Darcie B

I guess it's all about perspective. I got the opposite feeling. I didn't view it as a lot of things going on, I saw it more as not enough going on. It's like a gathering of tasty garnishes with no focus point to pull them together. That's why I keep going on about ice cream, cake, meringue, etc. I don't see a lot of point to the sauces on the plate (no matter how tasty they are) other than appearance when the fruit is already in it's own sauce in a seperate glass, there's nothing to mop them up with. I just can't picture someone taking a spoon of fruit covered in sauce from the glass and trying to scrape some of the plate sauce into it before taking a bite. ← I agree - I just didn't frame my position properly. To me there were many components, but no clear star of the dessert.

I haven't even seen a clip yet and I am already annoyed by Spike and his hat. This is gonna be fun!

I think I would only add one kind of dried fruit. To me, that dessert looks a little messy, like you're trying to do too much. The sauces intrigue me and I hope that the flavors blend well and aren't competing with each other. You have a lot of things going on and I'm of the KISS mindset. I like the grilled fruit, but I agree it should be off the skin. You can serve it so it looks like it's on the skin, but as it is I think it would be a little difficult to eat. I agree that the red sauce should be thicker. Wish I could taste it!

Several people upthread also noted that the cost of propane has also shot up. Many ovens are fueled by propane, which has, in some places, quadrupled in price. Quite probably shipping charges for the flour have increased as well due to rising fuel prices. I don't know if the price quotes above reflect that. Just at the local grocery store, flour prices have, within the last two weeks, increased by 50%. Other items have gone up as well. It's going to hit everyone, and those at the bottom of the income scale will get hit the hardest. On the bright side, my brothers have a small family farm that has lost money for 6 years in a row. This year they might turn a profit because they had some wheat stored from last season's harvest. They just sold a load of sprout-damaged wheat for double what they sold first-quality wheat for last fall. It's a crazy world.

I can't do the dinner, but would like to be included for drinks at TVH Thursday. Thanks.

I just wanted to say this thread is quite interesting. I actually am going in the opposite directio and trying to stock my larder. Maybe I inherited this from my grandma, maybe all of my husband's kooky survivalist friends are getting to me, maybe it's all the snow, I don't know. But I'm making sure we have plenty of food to last for months if for some reason the grocery store shelves are bare. If that happens, I can always reference this thread for inspiration! Good luck to all you pantry purgers. I wish I had a walk in pantry. I'm starting to eye the small third bedroom...heaven help me...

So many foams look *exactly* like cat puke so I can't get into them either.

I used plain beaten egg whites for this but will try the Italian meringue next time. I wanted to try it both ways to see what worked better for me.

I've been reading this thread for two years, and I finally worked up the courage to try macarons. I guess they aren't terrible for a first attempt, but I want to get them to be a little more domed and with bigger feet. I think my batter was a bit too thin so I'll try to fix that next time. They sure do taste good though.

I'm going to echo the idea of using a fruit, but I'm going to say pineapple. It pairs well with coconut. I would do a samoa crust, a layer of pineapple cheesecake, a layer of coconut cheesecake, and top it off with toasted coconut, caramel, and chocolate-dipped dried pineapples. Edit to add: I'm originally from North Dakota, so I know about what people consider "exciting." I think what I've described might be tame enough. Good luck.

OK, now I understand where you are coming from. I was not aware of this mandatory "Living Wage," I was just saying living wage as in a wage someone could live on without assistance. Here, at least, it's below $14/hour. Maybe it's higher elsewhere. I agree, it doesn't seem fair for a dishwasher to be paid the same as a degreed cook. I do think the bottom level should be raised, though. Yeah, it might raise prices but again, we are paying one way or another. The way it is now many of the costs are hidden.

Can you please put me down as 1 for all (and all for 1?!). Now I have to ask my friend if I can stay at her place. Hmmm, maybe I'm doing this backwards. Oh, well.

I'm not quite sure I follow. I AM comfortable. We went into the business knowing it would take several years before profitability. We worked paying decent into the equation from the start. We aren't going to be millionaires, for sure, but we will make an adequate amount. Guess we aren't greedy enough? I really can't comprehend your logic. If someone isn't paid a living wage, the full cost of his/her needs will have to be met by the government/taxpayers. Are you saying you'd rather pay much higher taxes than have companies pay a decent wage? Because that is happens when people have to rely on subsidies and food stamps. Do you believe that the costs associated with someone going to the ER to get care he can't pay for just disappear? Those costs get passed through the system to everyone. Someone has to pay, why not let it be the companies who are employing the workers? That way the true cost is known up front, and isn't borne on the back end by the middle class.

I have no problem with the safeguards (a safety net is a good thing), just who ends up paying for them, and why they are being used. Why can't the companies pay a better wage so we as individual taxpayers don't have to foot the bill for their employees? I think the safety net should be for folks that lose their jobs, have a temporary injury etc. I know that companies can be profitable and still provide a decent wage, so why should I be the one as a taxpayer paying for someone's rent subsidy so MegaMart executives and shareholders get can a bigger return? I'm a proponent of a livable wage, and I have to make payroll. It's hard, but it's the right thing to do. Livable wage here I would guess is ~$10/hour. Fifteen years ago I lived, modestly but comfortably, on $5.00/hour. Adjusting for inflation (~3.5%/year), that would be $8.38/hour today. I don't think any job is so menial that someone shouldn't be paid enough to live without subsidies. Since this is venturing far off topic, I pray for forgiveness from the moderator. Edit to clarify my thoughts on the safety net.

I can't think of any industry that includes the tax with the prices, even though of course any of them could. This is true of things I've ordered online from Europe as well. I don't think that will change any time soon. I really would rather have the minimum wage apply to all employees, and do away with the whole tipping business, making tips then real tips and not substitute wages. Same for surcharges. I hate that FedEx and UPS have fuel surcharges instead of just raising the prices, and I don't want to see any surcharges for someone's health care. My husband and I have a small business. We pay well above minimum wage even though it's not customary around here. We also supply food and (good) beer in the company fridge, offer paid vacation, pay bonuses for extra effort, and offer a subsidy for private health insurance. We believe that to do less is wrong. It's taking longer, but we are should be profitable this year (#4). We feel a moral imperative to allow our employees to make a decent living. But we don't apply any surcharges on invoices. If people aren't paid enough to make a living (i.e. food, clothing and shelter - not everyone needs a cell phone and cable), society will be paying via food stamps, rent subsidies and whatnot. I think that shifts the burden unfairly from companies to individual taxpayers.

hummingbirdkiss, I'm glad to see others have long-term DIY construction projects. We are fortunate to be able to do the work ourselves but motivation seems to be scarce recently. Our basement looks much like your kitchen in progress. I definitely don't qualify for this thread. We looked at houses for 3 years before buying ours, and we bought it basically because it had a large kitchen (13 x 16), yet was in our price range. We saw dozens of houses we could afford with closet-sized kitchens and many huge kitchens with oversize mortgages to go with them. I almost got sick when I saw my friend's new kitchen. The kitchen must be at least 18 x 20, and he NEVER cooks. He doesn't deserve it. There I said it. And just to rub it in, not only do we have a large kitchen, we have space in the basement for a second kitchen, which we may get around to building one of these days. Before anyone gets too jealous, there isn't any other advantage to living here. There isn't a really good restaurant closer than a four-hour drive, the economy is stagnant, and there are few too many meth labs for my taste.

I think that we are also becoming more different in who cooks and who doesn't by generation rather than just gender. Most women older than me can cook, even if they don't particularly like it. However, people my age and younger, both men and women, are less likely to know how to, or want to, cook. My friends are always amazed by my interest in cooking and baking. They would rather eat out or buy a Stouffer's meal. My perspective is that many other traditional skills are going by the wayside for both genders: the ability to work on your own car, canning and preserving, sewing, fixing things around the house. I don't know if it is because I just grew up in an abnormally anachronistic, DIY household or if it is because I live in a slightly more urban area now. I feel cooking falls into that whole shift. Don't get me started on how skills are valued along gender lines. I hope that someday we can just recognize skills for skills' sake and not for who performs the tasks. That said, I really got a lot of attention in the 90s because I was a woman who raced and built her own cars. In fact, that is how I met my husband. Good thing I could impress him with my mechanic ability because at the time I could hardly boil water.

Actually, there *is* a different word for a vodka martini, but it ain't used much, and when it's used, it's by cocktail geeks who wouldn't order it anyway. It's a Kangaroo. Christopher ← Obviously I didn't know that, but now I do! I hope never to have to use it.

I guess I am a purist mainly when I have an opportunity to bring someone down a notch. Like when my boss, who fancies himself quite knowledgeable about food, wine and drink, said he wanted a eXpresso with milk in it. First I had to point out that there is no X in espresso, then I asked him if he wanted a latte or cappuccino, whereupon he looked bewildered. Thus ensued a half hour explanation of different types of coffee drinks. (A great time waster as well. Boo ya!) But I only did it because he is such a know-it-all. I eat pizza with pineapple, make pesto with alternate ingredients, use onion in guacamole, sometimes use bechamel in lasagna, type BBQ, and so forth. I think that generally, food terms are flexible since regional variations abound, and time obscures the origins of any recipe. If it tastes good, I'll eat. Sometimes even if it isn't so good if I'm hungry enough (otherwise I'd never be able to eat fast food). There are two things I may actually be a purist about. One is a martini. A martini is gin and vermouth (I like 4:1). Hold the olives and lemon peel, but maybe add a dash of bitters. Do not call anything made with vodka a martini. I wish someone would have used a different word when they made that vodka drink because it's too late to change it now. The other is butter. Don't ever, ever call margarine butter or say in a recipe "Use X tablespoons butter OR margarine." Margarine should be outlawed.

I guess you are only eating at posh establishments. For the vast majority of servers a per person cost is more likely to be between $20 and $50 per person. And how many hours per shift do you think a server will get 10 people per hour? I'd say 2-3. No server is getting that kind of turnover for the duration of an 8-hour shift. Most servers I know make under $30,000 per year, most well below that. They are not exactly rolling in the dough. I'm sure there are some making more, but only at a few establishments. If being a server in the U.S. were lucrative, I would have remained a waitress well beyond college, believe me.

That's a great idea. You could use Russian Samovar tea as well (at least I think that's the smoked one). It's really smokey.

Yes, in most of the U.S., servers are paid much less than the standard minimum wage so their "tips" really are their wages. Maybe it should be changed but until then, it is inconsiderate to ignore it. Tax evasion - are you serious? I don't understand not respecting customs of other countries. If I have the chance to travel to another country, I will observe the customs whether I agree with them or not. To do otherwise is rude.

I'm glad that Fat Guy explained the difference between ebook readers and other digital displays. I was under the impression it was just another LCD or plasma screen like a laptop and was not at all interested. I might take a look at one now (my boss is a total gadget freak so I might even be able to convince him to buy it LOL). I can see its usefulness, especially for someone living in, say, Manhattan where space is at a premium. A Kindle would allow you to have a lot more books than you could cram into a small apartment. I also see an advantage for someone who moves a lot - I hate moving my library. I for one would be very interested in moving to this technology, yes, at the expense of traditional books. I'm not a member of the tweener generation but I've always embraced new technologies where I've found them useful. I guess I'm not very sentimental. I have problems with traditional cookbooks - the spines break, they don't stay open when I'm trying to cook from them, my cats shred them, etc. I can see moving away from printed books almost entirely - except of course for my signed copies... However, I think it will take some time for printed books to become obsolete. TV didn't kill radio, the internet hasn't (yet) killed newspapers, etc.

I see that the BBC Two site says "apply now" but can't find any links for applying. Have they finished taking applicants for Season Two?

Here is what I would like in a dream scale. Some of these are already available on the one I currently use, the myWeigh 7001. 1) ability to weigh with 1 g accuracy to about 10 kg (7-8 kg would be OK) (I don't weigh the small stuff, but if it could be .1 g accurate and priced below $150 I might) 2) easy conversion between unit measures 3) ability to build a total weight but be able to scroll back to see how much each previous ingredient weighed (press a button between each ingredient so you didn't just get each scoop). Limit of ~10 ingredients. This would help with things like "did I remember to put in the baking soda?" 4) tare feature, natch 5) hold feature and/or removable display for large bowls that obscure readout (or maybe a projection feature out the back similar to some alarm clocks?) 6) both battery and inverter power 7) baker's percentage feature like Chris Hennes described 8) really a dream - interface to plug into laptop to record measurements (helpful in recipe development) - maybe an export button that would put the last X measurements into a spreadsheet. 9) ability to recalibrate 10) priced under $150; ideally $100 (i know, dream on) 11) easy to clean 12) not too bulky (the 7001 is ideally sized for me)