hapacooking

There is new clip on cnn.com about Grant http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/health/20...cancer.chef.CNN get well soon nick

Chefrubber.com works great also

My thoughts and prayers are with you. Best wishes for a fast and full recovery.

anyone know where you can order these in the USA?

I have friends who are prep chefs for the Cafe. It seems that most of the chefs are Google employees not Bon Appetite folks. Bon Appetite supplies the support staff. It is unreal the quality and quantity of food that goes through there. Outrageous would be a better definition.

Which recipes have you tried? ← Wafer-Thin Potato Crisps- I used them for a seared ahi pizza- A bit tricky to get the consistency correct before slicing but I found that if you let them sit in the refrig after taking them out of the freezer mfor about an hour, it helped the slicing process. Jackson Pollock Soup- I only julienned the vegetables and made a duck consumme for the broth. You must buy the Japanese Benriner to get it right. Potato Basket- The toughest recipe I tried in the book. Getting the potato strands to stay complete was tough. After a few attempts, I got it right. Asparagus on Asparagus- I did a combo of green and white asparagus and it came out fantastic. I did add a bit more than a teaspoon of Dijon. Lamb Loin with basil Brust and Fennel -simple and delicious Filet Mignon with Simple Syrah Sauce- A bit complicated but was huge hit with my dinner party. I replaced the enoki tempura with chanterelle tempura

The book is fantastic! I have tried 5 or 6 dishes and everyone turned out great. I agree it is the best cookbook of 2006. I met Michel in Monterey last month at a cooking demo and after chatting with him about his Jackson Pollock soup recipe, I was inspired to create my "Monet meets Pollock at the Duck Pond" which was a huge hit at my dinner party party last week. Buy the book!

Check on Craigslist.org. I found a slightly used one for $400 with a bunch of extras. good luck

It comes down to basic economics I think. These European "professional" books are written for a very small market compared to the US "home cooking" market. Because of the massive distribution channels available for retail sales in the US, the high volume production runs for the books justify low-cost printing options. I looked at a few new titles that I picked up in the past 6 months and where they were printed and how much I paid for each book. It is obvious from the printing locations that the costs are significantly lower than the European counterparts. Sous Vide - Spain - $140 El Bulli 2003-2004 - Spain - $230 Sergio - Belgium - $190 ®evolution - Belgium - $75 Sierra Mar Cookbook - Korea - $27 Happy in the Kitchen - Singapore - $30 Tapas- A Taste of Spain in America - China - $23 Southwest Flavors- Hong Kong - $23 The production costs for El Bulli and Sergio are probably very high no matter where you print them but if the market demand was high enough, I am sure the costs could be reduced if they were printed in Asia. For example if the demand for Sous Vide was high enough, there is no reason why it could not be printed in Hong Kong and sold on Amazon for $25.

We had the Super Festival at Comerc24. The only thing "super' was the price in relation to the value of the experince. I tried to go to Inopia one day but it was closed. Not the easiest place to find either. The next day it was open and WOW!. It was fantastic and yes, very local.

My Wife and I ate at Comerc24 in April on our gastronomic tour of northern Spain. Comerc24 was first on our list before experiencing El Bulli, Arzak, Mugaritz, Akelarre, Cinc Sentits, and Alkimia so we didn’t have anything to compare it to. In summary, we were not impressed in the least. Service was okay, a bit rushed and a bit cold. More importantly, the food was not good. The flavor combinations were not well thought out and the pace of the dishes was way off. Most of the dishes just didn’t taste right. Either too fishy, salty or too strange. The dishes all looked great but after taking the first bite, they never lived up to their expectations. Some of the dishes were so simple in their creation, I couldn’t figure out why this was even being served. It was really to disappointing since I was really looking forward to experiencing the cuisine of Carles Abellan. With all of the great food in Barcelona, I think it a bit over-rated and probably would not return.

I recently ate at CraftSteak at the MGM and it was an experince not worth repeating. Service was bad and the food was way below par. Since I was the only one at our table that ate any of roasted red peppers appetizer, I can only assume that was the dish that made me sick to my stomach two hours later. No one in our party enjoyed the food, decor or service. Prime at the Bellagio has never let us down. Tom Colicchio needs to take a good hard look at CraftSteak.

If I knew about it earlier, I would have bid higher than that.

It was sold for $46K

Here is the official web site for the books http://www.connoisseur.se/optart/culinarychronicle/index.htm

These rating systems should be used as guidelines only. Obviously none of these rating systems can be taken literally. I ate at Range two nights ago and no way could this restaurant be compared to Danko, Fleur de Lys, or Ritz-Carlton Dining Room in terms of food, service or decor. Ratings are nonsense. Michelin, Zagat or SFChronicle should be guidelines only

I have the entire 8 book collection including the Fish and Shellfish edition. They are fantastic! Great photos, great recipes, great restaurants.

I just received an email saying that the conference is sold out and will not be able to accommodate those on the wait list. I would love to attend this conference, so if anyone has an extra ticket or knows of a last minute cancellation, PLEASE contact me. Thanks

Willie's Wine Bar cant miss it

This was not a source for me but it now will be. Some of the things I have tried which are mentioned on the site. There are probably more but these stood out. Sonoma Syrups http://www.sonomasyrup.com/ Fantastic! I tried quite a few different flavors and they were all outstanding Origen 99.9% http://www.origen99.com/web/es/index.php Great concept, we visted in April Seasoned Skewers http://www.seasonedskewers.com/ Didnt care for them. Tried the borbon and thai ones and I like to marinate my food manually not with something I cant control. Shock Coffee www.shockcoffee.com It works!. You will be buzzed for hours. I drank a cup at the show and I went into hyper mode. True Lemon http://www.truelemon.com/ Another winner. I loved it! Pom Teas http://www.pomwonderful.com/ Not a big fan of the juice. Overpriced and needs to be refrigerated but their new Teas were great! Sports Beans http://jellybelly.com/msib21/PromoSites/Sp...SportBeans.html Not sure what the big deal was, tasted like regular jelly beans to me Silver Spoon Cookbook Didnt do anything for me. I have close to 1000 cookbooks and this is one that I got rid of on the first day. Hype. Food loop http://www.thefoodloop.com/ Biggest waste of $15 I ever had. Not sure wht good old trusty twine should be replaced with something that breaks after the first use. Dumb idea Metromint Water Link didnt work Great stuff. I tasted it at the show and was hooked. Very refreshing and different. Anything particulary stand out in your memory? Was this site a source for you? ←

way cool site and yes I have bought quite a few things in the food section. Lots of items were introduced at Fancy Food Shows but I still feel good to be hip to the new trends.

I am trying to replicate Roy Yamaguchi's Blackened Ahi recipe. His blackening spices call for 'ground sandalwood' which is optional. Although I have made this recipe many times, I thought I would try to make it with the sandalwood this time around. He says it is red in color, very aromatic and can be found in Asian markets. He give a source for it in New Orleans. I was hoping to find it locally. I know there is sandalwood incense but I am not sure it is the same and if it is food friendly.

Does anyone know where I might find ground Sandalwood powder in the Bay Area? I checked 99 Ranch and a couple of Indian grocery stores but I havent had any luck locating it.

i agree - SR is like a high-end Disney village. Great if you're looking for a manufactured experience; if you want quaint, stick with P.A. if you're driving, right off 280 (from P.A., go east/left when you reach the Wolfe Rd exit - about 12 miles), about 1/2 mile on your left (@ pruneridge) will be a shopping center that has mostly chinese and vietnamese shops & restaurants. some very good dim sum can be had at the main restaurant in the center of the 'center' - i forget the name. telltale sign that it's good - a lot of chinese people are actually eating there, and my chinese friends from hong kong like it. also, in mountain view (el camino real) is Amber India - good lunch buffet. ← Although I agree PA is quaint but parking is a nightmare, beggars on the streets, restaurants are nothing special and if you read the police blotter in the San Jose Mercury News everyday, downtown PA leads in petty crimes. As a long time resident in SV, I remember when Stanford Shopping Center opened and it was called 'Disneyland-like' because of its open-aired feel. Santana Row is new and clean and with its European look, I guess you could call it a 'Disney-village'. BTW the shopping center I think you are talking about in Sunnyvale is on the corner of Wolfe and Homestead, It has the '99 Ranch' chinese grocery store at it. and yes the Amber India in Mt. View is good, slightly better that the Santana Row one in terms of food but the Santana Row one is much nicer in terms of decor.

The Four Seasons hotel although is on the "right" side of 101, it is within a stones throw, no pun intended, of East PA. It is a business person's hotel built to support the hightech/VC community. It is not within walking distance of anything interesting. The hotel bar is nice, cocktails are expensive but everytime I have been there I get the feeling that everyone is conducting business and not relaxing. The food scene in PA and Menlo Park is interesting but for a first-time traveller to Silicon Valley, I suggest staying at the Hotel Valancia in Santana Row in San Jose. You have several interesting restaurants right outside your door, a farmers market every Sunday right outside your door and access to two major freeways which can take you to Los Gatos, Santa Cruz, Palo Alto within minutes. Regarding Manresa, my comments of my last experince can be found at that thread. have fun