foodie52

One more reason to move to New York.....

torakris: I love your post about you and your grandfather eating prunes together. What a great memory!

Where I work, we sell an extensive line of bulk dried fruits. Some are organic and don't have the sulphuric acid added for color and softness. We get: apricots, blueberries, bananas, cherries, cranberries, mangos, tropical mix....lots of others. I love making compotes with them in the winter.

Then your curry noodles must have been prepared improperly.

Ahhhh...quit being so pompous, you guys. Geez.... TVP has its place in the food world and you should respect that. It is vegetarian: anybody in any part of the world can eat it. It is full of protein. It is distributed to starving populations all over the world: people add their own spices and vegetable to it and it actually keeps them alive, which is a positive thing in this day and age. So, although it is not a tasty product, you should respect it as FOOD. So there....

The La Traviata asparagus WERE great....I think the key is to slice the asparagus really, really thinly and to get the young, skinny stalks since you are eating them raw.

OK; I don't want you guys to yell at me, but let me tell you what I brought to a Seder ( it was an all-women, and some of us were young and goofy). I made Manischewitz jello shots.... And they were good

Young favas kind of remind me of edamame: would favas and soybeans be in the same family????

Pleas, Sir....why would you cube an egg???

I'd attempt The French Laundry cookbook....then give up in despair!

Microplane...citrus reamer...

There's a great tea company called Republic of Tea. They do round, natural ( unbleached) bags. And what they do with the bag bits that are left over is...use it for packing ! So if you receive a case of their tea ( I work in a store ), the tea is packed, not in styrofoam, but in teabag leftovers!

Check out an Asian market for Thai Coconut Dessert. I got mine here, in Austin. In the frozen section....actually, my sister in law who is Thai and lives here, got it for me. She knows I love cool stuff like that.

Jaymes, shouldn't you be working?? I have the cutest package of 6 individual coconut icecream servings (Thai), each in its own ceramic mise-en-place size bowl. I kid you not. All of them in a convenient vacuum-packed plastic sleeve. Asian packaging wins hands down for cuteness. And I use the bowls....

You know what distracts the hell out of me? Going into a restaurant and discovering that you're pretty much the ONLY people there....my mind goes into overdrive at that point.... What's wrong with this place? Is it too early? Too late? Does the food suck? Wait...I've eaten here before.....is there a new chef? Is there something about this place that I don't know about? Is it too late to leave? And.... How obvious will it be if I want to get up and leave RIGHT NOW because I'm freaked out!

Anyway, I have a number of male friends who have Tyler fantasies...

Mmmm...Just here to refresh the topic and bring it to its rightful place on the board... Took a Peep today ( purple bunny ) and cut a slit in it and stuffed a nice piece of Belgian chocolate in the center. A quick microwave flash and it was ready to eat. Yummy between two graham crackers.

I just tell them that I am John Mariani incognito, and not to give me away....

It was Monari with balsamic vinegar I think. I've seen the Mom's sauce being made, Jaymes.....Fischer and Wieser bought them out and make it in F'burg. I was being given a tour of the plant and just "happened" to see the recipe that was lying on a table. I saw the "secret" ingredient that makes Mom's great. I was told ( only half seriously!) that I would have to be killed if I passed on the secret..... So....having the desire to live a long and healthy life, my lips are sealed! ooopssss. I mean

How was the mozzarella on the pizza? Creamy? Smooth? And the marinara? I was ruined forever last November when I went to NYC and had pizza at Grimaldi's.... I kinda wish I had never had the experience, because now I know what the true, ultimate, quintessential pizza is like....

This thread made me so happy!! Thank you thank you thank you!!!

I hate to keep repeating this....but Central Market in Houston can get you all that stuff. Or are you looking for a rancher or something? If so, you won't find one in east Texas!

Once again....you can get raw foie gras at Central Market in Houston. Or does your food have to be already prepared?

You could always fly to Dallas and go to the Central Market there ( check out centralmarket.com) and get all the stuff you need. One-stop shopping.

Pretty sure Central Market carries their port.