Carrot Top

The sun has just barely risen as the young man walks up the quiet street. He is ready to go to work, for just around the corner and with a short walk is Rachel's shop. . .already he's had a wonderful huge cup of mocha and several excellent things to warm his tummy and set his spirit right. It just so happens that this young fellow is a relative of the infamous Dave the One-Eyed Butcher. He holds several of the family traits, so his mind is now filling, as he walks, with tales of virtuosity touched with valor (and just-so-barely-shaded with virtue), that he can tell as soon as some others arrive at the shop. The quiet cool dark room is not the same for long when he arrives. Soon the large brick wood-fired oven starts to shine its glow, the popping of the wood judiciously reminding him that soon it will be time to place the goat that has been marinating in olive oil, orange juice, garlic oregano and savory things, onto the spit, as he does each morning. It will cook, turning, through the early hours, sending out an aroma that calls anyone from the street into the shop, mouths watering with anticipation. There will be sweet potatoes stuffed with collards and bacon. A lovely warm pot of Welsh Rabbit with the merest touch of cherry heering added at the end, with fat sourdough toast "soldiers" to dip or cover at will. Cippoline agrodolce, gleaming and cute, rather look as if they were winking at you. That starts the day, but for some wild mushrooms sauteed then doused with a short bit of cream.

Wooooo-eee, Rachel! I think I just got religion. ................................................................. My fourteen year old daughter just looked over at me and is laughing. She says I look like a really happy cat that just got some cream. I need to read this, over and over and over again. Thank you.

Is he edible? (No, you don't have to answer that. ) .................................................................................... Can't believe it's snowing there. I'll have to think of something warming to make in this shop for your weather. Tomorrow morning. KRB (always happy to have you expand the theme, SB )

I love your contribution, Ellen. Yum. As far as writing goes, I highly recommend it as an activity to take up. It has one great advantage over all other ways to waste time: I've never needed to buy new clothes to do it in (unlike every single other thing in life I can think of).

Lately, as I wander through the streets of my middle-sized medium-sophisticate level town, I feel a growing impatience. We have no "gourmet" shops, but for the sections of the "finer" grocery stores (who, it seems to me, sell the same things they sold in the 1970's but with a bit of cilantro snipped on top or chipotle tossed in or peanut sauce stirred into the recipes). My mind switches to images of streets in Florence, with wide open windows drawing one to look inside the high-ceilinged dimmed rooms where shelves and trays of lovely warm, alive, tasty foods sit waiting to be bitten into. Then it runs to Paris. The sidewalk is closer and more narrow. The window of the shop gleams with a sharp engaging pull like the toss of the head from a smiling shiny-haired woman, or like an engaging grin from a man walking a friendly floppy dog. Bright and crowded inside, the foods neater, more precise, lined up from the top of the window to the bottom with but a tiny angle of vision allowed into the rest of the shop. Vienna follows, always with the smell of good coffee everywhere, with undertones of burnt sugar and newspapers. I want these shops, here. And of course they are not here. Not in this middle-sized, medium-sophisticate town. When a "gourmet shop" is to be found (they do open, only to die a slow sad death within about nine months here), the offerings seem to be cloned from whatever they are offering in the supermarket, and my boredom with the same-ness of it all rises, along with my ire. Today, I am going to start a shop in my mind. Perhaps later I'll make some of things, and pretend that I had the good luck to have someone else cook them for me. My shop will be of the Florence-style. Large windows, things a bit sprawly. Warm, perfection underlying the imperfection theatrically displayed. I would have huge artichokes, stuffed, toppling over sideways. A gratin of zucchini and tomatoes in a heavily herbed bechamel, no cheese on top. A potato casserole with cream interspersed with diced hot peppers sending heat through the whole. A lemon-veal loaf, soft and light, with spicy mustard, cornichons, and sweet chutney triangulating it on the platter. What dishes would you serve in the shop of this style that you might imagine as perfect for yourself? What are you hungry for? I will read it and weep.

There was a young lad from Peru Who adored home-made guinea pig stew So he worked in a pet store Where he always could get more And enjoyed every last little chew.

Hmmm. A genius and a mystic. Guess it's a chancy toss-up which one of those two would be more of a gourmand. I have a black cat named Pavlova at the moment. She has six toes and a charming singing voice. Odd thing about this cat - she will not eat her supper alone. I have to keep her company while she dines. (Sounds like Rasputin does *not* have this problem .)

That's hilarious. Which one, the CIA one or the New Orleans one? Of course the thought of the prices seem rather abhorrent to me, and the idea of having to pay someone to teach my kid to cook, too, but pornographic? I don't THINK so. P.S. The CIA one can be accessed by linking directly to "Culinary Institute of America" then searching through the "Enthusiast" courses. Maybe it was the word "enthusiast" that set your company's system off.

Here's one from the CIA: Kids in the Kitchen. These run on Saturdays from 9 to 3 and the cost is $170. Mmm. I guess though that this (in terms of a "business venture") is just gravy to the CIA. A fun thing, a good thing, that can ride of the tails of reputation and give kids an idea of whether or not they might want to attend "for real" when they get a few years older. NIce gravy though. One might actually want to call it "sauce" instead".

I bet you'll love Chicago, Danielle. The Whole Foods classes are more like what I'm accustomed to seeing here and there. The price is about half of what the course above is charging per child (though still it likely would not be considered inexpensive by many people) and the kids attend "per session" with no committment to a semester, which is close to what a nine-week course really is. . . I do know that there are more kids interested in becoming professional chefs than ever before. Will this replace ballet classes and soccer for some I wonder?

I always love a story that tells of a man whose career (nascent or not) was started in a whorehouse. Add some good books in the tale, some good cooking, a pimpmobile, and what more could one want? Eh. Add a cat or two and I'll be blissed out.

In the middle of doing research on another topic entirely, I came across this site: Savvy After School Gourmet Cooking Classes for Kids. Two things startled me about it. The high-end aspect of it (I've seen children's cooking classes, but nothing quite this formal or at this price structure) and the fact that. . .this lovely thing is in *New Orleans*! (Which says something, though I'm not sure exactly what , about how re-building is progressing. . .) Are there any cooking classes for kids like this in your area? Do you think this would be a successful venture in your area? Why or why not? Just curious.

Just from force of habit I use canola when making fries at home (which happens once in a blue moon because I do not like cleaning up from all it entails ). Holly's eG tutorial also suggests canola. Curious, I took a look tonight at what Cook's Illustrated suggests, for their research accuracy is so detailed. They like peanut oil, with an optional 4 Tbs. strained bacon grease added to every 2 Qts. for flavor if desired. Interesting. ...................................................... Ah. More notes on nomenclature. . .the potato they specify is the "Russet Burbank Potato, often called the Idaho". ....................................................... It seems to me that making french fries "well" at home has to do with knowing not only the procedures but also knowing your stove and whichever pot you are going to use. The varying degrees of heat that different stoves have the capabilities (or not) to give off is startling, and of course different pots handle heat differently too. It's just getting to know the timing in your bones, so to speak, and sometimes that just takes practice. So suffer the browned or limp-ed fries Until you've had a couple of tries Soon you'll find where pleasure lies But till then Hey They're still potatoes! (And what could be wrong with that?)

It's also important that there be enough oil used to start with. . .generally for home cooking the formula lurks somewhere around a five quart pot, two quarts oil, and three of four faceless (but type-specific) potatoes. There are two separate camps of how to avoid overbrowning for small batches. One is to soak the cut potatoes in ice water (till almost frozen) before frying, the other is to warm the cut potatoes (spread out on a plate) slightly in a (gasp!) microwave just before dropping into the oil. One focuses on not overbrowning, the other focuses on not lowering the temp of the oil when the potatoes hit it. Another one of those potato/pohtahto things. The third method, of course, is to take in a lost sous-chef who has good french fry credentials and experience and let him live in the kitchen just waiting for the chance to make "french fries".

It appears that we "might could'a been neighbors" a ways back, Kendra. My children attended elementary school in Peterstown, right over the hill, when we had a home in Bozoo for some years. As an "outsider" (ah. . an ex-New Yorker even) it surprised me at first, the general attitude you mention above about the "natives". Most that I knew while living there had a huge laugh and a toss of the head over names like "white trash". They really didn't give a hoot what anyone called them. Life was not full of money, perhaps, but it was full of loving-pride in small things. The fact that south-west West Virginia hosts an annual "Road-Kill" festival with great humor and yes, great food - is one of the best examples of this attitude, to my mind. Mmph. Don't make no nevermind what they say. Good luck with your book, and another question. Got any recipes or good stories about Beans and Taters?

No doubts or arguments on that count. But names of things can be different at different times in different places. The point is that the potato be low-moisture, high-solid, no? Idaho or no Idaho, McDonald's or no McDonald's, seems to me the same tuber is being touted by both you and Holly. Some may say potato, some may say potahto. No reason to call the whole thing off.

From "The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America": The trademark name perhaps is a cause of confusion. I've never heard it in that form, but it likely was well-used at one time, particularly in formal specs for ordering from vendors. The "Idaho" part of the name might have been dropped for easier day-to-day verbalization. . .(?)

My favoite is trotters. Not yer mommers. Porcine. Not cute at all. But tasty, mm mmm.

I would tend to agree with Culinista. The reasons I can see would be lack of direct access to Japanese cooking as practiced in the home, and language. Someone mentioned this earlier in the thread. Each language has ways of conveying meanings that are not easily translated into other languages, and it is a theory that language drives thought and understanding. Here is a link to site that I enjoy for learning more about Japanese foods and seasonality, in a direct and useful manner: The Seasonal Japanese Kitchen. The great thing about life is that each day offers the chance to learn new things about every aspect of the world (including ourselves! ). A neverending opportunity. ( Ha! I just re-read this to proofread and had to laugh at that last sentence. Obviously I meant to say "neverending" in terms of things to learn, not time to learn them in. )

Budino di ricotta is similar, too, but not quite as simple (nor quite as light ). The flavors of the base can be altered with citrus zest, or rum, and sometimes bits of chocolate or almonds. . . P.S. I just googled some recipes for this and find that most have eggs added and are cooked. In the recipe I've used for many years there are no eggs and the "pudding" is uncooked. But I must say some of the pages translated by google from Italian into English are absolutely hilarious. Translation, budino di ricotta

There once was a florist from Rye Who had dropped so much food on his tie That when asked for a rose He'd place tie to his nose And shout "Wouldn't you rather have pie?"

Brilliant! Easy-grab for gluttons.

The slitting lengthwise of the cukes is not something that I have done myself, Toliver. I've made the pickles with just regular scrubbing up and minor pruning of bruises if neccesary. But I would suspect that as you surmise, it is to allow the mustard flavor from the pickling solution to enter the cucumbers more rapidly. To my mind, it is not a neccesary step but someone that *has* done this might chime in with good reasons for it.

Yanno, you may be onto something there, Steve. Smelt would be very easy to grow from a test tube as they are very small, and remembering from my childhood, the only flavor I can remember is from the seasonings or breadcrumbs. Then, instead of being served on newspaper (as small fish are wont to be) on a picnic table, pages torn from that old Economist with its spelling errors could be used to soak up the extra cooking oil and bits of fried batter instead. Adds a touch of class, don't cha know. Gotta keep those biotech guys busy somehow. Better this than many other things, methinks. Heh.

This subject seems to be emerging more into the mainstream media with this recent article in The Economist. The viewpoint of this article focuses on presumed better health/hygeine controls. Interesting, and it will be curious to see what sorts of growth in this industry will be happening in the near future.