prasantrin

I still love my oven. It's big, has two shelf positions, and can handle a big roast chicken (I've never tried a turkey, though). My only complaint is that the turntable sometimes squeaks as it goes around. I think that's my fault, though, because I took it apart to clean it. The microwave isn't powerful enough to do microwave popcorn, either, but I don't really eat that stuff so it doesn't make a difference to me (but with two teenagers, it might to you!). It's gas, too, if that makes a difference. And apparently very expensive! I can't believe a model that is at least 6 years old still costs that much!

Today has been one sucky cooking day. First my caramels--today was the day for making yuzu caramels. While the caramel was cooking, I began to prepare the pan. When I turned back to the stove, my caramel was very very very dark. My thermometer didn't go off at 145C! CRAP! I stirred the caramel a bit, and the thermometer went all the way up to 165C! But I figured maybe it would just taste slightly burnt, so I went ahead and added the butter, honey, and cream, and I took out my other candy thermometer as a back up. Then, I dropped the candy thermometer into the caramel (melting off part of the plastic top), and decided just to chuck the whole thing--About $7 worth of ingredients down the drain. Never again will I turn my back on the stove when making caramels. Oh, but wait! My day of disastrous cooking is not quite done! I'm now making the Bouchon quiche. The crust rolled out just fine, and fit into the pan with nary a problem. I just checked on it--15 minutes into baking, and the overhang seems to have melted away, and I'm quite sure much of the sides have melted down as well. Crap. I definitely don't have enough dough to save it--what to do, what to do. Today has just not been a good day for cooking. At least not in my house!

Has Bouchon stopped using frozen fries? When I ate there two years ago, the frites reminded me of McDonald's fries--great when fresh, but they aged quickly. And imagine my surprise when I found out they very well could be the same as McDonald's. Sounds like you had a wonderful trip! I can't wait till you finish up the Miami reviews!

i.e. Make your hotel reservations asap! It's probably going to be a packed weekend!

That's a good point. You could just go with one large container (say, enough to hold a month's worth of bread flour), then vacuum pack the rest using those bags andiesenji mentions, or splurging on a Tilia (where you not only need money, but the space to store it). I think you can get those vacuum bags for blankets, so those may be big enough to store your remaining flour. Then just replenish your container as needed. It's more of a hassle, but there will be less chance of wastage because of little insects and such. And if you can spare some space in your freezer, freeze your flour in batches before packing them away. I try to do that (easier done during winter than during summer, though) to help with the bugs.

On of my favourite bakeries takes their leftover baguettes, slices them up, spreads some caramel (at least I think they use caramel) on each slice, then bakes them. Mmmmmmmm....

Having just read the review...priceless! But the pressing question is...did you tip? And the other question is...why did you stay? Oops, yet another...Do you think it would have helped if you had said anything, or is that kind of thing not done in France?

Well, underpayment was the point that my cohost Felice was raised upthread. If underpayment is the primary reason for tipping, then we should be tipping far more occupations than waitstaff (and some should get much more than waitstaff). I think, however, that times are changing, and there may be a time in the near future when tipping, even in Europe, is expected at restaurants. In the latter case, I think you're definitely over-tipping, and you're probably one of the reasons for why tipping will soon be expected at restaurants in Europe.

I like crunching on ice cubes, but I don't crave it. I guess I should be thankful for that? But I do love anything crunchy. When I was a kid, I liked to eat sand from the neighbourhood sandbox. It's a good thing I didn't realize cats used it for their business. I've never had problems with iron levels, though.

It's there. The bonito powder is in the seond line (along with some katsuo "ekisu" powder--what's that?), and the shavings are in the fourth line. There are other katsuo-related ingredients in there, too.

In the last few days, I've had a large pizza hut pepperoni pizza (it would have been pepperoni and pineapple, but my pizza hut doesn't do pineapple anymore), super greasy fried rice and chicken karaage from the dive-like Chinese place, and several char siu bao. Oh, and several dozen peppermint chocolate caramels. What I really really want are Old Dutch BBQ potato chips. Lots of them. But I think I'm going to have to crisp up some stale tortilla chips, and then make some nachos and pico de gallo. That will just have to do.

What ever happened to Mr. Bag? Did he get lost in the mail? I'm hoping for some help. Ages ago on a food blog, the blogger posted a picture of her shopping basket. It looked a little like this Rixen&Kaul one, but it's not Rixen&Kaul. I thought it might have been Dividend, but I went through her blog and it wasn't her. Anyone know who owned this basket, or what the brand was? I think it's German or Scandinavian, but I could be wrong about that (I'm pretty sure it's European-made, though). Nevermind, I found it! It's Reisenthel, and for those others who were interested (I remember a couple of people commented on it), Sur La Table appears to have the best price on them--only $29.95 for the plain ones, which seem to be in the $30s elsewhere (and even 39,95 Euro on the company-affiliated website!). eta--oops. The ones on Sur La Table's website may be the smaller-sized ones, so of course they'd be cheaper...

FWIW, it is possible to get an entire set at once if you go to a store like Tokyu Hands. They sell the boxes individually, but you can also get a set of boxes--the manufacturer puts one of each set in the little display case, so if you buy an entire case at once, you can get the whole set without repeats. Tokyu Hands (and maybe Loft) sell factory-wrapped cases, guaranteeing that you'll get all the sets. That was how I managed to get all but one of my sets. No repeats, but it required a greater investment upfront. I've wanted the Pierre Herme one since I first saw it, but I haven't gotten around to picking it up. There was another very cute set of Kyoto-related goods. I'm not sure if it was Re-ment, but since Kyoto has such a special place in my heart, I feel I need it!

Because the soy sauce doesn't contain preservatives, once you open it you should use it relatively quickly. I'd definitely keep it in the fridge.

I don't know if this will suit you, but a lot of garbage/recycling combos come with wheels and are fairly large. You can find them at Tokyu Hands and the like. The only problem would be that they may not be as air tight as one would like. It sure is!! But when I was in Canada, I found flour wasn't really much cheaper there than in Japan (and so I resisted bringing some back to Japan with me--which I normally would have, had I had any of my luggage weight allowance to spare). How long do you think it will take to use up a 25kg bag of flour? I guess with two growing boys, not that long, but will you have a cool place to store it during summer? I would be wary of keeping that much flour around during bug season.

This won't really help that much, but it's "okaka", not "akaka". It makes me laugh to think it might be "o-kaka". You did say it was brown... I looked it up and found a recipe for it. It contains shirasu-boshi (white-bait or young sardine flakes, according to my dictionary).

Of the major (and perhaps minor) publications in Winnipeg, which do you find have the most reliable restaurant review(er)s? Marion Warhaft is infamous (and I mean that in the true sense of the word) in Winnipeg. I recall several years ago when some restaurants were talking of banding together and suing her or demanding her resignation from the WFP. I use her reviews primarily as announcements for new places--there are many places of which I would never have heard until reading about them in her reviews. Of course, only 10% or so end up being keepers, but since I only have so much money to spend on dining out, I suppose I should be thankful for the relatively small number. (As an aside, does anyone know how old Marion Warhaft is? Rumour has it she's in her 80s, which would add more question to her reliability in my opinion, as one's taste buds do change greatly as one ages. Then again, it certainly would explain why so many of her reviews seem off the mark. Or maybe not, since I've thought that about her reviews for decades.) The Discrete Diner is often missed in my house, mostly because we're too snooty to read a paper like the Winnipeg Sun . I do read the reviews online when I remember, but I don't read them often enough to have a sense of how reliable they are. Finally, magazines like Ciao and Where seem to be too biased to be of any use (in my mind). Given all that, are there any reliable reviewers out there? I understand that taste is very subjective, and so the concept of "reliability" may be problematic here, but let's ask, "Which reviewers do you find most reliable for you, and why?"

I visit Minneapolis every summer when I go home to Winnipeg, so if you can wait that long, I'll be happy to bring some down for you! It probably won't be until August (assuming I go to Chicago for the big eGullet culinary extravaganza), though.

I really wish I had done that, too. I love Fine Cooking, and the Dec./Jan (Nov/Dec?) 2000 issue had a couple of my favourite cookie recipes in it, but the magazine disappeared or got misplaced. It's a lot harder to misplace a book than a magazine.

You might have already tried this, but have you contacted the magazines directly? Most American magazines can be delivered to non-US addresses at a slightly higher subscription rate (for example, I think I pay $30/year to have my Fine Cooking delivered to Japan), so perhaps the publishers of your magazines have a similar system. Check the fine print near the front of the magazine that discusses subscriptions, and you may find a rate for international subscriptions. ETA--I did a search on Elle a Table's website, and it looks like if you want to subscribe, you have to go through Express Magazine. It's not cheap--$69/year, so I don't know if that's better or worse than what you're paying now. They have Saveurs, and Cuisine et Vin, too. You need some page protectors and a good binder. If you're feeling really ambitious, you can get some dividers and organize your binder(s) by type--main dishes, desserts, etc.

My kg bag of flour measures about 8x10x17cm, giving it a volume of 1360 cubic cm. If I had 10 of these, it would be somewhere around 130 000 cubic cm. How big a container is that? I think you'd need a container a bit bigger than 50x50x55 cm (or a container with measurements giving the same volume) for 10kg.

I must find these. I love Maui onion and garlic macadamia nuts, so I'm sure I'll love the almonds, and that they'd be cheaper would be a bonus! I wonder if they sell them in Canada...

I looooooove your fridge! About the pigs in a blanket--do they have a yeast-bread-like dough, a biscuit-like dough, or a puff pastry-like dough? In Canada I've only seen frozen sausage rolls, which have a puff pastry-like dough. They were a staple at my house when I was a kid (I usually make my own now, but sometimes a wave of nostalgia hits me and I have to have Schneider's sausage rolls). About the toast--if you really like that place, go back, but mention the burnt croissant. She should know if she made a mistake. You could also mention that you posted the picture on eGullet for all the world to see, but that might not go over too well... I would have gladly eaten it, but I like my toast on the dark side.

I like Singapore, but of all the airports I've been through recently, KIX (Kansai International) is probably the best. I think it surpasses Narita, at least before going through security (once you pass security, however, I don't know that there's much difference). I don't care for YVR much, although they do have an A&W in the international departures area, which means I can get one last order of onion rings and root beer before I depart. That's important. I hate ORD in every way, but I think MSP is OK. I had a nice breakfast at place that looked like it was marketing to the "organic" crowd. Haven't eaten much else there, though.

I really enjoyed the Luk Yu Tea House, though it was many years ago that I ate there. My HK friends say it's more of an old-style place--well-regarded amongst locals, but not really accessible to all locals (they said it was quite expensive for the average HK resident). No carts after 11, just a menu, but fewer people, too (it can be very very hard to get a table during peak hours). But if you went, you could also say you've dined at one of the few places that had a real HK-action-movie-like assassination! Wouldn't that be fun!