bloviatrix

Fish head, lamb head -- my darling 'trix just has an aversion to head. ~bloviator

I've actually eaten lamb's head. But all we had was the lower jaw. If it was the whole skull, I'm sure I would have had a bad reaction. It's tradition on Rosh Hashana to eat either lamb's head or fish head's. I've given the husband the responsibility of prepping the heads.

What do you think reminded me to start this thread?? I'm gonna have nightmares from that photo.

I have serious fish head issues. They freak me out. I think I was traumatized by a smoked whitefish as a child, but I'm not sure. I'm ok in the fish store when it comes to checking out the fish eyes to make sure they're not clouded over, but I will not buy a fish unless it's beheaded. Does anyone else have the same reaction to fish heads? How do you deal with it? (BTW, my husband teases me about this phobia. He actually dared me to start this thread )

I would like to point out that bloviatrix is the feminized version of a real word. A bloviator is one who speaks or writes verbosely and windily. You can also use bloviate, which is the verb. Frank Rich, of The New York Times, has been trying to reintroduce the word into everyday vocabulary.

Fascinating article. Regarding the jeep getting stuck in the lake - how did you guys get out of there?

Had some eggplants that needed to be used. So I made a pasta sauce with chopped onion, garlic, tomatoes, eggplant, and fresh mozzerella. Had it with fettuccini.

I totally agree with you on this. Whenever I see that browning onions should take 10 minutes or less I always wonder how high a flame they're using. My onions never brown that quickly.

I just put in a vote for Dastardly Mash.

I'm not sure if my taste has changed or I've just grown accustomed to cilantro. There was a time when I found it soapy. But now, I find fresh and "green."

I picked up a book at the Judaica store yesterday (Artscroll's Rosh Hashanah:Its significance, laws and prayers). In the mean time, my husband looked at the text regarding the dates and realized that it's a play on words. Date in hebrew is "tamar." The word for consumed/eradication is "yitam." And when a food relates to evil, it's taken as an allusion to our enemies. Hence, dates are eaten to symoblize our enemies being destroyed. It seems that many communities developed customs based on the names of foods. Ukranian Jews would give their children chicken livers. The Yiddish for liver is leberlach which sounds like leb ehrlich which means "live honestly."

I went down tonight and dragged Blovie with me. It was much smaller than I expected. There were about a 10 dishes served, drinks available, and then a stand selling tomatoes, husk cherries, and herbs. Some of the food looked amazing. Particularly the grilled sea bass served with a salad of heirloom cherry tomatoes. And the rack of lamb smelled quite good. I came home with a some tomatoes. I haven't been down in that area since '93, when I worked right near Hanover Square. I can't get over the rehabilitation of Stone Street. And yet, some of the places I used to grab lunch are still there. Anyone else attend?

I have a cookbook that frequently calls for sesame oil and I'm not sure if she means toasted or plain. The dishes are aisan in influence which would lead me believe toasted sesame oil is called for, but the amounts called for are so large (1 cup or more), it would seem that plain is in order.

Has anyone looked at Ripe for Dessert by David Liebovitz? He's got a couple of recipes that look promising. One is a riff on a pavlova. His recipe calls for a meringue nest with poached strawberries and almonds. Also, several dishes with dates, which are a traditional Rosh Hashana food. I'm skimmed the book at Barnes & Noble today. I plan on picking it up next week.

I've long held a bias against the Israeli wines. But after your comments I figure I should open my mind to them. I've been scanning the kosher wine selections at the local stores. Most of the stores carry: Barkan, Binyamina, Dalton, the Golan Heights winery labels, and Tishbi. What do you know about Efrat, in general and the Ninve Chard 2000, Samson Heights in particular? Also Amiad and Hamasrek? I've been able to find the Galil Mountain Yiron 2000. Also, the Recanti Cab 2000.

Another one for me. I just bought this one as well.

The food at 'the truck' is fantastic and very reasonably priced. I used to walk from CU at least twice per week for it. The only bad thing is that there's no place in the area for one to comfortably sit. Get the taco You can sit on a bench in the mall at the B'way and 95th street intersection. Or, Symphony Space has a ledge that people sit on.

I rescued last Wed's food section from the toss pile because of the comments here. I want to try the flan.

It looks stunning. I'm jealous. I want a new kitchen.

An institutional sized container of ground pepper. Store-bought salad dressing

But think of all the money you saved. You got two books for the price of one, and then an extra. (at least that's the rationale I use )

Most recently, I used ponzu with a tuna tatare. See this thread.

Region: New York (downstate) Another vote for the Macoun. I still remember my introduction - I was about 7 or 8 and my parents took me apple picking. It think it was to Masker's Orchards. We picked bushels of apples that day, but the sweet-tart flavor of the Macoun stuck with me. To this day, I get excited when I see Macouns.

I doff my cap to the Perlows for their quest for falafel perfection. I had no idea that Pizza Cave was any good. I've been in there and the steam table scared me . Plus, their pizza is lousy. But you've convinced me, I'll have to try it next time I'm on Cedar Lane.

While I agree with the Chef that the best tomatoes are those just picked from the vine and still warm from the sun, I'd like to remind him that not all of us are so blessed (we had a neighbor who tried to grow tomatoes in front of our apartment building two years ago -- it didn't work). This weekend I took a variety of cherry tomatoes (about 2 pints worth), chopped garlic and oregano and tossed with EVOO, sea salt and pepper. Popped it in a 400 degree oven for about 35 minutes. It was heavenly. But even better was when it was cold. I took a slice of bread and coated it with some of the juices and tomatoes - like a bruscetta. The flavors came together so well. I was sad to see the bottom of the bowl.