FabulousFoodBabe

I am having my hot cooking area done more of a "galley style," and the island will be for big projects, classes, and for seating, along the back wall of windows. I don't like islands that are in the center of the kitchen. They annoy me in a big way. Something always seems to be on the other side of them.

What bothers you about it? ← There are no unhealthy foods, just unhealthy eating habits. (Of course, this is not the case for people who are allergic, have some medical condition, etc.)

So far, my feeling on this is "high maintenance." Nope, my old dog is the only high-maintenance thing in this house! The price we were quoted was very, very nice, and I do like the color. I just don't like to fuss with some things.

OMG, that is what I call optimistic! I've been married to him for over 20 years and things have not changed a bit. Geez, what does that say for such a culture, if setting a fancy table and cooking for an army, just so you can refuse to touch much of it, is how you think you'll impress others? Scarlett O'Hara ate before barbecues so she could show what a lady she is by not eating in front of others; I hope we've come far since then. Anyway, back to the main thread. I refuse to call food sinful. I also refuse to call obese people "stricken by disease," or lazy or sloppy. Guilt is self-induced and completely pointless. I think Americans eat more and enjoy it less because they don't think about it too much and claims of "just no time at all" are silly. You don't have to sit down to a long "family dinner" to pay attention to what you're eating. You don't have to cook garbage to do a meal in 45 minutes. Food should not be punishment; the term "making healthy food choices" grates on my nerves.

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"Southern Baptist Guilt" -- First time I visited my husband's family, I was amazed at how elaborate the table settings, how his mother plated everything on lettuce leaves, how much time they spent ironing linens (again) and running around to get it all ready at a certain time, and then prayed over it for what seemed like 15 minutes ... but no one, NO ONE, ate much. They discussed it a lot, and talked about it, and cut it into tiny bites so their mouths didn't open far, and pushed it around their plate. People who do eat are considered "gluttonous" and "low class" and -- the ultimate jab -- "Yankee" by them! My family ... whew, that's a different story and equally weird. Out of this, I've managed to make my sons un-loony about food. I personally would only feel guilty about eating, if I was tucking into a third helping of foie gras or steak or nice roasted chicken, with a tableful of starving kids sitting right there. Starving adults can fend for themselves.

I'm hesitant, too, because while I'm pretty strict about the way I cook and work, I don't want to be constantly b*tching at people to wipe stuff up, and I don't want to have to think about it. The surfaces I'm looking at using this on are for prep/staging only, and a wet bar.I've got three samples; the darkest (which I like best) is still holding onto a drop of oil that I wiped up after five seconds. The red wine, soap, and vinegar drips give it a little "character." I'll look forward to your report on actually working with the stuff.

I'm glad to see that someone likes Classico! Back in its day, it was "the sauce" for people to use, when they wanted to embellish their own, or didn't have good tomatoes. I always just used the regular Tomato and Basil and added whatever to it. (Plus, the jars are good for holding rice, spices, grains, etc. ) Rao's is expensive, but that Vodka sauce ... sigh. I really like it.

May I chime in here? Mr. FB got a pod machine from a prospective client and used it once. It's easy, it looks cool, but the only coffee we had, I didn't like. I get my coffee from Peet's once a month, and dont' even know if they have stuff in pods yet. I'm a total princess about the coffee I drink (no, really! ) The new kitchen is getting a Miele coffee center; one that doesn't use pods. It grinds and brews regular regular or espresso, has a wand to steam milk and a super-hot tap for tea. We will no longer need the Mr. Coffee that Mr. FB loads every night before bed (he sets the timer on it and just today, failed to put the freaking POT under the funnel, so we had a coffee surge all over the place). We also won't have the teapot on the stove, or the little espresso machine we got for our wedding 20-odd years ago. We'll just have one neat unit. Yippee skippee!

Anyone have experience with this?

When I made ice cream with alcohol, it didn't freeze too well. I'm making ice cream today, but only had two eggs, so melted down some gelatin in apple juice (and cut back on the sugar). With the berries I have ... very nice, I hope!

Sandy, this is such a pleasure to read! (No dorky toques blanches on your hospitality people ... jealous!) I had a beau who lived in Glen Riddle, many years ago, when I lived in Cincinnati. I'm remembering how beautiful the area is.

As I've thought about this thread, I'm not sure the new kitchen will "make" me happy. The current one makes me miserable. One can feed a family off a hot plate; I've done it, but my kitchen is also for working and living. One of my dreams for the next life -- the one where suburban Mommy and ridiculous house is no longer part of it -- is an 8 x 10 kitchen Now that I see it can be done with a 48" Viking range, I'm even happier!

Further observations:

Yowch. Sounds like you need a new one.

Mikeb, if I may, Timh knows, and has lived this. He gets it.

Hey, I'm all for horn tooting (no one else knows the notes), but there could be lots of reasons he received no mention, that had nothing to do with his [comment reserved] book. Maybe he didn't do as much for the restaurant as one might have thought ... maybe Zakarian is the one with the stake in the place and Chef is an employee, maybe the investors and TV people though Zakarian had better hair. I wonder if this episode will be in the next book?

Kim, here's what my Skills III Chef taught us: Heat the cream to just below scalding and take it off the heat; season the cream. Mandoline the spuds right into the mixture and toss to coat. Bake for an hour; be sure you have enough time to let the dish sit for at least 30 minutes. It holds heat well and the carryover cooking will take care of any last firm slices. Mmmm ... au gratin.

Beekman Tower: Wonderful View! It worked location-wise and for this occasion, was just right (we had three conflicting schedules that had to converge somewhere). Since they have a family thing tonight, they'll go to the top of the Ritz in Battery Park ... and they extended their stay until Thursday, so I'll get to see them off at Pegu! The 15 year old daughter actually heard of a "Fitty-fitty" ... from a Rachael Ray show! As I got ready to tsk-tsk her, she said, "don't worry, Fab., we watch her to laugh at her." My budding pastry chef I hope she goes to CIA out here ...

Hey -- Any green bean casserole on the menu for this week?

insane brunch! review to come. totally 3 star (nyt) experience. 100% i'll be back. ← Phil -- I saw this way too late. Did you eat there, did you get to meet Dan?

Ingrid, you had me going until the gates of heaven! Made me put on my Sophia Loren sunglasses and a headscarf, and wave my cigarettes around. Yeah, we all can't have everything. I'd hate to think that the broccoli at the grocery store was $1.99/lb for "everyone," but Mr. Washington allows me access to better stuff than the rest of the people. Face it: Bribing the maitre d' is the working man's equivalent of a Porsche. I wonder how many brib-ees keep the money and really do nothing different? It's all about perception, and totally unnecessary. I think I'll hang on to my $$; every time I don't bribe someone, is one less day I'm eating cat food at the Happy Acres Nursing Home. [edited because my initial post sounded naughty.]

And if we did, they no longer would palm a twenty to seat a new arrival in front of other diners who have been waiting patiently? ← I think most of us reading this thread have figured something out: It's really not about getting a better table, or feeling/believing you've done something to get preferential treatment. It's about something completely different. Like, does anyone really need that big boat, that Porsche, that rent-a-date? Nope. Does the maitre d' really need to be handed $50 to take good care of you that night? Of course not! Another person has a really hilarious term for it and I won't post it here, but I hope s/he will.

Not only have I been with people who have said they'd get someone's job, when I was a waitress I heard it a few times. How someone treats any service staff is how I gauge thier decency as a human being. You don't have to be a wuss, though. Standing up for yourself doesn't have to be confrontational. The CEOs of big companies I know and have dined with are delightful people and decent in social settings; I like to think they would be fawned over by service staff if they were just anyone else. Of the smaller companies, or privately-held, maybe not so much. But that's my own experience. Maybe it's a matter of confidence.

Well said, and I completely agree. When I dined at FL, Keller was in the kitchen -- exquisite. Dinner at Per Se with Chef Benno cooking was equally exquisite.