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I'll post my count later in the week. Back in '99, we were hit by a tornado (followed by several inches of rain that lasted for 2 days), and by the time I could get to my books, they were all waterlogged and beginning to mold and mildew. So I cataloged them as I put them in the dumpster, which was about the most painful thing I have done in my entire life. I don't remember how many I had, but I felt like I was throwing my entire life history away. Every book (including some that were not cookbooks) had been purchased for a specific reason, in pursuit of a particular skill, interest, or answer to a question. JUST FOR YOU, I'll open up that Excel file again and count. And then I'll count the current number and report in. Latest arrival: Les Halles On order: Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison. This one's looking dicey. It's from an auction I won on Ebay, but in the month that's passed, the Post Office has not managed to deliver two separate money orders sent to the seller (who unfortunately does not take PayPal). But that's not only another thread, it's a whole 'nother list. Hopefully, soon, I'll be able to add this to my count. But I'm not holding my breath. (edited for clarity)

I've heard doctors talk about the BRAT diet for children recovering from stomach illnesses: Bananas Rice Applesauce Toast (not necessarily all of the above, more like any of the above) I've used it at those times, and find it useful. Although designed to follow a viral illness, it would probably work just as well for drug-induced nausea.

If you can use the nausea caused by the medicine as an excuse to eat something you really like, go with it. Otherwise, I'd call my doctor and see if there were alternatives. I have a feeling there are other things out there that would work as well, without the side effects. When I was in college, I had to have oral surgery. The surgeon gave me Tylenol with codeine, and when he called the dorm later in the day to check on me, the staff found me in the bathroom, upchucking um... somewhat uncontrollably. He became alarmed and directed the staff to get the pills away from me and flush them down the toilet. Since he knew I wouldn't be taking any more of the stuff, he may have been adamant about getting rid of it simply because I was on a college campus and he didn't want others to get hold of it. But if you're really nauseous, I think you should let your doctor know.

A lot depends on the type of poor service. If a server is having problems and verbally addresses them ("I'm sorry you don't have your coffee yet"), and I can see he/she is swamped, I try to have a sense of humor and patience, at least up to a point. Everybody has hectic moments or days, and getting crabby, or getting the server in trouble, just makes things worse--if indeed it's a simple matter of being swamped. But if the server's attitude is indifferent and they find my respectfully-stated requests and complaints to be an irritation, I'm more likely to speak with the manager. If it's something more outrageous, I can be pretty verbal and pretty rude. One reason I often hesitate to talk with the manager is that in some restaurants, they go overboard on the customer service aspect. It's non unusual to be handed gift certificates for free meals, only to find the same problem the next time I go there. The bottom line that most managers--restaurant or otherwise--don't understand that staff training and management is more important than having a stack of gift certificates that attempt to make up for problems that continue to go unsolved.

If you're also serving liquor, a tad bit of butterscotch schnapps on a concoction like this, is to die for. I've had hot chocolate made with ground chocolate, sugar, and steamed milk, and it's wonderful, even without the schnapps.

Everyone has my sympathy. And my envy. Most of the time, when restaurants close in my community, NO ONE grieves. The next chain just takes over the building.

Sums it up exactly for me. And locally, it's been a hell of a lot worse. Before Starbucks came to our city, the quality of available lattes was somewhere between horrific and sorta drinkable. Man, I have paid a bunch of money for some really, really bad coffee. Then I had my first Starbucks latte and was impressed with how smooth it tasted, and that the espresso-to-milk ratio seemed balanced. A few days later, I had a latte at a local Borders store, and it was one of the most godawful concoctions I have ever tasted. I took it home and put even more milk in it, and it was not rescueable. Chocolate didn't even help; it just wasted the chocolate. I don't know what they did to it, but somebody should have had to atone for that. I go to Starbucks exclusively now. I'd rather shell out $3.30 (including tax) for a consistent, very drinkable and even enjoyable product, than any smaller amount of money for something that has a good chance of being downright awful. Yes, it's the McDonald's syndrome. Every Starbucks latte tastes the same, and every Big Mac tastes the same. Consistency may equal mediocrity, but that's better than having a less-than-even chance of purchasing something edible.

good article! If you are, or have ever been, in the restaurant business, and this is more than just a little likely on eGullet, what is your take on people who are nattily attired and obviously able to purchase their own dining accoutrements, pilfering restaurant items? What are they making off with? How do you handle it? Have you ever noticed, as a diner in a fine establishment, someone pilfering something from their table? As to whether you yourself might have indulged in this practice, that shall remain confidential .. we are, after all, a discreet organization ... ← Does the fast food restaurant business count? My husband worked in a fried chicken place in high school. It was in a remodled gas station, so access to the restrooms was from the outside. When he went to the men's room at the end of his shift to clean it, he found that someone had unbolted and made off with the toilet.

I'm always amazed that the "casual" restaurants my husband and I go to, actually believe that we want to participate in birthday parties for perfect strangers. Now, truthfully, I do wish these people an extremely happy birthday, but I don't really want to participate in the celebration. I just don't understand why all of the servers have to neglect their own tables to go to the other side of the restaurant, and clap and sing, and yell and cheer at the tops of their voices, while insisting that everyone join in. I also don't understand why the owner believes that such intrusions are acceptable to other diners. One of the most disastrous meals in a restaurant I've ever had, was when I ordered a hamburger and salad at a local place in wihch both are truly wonderful. Our waiter kept getting pulled away from his duties to celebrate birthdays all over the restaurant. I finally called him over and told him if I didn't receive my salad before I finished my hamburger (having discussed the tardy salad with him on three other occasions) I would not pay for either, and he wouldn't be receiving a tip. He made it to the table with the salad in his hand just as I popped the last bite of burger into my mouth. Then he began offering me free ice cream (supposedly to make up for turning the rest of the meal into a disaster), which I didn't want. After turning it down (literally) 11 times, I told him if he offered it one more time, there would be no tip and there would be a complaint to the manager. I really don't understand how restaurant management can put rowdy, noisy birthday celebrations over good service. Our poor waiter was pulled away from his tables so many times, it's not a surprise that he couldn't keep track of what he was doing. Here's hoping he got a job working for someone who understands how to maintain customer loyalty. Much as I love the hamburgers and the house salad dressing there, I eat there only about once a year. The other thing I don't understand is why people won't at least try mainstream food that others readily eat. (The term "mainstream" means I don't have to eat a still-beating cobra heart.) My husband won't eat sour cream, avocado, yogurt, or anything made with them. (Or at least he thinks he won't. I've been known to bury sour cream and yogurt cartions deep, deep into the trash.) If you've tried something and you don't like it, I will respectfully refrain from asking you to eat it. But refusing to even taste it makes no sense to me. And it nearly gives me heart failure to think about where I'd be if I'd never tried that strange-looking vegetable, the artichoke, which I happen to think is proof that God loves us.

I find good food to be soul-nurturing as well as nourishing. It's a creative endeavor, and doing something creative always makes me feel better. Eating something good has immense power to soothe, and "something good" is usually the food that comes from my own hands and mind. Yes, cooking helps, but it helps all the more if I'm cooking the comfort foods of my childhood. I don't get adventurous during the worst of it, but later, when I'm working through the grief, it does help to do something that is transporting, something that captures my imagination and diverts my attention.

Sprinkle with a combination of lemon pepper, dill weed, garlic powder, and salt. Awesome and addictive.

I have learned to be careful about who I accuse. Husband works evenings and I work days, so we often don't get to talk until the weekend. A few months ago, I set some butter on the counter before I left for work, intending to allow it to soften and use it in a recipe that night. After work, the butter was gone. It was also not in the fridge. So I softened more butter in microwave and made a mental note to have a chat with husband about leaving my stuff alone. Over the next few weeks, this scenario repeated itself several times. On various weekends I would accuse husband of throwing out my butter, and he always denied it. Since we are the only two people living in the house, it was obvious he was lying to cover his passive-aggressive behavior, and because I was angry about that, we sat through several Saturday night meals in uncomfortable silence. Then a couple of weeks ago, I once again set butter out on the counter for use after work. A few minutes later, I was hurrying to get out the door and not be late for work. As I approached, the dog, hiding behind one of the living room chairs, dropped his head in shame and guilt. He looked like he was ready to bawl. At his feet was the butter I'd laid out, already half devoured. I went back into the bedroom, woke the husband up, and apologized.

Could you indulge a wine newbie and tell me more about that last sentence? That's something I have not heard about before. Thanks!

I think you should check with your state Alcohol Control Board. In my state, we have had some spectacular "busts" of fairly innocent people who had no idea they were breaking the law and certainly had no intention of doing so. I'd like to see you stay on the right side of the law, so that you can spend your money on beer, and not on lawyers. There's probably a way to do what you want to do, and if you find out what it is, you can drink your beer and let the real criminals support your local legal community.

The current Cooking Light magazine features a roasted squash lasagna that looks wonderful.

I, on the other hand (while agreeing with many points in this intersting piece) believe that the American obsession with dieting (and the related guilt involved with dining)has more to do with the fact that most Americans just eat too much of everything and believe that's how it should be, as opposed to eating smaller portions of anything that crosses their plate, as much of the rest of the world does. Read and discuss. I now return you to your regularly scheduled program. ←

I can't thank you enough for posting this! I've enjoyed it immensely. It also brought back fond memories of an article by Craig Claiborne, in "Craig Claiborne's Favorites from the New York Times, Series II" in which he describes winning a public television auction--the prize was dinner for two, at any price, anywhere in the world. He chose Chez Denis in Paris. His description of dinner at this restaurant is the first piece of food writing that changed my life. I'd never heard of anyone dining in this fashion. After looking it up again, I've rediscovered the book, and I cannot wait to read it a second time. It's a collection of his columns from 1975. The crowing glory of the piece, though, was the follow-up by humororist Russell Baker, about a similar dinner he whipped up for himself in his very own kitchen. Absolutely hysterical. Thank you, thank you for your post, and for bringing back this fond memory for me. I wish there were a way to post the entire article here. If you don't have the book, try a local library. The original article appeared on November 14, 1975, and was entitled, "Dinner for Two in Paris." If your local library has NYT archives going back that far, the archives, also, might be a source. Russell Baker's subsequent article is entitled "Francs and Beans."

I think the answer to your question is obvious. The question is: why do you ask? Be careful about developing an alcohol addiction. It happens to the best of us, and can happen with beer just as easily as with any other alcohol. Being a med student, you surely know that. The hour of the day you're consuming beer makes no difference. It's the quantity and the frequency. I went to college with some great guys who "had" to drink beer while studying. Two of them, ten years later, were divorced and had each blown a couple of jobs because of their alcohol addition. One kicked his habit in AA and has turned his life around. Haven't heard from the other one; he may be fine, he may be dead. Who knows. You already know all of this. Life's too short and too incredible to waste it on addictions, and you have much at stake. Get honest with yourself. Can you walk away from the beer for a month, and not look back? If so, do it. If not, get help. End of sermon. P.S. I'm not against drinking. I do it myself. Because of family history, I make it a point to establish limits and keep them.

An alternate idea, for the non-camera shy, would be to have a professional come in and videotape you making some of those recipes. That way, your kids could see exactly how you do things. Not for everybody, though. Some people are not meant to be videotaped because the process just makes them too uncomfortable. An alternate to the alternate would be a grandparent teaching the recipe to a grandchild--the child should be of sufficient age to be able to grasp the concepts and at least awkwardly perform the techniques. I could see where in some families, something like this could be a real treasure.

So many of us admire Bourdain, but wouldn't have, when he was in his younger days (according to his own description). Personally, I'm looking forward to Rocco's big comeback. An older and wiser Rocco might have some pretty interesting contributions. Some people don't become great artists until they've suffered enough.

$20.29 at Overstock.com, with $1.40 shipping. My bank cancelled my debit card because of an attempted fraud they detected. So now I'm waiting while they issue me a new card/number. It's excruciating. This will be the first order to christen the new card.

I once decided to make the cat a treat, by putting chicken giblets in a bowl in the microwave. The explosion is kind of a soft muddy one, but it still the kind that resonates in the pit of your stomach. Don't tell anyone, but I just opened the door, and after everything cooled down, the cat was permitted to do the first cleaning of the microwave. She enjoyed it much more than I did the second one.

I did this over and over again, until I bought a coffee maker that wouldn't work until you put the pot under it. That was great, except I kept forgetting to turn the damn thing off. Coffee would burn down and then BAM, one exploded pot. After 6 exploded pots, I went out and bought a coffee maker that had to have the pot under it to work AND turned itself off after two hours. ← Using an electric teakettle (which turns itself off upon reaching the boiling point) and a French press prevents this. I have never forgotten to put the pot under the basket, nor have I forgotten to turn it off before the coffee dries out and the pot blows up. Not because I'm more together than you, but because I never even bought the coffeemaker, because I KNEW I couldn't be depended on to put the pot under the basket, or turn it off before leaving the house. For some of us, there's merit in understanding who we are, and just working with it...

No, Edna was Italian, and she just had a regular old electric waffle iron. She always referred to these cookies as "French cookies" and said they were supposed to be made on a French cookie iron, but she didn't have one.

I would concur. Even though the jelly terrine and the roast duck are not dishes I would attempt right now, I'm pushing myself to expand my cooking skills and the range of food I eat. [A product of the midwest, I was out of college before I was eating vegetables that had never seen the inside of a can. We lived in a fairly isolated area, and only an extremely limited selection of anything was available at the local grocery store. And my family didn't have the money for the more expensive meats.] My husband is less adventurous than I, even though he tries to be a good sport. I could see making something like the terrine or the duck in another year or two. But I think FN is aiming toward the "lowest common denominator" -- and there's nothing wrong with that, everyone's got to start somewhere-- but it seems like the programs featuring more ambitious, uncommon foods and uncommon techniques, are becoming more and more scarce. As long as I can find reruns of Mario and Julia and others, I'll have someone to help me progress to a higher level. But I've never made any of Emeril's recipes. I find him entertaining, but not educational, since often he enhances flavor by simply adding more fat. And I can't figure out who's watching "Unwrapped." Once you've seen one industrial food making process, you've seen them all. And don't even offer me any more shows with people eating insects. I don't know who FN perceives to be their audience, but they seem to be aiming lower and lower with each season. I hope this isn't too far off the discussion, but what I'm finding is that I don't know how to buy the olive oils and wines that TV chefs often use. Employees at local cooking stores and liquor stores often are clueless as to which would be good with which food. While I understand that labels are often turned away from the camera so as not to endorse one brand above another, doing so leaves a vacuum for the "emerging cook" trying to find good, appropriate ingredients for a given dish. It would be nice if someone would fill that void, and go ahead and name names.