prasantrin

The cheesesticks of my childhood are actually a little more bread-like, but almost like uncooked bread in the middle. They weren't puffy like puff pastry, but they weren't flaky like a good croissant is. But I'll try the puff pastry dough first. I've got some in my freezer and I just need to get some good cheeses. Do you mean Pillsbury Crescents? I don't think those are really croissant dough, but it might be worthwhile to try those, too. That experiment will have to wait until the next time I'm in Canada, though. I'm in Japan, and I've never seen them here!

I've recently discovered that torsades au fromage are very similar to some very special cheesesticks that were my favourites when I was a child. I want to try to replicate them, but I have a couple of questions. Every recipe I've found (such as this one and this one) uses pâte feuilletée. From what I've read, this is puff pastry dough--is this correct? If it's correct, could I use croissant dough instead of puff pastry dough? The bakery I buy "torsade a la tomate" from says they make theirs with croissant dough, not puff pastry, but I'm not sure if that's a translation error or if that's really the way they make them (Fauchon, but in Japan). Their torsades are the closest in texture to my beloved childhood cheesesticks, so if I can use croissant dough, I should. But pâte feuilletée would probably be easier for me to use, since I can buy some very good puff pastry dough, but not croissant dough. I also have a feeling I would really suck at making croissant dough, but I would definitely try it if it meant making really good cheesesticks. Any helpful hints out there?

Specifically for NYE, you may have to stick to restaurants in a hotel. If you already have your hotel reservations, ask your concierge what will be open, if anything. S/He may also know of other places in the area you would be able to dine at.

Golden Boy Label: http://www.thaifoodandtravel.com/features/fishsauce1a.html You should read this http://books.google.com/books?id=MpZW1DvLP...esult#PPA254,M1

I went to Costco today to try to get some frozen cranberries. They didn't have any!! But they do have bags of frozen strawberries again, so I suppose that's a good thing. I asked at the front desk, and they won't be getting any frozen cranberries in ever again! How am I supposed to make cranberry sauce now? Other than buy the frozen cranberries at Kobe Grocers and pay Y700 for 2 cups of the stuff (or is that 4?). I also picked up a 20cm round Paul Bocuse enameled cast iron pot at Carrefour. It was Y7800, and I got the last one. They didn't have a box for it, and without my even asking, the woman I talked to discounted it to Y5000!! Yay me! It's the perfect size for half a recipe of no-knead bread! They have more copper pots and pans, too. They're much lighter than the one I bought several years ago, though.

I'd go with sausage rolls (not pigs in a blanket, but sausage rolls). They're not fancy schmancy, and may lack in the "wow" factor, but a good sausage roll always satisfies. I like to add asparagus and red peppers to the sausage filling for colour.

Were you unhappy with all the suggestions people made in this topic? I'd make a very butter oatmeal cookies and add chocolate chips. Like someone mentioned in the other topic you started, very butter cookies spread out more, and become very crisp.

If you're in the SW&Western States forum, type in "Michelin" in the search box at the bottom left and you'll find what you're looking for.

Over on the French Cuisine website boards (scroll down to the last post) someone posted this recipe: S/He used it in the Culinary World Cup competition, so it must not be too far off from the real thing.

Wow! How come I wasn't invited? Don't get mad at me, but I read "asparagus enema" and then I saw the picture... I'm sure it was delicious, though!

For me it depends on the product, but I've always loved the heels of bread--especially toasted and slathered with mayonnaise.

cheese=good cheese+bechamel=OMG get out of my way, I need one now! I wonder what would have happened if you had done bacon+cheese+bechamel...

I bought a wee carton of the Gateau au Chocolat yesterday. It was a wee bit soft by the time I got home from the grocery store, but OMG it was good. I don't even particularly care for ice cream or chocolate (I can take them or leave them), but I was very glad it didn't come in larger containers. It's one of the few flavours of which I could see myself finishing a whole pint. It's rich, but not too rich, not too sweet (they use bittersweet chocolate, I think), and dense, but not rock hard.

While I can't say that I completely agree with the the WSJ's vantage, I will say that I am one who is always adventurous and willing to "obey" my sushi chef, as it were. However, on the flip side, I don't work my little tush off to earn a good buck so that I can pay a chef to tell me what to eat either. ← I think the idea of the sushi chef (or any chef) as the one with all the control just doesn't translate well in the US. In the US (and most Western countries), the idea that if you're paying, you get to do what you want is not so far fetched. In Japan, however, few people would care about such matters. In fact, I would venture to say that a customer who dictated what s/he would or would not eat would, at a *high-end* sushi bar, be considered "wagamama" and being "wagamama" seems to be one of the worst offenses on can commit. (At regular sushi bars, where most people eat, you can order whatever you want in Japan--within reason--but at high-end sushi bars, you usually put your trust in the chef. And to be clear, I'm not saying you can't get excellent sushi at a regular sushi bar.)

OK, I picked up the green olives, hoping the store would have black by now, but no such luck. I'm going to do a fig and green olive taste test, and if it sucks, I'll have to go with the tasteless black olives in a can. Such is life! I guess I can do the olive and grilled cheese sandwich route to use up the green olives, or stuff them with cheese (these are pitted, so I won't even have to do any work!). I've never done that before...it sounds so good! Syrah--I can't believe you don't like black olives! I prefer them to the green. Actually, I didn't like either black or green until I spent 3 months in Morocco. Then I found out what olives were supposed to taste like! Thanks for the ideas!

Does the tofu keep stable when you tip out the water? I'm worried about breakage. Paneer, like tofu, can be very delicate. I'm looking at getting this one. It's cheap! But 3L might be a bit too big for what I need...

I think it was around 2000 or 2002. CT used to have really good specials on kitchen equipment, but they don't as much anymore. I think they carried that Le Creuset set for about a year or so, but it didn't sell very well (which explains why they were selling it so cheaply--when my mother bought it, it was 50% off).

If you happen to live in Canada, Canadian Tire used to have awesome deals on Le Creuset sets. For Christmas several years ago, my mother gave me a set with a skillet, large pot with lid (I think 5.5 qt), and small pot with lid (maybe 2 3/4 qt saucepan) for something like $150 (or maybe $125). It's like this set, but I think my large pot is larger (I could be wrong).

Before I go out and purchase one, how do you use a tsukemonoki? Do you press down on the vegetables, and then drain the water out as it's released from the vegetables? How do you drain the water out? I'm thinking of getting one not for tsukemono, but for draining paneer. Think it will work?

(bolding is mine) Sorry, I just couldn't resist!

He's in Germany. Google him and you'll find the information (and one of the most annoying websites ever).

I think brewed oolong tea is a vastly different product than the stuff in the bottle. (That goes for brewed green teas, too.) One of my co-workers once brought in some peach-flavoured oolong tea that was quite nice. I'd never had a flavoured oolong tea, and didn't even know they existed!

What exactly does he espouse? I haven't had much access to his shows other than on youtube, but I don't recall him ever mentioning that you have to give up luxury in order to appreciate the simple things in life, or in order to understand or sympathize with the hardships of others.

Tony buying that shirt was very disturbing; contrast this to the Laos episode--what would that Laotian family think if they saw that? I still watch his show, but I view him very differently now. ← Why should it be so disturbing?

I browsed through the slideshow accompanying the Kelly Dobkin story and I have to ask... Why didn't you teach them to eat out of a bowl rather than from a plate?