jgm

A few years ago I worked in their call center during the Christmas season. They have a cooler, I'd say about 9' x 12', that houses nothing but chocolate. Nirvana! The aroma was unlike anything I'd ever experienced before. You can't imagine how good an entire room full of chocolate smells! Almost as good, was the room where they pack the dried spices into tins and test tubes. (They have a test tube spice rack, if you don't have qualms about exposing your dried herbs and spices to light. Not terribly functional because of that, but still very colorful and cool-looking.) It was a lot of fun getting to try the different products; interesting how you can convince yourself you "need" something you hadn't known existed, 6 months before. My paychecks, needless to say, despite the 30% employee discount, usually wouldn't buy a tank of gas. As for customers and how much they'll spend, you would not believe. D&D has some lovely customers who really spend money on food, and I enjoyed helping them do it. Sadly, I could not convince any of them to adopt me. But I've gotta tell you, I loved that job, even though it just paid minimum wage. Maybe my ID for eG should have been "Vicarious Gourmet". Truffle season is the most interesting. With a golf-ball sized white truffle selling for over $300, we here in Kansas at first had trouble envisioning anyone spending money that way. But by the end of the season, we were believers. One customer spent nearly $10,000 on truffles, between Thanksgiving and Christmas that year. I think it's safe to say that in the years since then, there have been even more fantastic stories than that. Also, keep in mind that companies often buy their products as gift items. Corporations are even bigger spenders than wealthy individuals.

When we were kids, we'd put sugar on Wonder Bread. Those who had really nice moms (or moms who weren't looking...) also got butter on the bread before the sugar went on.

I usually opt for candied ginger. I try to keep a Lindt Swiss Bittersweet bar in my purse. Indulgence: swipe finger in sour cream. Dip in brown sugar. Lick. Repeat.

If you have the patience, slice off the stem end and remove the pulp in the middle. In a bowl, mix goat cheese and chopped basil, plus a little cream cheese if you want to cut down on the bite of the goat cheese. Put into a pastry bag, or into a ziploc bag and cut off one corner. Pipe the mixture into the tomatoes. Top with a drop of really good balsamic vinegar. Or if it's REALLY good balsamic, and you don't want to waste a single molecule, put a drop of the balsamic into the tomato before you pipe the cheese into it.

We have the Emeril cookware; we bought it because <sigh> (long story warning) when my husband and I combined households, we had: 1. His stuff, which was cheap and I hated it. 2. My stuff, which was not quite as cheap, and I didn't like much better. I bought Calphalon in the early '80's, but the stuff was crap and didn't hold up (and it wasn't even endorsed by a celebrity!); to add insult to injury, the company made it clear they had no intention of standing behind their product. So I gave it away. I had begun acquiring various pieces, but couldn't afford the All-Clad I wanted. I was also doing research to make sure it was All-Clad that I did want, and not something else. 1. + 2. = way too many pots and pans. So we got rid of everything, and purchased the Emeril set, not because it had Emeril's name on it, but because we could afford it and it was All-Clad, even if it wasn't "the" All-Clad. I figured it would likely hold up a few years until I could buy the All-Clad pieces I want. I don't regret the purchase at all. The quality is more than decent, and in spite of the fact that it was a set, it actually does have the sizes we need. It's holding up really well, and I'm pleased with it.

IMHO, getting a really good, flaky crust is less about recipe than about technique. The above-mentioned threads, if I remember correctly, have fairly exhaustive discussions. It's all about not allowing gluten to develop. That's done by keeping equipment and ingredients cold, and by doing only minimal handling once the liquid is added to the flour. I also suspect that if you're using butter, the minimal liquid in the butter provides enough liquid to promote gluten formation, so handling needs to be minimal the minute the butter and the flour are brought together. I always use shortening, but am thinking about experimenting with both butter and lard. As for the egg, I think it's just more liquid -- egg, as opposed to water or milk. The yolk would add some nice color. But maybe there's more to it than that.

Long, long ago, in a galaxy far far away... college, in other words... I made a banana cream pie, and the bananas seem to have cooked or something. I didn't think the filling was all that hot when I added it, but the banana slices were all but inedible. They were tough, fibrous, --yuck! I've always wondered what I did wrong. Any ideas? Since then, people have told me they've made many banana cream pies, never worrying about combining hot filling with banana slices, and never had a problem.

Alert: both of these were recently reviewed in the New York Times and are due out very soon.

In one of the first two volumes of Favorites, there is an absolutely wonderful article about a dinner in France he purchased at a public television auction. It's followed by an utterly hysterical parody by humorist Russell Baker. Not to be missed!

Both of these sound pretty good, but I need specifics - names, brands, etc. I'd like to give him a range of about 4 or 5 products (if you can't find A, get B--that kind of thing). I don't want to place him in the position of having to go to a dozen places to get exactly what I want, or to have to try to figure out what's good quality and what's touristy-crap. I also need to know how much money to send, to purchase the product and to deal with Customs. I haven't been to Italy since 1973. . .

I have a friend who travels to Italy several times a year as part of his employment. I'm itching to ask him to bring me something. . .anything. . .but I have no knowledge of what's practical to carry on a plane, how much money I should send with him for it, or what would be a pain in the ass to try to get through customs. I'm not sure which city he travels to, but he visits a major factory there. So I'm thinking... olive oil? cheese? This guy is a good guy, and a good friend, but not a close friend. He's not a foodie, but always appreciates a good meal. Does anyone have suggestions for what I could ask him to procure for me? I don't want to lean on the friendship too heavily; I also don't know what kind of freedom of movement he has. What's readily available and travels well?

How about a discussion of wall-mount vs. sink-mount faucets? We're going to be building a house within about a year, and it seems to me like a wall-mounted faucet would be out of the way, which would be a good thing. I haven't priced them, though. Any thoughts?

I have friends and relatives who are struggling financially right now, and they depend on Angel Food ministries to supply significant portions of the month's food. A young friend of mine, before the birth of her second child, was frustrated because of not being able to qualify for food stamps or WIC. (She does now.) So I went to her home and showed her how to stew a chicken, producing both chicken meat and chicken broth. I don't know now much she has actually done it since then, but a single chicken can produce at least a couple of good meals. I know she did make a chicken pot pie, and she and her husband really enjoyed it. One of my favorite meals is chicken and dumplings. In a large skillet or stockpot, heat about an inch or so of chicken broth and enough cooked chicken meat to loosely cover the bottom. You want just enough broth to cover the meat; the dumplings will rest on the meat while they're cooking. While it's heating, combine: 1 cup flour ½ tsp dried parsley, or 1/4 tsp freshly minced 2 teaspoons baking powder ¼ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon dried oregano 1 beaten egg ¼ cup milk 2 tablespoons cooking oil As soon as the chicken broth is simmering, drop the dumplings, a spoonful at a time, onto the meat. I can usually get 4 large and 2 small dumplings from one recipe. Immediately cover, and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes. In my kitchen, exactly 11 minutes works perfectly. Do not remove the lid while the dumplings are cooking. At the end of the cooking time, remove the lid, and spoon the dumplings, chicken, and broth into bowls. This should make at least 4 servings. The dumplings should be light and bready. When I took a cooking class a few years ago, the chef encouraged us to freeze our onion, carrot and celery trimmings to use in making broth. That's a way to stretch a dollar even farther. I usually just use the oldest of the carrots I have on hand. The cooked carrots are our dog's favorite treat!

What??? No lemon cream pie? Heresy! I might just have to make one to set y'all straight. Although chocolate is so heavenly. A couple of weeks ago, I made a cherry pie and a chocolate cream pie for a gathering of the local Mustang Club. Husband and I both had a lot of stuff going on that day, so he got to arrive in his shiny red '95 ragtop (18,000 miles, pristine condition) while I skulked up to a parking space in a Taurus. The chocolate cream pie had to stay in the car, though. I'd intended to stop for canned whipped cream (oh hush, I ran out of time) at the grocery in the nearby town where the picnic was being held, but a thunderstorm beat me there, and the grocery was closed due to lack of power. So I picked up the whipped cream on the way home, and it worked out that each of us had 3 pieces of the chocolate pie over the next two days, and we were able to overcome our disappointment of not having chocolate pie at the picnic. Turns out chocolate cream pie can soothe many of the world's hurts and disappointments. And then coconut. . .I have lovely dreams about coconut cream pie. But I don't discuss them with anyone.

We bought the Emeril line that All-Clad makes (in spite of, but not because of the Emeril name). You can get a set for under $200. We've had them a few years now, and I'm happy with them. Eventually, piece by piece, I'll probably replace them with All-Clad pieces from their main line, but for now, these are doing nicely. Since we don't have a Costco nearby, I don't know how this set would compare to the one you're considering.

How about Victoria's Secret blend of 11 herbs and spices? ← Maybe I should just add the chili powder to my body lotion, and tell my husband how hot I am...

Consider adding a little sugar to the tomato sauce; sugar can contribute some nice dimensions to tomato sauces. It doesn't take much. For this quantity, start with 1 tablespoon and start tasting. You could also roast the garlic. Another possibility is to back off a little on the onion, and add in some sliced leeks. If I were making it, I'd used canned San Marzano tomatoes. That oughta make it 'foodie' enough for certain people.

I don't think they could make you sick; there is an issue of mold growing on some out-of-date flour-based mixes (pancake mix, etc.), but I've never heard of it with herbs and spices. Worst case scenario, the oils in some of them could become rancid. They do lose their power over time. Locally, we have a spice store and a couple of health food stores that stock dried and ground herbs and spices in bulk. You pick up a small ziploc bag, spoon as much of the stuff as you want in it, and label it. They weigh it at the check-out. I bought about 1/4 cup of 20 different herbs and spices for under 6 bucks. As a rule of thumb, you should replace dried herbs and spices about once or twice a year.

Twice a year, I go to the local spice store to renew the dried herbs and spices that I keep. They are available in bulk, and I try to not purchase more than I think I will use in the next 6 months. When I get home, I empty the spice tins into the trash, so that they're ready for the fresher stuff. And for a few hours, or maybe a couple of days, we have wonderful-smelling trash! I can't figure out what else to do with them. At 6 months, the flavor is beginning to wane, but the aroma is often still wonderful. I'd make little sachets out of them, and put them in drawers (which I sometimes do with dried lavender), but I really don't want undies that smell like chili powder or cardamom. Anybody have any ideas for this miniscule problem?

To file a lawsuit against a couple of teenagers is just harassment. Even if you win, how are you going to collect? Disgusting. Fire them if you want, but the lawsuit is completely overboard.

I asked a couple of questions on another thread, and it occurred to me that maybe a whole new thread would be a good idea. One aggravating problem I have, is green onions, or scallions. They always go slimy on me before I'm ready to use them. One member was kind enough to suggest that they be wrapped in paper towels and stored in a ziploc bag. I will try that. It's also come out that celery does much better when wrapped in foil. I've started cutting the tops of leeks off so as to provide more room in the vegetable drawer, but I've wondered if there might be a reason not to do that. My sister says she stores onions in a paper bag in the refrigerator. That seems to be working well, but it also takes up room that I'd like to have for other things. I wouldn't mind having other ideas. What vegetables can be washed before putting away? Which ones should not? What should be wrapped in plastic? Paper towels? I'd love your recommendations!

Another question: what's the best way to keep green onions (scallions) fresh as long as possible?

One thing I'm noticing... especially about myself... is that we who are "into" food see it as a performance and a creative expression. Which it is. But it's also a part of welcoming guests into our home and sharing with them. I'm certainly guilty of cooking for myself, when I should be thinking more of my guests. In fact, I do it all the time, even though I say, as I said above, that we really should be all about making our guests feel welcome. If I have to alter my menu or my plans because someone doesn't eat certain things, I really really get irritated. I forget all about hospitality. And if someone should show up with an uninvited guest, I have to wrestle with myself to get myself to behave. Graciousness does not come naturally to me in those situations. Of course it's an inconvenience to the host when those things happen, and it needs to be a two-way street; we all should strive to be both good guests and good hosts. Thanks, Scargo, for giving me an opportunity to explore my thoughts on what this is all about. We do have this kind of conversation around holiday time, when we foodies want to make balsamic-truffle-almond-prune-oyster stuffing (you get the idea) and the rest of the family just wants Grandma's simple stuffing, the way they've always had it. We have to stop and remember that family gatherings are about family enjoying being together, with food as the backdrop; and not about putting on an incredible spread that feeds our own souls, and in some instances, our egos. I guess I really just need to find a 'gourmet' supper club, so we can all revel in our foodie obsessions, and I can be content to be a good host for my family and friends. Truth be told, I'm actually not very good at taking my own advice.

I think one of the challenges here is deciding how to behave toward this daughter. Her demands and pickiness are BS. However. . . Even though stuff like this makes me crazy, I do try to make myself calm down and decide how I want to handle it. And when I'm able to do that, I remember a beloved teacher's admonishment that our behavior should be governed by who we are, not by what we think others deserve. So what I think you should do, is do as Mr. Rogov suggested, and be absolutely lovely about making sure she's treated well. But that doesn't have to mean changing your plans. As others have suggested, you can either have enough sides that she can be well-fed even if she doesn't eat the beef, or cook something especially for her. I think you should inquire about what she'd like. Perhaps a couple of her favorite vegetables would be enough, or maybe she'll have a suggestion for an entree. Then do what you want with the rest of the meal. She is accommodated, but she does not control. The result? You will have treated the daughter well and made her feel treasured, which will win you points with the mom, and you will have done your thing the way you want to do it. Trust me: you will not regret it. It is never a mistake to treat someone well, especially, as Mr. Rogov suggested, when they are a guest in your home. I know this situation is maddening. It pisses me off when people pull crap like this. But she's young, and trying to figure out who she is -- still. People likely did this for you, in some other way, when you were young. If I may tell a story. . . I once had a "little sister" through Big Brothers/Big Sisters, who, at the end of every outing, would sulk and pout because I was taking her home. No matter how much fun we'd had, it was never enough. Sometimes she just threw a fit. I tried to teach this 8-year-old that her behavior was unacceptable, and that I didn't have to take her anywhere, and it would be nice if she appreciated what I did do for her. We tangled over this for weeks. Finally, during one such especially heated tangle, she burst into tears and said "I don't care! I just don't want to go home! Everybody yells at me and my brother kicks me and my dad hits me all the time. I don't care what we do. Just don't take me home!" What I'd thought was spoiled-brat ungratefulness was child abuse. From then on, I did less lecturing and more listening. Make this young woman feel treasured, even though she's being a pain in the ass. Do what you want to do, but accommodate her. It's a win-win thing. Trust me on this one.

The only thing tricky (and it's not very) about growing basil, is that it doesn't like cold temperatures. Once the overnight temperature starts dipping very much below 55, the plants must be brought inside. You should water every day in extremely hot, dry weather; every-other day in extremely warm weather, and other than that, you can water about every 3 to 4 days. When it starts to bolt (grow the seed/flower thing), pinch those off so that the plant won't dedicate any energy to seed production. It's been my experience that basil that's over a couple of months old (still growing in the pot) starts to taste like gasoline. Has anybody else had this happen, and if so, what do you know about it?