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I use it for anything whipped. Much more efficient than the KA, especially if you have the whipping attachments rather than the beaters. And I agree with the positive comments above, except for pancakes. Don't want to develop the gluten.

Tried the Benriner on parmesan and it worked pretty darn well.

Sorry, I wasn't clear. Both Cuisipro and Microplane have wide graters, I believe. I guess they're slices, not graters, and that's where the confusion lies. See here: http://www.microplane.com/38006.shtml http://www.cuisipro.com/MAIN.HTM There's also a vegetable peeler. Maybe I'll pick up some cheese and test my Benriner just to put your mind at ease one way or the other.

Okay, I had an annoying experience at St. Honore today. Decided with all the bakery interest that I'd try to put out a guide on my website on the artisan bakeries in town. Went to St. Honore to take some pics and try out some more things. While my wife finished up her sandwich, I went to take some pics. I've taken pics in *lots* of restaurants of all kinds, including places like French Laundry. They've always encouraged it, proud that someone would want to take pictures. However, today, someone came up to me and asked me to stop and said they don't allow pictures. WTF? No pics at a bakery? Sure, their stuff looks cool, but hell, if I wanted to steal the presentations, I'd spend $25 and get one of each of their breads and take as many damned pictures as I want. As it was, it just came off rude and inexplicable. It's really left a bad taste in my mouth. I imagine it will de-prioritize them for me when Ken's and Pearl are so close.

I doubt it will work for cheese very well. The nice thing about a cheese grater, including the Cuisipros and Microplanes, is that the amount of surface area that touches the cheese is greatly reduced decreasing friction. The Benriner is closer to a knife in that regard. It may work okay, but you'd probably be better off spending $10 on a Cuisipro or using a vegetable peeler, which I often use for hard cheeses and chocolate.

I was watching Iron Chef tonight and the challenger was using a Benriner.

Rancho, what are you looking for??? Mexican-American? Regional Mexican? Alta Cocina? Antojitos and taqueria food? I've been to some great taquerias in Oakland and Sacromento. Here's a Sacromento Chowhound post of mine: http://www.chowhound.com/california/boards...sages/9814.html Here's another post from some other people: http://www.chowhound.com/california/boards...ages/10151.html Here's an Oakland post on Chowhound from me: http://www.chowhound.com/california/boards...ages/58892.html I've always been able to find these kinds of communities all over California. I've read up on several regional Mexican places in N. Ca. but haven't tried any yet. I've tried plenty of Mexican-American food. Honestly, I don't think Tex-Mex has any definite advantage. There's good, mediocre, and bad just like there is in California. Chevy's is no worse a chain than On the Border.

The bulkiness mainly. The smaller one may not be that much smaller, but for some reason when I tried each, the bigger one seemed awkward. When you slide something down it moves from side to side often as it gets sliced. I really think there are only two important problems with the Benriner: 1) It needs rubber feet or something so it doesn't slide around. And this is a *big* problem, imo. 2) The narrow range of thicknesses for the slices. It's about 1/8" at the widest. Very little use for the shredder blades, too. I'd really like to get a look at the OXO, too. The best thing about the Benriner is that it's cheap (at least the small one I got was only $20) and you can just toss it in the dishwasher. Both are actually pretty good things. If they fixed my two complaints above I'd almost never think about switching.

I was going through a new book I got, Antojeria Mexicana by Patricia Quintana, and noticed an interesting salsa that I thought some here might find especially delightful. I'll do my best to translate and paraphrase it. Maybe theabroma can help out where I give the Spanish. I haven't tried it out, yet, however: Salsa Borracha 10 chiles pasillas negros 2 onions (cebollas de rabos grandes, ie with long stalks), finely chopped 1 cup of Medelo beer 1/4 cup of Jose Cuervo tequila 1/2 cup pulque (maybe theabroma can suggest a substitute) 300 grams tomatillos 1/2 cup of boiling or boiled water (agua hervida) Salt to taste Roast the tomatillos and chiles (she has an elaborate setup where you roast the pasillas in charcoal ash). Grind the chiles in a molcajete or blender. Add the roasted tomatillos, chopped onion, pulque, beer, tequila, water and gring until nicely textured, but not smooth. Salt to taste.

Steve, I think you're making the same mistake that I mentioned in my first couple posts, that you're extending their prime time lineup to the whole day, whereas most of the day is things like Molto Mario, Sweet Dreams, Chocolate, etc. Like I said, I think the prime time lineup is the most likely to have broad appeal because they need to capture a family audience. I wouldn't mind a 2 or 3 hour block of shows like Great Chefs, or a history of food/gastronomy, or even a topical news/politics of food show that discusses subjects like mad cow, veganism, Atkin's, etc. But none of these are going to have an audience to sustain a prime time lineup. Obviously few people on eGullet are content with the Food Network, but: A) What else is better? B) Was it ever better? Be specific. C) Compared to other topical cable channels, how does it do in presenting its topic?

I have to say I've been a little disappointed with my Benriner and probably would have bought the Bron if I had the money (and you can find them for almost half what they cost at some places online). I don't think the contraption would be helpful, but the extra width may be. I have the narrower one and it's definitely too narrow for lots of things. The problem is the wide one is too wide, I think. They need something in between. They also need more range in the size of slices and something tacky on the bottom so the mandoline doesn't slip so damned easily. I also don't think it slices easily enough.

What's the former glory? Everyone talks about the food network like it used to be this shining beacon of gastronomy. I've tried to google for a show lineup from the late '90s and haven't found one.

I can remember seeing things called burros in Puerto Vallarta actually being served by locals to locals. But PV has places called Fajita Republic, too. Ironically, they were smaller than our burritos, even the average taco bell variety. I was just in San Diego a couple months ago and was talking with my uncle there. He's been buying a burrito for breakfast every day on his way to work for over a decade, he said. My dad, who went to UCLA, used to get them for breakfast in college. I wish there were better sources for understanding the history of Mexican-American food. I've even searched academic libraries and can't really find much.

Just to explain what I meant when I said dumbing down... It has nothing to do with food content or the entertainment factor or personalities of a show, but the message and attitude the show conveys to its audience. 1. In my opinion, Sandra Lee's Semi Homemade treats viewers like stupid idiots with processed food palates.... Compare this dreck with How to Boil Water which tries to teach people how to prepare basic recipes from scratch. At least this show has some technical merit and serves a useful purpose for its target audience of young, inexperienced cooks. 2. Date Plate? All I see here is a feeble attempt to cash in on reality dating shows ala The Bachelorette. 3. Unwrapped...Oh boy let's watch twinkies being processed. 4. Emeril Live. The repetitive schtick has grown oldhat and annoying. Compare to Essence of Emeril where Emeril proves he is a good chef and instructor. But no, it's the dumbed down, in-your-face, throw essence on everything, BAM version that dominates Prime Time. Emeril Live, though, has been on for a long time. How to Boil Water is one of the newer shows. Other newer shows that are pretty decent, imo, are Boy Meets Grill and Ciao America. Boy Meets Grill has character often showing local markets and interacting with real people. Ciao America is such an improvement over Mario Eats Italy it's astounding. Tyler's Ultimate was also a new show and really an improvement, imo, over Food 911 since he's at least showing true experts doing their craft. Wolfgang Puck's Cooking Class was an improvement over his previous show, like his Emeril's essence to his live. And many of the weaker shows have been around for a while, like Best Of and Food Finds. Other decent shows that were added in this last season were The Barefoot Contessa and Paula's Home Cooking. Neither are great, but I think they're decent and both of these women have decent personalities and seem to know the foods they're presenting. The former is too Hamptons for me, but she obviously loves what she's doing. They've always leaned towards entertainment. Iron Chef, Emeril Live, Good Eats, and A Cook's Tour are all entertainment first and food second. I'd love it if they had a Great Chefs or a Globe Trekker style food travel show that lasted an hour.

Are we secretly married to the same woman? Though we may just be the same person living parallel lives judging from that second statement.

One thing worth noting, Lala, is that if you're in the PNW like I am, they changed their times for showing shows about a year ago. Up until then, shows at 12 in the east were 9 in the pacific. Now if it's on at 12 in the east, it's on at 12 in the pacific. So when stuff is one has totally changed. I preferred it the old way, but I have a feeling that may have had more of an effect than the actual lineup. I agree that personality, etc, matters, but I just find it hypocritical (in the literal sense) to say it's about the shows not being food-oriented enough or not complex enough and then point to shows that aren't any more food oriented or complex as the best shows on the network. Frankly, I don't see anything better. I love Caprial's Bistro here in Portland but can't stand her show because here and her husband are so cheesy. Julia Child's shows in the last few years have been sad in many ways because she's getting so much older and just not quite the person she was. America's Test Kitchen has great content, but looks like it was produced in the '70s and Kimbell is creepy. btw, I haven't been able to watch Tyler since he did his Mexico special and butchered the Spanish and showed his lack of research.

WTF indeed! Peyton should at least know better. I still want to know if these are closer to tacos or burritos. Either way doesn't avoid the problem. If they're tacos, then Mexico has been doing them for a long time. If they're burritos, it's more likely that Sonoran influenced Mexican would be the origin.

Is your dad Nick Hornby? The author of High Fidelity?

I think it's interesting that basically the complaint is that not every show is one you're really interested in. Would you apply this to *any* other channel??? I agree somewhat with the complaint about prime time, but I guess they feel they need to be able to get entire families or something. There aren't many sets of people at night who can choose in isolation what to watch. My recommendation is Tivo or setting the VCR. I work from home and have a computer with a TV card, so it's not as much of an issue for me. I do deny thing "dumbing down" claim, though. They've added a lot of food oriented shows. And a lot of the complaints end up really being based on the personalities, not on the show itself. eg, Bourdain's show was no more food oriented than Famie's show. In fact, Famie's show is probably more oriented on food since he actually shows how to cook some of the dishes. But obviously Bourdain is more entertaining and more charismatic and has a rougher attitude. ACT was first about Bourdain and second about food. Few others could get away with that. Good Eats isn't much different. There's no more basic show than that. Even Tyler's Ultimate and Food 911 often have more complex recipes. But GE is way more entertaining and AB way more fun to watch. What I'm saying is that for all the complaints about content, I think the real issue is style. It's not *what* the shows are about, but *how* they're told. But to some degree, getting great personalities is luck. The best they can do is to keep experimenting. I hope they attempt a talent search sometime.

I'm glad someone brought up the homer obesity episode. That's a classic. I wish I could remember quotes better. Another episode I'd like to remember quotes from better is the Halloween episode where homer eats the forbidden donut. I love that Flanders is the devil. There are some great bits when Homer spends the night in hell and they try to do aversion torture on him by feeding him donut after donut and he never becomes averse. Here are some quotes: Homer: (reading note) "Dear Homer, I. O. U. one emergency donut. Signed, Homer." Bastard! He's always one step ahead! Sleepwalking he opens the fridge and finds the last bite in the frig with the sign "Forbidden Donut". Homer: Mmmm. Forbidden donut. After Homer's head has been turned into a donut: Marge: Homer, stop picking at it! Homer: Oh, but I'm so sweet and tasty!

Salsa class: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=39197

Salsa class: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=39197

Depending, of course, on what kind of beans you're preparing and how you want them to turn out. My personal favorite, Mexican pinto beans, are generally very soupy. They are served in bowls and eaten with spoons. The liquid broth is delicious. In fact, many Mexicans will tell you that the best part is the "bean juice." I just meant for speed. Black bean soup rocks. You gotta have that pot liquor. I made the most luscious refried beans the other day. I used red beans and cooked them with some onion, garlic, home-made chicken stock, cumin, coriander, and a chipotle. Drained, added in some leftover salsas from the upcoming salsa class, and sauteed in some lard, then mashed and added back in the pot liquor to smooth it out. Yum, yum, yum.

My dad makes enchiladas with flour tortillas. Has for a long time now (maybe 15 years). I really think they're inferior because of the texture, but I think they like them because it's easier (no frying required) and Americans seem to still be wheat eaters at their core, even those that have been eating Mexican for 30 years or more.

This is my current favorite: http://www.ptventures.ca/honey/