prasantrin

I've only been reading this topic off-and-on, since I don't have a chik-fil-A anywhere near me, nor have I been near one (to my knowledge). But I just realized today that I've been pronouncing it incorrectly. All this time, I've been saying, "chick fill uh" as I read, and I just realized that it must be "chick fill eh" as in fillet. Chalk one up for the dummies like me!

I think the objective of the pre-slice is for them to save a bit on serving costs. By having you slice it, guests can easily serve themselves and they don't have to pay a cutting fee. In addition, if they allowed guests to cut their own, they would have to worry about some cutting off too much (or too little). Pre-slicing will take away that worry, as each guest will take a predetermined amount. I hope you are adding to your fee for the service if you do, indeed, give it to their request. Is icing involved? If so, definitely warn them that you cannot guarantee a beautiful final product, and let them know there is a reason large cakes are usually not pre-cut. An alternative, perhaps you can suggest that you score the icing, rather than make full cuts. They could get their pre-determined sizing, and you want have to worry as much about the mess (or the ruin of the appearance of the cake). Failing all that, I wonder if you could make-up a hack-saw type piece of equipment using string or dental floss (make sure it's very taut) as the blade. Clean after every cut. Works when I make souffle cheesecakes, but those are much smaller in size that a full sheet slab cake.

The Japanese magazine Kateigaho International had some articles in their Summer 2004 issue on Japanese restaurants in New York. Under the link for 21 Recommended restaurants, they list them under specialty (izakaya, soba, etc.). And I just noticed yesterday (after receiving all the back issues of the magazine) that eatingwitheddie has an article in there! I couldn't find it on-line, though. It's a beautiful magazine if you're interested in photography, and also if you're interested in traditional Japanese arts and crafts (though it does not specialize in those topics, they often highlight them).

I think most of the dessert table's Central African look will have to be from the decor. I don't think there's any problem with sticking with black and white, and having the Central-African theme come through in the table decorations. I also third the idea from Kente cloth, and I second the idea for borrowing a pattern from the cloth for something you make, if you can find a way to do it. Some of them are pretty comlicated, so may take up more time than you have. If you're going to be doing checkerboard cookies, anyway, you could use different colours, like one of the Kente cloths. My limited knowledge of African design tells me that they love to mix patterns and colours. Pretty much anything goes.

I tried the Kilkenny, and I liked it! It was creamy, slightly sweet, and not very carbonated--perfect for someone like me! I don't know if this is the usual flavour of Kilkenny, or just the flavour of the Japanese version, but I really liked it. I'd have had another, but I had work to do after dinner and I needed to stay sober (I'm a cheap drunk, what can I say?). Next time, I may even get a whole pint! Or try the Guinness, too!

I don't know if this was mentioned previously, but I just received all (the back issues of Kateigaho that I didn't already have. In one of the issues, there's an article by e-Gullet member eatingwithEddie. I forgot to bring it home, so I can't remember much about it. Did anyone else read it?

How exciting! I only wish I were in Winnipeg! But I'm telling my mother to drive by in a couple of weeks, and pop in if you're open. She's hoping for some pavlova or chiffon cake or something yummy like that...do you do baba au rhum, by the way? Winnipeg is in dire need of decent baba, and you could use your new 4" boards for individual-sized ones!.

Wow! That's impressive! Are you going into professional body-building? Have you ever had a body-fat analysis done? I had one done last summer, and it was...enlightening. I always thought I could get back to my high school weight, but I found out that my non-fat body weight now equals my total high school weight. Could be that you've gained more muscle than you think! They also have meters that measure resting metabolic rates, if you think you might need to adjust your calorie intake.

I really enjoyed it, too! But man, that "to be continued" at the bottom was a real bummer. I was scrolling down for more!

I was reading the most recent Kateigaho International, and there was a short blurb on kizu. They describe it as "a mysterious citrus tree that grows unobtrusively in the mountain village of Yasumachi on Kyushu." It has not been widely available Japan, at least not until now. Has anyone tried it? And if so, is it worth searching out and paying Y1365 for 200mL?

Whenever I get that feeling, I know I have to eat. In addition to feeling lightheaded, there's an odd feeling in my stomach--not quite butterflies, but something similar. If I don't eat within maybe half an hour of getting that feeling, I get the shakes. Then if I still don't eat, after a bit longer I start getting queasy and I can't eat--anything that goes in my stomach will come right back out, and even the smell of food will make me throw up. It has something to do with low-blood sugar levels, I've been told, and that I should be carrying around glucose tablets, or at least little snacks. Ruined a perfectly good dinner in Prague...

Thanks! I made it tonight, without the shredded sharp cheddar, and the aged Asiago, unfortunately (too expensive in Japan!). It was delicious, though I should have cooked my fettucine a wee bit more. I had a tiny bit of leftover sauce, so I had it for dessert with some grapes. Very tasty, indeed!

Not about food, but what kind of bilingual school does your daughter go to? In non-Quebec Canada, French (for example) Immersion schools are for kids who don't speak French in the home, while French schools are for those who have at least one French-speaking person in the home. Are the bilingual schools in the US more like the former, the latter, or are they a mixture of both? And generally, what types of bilingual schools do they have in the US? I would assume Spanish is the most prevalent kind, but what about other minority languages? In Canada, I know of French, Hebrew, German, Ukrainian, and a few indiginous language (ojibway, for one) immersion schools. I'm sure there are more, but I can't think of any off-hand. And what's a charter school? I remember hearing that term when I was doing my MAT (I was in the general TESOL stream, not the public school cert stream) in VT, but I don't think we use that term in Canada.

But there are those who first heard of Diva when it was in its prime, and who did not know of its fall from grace. Should I have not read the review, I probably would have dined at Diva the next time I visited Vancouver. If nothing else, this thread saved me money, and for me, that's reason enough to have a thread like this. I took no pleasure from the review, by the way.

My mother has an unopened bottle of Tab in her basement. She says it's from my dad's dieting days--way back in the early '60's. For some reason, the bottle was put into storage in '67 or '68, when my parents moved back to Thailand from New Mexico. Then when they moved to Canada in '69, the bottle was sent along with all their other stuff from NM. I still haven't figured out why we still have it... Oh, she also has a bottle of poppy seeds from '69 or '70, which she bought when she first moved to Canada. And I think she has some marzipan, too.

Yesterday while in Kyoto, my co-worker and I dropped by my favourite tea shop, Mariage Freres, for tea and tarts. I had something like a tarte tatin, but it was made with nashi. It was fabulous! The nashi were still a bit firm--not too soft nor too watery. Now if only I had a cast iron pan (or any decent-sized pan) that would fit in my Japanese-sized oven.

For non-cocktail drinkers, I would suggest starting them off with the not-so-ubiquitous aperitif (is an aperitif still a cocktail?), Kir. I'm not much of a drinker, but I'll drink Kir anyday, anytime (though not Kir Royale).

It's shugaku ryoko season at my school. Yesterday was the final day, with the J1 (7th grade) and S3 (12th grade) going to Kyoto (on separate trips). I had to tag along with the S3 girls, but lucky me, we made wagashi! Each could choose which type to make--nama yatsuhashi, yakiyatsuhashi, ichigo daifuku, and the tea ceremony red bean type--I can't remember what they called it--narikiri or something like htat. I made the latter, and it was so easy! Of course, to make really beautiful ones, one needs patience and a fine hand, neither of which I possess, but I think I did a pretty good job. Pictures will be posted later, but probably not to e-Gullet, as I find Image Gullet to be a pain in the butt.

What about using a coffee maker with a thermal carafe, and then just running wather through it? I got a free coffee maker with carafe (from Gevalia) and since I rarely drink coffee, I used it mostly for making and keeping hot water. The only problem is that coffee water (to me) is a bit too cool for making a good pot of tea. That being said, you gotta take what you can get!

I've been thinking about this recipe for a few weeks now. I have a crap load of bleu cheese to use up--it has already formed fuzzy surface mould but the insides seem OK. Aside from potato chips, could this recipe be used for pasta, as well?

In the recipe linked to above, Martha Stewart uses sour cream to activate the yeast, but the sour cream is at room temperature. Does this really work? I want to try this recipe, but since sour cream is incredibly expensive in Japan, I don't want to waste it. Should I really have the sour cream at room temperature, or is there a misprint somewhere in there? edited to fix spelling/typo

Just a note, if your bf is a strict vegetarian, it may be a little more difficult to eat cheaply. Ramen shops, for example, usually use pork stock, and even the miso soup that comes with most teishoku is made with fish stock. Many of my vegetarian friends operate on a "don't ask, don't tell" policy while in Japan. But for some ideas of vegetarian restaurants, see this site and this one.

Most Europeans I've met (who like wine gums) much prefer Bassett's to Maynards, but Maynards are easier to find in Canada. I don't really like either of them, but much prefer Swedish berries or green or white gummy bears (but only the green or white ones).

Do most schools in the US allow parents to have lunch with their children at school? I don't remember that being allowed when I was in school (though at my elementary school, almost no one stayed for lunch). It seems like Peter really enjoys having you come for lunch. Does most of the children like the idea?

Hey! You can get stuff like that at the Y100 shop in Japan! It's for laundry, but there's no harm in multi-tasking! Now if only I had a pasta maker...