Gifted Gourmet

sorry .. duplicate post .. see? not organized ...

I did try to become more organized but, even with therapy, the "curse" (well put, Chris!! ) was never even achievable on a sustained basis ... the smug, self-satisfied feeling I had immediately after my initial attempt at ultra-organized, rapidly disappeared like a puff of smoke in the wind ... and I resorted to my primary cooking style: casual-dressy ... it just seemed so much more spontaneous! Like great sex should be ...

Just when my culinary self esteem hits rock bottom, I read this: Julia Child: Lessons with Master Chefs maybe I ought to start reallly slowly .. you know, buy those little glass dishes ...

I have been mulling this idea over in my mind for some time now: When you plan and begin to make a dish at home, what exactly is your personal modus operandi? If you are like many home cooks, myself included, and many more times than I even care to admit, I jump right into the recipe with little or no prep figuring that I can chop the garlic while the onions are sautéing. After which I get 3 steps into the recipe and find that I needed to reduce some balsamic before adding it .. so now I am scurrying around trying to get it done before everything overcooks and my none-too-careful-timing is completely thrown off.... Or are you the consummate, organized cook who excels at a mis en place way of preparing a dish? Do you discover a delicious looking recipe in one of many cooking magazines, then making a list of ingredients that are required ... then going to the store and buying all the ingredients on the aforementioned list ...finally arriving home to start prepping all your ingredients? Are all of your ingredients necessary to make this particular dish? Are your meats, chicken, and fish cut, then deboned? Are the fresh herbs for seasoning sauces washed, cut, and separated into small bowls? Spices in little dishes and ready to add? Are all of the vegetables sliced, diced, possibly julienned to the correct size, everything ready to go?? (Need a miniature prep cook to do this??) So which cook are you?? tell you later which I am ...

I have never been to, but have long heard great comments, on Watershed, a Scott Peacock establishment: Classically southern and highly appealing from the menu to the ambiance ... The fried chicken is legendary: -- from AOL Cityguide AtlantaHave you been there? What do you recommend?

Bill, as usual, you have hit the proverbial nail on the head ... any best dish irrespective of regional cuisine and someplace that "got it just right" ... a dish that brought tears to your eyes as someone mentioned ... the "ne plus ultra": the highest point, as of excellence or achievement; the acme; the pinnacle; the ultimate; the most profound degree of a quality ....

He is indeed a true gift to those of us fortunate enough to live here in Atlanta .. his talent is a rare one and, the more I read about him and his background, the more I can see how chefs like Sotohiro are few and far between. The price of $75 for this banquet is unbelievable!

Beautiful story on Sunday fried chicken .. rather assume this was typical of many southern Sundays ... But a question for you now, Lan4Dawg: Have you ever experienced fried chicken since those days which compared favorably to your grandmother's chicken in this story?

Bloviatrix, this looks absolutely wonderful, while not being too difficult to prepare ... I do believe that I will try to make it as soon as Passover ends! Much appreciation .. what do guests know? You and Blovie are the true gourmands .. and I take your word for the taste. Emes is emes!

Tony, how I envy your students who are able to learn from you! The pictures are truly exquisite and the only thing I would have preferred is an actual, physical taste of each! Sensual, creative, sexy (your favorite descriptive word!) desserts to die for! Thanks for the display.

I went out for lunch today and had a divine piece (or two) of salmon pastrami ... and now I absolutely must replicate this item! There is only one recipe which I was able to Google and it was from Mimi Hiller .. but are there others perhaps? I don't want to buy it ... or steal it ... or borrow it .. just want to make my own ... don't have a smoker but I know it can be cured as I do with my gravlax ... Please tell me that there are recipes available out there!

"Seeking solace through culinary endeavors " discussion here ... looks like many of us use similar means to achieve a return to normalcy ...

I can tell you that Peninsula Grill is incredible!!

Actually, there are a number of restaurants in Lodz but I don't have much info on each of them ... 'ziemia obiecana': Eating in the "promised land" 'Restauracja Polska' 'Hortex' 'VaBank' 'Esplanada' 'Nad Lodka' 'U Chochola' 'Prohibicja' click here for local restaurants in Lodz, Poland ...

Au Pied du Cochon.com appears to be functional now

In a word? Pullet. In the days when our grandmothers made chicken soup, pullets were cheaper because they were older hens (no AARP jokes, please!! ) ... but I would swear that today's average fryer chickens can't produce the richness in taste ... as for the fattiness? If you prefer not to eat that, chill and skim...

article from Southerner.net After responding to another thread on fried chicken backs, I read this, and a few other articles, on chicken parts. Now everyone, Southern or not, has a chicken part which strikes their fancy .. The author of the article went so far as to analyze what the choice says about you .. see if you agree, disagree, or simply find her analysis humorous ... .So, take a few minutes to read what your choice says about you in this riveting article ... a great piece on growing up in the South as well ...

Oh yes indeed! Chicken backs are a very big thing here in the South! BTW, I read something to this effect: The backs are cooked only for family (never for company). Of course, if no one liked the backs, they were not cooked ... article on chicken pieces ... from Southerner all of which may or may not have any validity!

For me, the essence of the chicken and the richness is what I am searching for. I want the color to be golden (from the Yiddish term goldene yoich) and I like the mouthfeel of the fat globules upon my tongue. To get this, I use onions with the brown skins on to give off the colors ... I do clean the onion skins, please note. And because I want chicken to be central to the experience, I buy a fat kosher pullet which has a fair amount of salt already in the kashering process. I also use celery stalks with the tops which I tie in a bundle for easy removal. Carrots, which I use a peeler to prepare. Parsley. Those onions. Salt and pepper. That's about it. I make the soup a day before I plan to serve it and leave the pullet in it for extra flavor. Matzo balls and or noodles (if not Passover) are made separately and never put in the broth, lest they cloud it ... and they will.

The overriding question is not whether they were being polite but how empty their finished plates were. Did they seem to enjoy it as they were munching merrily along? Did they make "ooh" and "ah" sounds? Were they smiling at your creative efforts? And, most importantly of all, did the birthday honoree, your wife, seem pleased? My own opinion is that you can answer all of these questions in the affirmative! I have noticed that overall, my efforts are well appreciated because they are something a bit unique, and that the diners are usually "wowed" by effort and diligence on the part of a chef. Bet you did just fine! and it was a hell of a creative, very ambitious menu!!

It is less about logic than knowledge of the laws of Passover ... it takes a while to understand all of the ramifications ...

Albertson's looks like they have a lot of great stuff for Passover

Mixing of flour and water makes matzo but it must be done within the time of 18 minutes so there is no "rising" ... because the Israelites left Egypt in a hurry before the Egyptians could stop them, their bread did not have time to rise ... hence the eating of the flat matzos is the touchstone of this holiday ...

clickable link for cuisine of Charleston mentioned above ... very cool site! Thanks, BetsyinKY!

Passover macaroons are basically made from coconut and egg whites and are sticky and extremely, actually, cloyingly sweet ... I think I would go with ground up nuts and butter and sugar ... or the matzo meal and butter and sugar mixture ... none of them will give you anything really too close to flour for the dessert.