Genny

I just saw an ad last night for Dark Chocolate M&Ms... note to self...go get some to try! edited for: Whoops!, didn't realize this was a Japan thread...sorry!

This is what I was looking for! Thanks! My father-in-law goes to a particular place and said it was the only (or best, I can't remember) place in town and I was hoping there was more to offer than that. Some "house" or "castle" or "lodge" is all I can remember.

I'm staying with family in White City. I'm not sure how far that is from the coast. Since I have about 5 days there, a day trip may not be out of the question if it is worth the travel.

What are appropriate manners when dining at a friend's house? Is it appropriate to offer assisstance to the cook or at least to go in and keep them company while they are making preparations? We had friends over to celebrate their new marriage and I was somewhat put-off that my girlfriend stayed with our husbands chatting while I put together the main course. I had my mise already and didn't need any help, per se, but the company would have been nice since my kitchen is separate from the living room. The same happened with dessert and coffee. Hmmm. This isn't the first time I've experienced this as a host and it always baffles me. My mom taught me it is only polite to offer assistance. I will say that men are generally excused from having to offer, it is an expectation of women only. (I know, I know this is a very outdated type of gender bias.) I'd love to hear some comments on this!

To me the children's actions could be interpreted as either curiosity, having never been exposed to a whole live or dead fish or as base cruelty. In either instance it seems unthinkable that an adult wasn't able or willing to use the situation as a teaching experience. To teach respect for the food that we eat and for the gentleness and with which it is imperitive that we treat others. That is very sad.

I'm taking a trip to the Rogue Valley in Oregon (Medford/Ashland/Jacksonville) in June and am looking for some recommendations based on your experiences. I've done some research so far and know there are a number of wineries, farms and some specialty food places such as the Rogue Creamery. I'd like to visit some of these places and will likely pick up some yummies to cook for my family while there as well as take home with me. Can anyone offer any suggestions of places (or activities) that are just not to be missed or places to avoid? Restaurant suggestions welcome too! Any input is welcome! Thanks, G

Great one! This is actually my husband's favorite treat, next to angel food cake. He likes it sliced and plain (he can eat a whole loaf in a sitting if I let him!), toasted lightly with butter and cinnamon sugar...actually cinnamon sugar is another favorite of his...or as french toast, I usually add some orange juice/zest into the custard. He prefers his Log Cabin but I use maple syrup with mine.

Now that is a good julep! I followed the recipe and YUMM-O! (ha-ha couldn't resist!) I had a julep years ago and it was too minty and too boozy. This is great sweet with the booze (and I get to control it). I imagine as you go through the day- as with many mixed drinks- it will get stronger and stronger Thanks so much for the blog...yes, to affirm, you must be nuts to be doing this during this hectic week!!! BIG THANKS into the peek into your work/world!

Wowie, zowie. Congrats on the food styling gig! Sounds like it came through almost spontaneously, or did you sell yourself? Its awesome that you are getting paid to do what you love (Ok, except for the watermelon thing). Confession: Next to apple, watermelon is my favorite Jolly Rancher flavor! I love the Rhino/Ham! I can pick out faces and shapes in all kinds of objects so it is cool to see someone else has that bend as well! For adding the pepper into the puff pastry, could you add chili oil or extract (juiced) from the peppers and combine it with the egg wash. Also, does the wedding product have to be exactly the same? You couldn't garnish with paper thin slices of pepper or something else (or nothing?) Great blog! Don't think we aren't reading and enjoying!

I used to live in the Bay Area, for special trips into SF I would go to The Stinking Rose. Over the years the quality was consistent, but I haven't been there recently. It is located in North Shore near the faaaaabulous bookstore (I hope it's still there!) A Clean Well Lit Place For Books. For Italian, you must go to North Shore! China Town is also a great culinary adventure if you're into asian foods. If you are over in the South Bay area, coastal, there are Hess Winery in Santa Cruz and also Margaritaville (not Buffet's) on the water in Capitola.

OK then I'll throw one to you! I've never been to Kentucky but your blog is making it look like a great destination. What a good ambassador you are for your state/town! My mom grew up in Indiana and just has to watch the derby each year, it is the only race (other than NASCAR) that she watches. So much fanfare for so little racing! I guess it is all about the event activities though, eh? I'll have to give bourbon a try, I usually go for tequila, vodka or rum. I'll run out this week and get some Makers Mark and some mint and at least try the julep recipe

I missed the first show but did read up on it online (nice website by the way). My critique is that I thought the program flowed well but it is hard to really invest much in the characters in only 1/2 hour. There seems that there is so much more going on that would be interesting in the menu planning, prep work, execution and plating of the dishes. Its too bad we don't see a bit more of that. Also, the 86 pan is quite cheesy but most of the elimination rituals are. I may be a bit unpopular here but I don't think English came off as an ass, is that because they edited everything ? He wasn't on much at all.

This is a call to all experienced bakers....HELP! I just aquired a family recipe that was written by my great-grandmother. I'm not an experienced baker so I was hoping someone could expand this for me to have it make sense: 1 qt scalded milk- cooled 3 packs yeast 2 c sugar 1/2 c melted butter 2 beaten eggs 3 t salt 1 1/2 t cardamom 5 lbs flour 2 c candied fruit, raisins, nuts, dates Work like bread. 375 reduce to 325 bake 40 minutes. Add furit after dough rises once. Makes 5 loaves. Questions: What is the order of processes here? Do I do the first grouping of ingredients together first, then the second grouping (through flour) and then mix those two groups together to form the bread dough? I assume the oven temp change is to assure a hot start, why would this be? Also, no mention of proofing. My guess is that the cold proofing that is mentioned earlier in this string would be something to try. Also, it looks like there are supposed to be 2 proofing on this, once without the fruit and once with. How long would the first proof be? Is this usually to double the dough? Any help at all on this would be greatly appreciated. I remember my father loved his grandmother's pannetone and I would love to test the recipe some this year to surprise him with it by Christmas. Thanks everyone!

Thanks Mrs. Inkling, this is a new one to me, I'll have to check it out. By the way I did go to the one in Gilbert on Saturday and it was depressing. One 12 foot table, "hot house tomatoes" and (I wish I was lying), stuff brought in that was purchased at a bakery. Duh!

Tiger Woods endorses Cadillac, Nike, and goodness knows what else. Michael Schumacher drives for Morlboro. Does he actually smoke Marlboros? Does it make him a hyppocrite for not? Does Shaq actually use the Icy Hot bands? (Do they even fit him or does the company make a special Shaq-Daddy size?) And, Mario Batagli pushes Glad Cling Wrap (good product by the way, my own endorsement ). Why would we hold chefs to a different standard? The interesting thing I found about this discussion is that these chefs are not making their financial comp information known and that is supposed to somehow compromise the product they are selling to their fans. Well... does Chef Tsai's menu say: "Grilled Contessa Shrimp with kamfir lime sauce"? We know the brand name only because we are reading about it from an outside source. Otherwise, we know he likes frozen shrimp and (gasps!) I can buy frozen shrimp (from a choice of labels) at my local grocery store. And yes there is disclosure on the programming, that is what all the "sponsored by" credits are. Why are we holding this against him? If the person endorsing the product believes in it and uses it, who are we to judge them? Hell, for $500K, I'd tell you the brand name of everything in my kitchen! Chef Robet McGrath has "Dr. Pepper braised short ribs" on his menu. Is this a problem if Dr. Pepper is paying him to use the product? Is it OK if they don't pay him? Frankly, I don't care either way, I've had the short ribs and they are to die for. Whether or not there is a product endorsement is beside the point. Why is it my business what he makes and how he makes it? I'm not the federal government. If you were offered $100 to tell your friends about your favorite brand of coffee that you already use and tell them about, you'd be a fool to turn it down! Capitalism isn't all bad, you know. Sorry, I just don't understand what the outrage is here.

Eat 'em plain!!!!

OK everyone, we're going to start the "Carry as much crap from the refrigerator and pantry as we can" Contest! Let's go!!! I do like RR some (I used to like her more but face it...we can only take so much of this giggle thing) and I have made some of her recipes, they've turned out well. Mind you- I've only tried the ones that suit my tastes, some of her stuff looks awful! When I watch her I say..."Hey, I could do that!" Not meaning cook, because I already knew that...I mean stand in front of a stove and chatter away like my best friend was there and I couldn't shut up to save my life. Now, what the world really needs is Betty Crock-o-Shit, oh, um I mean Sandra Lee to get HER own magazine too! 101 ways to use Cool Whip and Velveeta!

Ann, those photos are pure food porn! Mel, if they taste half as good as they look, I'll take a couple dozen please! Will you ship overnight????

And I get teased for using my P-Touch to label my canisters...I love it Marlene, it is just beautiful. I'm looking forward to redoing our kitchen to, hopefully it will be in this decade!

i don't think so - i do it for every party! it's delicious i call it "18 hour onion dip" ← MMM, do you have a recipe posted in the RecipeGullet? If not, can you share your recipe?

California also has Hobee's restaurant and I think their Cinnamon tea is like the Good Earth but kicked up a bit, almost like a hot cinnemon...yum! I don't think it is sold retail though, just in-store. Has anyone tried Sport Tea? It is really an herbal ginsing and the packaging is Hot or Cold. Natually sweet from I don't know what but very nice. My new find here in Arizona is Revolution teas, they are absolutely **beautiful** full leaf teas that are in a nylon bag that allows the leaves to expand. My favorite flavors are Tropical Green Tea and Ginger Peach...ooh yum. I can even use the bags twice without the tea becoming bitter. http://www.revolutiontea.com/

I think this question really has to do with how your relationships are defined. "It all comes out in the wash" is my personal philosophy. I have a friend that I go out to lunch with once or twice a month. We take turns paying, we've done this for more than 10 years, regardless of whether lunch is Taco Bell or Bella Mia. With other friendships, we don't keep track of who has given more, but of course, if we see a trend where we feel we are giving far more than are receiving in the frienship such as Swiss Chef mentioned, then we too limit those contacts. I've also had friends who prefer to 'split down the middle' on everything regardless. That is fine too. Its just about communication. That said, the ones that really irk me are the ones that want to look at the check and count their entree, drink, appetizer... and do the math...I HATE THAT! Just split the damn thing. If this guy is counting the number of glasses are in the bottle of wine and dividing by the ounce I'd say "no thanks" to future dinners for sure!

Oh, HUGE kudos to everyone! Me likee! This is fantastic, methinks this can be added to the "Food in the Bedroom" string.... My kitchen notes: to make this more "French Onion Soup-ish" I added 1 bay leaf, 1 tsp condensed beef stock, 1 sprig thyme, a tsp. of basalmic and 2 tbs. red wine. I didn't have any sherry on hand and was afraid madiera was too sweet so that was omitted. For the Crustini: Frech baguette sliced 1/2 inch thick spread with Grey Poupon country dijon mustard and topped with Guyere, broiled to melt the cheese. I also did one without mustard but with the mustard was definitely better with the vinegar in the background but the bread was too soft and I tasted more bread than I wanted to. I revised and cut the bread about 1/4 inch and toasted it. The crunch was perfect but now I tasted too much mustard. Third time is a charm! Toasted baguette cut approx. 1/4 inch and just enough mustard scraped over, an uneven coating made the different bites each have a different experience. Perfect! I think the hubby will really enjoy this one! edited to add: OH, and thanks for the Duck Confit thread! G

Another spring item besides favas (which can be expensive) are peas... they go with mint, do they pair with lamb?

I think the halibut sounds much better than the shrimp here. Much lighter. Do you need a puree for the lamb really? If you go with the asparagus (a personal favorite of mine with lamb) then could you go with an fresh herb sauce for the lamb with mint, garlic and parsley with OO? You could also lighten up some by serving the asparagus without the sauce, maybe with a drizzle of lemon or truffle oil? By the way, your menu does sound fabulous and your guests, no matter how jaded, are lucky to have your talents serving them for an evening! **disclaimer, I'm only a home cook so this is based on personal preference only***