Alex

...or one that enlists a formerly overweight human being whose novelty has morphed into teeth-gritting irritation?

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.

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...

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.

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!

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!

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.

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 ).

One vote for April 9-11.

Hey, Tammy or balmagowry -- could you possibly post a picture of your wooden stirrer?

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!

In West Michigan, ditto for me.

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.

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.

I guess that's why Gourmail charges $39.95 for 5kg of Callebaut or Cacao Barry vs. ~3 kg of Valrhona or El Rey.

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.

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.

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?

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.

I seem to remember that a Costco is in the works for the Grand Rapids area, but it hasn't materialized yet. 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?

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?

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.

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. )

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.

Good point. So how long a drive would you say it is on average? (if such an average is possible to estimate, that is...) The Metro Detroit area is quite spread out, so times will vary. It's been a while since I've lived there, but for example I'd estimate about 30 min. from Birmingham to Milford.