bleudauvergne

I just read an article which refutes my theory that our lives improved with the invention of pasta bread and cake. I stand corrected. But I wonder what quotient the psychological factor of these foods has on our health. I personally found that my spirits lifted, my outlook improved, in fact I experienced a general sense of well being after I suceeded in making pasta for the first time, and it continues with each and every batch I turn out. Not to mention the cultural aspects - complex elements of the human psyche that tradition and common activity bring to our concept of well being. I am talking only of my own example earlier in the thread, in noting it might not be a good example of a food that benefits us by processing.

If you want to stop somewhere for a light lunch, it would place you somewhere around Arles, yes? The international animated film festival will take place in Annecy from 6-12 Juin, so it you are there within that time frame I suggest you reserve the Imperial Palace now. The 21st of June is the national music festival, where everyone in the entire country takes to the streets in song and dance all night. It's great, I don't know if you're going to be there, but it's a lot of fun and something to be prepared for if you are.

Simply fascinating. Coincidentally this week I have been re-reading McGee's Curious Cook and taking great interest in the chapter he writes on hollandaise. There was something I wanted to try involving using egg yolks to thicken the sauce with their pre-stabilized emusifiers. Was this discussed? Thank you for a wonderful article.

Hey, the photographer who came to take photos at my wedding also took that photo of the Noriega Hotel! My wierest restaurant experience was also in Beijing, at a restaurant that specialized in insects. They served beer and had an extensive menu of all of the insects you could imagine. It was a really wierd experience but fun. The person I was dining with was trying to scare me, but he didn't manage to do it. I thought the grasshoppers were pretty tasty.

Susan, you're getting me scared again! This is going to make it difficult to go back to get my tete de veau.

John, I've just gone to a site on M.R. James, and read The Mezzotint. The subject of the story is similar in that it involves moving figures in a photographic print - thank you for calling my attention to that, and to the author. The stories are good fun. Well of course it was silly - and not even close to M.R. James in style or expertise in that genre for that matter!

Seth, I was thinking of what a feast for the eyes and spirit it must have been for Leah. What a wonderful day.

No, not really, the meats did not seem extra bloody, hathor. Loic has gone to another conference and I am alone here tonight, and the only thing I want to eat is meat. I've got lots of really nice looking vegetables but really all I want is cold cuts with my Americano, then terrine de lapin, what next, I have a nice big slab of beef liver briefly seared, I've eaten it with my hands, straight from the pan. How silly of me. When I was growing up that character was "Raw Head and Bloody Bones" and he lived in the closet in the basement where my parents kept their wines. How convenient for them when I became a teenager.

Hathor I can't tell you what happened next because well, the only thing that's happened is that I picked up some more bacon, salt pork, ham, rabbit, chicken, terrine de campagne, and various cuts of veal and beef since then. I want to do a tete de veau soon, I'm very curious about it and don't want to order it in a restaurant before I've prepared it myself from a good recipe. No, but I did play the role of Dorinne in a high school production of Tartuffe in the round.

The luscious summer afternoon drink (click to go to thread) which I thought was an Americano served at my tati Francoise's house one summer turned out to be a take on the negrito, I find out, but it was still pretty good and incorporates campari and gin. I have just poured myself the recipe for the Americano on the back of my Campari bottle (1/2 camapri, 1/2 martini red) and it tastes pretty good while nibbling on a few cold cuts. I don't think I'd have one without something to eat though.

I have been to Annie's website and taken a gander at the cakes she has there. I know this might seem repetitive but I would like to say that not only are your cakes beautiful but inspiring and uplifting, and all those things that come when we see quality of this caliber. Yes, I agree with the others that in addition to being a pastry chef you are indeed an artist, a sculptor, Annie. The same goes for TP & Wendy - I have never seen such creativity before! It is truly inspirational! I'd like to ask few questions about the creative process in this line of work. How involved do your clients tend to become in the project, and what is your general point of departure from their requests? For instance, did the guy who ordered the prada purse replica come in and say - "I want to do a really special cake", and then did you ask a few questions and then did you suggest it to him, or did he come in and say - "I want this prada purse done in cake form"? I can see well that your work for the game makers was based specifically on the design theme of the game. How involved were they in the design for the actual cake? Did they present you with a drawing or did you just go with the ideas you had? About getting feedback from your clients - are you ever there when they cut the cake to see a client's reaction? Or do you simply deliver it and then that's it. I can imagine that it must be difficult to put so much creative energy into a project and then to hand it over to be cut into pieces and eaten. How do you handle that aspect of your work? This board is an inspiration to me. I thank Wendy for all the hard work she puts managing it. -Lucy

Hi nathan, what cities / towns do you plan to stop in? Is this a leisurely drive on route nationals or are you taking the autoroute? How much will you be exploring? We leave the med coast in the morning and are home in Lyon by afternoon, 3 - 5 hours depending how much we want to explore the back roads. What's your comfort level for places to stay? Do you have to keep expenses down with some expenditures, or are you just simply looking for the best? Are you going to his restaurant in Annecy or in Megeve?

Mm that looks good.

Hi Jonothan, I wish I could help you, but the olive oil thing is rather touchy with my in-laws. They all have these mysterious sources and come out with unmarked bottles for us every year. When I had the audacity to ask where it came from they simply changed the subject. Their lips are sealed.

Yes, William, do share with us what your favorite stuffing is.

I hope things will be simple for you, and that the inspector has positive things to say about the possibilities. I've got my fingers crossed for you.

By all means ask him! Too bad for the real estate agent. Even if it takes up an extra 20 minutes of your time, it's that much more you'll know about the house, and that much more knowledge you can take into a conversation with someone giving you an estimate on an installation. Screw the real estate agent and milk that guy for all he's worth. Talk it to death, is my advice. Have you considered rubber flooring? We put that in our kitchen and I love it. Here's a link to Artigo, we chose the Plansystem ND-NAT. If that kind of flooring interests you, you can most likely find a local distributor or someone who makes a similar product. We also considered stone and mosaic, and all the rest, but as you said the prices are just sky high. I started thinking about a kitchen my father installed in the basement of the house he built (a second kitchen), which he floored with stud rubber flooring. I chose something completely different in style but stuck with the rubber flooring. We like it a lot.

Thanks so much for doing that! And the recipe with weights.

Welcome to blogland, Seth. You're certainly off to a good start! It's nice to see you stepped up to the plate, I hope that the above forwarning does not ward off people from participating in the good spirit of the blog, it's nice to have support when we do these things. I love your avatar, I thought of you last weekend at the Chinese grocery! I think I have a recipe for a provencal soup that incorporates aoli, a perfect dish to cook up in your new casserole. I'll dig up the recipe. Radishes are excellent with butter and salt, or dipped in onion dip. NEED I SAY : YOUR BREAD IS AWESOME.

Yep. I made potstickers from my homemade frozen jiaozi today and they turned out great - don't hesitiate!

Snark. Edit Well I've just also spent some time with a lighter, an eye socket and some furniture which presumably is not mine. It's better than the abdominizer. The cabin thread is a real classic. I just love it.

Inspired by this wonderful thread, and just a consumer without a garden but a basket full of various onions, shallots and things just waiting to be sliced up, I went to the kitchen. I'm not going to pretend I even know what breed or this or that I'm dealing with here. Shallot. It was the first thing I tasted. Initial fire that made me think of onion with a sudden drop off to a hint of garlic, smooth, level overtones. Note the multiple lobes, the "clusters" that mudbug mentions above. Onion. Acidic sharp and much more pungent classically loved onion flavor that takes up more urgency as the oil hits the eyes. Crying. Single oily stinging lobe. Much more dynamic to the whole experience, beginning small and developing over a longer period of time. Red onion. Lobes. Like the shallot. Much milder than the onion but more pungent than the shallot. It was like a cross between the shallot and the onion. The truth from my home kitchen: When I have a recipe that I value highly that calls for a shallot and I don't have one I use the same volume of onion with no major ill effects, although I do use a shallot if it's available, just because I want to follow the recipe. If Brigitte Vanel intended for me to use an onion, she would have said so. I do not add garlic with an onion substitution, though. When I have a recipe calling for one onion or less and I only have shallots (it's been known to happen) I just go ahead and substitute. o I can't get the same effect as shallot with onion in a vinaigrette. o I can't get the same effect with shallot for onions in an onion soup. o Shallot doesn't dice like onion. Sometimes you want a certain visual effect.

Yes, please post more great threads. edit to say I'm reading them all.

We wouldn't have pasta, bread, and cake without having processed wheat to make it. edited to add: Cheese.

It's nice that you are getting meats from the market. What does Bison taste like, and how do you cook it?