StudentChefEclipse

I saw some show recently on Food Network that highlighted a market in Texas I believe that specializes in "exotic" meats. On the day FN filmed there, they were offering 'roo ribs as samples. So kangaroo is available to the home cook, if they can find the actual location of the supplier. To each their own, no?

We've had smoking bans in the US for awhile now, so I am not sure people here realize what a total smoking ban in a London restaurant actually means. With the exception of two people, my whole contingent of Brit friends all smoke like active volcanos... eeep! Good on Jamie O.!

LKL Chu, I second that congrats from Karen. I also agree that the opportunities probably didn't exist back in the day. Shows how much more you deserve the kudos.

AAIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!! The best they could do was nominate PF Chang's in Scottsdale? OH! The Horror Of It All!! *sobs*

If I get to go totally for broke, I would wish for a new kitchen. I like the apartment fine, but this electric stove has got to GO!! After that, Universal Gift Certificates (you've seen those, with George and Benjamin and Andrew on them) for as many Japanese meals as I can stand through the rest of the year. Ditto for book shops.

I've never gotten a specific "___ of the Month" type gift, but my ex-husband did once provide me with a Treat of the Month certificate, entitling me to whatever caught my fancy, within reason, once a month. I got massages, pedicures, books, meals out, and once I used two month's worth to wrangle a trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It was one of the nicest things I ever got from anyone. If I could get an OTM thingie nowadays, I would want some combo of tea and chocolate. Maybe something like "This month we celebrate strong flower flavors, with Earl Grey Tea and Lavendar Chocolate."

Congrats on the blog; you're doing wonderfully. Loved the Malt-o-Meal posts, though I've never eaten any. The chocolate/peanut butter combo sounds great though. Also, yay on you for being a CCC morning person. (CCC being Cold Carbonated Caffiene....my choice is diet Dr. Pepper.) Can't wait to see what's next for you!

*Gives Carrot Top a standing ovation, well deserved.* Rock on, sister!

Hrmm... celebrity maitre d's... well, everyone gets their 15 minutes, according to A. Warhol. Personally, I think a friendly host/ess and super-service are what's necessary to FOH. Condescending people need not apply. Of course, great service and lousy food will lose you business too. As will a war between the front and back. So if you have a star chef and a star maitre, just make sure they don't collide and blow up the place in a huge ball of gaseous flame.

I haven't seen trick-or-treaters in ages, sadly. It's kind of depressing to think about. BUT: I do see a lot of the candy about, and I can almost never resist the Milky Way Midnights in the ultra-teeny snack size. Yum!

Carrot Top... I think "cheffing" is both a Profession AND a Vocation using the definitions given. If you don't get the specialized training and study, you are not going to make it as a chef, and you must be suited to it. It's not an easy job. As for why there are so few women: it was not until quite recently as these things go that women were accepted to receive the specialized training available in schools. Where school was not an option, they were also not accepted in "kitchen training" restaurants, where they might have worked up from being a dishwasher or so on as men did. As nearly as I can tell from my reading, there was a feeling about women in kitchens being bad luck, as with women on board ships. There are still some odd prejudices in kitchens these days. We've all (or most of us) heard the canard that women cannot make emulsions during their menses, because for some "reasons" the emulsions will break. Piffle. And that's just ONE of the bits of nonsense floating around. I suspect that, until we find more role models of successful women chefs (and thanks gods for Julia Child and Alice Waters) we won't see a lot of the great women chefs who actually ARE working these days. They will continue to be invisible, but provide some of the best food on the planet. Phoenix, by the way, is a great town for female chefs. We have Deborah Knight, who was a Food & Wine Top Chef choice in 2002, Chryssa Kaufman and many others. Daniel Rogov... thanks for a thought-provoking (or in some cases, just provoking) thread!

I took all these lovely recommendations to The Poisoned Pen, a marvelous local mystery/suspense bookstore Saturday and came away with a LOT of new books. Sad to say, M. Bond's Monsieur Pamplemousse is out of print in America, but I bought the second British omnibus edition and numbers one and three are on order. Can't wait to read! (...and have a little snack...)

I cook with electric at home. It's not by choice, but I know the Culinary Cops are lurking out there to... what? Speak harshly to the apartment builders? EEP!!

Good gods! How *did* I misplace Rex Stout? Nero Wolfe starred in some of my first mysteries, never mind my first food reading. *Goes off to reorganize the mystery shelves in the "library"*

Another thread made me think about this. I tend to like light, often funny mysteries, and those with non-professional detectives. These are perfect reading for a brain that's gone spiraling around real-life too much. My favorites are King's The Gourmet Detective, and Fairbanks's books on a traveling food writer with bad taste in murders. So, am I the only one who reads these things, and is also a foodie? What do you read along these lines, if anything?

Thank you so much! Raisin focaccia sounds heavenly, so I will absolutely look for the recipe.

I swear I have seen an old James Beard recipe for squid in chili. I repeat Fifi's NO!

I love fruit in breakfast bread, but have a difficult time finding recipes without nuts in the loaf as well. Is there a "bread science" reason for the nuts or can I just forge ahead with extra fruit in lieu thereof? Also... what is your favorite sweet/fruit/breakfast bread? Thank you!

Mosaic, from Chef Deborah Knight... very lovely food and atmosphere. Acacia at the Four Seasons, right in the same neighborhood. Cowboy Ciao is a fun place, and I second LON's at the hermosa. Pizzaria Bianco is good, but I really prefer Pizzeria Picazzo.

Loyalty is always a two-way street, and good feelings need to flow from both directions. I agree with Suzanne that a first order of business might be to discover the intent of the new owners toward the staff you have. Good luck!

A traditional Chop Salad, but with slivers of roast chicken. That should cover the major food groups: artichoke hearts, blue cheese, fiber and fowl.

Favorites: Roasting garlic. My grandfather's chili. And a brand-new one: the steak-fries at Acacia here in town, with garlic, parmesan and truffle oil. Holymoley! Unfavorites: Any outdoor fish market. I've experienced this in Hawaii and in various Chinatowns around the country. Just does NOT work at all.

Kraft's Deluxe Macaroni and Cheese (the kind that isn't powdered) and stewed tomatoes. Marinara sauce on Ore-Ida Potatoes O'Brien. my never-ending quest for really dippy flavors of chocolate, like lavender. No one outside of here gets that at all.

For me, what resonates most about the Slow Food Movement http://www.slowfoodusa.org is that we need to be conscious of what we eat and a bit about how it gets there. The point is not to settle for tasteless, agribusiness food just because it may be more convenient. Around our house, we make "Slow" meals from ingredients we can find in shops around here, and the meals are easy and quick to make and actually taste like something. But yes, I suspect that they may be preaching to the choir. But the choir has openings for new members.

All of the above. Also, a desired profession, but in a sorta sideways manner: I am a blossoming food writer. So food and cooking mean something to write about, which I suppose is just another creative/artistic urge.