B52 on ice. Photo: quinn.anya, Flickr

• Ice isn't solely a drink chiller. It's also a fine art for bartenders concerned with chilling rather than diluting.
• Farm vacations hit stateside. Would you pay hundreds for the chance to work on one?
  
• Frank Bruni's final column notes his (often underrated) favorites around New York City.
  
• After nearly half a century, Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" has finally topped the best-seller list.
• The Minimalist dips into peanut butter.
• Hot baths and other treatments to keep your berries from growing mold too quickly.
  

Truffle oil demystified - Frank Bruni divulges the truth behind the flavor. Yes, it is chemically-enhanced.

Serving lunch or looking for a unique appetizer? Creamed Morels on Chive Butter Toast will be ready to serve in under thirty minutes.

Do you really want to wait until Friday to eat fish? Black Cod on Wilted Radicchio

In the mood for some Cephalopod Stew? No, I really can't make it sound any better, but with fresh octopus and new potatoes rounding out this hearty dish, I'm sure it is delicious anyways.

The perfect meal, perhaps? Whether you are serving breakfast or brunch, lunch or dinner, Asparagus Frittata suits them all.

Double dose of Bruni: Frank B reviews Chef Tom Colicchio's Craftsteak and Craftbar

NY Times food columnist Mark Bittman, also known as 'The Minimalist', shows us his take on Deviled Eggs which you can watch on video.

New York supermarkets are grimy and disappointing after a summer of farmer's markets, but you can find some foods that aren't completely worthless: Steel cut Irish oatmeal, Cabot sharp cheddar cheese, Progresso Lentil Soup, Walker's Shortbread, Total Greek Yogurt. Unfortunately, Moskin doesn't share which market she went to, so it may be hard to find all of her picks at home without searching a few places. While you're shopping, you might want to pick up some basics for your pantry, too.

Supermarkets are making changes to hold on to customers that are increasingly shopping elsewhere. They are increasing prepared and specialty food selections, adding new services, offering high-tech gadgets to aid consumers, and vastly increasing the quality and selection of their produce.

The secret to a good basic salad is more oil, less vinegar and lots of salt. If you don't want something quite so basic, try Dandelion, Bacon and Egg Salad, Apple Cranberry and Goat Cheese Salad or Chicken and Parsnip Salad.

Couscous was developed in the middle ages and is still made in much the same way as it was, not to mention that it is a staple of many diets

Tis the season for making soup with dumplings, preferably ones that use Matzoh.

Fran Bruni dines at Freemans and gives it a "satisfactory".

Mark Bittman, the minimalist, makes Mongolian stir-fried lamb.

Only time will tell how the newest incarnation of Le Cirque fares - and whether diners are still looking for flash and glamour in a new restaurant. Judging by the A-list of diners (from Martha Steward to Donald Trump) that were at the opening, it seems that they do.

With Big Green Truck Pizza, it's not pizza delivery, it's pizzeria delivery. The company has a brick oven, imported from Italy, built into what was once a fire truck. They travel to events (mostly in Conn.) and "wow" customers with real, thin-crust pizzas.

A new farmers market in New York has modeled itself on other farmer's markets throughout the country and, unlike Greenmarket, will allow "food artisans" to sell their wares there.

Even a Southern girl isn't above buying something and passing it off has her own. And when the food comes from a great specialty store like William Poll, guests will be too satisfied to notice the boxes in the waste bin in the kitchen.

Frank Bruni eats across the country (full summary here), but he also makes a stop in to review Sascha and give it one star.

The minimalist, Mark Bittman, cooks soup with fresh basil

[Image NYT]

Dry-cured sausages are uncooked and hung to age in all their smelly, molding glory. Very few people  still make them due to health regulations, which are in place to address food safety concerns but can adversely affect the flavor that would result from a traditional curing process, which has been developed over thousands of years. Instead, vendors are buying them from commercial producers, some of whom offer only a cooked variant. The Times has a list of the places to get the real thing in New York.

Cured culatello, said to be a prince among pork products, and Armandino Batali (father of chef Mario Batali) learned how to make it in Italy and produces the $35/pound treat in his Seattle Store. He faces some of the same regulatory challenges as the salami makers (above).

Sometimes the desire for precision that a pastry chef has can be useful to savory chefs, especially when recreating recipes. Iacopo Falai, both chef and pastry chef, lets himself wing it - just a little bit - when preparing dessert, especially when dessert is disguised as a salad.  Salad then takes a turn as dessert in celery pudding cakes with strawberry rhubarb compote.

The minimalist, Mark Bittman, talks about fat vs thin asparagus and then cooks some.

Frank Bruni dines at Crema and gives it 1 star.

The next Le Cirque is scheduled to open on May 30.