=Mark

I thought the post was rather mild given the history of this forum. I suppose I should have added that it was BORING "To Me." To give it a more eGullety feel I could have posted that it was "Brain numbingly FUCKING BORING! " Didn't realize folks here had become so thin skinned...

Explains why my Chicken Pasta Salad costs $25+, the first ingredient is " 1 Gram Saffron "

I think posts like this are the height of arrogance. Mark, if this is boring to you, then don't read it. Clearly, there are those of us who do not find it so, and your voicing your opinion in this context merely serves to insult those of us who are interested. The same goes for Jason and his "are you done yet" comment. If it's an issue of bandwidth, or some other legitimate moderator issue, then say so. If it's merely because you don't care about this topic, or find it "boring," then just say nothing. People go on and on in threads about many (in my view) mundane and mindnumbing subjects, and sometimes I'll say something like well I just don't get it, or I just don't watch TV, or whatever the case may be, but I don't say oh this thread is ridiculous, or aren't you people tired of this subject, or any such thing. That would be true snobbery. Yawwwnnn.... My take is once you've stated a point, what utility is there in restating the same point over and over. Seems like the main objective here is to see how many ways there are to say the same thing. I looked here again to see how the thread had evolved in the couple of weeks since I last looked at it, and was rather surprised to see that it had not, just the same axle-wrapping of the same opinions.

I've not visited this thread in quite some time. Having taken another look I remember why, it's brain numbingly BORING!

I don't believe "Az" actually is a word... "As" maybe, or "ass." "Az" is the appreviation for Arizona.

I started going to Mesa Grill before there was a TVFood Network, and was really bowled over by Flay's use of spices and chiles. His place seems the least affected by his star status. Sure he seems arrogant and egotistical, but is this really unexpected in the upper realms of chefdom? Was pretty impressed by NOLA, Emerils more casual place in New Orleans, but felt the Emerils in Las Vegas was overpriced for what is supposed to be "peasant" food ($24 for a couple pork chops!?) Felt that Lidias place "Felidia" was VERY good, got to talk to her a bit, but her PBS show is one of the more understated shows on TV. Does not come across as a "Star" vehicle.

Harr! Let 'Em rot! Pirate style... As in the past I prefer onions to make me cry. If I want a piece of produce to mimic an apple, let it be an apple.

I don't refrigerate butter. I hate hard, bread ripping butter, and actually like the flavor that sets up in room temp butter after a few days. Don't refrigerate worcestershire sauce or soy sauce. Don't refrigerate oils. Do not refrigerate peanut butter or honey. Absolutely do not refrigerate laundry detergent, powdered or liquid.

Actually I use a Weber Smokey Mountain water smoker, the Cadillac of H2O smokers. It has intake vents at the bottom that you use to regulate the heat. For fuel I use hardwood lump charcoal that burns clean and hot, 5 lbs of lump charcoal will leave about an ounce of ash as opposed to 2+ Lbs from briquettes. A full load of lump and wood will cook low and steady at 225 to 240 degrees for up to 12 hours with minimal intervention. For smoke I use oak or hickory sticks.

10:00am - A half pork butt ready for smoking! For control purposes I'm doing this one nekkid'... The roast! Not me... 5:30pm - This pig be done! 6:00pm - Smoked butt ready to be pulled 6:20pm - The finished product! Hotsauce & BBQ sauce served on the side. Was served with baked beans and a pile of Corkey's Slaw...

To combine 2 threads, yesterday for lunch I ate the leftover Sloppy Joe that I had made for dinner the previous night, pronpted by eGullet...

Reminds me of a Doonsbury cartoon from the late 70s when Uncle Duke was ambassador to China. While at a state dinner he witnessed one of the Chinese diplomats admonishing his son to finish his Jellied Ducks Web because there were "starving children in Appalachia."

My all time favorite topping to use on a SJ has to be chopped raw onion.

This has become a problem at a lot of establishments, particularly BBQ places. The reason that much cooked poultry today retains a pinkish hue is that advances in genetics and nutrition have allowed chickens to be butchered at a much younger age than in the past. At this stage of their lives many of the bones have not yet fully calcified. As a result, hemogloben contained in the marrow is free to pass into the meat during cooking presenting a pinkish "raw" look to the meat that many folks find unnacceptable. Problem is, you can cook this poultry to death and it will still look uncooked and you can't convince some folks otherwise.

It was an article I had read a couple years ago that was trying to determine why so few people were actually contracting the ailment given the wide exposure to the population over almost a decades time. They felt that a genetic sensitivity to the effects of the prions was a good possibility, but had no conclusive findings as of that time. Here's an excerpt from a US Govt source on possible causes: The causative agent of BSE as well as other TSE's is yet to be fully characterized. Three main theories on the nature of the agent have been proposed: 1. An unconventional virus. 2. A prion or abnormal partially-proteinase K-resistant protein, devoid of nucleic acid, capable of causing normal prion protein in the host to change and form more abnormal protein. 3. A virino or "incomplete" virus composed of naked nucleic acid protected by a host protein. The BSE agent (1) is smaller than most viral particles and is highly resistant to heat, ultraviolet light, ionizing radiation, and common disinfectants that normally inactivate viruses or bacteria; (2) causes no detectable immune or inflammatory response in the host; and (3) has not been observed microscopically. More info can be found at: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/oa/bse/#human

BSE/Jacobs Kruzhowever's are caused by a proto viral strand of DNA called a Prion. These prions appear to affect people who have some sort of genetic predisposition to them, causing normal DNA in the nervous system to start to convert to more prions. They behave like a self replicating catalyst, and are not actually considered alive. Good News: These classes of disease only affect the rare individual that is genetically susceptible and has been exposed, otherwise the BSE/Jacobs Kruzhowever's outbreak in Europe and the UK would be much larger. Bad news: Cooking does not affect the prions. You can cook infected meat until it is charcoal and it can still affect those who are susceptible.

I've talked to a few folks in the biz and they maintain that places that try to use individual peppermills at the tables see them being stolen at a fairly impressive rate.

I'm not sure about duck, but there are health risks from eating rare or raw fish, mainly due to various parasites.

Or if it's ordered in a Chinese restaurant. For some reason when ordering iced tea at local Chinese places you have to be very specific that you want unsweetened or you get sweetened by default. Often they don't even have it unsweetened and I gotta go with water...

As for the term "Shrimp Scampi," here in the states the meaning has been altered (some would feel "corrupted" is a more accurate term) to refer to the cooking method, not the ingredients. Scampi refers to cooking in butter and garlic, and can be used to describe cooking in theis manner even with different ingredients (Scallop Scampi). This is forever pissing off my brother, but the world exists solely to piss him off... It may not sit well with some language purists, but they'll forever have a hard time with evolving US Spoken English.

It annoys me to no end when a member of a party takes it upon themselves to go through the check with a fine toothed comb a'la tax accountant to see which charges can be "deducted" from being tipped on. One girl told me "Oh, you should never tip on drinks..." When asked why, she confidently stated "Well, the wait staff doesn't make them, they just serve them." When it was mentioned that the waitstaff didn't actually prepare the food either she seemed rather nonplussed, yet still would not tip on the drink bill... Smug pennypinching bitch...

...when the meal and the service were good and the meal was excellent, but then it comes time to settle the check and your server dissapears into that alternate reality that they share with car salesmen.

. . . your server waits until the precise moment your mouth is full and then asks you "Is everything OK?" Without missing a beat or putting down a utensil I immediately give them a silent "Thumbs Up."

One great way to add cholesterol and fat to your current meatloaf recipe is to take your current recipe and squish it down to about an inch thick, 8 0r 10 inches wide and about 18 inches long on a piece of waxed paper. Place several slices of swiss or gruyere cheese on the mix, then roll it up like a giant joint using the wax paper to roll it up (you don't have to inhale). Pat the ends closed and bake, preferably with a tomato mustard glaze, serve and stand your arteries against the wall...

Are these the hoogie-doogies (Scott Muni ref.) that were used in the dish at the China 46 eGullet dinner that made your lips numb?