lala

Fabulous! While I have never eaten at El Bulli, this made me understand it a lot more. Modern Jazz writing. cool.

Love TJ's! Doesn't carry everything, so I usually go to the "regular" store, too, but TJ's is so cheap, I don't mind the extra half hour that that takes. Love their: Herb Salad mix (my addiction), sugar snap pea pods (my other addiction), smoked chicken breasts, proscuitto, turkey sausage, smoked salmons, hummus, fresh mozzarella (really excellent for store bought), Dubliner cheddar, Hormone free milk, great eggs, Valencia OJ, Too Many Chocolate Chips cookies, cheeeeep Vahlrona 70%, chocolate dipped toffee, huge selection of nuts, so cheap! TJ's brand liquid soaps (rosemary mint ) good wine selection, Morningstar farms sausage patties for $1.50 less than a regular store, Batali roasted garlic and fennel pasta sauce, numerous sauces and seasonings, oils, Oh, the Muscat orange vinegar is Sublime with a nut oil as a vinaigrette. They've got the fancy Italian pastas back in the brown paper wrappings. Great prices on beer, waters (San Pellegrino around a dollar for a liter). Excellent prices on frozen fruits, which are perfect for smoothies with the yogurts that they sell. Not a fan of many of the frozen entrees, or the toilet paper. Today, I was putting my 4 bags of purchases in my car, when the checkout guy appeared by my side. He had missed putting my second bar of vahlrona in the bag! And I had a lengthy discussion with another staffer about the merits of the different kinds of bbq ribs they sell. The staff is always helpful. If you're missing your favorite item on the shelf, they'll ALWAYS go and look at the delivery log and tell you the day that it will be in. They're not perfect, and they don't carry everything, but I'm so glad that they're there!

Oh my gosh! How awful! My condolences... Litigation/ renumeration is all very well and good, but it can't replace the love and work that went into this. *sigh*

I often take menus with me, to remember the dinner, make future dinner plans, and prompt my sometimes lagging imagination when I cook at home. You'd think they'd realize that it's a great marketing tool! I mean, who doesn't have menus stuffed into desk drawers at the office, or in the glove compartment? Who needs maps in the car when you've got a mess 'o menus?

Being a new place, I'd expect that they could only improve from my experience. Like I (tried to) say, it's not for me, but others may enjoy it. Interesting that you note it's a meat market. While I don't imbibe, so to speak, it could be a good addition for the Ballard Neighborhood, if one likes that sort of thing. *sigh* I'm missing Grapes right about now...

Friend and I had the misfortune of eating lunch at Matador the weekend after it opened. Had the eggrolls and chili. Eggrolls were misconceived...and the chili was...bland. Never had bland chili before. But there was a whole lot of it. Service was very bad, but it was that waiters first day there (we suspected it was his first day, anywhere), so that may not be indicative of overall service skill level. Note: the entire place is liscenced as a Bar, so there's smoking throughout the restaurant. Just in case anyone is smoke-sensitive, now you know. And if I recall, they feature a wide selection of tequilas, which many folks would enjoy. It looks like it's shaping up to be a hipster hangout, which is a good thing for Ballard, but I'll be taking my tummy elsewhere.

Oh...oh...oh!!! I said this!!! And I thank you for confirming it...so disgusting! I'm apalled at the lack of basic manners in too many adults. A few years ago, it was all the rage to give basic training in manners classes to young adults in corporations - I wonder if those still go on? Sometimes at lunch with collegues, it's all I can do to stay at the table, they're so gross. I remember to this day having brunch in SF with a friend, about 12 years ago. There was a group of 6 men at the next table, including a very famous, award winning actor. His table manners were so appalling, it's been hard for me to watch his acting performances since. I just see him hunched over his plate, shovelling eggs into his gaping maw with the fork in one had, fingers of the other hand at the ready to poke back in any bits that fell out. bllleeeccchhh!!!

MASH...Hawkeye managed to get a shipment of fresh corn on the cob, and everyone was all excited about it. Theyr'e standing in the chow line, he's waxing rhapsidic. Cook lifts the cover off the steamtable...and slops soggy corn niblets onto the tray...he'd cooked it the only way he knew how, off the cob... To think of the anticipation for such an emblamatic food from home, then the crushing dissappointment as the wet corn sloshed into the tray... awful! Not another food moment, per se, but I've always missed Frank's Place. The guy from the North inherits his Dad's New Orleans restaurant, so there were lots of food scenes involving gumbo, etc... damn, I loved that show!

I often make new dishes for my group's potlucks and dinners. But I admit to experimentation first, with the final dish being my best version. I don't really use recipes, but love trying to recreate dishes that I've had, or variations on standards from my repetoire. There's also just making something up after I come home from the Farmer's Market, and look at what I've bought. The only time I stick to a recipe is when I'm baking, as that's more about chemistry. As a teenager, I usually catered my parent's dinner parties, and since I was learning, I often made new dishes on those evenings. I still remember the lovely mid-summer dinner party out on the patio. The ending was my very first chocolate souffle, which was a success (yay!). That was either incredible balls on my part, or the fact that I was sipping champagne all night, and was tipsy and relaxed about it all... not sure which.

I make up a 'green goo' that's rubbed all over the bird, under the skin: juice of one lemon a few Tbs of evoo oregano thyme basil salt pepper This should be very liquid, almost like a heavy salad dressing. This all gets mixed and lavishly smeared under the skin. I usually split the breast skin a little (not intended) and have to repair it with toothpicks. I then let the birdie sit for half an hour at room temp. Then a lemon, cut in half , salt pepper and a couple of bay leaves (fresh from my bay tree) go inside. I tend to go with the slower roasting, but pick your favorite. I do baste the bird when I think of it, but otherwise, I subscribe to the benign neglect theory once it's in the oven. While stuffing is good, I love James Beard's corn pudding with this roasted bird, and whatever veggies you choose. Such comfort food!

Of course, there's the classic English dessert: Spotted Dick...

Has anyone done the $25 thing at Kaspars? How was it?

I don't have kids, but kudos to those who are raising theirs with good manners. It's so awful to be tormented by other people's kids when I'm out, as they run around, throw food, etc. I'm also appalled by some adults, and their lack of manners (eating with their hands, chewing with their mouths open, burping loudly, etc.). Obviously, their parents didn't care enough... My brother and I were raised with good manners, and as such were welcomed wherever we went - restaurants, museums, concerts, ballet, etc. You really do open doors for your kids when you give them the social skills that they need to operate in in the world. Of course, what I do in my own home, with the shades closed may be a different story!

Ah, but you posted it on a food-centric site, with many opinionated users. Sorta like throwing chum to the sharks!

Just another example of foreign 'wit' in making fun of anything American. *yawn* Now, show me an article where the writer actually researches the topic (you can find numerous funny things about any 'foreign' culture!), and writes abut it in an intelligent, informed manner, and I'll be interested!

That course sounds fantastic!!! Good food and nutrition should be available for all, and it can be such a challange for some folks. Kudos for your efforts! ( It actually sounds like it'd make a great book - not everyone with those issues, or those who care for those folks, have internet access!)

You should look at Alice Medrich's book Bittersweet. Her recipes include variations for the different types of chocolate out there. I tried her recipe for brownies using the variation for 70% (I added pecans, but any nut will do) and it disappeared very quickly. Thanks for the tip - Alice does know what she's doing. I'm actually basing my experiements on what purports to be a recipe for the best brownies I've had, from a major deli. I'm enjoying the experimentation (I'm an ex-pastry cook geek, who's always loved playing with the chemistry of baked goods), and my co-workers are happy to be tasters! "Im such a freak. I don't actually like Valrhona. It has an "acrid" aftertaste to me, and I've even tried the fancy single-bean ones. I prefer Callebaut, and Michel Cluizel, and Scharffenberger." Funnily enough, I cannot stand Sharffenburger. I want to, I really do. I love the artisinal nature of the product. It just has this edge at the end that I don't care for. I see they conch the cocoa mass with the vanilla...could this explain it? Although I don't normally have any problems with vanilla...???

Vahlrona 71% nirvana I'm currently trying to perfect a brownie recipe, using lots of unsweetened chocolate. Original recipe had walnuts. I've replaced them with Valhrona 60% chunks...a little too sweet. Next try will have Val 71, and toasted hazelnuts. mmm...

Allergies, massive allergies. So bad, that just a short time after graduating from the CIA I was told by an allergist 'leave the kitchen now. do not go back'. wwwaaahhhh!!! I hadn't known about this prior to entering the CIA, I was only 20 at the time... Cutting tomatoes, seafood, citrus fruits, chopping chocolate? That gets me a rash up to my elbows. Roasting peppers? I've got about 30 seconds to leave the kitchen before my throat closes up completely. Eating? Well, the Nightshade family (tomatoes, peppers, eggplant) can make my mouth tingle, and tongue swell. Raw garlic...oy...blisters ... Eating dungeness crab (one of my favorites)...I have to coat my hands in hydrocortisone before the rash starts. But Yeast is the worst...massively bad. I can only have 1 piece of bread per day (I flee from sourdough), and wine must be judged against all other yeast and sugar containing foods (bread, any sweets, soy sauce, vinegar, juices, sodas) Cheese...oh,my. Must limit, seriously... My co-workers always tell me I make such "wonderful" lunches... well, heck I have to cook. I'd love to just slap together a sandwich, but I just cant! I've been told by many doctors what I can eat (not much), but I refuse to give up good food, so I just question everything I touch/eat, and try to get the balance right. When I don't, I really suffer, but when I do, I'm able to eat the foods I like, in moderation. And no, I'm not one of those annoying "I can't eat that, can you change this dish, Oh, I'm so allergic to that" people in restaurants. Part of the avoidance is in selecting restaurants whose cuisine limits my problem foods. But if I know I'm going somewhere 'bad', I just adjust my diet for the day, to accomodate the limited amounts of those foods that I can have...then I enjoy! I'm not complaining...everyone has something that they deal with, and for me it's become so automatic, I hardly notice it unless I miscalculate. I still manage to enjoy my food!

I don't think I'll be watching. The first version was so bad I stopped watching after the second one. Gustatorian was right...this show makes me feel like I need a shower.

"Onething worth noting, Lala, is that if you're in the PNW like I am, they changed their times for showing shows about a year ago. Up until then, shows at 12 in the east were 9 in the pacific. Now if it's on at 12 in the east, it's on at 12 in the pacific. So when stuff is one has totally changed. I preferred it the old way, but I have a feeling that may have had more of an effect than the actual lineup." That's it! I forgot about that. Wow. So if they just adjusted the schedule, that means that (in my singular opinion) that their Prime Time programming was always bad. So sad! "I agree that personality, etc, matters, but I just find it hypocritical (in the literal sense) to say it's about the shows not being food-oriented enough or not complex enough and then point to shows that aren't any more food oriented or complex as the best shows on the network." Oh, I hope you're not calling me hypocritical ... I didn't say that the shows are not food oriented enough, etc. I think I used good examples to back my opinion, including Good Eats, which to me, is the most food oriented and complex show on FTV. And I don't see anything better out there, either. And now that the Travel Channel has gone to All Poker, All The Time, that's not an option, either. Thank goodness it'll be summer soon, and there'll be much better things to do in the evening. edited for using a new computer (laptop!), and trying to do a double quote. sorry!

*ssshhh*! Don't tell anyone, but the Harbor House is just as nice on a rainy day! With a fire in the fireplace, a good drink and a nosh, it's very cozy... all the little boats asleep under their tarps, gently bobbing in the water...Seattle across the Sound, in the mist...but don't go, or it'll get too crowded and I won't be able to get in!

reeeeaaaaalllyyy....hhhhmmmmm.....I may just have to hop on a ferry soon....

*stomping l'il foot in mock rage* But I want to watch what I want, when I want, just by turning the tv on!!! I see the point that programs could be taped and watched at night, but I'm not that organized. And my VCR is broken. I just remember that up to about a year ago, I could turn FTV on at nearly any hour in the evening and see a show that interested me, and I chose to watch this channel over other networks on a consistant basis. Now I don't see shows that I find interesting, and I go elsewhere, or do something else. I find the entire prime time offering to be less intelligent, with less interesting hosts, and less variety. And what's wrong with judging a show based on the personality? Let's face it, most of us have a good grasp of what's going on in that kitchen. So, we're left with the host/ess, scenery/set, and script value as a basis for judgement. And Bourdain IS more interesting than Famie, in his honesty about his viewpoint and what he is experiencing. I just find Famie boring as a person and a host - I'd rather watch wallpaper dry, no matter what he's cooking, or where he is. I watch Tyler because he's actually a good teacher, and respects the person he's teaching. It's fun to see him communicate his enthusiasm to the student, as well as show that you can produce great food in almost any kitchen. And Alton is just off the wall. While I find his show a bit cutsey (a spoonful of sugar helps the knowledge go down?), the technical information is really good, and presented in an overall interesting manner. As for personality vs. style...if you can't stand to watch the host, you're not going to care about the style, content, or anything else. It's like having a tone deaf person singing your favorite opera. edited for content. lala