almost translucent and slightly crisp, or the almost black, opaque, wrinkled ones that are soft. It's almost a game for me, to see how long I can suck on one until I can't resist and have to bite; then, the hit of sweet and savory flavor just knocks you out.

When I was in Taiwan ten years ago, a relative gave me a gift of a huge bag of sweet-potato candies that didn't open until I got back home in the U.S. Then I found they to-die-for delicious, and it was too late for me to buy more! I had to limit myself to one a day, to make my supply last. The candies tasted just like a candied sweet potato and were about two inches long, shaped like a potato, and wrapped in clear cellophane. I have not seen these for sale here in the U.S. or I would corner the market. Runners-up for my favorites are: preserved plums and olives (if we are counting preserved fruits as candies) red bean jelly (yokan) coffee-flavored bubble-gum sesame candy

Shall I start with a new oven, fridge, and dishwasher? Just kidding. I'll settle for the more affordable that I need: multiple pairs of beaters for the Kitchenaid mixer: so I don't have to wash up the one pair two more Anchor-Hocking glass pie plates: so versatile; so I can make more than two pies more silicone baking pans pair of Orka silicone mitts: I am waiting for the price to go down Le Creuset red heart-shaped covered casserole: I love them and give them as wedding gifts, so why can't I give one to myself? a second oven: would be great more silicone spatulas: the ones I have are always in the dishwasher, I use them so much Hammersong cookie cutters: an addiction Nordic Ware violet Bundt pan: it's just precious, with the violets on top and leaves at the base I could go on.

Alll the Koreans I know, including my husband and in-laws, do indeed use chopsticks to eat rice from a bowl (yes, on the table, not in the hand). The only time chopsticks are not used with rice is when spooning a bit of rice, carrying the spoon over to the soup, dipping the bowl of the spoon horizontally into the soup to mix the soup and rice, and eating the mixture from the spoon. (This maneuver is something I had never encountered in my Chinese-American upbringing and that I have had to get used to seeing and doing.) Jason, I'm curious to know the source of what you call the Korean "no chopsticks in the rice" rule. I've never heard of this.

How do I know we don't use the dining room very often? My daughter, when she was three years old last year, called it the "Thanksgiving room" -- LOL! Off the kitchen there's a breakfast room that ends up being where we eat all our meals. With two young children, I just want to slap a meal on the table, eat, clean up, and go lie down in a dark room.

Gosh, I so want to cook an entire feast, but my husband and two little kids want to go out to our favorite Chinese restaurant. Hmmm, maybe I should be insulted? I'm the type of person who really gets into the prospect of cooking the whole Thanksgiving meal (15 dishes last November for just the four of us!), and I would like to do the same for the Chinese new year 'though I never have. I guess our new-year tradition is to eat out, not cook. But I had envisioned a dinner of both our personal favorites and symbolic foods that are traditional. Some foods are obligatory, like noodles and whole fish. You know what the traditional foods are, but the personal favorites of the four of us that I would have to include (to lure the others to stay home) are: sesame-and-ginger chicken-somen soup red-braised pork belly or char siu broiled salmon (the children's favorite fish) ma-p'o tofu pork-and-shrimp-filled pot-stickers oiled sticky rice eight-treasure sweet-rice pudding baked pineapple buns (bo lo mien bao) I bet we'll just end up going out to eat. Maybe one day. . . .

Yes, for breakfast, lunch, tea, or dinner. Love the idea of chocolate bread dotted with a dried fruit like cherry. Doesn't sound much sweeter than my nutella-based or peanut-butter-based sandwiches. And I do have that sweet tooth to feed.

To answer Yetty's question as to how the guests handled the Cool Whip: Everyone kept saying things like, "These brownies are amazing!" which made me very happy. I really liked that people tried all three varieties of brownies, some had seconds, and some I caught gazing at the brownie platter longingly for thirds that they didn't dare allow themselves (So sad isn't that? I wanted to tell them that it's okay, life is short, so have another brownie!). The hostess's husband and kids of course snarfed up the brownies and Cool Whip together. They loooove Cool Whip. Brownie's just a vehicle for Cool Whip. It's no understatement to say that their kids are weaned on Cool Whip. The two-year-old licked all her Cool Whip off and never tasted the brownie. After the party I asked my husband what he did, and he said he left the Cool Whip on his plate. "Who eats Cool whip with brownies?I" was his reply. Yes, he was adequately indignant, bless his heart. I can't say I monitored the Cool Whip consumption of every remaining guest, but I gathered that they, like me, didn't know the hostess all that well, and were therefore more polite than close friends might have been. I'm sure some guests, like me, ate the brownies with the Cool Whip, so as not to offend the hostess (if they knew the Coll whip was her idea) or the person who brought the brownies ( if they -- shudder -- assumed that I had brought the Cool Whip to serve on my dessert!). That's one thing that's bothering me: Do the other guests think I eat brownies with Cool Whip? Maybe they thought they were humoring me by eating the Cool Whip? Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh! Another thing that gets me: Since the hostess asked if it would be "sacrilegious" to add Cool Whip, she must have known it was a bad thing to ask. If it could be a sacrilege, don't ask your guest!!!!!!! Whew. Sorry. Had to vent. Okay, maybe I haven't gotten over it.

Thank you, thank you all, for your condolences. I am slowly getting over the trauma, sigh. I'm no purist. I like Cool Whip at the right place and time, just not on my -- if I may borrow Ling's apt phrase -- "lovingly baked" sweets. Confession: there's a crazy, trashy "salad" called Orange Fluff or Orange Stuff that I like, and it's simply Cool Whip, orange Jello powder (straight from the box), cottage cheese, crushed canned pineapple, canned mandarin oranges, and chopped walnuts, all stirred up. . . . But no Cool Whip, please, on my brownies!

As a Chinese married to a Korean, I have to remember to leave my rice bowl on the table when eating at the in-laws'. Picking the bowl up is just not done. I'm also informed that in Korean it is polite to leave the left (or unused) hand in the lap when eating. this is different from Chinese manners, which call for resting the wrist of the unused hand on the edge of the table so that the hand is above the table, either resting or holding onto a bowl.

Chopsticks are surprisingly hard to find in Chinese restaurants sometimes. I'm Chinese and look Chinese, yet I often have to ask for chopsticks in a Chinese restaurant. I think perhaps Chinese restaurateurs in non-Asian locations want their clientele to feel comfortable enough to use forks if they wish, and they avoid putting chopsticks on the table because customers might feel pressured to use chopsticks if chopsticks were already on the table. In my house, I serve dishes with whatever utensils would be used to eat them in the countries where the dishes originated. Chinese or Korean dishes call for chopsticks, but American, French, English, and other "western" cuisines call for forks and knives. Interestingly, I break my rule with respect to Indian and other cuisines in which food in eaten out of hand; I just don't feel comfortable doing that. Another exception to my rule is rice served on plates. Chopsticks were never intended for picking or scooping rice off plates! In those cases pragmatism rules, and I use a fork. In public, my parents eat "western" foods with fork and knife, but at home they get comfortable with chopsticks, whatever the food. You should see my mom eating her fish and chips with chopsticks. In the end, I think people should use whatever eating utensils they are comfortable with, although taking etiquette into consideration when eating with others.

This woman is just plain tactless (called her husband a "unibrow" in front of everyone, making him obviously uncomfortable), and too simpleminded to be trying to put someone down with a Cool Whip suggestion. Besides, she and her family think the world of Cool Whip, always have a tub of it in the fridge, and put it on desserts you'd never think needed whipped cream. It's not a regional thing with her (she was born in Hawaii and lived in LA for a long time before moving to D.C.), just a personality flaw! This was my first potluck at this woman's house, and there's no potluck circle that I know of, but I'll think twice next time (if there IS a next time) before going to any trouble to make a special dish for her potluck. As someone suggested, just a big tub of Cool Whip would do. At whatever potluck I go to in the future, I WILL be armed with a ready comeback if anyone tries to adulterate my dish. I think your suggestions are all good, and which type I use will depend on how bad or good a mood I am in!

This is no high dudgeon, but I am miffed. For a potluck two nights ago I baked three varieties of my signature brownies: chocolate brownies, marbled cheesecake brownies, and white-chocolate blondies. As you might guess from my online handle, I take brownies seriously. The hostess, who had never tasted my brownies, asked me just before serving dessert, "Would it be sacrilegious if I serve Cool Whip on top of your brownies?" Yes, it would be a sacrilege! But I was caught off-guard, and I managed only to say weakly, "No." Wouldn't you be offended, too? What if you went to a potluck and the hostess poured ketchup all over the casserole you brought, without even having tasted it? Would you (could you?) tell the hostess, "Yes, it's a sacrilege! Please don't touch my dish." Would you worry that the other guests might think you had actually brought the Cool Whip to serve with your brownies? Yes, I know I will get over this, but I'd sure like to hear what you think on this question of potluck propriety.

In addition to the kitchen, which is full, my collection of pans has expanded into the boiler room in the basement and to the shower stall in the basement bathroom.

I always thought that caramel was made from sugar, while butterscotch and toffee were made from sugar and butter; and that toffee was cooked to a higher temperature than butterscotch.

I want ot work on my pork-filling recipe, too. The recipe I have long used is the one in Wei-Chuan's Chinese Snacks; it uses both oyster sauce and hoisin sauce. The type of filling that I would like to try making some time is sweeter and tastes as if it contains hoisin sauce and honey, but no oyster sauce. For fillings, there's also the very deep philosophical question: diced onions or no? And, if yes, how much? Should they be completely soft or the faintest-bit crunchy? These are questions I gear I may go to my grave not having answered.

Yeah, Bond Girl's right: we Taiwanese are not big drinkers. I've never seen cocktails served in a Taiwanese home, and definitely never seen any alcohol served before dinner. It's just not done. The best thing you can serve a visitor to your home? Coca-cola! No joke.

Lexy, shortbread is a cookie that ages well, and one or two weeks is nothing. I age mine for a month or two at room temperature, and they are terrific. That's one reason I love them for gifts: the recipient does not have to consume these cookies right away.

Much patience is called for. Lots of time, using verrrrry low heat, whether rangetop or microwave -- both work for me. My mac and cheese is the John Thorne/Cooks Illustrated type, using cheddar, evaporated milk, and egg. Using very low heat and frequent stirring to distribute the heat, I have never had any curdling of the sauce or splitting of the cheese. True, I am sometimes tempted to eat it cold instead of waiting for it to reheat properly, but warm mac and cheese is so worth the wait, and just as good the next day if you heat it right. Just make sure to reserve a couple of large spoonfuls of cold mac and cheese to nibble on while you stand at the stove or microwave, waiting and stirring.

I haven't looked into the science of it, but for years I have been refrigerating or freezing my (salted) pasta water for later use. No one has died of it yet. Sometimes I boil pasta in the pasta water again if I am making a dish that calls for overcooked pasta -- hey, some people like certain dishes cooked this way! But most of the time I use the pasta water in baking my semi-weekly loaf of sandwich bread. I hate to waste anything in my kitchen.

My splurges are marrons glacés and good cheeses.

My family's favorite is a sweet-potato pudding that makes an appearance at Thanksgiving and is so good that everyone says it ought to be served year-round but I never get around to making it again until a year later. It's mashed sweet potatoes mixed with sugar, evaporated milk, eggs, cinnamon, and salt before being covered in with a crumble topping of chopped pecans, butter, flour, and brown sugar and baked until the topping is crisp. Other favorites (that I do make year-round) are sweet-potato pie, baked sweet potatoes (simply topped with butter), candied sweet potatoes, an African-American-style ground-nut stew with sweet-potatoes in it, and sweet-potato rolls (even more delicious than potato rolls, with a beautifully golden crumb!). Edited to add sweet-potato spice cake. How could I have forgotten one of my favorite cakes?! It's marvelously moist and dense and just plain good.