Genny

Whoops! Sorry for reading too fast. Re-read again. Since everything is so soft, is there a reason you want to do as dipped instead of molded?

Its a liquor so its sweet? My Turkish friends put whole cardamom pods in their tea, would a dollop of this be good to use to replace the whole cardamom and sugar? Also it sounds like you could perhaps use it to candy lemon or orange rind...

Full disclosure: I don't know a think about the technical requirements of the task but....could you freeze or semi-freeze the caramel before enrobing?

OMFG!!! And then what happened???? See, I have a MILzilla too and I'd still break bread with her. Because I belong the the cult...WWBD?

See in situations like this, I have to ask myself: WWBD? Well, I says to myself: "Self, What Would Bourdain Do?" And after about a milisecond of thought I reply to myself, "If Bourdain can eat half cooked still shitty warthog anus to be polite and a gracious guest, I can eat a sub par soup or salad to be a polite and gracious guest." PS Busboy: I agree the best family motto evah! I tell my niece "suck it up buttercup!", yah know, to add a little sugar to it.

Lessee if this fits, I didn't "just make it up" but its a term we use commonly: Spooge: The muck that gets skimmed off the top of long cooking soups, stock or the shabu shabu pot.

Wow Karen what a treat to have some other options! Thanks for the input. I've had breakfast at the farmhouse but the wait was 40 minutes to get in! I just don't have that kind of patience for coffee . We'll have to try it again along with your other suggestions. Genny

Whoa! We used to get chunks of stuff that looked like this from the Neuro OR. But aside from that, how'd they taste? ← Perfect! Light, fluffy sugary goodness. DH ate the most repulsive looking ones without blinking. A grave sacrifice, I'm sure!

My marshmallow making in the past couple days has been a comedy of errors. I can't remember the last time I lauged so much at my own cooking! (you can read about the first go 'round here) Here I was trying to swirl in redy dye for my lovely vanilla marshmallows. I used red gel and a palette knife. When I cut them, here is what I found: A lovely blurry close-up:

Have you ever had a culinary creation fail so miserably that you found yourself in a heap on the floor lauging your a** off??? I too was so enthusiastic about the marshmallows on the site that I had to dive back in. I couldn't find my usual recipe so I decided to try the favorite here. I dumped the sugars and water in the pot to boil. I lovingly pureed and strained an overripe banana and poured some water and four packets of gelatine over the top of it. I gently melted some Worthers soft caramels. My sugar reached the soft ball stage and I pulled it off the burner and poured it over my banana mixture. Using my Kitchen Aid professional mixer with the whipper attachment I started to buzz it up and put air into it. EXCEPT...it didn't get airy! The result was some kind of taffy mixture. You know when you were a kid and "pulled" the marshmallows so no air was left and you had a kind of taffy? That is what I got. That stuff sticks to EVERYTHING! It climbs up the beater, it sticks to anything it comes into contact with, it has DEAD WEIGHT! I had tasty banana glue on the bowl, 4 rubber spatulas, the counter, the floor (I tried to whip the mixture off the beater at medium high...whoops) on my shirt, on my pants, on my hands....OMG! Bwahahahahahaha. Although the flavor was great, it was an incredibly unappetizing texture. I had to let it go. I dumped the bowl of it in the sink with some scalding hot water. This morning it was still there, stuck. I was afraid to put it down the drain for fear of needing to buy a new disposal! Into the trash it went. So, experts....what went wrong???? ROFLMAO, Genny

Oh JohnL, bah humbug! You say tawdry lingerie like its a bad thing! I refuse to go out on Valentine's because I hate the crowds and crappy service. I let the amatures have at it. We had a nice meal at home with a great steak, broiled tomatoes, roasted broccoli and a fabulous chianti.

Hi ahurwich, Yes, I've gone back a couple times to Dual and it appears to slip further and further each time I go. Its quite unfortunate but it seems that they may be adjusting to fit the local consumers tastes or perhaps using less quality ingredients to cut costs? I should have provided follow-up posts to report the decline. Dual certainly isn't on par with Vu or Brinkley's, never was. I hope my post didn't lead anyone to believe it was. It is a step above what you normally find in this part of the valley though.

See, the beautiful cheese shops there are just wasted on you. Bummer. I *wish* we had such a thing here in the valley. The best we have is an upscale market with a nice selection but they don't keep them properly and certainly don't have knowlegable staff waiting to provide tastings and advise. I'm going to go pout now. I love that you love the stinky cheese over the bland though! So many people shy away from the pungent. Try a lovely fresh goat cheese on a crustini with your tomatoe basil soup, its a combo that I tap my toes to!

Awwwww thanks Megan! I'm happy to be your Valentine! Looks like you had a fabo dinner without me tho...next time you should invite me along? If I can't fly there we can chat on the phone to be together for the meal. Good girl on the double cheese dinner! Can you put your finger on why you aren't a cheese girl? It doesn't appear that you dislike it, even the more pungent varieties so I'd love to know! What kinds do you like the best? least? (I, on the other hand AM a cheese girl. Sometimes that is whats for dinner accompanied by an appropriate glass of red wine. I'm swooning at the mere thought of it!) And to compliment the glassware, the champagne glass for your POP was so beautiful and delicate looking. I just adore lovely glassware, it sets the mood and can transcend the moment. Good luck on your presentation! (hmmm, checking the clock you are likely in the middle of it now!)

Happy Valentine's Day Megan! How wonderful your blog is...again! I loved your last one, of course But you're making me COLD! I've been terribly MIA from eG of late but this is the perfect way to jump back in. Everything looks so fantastic! You live/eat so well! What is it you do for work? Is it mentioned on the prior blog? Is it the same as then? The best additions to hot cocoa are homemade marshmallows and peppermint schnaps! It'll warm you up in no time!! Thanks for blogging and being so fascinating! Genny

CarrotTop, I believe its your turn to answer your own questions for the rest of us!

Ah, my sweet CarrotTop, you have quoted my all time favorite parable. Of course you did! Who does the cooking in your home? I generally do all the indoor stuff, man cook with fire outside. Do you eat foods from take-out or restaurants or buy ready-made foods often? Unfortunately, yes. Mostly for lunches. Soups, fast food, etc. Do you cook absolutely "from-scratch" using unprocessed ingredients often? Most of the time, if I'm cooking its from scratch. I have a few products such as the scone mix I get from a mill in Oregon but it is "unprocessed" ingredients as well. Are you single, married or living with other(s)? Married, just me, my man and our cat! Do you have children? see above What sort of work do you do? Life insurance administration Do you feel you have enough time to cook the sorts of foods you like to eat? Sometimes, often I don't have the inclination to cook because this little red hen does all the KP...its a barrier to entry As a question for "extra credit" , is the form of your daily cooking/eating/dining different than it was in your family when you were growing up, and if so, how is it different? Growing up dinner was at 5:00, give or take. There was always a protein, veg & starch. Mom did most of the cooking until she started working outside of the house when I was about 12, then I did a lot of the cooking. Dad grilled but did not cook- unless it was to *nuke* something in the microwave and stuff into a tortilla. Now we eat anywhere from 5:30 - 7:00. There is always a protein and veg but starches rarely. We probably eat too much protein. I try to have at least 2-3 servings of veg at dinner because I don't always do so well during the day. My husband does know how to cook and has some specialties but he likes my cooking. He grills the protein about 50% of the evening meals and I'm getting him to grill the veg more often too. We certainly eat out much more frequently than I did as a kid. We didn't have much money growing up so eating out was a big deal and it was only once a month.

I love the shot of the guy having a smoke with his fried bacon and gravy...talk about the money shot! Of course, I'd totally try it! I doubt I could make a regular habit of it though, my conscience would kill me! How many minutes do you need to do on the eliptical to burn off one piece of gravy dipped chicken fried bacon? Mmmmmm, now that is what Alton would call "Good Eats"!

I would like to add my voice to the chorus of those lamenting Bux's passing. He was such an integral player in the cast playing the eGullet family. I send best wishes to his family and friends. Go with God.

Once a year my women's group has a big themed get together. This year was my turn to host so I developed a "Cuisine Teams" concept and set up 4 stations in my kitchen for randomly chosen groups to cook simple recipes. Our goal wasn't "mandatory bonding" rather it was an opportunity to gab, catch up after summer vacations and have fun. The gals all said it was the best experience and we ended up adding 4 new members, our biggest addition ever! Could this be due to the "bonding" that took place during the activities? Sure! They had fun with new people and decided to hang around and see what kind of hijinx we would follow up with . The ladies did learn that they actually liked foods that they didn't think they liked - he he, I love it when that happens!

This is an interesting discussion. How does this concept differ from someone walking in off the street and tipping the host for a table, or the "right" table, etc.? Although this practice is frowned upon in some circles, it isn't illegal. I believe there is a discussion of the subject here (I didn't find it, does someone remember the topic title?) in which opinions were mixed as to whether they would or have tipped the host to get a table. I would suppose, however, that restaurants aren't thrilled about someone making reservations that may not be filled, thus leaving a table empty during service. And they probably don't love the thought of another entity making a buck off of them without getting a piece of it.

drpny, I have eaten at Vu twice and am as impressed with Chef Brian Lewis as both you and molto e. The word needs to get out. ahurwich ← It sounds like we need to coordinate an eGullet Dinner event here! Woweewowowow.

Wow. Oh just Wow. The Pacific NW epi was amazing! Bonus seeing the eGers!!! I saw Ling and thought..."no way" and I popped on here...yeah! I'll have to go back to see the other cast of eG stars again too! Now I just gotta find a "gypsy" restaurant here...hell, I'd be happy to host it! Tony's stay at the Heathman: $219.00 Tony digging donuts at Voodoo Donuts: $15.00 Tony scratching his ass trying to figure out how to put up a tent: Priceless This was one of the funnest epis evah!

It was so neat seeing so many eGers on this epi!!! I've GOT to get back up to Portland/ Seattle to visit...its been way too long!!!

Ladies and gentlemen, I believe we have achieved consensus. ← BWAHAHAHAHAHHAHA ROFLMAO!! Thanks Andrew!