bloviatrix

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.

Please don't make any recipe changes on my behalf. In the event that I make it, I won't be eating - although I'm sure I'll be salivating at all the wonderful offerings. Furthermore, I'll be probably get there late (I'm trying to bribe my husband with a hike along the Appalacian Mountain trail which runs through a park near-by).

I believe that Nabisco sought out kosher supervision because they believed it was a way to increase market share. I have to admit, I don't frequent the packaged cookie aisle in the supermarket, but I believe I've seen Sunshine products at the Shop-Rite I go to in Englewood. I think the reason you don't see Hydrox is because they don't sell a lot of product and supermarkets aren't going to give them prime shelf space. I know that among my packaged-cookie eating friends, once Oreos received the hechsher, they no longer even contemplated Hydrox. Why eat an imitation when you can eat the real thing?

Marie-louise, The document we used at the RH seder last year was from a bound book. Our host had made photo copies for all of us. I assume the text was from something in his personal library. It is my understanding that there are elaborate books on the topic. My cousin was stuck in Milan in 2001 and celebrated RH there. She had an opportunity to attend a RH seder where each guest was given their own book with the service. I think the seder varies depending on one's family origin and the foods are different. My husband found a sheet with an ashkenaz version of the RH seder. The foods used and symbolism are: Challah in Honey - to hope for a sweet year Dates - so our adversaries will be eradicated Pomegranates - we should have a multiple of good deeds like the seeds of the pomegranate Apple in Honey - to usher in a good and sweet year Fish - so we can be fruitful and multiply like fish Fish heads - so we may be likened to the head not the tail Carrots (in tzimmes) - that are merits may be multiplied Personally, I'm not thrilled with the document I have - the symbolism of the dates makes no sense to me - so I'm continuing my research. I plan to check one of the local Judaica stores this week to see what they have in the way of texts. Before I became aware of this tradition, I tried to use traditional foods of jewish communities around the world. For example, black-eyed peas are eaten by Syrians. And the Indian jewish community would eat a banana curry. To me, adapting the customs to my own just adds to the sense of making the holiday special. Once I figure out what I'm doing I'll be glad to share - this is the first year I'm doing this at my own home.

Last year, we were invited to a Rosh Hashanah seder, which is a sephardic tradition. It was really quite interesting. Before the meal, we had a variety of different foods including fish, head of lamb, fresh dates and pomegranates. Each food has a signifigance related to welcoming in the New Year, and there is a recitation before each food. Once we went through the ceremony we sat down a complete meal (of course, we were quite full by then). This was the first time I had attended something like this, and I loved the way they integrated the ritual foods and celebrated each one. I've done some research and have found that there is an ashkenaz tradition for the Rosh Hashana seder as well, although it is not as common. Some of the foods used are different, so head of lamb is replaced with fish heads, and carrots are used. I'm hoping to introduce the seder as part of my meal this year. I think rituals such as this make the holiday that much more meaningful.