Genny

My DH and I often 'negotiate' what we will order, especially in a new restaurant. When we go out with certain friends the negotiation can be done among all of us. Variety is the spice of life! Its always fun to decide who has the best plate. Sometimes we like each other's better and switch or decide they are both excellent and trade entire plates 1/2 way through. Happiness is a willing participant

Pam R- What a lovely open letter. Thanks so much for expressing yourself so eloquently. Mel- I'm a fan.

Anzu, I guess the question is whether or not you knew that he would not want to try horse meat before choosing to serve it to him. I think cruelty would be knowing (or thinking they may) have an aversion to something and serving it to them anyway.

This thread inspired my to buy a couple stalks of rhubarb a week or so back since my DH loves it in strawberry-rhubarb pie. I also bought some cherries since he loves them. I promptly forgot about them and he never touched the cherries (?). So a few of the cherries were starting to turn and I really hated the thought of throwing them all out. But frankly I didn't really want to eat them fresh b/c they just weren't "fresh" anymore. So, I pulled out a small sauce pan, cleaned and cut up the rhubarb and added some sugar and h2o. Once it started boiling away I saw the cherries I had put in a bowl to eat and decided to throw them in with the rhubarb. I pitted and halved them and whached the burner on low and let it all simmer away as I did my chores. I tasted and decided I may have gone a little over on the sugar so I put in a slice of lemon. 1/2 hour later....OMG boy is that good jam. It would be lovely on pork chops but I haven't made any yet. I've thrown it into the freezer now b/c I just keep eating it by the spoon. (hey, it counts towards my 4 serving of fruit for the day, right?) I think I'll take the frozen stuff up to Oregon with me to share with my MIL, she'll love it!

I'd never serve rabbit to my SIL. Funny story.... Growing up my SIL had a bunny. It was kept outside on the back patio and one day there was a big storm. The bunny's cage was open afterwards and the bunny was gone. A week or so later Mom made a fantastic meal. Everyone was mostly through eating and someone asked what it was. Mom replied "Rabbit" poor SIL lost it right there on the table. Mom swears it wasn't the dearly departed but SIL never got over the trauma. I can tell you, I'd probably try horse. What the heck, I don't have a great affinity for them though. I'd probably refuse to eat cat or dog though! I agree entirely with the concept that we personify our pets to such a degree that the thought of eating them seems like cannibalism. OTOH, I wouldn't disclose beef heart, duck, or any other rather mundane if not usually found on my table ingredient. I like my subjects to enter the meal with an open mind. BTW, my husband (it is his sister in the story) likes rabbit just fne, as do I.

We're still in Spring so Lamb could be a protein choice for the Mystery basket (really a misnomer since it is being discussed in the open forum, eh?)

Mystery Ingredient basket: Asparagus & Crab

ROFLMAO!!!!!

I only make what I call Cheater Guac. I get th salsa fresca from the refrigerated section (here the brand is Rosa's) and add diced avocado, lime and salt. The cutting is done for me with the necessary onion, tomato, cilantro etc. Fresh and fantastic. I've also used a Roasted salsa fresca, the color is darker but it is still very good, just not as bright. I love the method here with the paste, I just may be willing to try this! Sounds wonderful!!

I think I'm going to have to leave this board open and just keep hitting the Refresh key every few minutes Love it. In all sincerity and respect I am so thrilled! This is going to be so much fun and I'm on vacation for the next week so I'll not get those guilty pangs for tuning in more regularly than I should during the work day. Bring your best people, we all have ring side seats for one hell of a throw down. Oh, BTW tons of pix right???????? Its gotta come with porn.

Yea! That makes me so happy The leftovers do freeze but I never even label them since my DH can't let them be for more than a week or so. I'm so glad that you liked it. I did them for a party recently and served them in the mini Tostitos scoops with a bit of grated cheese and diced avocado. Big hit. I've also discovered that the type of chorizo used makes a huge difference in the end product. Farmer John brand is fine for chorizo and eggs but the Mexican brand has more fat in it which is essential for the onions and shredded beef so I would recommend using a Mexican brand of chorizo for this recipe for anyone. I'll go edit my recipe on RG now...

Oh yeah! I'm sitting her with the biggest shit-eating grin on my face, unable to believe the great fortune I have to observe this cook-off! The title says Tag Team, that implies you are on the same team, I guess not! I just love the competition so I have one more thing to add.... Hey Marlene, Kick his ass!

Sounds like my kind of health food Gifted! Genny

JohnL, the show was called Chef! I tried to watch a couple times but just didn't find it very interesting. A couple on the boards here have said it was good so if I run across it again I'll give it another go.

Allura, You'd probably get better service and quality food on a Tuesday instead of Sunday. Could make the evening more enjoyable to have the right kind of service and attention. Congratulations on your 5 years! Enjoy your evening...you'll have to tell us where you went and what you ordered! Genny

You are SO right! I'm a big House fan and I could totally see him doing Bourdain! ← Too bad he already has a great gig...NEXT!

Unacceptable: dirty utensils/plates/glasses. Especially a wine or water glass with lipstick on it. I understand these go through a dishwasher and are sanitized but sometime the slipshod manner in which these basic tools are used is alarming.

I can only second (or third, or fourth) what others have said about the Waring Pro. I did research on the eG threads and with other online sources and decided to go with the Waring Pro. I love it. It is powerful and super easy to clean up as well. The blade assembly is removable and the cup can go in the dishwasher if I want. We recently learned that if William Sonoma carries a product, you can return it to them with no quesions asked for full replacement if necessary. This is why we will buy from them!

This is when I trade plates right in front of the server I agree whole heartedly on the clearing of plates as each diner finishes rather than waiting for the entire party is done. I admit to eating a bit slow but my fellow diners are accepting of sitting with their empty plate in front of them. I feel rushed knowing I am the last one with a plate in front of me. This falls as my #2 peeve. My #1 peeve is when ordering, I like to ask the server for recommendations from the menu. When I get the reply, "Everything is great" I find that no help at all! Conversely I love it when a server asks questions like, "What are you in the mood for?" or "Do you prefer spicy?" and then narrows down the selection from there. This is when I know the server is well trained, familiar with the menu and is vested in my having an enjoyable dining experience. My #3 peeve is about NUTS. My husband does not like them in his food. We have often asked whether nuts are in a dish and been told they are not only to find that they actually are. This is soooo dangerous for those with allergies I just can't understand how in the world they could get something like this wrong!

Hi Wendy! Hey, here's a wild thought. Their website says they don't ship. Perhaps you can call them and explain your situation and ask them how they do it. Is this type of information generally proprietary?

bbqboy, I made reservations for Sammys a week ago. They only had one seating per night available and that was 3 weeks in advance. So glad I got in. My FIL said he'd eaten there a few times and thought it was good but prefers the Jacksonville Inn. I'll get to compare and make my own judgement though. I did look at the Inn's posted menu and it does look nice and traditional. I'm hoping to get something unusual at Sammys though, more of the high concept food (is fois still available in OR?) I spoke to my FIL last night and he said he has put together a listing of culinary activities/things to do for me while I'm there. How cool is that?!? I'll keep a diary while I'm there and be sure to do a trip report. I'm printing the post here and will take it with me. We love jerkey but since my DH makes his own, we have very specific standards. I'd love to be surprised by a fabulous find though

Thanks everyone for your information. I'm excited to see there is lots to do there. So far here is what I've got planned (or nearly) Wine Tasting: At least one day and it will most definitely include Paschal Winery, Rising Sun Farms and Valley View. Rogue Creamery: I'll definitely be going there, I love blue cheese! I've written and asked for a tour and to take photos to share, I'm hoping they say yes. Farmer's Market: Hoping to hit it on Saturday at Grant's Pass. Gary West Smoked Meats: Looks like something my DH will enjoy. Dinners: Jacksonville Inn one evening. Sammy's another evening. Out and about: Will likely check out Ashland and Jacksonville. Spending time with family. I'm going to try to get over my photophobia (fear of taking pictures) and document the highlights of my trip to share. Am I missing anything major???

An interesting point to me is the fact that this is all ostensibly a competition to work for English however Ming is the one that is shown speaking and taking a leading role. As a viewer I find that a bit confusing. Why is English's comments edited out? Why does Ming get so many more "lines"?

Along the engineer lines... As much as I absolutly love my brother-in-law, food comes in basically 2 categories: 'edible' and 'not edible- add hot sauce' Cooking for him is no fun at all, good thing he likes to play cards! My dad used to be in that category. Well, honestly he had my mom's cooking for 30 years so it is to be expected. Truth be told, I was in that mind while growing up too Now he is tons of fun to cook for since he raves about everything. I caught him sitting at the buffet table eating straight off the steak bites platter... (no showing off here! Guess what I'm making the next time dad comes???)

I bet HBO could get the gritty casting and language better than FOX...