Alex
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Posts posted by Alex
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I'm not likely to be convinced to purchase food products from a company that uses mutant rats in their commercials.
...or one that enlists a formerly overweight human being whose novelty has morphed into teeth-gritting irritation?
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I'm just glad you told me they were hampsters. I thought they were hairy Mr. Potato Heads!
I know moms everywhere will be reaming me for this, but I find myself watching the paper towel commercial where the little boy shakes up the pop, and the mom shoots him back with her hose fixture. That one reminds me of real life. And it's cute.
Yes, animal animation has come a long way since hampsterdance.com.
As mentioned in the other Quizno's thread, they're spongemonkeys, which I suppose is what one calls hamster roadkill by way of Adam Sandler and the Taco Bell Chihuahua. Here's the progenitor of the Quizno's ads.
We love this stuff, especially the punk kittens. You can view a lot of Joel Veitch's work at rathergood.com. His clever and somewhat less-bizarre ads for Switch/Maestro (British credit card) are here.
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This is for youall with the small propane torches. How much fire time do those bitty little cylinders give you? I'm used to Industrial strength acetylene, which is bought in considerably larger quantities. But I can say from experience that with a 'rosebud' tip, and slow heat, you can quite successfully char peppers and green corn, too. Certainly your only smoky flavor comes from the char, but then it's the same with a gas stove, no?
I really can't tell you, as I'm still running on my first tank, which surprises me. I guess if you did lots of peppers all the time, you'd run out quickly, but when you turn up the gas a little bit (so it roars), it is so hot that the peppers char incredibly quickly. It's great for peeling, and the peppers are still shapely after you peel them, so they're easy to stuff and bake or fry. But if you want peppers cooked through and collapsed, or ready to marinate (especially green ones, that seem to take longer to cook) it's probably not for you.
Unless you like to play with torches.
I think this has put me over the excuse edge for buying a (small) torch. Making crème brulée once every decade or so didn't quite do it, but throw in some charred peppers...
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Dude... go easy on the eye of newt. Unless it's really fresh, it can add an astringent, bitter aftertaste.
OK, Sam -- thanks for the tip. Here in the Heartland it's difficult to get really fresh newt eye, especially in the middle of winter, except occasionally at a specialty store in Chicago, Amphibians-To-Go.
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Is it a cream sauce? Me love roasted-pepper cream sauce!
It's a tomato-based sauce that I'll be serving with beef: tomatoes, peppers, roasted garlic, rosemary, eye of newt, etc. You know, the usual stuff. I hadn't thought to include cream, but a touch would pull things together nicely.
I had roasted pepper (poblano) - cream sauce for the first time a couple of years ago. Yeah, good stuff. Thanks for the idea, Liz!
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I will be making a sauce that involves puréeing, among other ingredients, red bell peppers. The sauce needs to be very smooth. I know that I can remove the outer skin using a vegetable peeler or by charring/roasting. Are there any other ways of doing this?
Also, I remember reading about some chef's preference for also removing the silverskin-like inner membrane. I imagine I can do this with a sharp, thin paring knife. Do you think this step is necessary? If so, do you have any other removal suggestions?
Thanks!
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The New Basics cookbook has a wonderful, simple recipe for dried apricots with chanterelles. I've used it with great success as a sauce for both chicken and pork tenderloin.
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There's a U.S. map showing which words are used in what parts of the country.
Bruce
Great map! Thanks, Bruce. Ms Alex immediately added it as a reference for students in her Business Communication classes. The only caveat is that for many counties the sample size is pretty small (n=1
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One vote for April 9-11.
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I love those angled wooden stirrers too! My housemate always uses my flipping spatulas for stirring and sauteing, and it makes to cringe to watch, when the perfect implement is right there waiting. I think I need to buy a bunch and give them away to everyone whose kitchen I have to cook in.
Hey, Tammy or balmagowry -- could you possibly post a picture of your wooden stirrer?
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I only cultivate friends who have well-equipped kitchens and who know when and how to assist and when to stay out of the way.
(Now that I give it some thought, this actually is true. I didn't do it on purpose, but that's how things turned out.)Basic requirements, imnsho:
-1 chef's-type knife, 1 paring-type knife, 1 bread knife
-1 stock pot, 1 medium-sized pot, 1 small pot
-2 large skillets, 1 small skillet
-a couple of spatulas (turning + scraping), a couple of wooden spoons, tongs
-a good peeler, a good cutting board, kitchen scissors, ice cream scoop
-a baking dish or two
-a timer, or a stove with one
-thermometers (instant-read, oven, fridge)
-up-to-date spices, herbs, oils, etc.
-a beverage for the chef to enjoy while cooking
Great questions, Tammy!
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I live in southeast michigan, people here drink pop.
But i drink soda.
In West Michigan, ditto for me.
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I'm not sure what you mean by "creamy." If you use a ratio of 1:4 or 4½ cornmeal to water (plus some salt, of course), then stir in a good-sized glob of sweet butter just before serving (and some grated Parm-Reg, to make things even better), you'll be eating a soft, very rich, and very, very tasty polenta.
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To answer the original post:
1) Yes.
2) Ghiradelli nonpareils. Tootsie Roll Pops. Bottled water.
3) Intellectually, I know that the concession counter at a movie theater is akin to the wine list at a restaurant. Emotionally, there's absolutely no way I'm paying $3 for a box of Raisinettes or $6 for a tub of popcorn. This is how I rationalize smuggling in my own goodies, as I'm not actually taking any revenue away from the theater.
It really ticks me off, though, that our local minor league baseball stadium won't let fans bring in so much as a bottle of water. Even Wrigley Field makes that one concession (pun semi-intended) for up to 1 liter, if memory serves. So, you know what'll be in Ms. Alex's capacious shoulder bag come game time. And, at least in this case, I will feel rather pleased for having struck at least a clandestine blow for common sense.
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I've never, ever, liked it Trish--at least the standard formulations which are carried all over the country. Jacques Torres told me once that he tasted some excellent formulations at their main plant when he visited, and that they are capable of blending some superior couvertures--but I've never tasted them.
The Callebaut stuff that's available to most pastry chefs in the distribution channels--with numbers like 811 or 835--is also the stuff that gets broken up and sold bulk-retail to supermarket shoppers--is lowest common denominator stuff--not quite dreck but close. When I first started in pastry, before Callebaut subsumed Cacao Barry--I always thought Cacao Barry tasted and performed much better for the money. For its fairly cheap price point, Callebaut is too thick for a supposed "couverture," it doesn't melt as well as it should, is pasty, dull and somewhat burnt. I'd compare against the Cacao Noel and E. Guittard lines--which I find comparably-priced, much more fluid, flavorful and interesting.
The main thing Callebaut has going for it is inertia--it has become a huge conglomerate, its Callebaut brand has been in wide distribution for a long time and it was most likely the first chocolate a chef or pastry chef or cookbook writer used. Old habits die hard.
I guess that's why Gourmail charges $39.95 for 5kg of Callebaut or Cacao Barry vs. ~3 kg of Valrhona or El Rey.
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Only one proper and honest warning: I'm setting up to review the place and whoever's in is gonna have to put up with my usual scribbling and cooing and purring and snarling and muttering.
So how is that different from any other time?
It sounds like Moto needs some time to pull a few things together, so two or three months from now would be about right for a general Heartland visit. Plus the weather will be so much nicer for us potential visitors.
Obviously I haven't been there yet, but please let me cast a vote for 86ing the techno music.
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I second Coney Dogs for Detroit.
Grand Rapids: Hmm. Dutch through and through, of the Christian Reformed Church + Reformed Church in America variety, with a bit of "ethnicity" around the edges. If I were being flippant (but accurate), I'd say the signature dish could be anything cheap, bland, meat-related, and plentiful. Not being flippant, I'd nominate banket -- puff pastry filled with almond paste -- along with windmill cookies.
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True evil =
1) Natto. I tried it once when I lived in Japan, much to the amusement of my Japanese companions. They later told me that half the native Japanese can't stand it, either. There also was some slimy mountain potato -- the Japanese name escapes me -- that I didn't even want to get near enough to try. Okra, for some reason, though, is ok.
2) Brains. On my first trip to a real French restaurant, when I was about ten, my mother ordered calves' brains in brown butter. 'Nuff said. Even without mad cows.
3) Cool Whip. Someone please tell me why this product should be allowed to exist?
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I am now into my second year apprenticing under Chef Eric Villegas at Restaurant Villegas in Okemos, the only place in town that I thought would satisfy my interests, and am enjoying every minute of it.
Terrarich
Good place! One of my few regrets about not working in Lansing any more is that I'm now about an hour's drive to Restaurant Villegas. I'll have to poke my head in and say hi the next time I'm in the area.
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I seem to remember that a Costco is in the works for the Grand Rapids area, but it hasn't materialized yet.The Heartland could easily see one for Minneapolis, Chicago, Grand Rapids, etc.
There are several in the Detroit/Windsor area, but that's 2 hrs. away, and of course I'm not a member. I do have a business membership at Sam's Club. Could that substitute, or would that be cheating?
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Thanks for a wonderful report, Ronnie. Opera's now officially on the list for my next Chicago visit (especially now that I have that $25 gift certificate).
Should we just call you Mr. Creosote?As full as I was, it was hard to stop snarfing it down. When I got to the point just before explosion, I managed to force the spoon out of my hand. I was probably less a minute away from my companions launching an intervention at that point. -
If there's just some green in the center but no shoot, I'll try to excise it. If some gets chopped in with the rest, no big deal if the garlic is getting cooked. If I'm using the garlic raw, or if there's a shoot, I'm more dilligent about removing the green part. In my case, I'd say that perhaps ¼ of the time the clove is too dessicated or moldy to use.
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I just did some figuring. At your estimate of 12" per book, 56,707 books placed end-to-end comes to 17.28429 km. (Trying not to be USA-centric here.)
As part of your offices -- Keeper Of The Count and Vice-Mistress of Heartland Fun (or is that Mistress of Fun Heartland Vice?) -- I suggest a declaration of an International eGullet Day of Revelry when we hit 20 km -- 65,617 books.
(Now that I think of it, pretty much every day is an eGullet day of revelry. But this would be official.
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So is there an area with in a half an hour, or less, of ann arbor that a restaurant could be built? Ideas... plymouth, canton, novi?
I think for a place in downtown Ann Arbor to succeed, it would have to be pretty small. You're not going to get 50 covers a night, I don't think. How many tables does EVE have?
I also think that you'd want to do a 3-course prix fixe for somewhere around $50, which would make you competitive with the corporate restaurants that line Main. Then you could have a 5 and/or 7 course for more adventurous/monied diners. Throw in some wine pairings, and now we're talking someplace that I could get excited about.
What she said. Except I'd try to keep the 3-course prix fixe under $40. Rationale by request.
I'd also vote for A² rather than the Detroit burbs.
Lansing Restaurants: Reviews & Recommendations
in The Heartland: Dining
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I don't think a non-buffet Chinese restaurant has opened in West Michigan for many years. I've seen several existing places add a buffet, though. Quick, cheap and filling, that's the ticket. I'm not a Chinese food expert by any stretch of the imagination, but a buffet seems the antithesis of what most good Chinese food is supposed to be.
When I worked in Lansing there were no Japanese restaurants at all. What are the new ones like?