bloviatrix

I just read through all the stuff about cheese latkes, and my question was the same (since I happen to have farmer cheese in the fridge at the moment), but it hasn't been answered yet. Well? I have farmer cheese as well. Still haven't made them yet. With the exception of shabbos, we haven't been home for dinner in over 2 weeks. But I've used it for blintz filling, so I see no reason why it won't work.

I just figure since it's no longer Chanukah, it's inappropriate to call them latkes. Hence the fritters. But, that's just me.

Like Tommy and FG, we basically only answer the phone when we're in the goddam mood. This means we won't answer during meal-times, tv watching, and even book reading. Inevitably my mother always calls when The Sopranos are on, I swear she does it purposely. There's an exception though. Blovie has a home office, so if his office phone rings, he will pick-up. This doesn't happen often, but he does work with people on the west coast who forget about the time difference. But the whole answering the phone at dinner thing is a frequent topic with us because of my mom. The woman is a slave to the phone. She can't let a ringing phone ring with out answering. This is even the case on the sabbath, when you're not supposed to answer phones. For the last 35 plus years, every Friday night, my mom has gotten a call from her friend Selma. The call always comes towards the end of dinner. And my mom always takes the call. For some reason she doesn't feel she can ask Selma not to call on friday. It pisses all of us off.

Why aren't cameras allowed? That seems odd.

I'm reminded of an experience I had several years ago, when Blovie and I thought we would upgrade our appliances. I was in the store talking with the salesman. My questions were about the gaskets in the doors, the BTUS, calibrating the temperature, etc. Suddenly, we were interrupted by a couple who wanted to know how much the "cute red enamel range" in the front window cost. They thought the color would bring out the color in their counter-tops or something equally rediculous. The salesman gave them the price and the guy promptly pulled out his credit card. After they left, we had a good laugh. It was really very sad.

Living in a Manhattan apartment, we have a dining area which is where we eat both our casual meals and our formal meals. Our table also serves as my husband's desk, as he has expanded beyond his office. We dine formally on the sabbath - tablecloth, china, silver, etc. There are absolutely no distractions. The other days of the week are a different matter. Due to our schedules, we don't always eat together. If one of us actually made an effort and cooked, we try to push all the papers to one side and eat at the table. But at times, we sit on the couch and watch tv while eating. This is normally the case when watching a playoff game. Otherwise, I don't like the TV on during meals. We will have the radio on - either music or NPR. This behavior is acceptable to us because we don't have children. But, once we start a family we hope to make meals a more formal event. Blovie and I agree that family mealtimes are important in developing manners, discipline and a time for conversation.

Jason, do you remember the bagel place on the corner of Union Tpk and Chevy Chase (just east of the Hillcrest Jewish Center)? I'm not sure what the name was, except it said "Hot Bagels" on the outside of the shop. We would pick them up every time we visited my Aunt who lived nearby.

Well this confirms my argument of the "wal-martization" of America. Americans want to pay bargain price for things with no thought to the fact that maintaining integrity of the food supply costs money. It's the bury the head in the sand attitude of "I don't care what they do, as long as it's cheap." I acknowledge that there are a lot of people out there living on limited incomes, but it's pretty pathetic that they'll complain about an extra $.10 per pound if it means their meat is safe. In terms of kosher meat and BSE, kashrut depends on a visual standard. This means that no downer animal would ever be slaughtered. But unless you can look at the brain or other organs and see deterioration, I believe there could be a risk with kosher meat as well. I don't know how animals for kosher slaughter are fed and whether they're kept in separate herds. That's something to ask when the Kashrut Q&A takes place.

I've been trying to come up with a way for restaurants to manage the kid issue, and the one thing I keep coming back to is a "kid service charge." Just like some restaurants reserve the right to charge a "service charge" for groups over a certain number, what about saying that "we reserve the right to charge an additional X% (percentage of your choice) to the bill for kids under the age of x (your choice). " This way, if the kids are miserable, and make a mess that requires extra clean-up, the restaurant is compensated. Maybe the charge can be used towards comping the other guests for dessert. Plus it sends a message that kids aren't really welcome, and we're going to charge you for it. Of course, if the kid is an angel, the restaurant doesn't have to apply the charge.

My last Chanukah present was How to Eat by Nigella.

I finished my shabbat cooking at about 2 yesterday. Being that I had two hours to kill, I decided I would make a batch of latkes. I went completely traditional (ok, not completely, I used flour instead of matza meal) which was a shock to my dear husband. Since they're best right out of the pan, we ate 3 then, and I saved the rest for dinner. They were really good. Nicely crispy outside, and creamy inside. I still intend on making the cheese latkes, as I bought the cheese (I'll call them fritters. )

There's a new place that opened called Bagel Basket (B'way & 89th). We've only had bagels from them once, but they were pretty good.

I'm reading Russ Parson's How to Read a French Fry. It's fascinating stuff. I keep reading sections out loud to Blovie.

On the final night of Chanukah, Blovie gave me one last cookbook, Nigella Lawson's How to Eat. He also gave me theater tickets, but it's not a food show.

Domino Sugar (can you get that brand in TX?) makes "superfine sugar" which is comparable to caster sugar. It comes in a box. I think other companies make it as well. It can be difficult to find, I always keep a box in back-up just in case.

Friday night/Shabbat dinner Mushroom Barley (I think I'm done with all the soup in my freezer.) Baked Veal Cutlels Broccolli POTATO LATKES!!! Applesauce (store bought, I ran out of time to make it from scratch. The apples I bought are mocking me.) Clementines and Grapes Over years I have figured out how to fry food before shabbat and serve it hours later in a crispy state. The key is placing the food on parchment paper and cover the dish with a cloth towel to absorb the the steam. The latkes were very crispy, and although they taste best right out of the frying pan, they were still damn good.

If one can deep-fry batter coated Mars bars, I see no reason why you can't do it with Mike & Ike's. I nominate you to do an experiment and write about it.

Will there be kilts and sporrans, too?

I'm going to throw a wrench into this -- Tal Bagels has a branch on the West Side -- B'way btw 90th and 91st. Edit: Oops, I see FG already mentioned this. Guess I should read things more closely.

Wow!! I'm in awe of everything. Marge is adorable.

I agree with you completely. I was reading the articles in the NY Times this morning and it's interesting to learn about the processes put in place in the UK, Europe, and Japan to monitor the health of cattle. And yet, there seems to be an arrogance in the US that we somehow know better. There are some interesting articles in the Times, particulary this one about Dr. Stanley Prusiner, the Nobel prize winning scientist who identified the casue of BSE and his attempts to alert the administration about the dangers our food supply face.

I bought apples for applesauce. And cheese for the cheese latkes. I even have potatoes sitting in the pantry. But we've been out every night this week for Chanukah festivities. We're leaving the house in a couple of hours to attend yet another party. The way I'm going, I'm going to need another 8 days so I can get my cooking in.

Moshe Peking was on either w.36th or w.37th between 5th and 6th. It's been gone for about 15 years or more. The place on Columbus was China Shalom. It closed over a year ago. In my circles, no one eats Chinese anymore. They all eat sushi.

Considering how much fish heads freak me out, that's an image I'd rather not have in my head.

I'm about a minute late, but Elyse, I hope you had a happy birthday.