moosnsqrl

Maybe that explains why I've been having so much trouble incorporating them into my batters and doughs? Touche' - poorly worded but dammit, I knew what I meant!

No, but you DO have to eat all of your vegetables first

I doubt very much you could, as a commercial venture, use raw (i.e. unpasteurized) materials in baked goods. I can't see how that would be different than importing cheeses made similarly and our government protects us from those (). I've spent a lot of time thinking about the other part of your question. Freshness certainly enhances taste - if you took seeds from the same 'parent' and grew plants as nearly the same as possible, reaped the fruit and ate one immediately but put the other on a truck for a week I'm fairly confident it would bear this out. More importantly, though, you're rarely getting the same fruit from long distance - since the varieties are developed/selected for their uniformity, ability to withstand machine harvesting and long distances rather than flavor - there is really more lost as a rule than just freshness. Then there is the less-tangible 'feel good' factor that comes from purchasing more directly from local producers: saving fossil fuels, decongesting OTR truck traffic, keep $ in the local economy, having a face to associate with the food. The funny thing is that we're having to consciously debate this. For milennia it's just the way it was - you walked down the street to the bakery, bought eggs from the neighbor. In a relatively short period of time, things have gotten really convoluted. I think it's called progress.

I've heard the food critics on the radio rave about those breakfasts, too. Sounds like you should treat all of us, UE.

Besides the home-smoked... where do you favor for BBQ outings? ← Any response I would give would be very outdated, I'm afraid. We don't go out for 'que as a rule. I have had occasion to eat Fiorella's food frequently as they seem to cater everything I attend (I know, it wouldn't seem like it if their style were to my taste). I should make the rounds again, I guess, but it seems to be such a personal thing that recommendations may or may not be helpful. I know Katie Nell really loves Jack Stack so if she were visiting from out of town and listened to me, she would never have found her cheesy corn Over the years we've been far more inclined to go to little places no one has heard of than the big 3 or 4. I have been meaning to try Jones BBQ in KCK - the place joiei sneaked-off to without me on his last visit

I already nominated Gabrielle Hamilton and Jimmy Bradley in the midwest categorie.

I, too, bought one of those to avoid going to a Pampered Chef party thrown by a co-worker. I've come very close to tossing it and/or putting it in the next community sale but something stops me every time (visions of cute little tea sandwiches, I guess). Maybe this will inspire me

I've heard of not allowing cookies but this 'hide cake' concept is a new one. Add me to the unimpressed and start a new "dismayed" list: I clicked on the Local Dining Guide link and much to my surprise, Kansas City was on the "major cities" list (despite the fact we rarely make it into those ranks in the 'major' food periodicals). So I clicked on our fair city to see if it looked advertorial or 'real' and to my even greater surprise, was taken to a page (with map) of Kansas City KS! For those unfamiliar with the area - and with all due respect to KCK, home of many delicious restaurants most of which are small, ethnic and rarely heard of outside of these forums - KCK (as it is called locally) is not the Kansas City most people think of. KCMO is the home of the majority of restaurants typically associated with Kansas City (although that's becoming less true as the Johnson County suburbs continue to grow and open some interesting non-franchise places). Anyway, I'm rambling but I just found it interesting that they defaulted to KCK as it gaves a rather different perspective to dining here than most people expect. Yes, there are fabulous mom and pop eateries, with a heavy leaning toward Latino cuisines, but I would guess the typical yahoo food visitor would be looking for something else entirely. I'm not going to call their attention to it, though. It would be great if some tourist dollars found their way into the urban core on the KS side and all of those hard-working, unsung heros in tiny kitchens benefitted from what is probably just lazy research.

OK, so I used Old English for emphasis ONE TIME and now it has become my lingua franca? Jeez, UE. . . And I'm sure I will burn in KC BBQ hell for saying it, but I wouldn't tell anyone to hie themself to JS. Obviously I am in the minority but I am not a fan.

Well, you had an assignment and you failed us. I guess we'll have to send someone reliable next time I'm glad you at least got a decent burger for your troubles. Honestly, while I did not eat there during the music-centric visits, those who arrived early to get tables for our rather-large party did eat dinner there (since they ended up being there for about 6 hours, who can blame them?) and they had more good than bad to say about what they ordered. So the lesson is, if you have to go to a recreation chain resto, CiP is probably not the worst choice. And I give them some points for supporting local/area musicians. I guess there's still some good to Jimmy, in spite of his being tossed from a Heat game, recording with Toby Keith and becoming a chain restaurant mogul.

I was a little worried about this happening. Ruhlman's never been the same and now he's gotten to you, too. The guy is evil incarnate

KC Media Digest for week of November 3-9, 2006 The Kansas City Star Food Section Jill Silva's Eating For Life column this week features a recipe for Cornish Hens in Cider. Their size allows effortless portion control. Janet Majure pops in on a couple of 37 years who offer their vegetable beef soup recipe in Come Into My Kitchen. Gail Borelli examines the trend of school lunch providers to emulate fast-casual dining fare the students are accustomed to eating elsewhere. Anne Brockhoff finds some reasonably tasty NA brews are available these days. Lauren Chapin reviews The 150 Best American Recipes. Here is the Food Calendar for the coming week. Preview Section Grand Street Cafe, operated by the PB&J Group, has been going strong for 15 years now. Lauren Chapin revisits it with mixed results. In Good & Cheap she checks-out the new downtown outpost of a Mizzou bar, Willie's (content not currently available online). Other Miscellaneous Cindy Hoedel writes of the helpful technologies that enabled the upcoming Thanksgiving food and home feature, a cooperative effort with Jill Silva to have a "100-mile" holiday feast. The Pitch The intrepid tee-totalling Charles Ferruzza goes bar hopping to try the better-than-standard fare at One80 in Westport. And finds some local institutions have lost their previous luster in My Big Fat Mouth. In the Lawrence Journal-World Gail Mellinger stands alone in a family of squash detractors; she shares a soup recipe. Get some tips from county extension expert Susan Krumm in this Q&A. <><><><><> Media Digest Notes... Updates from some area media outlets, which do not 'go to press' before we do, will be edited into each week's post as they become available. Please do not reply on this thread. For discussion of any stories which are linked here, please feel free to start a new thread or contact the forum host or digester who will be happy to do it for you. <><><><><>

I hate to burst your bubble but I can't think that the parm/asiago conversation is likely; rather cheddar/velveeta. I have been to CiP twice (to listen to live music, she hastened to add) and I don't recall seeing anything on the menu that would involve either of the formaggi Italiani. Now I bet your are REALLY looking forward to it, eh?

Not at all, Wench. You vaguely threatened to stuff me in the trunk of your Volvo a while back and it's that coming back to haunt you. Have a great time and don't forget to tip your [singing] waiters and waitresses.

This is a good tip...what other flavors do you enjoy? I tried this when we were down at the Plaza Art Fair...agree with your comments above. It would be nice to sample some of their strengths next time in. ← Hi, Aaron and welcome. Are you related to Allistair (sorry, been junking-out on BBC comedies lately).

Bah, I say! Bah!

I think it is hard to beat Lazy Acres in Santa Barbara for overall quality in all departments - and they have wine, flowers and a decent selection of (overpriced) kitchen items which, can save you an extra stop if you just need, for example, some skewers as I did on a recent stop. I would kill for a store like that here in KC. We have some places that do one thing well but fall short of the mark for others, necessitating a circumnavigation to pull together an elaborate meal. Some of the ethnic markets, notably the large Asian one north of City Market, may come closest to facilitating a one-stop meal. And add me to those lamenting the demise of the original D&D and Balducci's. And isn't Gourmet Garage similarly "reconcepted"? Oy.

We had the exact same conversation at our house. It does seem to defy gravity, doesn't it? Once again, CC, I went to bed hungry thanks to you.

I hear you! I had a big presentation due today and the whole time I was working on it all I could do was try to put it all into the rhyme scheme. For some reason I don't think it would add to one's credibility (depending on the audience, I suppose). I think Si should endow (there we are, using that word in conjunction with an Irishman again ) an eG scholarship and the winner could use the stipend for an extended stay in Limerick to see if the ability can be learned through immersion or is innate.

I love Roesti (should be ulmauted "o" sans/ohne "e" but I am lazy) - the 'Swiss National Dish' but sadly I've never found a recipe that equals the Hero brand I buy ready to cook. I've never served them to anyone who didn't fall in love with them so perhaps one of our Swiss society members could help. They could be done ahead and crisped-up at service, I think.

We've been doing this at the American Royal BBQ for years. At first 'purists' scoffed but I've noticed more and more of them turning up. When it's cold and/or damp or the night-duty officer falls asleep at the switch it sure comes in handy.

To find a good wintertime melon Would require the skills of Magellan How much easier t'would be To eat seasonally And just buy what the farmers are sellin'.

There once was a restaurant reviewer Whose opinions her readers did skewer Seems the stars she gave out Were the cause of much doubt To all but a few chefs who knew her. Edited to fix type-o, belatedly.

gasp! I can't imagine cooking it. It's SO good raw. I saw someone hollow and stuff one, then steam the lot once and thought that might not be a bad idea but I've just never been able to bring myself to cook them. I'm probably really missing out but oh well.

I've been to ones that pretty much run the gamut, as the others have written. I had the pleasure of 'working' one last week for a neighbor's son. The father of the bride had, during the couples courtship, met the groom's father at a cookout and had occasion to taste his bbq, so he specifically asked that our friend smoke meats for the rehearsal dinner, since the size of the reception made a caterer pretty much mandatory. Long story short (too late, I know ) it was a very informal and comfortable event and probably everyone over the age of 10 who attended made a comment about how much they had enjoyed it. The room was 'tarted up' with nice place settings, flowers, candles etc, so it wasn't inelegant as you might think. But the vibe was far more convivial and allowed for more mingling and visiting than in a nice restaurant. All of the attendants, many of whom had not met before, actually had an opportunity to get to know one another before the ceremony and it really made the whole event better I think.