chromedome

I have a lot of the thin, flexible plastic sheet-style cutting "boards," which I find ideal for that task. They slide easily between the cake and the cooling rack, and provide enough support (with a careful hand under the middle, of course) to easy shift the cake to a plate or cake board.

Urine from the big cats is prized among discerning growers for its ability to repel deer and raccoons, as well as most other pests. Even a cat from the other side of the world, apparently, smells like trouble.

I got up from my computer and made the biscuits. They're in the oven now (brunch, for us, though).

...and the world is once again safe for those incapable of whizzing chickpeas in a food processor.

...but with the exchange rate and shipping costs, who could afford Irish babies?

One of my favorite anecdotes from the biography was of a trade show she attended with her books. She'd gotten no traction with the conventional book industry so she'd had her books printed inexpensively in spiral-bound editions and sold them from freestanding displays at convenience stores, gas stations...anywhere she could, really. Part of that strategy included attending trade shows where she could make contacts. At one such show an intense, red-faced gent stood for a few moments in front of their display, shaking his head in pained amazement. Then then proceeded to mansplain to them in detail how amateur their setup was, and how they'd never get anywhere like this. "How many have you sold this way?" he eventually demanded. Pare looked at her daughter, shrugged, and said "I don't know...385,000 or so?" He blanched visibly, told her "Keep doing what you're doing," and melted back into the crowd. (NB: anecdote delivered from memory, so the words and numbers might not be exactly as written, but that was the gist of it)

Red rum? (Rredrum redrum redrum redrum....)

Looks good, I may have to try that this summer.

Read it here.

I usually steam them conventionally, unless I stuff them in which case they're baked. Artichokes were something I introduced my GF to last summer. If we succeed in buying a house, I'll try to grow some.

Yeah, that's him. IIRC he was a record producer or something, when he wasn't hauling his toastermobile around the countryside.

The dishwasher salmon came from a show called "The Surreal Gourmet," which ran on Food TV Canada back in the day.

I'm amused to see the Jean Pare cookbook. They're ubiquitous here in Canada, but I wouldn't have expected them to travel so far. I should know better, I suppose, based on their sales numbers. I have her biography around here somewhere. Heck of a story.

LOL Yeah...definitely a contender in the "zinger" category.

Hi, all: A couple of months ago, some of you helped me out with input for an article I was working on. I've cleared another such request with site staff, just because I thought it would be fun for everyone. I'm writing a B2B article for restaurateurs, with the working title "10 Best Responses to Restaurant Reviews on Social Media." I'm not just looking for zingers here, though I'll probably include one just 'cause (and I'll enjoy each and every one, so share away!). The assignment brief from my client reads: So, what I really want is examples that can translate into actionable strategies for restaurateurs in a range of circumstances: The forthright admission of culpability, the gracious acceptance of a compliment, the patient explanation of a restaurant's unique ethos, and so on. I'm sure a lot of us here in the community have seen examples of truly great (or appalling) interactions on review sites and social media outlets, so how about it? Anyone got a doozy, or a shining example, they'd like to share?

Don't sweat it, Cutter. There'll be back-and-forth on a lot of threads, and what sometimes will appear to a new arrival as a flame war may actually turn out to be an established brand of banter between very good friends. Asking the question is always better than walking away still wondering. Ultimately, smooth vs. serrated is not likely to be your issue. Either a smooth knife or a serrated one can work, and in most cases a dull knife or even the side of a spatula works fine. If you're having trouble getting neat cuts with a cherry pie or any other pie, your best bet is the sharpest knife available, in any style. That being said, I'd stick to knives with small rather than large serrations, just because large serrations can catch and lift the crust or solid pieces of filling, instead of cutting them.

The only reason I see is if the pie contains nuts or some other firm element in an otherwise soft filling (ie, pecan pie). Then you might lean toward a sharp blade over a blunt one (ie, butter knife) in order to make cleaner slices. Otherwise there's not really any reason to choose. I have an aluminum pie-slice lifter, designed specifically to rectify that "first-slice" conundrum. You put it in the pan before you assemble the pie, and bake with it in situ. When it's time to serve, you cut that slice first and lift it out (the handle rests underneath the edge of the crust, and protrudes slightly). It's not bulletproof -- I've had the slice stick to the lifter itself, on occasion -- but works pretty well, if/when I remember to use it.

Sooo... basically a coffee eggnog.

I'm with you on Team Raisin. Chocolate just doesn't work for me in an oatmeal cookie; it's always a huge disappointment to pick up one of those by mistake.

The phrase "liquid chicken" will forever remind me of a particularly unfortunate incident involving the back corner of my fridge and three weeks away from home. It took a long time to get the smell out.

My sister did nine days in London with just her purse and a carry-on. Her travel companion brought a purse, backpack, carry-on and two checked bags, and went home with four.

The place I was chef in Edmonton did a lot of catering, and often after a function I would bring home a few packaged meals for lunches and suchlike. Walking down to the bus often meant passing panhandlers, so I gave out a lot of meals. One guy was utterly floored when I handed him a meal of duck breast and wild rice...turned out he'd been a line cook before the drugs and alcohol caught up to him. We may or may not have known a couple of the same people back in my punk days in Vancouver, but it was hard to know for sure.

I entered. Can't really justify buying one at this point, but free is always good.

I haven't worked with it myself, but my daughter has just discovered that many of her chronic illnesses appear to be due to wheat or gluten (she's awaiting her appointment for testing/confirmation). I'm curious to know how you're getting on with it, and whether I should buy it for my daughter.

Here on the East Coast "tin" and "can" are both used, but with the passage of time it seems that "can" is becoming the predominant usage.