bloviatrix

Regarding the cracking, according to the book, in order to prevent cracking you should put your cheesecake directly in the refrigerator from the oven. Another interesting point is that you shouldn't wrap the cake with foil, rather cover it with a cardboard cake round, or some other paper product as it will absorb all moisture and you won't get condensation on the cake.

I don't know if you're avoiding Chilean Sea Bass, but according to my fish guy you can use it as a substitute for black cod.

Actually both my mother and I make what you call "type a." The recipe I use calls for 2 pounds of cream cheese, sugar, lime juice, and 4 eggs. Because there is no leavener in the cake, any "lift" comes from beating the cream cheese at high speed for about 5 minutes plus the addition of the eggs (beat in one at a time, until just absorbed). Over the past 10 years I've learned that the dread deflation is unavoidable and nothing you can do will stop it. The real key is the sour cream glaze which levels off the cake and hides the depression in the middle. Mom taught biology. Perhaps if she was a chemistry teacher she would think about chemical reactions in baking. Hence the request for silence.

Although I think it was a cop-out not to give any stars, I actually thought Hesser wrote a fantastic piece. IMO, this was probably the strongest of all her reviews.

Thanks for all the compliments guys. We finished the last of the cheesecake tonight. I was even licking the tin foil trying to get at the last stuck on bits.

Right now, the OU is saying that there's nothing to worry about so we're not making any changes. If our Rabbi comes out with a p'sak, ruling, saying this is an issue to be concerned with, we'll get a water filter.

Not WEVD ... aren't they extinct?? WEVD (Eugene V. Debs) is sadly no long with us. It's now ESPN Sports Radio. We have a local station called NY1 that does a segment called "In the Papers" where they highlight assorted articles in the local press. One of the articles they featured was the one in the Times about the water. This is what I awoke to this morning. I'm still shaking my head.

Jon, what station was that news report on?

The May 31st issue of Fortune has an interesting article on what it takes to become a Master of Wine. Grape Nuts

You might want to try using za'atar, which is a spice/herb mixture. It's more middle eastern than african, but it might add a nice flavor.

BTW, Westpfal uses the cold water bath method.

One of my favorite things to do is saute a variety of mushrooms on some olive oil with lots of garlic and deglaze the pan with some balsamic (a soy sauce-toasted sesame oil mixture works well too). Then serve warm on a bed of arugala. I save all the trimmings (stems primarily) in a bag in the freezer. When I have enough, I make a mushroom broth which I then use as a base for my mushroom-barley soup.

The May 24th issue of Forbes reports that London has surpassed New York as the best place to drink cocktails. Liquid Masterpieces

I've given thought to the location issue, but considering they don't take walk-ins and the only way you can get a table there is to make a phone call 60 days in advance, we're not talking about diners who walk in right "off the street"

Do they really say that?! They were very polite about it, but yes, they made clear there is a dress code. And to think I was planning on wearing a belly-t, ripped jeans and paint splattered sneakers.

Thanks for sharing your last week of freedom with us.

I love your definition of stairmaster. Is it ok to admit that I'm reading this for the photos?

That guy parks under my windows about once a week. If I hear him in the next couple of days I'll try to get his information. But I have no idea what type of job he does.

I've heard that Henry Westpfal is supposed to be expensive but extremely reliable. 107 W. 30th (6th Ave) 212/563-5990

During lunch service, the hostess' main duty is to keep tourists from barging into the dining room. I did see Leslie give out menus and offer to let them see the space after service is over. This might also explain why you are told when making a reservation that shorts, jeans, t-shirts, and sneakers are NOT allowed.

Pan, I'm going with the 9-course vegetable tasting.

Katie, the charmoula recipe I use comes from a class I took with Levana Kirschenbaum (of the eponymous kosher restaurant in NYC) several years ago. A quick review of the recipe you posted indicates one difference between the two: I use evoo rather vinegar. The consensus yesterday was that the fish was "buttery".

I hope I'm doing this right, but here's Sherry Yard's recipe: Use heatproof bowls. 2/3 cup sugar 2 tbsp finely grated lemon zest Combine the sugar and zest. You want to work it so that the oils from the zest are released into the sugar (I find a fork works well although she suggests doing this in the food processor) 3 large eggs 4 egg yolks Add the lemon-sugar mixture to eggs and whisk for roughly 30 seconds. Then place mixture over simmering water and continue whisking until sugar dissolves (about 15 seconds). Add: 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice 1/4 cup lime juice And continue whisking until the temperature reaches 160 F. (every so often you should scrape down the sides). Take bowl off heat. 4 tbsp chilled butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes At this point you can either put the curd in a food processor and pulse after each addition of butter, or whisk the butter in by hand. Strain the curd and set in ice bath to cool. Cover with plastic wrap pressed down on surface so no skin develops. Refrigerate.

What a fabulous story. I'm so envious of anyone who has access to the family recipes. It's such a special part of your heritage.

We have left-over rainbow trout (I bought 4 trouts for Shavuot, but some of our guests aren't fish eaters) that's already been rubbed with charmoula and roasted, so we're having that along side the left over spinach noodle pudding. I just picked up some cherry tomatoes at the market, so I'm going to chop up some garlic and roast them. For dessert we'll probably go with the cheesecake and the ice cream, however, I poached some apricots which we never got around to eating so maybe we'll have those with mascarpone. Tomorrow's lunch with be a salad with sliced turkey breast and strawberry-balsamic sorbet for dessert. I also have a bag of cherries that I forgot to serve which will get eaten at some point.