FabulousFoodBabe

You certainly are. And you sound like quite an angry koala! Where is that "cringing in fear" emoticon ... Just so you know, I got an A on my Chef Matching test -- I know that Danny Meyer belongs with The Modern. (I also know that he's not the chef at the Modern -- Gabe Kreuther is.) As for the rest of your rant, well, yeah. I have read some of the comments on the Beard awards. They don't influence my opinions.

Thanks for all the suggestions -- I'm wishing I had a real ventilation system instead of my wimpy downdraft; the thought of frying in this house and the resulting "oily air" is making me very sad. It would work for a bit, but not long. Which of these suggestions keep/hold/freeze the best?

Why? Care to elaborate? I don't have much of an opinion on it, though I admit to being a big-time Dan Barber fan. I find the rest of it interesting to read about, but that's that.

Ahhh, a very good idea -- very. Worth pulling the madeleine pan from storage, even. And calipou, the chips are a good one, too. I wish I had one of those Big Green Eggs for my deck so I could load it with peanut oil and fry for a few hours. Mmmm ... Saratoga chips with barbecue sauce on them. Or chips with blue cheese. Or just chips.

Hmmm, you're rolling your eyes Do you really want it? It'll be scaled weird and honestly, I cook according to formula versus recipe, and adjust as I see fit. Saturday's dinner party is casual, with fancy food. the more I think about these russets, the more annoyed they are making me. I can't do au gratins! What the hell was I thinking? Not with the first course I have planned .... Anyway, no baked-potato parties can happen any time soon here, even if I was so inclined. My oven is practically easy-bake size, and I won't have enough time to do pommes anna. They really are kind of attractive for potatoes. Maybe instead of the potted herbs I was going to give the guests, I'll dress each little potato up like a member of the Senate. Or, I can make potato battery gifts for my friends, or just leave them on someone's front porch, during a midnight ding'n'dash.

For reasons I'm not quite sure I want to share here, I now have twenty pounds of russet potatoes. I have to find something to do with them so that they don't go nasty on me. As luck would have it, the first of our kitchen's going-away parties is this weekend; dinner guests were going to have lovely tiny new potatoes, but will now get some manner of russets (au gratin, probably). I have some ideas about what to do with the rest of them, but would like to hear what any eGers have done, or would suggest.

Oh, this is so true! In order to have 100% of what I want, I'd have to build a room onto the back of my house. And don't think it wasn't considered ...

Oh, it takes a village, Megan! Seriously, I agree. My irritation has always been with couples who bring along their children, and expect everyone else to modify their behavior and assist in tending the little darlings. We were the last of our group to have kids, and I finally got very tired of telling the same people that, no, tonight is not for bringing the 2-year old along. I remembered how it felt, when I became a parent. We moved when our firstborn was very young, and getting a good sitter wasn't easy. I just would call people and say, "no sitter, can't make it" and they'd say either "bring little Fester along, he's a joy to have," or "so we'll see you next time!" We entertain a lot, and our sons, when they got to be old enough, became the coat-check boys and hors d'oeuvres waiters (imagine a 4-year old in a tux!). They generally got tired of being in the middle of things, and would go on to do other, kid-stuff. Which is how it should be.

Um, Chris? I think that was our kitchen, once upon a time. In one of the houses we've lived in over the years. I recognize that tile! We loved that house. We had a floating island, too, but ours was a portable dishwasher with a chopping-block top! We wound up moving to California before we could do anything to the kitchen, and it's nice to see how it coulda woulda worked out.

Sandy, you bring up some excellent points, especially the one about TV cooking shows. I'd add to that the effect of Home & Garden TV. For example, when Martha Stewart redid her kitchen, she commented how all her lower cabinets contained nothing but drawers. For months afterwards, clients wanted drawers only. ← At least the drawers are a great idea for lower cabinets! (I refuse to have drawers behind doors. Don't understand two motions to get to something.) I also don't understand cooking on an island. The person who built this house claims it allowed her to cook while keeping an eye on things. Since it faces a wall oven, handy planning desk and a tiny doorway to the front foyer, well, I don't see much of anything when I cook. It's not a good of space, in this case. Plus, the ventilation for an island is really difficult in most home applications. Or so I think. Anyway, it's going bye-bye very soon, and I won't miss it! We're having a going-away party for the kitchen this weekend.

Miracle Whip was the staple of all the kids' lunches where I grew up (Cincinnati). Mayo it isn't; it's a 'sandwich spread.' It's white and pretty sweet. I didn't have real mayonnaise until I was in my early 20s, and that's no lie. As for the sandwich construction: you leave one slice of bread dry because that's the slice the tomato goes next to!

Ah, Jensen, as a five-year veteran of Central Valley summers, I can say I feel for ya! I got myself a good Polder thermometer; the kind with the probe attached via long cord to a digital readout, which can be stuck to the outside of the grill. It'll help tremendously while you get used to cooking a whole new way. Fabby,

I'd laugh louder at that, but I think you're right. *** And Andiesenjii, well said. Okay, you too, Pontormo, quitcher whining.

I'd like to see these forces get some momentum against foods that are really bad for people -- like margarine. But that would be no fun because it wouldn't promote the vegan diet and lifestyle, that's really behind the foie gras ban. Plus, it would be more expensive. My sons would like to see cooked vegetables banned. Husband would like to ban the sale of Brussels Sprouts wherever he shops. And even though I'm against banning things, Cool-Whip could change my attitude.

Spaghetti and meatballs = fightin' food! Gotta love that show. I was appalled that Lorelei was waving her fork around like that and surprised that Emily didn't bust her for it.

No! Not if you turn around and slam the source of the recipes, and blame them because you made chicken cordon bleu with low-fat fish substitute, and it tasted .... fishy, uncordoned and, well, not all that bleu -- then you can't be married in the church. Change my recipe if you want. But if you substitute meat balls for eggs in the wedding cake, don't come whining to me that I didn't put "pass grated romano separately" in my recipe!

We'll have slate tile on the floor leading into the house, and the Nanawalls will open to outcroppings -- our deck will be built directly into those, no railing. There's a big stone and slate fireplace in the room this whole kitchen will be opened into. A patina or showing wear is not a problem. A glossy finish, is. Something that is high-maintenance is not great. I'd thought of concrete, but hadn't considered engineered stone. I'm the perfect Corian customer, except I don't like it! Just occurred to me that since I'll have a 10 x 4 island, it'll probably have a seam unless I do fabricated stone. Sigh. Me and my beeg idears!

Salt, cbp and a little oil immediately before the stuff goes onto the heat. It takes longer to brown and in my opinion, gives a better crust.

just goes to prove the most dangerous knowledge is the lack of knowledge that the person does not know they do not possess. I agree with you, I have run into many of these along the way. Sometimes, depending on the attitude of that person, it can be fun showing them up. Meanspirited I know, but fun. ← Yeah. Yeah, it is fun. I'm smiling as I remember ... And, as with the recipes that people "adjust," they are usually found out pretty quickly. Foolproof recipes were forgotten and will be brought in next week.

I don't think a material exists that will be just right for me, and I'm driving myself insane with this process. I think I'll do my countertops the same as AngelaAlaimo -- plywood. I'll probably love it!

Maybe someone can explain to me what Mr. RachelRay's profession has to do with this. I'm dense today, F.

We really should start a thread called, "tales from Culinary school."

ummmm...culinary school anyone?! i just loved how many classmates (and current students, and recent grads, etc.) thought they knew more than the chef instructors...isn't there a reason why you're paying $15K+ to the school?! ← Just so I'm clear: I teach avocational. And $15K was about three semesters' worth of my school tuition. Maybe less. Most avocational teachers around here are ladies who just loooove to entertain, so I"ve got that to work against. I think that if I had to teach 90% of the students I went to school with, I'd really be gouging my eyes out. Naw. Theirs.

Helloooooo ... they're "foodies." The fool-proof recipe person will be dealt with tonight, when she brings said recipes for our intro discussion. I did set the old guy straight who yelped at how much I salted the water for the green beans (nicely; he was pretty old). I can be a drill sergeant with these people, but am new enough to town to want a clientele first, then asskickings will be delivered. With a big smile, of course I have no idea why someone would take the class when they think they know more than me, but it happens all the time. And they don't know more. Heh.

These days, anyone with a television thinks of themselves as completely incompetent about food, or "quite the foodie." They also watch these emaciated nutritionists on the television who give "healthy" suggestions about the dangers of eating anything. The class I'm teaching now can't tell the difference between sage and bay leaf, claim they have "no time" to cook brown rice or make stock, but nitpicked me every step of the way about using butter and salt. One student, a professional woman (physician) who is really quite smart, told the class about a course she'd taken in Italian cooking from someone. She loved it because "the teacher gives fool-proof recipes. You can't mess 'em up; all you have to do is follow the directions." No one so much as blinked at this. Where is that "gouging my eyes out" emoticon, anyway?