prasantrin

I would get more information from the customer before proceeding. How s/he feels about the divorce will help determine what kind of cake you make. I've never been divorced (nor married), but some of the ideas have a hint of bitterness. I understand that divorce can bring a whole lot of bitterness, but I, too, think it might be best to focus on the bright side of things. Something like a tiered cake with a bird flying from a next as the topper, or a butterfly emerging from a cocoon. Tepee once did a fabulous cake with a Louis Vuitton purse on it--it would be cute if it were an open purse with money falling out (which could symbolize the cost of the divorce or the settlement she got), or it could also symbolize that she's free to do whatever she wants with her money now.

I know it's probably much too far in advance to ask this, but I'll ask, anyway. About the Sunday brunch, how late morning is late morning? I only ask because if I'm in (I'm 75% sure we're going--it's just a matter of waiting for airfares from MSP to MDW/ORD to drop), I'd love to do brunch, but I want to hit the New Maxwell Street Market, too. I keep planning to go, but I never do, so if we're in Chicago again this year, I've got my heart set on going.

Did they recognize you from your previous attempt to dine there? Glad you're back in Paris--I'm looking foward to more! (Got any patisserie or boulangerie visits planned soon? Not that I'm hinting....but I am )

And you didn't even have a cell phone camera handy? What kind of world traveler are you?

I've never even seen F-Cup anything in Japan, but I guess I haven't really looked for it. In Japan, though, it seems an F-Cup is more like an A or maybe a small B-cup. I guess when you're Japanese, it's something to aspire to! If you still really want it, let me know and I'll search for it. I'll probably be headed to Canada in July, but if you can't wait that long I can always mail it. Luckily, Canada doesn't have those stupid restrictions on shipping food products like the US does!

I guess the frankfurters were beef, then?

Interesting. I was reading a cookbook recently (either one of Fuschia Dunlop's, or Andrea Nguyen's--I think it was the former) and she said, more or less, the same thing. And I thought it was rather ironic that one of Chris' first experiments involved her recipe for kung pao chicken.

Well, there are a lot of coups in Thailand (the monarchy is a constitutional monarchy, though, so need to fear for the goverment's stability based on the royal cuisine--plenty of other reason to do so, though!). I wondered about Thanying having read about it somewhere (NYT, maybe?). My father grew up with Royal-style cooking, and so that's what we ate at home, as well. For my mother, most Thai places (in Thailand and out) don't match my dad's cooking, and she misses it terribly. I guess I'll have to strike Thanying off our list. Such a shame, since I was hoping to surprise my mother with "cooking just like dad's" the next time we were in Thailand.

Thanks! I'm actually headed to Osaka on Sunday for The Police concert! So maybe I'll just take a look at Kiddyland, first. Except there's a patisserie in Kobe that only has chocolat chaud until the middle of Feb., so I really must go to Kobe soon! (I'm almost exactly half-way between Umeda and Sannomiya, so I'm in the perfect spot for either!)

There are a lot of recipes in the char siu bao cook-off, but my favourite is the one from Andrea Nguyen's book. c. sapidus was kind enough to pm it to me a few months ago, and I just recently (last week!) bought the book. I think I've made that recipe 4 or 5 times since I first received it! I only use it for bao, but when my mother left I sent some with her to family in the Philippines, and they loved it as is. And for what it's worth, the leftover marinade makes excellent sauce for the bao filling. Although I love the recipe as it is, I was thinking of adding a bit of preserved tofu to it, as some of the comments in the char siu bao topic mentioned that the tofu added something special to the char siu. Haven't yet tried that, though, as I can't bring myself to buy an entire jar of preserved tofu just to make char siu (and I only have a year or so left in my current residence, to I need to use up what I already have in my cupboards!).

I'm not sure, but I think kanom krok are more shallow (shallower?) than takoyaki, so the ball wouldn't get quite as round. It's been a long time since I last had kanom krok, though (but I had takoyaki a few weeks ago!).

I think the problem is that the odor has permeated the material, itself, so activated charcoal won't be of much help, either, since it will merely absorb the odors from the air in the container, rather than from the container, itself. The Palmolive Oxy might be a better choice. If that fails, you might just have to try bleach (if the smell of bleach is more pleasing to you than chili).

Kim--those nut bars look fabulous! They'd be perfect for my family--we love nuts, and the more the better! I hope the recipe is on your website already, because I'm headed on over there!

Please add me+1 for now. Thanks!

Yes! That's the one! I've only seen it at my local Lawson's, so I wouldn't have been able to get the whole set. But I'm going to Kobe this week, so I'm going to see if Tokyu Hands has it.

Hey! I don't remember reading your Seattle report...

Tonight I had two char siu bao and a piece of toast loaded with butter, and eaten with a chunk of aged cheddar. But now I need something sweet, and I'm thinking of making hot cocoa and splashing in a lot of Baileys....or Kahlua....or both.... pms sucks (as does the hormonally-induced dandruff)

Well, now I have to try to find My Choice the next time I'm in Bangkok. Looking forward to reading the rest of your reports (and did you ever finish Tokyo???).

Wow! Incredible job for all involved! :applause: Do you think any of those frozen things will last until summer?

There are three eGullet operations similar to that of which you speak. Daniel has Bite Club. BryanZ has Z Kitchen (he's the "kid doing really avant garde molecular" stuff) Henry and Lorna have Cache. I know the first and last both have working websites, and Bryan's website is being reorganized right now. But they all have links in their sigs. I should clarify--none of those are eGullet operations ie operations run by eGullet, but all involved are eGullet members. There are also topics devoted to the individual operations--reviews of Bite Club are in the NY Forum, reviews of Cache are in the PNW forum, and I can't remember where Z Kitchen (is North Carolina the south?).

Maybe that's what I need! I just have to find some powdered milk... But I do love the Bouchon quiche. The crust sank to about half the pan, so I used all four eggs and only about 250ml-300ml of the milk and cream I had heated up. I used the rest of the milk and cream (there was 600mL total, so whatever was left) to make some very rich hot cocoa. It was divine! I haven't cut into my quiche, yet. I hope it doesn't taste too bad!

Have you seen the chocolate page from the Belgian Tourist Office? They even have information on chocolate tours! I wonder if Wittamer in Belgium is similar to Wittamer in Japan. I think Wittamer in Japan over-rated, but if you get the chance to get to Debailleul, please do! I'd love to live vicariously through your experience!

Some spatulas have tops that come off so you can clean the joint and the part that sticks into the spatula. I have a Le Creuset spatula that has "removable head" written on it, and I have four Hamilton Beach spatulas that don't say that, but the heads do come off (these particular spatulas suck in terms of usage, though).

← I wish every country would do something like that. Plastic bags are such a waste on many different levels. At the higher-end grocery store in my 'hood today, I brought my own bag. But then they put each refrigerated and produce item into a little plastic bag, so I ended up with 7 little plastic bags. I usually use them for my sink garbage so they aren't a complete waste, but it's not like I really need them.

While I'm here, may I ask how one uses the fish grill attached to stoves (US English) here? It says to put water in it, but how much water does one put in? A lot? Just enough to cover the bottom? And can I put other stuff in it, too, or just fish? I'm getting deja vu, here, so if I've asked this before, sorry!