FabulousFoodBabe

Bux reached out to me some time ago and was always there to guide and encourage. One of the things I liked most about him was that you never had to wonder what was on his mind. He was articulate and direct, and stubborn and fair, loved his family and was so proud of their accomplishments. To you, Buxbaum. Rest well.

We spent the Christmas/New Year's holidays at Punta Cana in 2005-06 and in answer to your subheading, "no." Though we had a great beach barbecue at PC one night, one of my favorite meals of the year, the rest of the time the food was pretty awful. And watch your little ones: the bartenders served my kids "real" margaritas. Such a beautiful setting, though, and they were trying hard.

A favorite topic ... not in any particular order: Nobu RK Atelier (Greenwich, CT) Turtle Inn (Placencia, Belize) Blue Hill at Stone Barns Four Seasons (lunch at the bar) Coco Rumba (Mt. Kisco, NY) Alinea Charlie Trotter's (Mostly because of how much fun we had) l"Atelier de Joel Robuchon A Voce Tie between a diner near the marina in Placencia, and A beach barbecue at Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. Edited to add A Voce, and correct spelling, but can't bring myself to yank the "tied" meals ..they really were terrific.

I have this vision of Chef Ramsay lifting stuff in the kitchen, and stopping for a moment to admire his well-oiled guns in the door of the refrigerator ... nice. Seriously, though. Why is this news? Most cooks I know wear long sleeves rolled up to their elbows.

I was wondering if it came off a wire in whole or part, is all. Nice job! I'd think that if you have someone into your home for a meal, they are friends. Shoot, home-based caterers have been wiggling past the health department forever. Anyway, we all enjoyed the piece, here at the FB's. My sons had a belief about Duke that it was Party Central when their Dad was there, and now it's just, well, not. So there really are people there who do more than just study in K'ville during the season? Hey, they needed to see it for themselves. And now they want to go to WD50.

So I open this month's issue of Duke Magazine, and there he is -- Z Kitchen. Nice piece, and nice photos! And Bryan, some of what was written sounded familiar and not from eG. Was it published elsewhere?

So true. And I made more connections on my years in the business, and on my externship, than I did at the CIA. Yes, it is what you make of it. There will be people who root for getting an education (or lack thereof). I've also wished CIA and J&W would put together some sort of football team, so there can be a clear winner between them at something! I wonder what your chef says about your plans? Lots of the people on my team at school were encouraged by their chefs -- in some cases, they insisted. And not all of them were CIA graduates. My experiences: CIA and Greystone: Yeah, bigger facilities at Hyde Park. To me, though, Napa would be such a wonderful place to learn, in and out of the school kitchen. FCI: In the city, and what a great faculty they have. I take supplemental courses there, and can see that they're working hard to improve and expand the curriculum. NECI: Alton Brown went there! Seriously, the people I've worked with who were NECI students or grads were pretty great. And, they can ski when they're not in class or at work.

If it wasn't so sad, this would be too funny! Melkor, I'm enjoying this blog about your life (may you enjoy many years of bliss with MsM), and the beautiful area you live in. Your avatar: Is that Euell Gibbons, Grandpa Walton, or that guy from The Real McCoy? Or, is it you?

I Like You: Entertaining Under The Influence by Amy Sedaris. Her "Munchies" chapter is particularly inspiring.

This year, I brined the turkey 2 days ahead of time, and pulled it the night before it was to be roasted. Then, I let it air-dry on a rack in the refrigerator. Beautiful result.

I'm so stealing this for my brother! Awesome! ← I am now THE most popular Auntie among a group of North Carolina teenagers! (In my day, the popular Aunties were the ones who bought the kids beer. ) The recipe, more or less, for a medium deep, quart mold: Soften 7 envelopes of Knox gelatin and one of Jello (I used Orange, sugar-free) in 2 cups very hot water; let it dissolve. Stir in 2 cups of cool water. Pour a layer of gelatin into the container you're using, and let it set (about 30 seconds, LOL). Add the calculator/stapler, and press it in gently. In the meantime, soften the remaining gelatin in the microwave or over hot water, just until it's pourable, and top the item with the mixture. Refrigerate until presentation time. If you have to ship this to someone, it's best to line the container in plastic wrap, and to use a container with a tight-fitting lid.

My nephew is a(n) "The Office" (UK) freak. For his 18th birthday, which is right near Halloween, I gave him a calculator suspended in orange Jell-O. For Christmas, it will be an iTunes gift card ... in red and green layered Jell-O.

Once, in a fancy restaurant, I misread "poussin" -- thought it said "poisson." Hilarity ensued.

This is a serious question: Do they play the "Mission Impossible" music? Do the assignment disintegrate, and do the chefs descend into the walk-ins via cable? I'm torn between wanting this to be a cheesed-up ripoff of MI, and wanting it to just be what it's supposed to be. And I can't think of Colonial Williamsburg any more without thinking of Colonial Dunsboro (Choke, Chuck Palahniuk).

racheld, I'm so excited to see you bloggin'! I grew up in SW Ohio, moments from the Indiana border. I wonde what else will seem familiar to me. Looking forward to your handwritten instructions, and more beautiful photos.

OMG -- like napalm! Funny and true! If any gets on the carpet, you have to wait until it dries to peel it off in a sheet. My FIL, when he retired, used to help with the football program at the local high school (in SC where he lives). His group of guys would help prepare team breakfasts and whenever he was "on grits," the team lost. So they banned him from first stirring, then serving, the grits. He's a nice old dude and everything, but this was serious stuff. Grits vs. Polenta cookoff does need judges and contestants. More as the site comes together. I think it's a smackdown whose time has come. FWIW, I always hear grits as a softer eeee sound, rolling quickly from the front to the back of the tongue. Grehayuts.

Okra? .................................. Personally I think a grits vs. polenta cook-off is in order to resolve if there are indeed any discoverable differences. OOOOOeeeee. Would that be fun. ← The first public event in my new kitchen will be a Polenta/Grits cookoff, complete with smack-talking between the teams. No bikini cooking, though. Who's in? Fabby, who don't kid about stuff like this.

No self-respecting Polenta would allow him/herself to be on a steam table at a cafeteria (high school, restaurant, football training table) in the South. ::ducking::: Fabby, who decided she had to leave the South once and for all the day her firstborn came home and asked for grits.

Terrific. Just terrific! Perhaps it was that Tom & katie's wedding kept the paparazzi away from me so I could really relax and enjoy .. I don't care. It was a wonderful meal and a wonderful time. I'm not going to dissect the dishes because I spent many years doing that for my job and I am thrilled to be able to dine for the pure pleasure. I don't photograph my food for the same reason, though there were a couple of diners down the counter from us who were doing just that. While they were trying to get the right angle on the sugar sphere, I was enjoying mine. So maybe I'm crazy and alone, but this was food to just be enjoyed. The counter was the right decision for us. What a lovely surrounding, what comfortable chairs and kind service, and the food was so pure and clean that I had to make myself not exclaim. The sea urchin and lobster gelee tasted like the ocean. The sweetbreads were mine, all mine, because Mr. FB can't get away from "what they really are." Too bad -- these would have made him a believer. Venison, quail, foie burgers, crab, langoustine, calamar, sea bass (for my husband), and the coconut ravioli pre-dessert were just one amazing dish after another. The sugar sphere and the chocolate revived my joie de dessert. As we prepared to leave, the full effect of the martinis and the wine kicked in, and I felt completely comfortable kicking off the Choos and walking down the stairs in my stocking feet. Happily, Fabby

Hey, turkeybone, just wanted to say, "Not bad for right out of the gate!" Congratulations!

There was a naughty parody about Mrs. Olsen in a boy-magazine, and my roommate was in charge of PR for P&G back then. Egad, what a mess. And yeah, it was funny. "Good to the last drop" was Maxwell house. Okay, what else would it be? I wonder if they'd admit it that one should quit f*cking drinking this stuff before you reach the end of the cup!

Agree. It's right up there with "I ate all the Fruzen Gladje."

What school, alexistristin? I ask because sometimes the externship office can help on ways to approach various sites. Here's what I did: I picked the places I was interested in, and emailed the chef or the chef de cuisine and just said, "I'm a CIA student looking for externship from __ to __, anything available?" Some of the places don't take externs during certain times, or only have one or two slots available, etc. etc. If you give the subject line, "Student Seeking Externship," it'll get their attention. In almost all cases,I got an immediate reply and instructions on what to do next (usually, email my resume and specifics to the sous). Good Luck -- and smart of you to start looking now!

I don't feel like a bad parent because one of my kids just hates vegetables. I may have told the broccoli story before. I also don't feel like someone whose child just adores foie gras is a better parent. I don't lie about my kids' eating habits. And I do personally know quite a few women who do. Thank god for little Finster who eats only certain fancy cheeses, lots of kohlrabi, beets and kale, and "no soda or refined sugars; no pizza or sandwiches." We can always count on him to search out and consume the leftover Halloween (or Spring) Oreos. Bad/no taste food is simply easier for some kids to eat, is all, and I don't cook like that. My family didn't either, so I adapted as I grew up. Example: I couldn't eat strong cheese until I was in my 20s, and I grew up in a mostly Italian family, where that kind of food was all around me, all the time. And no one lied about my eating habits -- it was considered a failure as a parent if your teenager wound up in jail.

Interesting topic, and one that I'll learn from as well. Last kitchen I redid, I hired a designer -- the deal was that I spent $500 on the design, which went into the cost of the cabinets if I bought from them. This was in Atlanta, and seemed to be typical of the places I spoke to (high end and moderate ranges). This one, though, is a bit more involved and I hired an architect who works for a percentage of the final construction costs. It's much more, but the job is pretty involved and they are doing everything for me, including negotiating prices on appliances to spending significant time on site during construction.