Rachel Perlow

Just a reminder that Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page are online for an eGullet Q&A right now.

As I, ahem, ahem, said in the very first response to ScottishChef's question, it "can be quite useful, and even inspiring." I did not mean to damn it with faint praise -- it is a terrific book, one that I look to frequently for suggestions when I'm tired of serving the same combinations over and over again. It reminds me that great chefs are different from you and me; they think on an entirely different plane. I'm grateful that Andrew and Karen talked to so many, and pulled their thoughts together so well. Just a reminder that Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page are online for an eGullet Q&A right now.

Just a reminder that Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page are online for an eGullet Q&A right now.

Great choices! I reference Culinary Artistry daily. If you're into creating your own dishes, or you like writing menus as a hobby (okay, I'm weird, but am I at home here?) or are thinking of participating in this Market Basket referencing this book is a big help. Along with Timing is Everything, you'll never need another cookbook. Just a reminder that Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page are online for an eGullet Q&A right now.

Just a reminder that Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page are online for an eGullet Q&A right now.

The Culinary Artistry book is good in that it has abundant ideas for flavor pairings, some that might not be so obvious until you read them and have one of those "hey, yeah" moments. Great book that I take off the shelf a couple of times a year to just browse for inspiration. Just a reminder that Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page are online for an eGullet Q&A right now.

Just a reminder that Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page are online for an eGullet Q&A right now.

Andrew and Karen, thank you so much for taking the time to do this Q&A. My question: what has changed over the last few years that compelled you to write a new edition of Becoming a Chef? I notice the new edition is about 80 pages longer, is it mostly an update or is it all new material?

Um... you should expect to hear from our attorneys on this one, although I don't think a jury would convict anyone who could make such a beautiful jello mold. Oh, and I think it' only right the wife made the photo album, since she was the one who made the baked beans, although I did copious amounts of stirring all weekend. Fix baked bean attribution. Check. Suzi - you were there in spirit. I noticed a big flock of migrating birds (doubt they were hawks) and said, "Hey look at the big flock of migrating birds, everybody!" (everybody being the 5 or so people sitting near me) "Suzi told us we should keep an eye out for some kind of migrating bird, didn't she?" I said, in between sips of powerfully good sangria ala Rock. I thought the cinnamon taste was a little overpowering yesterday, but either you put in different amounts (since what I took home was from the second tray) or it mellowed overnight, because it was just perfect tonight. It also could be because my tastebuds were overwhelmed yesterday, so the cinnamon just stood out. There's got to be some kind of physiological reasoning some food (geek) scientist will now tell us all about. I know exactly what you mean, that's what I was trying to tell to people about the jello. Frankly, the banana pudding was much more complicated, as were other people's recipes. That jello was all flash. Damned jello mold. I hope Ellen drove home! Sorry I missed out on that combination. I heard people oohing and ahhing over the cider, so I made sure to try it. YUM-MY. Also, one good sized cup of that sangria was enough to make me a little tipsy, so I made sure to have one more before the ride home. Zzzzzzzzzz. You're welcome. You need some more?

Oh my! You guys are such geeks. At first I couldn't figure out what the hell you guys were talking about (shoes? What shoes? there's no shoes in the pictures?) I can't believe you photoshopped the waitresses feet. Unbelievable.

Good Ol' Roy G Biv! I've previously done this Jello mold with the red on top and the purple on the bottom. However, I somehow ended up buying the double sized package of red Jello. Since I had so much extra of that color, I figured it would even out (layer-depth-wise) if it were the last/bottom layer (where the diameter of the bundt pan was largest). Also, according to Jello, red is the favored Jello color. I used raspberry, but you can, of course of course, substitute strawberry, cherry, watermelon or heck, even strawberry-banana. Around 70. I'd be happy to make the same mold for every potluck type event. My fear is that I'd be expected to top myself with each creation! Hmm, I could change the colors around whatever the theme is... Fortunately no one got hypnotized because Elyse cut into it right after Jason took the picture, breaking the visual mesmerization effect. I encouraged this because I didn't want anyone to go unconcious and fall over and hurt themselves (I just finished reading FlashForward by Robert Sawyer), and also because I wanted it eaten, not stared at it like a work of art. Besides, no matter how much pig (and multitudes of sides) you'd consumed, there's "Always room for Jell-o"!

I set the hi-res image of the Jello mold as my wallpaper.

Talking about the Banana Pudding in another thread reminded me... Usually, Banana Pudding is topped with meringue. I didn't do it because I was serving it in a plastic bowl and didn't think it would travel well, etc. However, many people took home Banana Pudding in aluminum take-away trays. I suggest you make up a quick meringue with one or two egg whites & a little sugar and brown it in a hot oven for 5-10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temp. Also, re: Quantities. Almost everyone made too much of everything. Some people were smart and just made one recipe of whatever they brought. Most of us made many multiples of their recipes. I suggest for all eGullet potlucks of the future that no one more than double a recipe. There was sooooo much food yesterday. I took home at least two dinners worth of food, and a lot of stuff just got tossed. There seemed to be just the right amount of pork, however. Fink did a good job.

It is indeed a useful tool. You wouldn't want to be manually multiplying a recipe as you go and then realize too late you doubled everything except one crucial ingredient. I used it to quadruple the Banana Pudding recipe. In retrospect I should have only doubled it, at most. That's a 320 oz bowl, people!

Should the title of this thread be edited or is that the correct spelling of the product?

Actually, I disagree on this point. I don't think she should have opened a meat containing product in a veg restaurant (have it in your purse? OK. Open it and feed the kid? No. She could have ordered some mashed veggies for the baby). Nonetheless, if she had opened it and not asked the staff to touch it in any way, then, in all likelihood, there would never have been a newspaper piece.

Hey Varmint -- if you want to buy the leftovers from the party from tommy (do you think there was enough left over tommy?) we could drive the stuff down, we're renting a minivan so I think we'll have enough room.

I've added captions to the imagestation album, but after the narrative there's a bunch of repetitive and uncaptioned images. If anyone would like me to caption and add an image to the top, let me know. Also, if I got any captions wrong, please PM me, include the original caption so I know which photo to which you are referring.

Thanks for posting that ADO, it is appreciated. Welcome to eGullet and please continue to post on eGullet about your dining out experiences.

OK - the photo's are sorted and captioned. Thanks for all the compliments. The jello mold, while not all that complicated, is time consuming in a "you can't leave home all afternoon" kind of way. But the attention to each layer is just a few minutes out of every hour. It got a little mangled & melted during the unmolding, but I'm so glad Elyse cut right into it. I think it looks even cooler in cross section. I knew if I was going to make a Jello mold for this crowd, it had better be a fabulous looking one. I can't believe how many of the items I didn't get a chance to eat. Not to mention, I only had about three bites of pork. Everything I tried was excellent. I'm so glad we had such a beautiful day and such an idealic location for our potluck.

The pictures are coming. Edit: We were among the last to leave, at around 6:45. Then we had the drive home, 8:15. Then we had to wait for dumpling to retrieve her purse at our house (Jason worked on pics while we waited). Then we drove Elyse home. Then we stopped for a quick bite at a Cuban-Chinese place (Jason actually didn't eat that much at the potluck. He wasn't feeling well earlier in the day and he spent much of his time at the farm socializing and taking photos. So he was hungry.) We got home about 15 minutes ago. I'm sure the pics will be up some time before midnight.

OK, I just made a quick salad dressing (EVOO, Balsamic Vinegar, Salt & Pepper). Someone please pick up the greens.

Green salad and lemonade (oops, I mean wawairis) just dropped out. Can someone else make some salad? (we're leaving in 30 minutes, no time)

Gee, you're having this event on a beautiful farm where they make artisinal cheese and bread. All attendees are within driving distance, enabling them to bring freshly prepared dishes. You're having a restaurant cook your pig.... I expect a shitload of pictures, people!!! That's it! Next year, we'll have AlanZ cook the pig. He makes a mean pulled pork. No offense to Fink, who's food is fabo, but we need an eGullet member to cook the pig next time. Oh wait, Fink is an eGullet member. I'm sure Varmint's will be great. We don't have live music. Camera. Check.

Thanks for responding on the thread, and welcome to eGullet!