bloviatrix

Thank you for such a beautiful example of Tikkun Olam, repairing the world. To bring joy to little kids is truly mitzvah.

I have such fond memories of Moshe Peking. It was the "fancy" kosher chinese place (as opposed to Bernstein's which was the regular place). For special occasions like birthdays, we would drive into Manhattan for dinner there. Mom would always order the Chicken Almond Ding. In terms of how long after meat you can eat dairy, there are different minhagim, customs, dependent on where your family comes from. It can be as little as one hour or as long 6 hours. There's really no restriction for going from dairy to meat so long as you brush your teeth and rinse out your mouth. I won't go into the exceptions.

AFter reading the articles in the NY Times, something leaves me puzzled. If the inability to walk is one of the symptoms of BSE, why slaughter an animal that has to be pushed down the slaughter line with a tractor? Shouldn't that animal automatically removed from the other animals?

Hmmm, this sounds suspiciously like the health salad my would buy from the appetizing store.

Did you get a Whirly-pop? If so, I gave Blovie one for Chanukah two years ago. He loves it and uses it all the time. Stove-top popped popcorn tastes so much better than air-popped. Just one caveat - don't use a high flame as the bottom will scorch if you're not careful.

Beans, everything you're giving sounds so good. Can I be on your recipient list? Thus far, Blovie has given me 2 cookbooks for Chanukah. There are four nights left, so I figure I'll yield 2 more.

Seeing that I have a turkey sitting in my freezer, and I have a weakness for sake, would you be willing to share your recipe for Sake-roasted turkey? I promise to give you credit the next time I entertain at a shabbat meal.

I completely disagree with this thought. Sure, Chinese food has no dairy, but unless you're eating at a kosher Chinese restaurant, we're talking serious treyf -- the beef and chicken are improperly slaughtered and the not kashered (blood drawn out with salt). Plus, you have an abundance of pork, shrimp, and other seafood. None of this remotely assists in the keeping of kashrus. since i barely understand the concept of what you've said here, and have no semblance of understanding the rest, i'll just assume you're correct on that point. Herb -- If I wasn't clear, I apologize. Sometimes I forget that there are people who aren't familiar with kashrus so I write with an assumed familiarity. Mea culpa. Kashrus is more than eating meat separately from dairy. For an animal to be kosher, it must have split hooves and chew its cud. Then it must have been slaughtered a certain way, had it's internal organs checked, and finally, the meat must be salted in order to draw off the blood. Not all birds are kosher. And fish must have fins and scales. Furthermore, they can't be scavengers. Any animal that isn't kosher is considered trayf (non-kosher). If a kosher animal is slaughtered or prepared in a manner not in accordance with Jewish law, that too becomes trayf. So, what I was trying to say, is that unless it's kosher chinese food (which does exist) there's no way Chinese cuisine assists in keeping kosher. If I'm still not being clear, let me know.

Ok, Peugeot does not have a web stie for their grinders and mills. But, I sent Blovie down to Broadway Panhandler. They took it back and gave him a credit. They currently don't have the 7" in stock, but they said they'll call when they come in. Thanks for pointing out the warrantee. I would have tossed it otherwise.

FG, the joke in the orthodox community is that most places that tout themselves as Glatt Kosher are open on saturday - travel down Union Turnpike or Queens Blvd. and you'll see what I'm talking about. It's passively understood that if a place is under orthodox supervision, the meat will be glatt. That's why I felt a need to explain what Glatt truly is. There are a limited number of kosher meat processors in the US, and across the board they use orthodox shechita and the meat is glatt. Hence, even a place that it open in the sabbath will sell glatt meat. What they do to the meat, once they get hold of it, I can't comment on.

Pomi is made by Parmalat. I pulled out a box to look after reading about the "accounting error" over the weekend. FG --Fairway and Shop Rite in NJ have it for $1.49. Have you found a place locally that's less?

I hate to be a crank, but I feel a need to clear up a common misconception but Glatt has nothing to do with how observant the owner of a shop is. Per Rabbi Ari Zivotofsky: What he's is saying that there's a higher level of scrutiny used in determining whether an animal's lungs meet the requirements for kashrut. (In simplest terms, in order for meat to be kosher, the animal must 1) slaughtered in a certain way 2) have it's internal organs inspected to make sure they meet certain requirements 3)the meat must then be salted and soaked in order to draw the blood out.) As to whether a restaurant is open on the sabbath, that's dependent on what type of rabbinic supervision they have.

I completely disagree with this thought. Sure, Chinese food has no dairy, but unless you're eating at a kosher Chinese restaurant, we're talking serious treyf -- the beef and chicken are improperly slaughtered and the not kashered (blood drawn out with salt). Plus, you have an abundance of pork, shrimp, and other seafood. None of this remotely assists in the keeping of kashrus. If anything, the attraction for Chinese food is that it is so different from traditional, ashkenaz jewish food. It's a different cuisine - from another continent, no less. And you have all these forbidden ingredients. I mean, if you're going to sin, why not go all the way?

Wow! I'm impressed. Blovie just got me The Bread Bible for Chanukah, and I'm trying to decide whether I'm completely intimidated, or whether I'm ready to jump in to the project. What are you using as your reference?

In the bagged category, I love Celestial Seasoning's Bengal Spice. It has cinnamon, cardamom, vanilla, and other flavors. The scent is wonderful and fills any rooms. And the flavor is heavenly.

Two days of Chanukah and two more cookbooks... The Secrets of Baking by Sherry Yard and The Bread Bible by RLB Actually, tonight Blovie gave me Bittersweet (A. Medrich). I unwrapped it, started laughing and proceeded to point to the copy sitting on the coffee table. With that he ran to his hiding place and brought out another book. Now, I know I have a lot of cookbooks, but really, duplication? Already?

Actually, it is a Peugot. I was unaware of the guarantee. I'll Google the company and see what they can tell me on-line. Otherwise, a trip down to Broadway Panhandler (where I bought it) is called for. What a royal pain in the ass.

The photos are great. They add to the immediacy. That brisket sounds good. Hmm, maybe I'll make it for dinner one night this week....

I think my pepper grinder died. The top part, including knob, and metal dowel that runs through is separating from the body in one piece - the whole thing lifts comes out.. Any suggestions of what I can do to fix this? Looking at the base of the dowel makes me think something broke off. Or should I bite the bullet and buy a new one? (This one is about 3 months old - so much for buying stuff on sale )

Shabbat dinner/First night of Chanukah No latkes, but in honor of the holiday, I fried and sauteed in lots of olive oil ('cause it's all about the oil) Butternut Squash soup Veal Schnitzel Challah kugel Sauteed Mushrooms w/Arugala Sorbet and fruit for dessert

Don't sell yourself short, FG. Even Blovie, who I've trained in the finer points of Blahnik and Louboutin doesn't know about Yigal Azrouel. My suggestions are: 1) go with something tailored. Even the most casual fabric will look dressier if it's well cut. 2) wear high heels. Again, it dresses everything up. 3) and while you can never go wrong with black.... camel, grey or navy work well too.

'Tis true. In yesterday's NY Times: Ruthie & Gussie's Traditional Potato Pancake Batter. I agree - that is just wrong. I saw the product today in Kosher Marketplace. Oy. I could feel generations of yiddeshe mammas turning in their graves.

Doesn't Thomas Keller suggest heavily salted water, because you don't lose the boil when the vegetables are added?

I lived in for two years and ate a lot of salads because the food was so bad. I just remember a lot of rubbery chicken (which I never touched) and over-cooked fish. And limp broccoli. Women are probably more difficult to cook for than men because so many women have weight meshugas. We had our share of eating disorders in the house.