touaregsand

This reminds me of the time I couldn't finish my fifth margarita at a Mexican restaurant. It cost $11.00 so I asked for it to go. They said it was against the law. So I asked for water to go. Dumped out the water and poured in my barely touched $11.00 margarita and walked home.

In retrospect it's pretty hilarious. It coincided with the beef phobia. I already mentioned the French places closing down in LA at the same time. Now beef is good, carbs are bad and there is a boom of sorts with French bistros.

If she created the plum apricot hybrid in her kitchen with some sort of alchemy or magic I'd be really impressed. Imagine Waters holding one of each, chanting an earth mother spell, smashes the two fruits together, presto pluot. The jokes have already been made in the French forum about mint leaf garnishes. A side of aprium would be nice though.

I can't help it, they remind me of people I've interviewed for jobs and some who've I've actually hired... EDIT: absolutely no, never 86 for Michael. He keeps coming back to face this thread. It's not sham I tell you, he must really be a nice guy. A pillar I tell you!

I've seen it spelled H’reimi, as well as Haraymi. Another problem with transliteration is that the Roman alphabet is the most widely used alphabetic writing system in the world. There is a standard method for transliterating Arabic into English. But this standard will vary from the French standard. 1. English transliterations are based on classic/standard Arabic pronunciation. 2. French transliterations are based on classic/standard Arabic as well as North African derja. H'reimi looks more like North African derja to me written in French. (I'm only very lightly getting into language. I don't really have the energy to get into long discussion on this online.) As for the recipe. I am pretty sure that the tomato paste would be sauteed in the olive oil for a few minutes before adding the juice. (btw, I wouldn't add tomato juice). This is a common North African cooking technique, it intensifies the flavor of the tomato paste, but seems to take out some of the flavor of tomatoes. I'm probably not describing it correctly (sick and not enough sleep). Anyway, I would suggest Elie try sauteeing the tomato paste in the olive oil.

Like that famous place in Berkeley--you know which one: local ingredients and world famous chef--and my reaction was "is that all there is??" It was perfectly nice and the food was very good, but who can live up to the hype? ← I don't know. I've noticed the hype takes new directions occassionally. When the hype is new, the bar is new, so it becomes about the hype for awhile with lots of talk about what will happen when the hype settles. One side dismisses it as pure hype. Another side dismisses the dismissers as low brow or not forward thinking. Still another side claims not to be resistant to hype per se, it really is hype. Another side says the hype is a just a part of marketing or pandering but there is more to the hype or something behind the hype or the hype will leave a legacy for sure proving that it was not all just hype... goes on and on...

It's getting worse from my point of view. EDIT: The finalists are becoming increasingly unappealing.

Why stop now? Is that (hoping you say yes) something I can buy, or something I have to fry? I have a package of Korean-style seaweed (nori) that's seasoned with sesame oil and salt, and it's great. And no frying involved! ← Yes you can buy it fried. Or you can do it at home. It's usually freshly fried and available in the prepared foods section of Korean Supermarkets.

It's more than a national pastime or passion in Korea. It's part of the way of life. There's really no such thing as a Korean get together without a grill or some form of cooking together.

What's up with calling a dish crispy seaweed if it's not? Merrymaker- If you are interested in crsipy seaweed that is indeed a crispy thing from the sea, you might want to try Korean deepfried dashima (kombu).

I was a kid during the 70's to 80's but the family Chinese dining experiences you mention happened more in the 70's for me. During the 80's in LA hole in the wall Americanized mom and pop Chinese restaurants that were scattered throughout LA began shutting down because of the Panda whatever chain. (Of course at the same time the SFG began to boom with new immigrants). During the 70's I 'd say my experiences were similar to Mark's. But with some Chinese-Korean food and dim sum in Chinatown included. I agree with Jason about microwaves and marijuana. Not that I know much about either.

I think some of them met without a formal introduction from you. It's such a natural match. Add lean cuisine or weight watcher's frozen entrees to the cart, a bigger tub of ice cream, and even more cat food. This couple is childless (or the kids are grown) so they adopt more cats after getting together.

Pretty accomplished home cook (well very, if I do say so myself ), somewhat accomplished professional cook, married to a very accomplished professional cook. At home we tend to cook very simply. We are capable of reproducing fancy schmancy food at home, we've worked together in restaurants. Our restaurant cooking is too labor and time intensive to reproduce at home. Not because every dish is complicated. Even a simple roast chicken with the demi-glace/jus (combo, thing a ma jiggy) sauce, well the sauce takes a long time to make. We don't bother with it at home. And no making a batch and freezing is not something we will do. Even at the lower end there are dishes I wouldn't bother making at home because I can easily find great versions of it. Lebanese shawerma, Vietnamese Bahn mi, Indian dhosas, Mexican chile rellenos... throw in some sides for less than $10, even $5 I'm saving myself hourse of cooking. For us it's not so much about what we can cook at home, but knowing that restaurant kitchens are set up to produce certain kinds of dishes more efficiently and the restaurant dining experience is different from eating at home. As far as the revered chef just being a very good cook. I wouldn't argue with that. There are revered chefs who aren't even very good cooks. Then again there are revered chefs who are master cooks... The sort of cook that can bring tears of joy with a simple thing that tastes of heaven.

I've already fessed up to being a total supermarket snooper in another thread. It's the only time I am a snooper. (No I will not look in your bathroom cabinets). I'm pathologically nosy at the supermarket though. I think I can probably guess what people will buy based on appearance even outside of the grocery store. Most of the time I'm turned off by the amount of sugary drinks and packaged/premade stuff that appears in most carts. This is just as true at Whole Foods as it is at a mass market chain. But when I go to the Mexican, Asian, Middle Easterns, Indian/Paki places... I'm usually inspired by what other people buy. Sometimes I can guess what's for dinner or it makes me want to try something new. I saw this Armenian couple at the Korean store buying all the fixings for meheun tang (spicy fish soup) and I started to crave it on the spot. At the Middle Eastern last week I was standing in line when I notice this woman with fresh chickpeas, fava beans and green almonds so I ran to get some.

Thank you tanabutler for the great advice. That is exactly what he wants to do. His students/clients also want him to blog so that they can keep with his classes, events, etc... Many of them actually go through egullet reading every single post he makes. Had he anticipated this...

I just visualized all of us over orderers getting together at a restaurant for a meal.

David- How did you turn your website into a blog?

My husband is considering doing a blog. Maybe on egullet, but the blogs here get locked. Is there a way to transfer the blog to a seperate site so that it stays open? I suppose one could just cut and paste.

I've seen a few in LA. I know for certain that one of them is still open. Are they the only fast food place that serves sloppy joes?

Speaking of enchiritos and chilitos Jack in the Box has the Pannido. As for the McGriddle I actually tried. It reminded me of the Monte Cristo Sandwich.

Fantastic blog Zilla. Lovely photos of the farmer's market. Can you phonetically spell out how the locals pronounce Louisville?

I think that Escoffier himself would say he refined what was already there. Bocuse also trained under Eugenie Brazier. The story is that he rode his bicycle up a mountain or something when he was 20. Hard to say one. More like a succession of chefs.

I was just about to bring this up. My biggest gripe is with folks who aren't sharers but have no problems being moochers as well.

It's not the non-stick kind. I'm doing the second cure now. Don't eat the kids leftovers. Sure fire way to put on a little bit at a time over the years it adds up.

Smithy from your description of the dish it sounds like the chicken was Em'taffa or Moutaffa with lemon juice and garlic.