Jaymes

Duncan Hines was the guy. Salesman who travelled and made a list of good restaurants. And before Howard Johnson and Duncan Hines made their marks upon the world of dining out, there was Fred Harvey - a Brit credited with creating the very first chain restaurants, and therefore the concept, in the US. So all y'all can blame him. My grandmother was Harvey House Girl back around 1910. In fact, she met her hubby while she was working at a Harvey House. He was a conductor for the Kansas & Topeka Railroad. The Fred Harvey Company

Oh yeah; the last time I stopped somewhere and asked the desk clerk where was a good local non-chain restaurant, I wound up dining on canned corn, canned green beans, instant mashed potatoes, and fried shrimp that had arrived at the kitchen door in a box, pre-breaded (way too heavily) and frozen (and I'm sure about that because I asked). The salad bar was equally uninspired. Wilted lettuce, grated cheap yellow mystery cheese that was still partially frozen, hard, flavorless tomatoes, canned black olives, fake bacon bits, saltines in those little cellophane packages... I'll take an Olive Garden Salad and bread sticks over that any day.

Ms. Hagerty clearly doesn't give a rat's patootey about all this, which tickles me no end. I'm sure the folks that are making fun of her believe themselves to be tres sophisticated and enjoy the thought that they might be making her feel provincial. But I don't think they've succeeded in that at all, as evidenced by this excerpt from a recent interview:

Wow, thanks! Ammunition. This is going to settle it. Heheh.

Honestly, she's the only one I've ever heard say it that way as well. But she's so insistent (even rude) about it that I began to wonder if she might be right.

How about 'Calphalon'? I've always said KAL-fa-lon. But a friend insists the first L is silent, and that syllable is supposed to be pronounced 'kaf' like a baby cow: calf.

And let me point out that sometimes we idolize and romanticize things that, in reality, don't actually exist the way we think (or wish) they do. Just because there's a cute little independently-owned family restaurant in a small isolated town, that doesn't necessarily mean it's any good. All too often those places don't have the ability to source excellent, fresh, top-quality foodstuffs, and instead rely on canned goods and commercially-prepared dishes from companies like Sysco and American Food Suppliers that arrive once a week in a semi-truck to service the entire town. I've eaten many awful meals, and far more mediocre ones, from those cute little restaurants in the sorts of sparse, desolate towns that you drive past on the interstate and marvel at the undisputed fact that at least some of those residents must live there by choice. So no, you're not going to get any delightful surprises at the Olive Garden up on the highway next to the Comfort Inn where you've stopped for the night. But you're probably not going to get any bad surprises, either.

My number one tip for enjoying your meal at a Chinese buffet, or at any Chinese restaurant for that matter: If you're not fond of masses of other people's children running, laughing, giggling, pointing, pounding on things, hollering, gathering by your table and talking excitedly, don't sit next to the fish tank.

Well, they talked about how Chris "campaigned" for it. I don't know how. Maybe via twitter or something? But everybody was laughing about his "ad campaign." I'd rather he hadn't won, but was pleased with the rest of the order...glad that Bev placed higher than the "mean girls."

Honestly, I think that's not unique to North Dakota. I live in Houston, the fourth-largest city in the US. And it's an immigrant city. The list of nationalities and restaurants specializing in various "ethnic" cuisines is staggering. I've done a lot of traveling and think I know when a restaurant represents a particular cuisine well. It never ceases to amaze me how the chain parking lots are jammed, while excellent small restaurants struggle to stay open. The only difference between a "local Italian place with great food" in North Dakota and one in Houston is that, although the percentages of the population there and here that support it are probably similar, the Houston metro area has nearly 6 million folks to draw from. So 1% here and 1% there is no comparison. Their respective operating costs are probably similar. But their customer base is decidedly not.

Having spent a little time in North Dakota, I can tell you that I was unable to find a terrific little independently-owned Northern Italian trattoria to patronize, and there were definitely times I would have been grateful for an Olive Garden. But both of the Dakotas have some truly wonderful and magical charms (and I'm serious) that completely make up for a dearth of "culinista-approved" dining choices. Some of my fondest memories are of cruising through endless-sky Lakota Sioux country, a Bryan Akipa CD serenading me with his haunting red cedar flute tunes. I know it's hard for many (especially here) to believe (and I include myself in that category), but superlative food ain't everything. At least not always.

I realize that the Chocolate Flan Cake isn't what your chef wants on several levels, but since we've been talking about it, and since you asked if the layers remain separate and distinct, thought I'd google a few images: Chocolate Flan Cake ETA - Since I have no idea as to the level of experience/expertise your chef possesses, I can't help but wonder if he actually has some information about Creme Brulee baked on top of a cake, or if he saw one of these Mexican "impossible" cakes somewhere, and then extrapolated. In particular, if he had caught a glimpse of these, and didn't realize they're "upside down" flan cakes, he might have thought it'd be nice with vanilla cake and creme brulee: Individual flan cakes .

And that is exactly what I would do. Use the right gelling agents (a combo of agar and gelatin works well but there are other options) and you can hold the custard insert at room temp or even warm it. That with a pre-made sugar disc (or whatever shape the cake is) to drop on top means no risk of failure and no loss of quality. Brilliant. I'm so thrilled that the more-knowledgeable-than-I (not that that's particularly difficult) Pastry Cavalry has arrived! Looks like you'll have several options now, Tweety69. Success can't be far away!

I think the only tricky bit might be putting that traditional hard caramel crust on top of your creme brulee. I don't know...just speculating here. But usually the sugar is contained in the ramekins so when you zap it with a blowtorch, or run it under a salamander, or however you do it, the sugar goes all runny, but can't go anywhere before it hardens. If you invert your cake/custards, now the custard is on top, and not contained. I suppose if you thoroughly chill it, you could put a small pile of sugar in the center on top and then quickly zap it with a torch and it might stay put long enough to harden. Or perhaps you could put the cake/custard into some sort of ring mold or springform pan or do something else to contain the tops while you add the sugar and caramelize.

Feel the need to point out that it's not really "my" method. It's a method that I got from the hostess of a spectacular dinner party quite a number of years back when we were living in Tucson. And, in her terrific book, "My Sweet Mexico," Fany Gerson gives the recipe for "Impossible Chocolate Flan Cake" on page 153. I've made it many times, though, since I first had it in Tucson, often combining different cakes/custards. One of the best combinations is a spice cake to which I've added a little Cap'n Morgan's spiced rum on the bottom, with an orange flan on the top. First, I put some brown/raw/piloncillo/panela/tourbanado/whatever sugar in the bottom of the bundt pan. Then some grated orange zest. Then pour the spice cake batter in very carefully so as to disturb the sugar and orange zest as little as possible, and then the orange flan batter. Very nice.

Yes, totally. It looks as though you've baked a cake and then put some custard on top. I think it's perfect for your needs.

Yes, or you could do what we do - always keep a couple of jars of Coronado Cajeta on hand. That seems to be the brand most often seen in the local Mexican supermarkets, Yes. And it's just fine. When in Mexico, I've certainly tried brands that I like better. And I had some dear friends that lived in Queretaro that came to visit and brought several jars of their favorites as a housegift. I particularly like the "envinada" varieties, which, of course, means some sort of wine or booze has been added. I saved the empty jars for a time so that I could be certain to get more, but that obviously was a rather cumbersome and inefficient method of remembering something, so I made a note of the brand names and tossed the jars. And not too long afterward, lost the note. But it didn't really matter, as I have a devil of a time finding anything but Coronado here in the US, which is true Mexican goat's milk cajeta, and which is pretty good. So I've settled for Coronado. I used to bring jars of cajeta back from my trips to Mexico, and I still go very often, but with the restrictions on what you can put in your carry-on, and my loathing of checked baggage, don't bother anymore. So, like I said, I've settled. And it's just fine.

You say you have to make the plated dessert with the creme brulee cooked on top of the cake. I'm curious as to where you got that request and are there any more instruction/stipulations? Because most custard-type things, like a creme brulee, need to be cooked in a bain marie (I think), which I guess might be do-able on top of a cake (I'm not a baker or a pastry chef by any means), but that doesn't sound feasible to me. On the other hand, I make several recipes with a custard (creme brulee, flan, etc.) that comes out on top of the cake. But you make your cake batter, pour it into your pan, pour in the custard, it sinks to the bottom just as you say, you bake it with the bottom part of the pan, and therefore the custard, in a bain marie. Then, when it's done, you take it out of the oven and invert it, so that the custard is now on top. Then you can add some sugar and caramelize or whatever. This is usually done in a bundt pan or angel-food cake pan in my experience, but I've done it in a regular cake pan as well. The main problem if you bake it in a regular cake pan is that when you invert the cake, the top of the cake might have risen so that the cake won't rest flat when it's upside down on the plate. So you have to trim it off to make it level before you invert. As I said, I'm not a pasty chef and don't know all of the ins and outs of cake baking, so there might be a way to make that cake bake flat on top so you don't have to trim, but I don't know what it is. It's not a problem in a bundt pan, but with a regular cake pan, it is. And for my chocolate & vanilla flan cake, I always pour a jar of cajeta into the bundt pan before the cake mix. So when I unmold the whole thing, the dark chocolate cake winds up on the bottom, and the creamy white vanilla custard winds up on top with the caramelly cajeta dripping down. Not only delicious, but visually stunning. Like I said, not sure what other instructions you have, but I can't help but suspect you need to bake the custard on the bottom of the cake in a bain marie, and then invert it in some manner. I just don't see how it's possible to do it otherwise. And in so far as the "right cake" to use - I've made it with all sorts of cakes, including box mixes, etc. I don't think there's any specific cake mix recipe that works vs one that won't work. I think any regular basic cake recipe works fine. As I said, I'm not a baker or a pastry chef and, in fact, that's my weakest area of expertise, so this might not be helpful at all but, since you threw it out there for anyone to answer, that's my two cents.

Well, I certainly knew since, as I said above, that's exactly what I've been doing for some 30+ years, ever since we lived in Panama and had five avocado trees in our yard. It works great in my long experience, so nobody could ever convince me otherwise.

Have any of the rest of you read any of the interviews with Gail Simmons where she says that Paul's Chilled Sunchoke Soup is the best thing she's ever tasted? Gail Simmons "Best thing I ever ate..." That's pretty high praise. There's a recipe for it on Bravo. Think I'll get myself to our local Asian market and try it.

Yes, or you could do what we do - always keep a couple of jars of Coronado Cajeta on hand.

A brief shot of it would have been bad enough. A quick teehee and then on to something else. But lingering on it? What on earth was that about? Gives wretched excess new meaning.

Liked Sarah a little better after the reunion show. Was happy to hear that both she and Lindsay had apologized in BC, even before they got to see themselves and their behavior during the airing of the show. And I liked that Sarah said she didn't want her nieces and nephews to see her behaving badly and being unkind to others. And also liked the acknowledgement that Beverly had handled herself with considerable grace during the abuse, when it would have been easy and tempting to lash back, which would have made things so much worse and more unpleasant for everyone involved. Heather, on the other hand... Back to the shrimp and accusations of lax "work ethics," which, as Beverly pointed out, could negatively affect her professional opportunities in the future. Personally, I didn't perceive a single lazy thing about Bev. And in so far as the shrimp episode goes, I don't recall seeing any shots of Bev sitting around slacking off. I just see her with her back bowed and head bent over that shrimp, working diligently at what I think we can all agree is a thankless, tedious, unpleasant task. While Heather's mouth never stopped. What a battleaxe.

Being as how she already has been the target of considerable derision and ridicule due to her reputation for being fond of supposedly "low-class trailer-park cuisine" (as I heard one critic put it) and less-than-healthy food choices, and denigration among some circles of Southerners in general and of Southerners with unapologetically bubbly personalities and strong accents in particular, I feel pretty sure she knew that announcing she had diabetes would ramp up the criticism considerably, and give folks that already openly dislike her more ammunition, not to mention a feeling of self-satisfaction and justification, for having been proved right. So who knows. Quite likely it was just a hard and fast business decision. But maybe, like most of us, she wanted to delay the embarrassment, humiliation, and increased criticism as long as possible. If I were in her shoes, I'm not at all sure how I would have handled it.

No suggestions on the cake... I tend to throw in stuff like spiced rum or sherry or blackberry wine which might not be appropriate. But... Since you mentioned Mormons, I wonder if you've given any thought to Mormon Funeral Potatoes? Always a crowd-pleaser (even a morose one). And goodness knows it's easy.