Alex

Here are some pictures, in rough chronological order. My apologies to the folks whose faces I neglected to capture. The Zingerman's Bakehouse tour: a French contraption used to transfer the unbaked loaves of bread into one of the ovens (also French). A portion of our rapt tour group. From left to right: our tour leader (Frank?); annarborfoodie; Mr. Jean Blanchard; Fat Guy; Jean Blanchard (partially obscured); edsel; Ms. Sam Iam; Sam Iam; CaliPoutine (her hair, anyway). Corn, beets, and onions at Kerrytown Farmers' Market A dragon showed up at Sparrow Market. The aforementioned squash blossoms being stuffed by Ms. jmsaul. That's Devilkitty in the background, wearing the green apron. torakris cooking the blossoms, with her nephew and Japanese friend looking on. Alex isn't really threatening the picture-taker. I'm slicing roasted golden beets for Guajolote's Beet Salad. On the counter in front of me is a tray of CaliPoutine's decadent brownies. torakris's nephew's green and yellow beans with bacon. Mrs. Devilkitty playing the Highland pipes and helping the sun to set. In the background, the far right-hand unit is tammlc's place. Jean and Mr. Blanchard and Devilkitty working on something. The famous veal roast. Sam IAm waving, Ms. Sam Iam in the foreground, Maria on the right, Mr. Maria in the back. At the dinner tables. Those are Sam Iam's Musician's Tarts in the foreground. And, finally, our hosts tammylc and husband Eric.

I can't believe no one's posted for 3.5 hours! I guess we've all been chopping, stirring, cooking, etc. Anyhow, the first course is out, so we'll get back to you.

Currently for Saturday... tammylc & crew Alex HeatherM BeJam (iffy) Maria & husband & friend and maybe friend's girlfriend CaliPoutine & Robin and friends from Chelsea TJHarris & spouse (maybe) The Devilkitties daniellewilley & Michael Bacchusrogue & spouse Jean Blanchard & husband Sam Iam & Joyce Fat Guy torakris and friend and nephew ronnie_suburban edsel Have I missed anyone?

It does sound like a tight fit into our schedule, but 9 a.m. might be a good time. I'd love to do it, but I'll be picking up Fat Guy at the airport then.

Yes, please contribute as many as you're comfortable bringing. I'll probably bring a couple from home, and I'm sure that others will do likewise or pick up a bottle in Ann Arbor.

I can do whatever -- pasta certainly would be fine. I'm also planning to make Braised Shiitakes, if at all possible ahead of time. Something with roasted beets would be good, too. Let's see what the market has to offer.

We're looking at a 7:00 dinner, so if you drove 200 kph and bypassed both tollbooth and Customs, I think you could make it. How long does it usually take to drive to your friend's place in Chelsea?

Updated: tammylc & crew Alex HeatherM Fresser & his slick PT Cruiser BeJam (iffy) Maria & husband & friend and maybe friend's girlfriend CaliPoutine & Robin and friends TJHarris & spouse (maybe) Devilkitty and Mrs. Devilkitty daniellewilley & Michael Bacchusrogue & spouse Jean Blanchard & husband Sam Iam & Joyce Fat Guy torakris and friend and nephew ronnie_suburban, maybe edsel

This is our Saturday crew as of today. Please post any corrections, additions, subtractions. tammylc & crew Alex HeatherM Fresser & his slick PT Cruiser BeJam Maria & husband & friend and maybe friend's girlfriend CaliPoutine & Robin and friends TJHarris & spouse (maybe) Devilkitty (and Mrs. Devilkitty?) maggiethecat (tentative) daniellewilley & Michael Bacchusrogue & spouse Jean Blanchard & husband Sam Iam & Joyce Fat Guy torakris and friend and nephew ronnie_suburban, probably

Domo. Nihongo ga hisashiburi desu. (Mixed metaphor?)

No matter which sex you may be, at one time or another, have you ever cooked a meal with the inner sense that it would be one of your arsenal of seduction techniques for a possible lover? What did you prepare? How was it received by the intended individual? Did it go off smoothly or were there problems which arose? (this can be read on all possible levels! ) Do you believe that this meal and the intent which it carried brought the intended even closer to you? Confessions or even personal anecdotes gratefully accepted! ← Our first home-dinner date. Haagen-Dazs vanilla ice cream with fresh raspberries and bittersweet chocolate sauce. Whatever courses preceded it were merely foreplay, and have been forgotten. We're still married.

Thanks, Steven. Looking forward to meeting you, too.

We're fine, Steven; we know how to plan. If you could, please put a lid on the Mr. Director Peace-on-Earth-cynic stuff and just relax. That's what we do here in the Heartland. It took me a long time to learn that.

Here's the latest and greatest: tammylc & crew Alex HeatherM Fresser & his slick PT Cruiser BeJam Maria & husband & friend and maybe friend's girlfriend CaliPoutine & Robin TJHarris & spouse & maybe other foodies Devilkitty (and Mrs. Devilkitty?) maggiethecat (tentative) Lady T (tentative) daniellewilley & Michael? Bacchusrogue & spouse Jean Blanchard & husband Sam Iam & Joyce Fat Guy torakris and friend ronnie_suburban, maybe There's some kitchen info and pictures in Tammy's foodblog.

What he said. I don't expect we'll have any shortage of food. The reason I mentioned fish up above is because the market we'll be visiting has an excellent fishmonger. But they also have an excellent meat market. Embrace the power of "and." What we have so far: Hors D'ouevres - CaliPoutine (fig and goat cheese crostini) Salad - Torakris Soup - Devilkitty Pasta or dessert - CaliPoutine Flesh or Fish - Devilkitty, if we don't get enough other volunteers (or maybe even if we do) Any other volunteers? We can have more than one of each kind of course, of course. ← I'll gladly make dessert. I have a suggestion and Id like some feedback. I've wanted to make Ina Garten's( barefoot contessa's) outrageous brownies for quite awhile. The recipe makes a lot of brownies. We could eat these with some zing's gelato on top. I know some people( egad's) cant eat/dont like chocolate. I can make an alternate fruit dessert too. ← Sounds absolutely wonderful to me

Sorry, I don't still have the email, but I do know it is still in effect. ← I just called them (I know, I could have done that first) and they said it'd be running "throughout the summer."

I can handle that. It's only 20-25 min. to Z's, and I drive like I still live in NYC. I'll bring my breathalyzer to help determine who drives you back to the airport.

Did they say how long the deal will continue? (I'll be in DC July 17-21.) ←

That all sounds great to me! We have the perfect small bowls for a little soup. Alex has been the keeper of the RSVPs. I've still got some locals/ non-eGulleteers to invite, but we should have some since of firmer numbers once we get closer. So far we've got Jean and Devilkitty needing hotel reservations. Is anyone else planning to stay at a hotel Friday and or Saturday night? I can try to negotiate a discount and reserved block at one of the hotels I listed above, if there's enough interest. PM me as soon as possible if this applies to you. Thanks! ← You also may want to look at expedia.com -- when I looked yesterday there were numerous options from $50 on up. Hotwire, unfortunately, had only two options, at $51 and $72. CaliPoutine told me she's had good luck bidding on Priceline.

Our cousins had to postpone our visit at the last minute, so unfortunately we won't be getting to Woodfire Grill for a while. Thanks for the info, though, and I'll post again if and when we get there.

Whoops! The place is so nice I posted it twice.

La Fiorentina Pastry Shop

Now I'm hungry, too. I want one of everything. Thanks for the input, therese and Melissa. I'll report back next week.

Nudging successful -- we'll be there this Saturday. If it's possible to say so, what would you recommend as the not-to-be-missed apps or entrées for this week?

That would be great if you and your friend (and your brother) could come, Kristin. No need to make a hurried decision, though, as we're nowhere near capacity.