Gifted Gourmet

The only times I seriously deal with whipped cream cheese and its other alternate lifestyle companion, namely whipped butter, is on Passover .. because I hate it when my matzos break from schmearing the "real stuff!"

So now there is no Sam Breakstone? and No Easter Bunny? No Santa? No ToothFairy? Horrified to have to deal with so much reality!!

brand name unimportant .. schmear away ... anyway whipped cream cheese is a bit too BDS&M for my personality ...

From a personal standpoint, I really prefer the Breakstone's whipped cream cheese because it just tastes better, creamier, and the saltiness is about what I like. Mixing in: I have no qualms about mixing in my favorite items with a whipped cream cheese: chopped black olives, minced garlic, salt, plus a bit of butter, makes my favorite homemade olive spread ... if I am making this recipe for a party, I use my Mixmaster and do it with block cream cheese. Flavors are amazing and it gets rave reviews. Wait! The two companies are now one??

USA Today

more NOLA hospitality news in this item There are apparently other ambassadors for New Orleans' cuisine as well...

I was surprised to find that the article so closely mirrored my thoughts "where was Emeril?" ... I happen to like a lot about the guy and for anyone who has read anything about Emeril on eGullet, you will find that I am a staunch supporter of what he has accomplished. And justifiably so ... But the article made me think that it would have been such a strong, positive PR "statement" to appear somehow, not necessarily on the actual scene but somewhere stating his emotions at such a catastrophic event ... I know that I kept looking for it ... found Prudhomme immediately ... expressed my feelings best, I guess ... and, as I read everything possible about Katrina's aftermath, Prudhomme came across as a very publically empathic individual ... and I guess I wasn't the only one who thought this ... the author here got similar impressions.

article from NOLA.com I kept wondering as the cameras panned New Orleans day after day when Katrina struck and in the aftermath, where was one of the most famous promoters of New Orleans food? But he never seemed visible ... this article is chock full of explanations for his low visibility ... even the ever-annoying Geraldo was out and about as stories unfolded ... Anderson Cooper camped in NO for weeks ... but where was Emeril? Read the article ... do you think this explanation makes sense? I guess I was looking for something about Emeril because he is so heavily associated with the cuisine of New Orleans ... Love to hear any and all of your feedback on this article!

Thank you so much Jason and Megan! We always enjoy the first two days of this holiday .. remembering that it goes on for some eight days .. by the final few days, we get crazy and hope for rain so that we can eat indoors once again!

Pictures from our dinner tonight in the sukkah built on our patio: Getting ready to set the table for dinner: The sukkah is intended to be an unstable shelter to remind us of the Israelites huts as they wandered in the desert for 40 years .. also as a reminder of the fragile nature of life: Preparing to cut the challahs and saying the blessings... each challah slice is served with a few drops of honey to remind us of the sweetness of the New Jewish Year: The meal we ate tonight is described in the post above this: Made an open-face apple pie which turned out well indeed by poaching apples in cinnamon and lemon rind before placing in the pieshell:

So tonight is the first evening of Sukkot and, to get back to the food aspect, my dinner is going to be: Lentil soup with kosher sausage Field greens with a garlicky vinaigrette Gefilte fish loaf with horseradish/cocktail sauce mixture Roast lamb shoulder Roasted root vegetables Potato kugel Cranberry-port-applesauce Apple pie Challahs and wine (hope to get some pictures in my succah as the sun sets tonight before the holiday begins)

When I can find lamb which is kosher (and in short supply here in Atlanta), I grab it and never really look at the details (like what cut a roast actually is). Funny that you should mention lamb today because I am serving a lamb shoulder roast tonight because it is the first evening of the Jewish festival of Sukkot and I have guests eating with us. I do adore a rare piece of lamb and never, ever, let a drop of that hideous mint jelly assault the meat .. Why would anyone sully or desecrate beautiful, succulant lamb with that green mint goo?

Washington Post article Old thread ... ongoing issues ... Some of the numerous comments here by Washington area waitstaff are hilarious but many make decidedly good sense ... read them and see for yourself ... sections include "Rude report," "Happy waiter," and "Pet peeves." Anyone find someone here with whom they can identify?

I add bourbon ... works beautifully ... seems to add a deeper flavor ...

Now I can better illustrate the first post in this thread with my photograph:

Puhleeze! There is most decidedly nothing that all Jews could ever do as a cohesive unit .. General rule here: nobody ever agrees 100% when it comes to food... some would want one kind of bagel, another another kind, another a bialy which tastes like a bagel, a bagel on a plate but separate from the cream cheese, a plain bagel instead of a toasted bagel, and a bagel but to sit near the window to eat it ... Help me! I am channelling Jackie Mason! No two Jews can decide on bagel versus danish ... there would invariably be something like 5 opinions ...

I can just barely make out her feet in the top right of the picture .. and I'll just bet that the jasmine rice and carrots will be only an appetizer for a tiny taste of this delicious meal! Bravo, Andrea and Chris on this tasty blog (in all senses!) ...

The fishy flavor can be minimized by using lemon juice or any citrus juice and it certainly "sharpens" and enlivens the (possibly) otherwise bland taste of some fish .. maybe ... in a fried fish dish, citrus cuts through the oily tastes as well.

No, Fresser, and I am not Bloviatrix but will offer my (unrequested) opinion regardless ... Rationale: bagels are genetically programmed into the Jewish DNA ... we head for them at a buffet table like lemmings heading for a cliff to commit suicide ... More importantly: you can't "load" a danish with lox, cream cheese, onions .. it would be tacky and taste "ewwww" ... maybe Bloviatrix will appear soon ... she'll offer better logic ... more proof positive validates my conclusions ... And danish is for after one eats the "loaded" bagel ... a snack, as it were ...

I really enjoyed the article! Thanks for posting it here ... I don't actually require the crisis because anything is a proper reason to eat these foods for me ... putting on my shoes, reading a newspaper .. you name it .. I like to eat these hard crunchy foods in bed to announce "not having a good time here, ya know??"

Michelle, thanks for this post .. I have heard about the "commercial" trappings of the Israeli sukkahs .. come with the light strings sold for Xmas, etc. We personally have a sukkah which is made of wooden panels and we have, over the years, added more panels if we were inviting more guests ... our sukkah is up now and we use Rosh Hashonah cards on strings which give it a more "personal" feeling .. indeed, as we look at those cards, we recall many of our friends, some of whom have moved or passed away, and so forth ... very personal ... and anything made of paper is laminated to protect it from rain ...one year we had a hurricane during Sukkot here ... We don't attach fresh fruit to the top of the sukkah because one should, ideally, not attach anything to the schach ... (actually referred to below as sekhakh) A little of the background about the holiday of Sukkot: from Jewish Virtual Library.orgI will be posting pictures of what I make to serve for my guests this week and you will see them served in our own sukkah ... no rain expected here in Atlanta this week I have found ...

Washington Post article here . eGullet thread on book by Charlie Trotter

To start with, there are some articles which may have good ideas for the inspiration that you seek: a very large number of interesting articles from living foods.com RawFoodNetwork.com Loving Foods.com

I absolutely agree with you and understood the article in the historical context of having survived the war ... it (Spam) did strike me as an unusual choice for a gift in this day and age ... and, apparently, the author of the piece as well. Thank you for your presenting an authentic and correct view of life in postwar South Korea! Very interesting for those of us who have yet to visit there. Link to your blog is also most intriguing!

Chris, these last photographs and those of the bakery take my breath away! You have managed to capture the details and put them into a logical sequence to show us ... I am most grateful that you chose to share this with us here at eGullet! May your strength only increase! The baking class gave me somewhat of a more clear perspective of how bakers receive their training. It is much more complex than I had previously assumed ... The posters came out in glorious, enticingly beautiful, color! I will definitely go to see them in person when I visit Providence. Adored the photo of Chef Louis Szathmary ... and Mr. Potatohead! So cool!! a perfect avatar ... The chefs' whites were incredible ... reminds me of a culinary version of the Smithsonian ... and that early refrigerator was no doubt perfectly state-of-the-art in its heyday ...