ariellie's Profile

My husband and I agree that the best sandwich either of us have ever had was a simple yet phenomenal tuna fish sandwich we had a little cafe near the train station in a small town in Brittany, France. We were there on our honeymoon and were just stopping through waiting for a connecting train. It was just tuna, lettuce of some sort, tomato, hard boiled egg, and mayo. But something about the proportions and quality of ingredients were just so perfect. We tried other similar places in France and none were as good, we also tried to replicate it at home but could never get it right...

I usually go with goat because it's my favorite, but also, I'm usually not in the mood for anything too heavy during weekday breakfasts (I make big batches of frittatas in casserole dishes or muffin tins and then take small pieces to work). Goat cheese is a lot lighter and easier to digest in the morning than something like gruyere or cheddar.

Kerrygold or Plugra. They both taste very similar to me, but I use them exclusively, whether for baking or any other use. They're really not that much more expensive and it's one of the few things I think it's worth splurging on.

I appreciate this list and would definitely like to make more of an effort to buy organic, although my local produce stand does not have a lot of organic options. My bigger concern, however, is how to trust that things really are "organic." From what I've heard, there is a lot of murky water surrounding this term and the oversight that should go into its use. I don't mind paying more to get something that's truly organic, but I worry that sometimes I'm paying just to get that word without knowing if what I'm eating is actually any different...any thoughts, others?

When I saw this question, I knew there would be a lot of obnoxious/self-righteous responses from uptight people. First of all, some people need to learn about the colloquial use of quotations, as was the case in "Mandatory." Clearly no one is talking about FORCING people to do a shot. Also, I'm pretty sure the last time I did a single shot I didn't get so wasted that I ended up making out with any random coworkers. If there are people in attendance who have that low of a tolerance, my guess is they would be the ones who would choose to abstain. Jeez people, lighten up.

Have you tried making your own brine and changing it frequently? The guy at my local cheese counter recommended this and I've had feta last for a few weeks this way, changing the brine once a week. I googled the ratio of salt to water, which I can't remember right now. Then I just rinsed the feta off when I wanted to use it.

See, I would come to the reverse conclusion about when to use Grade B. We mostly use syrup for putting on pancakes, but I want the best kind for that purpose since it's one of the instances in which the flavor really matters: it's not being mixed into anything else, and it's really the only strong flavor to go with the pancakes. So I like having something richer and more complex for that purpose.

We never have this problem in our house, as my husband practically eats the stuff by the spoonful.

I definitely have a lack of counter space, but that's par for the course in NYC. What bothers me more is that with the layout of our kitchen it is really difficult to have two people doing something at the same time. Most often this is a problem when I'm cooking and my husband is putting away clean dishes. The cabinets are all above or below the counter where I do my cooking, and it's hard not to get easily irritated by the constant opening and closing and having to step away so he can put things back.

I remember watching a NY Times Video a few years ago where they interviewed an elderly eastern European Jewish woman about her latke-making tricks. She actually didn't drain or strain the potatos at all, and she grated them on the finer part of her grater. She said the idea was to get it really mushy so that the latke was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. I've never tried it myself, but I've definitely had a lot of latkes that were more in this style, especially among more traditional Jewish cooks. I think the desire for crispy, flaky potato shreds is a more modern thing. Correct me if I'm wrong, though...