SKinCA

Just a clarification - if you have an allergy or something causes fatal gas, I'm totally with you. I'm allergic to mango myself (and isn't it everywhere today?) and have to request that people leave it out for me. What I'm on about here is the people who are picky, picky, picky. The ones who formed their palates at age 3 and never matured from there. I would argue that they don't know what they like or dislike because they have formed an opinion based on a sample of one only. I do try to cook within the tolerance of my guests. I try to make them something delicious. All I want is for them to give it a go. But I'm seeing a trend here that tells my to relax and go with the flow. I shall try.

Is it just me or does it drive anyone else out there batty when someone deconstructs their food? I mean those people who can't eat anything without separating out little bits of it and putting it to the side of their plate. They think they don't like red peppers, so you serve them something that has red peppers as even a minor componetn and you find a tiny little pile of red pepper pieces on their plate at the end of a meal. And usually, it's more than one item. You find that these people have taken one ingredient out of every single thing you've put in front of them.It's like getting a little piece of your mise back at the end of the meal! They do it at restaurants too. "I don't like mushrooms." What do you mean you don't like mushrooms!? Different mushrooms taste different! Maybe you didn't like one particular type of mushroom, one specific time in one speficic dish! Give the poor mushroom a chance! Give the poor chef a chance! Maybe, just maybe he knows something your mom didn't! This is really in my face now because I donated a catered dinner to my kid's school for their Silent Auction and now I'm hearing "Well, I don't eat scallops - I once had a bad scallop experience". I once had a bad date - it didn't put me off men forever! Please tell me I'm not the only one who feels this way...please?

We recently took the kindergarteners on a field trip to the local farm. I was the object of many horrified looks as I knelt with my son explaining to him about the cute little lambs and how the lambs chops he loves to eat comes from the little lambs. I had the same conversation with my daughter on the farm trip last year. They deal. It's the adults who freak out. I think it's critical that kids know where their food comes from before it's neatly packaged in the butcher shop. And I too have a policy in my house - they must try what I put in front on them and if they don't like it they may have one other thing - pb & j or rice or something else quick and easy (Nutella on bread!). The benefit of this is that today when I asked my daughter "Do you think you would eat octopus?" (I was thinking of fried calamari), she looked up at me and said "I don't know, but I'll try it." Once again, I know adults who don't do as well.

So 300 people die each year from eating eggs? The population in the US as of 30 seconds ago is 293,303,098. I'll take the risk. That's the kind of crazy gal I am.

Does anyone have any clue as to who "Ralph" is and where he has cooked before? Also, on the timeline, I thought that Rocco told Mama he was going up the day before the commencement address to find his new line chef. If Rocco went up the day before then it is possible for Mama to be at the restaurant for a meeting and be up at CIA the next day - it's not that long a ride from NYC up there. I can't confirm this because I didn't bother to TIVO. But I agree that it's unlikely that no one at the restaurant would be aware that he was scheduled to do a commencement address. Another question - how likely is it that a server would be fired in what appears to be the middle of a shift? Isn't it much more likely that management would wait until after the shift was over, in part to avoid even the possibility of any kind of scene in front of customers? While I KNOW I'm being manipulated by the producers of this show, I just can't help myself - I can't look away. To think that I successfully avoid Survivor to be sucked in by this....shit.

Long ago in a galaxy far, far away I worked as a server at a fish restaurant in Manhattan called The Butterfish Hole. Bet you all can guess what the servers called it.....

Calling all food scientists - wouldn't the lime juice "cook" the chicken in this the way fish is cooked in ceviche? I have to admit, being a huge fan of anything raw, that I would not hesitate to try chicken or turkey sashimi at a reputable place. Sounds delish, actually.

I am all for food safety and I do keep separate cutting boards for different purposes. I also tend to wash my board with hot, soapy water after using it for raw meats. I'm also a fanatic about washing my own hands and my particular pet peeve is clean towels - I have tons and swap my towels out regularly! But if people who eat at my house expect that their food has come to them untouched by human hands, they can just forget it. I touch my food. I dip a finger into things and taste them. I toss my salads with my hands. I poke at meat to see if it is done. At cooking classes, I see far too many people obsessed with food issues. In any class with real mayonnaise, at least 3 or 4 people won't eat it because of the fear of salmonella. They still flinch from medium pork. They want their salmon blasted until it screams for mercy. They comment on their feedback form if the chef dips a spoon twice into a simmering soup (it's up at nearly a boil, people!). The uproar that ensues from a sneeze is comical. If the chef turns his head to side and sneezes into a shoulder they are upset that no kleenex was used, even when the chef walks directly to the sink and washes his hands. I think people are overly paranoid. You have to build up immunities somewhere. My sister-in-law practically scrubs her house with a toothbrush. She should own stock in Procter and Gamble for all the cleaning supplies she uses. She TRAVELS with cleaning supplies and cleans her hotel room when she arrives. She won't eat at my house --grrrrr! But her kids are sick all the time - stomach woes, earaches, colds, etc. My kids - well, they are 7 and 5 and between them they have thrown up 11 times in their entire lives. They have never had an earache and I can count on my hands the number of serious colds they have had. They've been exposed to germs and their bodies can deal with them unlike my niece and nephew. So I've vented a bit here. My basic thing would be to use common sense, wash hands often, don't ask for trouble (tuna salad in the hot sun, anyone) but don't let food safety issues ruin your pleasure in eating.

When I was in Seattle I had a very good time at one of Tom Douglas' restaurants, the Dahlia Lounge. Here's a link to his website: Tom Douglas Restaurants The service was excellent, the food was good (we choose primarily seafood selections) and Tom himself was table hopping around. My friends and I enjoyed it. Have a great time. Seattle is a great city.

Caramel is my bete noir of the kitchen. Too light or burned every single freakin' time.

A little OT here, but if you are at the Farmer's Market in SF and want to skip the expensive touristy cooking antiques place, try a little place called "Cookin" at 339 Divisidero Street. The prices aren't rock bottom, but the selection is wide and I've always felt that I've gotten good value there.

I'd recommend another "American Pie", this one by Peter Rinehart. It's about his search for the perfect pizza. He has a wonderful knack of putting into words all the things I feel about food but cannot express. It's both a cookbook and a memoir. Absolutely fantastic.

.....use my mandoline and yell at my kids at the same time. ....forget that the UPPER rack in the oven also gets hot while I'm reaching for something on the middle rack. .....leave the roast resting without knowing EXACTLY where the dog is.

As a kid and a teenager I hated olives - yet I kept trying because it didn't seem "right" that I would hate them. They are two of my favorite things - salty and they come in little bites. Turned out that until I was an adult, I'd never had an olive that didn't come from a can! Canned olives are STILL about the most repulsive thing I can think of. But real olives! Nicoise, kalamata, whatever! Love 'em. Another thing I hated as a kid and still hate today - Miracle Whip! The Miracle is that they are still making it.

My husband and I also did the tasting menu at Manresa probably about 1 year ago and I have to echo what was said in the initial post. We were served an amazing array of small dishes, each one unique and delicious. I wish I had particular recall of everything we ate, but I do remember an apple-wasabi sorbet, an avocado ice cream with crispy tortilla strips and sea salt, tiny tail end of fillet beef with an outrageously rich sauce and an assortment of mousses as one dessert course. We went for the wine pairings and were very gratified with that choice, although we did end up quite tipsy. One red from Oregon stood out in particular and I later ordered some through Wine.com and was amazed that it was a $12 bottle of wine! It was a Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley, but I don't exactly remember the name anymore. The service was superb without being overly solicitious. We sat for quite a while and the restaurant was only 50% full on a thursday. Glad to hear it's filling up a bit more. I've had the egg dish (at a Cook for The Cure event in Los Gatos) and it is extraordinary. A wonderful sweet, salty, creamy combo. David Kinch will be teaching a class in Los Gatos the end of May. No idea what he's going to be making, but it will probably be a great way to sample what he's up to without spending $300 plus. I don't want to promote any individual businesses in here (possibly not cool? I'm a newbie and don't want to offend) but anyone who's interested can email me for details.

$12 Steamer from OSH - use it practically every night. $12 extra burner from Chinese market - great for when I'm cooking for a big crowd and need an extra burner or when I want to keep something warm on a buffet. It runs on a butane canister. Same thing sells at Sur La Table for, I think, around $70 bucks. Big plug for vintage Dansk casserole dishes, but NOT from Ebay. My recommendation - church rummage sales! They run about $5 to $10 at those sales, they go from freezer to oven to table, come in great colors and are oh so retro chic! I get a ton of use out of these.

Hi all, First time poster and my heart is in mouth...not bad, needs salt, but not bad. (just trying to warm up the crowd with a little joke...very little). I just returned from the IACP Conference in Baltimore and one of the seminars was: "How Does Your Brand Grow?" Rocco was on the panel. I quote from the Conference Agenda "Topics addressed will include the importance of defining your brand and what it stands for, formulating a "brand plan" and assembling the right team to realize it, and learning how to evaluate opportunities against a strategic timeline and your brand's core values." Howwzat?!! Is it just me or does Rocco seem to be completely unqualified to speak on this subject? Before the restaurant I had an impression of him as a good chef with a successful restaurant, pretty cute and personable when seen on FoodTV. I might even have leafed through the cookbook. But after last season of The Restaurant? After all the negative commentary I've read here? If someone gave me his cookbook as a gift, I'd re-gift it! Or does the fact the everyone knows who he is matter more than what they think about him? Or do the opinions expressed here reflect a radically different sensibility than the rest of the public? Perhaps out there (meaning anywhere not in here) the prevailing opinion is that poor cute Rocco and his saintly Mama are the unwitting victims of the evil, hirsute limo-riding Chodorow? I haven't found anyone who isn't a foodie who watches the show and all foodies seem to share the same opinion. Has anyone had a different experience? Well, I had to jump in somewhere. Be kind, all.