Grub

Just caught two episodes of this -- is it just me, or is there a really high ratio of advertising, intro and exit footage, repeat footage of what happened last time, what happened before the break, previews of what will happen next time, previews of what will happen after the break, etc., etc., etc. -to actual show, here? I mean, if you took away of those filler elements, you'd be left with about 10 minutes of original footage...

Aw jezz, not this shit again... One point that interests me here, is that they're not using the same old argument about this actually being cruel to the animals. They're actually arguing that the process causes the animals to become sick, and selling food from diseased animals is illegal -- basically, a complete technicality, or a straw-man argument. Can anyone enlighten me as to why they are taking this route in this case? Is this a normal argument? I know this is wishfull thinking -- but could this be because they know that the accusation of cruelty has no chance of sticking? That would at least give me some hope...

I don't think it's hypocritical in itself -- just as long as you recognize that this reaction is essentially illogical, and based on the cultural environment we live in. If you grew up in a culture where dogs are eaten, you would have no problem eating dogs. If you grew up in a culture where dogs are considered unclean, you would be disgusted by the idea of eating dog -- but also be equally disgusted by the idea of having a dog for a pet. We happened to grow up in a culture where dogs are considered our best friends -- hence our reaction.

My sincere appologies! You're quite correct -- I completely misinterpreted your post. Good on the Japanese -- and your friends. Lets hope this indignant and ignorant Peta motivated crap never reaches them...

Hang on there -- we just had a thread on this topic, which I found to be very educational. Foie gras is not obtained through cruelty: ducks have a natural capacity for eating a monstrous amount of food, and left to their own devices, will eat up to 100-150% of their own body weight in the wild. That the general public might not grasp this (and thus send foie gras into oblivion through ignorance) I can accept -- but us egulleteers ought to be a little better informed. Foie gras is not cruel.

I simply cannot understand how the CEO of Whole Foods Market could possibly be a vegan. A vegetarian, I guess that might somehow make sense -- that's more of a dietary thing. But a vegan is more of an ethical thing. Right? Well, I found this: In this USA Today (10/21/2003) article, he explains his reason for converting from being a "conventional vegetarian" to a vegan: "I came across an argument I could not refuse: Eating animals causes pain and suffering to the animals." So the dude really IS a vegan. Of course, in this article, (from Grist "Green Issues, Sustainable Living" Magazine,) he describes how he isn't a pure vegan, since he eats the eggs from his own "free-range, organic feed, extremely well-treated from their birth to their eventual death through natural causes"-chickens. Fair enough, I guess -- it's nice to see people not getting all fundemental for a change. But how can anyone sell dead animals for people to eat, while simultaenously claiming that eating animals causes pain and suffering to animals? That's just simply illogical. Here's another snippet from the last article: "Sure, I wish Whole Foods didn't sell animal products, but the fact of the matter is that the population of vegetarians in America is like 5 percent, and vegans are like 25 or 30 percent of the vegetarians. So if we were to become a vegan store, we'd go out of business, we'd cease to exist. And that wouldn't be good for the animals, for our customers, our employees, our stockholders, or anybody else. If I were to take Whole Foods in this direction I would be removed as CEO." So I guess this falls into the "as far as possible and practical" disclaimer of Wikipedia's definition of veganism: "Veganism is a philosophy and lifestyle that seeks to exclude — as far as is possible and practical — all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of humans, animals and the environment." Ie., to avoid exploitation of animals for food, unless doing so affects the bottom line. I would have said "our employees" too -- but since he equates unions with having herpes, I suspect he's somewhat less concerned with his employees than the lobsters -- let alone the stockholders. Bah, I say. Bah fucking humbug.

If the Chinese are trying to remove cats from the menus due to the Bejing Olympics, and the Koreans did the same with dogs for the World Cup, I think it would only be fair of us to should show the same cultural, culinary sensitivity next time we're hosting something, and burn down every McDonalds in the country. Well, that and have someone garotte most of the FoodNetwork's "personalities."

Chicken McNugget = Civilization?

Seafood Crêpes: Filling is sauteed onion, celery and shrimp in a Bechamel sauce with lime juice and cayenne pepper, salt & pepper. Crêpe batter is 2 eggs, 1 cup flour, 1.5 cup milk, 1 tsp salt. Done in a cheap, non-stick pan, with a tiny bit of butter in between every second crêpe or so -- but wasn't really necessary, though. I was kinda proud, but mostly confused, because all of a sudden, it seemed as if I'd totally mastered this stuff -- everything turned out really well, and browned just perfectly. This recipe used an extra half a cup milk compared to what I'd done earlier. It was a little thinner, and every single crêpe turned out just so. Actually, one other difference is that I used bread flour, instead of AP this time. I wonder if that's what made it so easy? Enough with the savory crêpes for me -- next one, I'll do some desert ones instead I think.

No kidding?! That boggles the mind -- that's beyond hypocracy. It's positively delusional. I've seen vegetarians accusing pet-owning meat eaters of cognitive dissonance... This like Jimmy Swaggart running the Mustang Ranch, in full view of the public.

I doubt I could help anyone with their technique, but for what it's worth, the pan I used was a strictly no-frills, cheapo, non-stick aluminum pan: It's old, and a little bent, but seemed to do the job fairly well. I'm sure a specialized crêpe pan would be a little easier, but only due to the lower edges giving your spatula easier access.

If you're going to treat a lobster humanely, you shouldn't keep him a water tank at all. You should give him a comfy chair, a decent job for fair wages and affordable health care. I blame Disney.

You're a better man than me -- well done, and thank you. I'm relieved to hear it was terrible, because the prospect of something like that tasting good just sounds depressing.

Heh, I can do that too... Crêpes de Volaille Versaillaise: Chicken, asparagus and mushroom, and a Bechamel sauce. Seafood Crêpes: Shrimp and crabmeat, onions, celery, scallions and a Bechamel sauce with cayenne pepper and lemon juice. I think I want to make that last one again, soon...

D'Artagnan, Oslo, Norway. 6 hours. Meh. I would normally have put down my dissatisfaction due to my lack of experience with Michelin star rated fancypants joints, but the other member of the party who had the same main dish as I (lamb) was equally unimpressed. I enjoyed the in-between pallette-cleansing sorbets, and the cigar at the end the most.

Schlesinger said, "With charcoal grilling, there's a big chance you'll ruin your dinner." That makes no sense at all -- even if this was true, why would anyone ever be a fan of a cooking method that involves a big chance of failure? So that remark was certainly off-base... Personally, I like charcoal. Gas is certainly convenient, but I think the extra work involved in starting a charcoal grill can easily be accomodated into the routine of preparing other parts of the meal. Besides, it's almost like a little ritual. I like it. A friend of mine (who is a considerably more talented cook than myself) uses gas, and have turned out many a great meal on it, so I'm certainly not knocking it. What I DO knock though, is lighter-fluids and pre-soaked brickettes. Gah. Raichlen's talk of wood grilling is really interesting to me. I always thought you had to wait until the flames died down, and cook in the charred coal remains of the campfire -- otherwise that hotdog or bread-on-a-stick would turn into a soot-covered, foul smelling mess...

Grats, man. I realize I'm late out of the chute, and that this here cowtown might not have too many other culinary boons to speak of, but I nevertheless feel obliged to boast and promote Nationwide Meats here in Sacramento. As Jason Perlow put it, "... This is a "Double French" with cheese. The "French" part is because its French sandwich roll, whatever that means -- its an exceptionally good, large, soft hamburger roll, perhaps slightly on the sweet side. The burger comes already dressed, with a traditional burger sauce like a Russian dressing or a Big Mac. The double is two 1/3lb patties, with lettuce, tomato, and red onion (and cheese, if you order it with cheese). It is truly an outstanding burger, which would hold up to the finest Burger establishments in New York or New Jersey, in fact I would say it is one of the best burgers I have ever had. Really. Screw LA, dude -- hit Nationwide.

This is sound advice indeed -- and any trade show veteran will tell you the same.

That's an interesting project -- a well stocked pantry is a joy. And Sally's pantry is certainly more joyous than most... Although I didn't realize asparagus came canned, or that flour could, or should be stored in the freezer. Of course, anyone who keeps parsnips and radishes on hand, HAS to be a good person... When I can write a shopping list that consists of a single protein, I feel happy about my pantry.

Oh, now that is a method that I read something about, somewhere -- sort of rings a bell, that... Thank you. I'll have a stab at it -- and if I still mess it up, I'll endeavor to keep a level head and at least take a picture of the mess Thanks.

Beautiful! That's going straight onto my menu. I'll report back

Thank you -- for the compliment, but even more so for the advice. I'll try to keep that in mind. The cabbage was eaten, raw. It's got a great texture, I think.

Yes, yes, yes! As much as I love mashed potatoes, and tinker about with garlic, parsley, butter, sour cream, chives or whatever performance enhancing additives one might give a spud, there's nothing like this. Growth of the soil, baby. That honestly brought tears to my eyes.

Absolutely not. That's like justifying forgery because the restaurant staff should be able to tell the difference between real and fake money.

I've seen some high end, avant-garde fancypants joints doing something sort of like this -- but that was done openly (and with non-artificial ingredients) and brought to the table in the form of a spray container that would be sprayed onto the customer's tongue... This is terrible. It's exactly the same as what happens in the fast food world, where pre-made, frozen hamburger patties have been processed so much that they have no taste left, and thus they are processed with artificial flavoring -- ala Fast Food Nation. It's worse than the steroiding athlete analogy: for McD to use artificial flavoring is like cheating in the Olympics -- for a supposedly proper restaurant to do it, is like cheating in the Special Olympics.