Jensen

Just out of curiousity, I searched the Whole Foods site for "prosciutto". They offer a rather large number of recipes including it and "prosciutto de Parma" is listed as one of the items offered by their catering service. No press release on why it is now beyond the pale...

That could be. I'd never heard of such a thing but all the natives seemed to think it was an old wives' tale that happened to be true.

The milk went bad because the power went out and the cooler went down and the milk spoiled, or the milk curdled and the coolers never lost power? ← The milk curdled and the coolers never lost power.

Shepherd's Pie! (or, as my English friend corrected me, "cottage pie") I did my part in the revival this past winter. Made with beef: And made with chicken: Chicken pot pie sounds glorious too though...

Not particularly cooking related but... At one point in my life, I worked in a general store in a small community in the Yukon. Every time there was an electrical storm, every carton of milk in the cooler went bad. How's your weather?

Well, I have to talk to the woman first and see which, if any, of the types of sandwiches she's interested in. Then, taking in consideration that I am an amateur at this, I decided I will offer the recipes at half of what Highchef suggested...100 per recipe. I think that will be fair for my time, which as chefette pointed out is really what I'll be offering.

Until very recently, I had fries maybe once every couple of months. However, we've recently started playing trivia at a nearby brew pub once a week. Every other week or so, my dinner usually has fries served with it (fish and chips!).

Thanks all!

I like mine to be served with a blob of mayo and a blob of HP. I don't dip the chip; rather I apply the condiments individually to the chip with a knife. (Yeah, yeah...I have OCD.) If gravy is available, I might be persuaded to have chips and gravy instead of the mayo/HP routine. Just as a treat, you know...

A few months ago, a very good friend of mine started planning a new hip and cool coffee shop. He asked me if I would develop a bunch of sandwich recipes for it and I agreed. Long story short...the landlord of the coffee shop locale made the lease transfer process untenable and so the whole plan was put on hold. In the meantime, said friend talked to the current coffee shop owner; she's interested in buying my sandwich recipes. Obviously, I need to talk to her to see how many she wants and also what type (I roughed out ideas for three different types of sandwiches, at least one of which probably wouldn't work in the current setting). My biggest problem is that I have no idea how much to charge for the recipes! Can anyone help me?

I"m eagerly awaiting a photo of Mother. A few times in the past year or so, I've found "floatie" thingies in the bottom of my vinegar bottles (sort of like amorphous jellyfish?) and wondered if they were mothers. If so, I'll be a happy camper!

I've travelled a lot with multiple dogs; one monumental journey took us from California to Vermont, then to Connecticut and Delaware, on to Kentucky, over to Texas, and then back to California. Twenty-four states in twenty-five days and all with five dogs in tow! You don't say what persuasion Fred is or his age but, unless he is infirm (and from the sounds of his French fry addiction, he's not), I *highly* recommend taking him for at least a 30 minute walk as soon as you arrive at your nightly destination. The exercise really helps the dogs release the stress they will invariably have from being cooped up in a car all day. Other tips: don't rely on rest area water for either your own water bottles or Fred's. One word...Ghiardia (and yes, I speak from experience!) As for "on the road dining", you can do things to keep your car cool while you're in a restaurant. * First and foremost, park in the shade. * Use the window cover thingies, even though you are parked in the shade. * Open your windows but not so much that all the A/C coolness you've built up in there escapes before you make it to the restaurant door. * Fill the dogs' water dish *before* you go into the restaurant. (My guys always travel in crates but if Fred doesn't, then read this one as "put a bowl of water out for him") With those things taken care of, we generally were able to get 45 minutes without having any dogs get too hot. Luckily, that seems to be the average length of time one spends in an independent, family-style restaurant! (There, that's my restaurant dining tip...) More tips: * If you have a cooler, take any leftovers from dinner and eat them for lunch the next day. * Most grocery stores have a deli counter where they sell pre-made sandwiches, salads, etc.,. They make a fine lunch and, depending on the state, some rest areas are really quite scenic!

I think you've hit the nail on the head with this one. I much prefer dark meat as the BSCBs are like a blank canvas. They're just a medium for whatever other flavours are in the dish. (And no, I don't think that's a good thing.)

This comment encapsulates my experience with Edible Sacramento. "Oh, there's an Edible Sacramento?" I'd heard of and seen Edible San Francisco around but not Edible Sacramento. The distribution channels for it seem so limited. Why can't I buy it at Raley's or the farmers' markets? That's where I shop!

No, it was the spring issue and, according to the website, the summer issue is out. I'm guessing it was five or six months ago. I picked it up at a bakery that isn't one of my usual stops (it's a ways away from my house) and I just haven't seen it anywhere since then. The article that sticks with me the most was about a produce supplier who cultivated the business of small, independent farmers in order to sell to the better restaurants in Sacto. I reckon it must have been a good article if I still remember it after six months! As for advertising, the question doesn't apply to me.

I've picked up one issue of Edible Sacramento but haven't seen another one since. It had some interesting articles in it.

Oh, how grateful I am that the "head lice" moniker doesn't apply to me! I would never even think about haggling at our farmers' markets. Like most people, I do the tour of the market, looking at quality and price. There is sometimes a difference in price on some produce but, generally, that also reflects a difference in quality. I have no qualms about paying a few more cents (let's face it, that's all it comes down to) for a superior product. Our farmers' markets here in Sacramento have their own website and the URL for it is prominently displayed throughout the market. They have one page called "Shopping Tips", which includes the following: I also like this tip:

Sounds like a smackdown challenge to me!

Doesn't complaining about a single word of profanity in a direct quote strike anyone else as being somewhat puritanical? It's just a word and, if that's what the person being quoted said, include it. Save the asterisks for when you really need them... As for the vocabularies of the Ramsays and Bourdains of the world, well, let's just say it gets pretty old, pretty fast. It's not offensive; it's boring.

Okay, that was fun...

I put absolutely nothing on my oatmeal. No milk, no sugar, no butter, no fruit, no nothing. (Of course, they are cooked with salt though.) I have tried it with soy sauce (it was okay) and also salsa (quite good).

Well said. Even though I find some repetitiveness in the seemingly obligatory Scottish/Irish/English article in every issue, there are more than enough different and unique articles to make up for it. I certainly don't intend to change my subscription status any time soon!

The bivalve fishery in BC was closed in mid-June due to red tide. As far as I know, it's still closed. So, if people are getting ill from eating BC oysters, they must be eating really old shellfish!

I seem to recall learning somewhere along the line that the metal skewers transfer the heat differently than the bamboo and so can affect the cooking time or manner. Or something like that.

I was able to experience a lot of "firsts" on this weekend in the city... * my first souffle (what took me so long?) * my first Cosmopolitan (a little sweet to become a new beverage of choice but a nice option as an aperitif) * my first taste of buckwheat crepes (yum!) * my first taste of French cider (having grown up drinking Canadian and English cider, the drier, more wine-like French cider was a real treat for me! Does anyone know if it's available in Sacramento...maybe Corti Bros?)