bloviatrix

I do a lot of the things already mentioned: freeze old bread for breadcrumbs, save the rendered duck fat. I also have a container of dirty oil for deep frying and several bags of mushroom stems in the freezer which will be turned into mushroom stock (good for enriching mushroom barley soup)

A quick look at my silver reveals the larger size is called "place" as in Place Fork.

I would avoid telling everyone you served them beef cheeks. The crowd might not forgive you. I say this from experience. Some years ago I served bison to a crowd but didn't disclose it until afterwards. Some of my guests freaked when they found out they had eaten bison and bring it up to this day. I'm amazed they still trust me to feed them.

What a coincidence, I just picked up a bunch of arugala at the greenmarket today. I frequently serve a salad of warm sauteed mushrooms (sautee asst. mushrooms until they give off their liquid, add some chopped garlic, and some balsamic vinegar) over a bed of arugala. The warm mushrooms wilt the arugala. I've been reading Leslie Revsin's Come for Dinner and one of the recipes that excites me is an Arugala Salad with Yogurt Dressing. In a small bowl place 2 tbls of lemon juice. Whisk in 2 tsp of dijon mustard and 1/4 cup of olive to make a vinaingrette. Then whisk in 1/2 c plain yogurt, 1 tbls at a time to make a thick dressing. Add s & p. and chopped fresh herbs such as basil, tarragon, or chives and dress the arugala.

You've just described my darling spouse to a T. I know something is really really bad if he won't eat it.

I was about to pick up a bottle of Holiday Spice Pepsi last night when I was warned off. Apparently it's pretty nasty tasting. ← No, the Holiday Spice Pepsi actually is good. However, I just looked at my 2 Liter bottle and I didnt see a Hechsher of any kind, so at least as far as you are concerned, the point is moot. ← The hechshers are normally found on the caps.

That's exactly the reason. The more manipulation to a product, the greater chance for the something crazy to happen. I believe in eating seasonally.

You're trying to find reasons for me to visit the freezer aisle, huh? ← I found myself wandering down the freezer aisle of Shop-Rite last night desparately searching for Tater Tots. Turns out, their hechsher is one we don't accept. But Blovie consoled me by reminding me that Chanukah is soon and I can eat frozen latkes then.

When we chose our sterling pattern we actually picked Francis I since that's what Blovie's parents have. His rationale being we'll inherit their set. We're slowly building up our silver service. My aunt gave us all the serving pieces when we married, and now that we've completed our china service, my parents give us another silver setting on our anniversary. It is true that antique silver weighs more than new silver. If you compare the weights the old and new editions of Francis I it's very obvious.

I walked into a used bookstore while in Boston, came out with more than I can carry!! Nine more for me!! 7 volumes of the Times-Life Foods of the World series (at $2 each) Elizabeth David's Nutmeg in the House A book by Toulouse-Lautrec and friend called The Art of Cuisine

Keep in mind that I keep a kosher kitchen. Hence, I have monst things in triplicate -- meat, dairy, parve. And everything is color coded!! 4 2-cup pyrex measuring cups (2 red, 1 green, 1 blue) 2 sets of dry measures 3 sets of standard measuring spoons 2 sets non-standard measuring spoons

I almost picked up a bottle of this to try last night night and was told not to bother. Perhaps they could tell this yid wouldn't get it? Now, my curiosity is peeked. I'll have to search it out.

We got back late last night. Thanks for the recommendations. First of all, we had a bit of adventure. Our initial plan was to drive up on Friday and stay with friends who live in Sharon for the sabbath. We would then drive into Boston on sunday morning. Well, our car basically died on I95 in Bridgeport, CT. So, we stayed with friends in Stamford for the sabbath, came back to NY and drove up in a rental on sunday. We stayed at The Seaport Hotel (that was where the conference was) which is in S. Boston. Good location for a conference but not for anything else. I spent sunday afternoon walking around the Financial District. At Antiquarian Books of Boston (2 Milk St), I picked up 10 cookbooks, including 8 volumes of the Time-Life Foods of the World series for $2 each! I felt like I had won the lottery. My plan for sunday night was to eat at the Indian Samraat. Blovie had his own dinner plans. I drove over (getting lost, and winding up passing Fenway Park ), couldn't find parking and didn't see it anywhere, so I gave up and drove to Brookline. Parked right in front of Dok Bua, but felt guilty about eating traif so I went to Taam China which is kosher chinese and got take-out. The place was packed, which is always a pretty good indicator and the food was decent, although I ordered way too much. Also picked up some baked goods from Kupels so we would have something to snack on. Monday I headed to the MFA for the Art Deco show. Thanks to all of you who suggested it! It was fantastic. For those of you who like the decorative arts, it's a must. Then went to the North End. Had lunch at Antico Forno. I ordered one of the pizzas. The ends were nice a crunch, but the base crust was a little softer that I like. Stopped into Polcari since it just smells so damn good. (i felt like a scent hound at this point, my nose was leading me around ). Almost bought some Italian 00 flour, but thought the better of it. Then acted like a tourist and visited the North Church and Copp's Hill Cemetary. I looked about Dairy Fresh Candies (again it smelled so good) and ended my trek at Maria's. There I was greeted by the aroma of anise. It was so good and comforting, I asked the woman what was giving off the smell and she pointed me to some soft anise biscotti -- I bought two for my walk back. They were really good. Thanks for everyone's advice. I had nice a quick visit.

I was about to pick up a bottle of Holiday Spice Pepsi last night when I was warned off. Apparently it's pretty nasty tasting.

The fact is these to go hand in hand. The reason why Starbucks has to charge higher prices is so they can give better salaries and benefits and pay the growers above market rates. I have no opinion about Starbucks -- I probably go in there 4x a year.

My requirement when making sandwiches with deli meat is that mustard has to be spread on both pieces of bread so there's adequate coverage. Additionally, on the rare occasions I eat waffles, there must be enough syrup so there's some in every square.

Of course I think about those ducks. I think they would make a delicious dinner. Duck schnitzel? How do you think that would taste?

Thanks so much for the recipe. I'm going to have to try that. We had some excitement this weekend. Blovie needs to be in Boston for a conference on sunday morning, so we figured we would go up early and spend shabbos with friends in Sharon. Hence, I had no need to cook for shabbos. As we were driving up on I95 near Bridgeport, our car started to make horrid noises so we pulled off found an repair shop and learned that our transmission all but died. Fortunately, we have friends who live in Stamford so we called them and invited ourselves for shabbos. They rescued us!!! We'll attempt Boston in a rental tomorrow.

I love schnitzel, but it wasn't always the case. I spent a year in Israel after high school at yeshiva. We frequently would be served turkey schnitzel for lunch. It was pre-made from extruded turkey and the little old women who were kitchen workers would serve saying "Aht Rotzeh Schnitzel" (do you want schnitzel?) with european accents. The highlight was when they served it on Thanksgiving with the rationale that it was turkey After that year I didn't touch it until Blovie and I went to Vienna in '97. There I ate Wiener Schnitzel. It was fresh and perfectly prepared with lemon wedges on the side. It was fabulous! So, I decided that I had to make it at home. It's without a doubt one of my favorite meals so much so that Blovie knows that I get to eat whatever is leftover. I frequently serve it with potatoes roasted in duck fat and some sort of vegetable such as roasted cauliflower.

Then perhaps he should be writing for the New York Post - or the Village Voice - or a similar newspaper. Even an alternative newspaper (we have papers like New Times and Folio all over Florida - I suspect there are similar in New York). Or New York Magazine. But not the New York Times in its main restaurant reviews. I really don't think that's what most people are looking for in this review - in this newspaper. Robyn ← Based on that logic, the Times has no business reviewing Off-Broadway theater productions. For many people in NYC, The Times is the only newspaper they read. Therefore, they want to see a spectrum of restaurants reviewed in the paper (whether in the main column or $25 and Under). Perhaps the problem is that The Times serves two audiences looking for different things: those who consider it their local "rag" and those out-of-town who read it to be clued in to all things cosmopolitan.

In the event you happen to have some pastrami in house (although any meat will do): Pound the chicken breasts flat. Place some strips of pastrami on the chicken and roll up the breast using a toothpick to keep the roll together. Once rolls are made, brush each with dijon mustard and dredge in breadcrumbs/panko. Place in pre-heated 350F oven and bake for about 45 minutes.

The fact remains that restaurant reviewing is different from reviewing a film, theater performance, or museum exhibit, etc. In film or art, the critic is reviewing a completed product. It's true that critics might experience them in a different way -- at a showing designated for them -- but the ambience of the movie theater or gallery doesn't really have an impact on one's opinion of the work (think about it, have you ever read a movie review that mentions decor of the theater and the pitch of the seats?). Now it's true that with live performances there might be differences from night to night, but those aren't guided by the fact that critics are in the house. Furthermore, everyone in the audience is seeing the same performance. In restaurants there are more variable factors: The wait-staff will act with greater attentiveness to a reviewer, they will give the reviewer what they perceive to be a "desirable" table. And in the kitchen a greater attention will be paid to the dishes ordered by the reviewer's table. What I'm trying to get at is that in restaurants the variables can be altered to cater to one table and keep stasis elsewhere. I believe this is why critics go in disguise. They want to see how the restaurant performs for the "regular" folks.

After reading Kessler's comments I couldn't help but think that a Blackberry could be a useful tool. Of course, some at other tables would construe it as being rude to his guests. But his dining companions would understand that he's just doing his job.

Yesterday's USA Today ran an article about the Association of Food Journalist's annual conference. Among the things they discuss are the disguises worn and how to take notes without being too obvious. Being a Food Critic is Hard Work

I'm wasn't suprised that Bruni chose to review Sripraphai. If I'm home on tuesday night, I make a concerted effort to watch him deliver his review on NY1, and time and time again he has talked about his goal of "democratizing" the restaurant reviews. By this, he means that he wants people to understand that you can get fabulous food all over the city, not just Manhattan. And that destination restaurants come in several styles, not just those that require reservations, have a french-bent and tablecloths.