Jean Blanchard

In the past, I've eaten at Sandpiper and I just last week tried Lucas Wharf. Neither is worth going out of your way to visit. Frankly, I didn't see much there but I'm just a visitor so I may have missed something.

So I'm going to L'Etoile for dinner on Friday night. Any suggestions for a pre-dinner cocktail nearby?

Not sure this is where I should be posting this but I am seriously thinking of doing a cooking class in either Italy or France as a vacation with a friend. I want something that is about a week long, cooking and shopping at the local markets, maybe seeing a winery and some local artisans. I know there are lots of those types of trips listed on the internet but I thought I'd see if any of you have any recommendations or personal experience. Thanks for any input.

Just finished watching the first show. I loved the recipes and her personality. I'm going to give this a chance and put on my regular list of (very few) shows I watch on food network.

Let us know how the lemon tart works out. Lemon is my husband's favorite.

I had someone recommend these restaurants to me, any experience with any of them? LeChardonnay Nadias Cafe Continental

I'm planning a weekend in Madison. I'll take any suggestions from fine dining to ethnic to burgers as long as it's something I shouldn't miss. Jean

You obviously didn't use the 8" springform. What size loaf pan did you use? Thanks!

And if you're NOT a veggie, their Kobe beef burger is TO DIE FOR!!! A real 4 napkin experience! ← You've made my husband a very happy man!!

Great, thanks!

Now that I pretty much know where I'm going for dinner, any suggestions for lunch? I need to eat in between all of that wine tasting.

Does anyone know where the Village Creamery is? I'm headed to that area this weekend.

jenisicecreams.com out of Columbus, Ohio but there is a minimum $70.00 order. Great ice cream though!

thanks for all of these suggestions. Redd and Ubuntu look great and are definitely on the list.

Had one of the worst weeks in my life and needed a little comfort food. Vie fit the bill for me and my daughter and son-in-law always want to dine there when in town. Paul Virant never disappoints. I had the squash beignets, halibut with snails and we shared several desserts. The great thing about Vie is that the menu changes so often that I look forward to dining each time as if it's a new restaurant that I can absolutely count on for quality, stellar food. Service is impeccable without being stuffy. What more can I ask?

I'm so sorry I had to miss everything at the last minute but I'm looking forward to the pics. I'll hope for next year, wherever it's at! Jean

I'm planning a few days in Napa and since its been about 5 years since my last trip, I'm wondering which restaurants are now recommended. Thanks for any suggestions. Jean

LAZ, Due to family circumstances, I may not be able to join the group on Saturday. I know you're counting on our car to drive a couple of people. I will come if at all possible but thought I should let you know just in case. I'll keep you informed as we get closer to the date. Jean

I've got one 9 and one 10 in. black, removable bottom tart pans. I'll bring them on Thursday night.

What size tart pans do you need?

I would be so happy to have this at my house but Naperville is just so prohibitive to getting back into the city. I hope things work out. Thanks so much for all of the effort that goes into this event.

Not sure how much it matters but I'm a plus one for the ethnic tour. I may consider dinner on Friday night but I'd like to see how Friday bread and candy making goes first. Do we know if we're going to have a place for those events yet? Really looking forward to doing everything!

If we do the shopping tour on Saturday, I'd probably be interested in that and can transport 2, maybe 3 people in our car. I'll also bring a cooler or two for anything we buy. I'm going to bring my dishes already made but I want to be a sous chef on somebody's team and I don't care which one.

I'm trying to cut back on sugar. I've seen a few recipes and am toying with buying Baking with Agave Nectar by Ania Catalano. Since this is so new to me, I'm wondering what results anyone else may have had making the substitution.

Forgive me if I'm missing this. Did we find a space for the bread workshop?