FabulousFoodBabe

Eek! I didn't have that experience with a lemon on mine, but maybe I didn't let it sit long enough. Hmmm ... etching? While the "Fan" website was funny, I take stuff like that with a grain of salt. Could be a disgruntled employee, a competitor. It seems like a lot of energy and effort to slam something and give a platform for others to join in. I've seen some honest discussions of the stuff on other forums. My own tastes, and the way the rooms are going to be laid out and what they're blending into, would (I think) make shiny, perfect countertops look odd. Plus, I'm not a shiny, perfect type of homeowner! (No, really ) We need something as close to slate as we can, and this is probably it. Of course, I could change my mind any minute.

Two words: Sandra Lee.

Yep. And sometimes a verbal punch can take care of things nicely.

Getting a whole bowl full of 'em is a bonus.

LaurieB., you've hit on another beef of mine. I almost never give recipes unless it's to a group of students, and we're working together in class. In a recipe development workshop I took once, with a bunch of professionals, our teacher had us all do the same recipes a few times so we could see how differently we cooked and keep that in mind as we wrote for mass market. Even if you publish a lead that says, "please make no substitutions; if you are uncomfortable with [full-fat dairy, lots of sugar], choose a different dish. The results will not be the same with [fat-free sour cream, Splenda]." People STILL screw around with your work! Once, the wife of one of my husband's associates had delcared herrself the best cook in [the town we lived in]. She used to tell people "don't get recipes from Fabby; she changes an ingredient or two because she's threatened that someone will show her up." I had NO problem being blunt and honest about that nonsense. If I give a recipe, I give it all.

Funny school-story: I had a great fish chef. Writers from a local paper came in to observe a class; we were doing cod. We put the sides of fish onto the cod light and there they were -- a few little curly worms, which Chef removed with flair. The food writer was shrieking and said, "how will you cook around that? You're throwing out the fish, aren't you? I'll never eat cod again!" Chef was charming as he told her that if she's ever had fish & chips before, she's had these worms, etc. etc. I personally like cod-worms and used to pride myself on getting them out in one piece. It's one of the reasons I always cook with a hemostat in my pocket.

Definitely ask for a tour of the kitchen; I generally ask the host/ess quietly, as an aside, while we're being led to the table. It's a beautiful, clean place. Lots of pride. I've gotten the wagyu and the foie gras supplements (I like the foie torchons best of all; it's personal, but if someone else at the table likes it seared,you can taste one another's -- which we do, often). Worth it, worth it. When I do wine pairings anywhere, I ask that rose-types be either subbed with something else, or just skipped. I'd imagine that would work with you. IF you say you're a novice, I'd imagine they'd love to find you something you'd like, while expanding your wine-horizons. Have a great time, and do post about your experience! I'm not spoiled or jaded, just particular, and think they do an amazing experience.

I mean all of this very kindly, please remember that. First, if it grosses you out, why do it? And what the hell is with sauerkraut in chervil pluche? I go to NC a lot, and wish you'd tell me which restaurant you work in. Your own questionable hygiene? You can fix this, yanno. One issue I had with people I've worked with (not all of them were men), was how filthy they were. Filthy side towels and coats, gross workstations, sticking their fingers into everything, licking them with nicotine-coated tongues, and sticking them back in before sending the dish out. Seeing a chef kick someone's a** for doing that bodes well. I've trailed and worked in several around here, and there are places where I will not eat. A sweet, small one with a reputation for organic food and hominess, is staffed by people who are so incredibly filthy that I can't even imagine that no one has been sick yet. Anyway, it hasn't ruined the way I feel about eating out, in general. It's a choice for me, not a "right" and certainly not a necessity. The way you work is up to you -- though I have to say, shame on your Exec and Sous Chefs for letting cooks work dirty.

Respectfully, chefboy, I think this might be another case of "don't let your problem become ours." I do mean this in the kindest way possible.

Nothing. Nicely said. Pie is THE MAN.

How long will this thread be up, any guesses? I'd like to reregister under about fifteen fake names and pump up the PIE contingent. I like to think that the Pie side is just so confident in their superiority -- and so busy eating pie -- that they don't have time to post.

Yeah, well, we make the world rich, but gras makes no sense. (Were you, by chance, CIA-educated under the able, but etymolologically*-challenged, Chef Turgeon? )Fabby, the Spelling Nazi. PS -- I think I'll start a foie gras speakeasy type of thing. Maybe I'll also serve unpasteurized cheeses without gloves. Oh, yeah. Who says I can't get a little crazy? (* Yippee, new word!)

Bullies, wimps, and hypocrites. Much easier to take down a foie gras producer, than it is to take on Tyson.

Sounds to me like you've been good cheesecake/pie deprived. Soggy cookie crumb crusts? Bleah! The good ones have crusts you can hear snap when your fork gets into them.

That wonderful cheese filling can be put into a pastry crust ... or piled onto a cookie crust (Oreos with a little butter ... mmmmm). Cheesecake IS pie. Another great thing about pie, is that there's always leftover filling. More than a beater's worth, if you plan properly

Life is full of tough choices. Buck up and get with the program. ← A Culinary Dr. Phil among us!

I don't think it's fair to ask one to choose. With the exception of birthday cake, kids' party cakes, and coconut cake with cranberry filling and marshmallow frosting, I'd have to say Pie. lard in the crust, loaded with chocolate or cheese or eggs or pudding or fruit or savories, dusted with sugar on top. Much more fun to show off a pie. Yeah. Pie.

Hee hee. Wait 'till you see how we handled that! The dirty-dishes thing, I mean, and the cabinet space. I'm probably going to love that part of the new kitchen most of all.

You are correct; they should have told you and given you the option of choosing a different bottle Comping the whole bottle is, in my opinion, too much to ask. But comping the difference in price should have been offered. (BTW, you've hit on a major peeve of mine. I've found that sending back the main if the wine isn't on the table when it arrives, works well for speeding things up.)

Interesting. Over the weekend, I assisted a chef from a town in Italy at a workshop. He told me that a restaurant in San Francisco basically took his dishes, his recipes, and did the same menu. I asked if he was upset about it and he said, with a smile (through his translator), that he wasn't. That it would be nice if the guy told people more about his influences, but that he's happy and flattered. And he told the people at his workshop the exact same thing. I think the people being imitated should be ones with a say-so in whether or not there's some sort of movement to protect something, or institute some sort of public policy. Not a bunch of us (wonderful, intelligent) types whose business it really isn't.

Chufi, my "baby" turned 16 on Sunday. He's quite a character, too, and does a week of celebrations. As for Dutch cooking, I only knew from ebelskiver (sp?) before I started reading your posts. Looking forward to this week. The photo you posted, of the Goddess book. It looks like the whole thing should be in the magazine, with the hyacinths, blue fabric, light and light wood. Beautiful.

I love stories like this. I will also bet that the staff enjoyed doing this for you, too.

Whoa, those are some FUGLY kitchens! I have nothing to complain about. I'm jealous of the painting dogs. Gonna show this to mine and demand to know why they insist that all they can do is lurk until I open the refrigerator, and then lunge for the meat compartment.

Heh. I, too, grew up in the Midwest and was -- gasp! -- the child of a nearly working class, immigrant family. The way Yankee was used was "anyone not from the Deep South." The Italian side of my family used food as comfort, celebration, and to show love -- if we didn't eat until we hurt, my Italian grandmother would gnash her teeth and wail that she didn't blame us at all, because she was a lousy cook. The German side used food as punishment, incentive, and if we weren't hungry, well, it was because we were trying to be rebellious, so we had to eat anyway. (The vain girl in me is trying hard NOT to point out that, no, I really don't weigh 400 pounds. .... oopsie! ) It's amazing with all this, that my own sons aren't totally nuts when it comes to food. And Busboy, I maybe agree with you about Cool-Whip and Twinkies and Margarines, none of which see the light (or darkness) of Casa Foodbabe. It's just that "healthy choices" seem to go along with denial, pissiness, and low-fat cheeses.