I only now noticed this odd interview by Ezra Klein, which Megan McCardle has dealt with. But I wanted to point out the underlined sentence below. Apparently, drug companies are bad because they have administrative costs and such. Unlike their chief competitors, universit . . . Oh. Wait. (see p. 33 for the punch line).
"You occasionally hear that a national health-care system would have a devastating impact on medical innovation -- and particularly on drug research. As the thinking goes, the system would save money, but in saving money, it would reduce profits for drug manufacturers, which would reduce the incentives for innovation. Is this worth worrying about?
No, it isn't. . . . There are a couple reasons that this is a specious argument. One is that according to their filings with the SEC, the drug companies only spend about 15 cents of every dollar on research and development. That's compared to more than 30 cents in administration and marketing and more than 20 cents on shareholder equity. As an investment in R&D, I think any venture capitalist would say a company spending 15 percent on research is not a robust innovation engine".
8/05/2009
8/04/2009
kidnapping
I don't know whether it is right to negotiate with the North Koreans or not, but didn't we just teach the world that if you want a visit from a very high level American emissary, you just need to kidnap a couple of Americans? I'm very puzzled.
8/03/2009
Quick bites
We had some friends over this weekend. I made margaritas, and two kinds of quick bites, before we adjourned to Astoria favorite Agnanti for some killer greek food.
Mini Crab Cakes - I used some claw crab meat from Wholefoods, to which I added lemon zest, parsley, salt, pepper, a little lemon juice, and a few whole wheat bread crumbs from a leftover breakfast toast. I dipped them in egg and breaded them in panko bread crumbs I had put through the food processor. I fried in a little olive oil, and then warmed up at party time in the toaster oven. Each little cake was topped with tartare (store bought mayonnaise, cornichons, salt-cured capers, and lemon) and a little piece of chive.
Gougeres - This is so easy, though I prefer choux in an eclair. Put a cup of water in a pan. Melt 4 tb of butter in the water at the boil, and add a little salt. Pour 4-4.25 ounces of flour (a cup, in other words) into the water all at once, pull off the heat, and stir enthusiastically. Put back on the heat, and dry the resulting dough. What you're trying to achieve is a soft, pretty oily dough that doesn't stick to your hands when you squeeze it. Dry the dough until it leaves a film on the bottom of the pan. Then let cool a little, and beat in 4 eggs one at a time until you have something that looks like mayonnaise. At this point, at flavoring - I used a lot of cheese and dijon mustard. Pipe into little balls, top with egg wash, and cook at 375 until golden brown.
Mini Crab Cakes - I used some claw crab meat from Wholefoods, to which I added lemon zest, parsley, salt, pepper, a little lemon juice, and a few whole wheat bread crumbs from a leftover breakfast toast. I dipped them in egg and breaded them in panko bread crumbs I had put through the food processor. I fried in a little olive oil, and then warmed up at party time in the toaster oven. Each little cake was topped with tartare (store bought mayonnaise, cornichons, salt-cured capers, and lemon) and a little piece of chive.
Gougeres - This is so easy, though I prefer choux in an eclair. Put a cup of water in a pan. Melt 4 tb of butter in the water at the boil, and add a little salt. Pour 4-4.25 ounces of flour (a cup, in other words) into the water all at once, pull off the heat, and stir enthusiastically. Put back on the heat, and dry the resulting dough. What you're trying to achieve is a soft, pretty oily dough that doesn't stick to your hands when you squeeze it. Dry the dough until it leaves a film on the bottom of the pan. Then let cool a little, and beat in 4 eggs one at a time until you have something that looks like mayonnaise. At this point, at flavoring - I used a lot of cheese and dijon mustard. Pipe into little balls, top with egg wash, and cook at 375 until golden brown.
Allegretti
We had not been to a proper restaurant in some time, due mostly to the fact that I have been pretty busy. So on Saturday night, we visited Allegretti, the eponymous two star restaurant of Alain Allegretti, who immigrated to New York from Alain Ducasse's magisterial Louis XV in Monaco. We thought it was terrific - I could not have been reminded more of our meal at Hostellerie Berard last August in the South of France, just after we got engaged. The brief notes I posted on egullet follow:
We went last night as well, based on recommendations from here. A few observations before getting to food. The dining room was *empty*. So empty that I asked one of the staff what was going on. He said that they had only 14 reservations for last night (Saturday) but were expecting 70-80 on both Monday and Tuesday, an odd quirk of traffic he attributed to the fact that their core customer spends August weekends sunning themselves in the Hamptons. Take that for what you will. I also noticed that the tables no longer sported the "crisp white linens" Bruni half-mocked in his review. I wonder whether that is an intentional nod towards the mood.
In terms of what we ate, we intended to have the prix fixe, but it didn't really speak to me. I would have been happy with the striped bass that was on offer as a main course, but wanted neither a ricotta tart or either starter. So we went off into the carte. Happily this was a good choice.
First courses: We had the Taste of Nice and the Octopus a la plancha. While the Taste of Nice is perhaps a little overwrought in the sense that I'm not sure I want six different preparations on a plate, each item was delicious. I especially enjoyed the pissaladiere loaf, which I had never seen before, and the squash blossoms. As for the stuffed red pepper, my only comment is that Allegretti must keep a squadron of Armenian grandmothers imprisoned in the back, as it tasted exactly like my own grandmother's dolma.The octopus was presented as a single long tentacle, lightly dusted with pimenton and served with potatoes. There's not much to say about it, other than that I found it terrific. Tender, well seasoned. Just a very enjoyable dish.
Main Course: Black and White taglietelle with seafood: I had been wanting the seafood soup as a first course, but ended up with the octopus. But the black and white taglietelle with shellfish was a noble substitute, as it replicated much of the flavors one would expect in such a soup - certainly fennel and a little spice creeping around the edges. The shrimp dotting the pasta were perhaps the best cooked shrimp I have ever enjoyed - just this side of wobbly. Cod with Crispy mussels: This was seafood cookery every bit the equal of Le Bernardin. The cod was barely opaque, skin crisp, and the saffron sauce gave the whole thing some needed flavor. As for the crispy mussels, I am sure there was some sort of sweet spice in the breading (clove?), which imbued the whole thing with a sort of North African flair.
Dessert: We shared the peach frangipane. A classic dough, excellent peaches, and a delicious peach gelato. Yes, as others have said, perhaps not a $10 dessert, but I didn't care.We also had cocktails before the meal. Many thumbs up to the Cucumber sling, a refreshing summer drink involving muddled cucumbers, lime, cilantro (!) and mint with 2 oz of Hendrick's gin. Not quite what you'd get at one of the big cocktail lounges, but very nice nonetheless.
We went last night as well, based on recommendations from here. A few observations before getting to food. The dining room was *empty*. So empty that I asked one of the staff what was going on. He said that they had only 14 reservations for last night (Saturday) but were expecting 70-80 on both Monday and Tuesday, an odd quirk of traffic he attributed to the fact that their core customer spends August weekends sunning themselves in the Hamptons. Take that for what you will. I also noticed that the tables no longer sported the "crisp white linens" Bruni half-mocked in his review. I wonder whether that is an intentional nod towards the mood.
In terms of what we ate, we intended to have the prix fixe, but it didn't really speak to me. I would have been happy with the striped bass that was on offer as a main course, but wanted neither a ricotta tart or either starter. So we went off into the carte. Happily this was a good choice.
First courses: We had the Taste of Nice and the Octopus a la plancha. While the Taste of Nice is perhaps a little overwrought in the sense that I'm not sure I want six different preparations on a plate, each item was delicious. I especially enjoyed the pissaladiere loaf, which I had never seen before, and the squash blossoms. As for the stuffed red pepper, my only comment is that Allegretti must keep a squadron of Armenian grandmothers imprisoned in the back, as it tasted exactly like my own grandmother's dolma.The octopus was presented as a single long tentacle, lightly dusted with pimenton and served with potatoes. There's not much to say about it, other than that I found it terrific. Tender, well seasoned. Just a very enjoyable dish.
Main Course: Black and White taglietelle with seafood: I had been wanting the seafood soup as a first course, but ended up with the octopus. But the black and white taglietelle with shellfish was a noble substitute, as it replicated much of the flavors one would expect in such a soup - certainly fennel and a little spice creeping around the edges. The shrimp dotting the pasta were perhaps the best cooked shrimp I have ever enjoyed - just this side of wobbly. Cod with Crispy mussels: This was seafood cookery every bit the equal of Le Bernardin. The cod was barely opaque, skin crisp, and the saffron sauce gave the whole thing some needed flavor. As for the crispy mussels, I am sure there was some sort of sweet spice in the breading (clove?), which imbued the whole thing with a sort of North African flair.
Dessert: We shared the peach frangipane. A classic dough, excellent peaches, and a delicious peach gelato. Yes, as others have said, perhaps not a $10 dessert, but I didn't care.We also had cocktails before the meal. Many thumbs up to the Cucumber sling, a refreshing summer drink involving muddled cucumbers, lime, cilantro (!) and mint with 2 oz of Hendrick's gin. Not quite what you'd get at one of the big cocktail lounges, but very nice nonetheless.
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