prasantrin

One of my favourite toys is a lemon wedge squeezer. Cute, and if you have wedges of citrus to squeeze at the table, the person sitting across from you won't get squirted in the eye.

I generally tip 15% for standard service, 20%+ for better. Even though I've worked as waitstaff, I don't understand the reason behind tipping. Particularly since in Canada, waitstaff usually gets at least minimum wage. I've worked equally difficult jobs for minimum wage (sales person in a high traffic retail store) and never got tips there, why should waitstaff get tips? The only time I haven't left a tip, was when the waitstaff forgot my order. I was pissed, especially when she said that she "didn't hear" my order. To that I replied, "But you repeated in back to me," and she offered no response, no apology, nothing. I was with a large group, so she still got a tip, but not from me. I've heard that servers generally expect 20%, but when I was a server, I didn't really care what I got (all tips were pooled, and I was only doing it as a favour to the owners, plus I think tipping is stupid for the reason I gave above). And before I get trounced on, I was a damn good server--so good that after I finished my term, I had to avoid the owners so they wouldn't guilt me into working for them again. I think Western Canadians tend to be a bit frugal about tipping, particularly those from Prairie provinces (like myself). In Winnipeg, the only people I knew whose standard tip was 20%, were those who worked in the industry. Everyone else just tipped 15%.

Thanks! I'm going to try reheating it in boiling water, first. And then if that doesn't work, I'll clear a space in my freezer and try to freeze it off. I wish I had a torch to torch it off, but my little balcony is made of plastic, so I might just torch my balcony, too! I might try putting it back on the stove and burning it off that way...I'll just turn on the exhaust full-blast so I don't end up with some burning-plastic-induced respiratory ailment. I have to go clean my pot now. I miss my popcorn! edited to add: It worked! I did the boil, scrub, boil, scrub, etc. thing and I got almost all of it off. There are a few specks here and there, but not enough to put me into respiratory distress the next time I use it. I'm having popcorn tonight!!!

Have you ever started a topic, and then forgotten that you started it? Oops I wonder if it has something to do with preferred processing--Japanese prefer less processing? A long time ago, I was told that jouhakutou is less processed than NA-style granulated sugar. I've never been able to confirm or refute that statement, though. I found this article on sugar in Japan. I don't know if it has been posted elsewhere, but it was an interesting read. And what about Pearl Sugar. Is it commonly used or easily available in Japan? I've never seen it, but I've never really looked, either.

I must admit, I'm not knowledgeable about wines in the least (if it's a little sweet, or has a cute animal on the label, I'll buy it). But when I first read of your book (a month or so ago in either Time or Newsweek) I was intrigued. I read another very recent article in which the tastings were repeated (same wines, same vintages) and the wines that came out on top were all French. The reason being that it takes time for the influence of terroir to develop, and the original wines were too young to properly discern their terroir. Thus, the original tastings were somewhat unfair as the results were biased in the direction of California from the outset (at least in terms of flavour). Would you agree with the above, and have you tried the wines since then? I'm not in any way implying that California does not deserve honours for its wine-making. I just found the article to be interesting. I'm waiting for the paperback version of your book, so it will suit my budget a little better. But I'm glad to see that Amazon Japan has it for when I need it! Edited to add: The article in question was by Eric Asimov from the New York Times, but I found an online version here (no registration or payment required to read it). And I was wrong about the wines--they weren't the same vintages. Their results were: Mouton-Rothschild 1975 Grand-Puy-Lacoste 1982 Haut-Brion 1981 Ridge Monte Bello 1978 Mayacamas 1984 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 1986 Dominus 1985 Mouton-Rothschild 1978

I made the mistake of setting an aluminium pot on/near some plastic wrap. The wrap melted and is now a hard film. I'm trying to figure out how to get it off. I scrubbed a little with a brillo-type pad, but that's all I've done so far. Anyone know how to get melted plastic wrap off my precious pot? (It's my popcorn pot, so I really need it!)

I would guess it's from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Herme, since it's the title of the thread. But it could be from some other Pierre Herme book, too. I remember seeing it in a non-chocolate cookbook of his, but it might have been a slightly different version.

True. But everyone likes to feel that they are better than others, at least once in a great while. And this is just another way for people to think they are better than GWB. As far as I know, their money goes back but a few generations--hardly old money in my book (not that that really makes a difference in this context). And George W., himself, had never even been abroad prior to becoming president. Oh so true. My parents both lived very privileged lives when they were young (though not as adults), and they both loved/love pork rinds. And scrapple. Edited to add: They liked Mary Kitchen Corned Beef Hash, too!

Lay them out on a cookie sheet and then freeze them. When they're frozen, pop them into freezer bags. That's really the best way to prevent sticking.

Mmmmmmm...I love dacquoise! Can I be your wife?

Thanks for the advice! I inverted it onto parchment paper, then cleaned out the pan as pastrymama suggested, and put the cake back in after it cooled. This morning I wrapped the whole pan with foil, and cycled away! It arrived intact, and was devoured by 12 teenaged girls in a matter of minutes. Thanks for the offer for the recipe, Randi! I actually saw your pictures before I posted (I did a search to see if my question had already been asked) and I looked up the CI recipe. The recipe I used was similar, but with no cornmeal (which I don't have, and don't have easy access to). I think sponge-cake-like pineapple upside down cakes are the best!

I made it last night, too! The sauce was great--I didn't like the ingredients list of the lemonade I found, so I made my own, using 1 1/2 cups water and the juice of 4 lemons. I probably should have just used 3, because I had to add a whole lotta sugar to it! In the end, though, I had a sauce that was the perfect balance of tartness and sweetness--very lemony! Too bad my chicken didn't turn out as well (I think I need to buy new oil, becuase my chicken tasted of stale oil, even though it was fresh from the container). I can't wait for the sweet and sour pork pictorial so I can indulge in my other American Chinese food craving! (hint hint, nudge nudge )

Another upside down cake question... How much damage would be caused by inverting the cake a day after it's made? I need to transport my cake from my home to work in the basket of my bicycle. It would be much safer for the cake if I could leave it in the pan (rectangular Pyrex pan), at least until I could get to work. But would the cake stick to the pan if I did that? There is a microwave at work, so I might be able to heat it a bit, if that might help with unsticking. What say you all? Wait till tomorrow to invert, or invert now, and find some other way to transport it? (I could cut it up today and serve it in pieces, but it's so beautiful whole, I'd prefer to avoid that if possible.)

Those lamb shanks look fabulous! And you can keep your food blog going forever...it really was one of my favourites!

Run that baby under a broiler for a couple of minutes...yum! Also nice if you fold some toasted coconut into the meringue, first.

Are you writing a book or something on this? Just wondering, because you posted the exact same thing to rfc. Regardless, when I first lived in Japan (12 or so years ago) I used to go to the Old Spaghetti Factory once a year or so. The last time I went, I ordered a frozen strawberry daiquiri. I was having trouble getting the drink up the straw--a common thing with frozen strawberry daiquiris--could be a big chunk of ice or strawberry. So I sucked hard, and something hard landed in my mouth. I quickly spat it out. It seems that a little cockroach had gotten stuck (and probably died) in my straw. I'd like to think it died in the straw, and not in my mouth... I didn't complain. Why? I didn't have the Japanese skills to complain, and being in Japan, I knew not much would be done about it. They might have given me a new drink, or maybe just a new straw, but they certainly wouldn't have comped it and they probably would have just taken away the carcass.

I've heard that cookbooks by Jacqueline Higuera McMahan are quite good. "Rancho Cooking, Mexican and Californian Recipes" is the title of one of her books. It is more Mexican Californian (i.e. based on recipe from the Californios--the Mexicans who settled in California before the US acquired the area). I'm not sure if that still fits your criteria, but it sounds like an interesting book, nonetheless. She does have some other Mexican/Southwestern books, and even a Mexican Breakfast book! Some seem to be out of print, though.

If you have some cash to spare (or are willing to charge up your credit card), try this kaiseki place in Kyoto. The one is Arashiyama is, I think, the main location though they have others around the city (Granvia Hotel, Royal Rhiga Hotel, etc.), as well as a few in Osaka. Lunch at the Arashiyama location starts at just under Y40 000. Is that Japanese enough for you? Also check out the many other suggestions for Kyoto and Osaka. There have been many other suggestions posted both recently and in the past, in this board. Start with the pinned "Eating in Kansai" thread (or some other similar title).

Condensed milk is sweetened evaporated milk. It's much thicker than evaporated milk, and of course much sweeter. They're not interchangeable, so if you're planning to substitute--don't do it!

Ain't that the truth! Although we would usually do prime rib for holiday dinners, whatever meat we had was always accompanied by our version of nuoc cham (for us it was just fish sauce, lime juice, and garlic), regardless of whatever else was on the menu. Nothing else to add, I just felt a kinship with your Thai guest.

If Montana's is the chain restaurant on a country/western theme, then the food is not very good. But it all depends on what you're looking for. If you're looking for a place to satisfy the average joe, then it's fine. But if your audience knows even a little about good food, then I'd suggest you find somewhere else.

It was tough, but somebody had to do it! I finally made it to my favourite cheesestick bakery today. They only had two left, so of course I had to buy both...and a few other things! From left to right: Ham and egg danish (with a cute little quail egg, I think!), sembei, sesame stick, and cheesestick (I ate the other one already). The sembei had white and black sesame, and sugar but no soy, so it wasn't really a savoury snack, though it wasn't really sweet, either. The sesame stick was a little sweet, too. And the ham and egg danish had a puff pastry base, and I think it was a ketchup glaze on the ham. I just really love that little egg yolk. Edited to add: the cheesestick is about 1 cm wide, and 30 cm long. I think they use sharp cheddar, because the cheese-flavour is quite strong, and that's unusual for Japanese breads with cheese.

I don't know how much of a difference it makes, but as I was looking for a picture, I found out that it's marketed as a health drink. It has collagen in it. I don't know if that would make a difference in the final product--maybe try a tetra pak first, and see how that goes? I've been craving it, too, and a couple of days ago I went out and bought some chicken so I could start. But after I got home, I realized that I forgot the lemonade! Oops! It's my project for Sunday, though!

There's a Japanese brand of lemonade that I quite like. It's called Suppin Lemon. Not too sweet, but you may need to add a bit more lemon (or less sugar) to the sauce recipe. It is most commonly found in the 250mL tetra paks, but sometimes you can find it in a 1 litre carton. It's mostly yellow, with a white middle part with the name in hiragana (I think the letters are outlined in green....). I found a picture of the tetra pak here.

I ended up staying late at work today, so I didn't get to go for cheesesticks today. But I did make a trip to the French bakery at my school, and I purchased a number of savoury items. From top left, clockwise, we have tuna croissant, bacon croissant (that's a huge dab of mayonnaise in the middle, my all-time favourite petit pate (ie fancy sausage roll), and a petit boul (sp?). In the middle of the petit boul is a whole lot of cheese--maybe camembert. I was thinking it would be nice using a variety of cream cheese spreads. They had potato croissant, too, but there was much less chance that I would eat it, so I just got the tuna. The potato one looks just like the tuna one, but with potato sald in the middle instead of tuna. The only ones I'm actually going to eat are the petit pate (snack for tomorrow) and the petit boul (half today, half tomorrow). The rest will probably be given away. I find them to be quite greasy, so I can't eat too many at once.