hathor

I'm with hummingbirdkiss, I don't quite understand the correlation between pre-portioned salad dressing and the economy. Or mediocre beef, at $17.95; that seems to be the appropriate price for the type of meat that you ate. On a side note: why do you need to seek out corn fed beef? Usually its harder to find grass fed....

I hate when I misplace the big cock! Takes days for him to get over it. So, what exactly where you looking for??

Honey, I ditched the mascara years ago. The rest is temporary.

Brava!!! Brava!!! You deserve all the good press!

Ciao Foodman! Nice to see you and your food. It all looks wonderful, and really, I won't hold the ketchup thing against you. Do you mind sharing your recipe for the chick pea fritters? I've sort of been collecting some different recipe variations on this theme.

I believe bradleybolt is referring to Jameson Irish Whiskey. ← I recently came out from under my rock, and lo and behold, the entire subway car was plastered with Jameson ads. Tasteful ads.

I'm a dork. What's Jameson?

Ciao Maureen! Download the manual and check to see what the food setting really and truly is. It's usually just a setting and it may or may not be worth the extra $$. or euros.

A nice selection of salty/fatty salumi to offset the sweetness of the martini. Or some fried vegetable chips that you can do ahead of time. It's hard to pair savory with the sweetness of limoncello.....

OK. I'm a believer. Shatter crunchy crust on the chicken. Beautifully seasoned, soft melting pork chop. Hello! Butter beans! I should get out more often, these beans were sublime. Can you tell that I'm in a state of complete infatuation with New Orleans?

I'm assuming you're using more than 2 tsp of maraschino in the original recipe then? My main gripe against St. Germain is how easily it gets clobbered when used in small amounts, say, less than 1/2 oz in most drinks. Seems to be its main limitation. ← Yes. 2 gin, 1 fresh lemon, .5 maraschino, .5 St. Germain. I rarely use any ingredient in such small proportions unless it's something really strong like absinthe, Pernod, etc. Half an ounce is my usual minimum otherwise. I find anything less is not discernable in most cases. ← I've had Katie's Avatrix....and it's damn good! so now I got this big bottle of marschino, what else can I do with it?

I have a great recipe from Piedmonte that is an eggplant parmesan recipe that is meant to be served room temperature. It goes like this: Thinly slice the eggplant (try to find the round eggplants if possible), sprinkle with lots of salt and place in a colander to drain. Without rinsing off the slices, dredge in flour and lightly fry the slices. Layer on absorbent paper as you work. The sauce: Soften one finely chopped onion in olive oil, then add one can of chopped crushed tomatoes, and lots and lots of fresh, torn basil leaves. Cook until thickened. Layer the eggplant with sauce, parmigiana, mozzerella and more basil leaves. Bake at 350F until bubbly. Serve at room temp. If you need exact quantities let me know. This is a very simple recipe, but its very, very tasty. **Tupac: if you are around, this is the recipe that I totally forgot to send to you. My apologies!!!

Ciao Chubby Chef! Ital.cook has an exceptional program, if you are looking for a thorough overview of regional Italian cooking, it is the place to be. The instructors are Italian, while some speak some English it is certainly not the preferred language. That being said, translators are used for the instruction/lecture portions of the classes and recipes are provided in English and Italian. Having a rudimentary understanding of the Italian language will help you have a richer experience at the school. If you know French, picking up Italian is not that hard, and I believe Ital.cook offers a short crash course in Italian before the cooking school begins. A couple of the students took the class before our course and they all seemed pretty pleased with it. Please...PM me if you want more specific info, but for the time frame that you've indicated, this could be a great school for you.

Someone upthread mentioned that using a bit of commercial yeast is just another tool in the box, and I'll go along with that. Maybe the mother feels a little sluggish, maybe the weather is affecting her...who knows, but after handling enough dough, you get a feel for the liveliness of it, you get an instinct. And Mitch, if you like the bread, you're not selling it to anyone...then be happy. You've found a technique that produces results that you like. Bread flavor is very subjective, and although I appreciate and generally adhere to the purist point of view, I do indulge in an occasional bit of adulteration.......

I'm coming in for the IACP conference (April 15-19) and I would really love to go here. ....anyone want to meet me for some fried chicken? I've followed this story since the hurricane and it's incredible. I've only been to New Orleans once, in the French Quarter, so I have no idea what neighborhood this is in.... but Willie Mae's is one of the reasons that I want to come to New Orleans. PM me if you'll be around. Judith

I just thought of another 'touching' situation! Once upon a time, when LasVegas was Sin City, not the land of milk, honey, money and art that it has become, I was taken to dinner at Cesar's Palace, some big fancy dining room where one of the amenities was a head rub for the male patrons, supplied by large breasted wine wenches. Now, that is being touched, wouldn't you say??

A little professional distance is a nice thing, false bonhomie (and even -- no one who knows me will believe this-- flirting) is annoying, especially when it's being used to as a substitute for competence or to manipulate my tip calculations. ← Maybe this is the 'AH HA' moment. When a touch is used to manipulate, not just to make a bit of a connection. I have a sincere question: do Europeans touch more? Somehow, I just can't imagine this debate being held in Italy.

The big thing that you are missing is time and the other is the very low cooking temp. It's a much gentler cooking method, and one that is somewhat controversial because of the low cooking temp. You can take a sous vide piece of meat and then give it a sear prior to serving to caramelize the exterior.

I'm a humble novice in the world of cocktails, but we've had good times coming up with names. (Disclosure: I spent years giving names to colors, so giving a name to a drink is child's play.) While skiing we came up with The Stem Christie. Duh. The other night it was the Trader Horn named for the weirdly compelling 1931 movie. We're talking vintage National Geographic on racist steroids. What I'm realizing is that these cocktails are personal, and the name is evocative of my personal experiences. My historic knowledge of cocktails is very limited, but I don't think we should call EVERYTHING a martini, right? It's ok to give credit where a classic has inspired, but the name shouldn't just ride on coat tails.

Herein lies the conundrum: people who enjoy food, who might be food obsessed, could easily fall into the category of sensualist. Why would a sensualist deny themselves pleasure? It was a touch, a moment of connection. He didn't invite me onto the prep tables in the kitchen for a quickie; he had served me food, which is an offering a pleasure, so it's not so far fetched to be touched physically. As far as I'm concerned, we should all touch each other a little more often. Really, that's how I feel.

Its called: still alive and living in the barn! Give it a chance to grow up a little Ore!

Many years ago, I was alone, in Paris, dining on some of the most incredible grilled sardines and missing my SO, because he would have loved the sardines as well. The owner of the restaurant came over, and lightly touched the inside of my wrist, asking me if I was sad. It was an incredibly intimate touch, almost a caress, and it cured my spot of loneliness and is a cherished memory of when a simple touch made me feel better.

sounds yummy Kellytree! Hope you had a buona pasca! We ate lots and lots of lamb.

I have a muddle mentor: Weinoo. He taught me that over working mint makes it bitter. On my own I learned that I don't have a strainer fine enough and bits of green stuck to your teeth are just not sexy. You've already picked apart and cleaned all the mint leaves, the muddling is just one more step in the process. My Muddle Mentor is teaching me that sometimes you cannot cut corners and I must know when not to over do it.

As suggested, a skimmer works great but you will scoop up some of the tasty bits, that just the way it is. Really, you don't lose all that much.