You can find the banana leaves in the freezer section of any good Asian grocer.

Indeed, I'm working my way through MC as well, and am greatly inspired by it. It adds so much context and reliable info to what has been somewhat of a confusing set of resources in the past. Here's my take on the famous MC caramelized carrot soup: http://bit.ly/pFzFsi.

Interesting... I'd never heard of GBC before, and then I happened to see a prepackaged snack of them at Walgreens the other day. I'm not normally tempted by plastic wrapped drug store snacks, but this one was odd enough ("St Louis style Gooey Butter Cake" ?!?) that I was tempted, though I fought it off. Odd to see it here just a couple days later, now I know what it really is. Thank you!

Good lord. Don't let the idiotic comments get you down, Zach. I was just thinking about learning how to make bitters and was planning to do some research, and you just handed me the keys to the car in one neat, easy to follow post. Thank you!

I'm a big fan of Lakefront Brewery's pumpkin, from Milwaukee.

A young, semi-soft pecorino would be superb. The truffle-flecked kind if you are feeling indulgent.

@erOck - yes, they leave the anchovies out when they do a vegetarian version of it.

@akatzman - I've heard good things about the oven technique but never tried it. I see no reason it shouldn't work well, though for me the stovetop technique doesn't seem to be any big deal either. I've never been sure why folks act like it is such a trial.

@Kenji and the rest of the silken gang -

Ok, I just went and bought three firm silken tofus - Island Springs (Organic), Azumaya (Organic, not labeled firm, just silken, but quite firm), and Mori-Nu Organic Firm (unlike the Mori-Nu non-organic extra firm I used before).

I've got several thoughts.

(1) There is a lot more silken tofu out there then I realized. I've been tofu blind. Probably because I tend to use tofu a lot more in fried applications, and I've always associated silken with soft. But that isn't correct.

(2) The Azumaya was good; I could eat it up plain, no problem - which confirms my thought that I'm not anti-silken :). The Island Spring was slightly sour, but it also expires just a few days from now, which goes back to my point above - you really want tofu that was made as recently as possible.

(3) The Mori-Nu Organic Firm was *much* better than the Mori-Nu Non-Organic Extra Firm. (I wish I could change just one variable, but that is what was available). Downright edible. It definitely has more of a dead, long stored taste than the bright flavor of the Azumaya. But not disgusting. Now I'll have to try and get the other two Mori-Nu's (organic, extra firm and non-organic firm) to see which was the original problem.

@Kenji - fair enough. Time permitting, I'll go by Uwajimaya and see what other silken tofus I can scare up and add a note.

@all - no slight intended against all of the other Asian cultures in which tofu is made and appreciated! I should have said "In Japan, for example, ...", as indeed there is a deep tradition of wonderful tofu in many other countries.

With regard to the need for a blind taste test, that is a valid point - though honestly it wouldn't have made a difference. I can tell the same-day local product from the grocery brands blindfolded, and that Mori Nu extra firm I would have spit out no matter what. Someone else who genuinely likes tofu, go buy the Mori Bu *extra firm* and tell us what you think. Maybe I'm alone on this one, but I don't think so.

Overall, my biggest two takeaways:

(1) Freshly made local tofu is generally going to stomp any other choice. Freshness counts.

(2) I was surprised there wasn't more difference among the grocery store brands. If you had told me they were all made in the same factory I wouldn't have been surprised at all. All that really made a difference was expiration date / freshness.

I'm going to stop arguing with you, because you clearly aren't listening. The Bayless and Kennedy fundamental frijoles refritos recipes both start with frijoles de olla, and both proceed to fry the beans. One with onion, one with onion and garlic. Nothing Tex-Mex about it.