jgm

I second this idea. Especially if the soup will be cooked beyond just heating it up, go with the low sodium. When the regular stuff begans to evaporate and reduce down, it gets really salty. Do you have time to take a pot of canned stock, throw a few wings and vegetables in it, and simmer it for about 45 minutes? That might be a compromise. Otherwise, either the Kitchen Basics or Swanson would likely do. The taste comparisons I've seen lately rank these high; sometimes one wins, sometimes the other does.

I think you raise an important issue. (BTW, I'm not a professional baker.) If this root beer cake is a mess, there goes the best advertising a baker could have. And like Fat Guy said, if there are any problems, the baker will get the blame.

If you use a contract, make sure there's a clause in the contract that stipulates you are using the client's recipe, and you cannot be responsible for any problems that occur with the cake. If you don't use a contract, consider writing a letter to the client, indicating that you're confirming the time, date, and place, and then outlining that since you're not using one of your own recipes, you cannot give them the standard guarantees of quality that you would give to a client when using your own product. By confirming the time and location first, you're softpedaling the impact of the real reason for writing the letter. If the letter, as a whole, is upbeat and states how pleased you are to be working with this client, it should go over okay. Personally, although I love A&W root beer, I would not be interested in consuming this particular cake. But that's just me...

I'll chime in as a happy Oxo Good Grips owner. However, I use it only occasionally, such as when making scalloped potatoes and other dishes where it's important to have uniform slices. If I do a vegetable stir-fry, it's helpful then, too, to reduce substantial volumes of vegetables to slices --sometimes really thin slices. Otherwise, I just get out a knife and work on my knife skills. However, there are eG members who've indicated they've been happy only with the more expensive models, but these members do lots of cooking and preserving. If that's how you'll use it, you may want to consider getting the best you can find. If you're doing "normal" volume cooking, such as for a small to medium family, I would think the Oxo would meet your needs well. It cleans up easily, and has only a couple of parts that are removed for cleaning. I will tell you that I've spent around $100 for another other slicer, which have had multiple blades that have to be assembled into the frame for use. The blades are extremely sharp, must be handled with caution and installed carefully, and storing them is often a pain in the butt. They were all supposed to fit into a holder that came with it, but assembling the blades and the frame in the holder took more concentration than a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle, and was not nearly as enjoyable. I think I used that slicer about three times before throwing it out and getting the Oxo.

It's intriguing, but I'm not sure how I'd use it. Is it purely a dulce de leche flavor, or is it chocolate + dulce de leche? We have a sizeable Hispanic population here, so there's no problem finding dulce de leche on our grocery store shelves. I probably won't purchase it, unless somebody points out that it's just wonderful when used a certain way... and then I'll give in.

Last night didn't have many surprises. As usual, some nailed it, some didn't have their act together, and others just didn't get it. As I see it, over and over the judges are trying to drive home the point that it's not about the food; it's about the customer. When you're cooking for kids, you've gotta think about what kids like. When you're making street food, you've gotta think about what's going on with the people on the street. I was sorry to see Lisa go, but it wasn't a surprise. I just wish they'd give Stephen the boot and get it over with. But his incredible arrogance provides a nice subplot, and they may wait until the last minute.

<bump> How are you doing? I've been thinking about you a lot. What's been most helpful, as you heal? How's the pregnancy going?

I would love to see shows on cooking from other cultures. Vietnamese, Indian, Cuban, you name it. I'd be glued to the tube! Sometimes you can catch this sort of thing on PBS, but our local station doesn't carry half of what PBS offers when it comes to cooking shows.

You noticed that too? I found it irritating. One thing I've noticed about FN Star and Top Chef: although they start with a wide variety of people, those without a cooking school/professional background seem to pretty much be doomed. It's sort of like the 'laypeople' are getting used, to serve as a context for the pro to come in and win. Although my personal favorite is Reggie, I get irritated with the way they treat Andy. If you look at Giada DiLaurentiis's early shows, she's clearly no more comfortable in front of the camera, than Andy is right now. They are throwing a LOT at these folks, and frankly, having done some TV, I'm really impressed with how well they're doing. If Andy's other skills are what they are looking for, they can work with him, or have a consultant work with him, and he'll be fine. I think the poor guy is just scared to death, and intimidated by the whole thing.

The point of the BRAT diet is that it's mildy constipating (or is supposed to be) in addition to being very bland. So I wouldn't necessarily pursue it in this instance. ← I usually just pick one or two from the list. A meal or two will usually get me past the end-of-the-flu stage. Sometimes I can't stand anything sweet, so I go for the rice or the toast. As a steady diet for 2 or more days, it might be constipating, but picking one or two things from the list, to get through today, shouldn't be a problem.

A few years ago, I heard doctors talking about what to give a child recovering from an intestinal illness; they called it the BRAT diet. Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, and Toast. Apparently those four foods are bland and easy to digest. Since I've never been pregnant, I can't help with ideas from personal experience, but maybe one or more of the selections from the BRAT list will work for you. Unfortunately, I have a feeling it will be a trial and error thing. And we all know what the error part means. Just keep looking forward to those cravings!

If you're thinking about doing something with a combination - such as a local cheese with a cheese board or plate for serving, you might want to take a look at www.deandeluca.com. Last I heard, they don't ship outside the U.S., but they always put together some great gift packages. Just click on the "gifts" link, and you can see what they've got. Checking these out may provide some ideas for putting your own gift together from local sources.

I think I'd get them what they asked for. If they're not into using good knives, they may not want to go to the trouble of maintaining a really good one. It would be a shame to walk into their house 5 years later and find out that they either hadn't used it, perhaps saving it for a special occasion, or that they'd been using it and had never done anything to maintain it.

This probably isn't exactly what you had in mind, but do give it some consideration: Season chicken quarters (wing/breast or leg/thigh) with whatever you like; herbs, a spice rub, etc., wrap, and freeze. The night before, remove from freezer and place in a baking pan, and return it to the fridge to thaw. Upon arriving home, put chicken in the oven and begin whatever sides you want to eat. This may not sound like a freeze-ahead meal; but consider that you don't have to remove the packaging, rinse the chicken, dry it, season it, put it in a pan, (and most importantly) clean all that up. Under good conditions, all that can take 10 minutes or so; after a stressful day at work, when you're tired and frazzled, it can stretch to 20. You can do the same thing with fish and other meats. With fish, don't freeze it for longer than 6 weeks. Again, thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Then you can cook it as you usually would. Also, it can be helpful --if you aren't pulling something out of the freezer-- to do as much prep as you can for your meal, the night before. You can at least portion things out. Sometimes you can peel vegetables and put them back into the refrigerator in a plastic bag, or put all of the vegetables you'll need, portioned out and together in the fridge. You can measure spices or herbs, rice, or any other dry ingredients, and leave them ready to go in a prep bowl covered with plastic wrap. If you do this, the important thing to remember is that when your prep is done, the cleanup for the prep is done, too, and that streamlines things immensely. The more you do ahead, the faster the meal will come together. And when I'm working ahead like this, I just run soapy water in the sink, and put measuring cups, spoons, etc. in it as I go. Most of the time all I have to do is rinse them, set aside to dry, and put them away.

I think Stephen's going to wash out before the end. He's a prime example of someone whose arrogance gets in the way of his talent. Talent will take you only so far if you can't get along with other people, and he can't, because he thinks he's the one and only. Tiffani is interesting. She's passionate about food, dedicated, extremely competent, but needs to have her passion tempered by some of the practical aspects of working in the real world, and one way or another, that will happen. For this show, I think they tried to choose a wide variety of contestants to make the show that much more interesting. And we've seen some of the not-as-experienced "underdogs" shine in certain situations.

This is very, very exciting! Do you know of a good place in Wichita to get knives sharpened?

I have my knives on a magnetic strip, and I like the convenience of it. But I think an individual evaluation is needed. Several years ago, I came home to find a tornado had hit our property. Among other things, the front storm door was smashed, as were several windows, and the inside (wooden) door was hanging ajar, suspended by only one screw in the top hinge. Upon entering the house, I noticed that none of the furniture was in its proper place; it had all moved by about 5 to 7 feet. I don't remember whether the knives were still on the strip, but I can tell you that stuff that was in the bedroom at noon that day, was found in the kitchen. I could go on and on --tornadoes do really strange stuff-- but you get the idea. A few days later, I realized that under the right conditions, if I were home when another tornado hit (our area has been hit several times in the last 15 years), the knives could become airborne and the results could be horrendous. For many people, tornadoes are not much of a threat, but in our area, it's a good idea to live (March through October) as if one is coming tonight. I still keep my knives on the magnetic strip, but I'm looking around to see if something else might be better. I haven't made a decision yet. If I had young children, the knives would not be visible at all. There are other conditions, too, that could call for a different choice; I think each household has to evaluate its own situation.

If I were visiting NYC, Olive Garden or any other chain would be the last place I'd go. I would definitely want to hit a couple of the high-end places as well as several neighborhood spots. I have a pretty good sense of adventure, and I'm unflappable enough that I'd be willing to approach just about anybody and ask them for recommendations. Even if they were rude and refused, I'd see that as just part of the adventure and experience of traveling. However, my family still lives in a small town in a somewhat isolated area of the state. It's where I grew up --oh, the stories I could tell you! But they're off-topic. I could definitely see them seeking out a chain restaurant like OG. They would be overwhelmed by how different it is from where they live; no open blue skies, little vegetation, and no livestock. Their idea of a traffic jam is more than two cars in line at McDonald's. And they would be downright afraid of some of the people they would meet. That's just who they are. I'm neither criticizing nor defending them. But I do eat dinner with them when they come to town, and we often eat at OG. One of the considerations: it's fairly quiet in there, and they can hear each other. There are other, locally owned restaurants that have better food, but "madhouse" comes to mind as a description of the atmosphere and acoustics in most of them. Their goal: to visit with relatives and have a meal, in that order. OG works well for that.

One of the reasons I always share recipes is because of my deep appreciation for those who have shared with me. My "other mother" that I had while growing up, shared a special cookie recipe with me. Since she died a few years ago, it's all I have left of her, and it's extremely precious. Another friend shared his family's date cake recipe with me, and although I haven't seen him in more than a decade, I remember him fondly whenever I make it. But then, I'm not a professional baker, so it's a different issue for me. One potential answer is just to say that you'll share most of your recipes, but not the ones you use in your business. As for sharing the truffle recipes given by another chef, I wouldn't if I felt uncomfortable about it. I would just say that I don't have the permission of the person who originated the recipe. But surely he knew, when he gave it out, that it would be shared with others. And he still provided it, and that leads me to believe it would be fine with him.

There was another do-you-give-out-your-recipes thread a couple of years ago that was pretty revealing. Although I do give recipes out whenever people want them, I am also not a professional, and my income doesn't depend on those recipes. I can understand if someone who does use their recipes for income, declines to distribute them. I tried to get a certain soup recipe from a local restaurant. Although they wouldn't give me the recipe, they did mention certain key ingredients, and that allowed me to research and combine several recipes and come up with one that was extremely similar. I'm a happy customer, and one who continues to dine there as often as I ever did. In the earlier thread, one major, very legitimate complaint is that when recipes are given out, the recipients often don't follow the instructions, and then bitch about the outcome to the person who gave them the recipe. It can be frustrating to be put in that position. The reality is, if it's a very complicated recipe, most people aren't going to even try it. When people ask me for complicated recipes, I write them out, being extremely explicit about what has to be done, and often why it has to be done. Most people's eyes glaze over when they see something like that, and that ends it.

Good Lord. I feel like I live on a whole 'nother planet. I've eaten at Olive Garden. Many times, in fact. The service has been excellent, usually. And every meal I've had has been more than edible. Maybe our OG here in Wichita is just a better restaurant than some of the OG's elsewhere. The salad probably had iceberg lettuce, but it also had other kinds of lettuce, plus tomato wedges, olives, and red onion. The dressing isn't my favorite, but I find it quite edible. There are other, locally owned, Italian restaurants I'd rather go to, and I've definitely had better food. However, when I had the spaghetti at OG, the sauce was neither runny nor sweet. I've never had dry chicken there; it's always been cooked appropriately. Shrimp... well, what can I say. Sometimes it's been tender, sometimes it's been rubbery. But I've had rubbery shrimp in some damn fine restaurants. On the other hand, we don't eat at Macaroni Grill because their dishes don't justify their prices. I've never had a downright bad meal there, but nothing I've had there has been memorable. The place depends on lots and lots and lots and lots of cheese. I'd invite y'all Upscale eGulleters to come to Wichita and give our OG a try, just for the sake of comparison, but I doubt you'd want to be seen with the likes of me, even if you didn't know any of the other low-class types who hang out there who'd be seeing you. But now I'm curious... what in the hell are you guys eating that is always so incredibly superior to Olive Garden? You must live fabulous lives!

I'd like to see some questions about trends... How important are they? Which one are you the most tired of? Which one do you find most exciting?

This is the most awesome post! Thank you! Lord Balthazar, I am impressed with your generosity. Bravo to you! I am speechless...

I think these are both good suggestions. I would not have thought of the first one, but I think it's brilliant. Controversial territory for sure. Two problems here: 1. If you don't have any experience, but are willing to fake it, what are you going to do when they figure it out? If you're really good at observing, and faking from that, you might be able to get away with it. But you'd better be really, really good. Murphy's law predicts that one of your new co-workers will have grown up in the city where your fake reference is from. 2. If you can't pull it off, and they find out, you're not only fired, but your lie will follow you and will make it even more difficult to break in to the new field. If your prospective new boss finds out you lied to get your last job, he/she is going to wonder what other kinds of dishonesty you're capable of.

I don't know anything about the specific appliances you mention. However, my gut tells me to go for the full-size fridge and the smaller range, if the oven will be big enough to accommodate your needs. My reasoning: you can augment cooking space, if needed, with counter-top appliances, such as a single burner, a toaster oven, a large roaster, crockpot, etc. Refrigerator space is difficult to increase. About your only option there would be to buy more, smaller refrigerators, and put them in strange places, such as a bedroom. That doesn't seem very desirable to me.