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Most restaurants would kill to have 15,000 potential new customers a day delivered just five minutes away! Even if you lose half your customer base, you only need to attract one percent of the new ones to increase your business by 25%. Then you'll be able to raise wages. Why not find a good advertising/marketing consultant and see if you can turn this situation to your advantage?

I have quite a few cookbooks most of you might be embarrassed to own, including a few touting specific brands, several by Food Net celebrities, (yes, including RR ), a couple Mr Food books, and, of course, one of my all-time favorites! SB (never saw a cookbook without at least one interesting recipe or idea )

.... this is what you're doing on a beautiful Summer Saturday night. SB

I guess it depends on why you're buying the book. Pictures do add a lot to the price. One of my favorite books for baking, the King Arthur Flour 200th Anniversary Cookbook, contains no photos and just a few drawings, whereas two of my other favorite cookbooks, Baking with Julia and Julia & Jacques Cooking at Home just wouldn't be the same without the excellent photos. Then there are publications like the Balthazar Cookbook where the photography completely overshadows the text!

An old "Bull Cook" trick was to skewer each potatoe lengthwise with a carpenters nail! SB (use a 20 penney nail for a 4 inch spud )

Adding the Egg, as suggested, will also provide some fat. SB (Have FUN! )

I think Dean should have advised Leila to be proud to have been compared to a published professor without the "only ten years old" caveat? SB (wouldn't be ashamed to be compared to either Professor Russell or Leila )(or Carolyn, for that matter )

I'm not going to accusingly quote, "People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones." but who amongst us hasn't, either in person or post, been guilty of at least tossing a small pebble of oneupsmanship or vainglory hard enough to crack our dining room window?

The Food Network Host who reminded me most of myself is David Rosengarten, although he's no longer on. He style was knowledgable and competent but not flashy. I suspect he'd rank between Flay and Batalli in the above list. SB (would be flashy .... if he could be )

I tried it yesterday! MISO POT ROAST Get a 3.25 - 3.5 pound chunk of Chuck Trim off all fat and make sure meat fits in your 5 qt Dutch Oven Brown it well on all sides Deglaze pot (I use 1tsp balsamic vinegar/2 tsp grape juice/3 tsp water mix) Place 3-4 stalks of celery, a chopped up carrot and a chopped up onion in pot Rub browned Chuck with a Tablespoon or so of Miso Paste Set Chuck atop vegetables, cover loosely with a piece of foil Cook in a 250 degree oven for about 3 hrs Let Roast rest 10-15 minutes before slicing Strain broth (there should be at least 1 cup) and either use as au juice or make a gravy Simple. Tasty! SB (and I have enough beef and broth left for French Dip Sandwiches tomorrow )

I didn't even bother to search the 854 previous posts on this topic because I'm sure nobody has ever written: I'm eating Saltines with Velveeta and Miso Paste! SB

I believe I'm within the rules if I quote just part of the opening paragraph? What do "rogues, writers and whores" have to do with food? A great deal, according to Daniel Rogov, a columnist for Le Monde in Paris. He leads us on a literately louche tour of two millennia of culinary history, highlighting food-linked immortals from the Latin gourmand Lucius Licinius Lucullus to A.J. Liebling, the American journalist who made Paris his adopted home. - The OnLine Journal - "Gastronomy" - By ARAM BAKSHIAN JR. - June 2, 2007; Page P8 The review goes on to mention sections from the book dealing with food related stories of various characters including writers Pepys, Hemmingway, Proust, and Joyce. Historical royal figures are apparently also featured. From the tone of the piece I would say it was "favorably reviewed". SB (whose Amazon Wish List just keeps getting longer )

There is a recipe for Sawdust Cookies, which look to me like they could be baked in a pan to make brownies. Why not bake up a batch for next Market Day? SB (I assume the name comes from their appearance and not the ingredients. )

I think maybe I've had something like this without knowing what they're called? At my local bakery we order by pointing and saying, "... and one of those..." SB (is it pronounced "Pithy-veers"?)

Thanks for the references to the handy chart and interesting site. I've previously ordered Italian Flour from King Arthur. I'm no baker, (except in name ), but I really couldn't tell any difference when I used it in the recipes I tried. SB

Okay, based on the posts above, I'm sold. Or, at least, I've added this book to my Amazon Wish List! SB (really wishes he had more time to read! )

I don't recall having knowingly done so, but I'd have no compunction about it, having never been particularly enamored of the creatures. (It's also worth noting that horse fat is said to make the best pommes frites) I haven't made it to the reviews yet, but in the past I have purchased several books based on reviews in Gastro. In fact, one could maybe even justify a subscription to Gastronomica based solely on it's function as a journal of food book reviews. I'll admit that the back cover design caused me almost as much consternation as the hole riddled rolling pin on the front. Although I support slowfood in principle, and have several friends involved in it, I've often been uncomfortable when they skirt political issues only peripherally associated with food. Now that I think about it, that may also be my objection to recent issues of Gastronomica? While I'm hardly apolitical, (I've managed several successful State Legislative level campaigns for friends), I prefer my food literature served sans rhetorique politique. SB (pardon my French )

Being an early riser, I found myself at 6:30 this morning outside my Ford, Lincoln/Mercury dealership which doesn't open until 7:30. I had my copy of Gastronomica with me, so I just opened it up and started reading. The article I read was "They Eat Horses Don't They - Hippophagy and the French" by Kari Weil. This piece was very well researched and scholarly without being pedantic, and examined the historical, psychological and practical aspects of dining on horse which are particular to the French, with even a bit of humor thrown in! It reminded me of the "old" Gastro. I hope this bodes well for the remainder of this issue, as well as future offerings. SB

Do not, I repeat, do not, try to cook them, or livers and hearts, in a microwave! To misappropriate an Emeril quote: BAM!

If I had to pick any one book I own and cook every dish, I choose Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home, but only if I had somebody like Julia or Jacques to cook with. Otherwise I'll take Aunt Bee's Mayberry Cookbook. SB (I can handle all those recipes myself )

As if on cue, my copy of the Spring 2007 issue also arrived today. I personally found the cover picture of an apparently worm-eaten rolling pin somewhat disconcerting, but Gastro is known for it's intriguing covers. I've just removed the magazine from it's "100% Recycleable 4LDPF" prophylactic sheath, and I'll give you my first impressions as I page through it. {interest generated in reading the article, 1 being least likely, 10 a sure thing} Time Travels by Editor Darra Goldstein, "I traveled through all of Europe..." {4} Nobody I personally know is listed in this issue's feature Contributors. Borborygmus, Letters and short subjects, contains a piece by my old friend Anna M. Shih, entitled "Food Podcasts". Anna is a patent attorney and food writer who has published several other articles in Gastro. (She is also the person who introduced me to eGullet) {10} This will be the first thing I read. Mark Morton's orts and scantlings regular column deals with food and word play. A quick scan of this installment doesn't excite me, except to note that "up until the sixteenth century (carrots) were called dauk or clapwype". {5} An article about Chinese artist Zhan Wang has an interesting photo of a huge quantity of metal food service vessels. {3} Sommelier, a poem. {1} Something about "Gerald & Sara Murphy's Life of Beautiful Things", {2} I'm getting tired of this already. I'll read Anna's piece and stash the magazine in my briefcase for work tomorrow. SB (uninspired )

I think maybe it says more about a lack of health concerns. The "problem" being addressed is usually easily avoided by eating a proper diet and exercising regularly. SB (pun intended)

A. Learning the nomenclature B. Understanding and becoming comfortable with equipment C. Identifying problems with their causes and solutions D. Practice Practice Practice SB (and then .... Practice some more! )