Gifted Gourmet

Thanks to you, as always, girlfriend, for expressing some of my innermost thinking in your own inimitable terms!! Bravo for the affirmation!! You done said a mouthful, therese!

No, not as of today .. but it might be of interest should I ever return to catering .. a not-very-likely choice for my future .... ah, for the sweet days of youth with its enthusiasm and energy and ignorance ....

The answer to your question on garnish gadgets... how I lived without this thing, I'll never know!!!

rose petal sugar apparently one week is fine for this ...

I pay a lot of attention to the plates upon which I serve various foods ... I like the color of a glossy black, square plate against the gravlax or the sushi, which are now signature dishes ... I like a pure glossy white porcelain plate, in a shape other than round, to enhance my oriental meals ... simple, yet stark and pristine, which sets off the dish ... I eschew using my highly decorative and festive china pattern, which I received when I got married many years ago, because they are almost too colorful and detailed. the pattern

In spite of the thread I began on short ribs, I have decided to opt for something less complex .. it is, after all, something like 90 here today ... Will go ahead with some old favorites like strips of zucchini in a tomato-garlic-olive sauce, vidalias in a casserole (a gratin actually), an orzo pilaf with roasted vegetables, a rhubarb-peach-cherry pie, and all I need is a main course .. will dig through my freezer for this .. and a salad of juicy ripe beefsteak tomatoes with a basil, garlic vinaigrette and hearts of palm (my favorite!) ... Have a lovely Shabbos, if you are of such a mind ...

In cooking as in sex, too much is never enough!

And we look forward to reading and reveling in your pictorial pleasures of the Peninsula Grill as well, Sean!! Do share your own "Kodak Moments" with this continually sensually starved audience! and that coconut cake .. share a piece of heaven with us as well??

In responding to a post on why one ought to be concerned with how food looks, I found myself interested, yet again, in the subject of garnishes for presentation .. we do eat with our eyes, no? Now while I know most people don't bother with intricate Japanese carved garnishes in their everyday lives, my question is simply this: do you actually garnish your dishes for presentation to company?? Here on eG, Fergus Henderson said "the food speaks for itself" .... he said that in March of 2003, actually ... If you are answering in the affirmative, what do you use? How do you make your garnishes? Are they well received? Worth the added effort?

Heart monitor here showing a flat line .... call 911 ... medic!! who cares?? Why do you suppose that so much of fine dining has to do with presentation??? Hard to imagine a chef who doesn't see the value in "eating with one's eyes" ... then there are the food photographers ... a whole bunch of folks out of work on your theory ... and, in a related way, why bother to do anything with panache and creativity? It all just winds up in the toilet anyway ....

Just saw "Food Finds" with Sandra Pinckney who did a show on Charleston. One of the segments was devoted to the coconut cake served at the upscale and famous Peninsula Grill. In another thread, Fat Guy described it thusly: So, have you, or someone you know, ever eaten there? I have heard both good and average comments about it .... and the coconut cake, which one can purchase to take home, is $55 .. worth it? Why are there so many people with an aversion to coconut?? What is it about coconut that bothers people? The taste? The texture? Climbing a coconut palm to pick the coconuts?? Photo of The Ultimate Coconut Cake

I rather think that the Intercontinental Hotel, which is being built at a tremendous price, has done a great deal of market research on the demographics and so forth, before investing in this upscale an enterprise. From a purely personal standpoint and a 27 year resident of Atlanta, I have to agree with therese on how far this city has come foodwise and I contend that "if they build it, they will come". Pollyanna of Atlanta

Speaking of tea, iced tea that is, how about a cooling mint sugar in ice tea or chilled lemonade to beat the summer heat?

Don't wait even one second longer! This is the pinnacle of fine cheesecake presentation and your guests will never guess that it isn't the "real thing" with sugar, etc. Springform pans are indispensible for a baker!

Aside from the common vanilla sugar, which Alton Brown makes in this manner: I have made a lemon sugar (using the zest and burying it in sugar in an airtight container) and have also made a rose petal sugar, done in a similar fashion.superb resource for scented sugars Martha Stewart's versions

Voila, the springform pan! I use it because it has a larger capacity for the volume of the cheesecake ingredients, and because by using the spring, one can get neatly formed, straight sides on the finished cake ...

the low carb cheesecake I have made with success and, yes, to using a springform .... but no waterbath necessary ... however this cheesecake uses both springform and water bath

close enough? possibly these?

Never met Bond Girl nor Bai Ling, but those desserts are totally hot!!

in your dreams, as the saying goes ....

What an exquisite dessert montage of photographs, Bond Girl! I am in awe of the entire array of delectable desserts! also in sugar shock! Thank you for this pictorial! Is the final photo of you?

Here you will find the collection of digests for a number of media which are located in the Southeastern states. Note to SE readers:If you live in a city which is not normally covered in this digest, please send me a PM to look into their media and the food articles there This week's Southeastern Forum Digest includes, in alphabetical order, by city: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has a variety of good articles this week, all of which revolve around Father's Day types of food: Baked beans of all varieties Men just love those beans: Sweet, saucy baked classic, and variations and, whether or not, you buy into this particular thinking, there are some marvelously tasty recipes for such baked beans as Awesome Baked Beans, Steve's Beans which contain Jimmy Dean sausage, Calico Beans which contain ground beef among other things, Beans with different toppings with a definite southwestern appeal. Column on beers Georgians eager to share a world of favorite brews Grilling of pork chops article which explains how to marinate or brine the chops into something quite delicious: Atlanta Creative Loafing has a variety of good articles: one is on a local Spanish tapas restaurant called Barcelona: Yet another masculine-oriented feature appears here: Big Daddy reds Definitely worth reading and laughing over .... Access Atlanta feature article this week is on a newcomer to Atlanta, Rays in the City (having nothing to do with Sex in the City, please understand) Charleston Post and Courier has more very detailed articles on grilling, as well as one which I particularly enjoyed on boiled peanuts, a regional favorite: The Charlotte Observer has a number of interesting articles this week, including one on a woman who is redoing her grandmother's recipes and it contains a message for us all: cherish the past in order to hand it on to your children: an article on a local bakery and its owners: Charlotte Creative Loafing offers up a story on a new Mexican newcomer to the community, Linares: this week's Memphis Commercial Appeal has an opening article on various cool salads for summer: Terrific new salad recipes with this article The Nashville Tennessean has a beautifully written article on a seasonal favorite in Tennessee, blackberries: Recipes with this article include:• Simple blackberry cobbler • Blackberry crisp • Grand Marnier crème with blackberry sauce • Old-fashioned blackberry jam • Blackberry rolls • Blackberry dumplin's and a collection of champagne cocktails as well: the article The Triangle.com brings a story on a wine dinner at Elaine's on Franklin and a cocktail called The Cannes: as well as other local restaurant offerings for Father's Day.

Have to agree with you, therese and tryska, on Woodfire Grill. Under the circumstances, time of the week he will be in town, Woodfire has great wine variety and foods but, with this caveat: Michael Tuohy, who runs Woodfire, does pretty much what Ted already does, namely northern California cuisine. On that point alone, I would go with The Dining Room at the Ritz Carleton.... or possibly Park 75?

On this point, Robyn, I most certainly agree. The Europeans I expected to see were not going to the opera and eating elegant fare .. rather, it was a lot of regular folks in pubs and beerhalls who loved watching sports on their tellys ... and their eating habits were not unlike ours. Another illusion from the past.

Cinnamon Scented Chicken Breasts Just read an article that cinnamon is used around most of the world in its savory form yet, in America, usually paired with sweet ingredients. Cultural bias, I assume ...