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Thanks, Owen. The reason I'm looking for the cheapest entry-level machine is that my budget is limited and I need a better grinder as well. (My cheap-o Braun just doesn't cut it any more, even for use with a stovetop Moka or my Yama vacuum pot). My plan is to get a top-quality grinder (Macap? Mazzer?), which should hopefully last me for years, which leaves precious little for an espresso machine. I may just put that purchase off until I can afford a better machine, but the Costco Saeco deal sounded tempting. Maybe a low-end Gaggia is the way to go (for now). Decisions, decisions...

Does anyone have any experience with the Saeco Gran Crema? It's a low-end manual machine with a small boiler tank and a pressurized portafilter (yeah, I know...) Anyways, Costo is running a special on the Gran Crema, and this appears to be a decent price. The CoffeeGeek consumer reviews of low-end Saeco machines are mostly favorable, along the lines of "not bad for an entry-level machine". The only review of the Gran Crema I could find (on the WholeLatteLove site) was not too enthusiastic, but it sounded like the guy's expectations were not so realistic. The small boiler capacity may actually be an advantage for me, since it comes up to temperature rapidly. I would probably use the pressurized portafilter in the morning - I'm a stumbling zombie before the first cup of coffee. If I get this thing I'd probably buy a standard portafilter and a good tamper to learn to make "real" espresso when I've got the time. In the morning, quick-and-idiot-proof sounds perfect.

It's not a "problem", it's a fact of life. You'll note in the "Les Halles" photos that the gap has been nicely filled in with aspic. The filling always pulls away from the pastry shell, and the aspic is poured in after baking to keep the whole affair from caving in. Use a lovely, properly seasoned aspic and the band-aid becomes a flourish! Wish I could help you with sourcing the molds. I bought mine years ago from a mail-order source. I have the old-fashioned tinned variety (held together by little clips). I'm sure someone must be selling those on the web. I believe that Le Crueset has an enameled terrine that should work for the rectangular style, though it won't impart the cool herring-bone pattern to the finished product. Lucy, thanks for starting this discussion. By coincidence, I picked up a second-hand copy of Olney's "Simple French Food" today at my local book store today. Now I know which chapter to read first. I love the way he makes the terrine of veal sweetbreads sound almost not worth making. Then he makes it sound so worth making. I would add another reference book to the list: Jane Grigson's The Art of Making Sausages, Pâtés, and other Charcuterie. An old standby.

I don't know how it came out to 70 dollars, but everytime I go to the grocery store, I'm always shocked. It wasn't just the ingredients though, I had to buy measuring cups, the gratin pan. OF course I also needed nutmeg, salt, etc.. The spices to me seemed really expensive. A lot of the recipes require some new equipment which I dont have. I want to try some of the desserts, but then I have to buy little custard cups, a diffuser (whatever that is). ← Ah, by "first dish ever", you didn't mean just from this cook book. Cool! The good news is that you'll quickly build up an arsenal of tools that will serve you well over the years. After all, you don't have to buy a new gratin pan every time you make the Mac and Cheese recipe. As for the spices, I don't know where in O.C. you are, but I bet you're not too far from some Asian and other "ethnic" markets. I usually buy nutmeg at my local Indian grocery - way cheaper than the "specialty" markets, and their turnover ensures that the spices are nice and fresh. Elie's right about the gratin - it should have a gorgeous velvety texture. Was the Mornay too thick? Try it again - it sounds like you're on the right track.

See there, Kristin, your instincts were right on the money! OK, preserved lemon isn't the same as lemon juice, but it's in the same spirit.... fastest? You made it according to the package directions, didn't you? ← Hey c'mon, we're all learning here. Anyways Kristin, that stew looked yummy!

Not so! Plenty of Americans want REAL proscuitto and jamon serrano, but can we have get it? No, because its not "safe!" I can't get lardo for the same reason. ← My thoughts exactly. The EU is becoming uncomfortably similar to the U.S. Isn't there already a ban on aging cheese on straw mats? A practice with centuries of tradition behind it... If it's infuriating that we in the U.S. can't obtain real proscuitto or jamón ibérico, how tragic will it be when those products are banned in Europe?

It's kind of sad that marrow would be a "hard sell" in your restaurant. Maybe you can offer a few dishes that appeal to the more adventurous types who actually try stuff like marrow, sweetbreads, etc. Not that salsa verde and fava bean salad sound bad , mind you. In the hopes of cultivating an audience that's actually fun to serve. (just a thought). Don't be discouraged! Oh, and welcome to eGullet, Jesse.

*bump* According to this Washington Post profile of Juanita Swedenburg (free reg. req.) , the High Court could be deciding her case "any time". Considering that she had her hearing back in December, it must be nerve-wracking to have to wait so long for a decision.

I believe that bourdain has stated that the "bad guys will win". I hope he's wrong about that. Mind you, I'm not indifferent to the treatment of animals. I want the farms raising ducks / geese for fois gras to adhere to the most humane practices possible. But the attacks on Laurent Manrique and his family cross the line ( way over the line) of civil behavior. I believe that there were similar incidents in Pittsburgh, though these amounted to harassment and vandalism and stopped well short of the stalking / terrorism * that chef Manrique was subjected to. If the ban is enacted, would it be fair to blame it on Trotter (at least in part)? It seems like whether he intended to or not, he lent the "anti" side a lot of credibility on this issue. I cannot believe that such a bill, in a city that is essentially a meat capitol, would even be considered and yet here we are. =R= ← Politicians of all persuasions are capable of pandering to the sentiment of the day. Maybe the Chicago aldermans' advisors should point out to them that the radical puritanical vegan vote is relatively small compared to the fine-dining constituancy. * I don't use the word "terrorism" lightly. If stalking the family of someone you don't agree with isn't terroristic, I don't know what is.

What an odd take on Oberlin you have, Señor FrogPrince. Black River Café is conscious of the source of the foodstuffs they serve, and that's entirely consistent with the "crunchy granola and dreadlocks lifestyle" you seem so hostile to. BTW, Joe serves a mean granola for Sunday brunch.

Hi, Ben. I hope you'll report back about your dinner at Baricelli Inn. I haven't dined there yet - gotta think of a good excuse! They're reputed to have one of the more serious wine lists around here, and they do their own affinage of artisanal cheeses.

Has anyone tried a HearthKit? Kinda pricey, but it looks like it should retain lots of heat. Though the double pizza stone idea is much less expensive....

I'm amazed that Symon is taking time to film ICA in May, considering that the Lola -> Lolita transformation is supposed to be done by June and the new downtown Lola will be in process as well. Busy guy!

When I saw the title of this thread, I took a mental inventory. Which C.P. books do I have? Chez Panisse Cooking Chez Panisse Desserts I can't speak to the other books in the series, but both of these are "keepers". The Bertolli book has one of my all-time go-to recipes: Steamed and Roasted Duck (p. 268 in the 1988 edition - hopefully it's in the later edition linked above). About a year ago I bought some blood oranges at my local organic/whole foods (lower case) market. I had to leave town on business on short notice (typical scenario ) and wanted to find a way to use the oranges to best advantage. I searched the net and scoured my cook books. Lindsey Shere came through for me. A simple and easy recipe for blood orange curd. Absolutely heavenly.

Thanks for your post, Derrick. It's good to hear from someone who's actually seen the foie gras farms first-hand. (Thanks to Carolyn, too!) There are people who believe that geese and ducks a penned in tiny cages, or even worse, nailed to the floor! (I believe that the ghastly practice was actually tried back in the eighteenth century but was abandoned due to the unsurprising fact that the fowl didn't fair too well under such conditions). As consumers we should ask questions of where our food comes from. But I don't think that it's necessary for chefs to mount twenty-four-hour surveillance at their suppliers' farms. It should be enough that suppliers and distributors answer questions honestly. A little information goes a long way.

hhawk, by "Holly's web site", do you mean HollyEats? Also, when are you making this trip? The season really matters! We've got way more than just four seasons. Right now we've just exited what my friend Liz calls "Cold Mud I", which is followed by "Fool-the-Daffodils", which is in turn followed (rather cruelly) by "Cold Mud II". Don't despair! The weather here is absolutely awesome once the real Spring Thaw arrives. Seriously, from late spring through early winter our weather is wonderful. (Also there's a brief burst of cold-but-gorgeous in mid winter, but you've already missed that. ) During the summer and fall there are various festivals that are a hoot. Melon festivals, corn festivals, potato festivals, various Eastern-European cured meat festivals. Also, once the weather warms up the ice cream joints come to life. You can spot the good ones by the huge crowds congregating in the middle of nowhere.

Sizzleteeth, there's "human", and then there's flying off the handle. I'd really love to hear the back story on why Trotter wigged out on Tramonto. This can't be about poultry liver....

It seems to me that the foie gras producers would be well advised to open up their production techniques to greater scrutiny. Sure, there are folks who will simply never accept the idea of using animals for food, and you're never going to please them. And yes, I understand the impulse to keep "business secrets". Not to mention the desire to avoid animal-rights activists storming the gates. But granting frequent access to the food press, restaurant professionals, etc., would go a long way toward dispelling a lot of the misapprehensions, if not the hysteria. A lot of people seem to assume that there's cruelty involved, without any first-hand knowledge. The secretiveness of some in the FG industry can't be helping their cause.

Has anyone heard when the 94-97 and 83-93 volumes will be released in English? The elbulli.com site still lists only Castellano and Català as options for those two.

AK, I think that there are guidelines about self-promoting links in the user agreement and policies area. As far as I'm concerned, it's OK to mention your business in an appropriate context. I never would have found Ranch Gordo's site if he hadn't mentioned it here. If the site managers think you've stepped over the line I'm sure they'll let you know. Interesting that I was posting about another business called "the spice house". I'm assuming you're not related to them.

I don't know that "consumer oriented" necessarily means mediocrity (or inflated prices). There are purveyors that sell to restaurants that also have consumer-oriented sites - Dartagnan and Niman Ranch come to mind. I'm sure that their prices to "the trade" are substantially lower than what we see on their retail sites. I doubt that "fancy pictures" have much to do with it. I started ordering from Dartagnan back before they had a web site. The prices ain't cheap, but I like being able to order raw foie gras and moulard duck meat. Stuff I can't get locally. As an example of sites that don't cater to amateurs like me, check out Pastry Chef Central. I found them when searching for Isomalt (I was curious about it and thought I'd get a small amount to play with). How does fifteen pounds for $69 grab you? A professional pastry chef buys ingredients in quantities that would be absurd for someone like me. Here are some places I've ordered from recently: Rancho Gordo (nice beans and posole) The Spice House (vanilla beans and fresh spices) Sweet Maria's (green coffee beans and roasting supplies) There seems to be a "bean" theme developing here...

I love a happy ending.

It's quite a simple process, Jon. I know this might sound insane but I recently took stock of and made backup CDs of the photos I've taken here in Lyon. It all started as a way of recording the things I'm cooking and what I see at the markets here. I come to realize that I have taken more than 51,000 photos, yes, that's right, 51K, in the last three years, most of them food photos. Taking into account the various friends' weddings, where I can take a few thousand over the course of a couple of days, I calculate that his averages to about 300 photos a week. Now that's not too wierd is it? Up to a few weeks ago I never even considered photography even a hobby, it was just something I do, and well, now, I see that I can call it a hobby. You read about how they find people in houses full of thousands of cats. Well, I'm that lady who takes thousands of food photos. Since Loic got me a 1.5 gigabyte card for the camera, I take print quality photos in general, and then go through the photos I have every day, and for each one that I like, I put a border on it. I change the number of pixels per inch to make them easier to share on the net, and I resize them. I then save them in special folders for uploading. I back them up once a week. We can't afford any special software. So I use Microsoft Photo editor which came with our software package on the computer. There is a feature on that software where you can add the borders, which do not cut into the image, they are added on the outside. I have tried and tried to add black borders, Like Paula did on her clafouti photo. But I can't figure out a way to do it. I loved that clafouti photo. My software is in French. But I think the feature is called 'crop'. It doesn't really crop though, because it adds the border to the oustide if you don't choose an area to crop. be careful to tab down and set the 'corner' setting to '0' because it makes stupid looking corners if you don't. ← Lucy, after hearing your mention of Paula's clafouti picture, I had to go searching for it. The black border is very elegant, but I find the white "matte" around you pictures very appropriate. As for making backups of your photos, even CD-ROMs don't last forever. Make prints of your favorite shots on acid-free paper using the most permanent inks available. Electronic media are marvelously convenient, but the permanence issue troubles me. I say this as someone who works with computers for a living. Your photos are a wonderful document of your circumstances, and I hope they last for generations to come. Sometimes the most mundane photos turn into treasures for future generations, and I'd say that the pictures you've published here are a fair bit better than that! Thank you so much for this blog. Oh, and one little request: you've shared pictures of all of those gorgeous cheeses (I am so envious!) - could you elaborate a bit on how you chose them and what qualities you like about them? Did I mention that I am so envious?

Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if the containers have been sitting in the fridge untouched, they're probably not safe to use. I think there's a discussion somewhere here about the safety of storing stocks. As I recall, the consensus was that you can keep a stock for weeks provided that you take it out and boil it (and then cool it rapidly) every week or so. Assuming that you haven't been "maintaining" the stock, two months in the fridge sounds a bit out of range. I usually allow a layer of fat to collect on top of stock when storing in the fridge. I figure that sealing off the stock from the surrounding air can't hurt. I inevitably "lose" a container in the back of the fridge every once in a while. Even if that container doesn't have a case of the blue fuzzies, I toss it. And curse myself for not freezing it when it was still good. EDIT: Found the previous discussion. Looks like it's three days, not a "week or so" .

Seth, I think that the Pyrex pan is out regardless of capacity. The pan, and the fat in it, really do need to be "smoking hot" for this to work. If you pour cold batter into a smoking-hot glass dish (even oven-proof glass like Pyrex), plan on sweeping up shrapnel for while. Allan, I've never heard of using dried mustard in YP. I'm assuming that it's yellow mustard like Coleman's, right? Also, your colleague's recipe calls for a higher proportion of eggs than I'm familiar with. Thanks for posting the recipe!