Gifted Gourmet

Did you ever wonder how they sell this garbage so damned fast?? and to think how many wasted nights I lay awake fretting endlessly that my daughter couldn't slice a banana without a guide!!

How about those tonged, meatball shapers that look like scissors with a half ball on each side. (What's better than human hands to roll the perfect meatballs?) Reallly!!

the best gift for the cook yet! Now I sound like Andy Rooney on Sunday Evening's CBS program: "Did you ever wonder how you have survived so long without the Electric Marshmallow Toaster?" Are you the type to simply "rough it" and toast your marshmallows over an open fire, stringing them along a small tree twig? Appears that I have waited too long already .. they have sold out! and what with Xmas right around the corner! At what point does the kitchen "tool" line of gadgets become truly outrageously silly? Which tools strike you as completely unnecessary and ludicrous?

After reading the articles in the NY Times thread here on Robert Stehling of Charleston, SC, I began to ponder the question of which chefs in the cities of the southeastern part of the US do classical southern cuisine .. Hence my question ... Here in Atlanta, I would say it is Scott Peacock thread here who first comes to mind but there are, of course, many others ... Of course in Birmingham, Highland's Frank Stitt comes to mind too ...thread here So who does this in your southeastern town or city?

I think that the steamed potatoes are more what the original post implies ... with no mashing involved! Mystery solved!

Pommes Fondant recipe Pommes Fondants recipe The first is a German recipe which looks to be more like a Duchess Potatoes recipe and the second is classically French ...

For a chef? Should be a piece of cake, JM!

Yes! It is actually made by spraying a flour and water slurry against a large hot rotating drum, so it goes directly to the crumb stage without ever going through the bread stage, if that makes sense. Please note that the panko crumbs are often rice-based as well.

a more detailed article on this: Belfast Telegraph

With the gasoline prices skyrocketing today, rich, this seems less and less like "cuisine economique" ... cool ideas though! Is your new book title "Camaro Cuisine"??

I appreciate your elucidating explanation on my 'issue' ... and I am in full agreement when you explain .. particularly agree on using panko with shrimp and crab items, nothing less will do than the best! .. most appreciated, highchef!

If one uses panko crumbs as a binder, doesn't that mean that they are mixed in with other ingredients and therefore rendered not particularly crispy, which is their primary appeal? I always think of using them as a coating rather than a binder ...

My favorite binders are (in no particular order) homemade bread crumbs cornstarch rice instant potato flakes oatmeal

My first apartment had the same set-up. Can't say that I remember it quite as fondly as Schwartz does his. Half of my closet was dedicated to clothes, and the other half was a pantry. It's a wonder my clothes didn't smell like garlic powder. ← Now for a question based upon both the article and alacarte's observation for our members: What was your very first kitchen like? Mine had a half-size refrigerator with a toaster oven type deal on top. When I used the oven, the freeezer defrosted!! so I rented a food locker in the town we lived in to keep our meat frozen ... and I once tried baking a cake in the toaster oven but didn't have room to put the entire baking pan in so half of the cake stuck out ... little did I know, as a new bride, that the entire thing had to be baked at one time ... very tiny kitchen .. but so long ago! How about your first kitchen?? Tales to tell?

article from the NYT Interesting article for anyone who has ever gone through the process of kitchen renovations or just enjoys kitchen design ...

verrrry interesting website .. scroll down to the Foodstuffs section for detailed explanations which are not particularly intricate to comprehend .. I enjoyed reading this!

Pam, the m'jeddrah is believed to be the actual "mess of pottage" for which Esau sold his birthright .. makes sense to me anyway ..

and the winner is announced! The first woman ... not exactly a new idea! Bet she will do quite nicely!

and from the very perceptive Alton Brown comes this piece of wisdom: Nor will I!

article from NYT Would you give up your job, lucrative endorsements, book contracts, speaking engagements to work for the White House? (responses should reflect the job of a chef and not be political in nature, please.)

Not to worry .. the way I did it was type in the search term "food magazines" and then sort through the millions of titles that came up ...

Wow, that was fast! That looks like a large version of the one I was looking for. This was only about 6-8" tall and very slender. Any idea where they can be found? ← Fantes.com

perhaps this one?

more magazines mentioned here .. enjoy reading the opinions ...

and I would like to offer my thanks for Micropundit's tenacity and fortitude in tracking down "leads" on all of the newest, and even future, dining places opening here in Atlanta! This city is simply bursting with new culinary endeavors and we who live here are the recipients of the talent coming in and already residing here.Micropundit has absolutely "nailed" a topic which he accurately updates and monitors daily! Bravo! Keep on doing what you do for us!