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Suzanne F

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Posts posted by Suzanne F

  1. And then there's the stuff you have to drink to prepare for a colonoscopy. It has finally left my mind, although it took a couple of months (its effect was a hell of a lot faster on the rest of my body :raz: )

    But to get back to supposed food items: fat-free cream cheese. Not only does it taste nothing like cream cheese, but it has the mouthfeel of latex caulking (I presume). And fat-free carrot muffin -- I just found some wrapped in a tissue in my jacket pocket, placed there because there was not trash can in the store. Come to think of it: fat-free ANYTHING. aaaaaaack.

  2. Ah yes: Two vultures are getting on a plane. Each has a dead rabbit under each wing. A crew member stops them as they are about to get on, saying "I'm sorry, only one carrion per passenger."

    We won't be watching the game tonight (concert subscription), but I hope the lamb we'll eat before we go will not be considered "lamb to the [Enos] Slaughter." :ducks and hides a second time:

  3. I wasn't so much thinking that the bones would be a problem -- just that it would work better if you could open out and flatten the pieces. Bones are very good indeed!

    The last time I made duck confit, I didn't have quite enough duck fat to cover. So I added the chicken fat I had. Still not enough. Added the processed lard. Still . . . finally topped the whole thing up with olive oil. It tastes fine. :biggrin: The only fats I won't use are beef and lamb, because they are just too strong. :sad:

    And hathor -- thanks for the tip about Dynasty. I could do with some quail now. :biggrin:

  4. The one time I tried, I was doing it on top of the stove and didn't pay attention. Oops, deep-fried quail. :blush: Delicious, but . . .

    The only reason I haven't done it since is that they are pretty much a specialty item here and not easy to get. But if I did, I would use semi-boneless quail (can you get them that way there?), or at least I would spatchcock them before salting -- the better for salt penetration and removal of excess moisture. As for cooking time, well, that's what thermometers are for, to check that the internal temp. is right. :biggrin:

  5. At Jean Georges, we ate a foie gras brulee that was incredibly wonderful: the slice of foie was indeed topped with caramelized sugar, done to the point where there was no sweetness left, just a crackly, crunchy, slightly bitter topping. I don't see why it wouldn't work on a lobster custard.

  6. ... add sugar to whipped cream without first making sure it's not salt  :blink:

    This happened at a Thanksgiving dinner when my eldest was 4 ... and bless his innocent little soul, while I was busy being upset, he suggested we use the salty whipped cream on the mashed potatoes!  Yummmmmmmmmmmmm!

    A.

    I nominate this for best trick learned on eG!!! That is one smart kid. :wub:

    But my own oops for today: I will never again dump a can of gandules (or any other bean) into the slow cooker when I have already added the peppercorns, whole cloves, etc. etc. that I know I will have to strain out. :rolleyes:

  7. I also find that it helps to cook down the schmaltz removed from soup, roasts, etc. It has a lot of water in it (more than some other skimmed fats) which can allow it to develop mildew or mold. Think of it as "clarifying" the fat as one does with butter. Once you clarify it, it can last for months in the fridge.

    Of course, I grew up in a household where the globs of fat pulled out of chickens were roughly chopped and cooked with minimally-cut onions in water, until the water had all evaporated, the onions were deep brown, and any bits of skin and other flesh had turned into wonderful, crunchy greven (gribenes to some :biggrin: ). The only way to deal with greven is to hide them until they are cooled, and then scarf them down. :laugh: Some people add them to chopped liver, but I view them as the cook's own treat.

    As for uses of chicken fat: what, you don't know how to cook???? :wink: But of course, it is the only shortening to be used in knaidlach.

  8. Oh no. It's barely 2 days since I last posted, and . . . 2 more. :blush:

    Marcella Says . . . (well, as I've lamented before, my clients don't normally give me a copy of what I work on :sad:)

    Vegetables Every Day by Jack Bishop.

    :hmmm: Hmm, I see a certain closeness in design between the two books -- same typeface, similar greenish cast . . . I wonder if HarperCollins got a good deal on the inks? :raz: Actually, there's something rather comforting about the similarity, although I can't put my finger on it. Besides the quality of the recipes and the illustrations, do you prefer some books over others because they just look better to you overall?

  9. I seared the bone-in rib steaks on the grill pan and finished them in the oven, but first I made the béarnaise sauce. I wasn't afraid — despite the note that says, "Know this. If you haven't made béarnaise from scratch before, you will surely [expletive] this sauce up. Don't worry. Just do it again. This and hollandaise, more than any other sauces, seem to smell fear and uncertainty."

    I can make hollandaise with my eyes closed. And I have made béarnaise before. If you cook it gently over a double-boiler, it's not hard.

    But what happened here was utterly bizarre. It did seem like an awful lot of shallots and tarragon (1 bunch, leaves only, finely chopped) with the vinegar. I followed the directions, reducing the mixture "until nearly dry." I placed my egg yolks in a warm metal bowl. Then I added the reduction, a few drops of water, as Bourdain suggests "as a little insurance against curdling" and placed the bowl over simmering water. The instant I started to whisk, the thing seized up in a blob. It was downhill from there.

    Well, clearly, the sauce sensed her fault-finding attitude. :raz:

    Although, she's right: Les Halles is not the best anything. But what did she expect him to say? "Les Halles is an okay place to go, if you don't mind crowding and noise and can't find any better place to get into"? :rolleyes:

  10. There's also a thread about it on the DC etc. board.

    moderator's note:

    These threads have been merged here. The DC thread no longer exists. A note has been posted in the DC forum alerting members to this thread.

    Note to Fat Guy: you can be very proud of your "children."

    Edited to add: I've asked on the India and Indian Cuisine board for others to continue posting their recipes and stories. I can't wait to read them, AND to cook. :biggrin:

  11. Did anyone think of sending the dish back or asking about it? One certainly shouldn't have to at a restaurant like Per Se, but I suppose even they are capable of mistakes. at the very least they might want to know that a particular dish isn't particularly appreciated.

    It wasn't inedible, just disappointing. That is, not so awful as to warrant sending back. I'm pretty sure they knew we didn't like it, since most of it was left uneaten on the plate, unlike just about every other plate. And, um, we were pretty vocal, and I KNOW they were listening to some of our conversation. :hmmm: I mean, HWOE and I kept comparing it to the pasta course we had at ADNY -- another loser -- although this wasn't as bad as that one. :raz:

  12. That's interesting; I've never heard that before. What I've always heard is that it's often associated with an obsession with perfection and an unconscious desire for young women not to grow up (starve yourself and you eventually stop menstruating, e.g.).

    . . .

    But what of the growing number of male anorexics? After all, eating disorders are not limited to one gender.

  13. Oh, come on, you know that you like all GG's posts from her delving into the estorica of the food world writings. 

    Without her digging up these things eG would be a lot less interesting, at least in my NSH opinion.

    Uh oh, misreading alert! I'm sure GG knows that I meant it in all good humor. You couldn't possibly believe I was being serious, could you? :unsure: And you don't agree that scare articles like that are a bunch of rubbish?

    Re: sushi: think about that lovely piece of tuna belly -- IT'S LOADED WITH FAT! That's why it's so unctuous and delicious. :raz: As for avocados and nuts, they are about the healthiest fats around. Look, if you bring up a baby on a fat-free diet, the kid's nervous system never properly develops. Something about the myalin sheaths??? Many vitamins are fat-soluble: if you do not eat fat with them, you get no benefit. And you develop deficiency diseases, and you go blind or die.

    But at least you'll die thin. :hmmm:

  14. Just a quick note on the food: that was cobia (the fish).

    Bond Girl and I had great fun dissecting the dishes; we mostly agreed on the flavors, textures, etc. He Who Only Eats, well, he just ate :biggrin: (and drank). His only negative was to point out--quite correctly--that the pasta was unevenly cooked.

    Bond Girl and I had the regular tasting, HWOE the vegetarian, and they substituted the vegetarian courses for the ones Bond Girl doesn't eat.

  15. LOL!  I have respect for the seriousness of eating disorders, and we discuss that seriousness quite often here at eG...

    But Suzanne, that is too funny!  Thank you so much for the laugh.  It sure is good to lighten up sometimes about this sort of thing.

    Thank YOU. I too have real sympathy for those who suffer from eating disorders, and worried my comment might be considered too flippant. (For all I know, others are bristling at it; please, I meant no offense.)

    But aren't eating disorders based on concerns about control of one's own life? So I wonder how any restaurant -- which by definition removes most of the decisions from the diner -- can be of help.

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