bloviatrix

The scary thing about Pringles -- I have never been able to duplicate this with a normal potato chip -- is that you can hold a match to one, and it will catch on fire and burn like a little potato candle until there is nothing left. Pray tell, why did you set a Pringle on fire? It just occurred to me, the Pringle is a potato flake tuile.

To me, the appeal of Pringles has always been that they are so artificial, and don't remotely resemble anything found in nature. Plus, they're good when you need a salt fix.

I finished up a loaf of Pugliese and had a Rhode Island Greenling apple. Pathetic, I know. But RI Greenling is my new favorite apple variety. It's really tart. And has a nice crunch. Granny Smith has nothing on this one.

They're also good in biscotti.

This afternoon I received further confirmation that my watching the game on saturday night did not jinx the Yanks. Rather, the cause for the loss was my mailman. He's been to all three game ones, when the Yankees have lost, this playoff season. I've requested that he stop going to important games.

Please define what you mean by "the last." My husband's definition is what's ever left in the bag when he gets to it, makes no difference if it's basically a new bag or just the crumbs.. And you can probably buy Utz products on-line if they're not available where you live.

Gourmet ran a recipe for Sweet Potato Salad with Mustard Vinagrette several months ago. It's a total change from the usual sweet preparations seen with sweet potatoes.

While I agree that it is cheaper to eat at home-cooked meals instead of going to BK or McD's everynight, I would like to point out, that eating these overpriced foods are all part of the cycle of poverty. Barbara Ehrenreich, in her book Nickled and Dimed in America: On (Not) Getting By in America discusses this. Many of these people live in accomodations where they don't have stoves or refrigerators. At the most, maybe they have an illegal hot plate. Additionally, many of the neighborhoods where they live don't have supermarkets, so the only place to purchase groceries are bodegas with very high mark-ups. So, they end up spending $20/day on dinner plus who knows what else for the other meals. Another way of looking at it is that such a substantial portion of their small salaries are going to food, and they can't save any money to get into better accomodations where they might actually have facilities on which to cook. I'm sure some of these people would welcome a chance to cook wholesome meals for their families if they lived in better equipped accomodations.

Oh man, I just said the same exact thing to my husband. (cue twilight zone music)

BTW, yesterday I drank: Bunnahabain (is that how you spell it), Abelour Abundah, and some other stuff. Today I had some other Islays. Can't remember the names. But one was aged in claret casks.

Last night the TV promptly went on 7:30 due to the magic of built in TV timers. It felt a bit sacreligious lighting my candles, and saying kiddush (blessing over the wine) and hamotzi (blessing on the bread) while the tv was on. As soon as the game ended, I turned to my husband and asked if he thought we jinxed the Yanks. He assured me it wasn't our fault. Anyway, because it was a holiday, we ate perfectly rare london broil that was marinated in a sherry-toasted sesame oil-soy marinade with noodles in a soy-rice vinegar dressing and green beans tossed with toasted sesame oil. Andy P is two outs aways from pitching a SO as I type. Tonight no food was eaten, as we were still too stuffed from the lunch we hosted.

Saturday night London Broil, broiled in an Aisan Marinade perfectly rare Noodles tossed with a rice vinegar - soy dressing with mint and scallions Green beans tossed with sesame oil and sea salt Sunday lunch - hosted 4 adults and 3 kids for a Simchat Torah lunch An amuse of thinly sliced pastrami salmon on pumpernickle Salad of baby greens, dried cranberries and toasted almonds with honey-balsamic vinagrette Black Bean Chili Chicken-Pastrami roll-ups Savory Pumpkin Pie Dilled Potato Salad Choice of sorbets - Banana and Strawberry Balsamic Flourless Chocolate cake Pineapple

Well, you're not technically breaking any laws. But it's not in the spirit of the day. I figure if I can put lights on a timer, why not a tv. Our setting the TV on the timer isn't something we announce publicly. Just a few select people know we do this. And, now all you guys know as well. We only do this during the playoffs when the games mean something. It's not something we would do during the regular season. This is the lengths we sport obsessed fans go to.

I saw Intermezzo for the first time last week. Can someone tell me about it?

Although we will set the TV on timer, I always have a small, nagging fear that by doing this we're somehow going to jinx them. And Fresser -- those Chasidim know how to party (and drink!!). I'll be glad to take a shot for you. Hell, I can do several. Is single malt acceptable? We're going to friends for lunch tomorrow. They have a scotch library in the hundreds. It always makes for an interesting meal.

I'm sitting here with YES on, watching post-game and trying to figure out how we'll set the timer on the TV so we can watch the game on saturday night (it's simchat torah). Anyway, I don't make any specific world series food. Typically, we order in from Dougie's, which is the kosher BBQ place - wings, ribs, burgers and wash it down with some beers. It's a beautiful thing. I'm making a bit pot of chili for the lunch I'm hosting on sunday, so we might eat that as well.

People seem to forget that Keller has already had one restaurant in NYC. Rakel opened in early '87 and received 2 stars from the NY Times. After the stock market crash in October '87 the economy softened for restaurants of this type and rather than downscale the concept, Keller walked. In Ruhlman's The Soul of a Chef, Keller points to the economic climate as the primary reason for Rakel's failure. Considering that NY's economy is currently on shakey ground, one would have to assume that Keller is savvy enough not repeat his prior mistakes.

Where do you stand on sweetie and hon?

This seems completely illogical considering they don't know who made their food in the first place. (where's the perplexed emoticon?)

Supermarkets advertise in the A section? That is a totally foreign concept to me. I can't imagine I'll ever see that in my NY Times. I know somewhere else you mentioned that you don't do targeted market research on the people who read your food section, but do have any idea of what the gender breakdown of your readership is? I would assume more men are reading these pages than ever before. And in your experience, what articles appeal to men vs. women?

I've got to disagree with you on this one. Keller's reputation is a given to those serious about eating good food, so they're going to dine there regardless of the name. I can't imagine there is anyone on this board who won't eat at the restaurant because the name is latin. And for the trendy types - they'll go too because of all the buzz surrounding the restaurant. Keller could name the restaurant with a glyph a la "the artist formerly known as Prince" and it wouldn't make a difference.

Do you know what the origin is of wendesday being the day devoted to food sections in newspapers across the country?

Thanks for clueing me in. I loved the photo on the top of page 4. It's very serene. Plus, there's something about seeing the faces of Lauro and his crew that further personalizes the story.

There have been so many times over the years that I've read an article and wished I had direct access to the author in order to ask questions and get more information. This is like a dream come true. Since I read your article on-line, I don't have the benefit of seeing the accompanying photos. What are they of? Do you have any idea why the insurance rates tripled?

Fascinating article. I had no idea that canned tuna came about because of a sardine decline. How many times did you go out with the fishing boat? And how/why did you chose these particular guys to focus on?