Jaymes

I have found some Nancy's cream cheese at the Whole Paycheck near me. Will be giving this another go quite soon. Thanks again!

But why would he need to? I just find it odd that the STANDARD that you (and others) seem to promote (from other posts elsewhere) is NO BROWNING, which is not universally held. I'm with you. I've never been one much to only go with one style of anything. Or to follow any other hard and fast rules of so-called "right" and "wrong" way, either, for that matter. So I like both, depending upon what else I'm working with in said omelette. For example, with Shel_B's blueberries and cream cheese...no browning. Would have ruined the smooth, silky texture and subtle flavors. But with "Western Omelettes" (which are very popular here where I live, in the, um, West) I like a bit of browning to go with the various crunchy and full-flavored ingredients, like peppers, onions, sausage, cheese, avocados, ham, tomatoes, etc. two observations I'd like to make: 1. à chacun son goût. 2. someone has a lot of assumptions about me, and other people. Ain't me, Soba. I have basically one assumption about this person, who has informed us that omelettes with a bit of brown constitute "overcooked eggs":

But why would he need to? I just find it odd that the STANDARD that you (and others) seem to promote (from other posts elsewhere) is NO BROWNING, which is not universally held. I'm with you. I've never been one much to only go with one style of anything. Or to follow any other hard and fast rules of so-called "right" and "wrong" way, either, for that matter. So I like both, depending upon what else I'm working with in said omelette. For example, with Shel_B's blueberries and cream cheese...no browning. Would have ruined the smooth, silky texture and subtle flavors. But with "Western Omelettes" (which are very popular here where I live, in the, um, West) I like a bit of browning to go with the various crunchy and full-flavored ingredients, like peppers, onions, sausage, cheese, avocados, ham, tomatoes, etc.

This sounded so good that I just had to give it an immediate try. So I did. I ran into my local small market for ingredients and they had no fresh cream cheese, so had to use Philadelphia, but this still turned out great. Thanks so much for posting about it. Although I did think to myself from time to time while enjoying it that perhaps just a dash of lemon curd might be a nice addition. Have you ever tried that?

My very favorite savory omelet - a browned omelet Texas style, rather than Parisian - begins with me making a big jug of my salsa (for those of you that would like that recipe, it's in the Diana Kennedy thread, here: http://forums.egullet.org/topic/37928-mexican-and-diana-kennedy/page-3#entry1157371 ). Then, I get some of the very best mild Cheddar I can afford, and grate it. Beat up two eggs. Add a little water or cream if you like. Pour into buttered individual-omelet-sized skillet. As the eggs are just beginning to set, sprinkle one half with a very generous handful of the cheese. Cover with a lid so that the cheese melts quickly before the eggs brown too much. Slip it out onto a plate, cheese part first, then fold the other half over. Dump about a cup or so of my salsa over. Serve with sliced avocados on the side. This has been my very favorite for several decades. I never tire of it. And I'm sure I never will.

This sounds so very, very good. I'm going to try it right away. Thanks!

My father lived in Saigon "Indochine" in the mid-50's, when the French were still there. His favorite French restaurant served a dessert omelette, which, through the ensuing decades, he often recreated at home. You make your omelette however you want. Then you plate it onto something flameproof. Best is a small oval ramekin. Top with a generous sprinkle of turbinado (I use the Rancho Gordo piloncillo http://www.ranchogordo.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=RG&Product_Code=4PIL&Category_Code=HASI#.UaYf_dg0_Zo ), then you flame it with brandy or calvados. You can add a dollop of ice cream on the side of the plate, or a little whipped cream if you want, but I usually don't. And, speaking of jam and jelly omelettes, when we were kids, our dad made our favorite omelette on special mornings. He browned some bulk sausage, then put that into the middle of the omelette, then put a narrow strip of jelly right down the middle. Eggs & jelly & sausage. Unbeatable combination for some of us. I had forgotten about that until a year or so ago when I was having breakfast with my daughter. She was having sausage and eggs and toast. There was a little plop of jelly on her plate, and I noticed that with every bite of her eggs and sausage, she scooped up a little bit of jelly onto the fork. So the following Sunday, I stopped by to make her the "special omelette" that my dad had made us kids when we were young. Now, of course, it's a classic at her house, for her kids, too.

Yep, there's a lot! The salad (ie, not-potato) part is mainly watercress. And (I'm assuming from the first post where you initially mentioned it) it's dressed very simply, with just olive oil, lemon juice and garlic - maybe that clove-of-garlic-and-salt paste thing. Is that right?

I am curious about this one - with watercress, cucumber, olives, garlic, etc. Very interesting combination. I checked your profile and found no hint of what part of the world you're from, so I wonder what (if any) particular culture might have influenced this recipe. I know it's the first time I've ever heard of watercress in a potato salad. Hi Jaymes, I'm British. Watercress is a popular salad around here so I suppose availability is a factor in the potato dish, which isn't a strange combination in this country. We have the mayonnaise version too. This is the potato salad my father used to make when I was growing up, but I think it probably arose out of what was in the fridge one day rather than any particular cultural provenance. Is there a lot of watercress? Like a main-ingredient kind of thing? Or is it just used more sparingly, for seasoning, like parsley?

Boiling eggs over high heat for twenty minutes seems excessive. I'd imagine the yolks would be very dry and the whites quite rubbery. Is this the case? Is this the texture you're looking for in this salad? How fine do you chop the eggs? Well, yes. Usually I do remove the eggs before twenty minutes. And I just chop the eggs to a sort of medium dice - about 3/4", I guess I'd say. The potatoes a little bigger.

I am curious about this one - with watercress, cucumber, olives, garlic, etc. Very interesting combination. I checked your profile and found no hint of what part of the world you're from, so I wonder what (if any) particular culture might have influenced this recipe. I know it's the first time I've ever heard of watercress in a potato salad.

That sounds great! We like sweet potatoes and yams. Any suggestions or recipe ideas? Why, here's an entire thread!! "Sweet Potato Salad, your favorite!" http://forums.egullet.org/topic/142838-sweet-potato-salad-your-favorite/

I remember reading this recipe back when it was originally posted, and intended to make it then, but never got around to it. We've been invited to a Mediterranean-themed potluck coming up next weekend and I've been wondering what to take. I definitely think this is just the thing!

I mentioned over in the "boiled or steamed" potato thread that I thought I had posted my Cajun potato salad recipe here in this thread. Did a search and discovered that I hadn't. So I thought I would: Cajun Potato Salad 6 eggs 3 lbs red potatoes 4 oz crab/shrimp boil, like Zatarain's - I like the liquid one best 1 C Mayo (I like Duke's) finely chopped sweet pickles, or sweet pickle relish to taste (2-3Tbls) Salt, pepper, paprika to taste Put the eggs and the rinsed and scrubbed (if they need it) potatoes into a large stockpot. Fill with water to cover a little over. Add the crab/shrimp boil and bring to boil over high heat. Cook until potatoes are tender (about 20 min). Drain into colander. Peel the eggs and potatoes. Chop the eggs and potatoes and put into a large bowl. Add mayo, pickles, and salt and pepper to taste. Add a little more mayo if the salad seems too dry. Sprinkle top with paprika. Serve warm or cold. Of course, if there are other things you really love in your potato salad, like onions or celery or whatever, you can sure add those, too. But our family likes this more simple recipe best.

http://www.thebraiser.com/parts-unknowns-second-episode-ratings/ So, okay, I stand corrected. It seems that "swearing, boobs, and prolapsed buttholes" are still as much crowd-pleasers as ever. Dear Tony, still as uplifting to the human discourse as ever.

My personal favorite potato salad is potato salad made with spuds from a cajun crawfish/crab/shrimp boil. They are highly seasoned with onion/cayenne/salt/lemon and whatever happens to be in whatever crab boil seasoning you are using. Yes. And, as I said several posts back, if you're not doing the whole "boil" dinner, you can still boil your potatoes in a commercial crab/shrimp boil preparation, like Zatarains. It really flavors those potatoes.

Seriously? Honestly, I don't think the "drama" is high enough to drag the drama crowd away from the Real Housewives or whatever or whomever of wherever... Lord knows there are more than enough drama shows that I wouldn't think Top Chef would be a threat to any of them. I do think it appeals primarily to people interested in food, cooking, cuisine, travel. And the fact that there are a great many copycats out there (speaking of AB) tells me that the food competition and the locales are the main draw. It's been my personal experience, anyway, with my friends and family, that as the babyboomers age and retire, the kind of leisure interests and hobbies that have always appealed to a more affluent crowd with more time on their hands are becoming more and more popular.

There is a wonderful "potato salad" thread here somewhere that has traditionally been bumped up each year along about this time, as we head into potato salad days. And I think I posted in it that one of my very favorite recipes for a Cajun potato salad begins with boiling said potatoes in some Zatarain's shrimp/crab boil.

Just want to add that another reason for considering Charleston (or Savannah) would be, in addition to the obvious Low Country cuisine, a foray into the food and culture of the Gullah community. Fascinating: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gullah

Let's face it, New Orleans is one of the very most-famous "food towns" in the US. It's inevitable that they would eventually choose it as a location for the whole show, not just a finale. And New Orleans can use the good publicity. If I were a tax-paying business owner there, or even worked at a tax-paying business there, I'd consider efforts to lure Top Chef to my city to be very well worth it. Perhaps after we get this behind us, the producers will look a little more deeply into the south. I'd love to see Charleston featured.

Gifts on Father's Day are not generally expected. It is kind of a bogus holiday in the US. Most of us just get a hug and a "happy father's Day". Maybe a card. Really? I'd say that varies greatly from family to family. It's always been a really big deal in our family. The various dads always begin the day with breakfast in bed (the quality of which depends upon the age of the "cooks" and is often laughable, but daddy has to choke it down anyway and brag about how wonderful it is), and then some kind of special dinner, complete with cards and gifts. This year I'm giving my dad (who's 91 and in a senior center) some very nice tuned windchimes to hang out on his small patio. As far as wine goes, he loves port, so I always include a really good bottle of that, a luxury he loves but wouldn't buy for himself.

He found his cash cow and milked it 'til it kicked... exactly what I would do in the same situation. Me, too. After all, how many working chefs are there? And out of that number, how many have achieved his fame and celebrity? Not many. So the schtick worked for him. All I'm saying is that, especially after watching him on "The Taste," and in a few of his other recent efforts, I get the feeling that he's trying pretty hard to come up with a new schtick since being "brave and irreverent and raw and real" is no longer the attention-getter that it once was.

Since I've already self-identified as a Bourdain fan - and called him out in the same thread - I'd like to point out that what you imagine that 'we' said is in fact, incorrect and a naïve mischaracterization. You are not a part of 'we' who like him. That's okay. Just don't pretend that you have an insight into why I like him. Whether you or I or anyone else "likes" him is, in my mind anyway, beside my main point. Which is that, whatever other attributes he may have possessed, or may still possess, a great part of his original "schtick" was to shock. It brought him a LOT of publicity and notoriety and admiration, which I believe was the intent, and which he exploited. And which doesn't work any more.

I sorta feel sorry for poor ol' Bourdain. I never really saw the appeal. As far as I was concerned, his main claim to fame was that he talked like a pubescent boy that just learned to swear out on a junior high playground and was trying to shock and impress everyone with his vast knowledge of dirty words. "Oooh oooh oooh," we all said. "He's so brave. He's so daring. He's so cutting edge." But unfortunately for Tony, now everybody talks like that. He shocks no one anymore. Not even the grannies. He just sounds tired and passe and done and over. He's trying hard to come up with a new schtick. And hasn't yet.

Is the one you're after cold? A ceviche? Or a hot pickled dish.