Stone

I never saw Thai people using chopsticks. Just the spoon/fork method described above. I was told it is a major faux pas to put a fork into your mouth. My second-to-last day in Thailand (on the end of my trip to Nepal), I managed to develop a high fever. Spent the day in bed, and did some easy sightseeing the next day. I ended up going to the Royal Lapidary, a state-sponsored gem market. Not having $1,000 to buy a pearl, I wandered around for a bite to eat. I went into a little place filled with some tough-looking Thai men. There was, of course, a karaoke machine going in the back. They found me the one English menu in the place, but I decided to order my favorites: penang beef, yam pla muk, and tod mun pla. If you've ever seen Thai men at a restaurant, you know they drink. Each table had a little cart at the end, with a bucket of ice, a few open bottles of soda and a few open bottles of whiskey. The waitresses walked around making sure that everyone's drink was topped off. Oh, and they eat too. The tables were filled with food -- whole steamed fish in chili sauce, three or four noodle dishes, fried fish chunks with mushrooms, plates of grilled shrimp, bowls of curry, satay, everything. As I finished my one beer (I was still a little sick), one of the tables sent me over a whiskey and soda. Can't be rude, can I? I made the language barrier nod, bow, tip of the drink and started drinking. I felt the fever coming back, when my drink was topped off. The waitress pulled me over to the biggest table. The obvious conversation: "I'm 6'6". Yes, two meters. Yes, it's great." "American. No, I've never met Michael Jordan. Yes, he's great. I've never met Madonna. No, she's still American." That was all we could muster. I ate more. Everything was laced with chili, yet they managed to maintain the flavor. It was amazing. I started sweating and my nose started running. They laughed at me and clapped me on the back. More food from other tables appeared on my plate. Pieces of my tongue dropped off when I ate an innocent looking ring of squid. I think it was a chili, camoflauged. Then they dragged me to karaoke. Me. I'd done this once before, and it didn't fit with my surly personality. But, I figured that no one I knew would see me. Neil Diamond, eat your heart out. The Thai love "Sweet Caroline." I rock. A little later I found out that these fellows were all guards at the Royal Palace who work the early shift and come in for lunch -- an afternoon event. I staggered out at 4 after about 2 and a half hours. Traffic was murder, and I my stomach started to churn as we sat on the highway for the King's motorcade to go by. Made it back to the hotel bathroom by "that" much.

Thanks for your special contributions, Ms. Myo. (I panicked when I realized I was planning a pork-free Christmas. What kind of Jew am I?)

Good idea. And if I add some pancetta to the kale . . . . I assume it's best to brown the pancetta, then throw in the seeds, then the kale?

Well . . . . .

I've got a big piece of salmon, and a half pound of very fresh crab meat. I plan to mix the crab meat with a little fresh mayo, some chopped tarragon, and, I think, some bread crumbs. Spread it over the salmon, and bake till done, finishing under the broiler for a bit of color? Any thoughts? (Other stuff you may have comments for: Kale: saute some mustard seed, cumin seed and a dash of asefedtia in ghee, add chopped kale to wilt, add garlic and ginger. Green beans: saute in evoo, add some garlic and dried cranberries.)

Knowing how much fun you're having takes some of the enjoyment out of the show. You've lost the Fear Factor "I have to eat what!?" factor. Next season better involve giardia, a tape worm, or at least some good projectile vomiting, or we'll turn back to Sarah Moulton.

How often do you find yourself cutting off someone at the bar? Do you think that bartenders should be more responsible determining when a patron has had enough? Do you ever pull aside a regular customer and slip the phone number for AA in his or her pocket? Should you?

Are you using old seeds? If you pound whole coriander seeds, there is a great citrus flavor... and when you have toasted them.. it is a little less pronounced. What recipes do you use them in? I just ground some fresh seeds this weekend. The aroma was there. Terrific.

I'm curious, do they boil sushi in England, like everything else?

Not frozen yet. I bought a loaf of bread yesterday and some cheese (something called St Andre, brie like, and a Danish blue). Dipped a lot of the bread in the chutney. Today I tried it with eggs, because that seemed odd. I boiled 5 eggs, cut them in half and put them in some chutney. The chutney pretty much masked the flavor of the egg. I'm not sure I simmered enough. Mine's basically like a thick pasta sauce. Damn good though. Oh, and I may have scorched the chilis. There's a sharp, bitter aftertaste that no one noticed but me. I think it was the chilis.

What a great pointer from Liza. Sounds like a perfect tip for Dstone. How many pounds of tomatoes did you use Dstone? About 8 pounds. They weren't as ripe as I'd have liked. A little too firm. But it tastes great. And I've eaten too much already.

Last week had some of the coldest days I've experienced in San Francisco. So I decided to make beef stew. My mom used to make this at least once a winter when I was growing up, but she stopped in the early 80s when we all became afraid of red meat. I've never done it before, but I figured it was pretty straightforward. Of course, it's about 70's degrees outside today. Picked up about 3 pounds of stewing meat at Cala foods. Patted it dry, salt and pepper, dusted with flour and, working in batches, browned in a little oil in my large 5 gallon brew pot. (I need something better. The bottom is too thin and doesn't diffuse the heat at all. I tried putting my Calphalon griddle underneath to act as a diffuser, but it's curved up at the edges, so the pot doesn't sit flat on it. Most of the heat transfer is to the edge of the pot instead of the middle.) Deglazed with some Cabernet, tossed in about 3" of rosemary and some fresh thyme and let it reduce. Added the meat back in with about 4 med potatoes, 4 medium onion, 4 stalks of celery (all roughly chopped) and a small bag of little peeled carrots (I find these sooo helpful). Poured in the rest of the bottle of wine and a large can of chicken stock. One medium bottle of this sweetened tomato sauce made by Heinz (they call it "ketchup"). About a teaspoon of dijon mustard, a few dashes of worcestersheirshe shaush, dried oregano, 6 crushed cloves of garlic and a teaspoon of cayenne. 3 1/2 hours of simmering later and it's damn good. A little sweet -- I should probably cut back on the ketchup and add a little tomato paste instead. Maybe I'll freeze it and bring it up to Tahoe next weekend.

I've often noticed that the chicken I get in dishes such as Hunan Chicken has a great golden color without being browned. When I stir fry at home, mine goes from white to browned. Is this from the type of oil or the amount?

I made the chutney today, and it looks and tastes great. Unfortunately, I don't have enough jars to store it. If you want some, stop by with a jar. I'll be eating a lot of tomato over the holiday. I did find a good way to eat it -- put a ladle-full into a cup, eat with a spoon.

The major difference between's Ed's post and almost every Chinese recipe I've seen for stir-fry, is that the recipes call for 3-4 tablespoons of oil, and Ed calls for 3 cups. Ed's, of course, is more like what I've seen in restaurant kitchens -- they basically deep fry the meat in oil, remove the meat, pour off all but a little oil, and finish the dish (the veggies are usually blanched in a big tub of boiling water).

The perfect pizza slice is probably the only purely subjective taste in the gustatory world. It was created too recently and it developed in too varied an area to allow anyone to come to a conclusion on what is "right." Some people like thick chewy Scicilian. Some thin crunch crust. It's like arguing that an Italian Hero is the perfect sandwich. My favorite slice in the city was a small place called "New Pizza Town" at 78th and Bway. The crust was thin, but tasty and not cooked dry and cruchy even up reheating. The sauce was used sparingly, but flavorful enough to carry the job. The cheese was not too salty, and didn't overpower the slice, as often happens with Rays. The best part was the sausage. I hate when they just add ground up sausage meat. The cooking process dries out the little bits so it seems to me like they've just sprinkled gristle on top of the slice. It must be, therefore, real cooked pieces of sausage, sliced thin. New Pizza Town does just that, with sweet sausage that was always fresh. Other toppings were great.

Great pie places should have them set aside to sell as slices. That's the point. tell me where you can get a good fresh slice. The same place you go to get a great pie. Only when you're there, instead of saying, "large with pepperoni", you say, "two slices, one with pepperoni, one with onions and green peppers." Jeepers, it's like pulling teeth with you. (just kidding around, you know.)

Great pie places should have them set aside to sell as slices.

o.k. So now you've explained why you like canned beans over dried. But why do I prefer them? Oy. (Hey, I bet that if Coop kept reading, he's learned something else today.) I am waiting for Chopped Liver to tell me why they like beans. Well, obviously because they're good for the heart. But to sum up, Awbrig, use canned beans. Be carefull with the cooking time. And if anyone at dinner says, "Hey, you lazy bastard, these aren't fresh beans," I'll eat my hat.

o.k. So now you've explained why you like canned beans over dried. But why do I prefer them? Oy. (Hey, I bet that if Coop kept reading, he's learned something else today.)

Pretty soon he'll become as diluted as Trotter.

From great pies, come great slices.

I am glad you are honest Jinmyo. I clicked on this thread fearing I would find those that swear they can taste a difference. I was worried I would have to challenge them to a blind tasting to identify what dishes were cooked with canned versus fresh. I am so happy you think like me Jinmyo. It gives me more confidence in myself. I rinse the beans very well, and do not worry after that. And take this seriously, I used to only use dry beans... but now, I use canned ones.. and no one can ever tell the difference. What am I, frickin chopped liver? Awbrig -- as others have said (and I said) -- be careful about simmering canned beans too long. the 90 minute simmer time in the recipe no doubt assumed fresh beans that have to be cooked through. Otherwise, expecially since there are other flavors around, you'll probably not notice a difference unless you go looking for it.

I'm curious what you think about all the premium vodkas that are coming out. People on this site (some quite handsome) have recognized a surreal anomoly in the premium vodka market where manfacturers are striving to produce the best vodka where "best" is defined as having no flavor or color. (Of course, anyone who's tried one knows that vodka's have taste, and some are quite bad.) What do you make of the huge growth in vodka's popularity over the last generation (and the corresponding decline of gin)? Do think it's strange for people to order a mixed drink with a premium vodka, when the vodka won't be tasted (although I'm sure you make a good amount of money from it)?

Assuming you have decent canned beans, I've never noticed a problem with them. In fact, my attempts to make fresh beans have been such failures (they usually fall apart, or they're mealy), that I've practically given up. (They may get done quicker -- keep testing so they don't fall apart. 90 minutes isprobably too long.)