bloviatrix

Just got a card announcing the the dates for the annual Goddard-Riverside Book fair. This year it will be held on Nov. 20 and 21st. For those who are unfamiliar, they have new books all at 50% off or better. And they always have a good selection of cookbooks at reasonable prices. Best of all, the money goes to charity!! For more information, look here.

What gorgeous presentation Percy!! Both Blovie and I have colds so I wanted comfort food. I made a big pot of lentil soup and picked up a baguette at Fairway. Seltzer to drink. Now, it's time to OD on tea and watch baseball.

Mascarpone, that's fascinating. And really quite relevant to some current societal attitudes. But I won't get into that as it's completely off-topic.

Why not further reduce the sauce and stew a chicken cut in 1/8s in it?

Any idea if they have the mandolines?

Bergen County's blue laws are a very sore point with me. And I don't even live there.

Actually, a law has been introduced that will allow supermarkets to sell wine. As you can imagine, the liquor store owners are none too pleased.

Can you please explain what Malt O'Meal is? I've never heard of it.

I'm not a fan of the fruit of the month type gifts as I don't think the fruit you get tastes all that great. It looks pretty, but that's about it. I'm more apt to give a gift basket such as the ones from American Spoon Foods. I used to have a secretary that loved to cook so one year I gave her a 2-yr subscription to Cooks Illustrated. That was a total hit.

I love Candy Corn. But I will only eat it during a 2 month period each year - October and November. It doesn't taste as good the other 10 months of the year. We don't do trick-or-treating. The kids in our apartment building never said thank you so we decided not to bother.

We all knew it was only a matter of time after NYS allowed wine stores to be open any six days of the week, that they would further liberalize the law. Well, it's happened. Yesterday, while strolling down Broadway I noticed that all the wine stores were open. And they all have new posted hours. This means you will no longer have run out on saturday night when you realize you need that bottle for sunday. Drink up!!

I stopped by Holy Land today. They have kibukim. And botnim americayim, which is one of my favorites.

I picked up 2 more today at Strand. The total came to $37 (with tax) which is less than the cover price of Dessert U. My new editions are: Dessert University by R. Mesnier Come for Dinner by Leslie Revsin

Bob, on behalf of everyone here.....(gets down on knees)Please, please, please share your recipe. They sound AMAZING!!!!

I came across this essay last night. It seems very appropriate to this thread. Searching for Julia Child Note: this is written from the perspective of someone who doesn't cook.

Fantastic photos!! I'm drooling.

I just uncovered a couple of leftover bags as well. We really like this recipe for Cranberry Ketchup from Gourmet. Additionally, I'll toss cranberries into bread pudding or into an apple crisp. I also make something called cranberry smush. Basically, I cook down the cranberries in liquid. It could be apple cider or orange juice or even water with about a cup of sugar. Once all the berries are popped I add in a diced apple, pineapple and (if I'm the mood) mandarin orange segments. Then I keep cooking down until it's very thick. It makes a nice side dish, although I'm happy eating directly out of the bowl as a snack.

I think your best bet is going to be King's Highway in Brooklyn. Barzini's -- B'way btw 90th and 91st has been selling fresh pitas, but I haven't tried them. As for hummus, you're best bet is to make it yourself. The places that used to carry kibukim on the UWS are closed.

I used the book to make two things, and broke it in by staining it with a spurt of lemon juice. How's that for a coronation? I made the bulgur and pomagranate salad for the lunch I hosted on Thursday. This is a variation on tabbouleh -- bulgur, parsley, mint, pomagranate seeds, and a dressing of olive oil and lemon juice (i added some lemon zest as well). I am obsessed with bulgur, but this was a technique I've never used. Usually, I toast it in some oil and then add liquid and cook like rice. Here, they call for adding boiling water -- off heat -- covering the bowl tightly and letting it stand. Then, once the liquid is absorbed, fluffing up the grains. It's a great method. Nice texture to each grain and nothing clumped together. The bulgur is seasonally appropriate because we were in the final days of Sukkot, which is the fall harvest holiday. And pomagranates are thought to have 613 seeds, one for each mitzvah in the torah. The other recipe I made was for honey-basil pesto. I used it on salmon. Very easy and good.

If Yankees-Red Sox is a repeat of 2003, I'll be eating stadium dogs at game 7 (our season ticket plan allowed us tickets for one game per round. for some reason Blovie chose the final game of each)

That class was fondly known as "Quantities." It was one of the final requirements for hotelies. I attended quite a number of them my junior and senior years to show support for my friends. I think the first time I ever tried balsamic vinegar was at one of my friend's meals. I charged an awful lot of those meals on my CornellCard. I have to say my fondest memory of the Cornell meal plan was being introduced to Green Tea ice cream. It was 1986. Green Tea hadn't entered the collective conscience yet. (I did meal plan freshman year. I remember breakfast being good -- there was cold or hot cereal, pancakes, french toast, omlettes, etc. The only ones who made it to breakfast were me and the football team.)

I had a similar eureka moment last fall. It's amazing how much better new crop greenmarket apples taste than the crap you get at the maket. After years of avoiding apples I became an addict.

I ran to Union Square on Wed to pick up some last minute items for the holiday. Came home with: 3 pints of cherry tomatoes -- red, orange and yellow Assorted potatoes basil lemon basil mint apples -- 3 varieties, RI Greenings, Winesaps, and ??? 3 baby pumpkins and 2 gourds which were used as centerpieces on my table

Freeze your schmaltz. If kept cold enough, it will keep forever (or until you use your batch up.)

I'll admit it, I drool when reading Leon. Just finished reading Leslie Forbes Waking Raphael. The description of food eaten is equally fantastic. I guess it has something to do with books set in Italy.