divalasvegas

Your party sounds tasty, ambitious and delightful kitchenmage. I'm only responding as an "end user" devourer of sweets. My baking skills pale in the shadows of those who've responded to you. I was wondering since lemon curd has been mentioned several times would you consider tartlets filled with different fruit curds and then topped with the corresponding fruit, i.e. raspberry curd tartlets topped with a raspberry? Are you determined to make your own curd from scratch or would you be open to purchasing a high quality pre-made one? I've seen recipes for such curds Strawberry Curd Recipe as well as sites that sell pre-made fruit curds Elizabethan Preserves Company. The recipes that I've seen seem to be along the same lines as lemon curd except substituting strawberries, raspberries, etc. And the company link I provided is in England but I'm sure there must be gourmet/specialty stores where you live that would sell similar products. If you purchased them you could provide an array of curd filled tarts in different flavors. Just a thought. Good luck. I look forward to hearing how it turned out. BTW, when will our invitations be arriving in the mail?

Thanks for the links andiesenji. Oh how that first link has my MW saturated blood boiling! (Where's that emoticon with steam coming out of its ears?) That has to be one of the most ridiculous, condescending, piece of subjective nonsense I've read in a long time. First on her list of dopey advice she informs everyone as to which commercially mayo is "the best." Again, this is something that is dictated by personal tastes. For mayo, I usually use Hellmann's but have also used Kraft's. I find Hellmann's more substantial, thicker, eggier; I find Kraft's smoother, a little lighter in texture, and bit more lemony/citrusy. Many on this thread don't like either and prefer Best Foods. Then she goes on to inform us that it may be too much of a financial burden to have two big ol' jars of stuff (MW and mayo) in the fridge after which she tantalizes us with this promise/threat: And then provides us with her genious solution: WTF? Uh, no Trudy, I think I'll pass on that brilliant suggestion and try to fit that $3.00 plus change into my monthly food budget for the real thing. Sheesh. She then finishes off with: Again, WTF? I make potato salad using that combination often; it's damn good and I've never, ever heard of the phrase "slow down the vinegar" in my life. In this case, when it comes to friends, I guess birds of a feather really do flock together. It's so ludicrous that in order to justify her tastes she needs to put down those of others, even instructing people that MW is only for "common" foods. As someone wisely said upthread, "it's just a condiment people." Oy. andiesenji you sweet little devil you!

Try the kind with NO pickle at all, just potato, onion, celery, mayo (yes, dammit, Hellman's!) sour cream and a bit of Kosher salt. Mom's best! ← That sounds like a great recipe judiu. And guess what?........... I have all of those ingredients on hand! Thanks. Yes, as I have said several times in this thread, I have both MW and Mayo (Hellmann's of course) in my refrigerator all times. One of the problems is that when the people you cook for (aka my family) are used to eating a dish a certain way that's often how you end up making it--OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN! I mean it's been agony just to get them to eat steaks and burgers medium well instead of well done! (Personally I prefer my steaks medium rare and my burgers medium.) Kouign I've always wanted to make German potato salad, so if you have a tried and true recipe, I'd appreciate it.

First of all johnsmith45678 I think I'm still too traumatized by my hideous homemade Miracle Whip failure of a few months ago to try again. But you have reminded me that I still haven't made the boiled dressing discussed upthread; I'll have to get on it. However I'm so glad that someone took up your challenge. Kerry your interpretation of the recipe looks great! I see that you used an immersion blender. Do you think that this resulted in a better end product than using a regular blender? Also, I agree about the sugar; when I saw the original recipe, the first thing I thought was 'that's not enough sugar.' And MarketStEl/Sandy I agree 100%, it's definitely a flavor profile thang. Sweet pickle relish has always been a must for Black folk when making "traditional" potato salad, although I know that there are probably hundreds of recipes for potato salad that don't use it.

Still enjoying seeing Israel (and its cuisine) through your eyes Michelle. Thanks for the photos of your dinner at The White Pergola. Warm bread, olives, and an assortment of fresh salads, a tasting of the fresh catch of the day, and lemonade--definitely a perfect meal for me. I have to ask though, do you think the reason that some restaurants want you to leave your leftover salads is that they, er, recycle them? Sorry, but my enquiring mind has to know (and I'm sure I'm not the only one here who's wondering that). ← No, it is really because the meals are a fixed price and you can ask for refills on the salads throughout the meal. Some could ask for a refill at the last minute and then ask for a doggy bag. That is cost prohibitive for a restaurant. ← Thanks Michelle. You are so amazing; it's almost midnight and you're here with us. Bless you and I'm impatiently anticipating your dishes for Shabbat. Your menu sounds wonderful.

Still enjoying seeing Israel (and its cuisine) through your eyes Michelle. Thanks for the photos of your dinner at The White Pergola. Warm bread, olives, and an assortment of fresh salads, a tasting of the fresh catch of the day, and lemonade--definitely a perfect meal for me. I have to ask though, do you think the reason that some restaurants want you to leave your leftover salads is that they, er, recycle them? Sorry, but my enquiring mind has to know (and I'm sure I'm not the only one here who's wondering that).

Oh drool, I look forward to that.

I'm enjoying your blog immensely Michelle. I'm pretty ignorant about Israeli cuisine so this is a wonderful learning experience for me. I do have questions about all of the salads you picture above. I've always enjoyed salads that are of Middle Eastern or Moroccan in origin. What types of salads are pictured here and do you have your own recipes that you'd be kind enough to share?

One of the reasons I had to qualify my about-face appears here. Cakes are great on special occasions and in the winter time. As for Christmas, figgy pudding is more like cake than pie and gingerbread houses sometimes take the form of shaped cakes. Christmas cakes are standard in many cultures, though cookies are far more significant than either pie or cake. ← Uh oh my fellow Washingtonian, sounds like you just might be backslidin' your way back into the arms of those cake lovin' heathens. Actually, though pie will always be number one for me especially during holidays, I've always wanted to try one of those beautiful, labor intensive English puddings with flaming, brandy soaked sugar cubes (comes from repeated viewings of "A Christmas Carol" I think). But back to your current condition. You obviously need a major intervention. May I prescribe a triple Southern remedy: one slice each of my mamma's sweet potato pie, Mississippi Mud Pie, and peach pie made from some of our local Virginia peaches. Take one every eight hours and call me in the morning.

I love this topic. I had no idea that people could be so passionate (and funny) about cake vs. pie. I do love a nice slice of cake, fancy restaurant or chi chi poo poo bakery cakes, birthday cakes, even those frozen ice cream "cakes" too. But better than pie? NEVER, for the following completely objective and logical reasons: 1. Think of Christmas or Thanksgiving or Easter, I mean at least for me dessert means PIE: sweet potato or pecan or sweet potato/pecan or apple or pear tart or coconut custard or coconut cream or the QUEEN OF PIES: lemon meringue. Yeah right, break out that holiday cake? I don't think so. (Well there's always "fruitcake" heh heh). 2. Think of all the great pies and their not so subtle meanings: sweet and savory: sweet potato (mamma, home, church suppers), key lime (sunny florida keys, hot miami nights), apple pie, well as soon as you saw the words "apple pie" you know you also thought of baseball, hot dogs, the Flag, God, country........ okay, I'll calm down, and of course cherry pie--George Washington, Valley Forge, "I cannot tell a lie" ya know? 3. Savory pies: the Greeks (cheese and spinach pies), the French (quiche), the English (meat pies) and of course us Americans (chicken pot pie). 4. Boston cream pie is CAKE and quite tasty, but cheesecake is PIE, period, since it fulfills all the really important pie criteria: a filling baked in a crust, perhaps topped with fruit, perhaps not. End of discussion. 5. I thank you Mayhaw Man for starting this topic, but unfortunately not only are you wrong, but also baffling since you come from the land of Hubig's pies one of the great contributions to pie-dom. However, you are redeemed by the fact that you are a great writer, a nice guy, and you love okra--the QUEEN of vegetables--which in my book makes you, of course, SWEET AS PIE!

That's what I'm sayin'.......although to be honest it doesn't look like there's a whole lot of 'sucking up and bracing himself' going on - if there is he covers it well. That's one fearless eater having a great time from what I can see. Me, I'm still all weepy over the Chupacabra puppy..... ← Chupacabra puppy indeed Heidi. Also, I'd like to nominate the Puerto Rico episode for having had the most delicious looking dishes/best food porn (in addition to the El Bulli episode of course) of all the shows. And I too look forward to Tony's take on his Beirut experience.

Hey why not? But why stop at a two flavor profile mouthwash when you can have three: chipoltle-cilantro-tomatillo mouthwash anyone? Cheers.

Amazing what miscellaneous bits of information I have rattling around in my head. I recalled that there was a thread about summer puddings which you can access here. Your brioche would seem to work well with ripe summer berries.

First of all sadistick I think this is a fantastic idea for a thread. Perhaps folks are just temporarily awestruck by your "pantry." I have a couple of questions. Are you a restaurant owner or seller of produce? Is "The Farm" a coop that you belong to or owned privately by you? The property looks lovely btw. Patience. Maybe a different forum is the answer. Or maybe you need a more provocative title for your thread to reel 'em in such as "Pre-Dinner In The Raw" subtitle "Where Did You Forage for Tonight's Meal?" Just a thought.

I just knew that someone would have to bring that up eventually! I have to admit that with the new spin on the phrase "toss the salad" I honestly feel queasy every time I hear it.

[Note to self: investigate whether or not racheld and I were separated at birth. ] Butter is a must for me. Dried fruits, white, brown or raw sugar yes; never tried fresh fruits. Whole milk, light or heavy cream also. Oh almost forgot, but salt is a must when cooking it or it tastes flat to me. One thing I've never tried but might when the weather turns colder is using an infused cream. On an episode of Martha Stewart Living she had a guest who made an infused cream which included according to my sketchy memory vanilla bean, citrus peel (lemon and orange I think), honey maybe, cinnamon, nutmeg, other sweet spices, almost like making chai.

This looks quite delicious; beautiful photo Danno and the process for making it does look easy and straightforward. I was wondering if you had to compare the taste and texture of CCC to regular Philly cream cheese, what would be the difference? I've made my own yogurt cheese before; is it similar to that?

I agree with much of the above, especially the baby talk--veggies, sammies, and so forth. But I haven't seen anyone mention the propensity of many tv chefs to use the following words when describing a step in food preparation: pitch, pop, slap, throw, toss, grab, drop, hit, snag and so forth. For instance: "Now, let's throw this in the oven...." or "Our water's come to the boil so I'm 'gonna' pitch/toss in the (fill in the food item here)..." Actually, I think you want to place anything in boiling water, for obvious reasons. or "Next, grab some parsley or mustard or butter....." or "About a half an hour before the ribs are ready to come off the grill, you wanna slap/hit 'em with some of this sauce..." More akin to describing an upcoming bout of wrestling than food instruction and usually accompanied by the onscreen talent talking louder and faster and making exaggerated arm gestures. I think we're seeing more of this in an attempt to make the chef seem more accessible/likeable/down-to-earth to the folks at home. Not totally annoying just bizarre.

Errrrrrggghhhh is right Claudia. Actually I don't think there is an emoticon or words profane enough to properly reflect what these three cretins were trying pull. And definitely what Ferran Adria should be charging for the experience probably ought to be closer to $1,000 than $200 but shhh, don't tell him that!

Where is this place? Someone tried to auction a reservation on e Bay starting at $1000. ← Actually there's a thread on the "auction" here: CLICK! ← I thought a 32-course tasting menu would HAVE to start at $1,000, minimum, considering there are 55 chefs - for a 55-seat restaurant, if I heard Tony correctly. The fact that it's somewhat cheaper is amazing - and somewhat gratifying. Now you just need to get a reservation (assuming you didn't win the auction), tack on the airfare, book some digs - but anyone of us would do it! Hey, just remember that AB produced the original show on his own dime, just so the rest of us could get a grasp on what Ferran is all about. Thanks, AB! ← Just to be clear, the auction for $1,000.00 was for a reservation at El Bulli and did not include the cost of the meal itself (about a little over $200, US) Specifically, three guys (con artists?) were auctioning on Ebay a spot at their table for the pleasure of dining with them. As I understand it, Ferran Adria does not charge for reservations, which made this whole thing quite unethical. BTW, there were no takers.

Where is this place? Someone tried to auction a reservation on e Bay starting at $1000. ← Actually there's a thread on the "auction" here: CLICK!

Hmmm, I could be wrong but are you laying down a challenge Daniel, are you calling me out? Well I accept the challenge and over the next few weeks I'll be trying out a variety of foods/recipes and reporting back with the results. You say "However, I think it's a lot cooler looking than it is" huh? YOU WISH! Tell the truth: the fact is, you already know you want it...... BADLY! Admit it, even now your biological male urge, as you call it, is overwhelming every logical and reasonable argument against getting it. To make it even more tempting (and feed your biological imperative) you should know that actually this is quite a compact appliance and you won't have to worry about having to conduct any reconnaisance missions in your kitchen.

Very amusing chart akebono, definitely to be taken tongue-in-cheek though. For instance, blue cheese going bad in 2 months? Because of the molds used to make the various types of bleu cheese, doesn't it kind of start out "bad" in the first place. And honey going bad in 8 months, well I remember hearing that honey is the only food that never rots, that it's been found by archaeologists at ancient sites and it was still good. I do love how all of the synthetic stuff like saccharine, baco bits, and aspartame seem to have a shelf life of infinity.

First of all, I just want to say thanks to everyone who made suggestions and gave me tips on how to use my raclette thingy. I just used it for the first time today and here are the results: - I decided to start out by making something pretty mundane and relatively cheap: bacon, sausage, pancakes and eggs over easy and I'm glad I did. - The suggested temperature for cooking these items I found to be too high. For instance, the guidelines provided suggested a temperature of 400 degrees for sausage which was in my estimation about 50 degrees too high. Not a problem, I just turned it down to 350 and all was well. Much better to discover this with sausage and pancakes and not more expensive items such as steak and shrimp. IMHO, it's no different from becoming familiar with any other kitchen appliance I've owned. After the minor adjustment, the food came out great. It was still so hot from cooking the meats, then the pancakes I was able to turn it off completely and cook a couple of eggs using just the residual heat. - When set at the correct temperature, it cooks very quickly and efficiently. The non-stick surface cleans up easily and you can even use metal utensils on it. - Overall, I really like this thing and I can see cooking a lot of different foods, especially kabobs, fajitas, steaks, seafood, and chicken. Also, with the high heat it produces, I'll definitely be doing stir fries and even fried rice. It may not achieve wok hey (sp?) but I'll bet it comes close enough. - BTW, the griddle side can even be used as a cooktop, so that you can prepare items directly on one side and actually heat up or cook something else on the other. It even gets hot enough to heat cooking oil to the boiling point (one of the suggestions is to use it this way to cook skewered meats in a hot oil fondue). I'll have to think about that one. - Of utmost importance, I highly recommend this for someone with a disability. One can definitely cook while seated (I set it up on our kitchen table) which is a Godsend to someone who uses a wheelchair or, like me, has difficulty standing for long periods of time. Again, thanks for all your help and advice.

You are now and will always be the BEST Grub ..................... still can't stop grinning or laughing. As you have obviously been scarred for life by your raclette experience you are hereby absolved from providing any tips on using my new device. BTW, I'll be breaking it in tomorrow. The good thing is that along with guidelines for how to use the different components, it also came with quite a few Wolfgang Puck recipes. Oh man................ blobs of melted cheese, solitary pickle, nekkid boiled potato over and over and over again. Thanks.