NickMach007

I don't know if I'm too late to chime in, but as for the food, I would go to Capitol Grille over Wild Boar, but for wine, Wild Boar beats just about anything in town. I also like Virago, its not out-of-this-world, but I've had pretty good food there.

I tried cherimoyas when I was in Spain, and they were incredible. I've seen a few lying around supermarkets here in the US, but they look sad and withered. Has anyone tried one in the US? How was it?

Well, every time I cook, I'm cooking in someone else's kitchen. I just graduated from college last may and moved back in with my dad (hey I've got to pay off some student loans before I can afford my own place!) My knives, my large and small nonstick pans, my 18 qt. stockpot as well as various other utensils, and spices (lie my stash of saffron) live in my room and in a cabinet outside my room. No one in my house but me touches my knives... So when I cook, I have to haul all my stuff into the kitchen before I start. Annoying, yes, but worth it? Definitely. All my stuff stays in great condition, like I said, I don't have the $$ to be replacing my knives and cookware... Basically I've just gotten used to it. And I dream of the day when I'll have my very own kitchen... oh yeah and apartment.

Yeah, I used an 8qt. stockpot for 2 eggs, so there was plenty of water and room. But I'm pretty new to poaching, so it might just be that I need to practice practice practice... Thanks (the deep pot definitely helped though).

Ok, thanks for the help so far (with the Julia pre-cooking technique), but my eggs are still coming out a little flat (kind of like fried eggs that have been boiled--but not quite so flat). Am I not putting the eggs into the water gently enough? Using a thermometer I've kept the water right around 205 F. Any other pointers? Thanks in advance. This past weekend, (almost) all I did was play with eggs: poached and omlettes. I'll tackle some hard cooked ones this week (and maybe some souffles this coming weekend).

Well I guess a "celebrity chef" by nature has to be self-promoting. Any chef who welcomes cameras into his/her kitchen has to be a. an interesting personality b. an extremely good cook or c. some combination of the two. (Well I guess there are exceptions: good looks, a passion for food (think Dweezil and Lisa), but these types aren't really chefs are they...) So I can't blame Alton for any self-promotion. He certainly does it a lot less than most of the celebrity chefs, and as of yet, I have not seen him promote something inferior or something that he would not use in his own kitchen.

Well, as much a purist as I am, I still love my Calphalon Pro. nonstick. I don't cook my eggs in anything else. I might not be ready for a French steel. On the other hand, I'm glad to know I'm not the only one with slighty browned omlettes. I am going to keep trying until I master the "unbrowned" omlette, then I can go back to the toastier one...

One more praise message. Thanks a ton for the egg-courses over the week. Now I'm really looking forward to the rest of this semester of eCGI. What a great start! To report in, my 1st omlette, with just some fresh thyme and parsley, came out slightly overdone and quite toasty on the outside, so I tried it again. The second time (just a plain omlette) it came out near perfect, but just slighty browned on the outside. The inside though was so fluffy and delicious! Next time I think I'll have it. I wish I had a digital camera (well, maybe for my birthday...only a month and a half away...) Thanks FG

Come on. Give AB a break. All the celebrity chefs promote themselves in someway. Wearing your own apron doesn't seem very bad to me. If you're watching his show already its not like real adverstising. Either way though at least he's not like Emeril. Gag.

I could always watch the All-Julia Network, but I also want more Iron Chef. But I want an Iron Chef show where they teach tecniques. Hey why not? That crazy hilarious dubbing worked before! Oh yeah, and another thing. Since we have to have programming after 10pm, I vote for a De Laurentiis version of "The Naked Chef"

Cool, thanks. I'll check it out.

First off, thanks for this and all the other egg classes. eCGI truly is amazing! So, I tried the Julia method of placing the whole egg in simmering water for about 15-20 sec. then cracking into a small dish to be poured back into the simmering water. When I cracked open the eggs, they had noticeably started to cook (ie there was definitely some white strands amongst the mostly clear albumen). Did I leave these eggs in the water too long? Or are they supposed to be this way? Basically, I'm wondering if the 15 sec. is just to warm up the eggs, or is it actually meant to really start cooking the egg. Thanks!

That definitely makes me sad. But not surprised.

Well, a bunch of things to reply to, so I'll just start: The germ thing-- well there are germs everywhere and we all have to just deal with it, or we can go pay thousands of dollars for therapy (its called OCD). On the other hand that does mean that I'm not going to wash my hands before preparing food. Nor does it mean that after I play with raw meat I'm not going to wipe my counter down with diluted bleach. Indeed I'm going to take every precaution in my power to prevent food-borne illness and not become one of the 3000 that dies every year becuase of some sort of food poisoning. (But I can't say I don't ever practice the 5 sec. rule) Ok, moving on... bilrus, I've encountered that menu-reading-better-than-tasting phenomenon before too. It's always a little dissapoing when you've been anticipating a great meal, then read the menu and get even more excited, only to be dissapointed by the actual food... That's one of the biggest let downs. Finally, to Jay-Bob and Mabelline, I think we should combine both your ideas. 1. Ask what the hell the programming directors at FN are doing, then 2. Suggest some of our own "fantasy food shows." I'll start. I'd like to see one/all of the Iron Chefs teaching cooking techniques (hey in my fantasy they all speak perfect english-- either that or they can use that hilarious dubbing they always use. If memory serves me right...)

Mmmmmmm bacon. How did that turn out? Was it greasy, or did the bacon fat work pretty well?