jsmeeker

That looks great!! I have a copy of BBA, and was eyeing that Portuguese Sweet Bread. I haven't read the recipe on it, but what is the puropose of the pie tins? is it to help ensure it maintains shape while proofing after shaping? In your pictures, the dough never really touches the sides of the tins. I have regular SAF Instant yeast. Not sure if I want to mail order the Gold variant. Guess I'll have to see how well the normal stuff works.

I've done the same as jsmeeker.....give it it's first rise, then divide into balls and freeze. However, I have noticed that the dough doesn't rise as nice when thawed. Maybe I'll try your method next time and freeze it right off the mixer. ← I'll give it a shot, too. I haven't noticed any rising problems, though. Even with frozen dough, I still would get really big bubbles in the dough as the pizza baked.

Since you mentioned some places in tha shopping center anchored by bed, bath, and beyond, I'll chime in with my own thoughts since I live nearby. I had a very, very disappointing experience at DeTapas. I mean, really bad. The first bad sign was we were the ONLY people in there. This was a weekay, maybe at 7:00ish. Maybe that's normal? Anyway, it was tough to even get service. Then, the food. Not good at all. One item we ordered was some sort of meat balls. They were still FROZEN in the middle. after that, we jsut stopped ordering, paid the bill and left.. Anyway... On to some suggetions. Just down from De Tappas is "Flying Fish". I really like this place. Simple seafood. Mostly fried stuff, but I love fried catfish and shrimp. They also have rwa oysters. "Blue Mesa" is always popular. It's been around for many years now, and while it's a bit of a local "chain", I think it's still a good place. I've never been, (I do plan on going one of these days) but I've heard good things about "Mercy". It's a wine bar. So, if you like wine, you might want to give it a shot. If you like beer, stop by "The Flying Suacer". Lots and lots and lots of beer. If you want a nice steak house and want to stay in that immediate area, "Chamberlains" is good. It's on Beltline, a block or tow east of Montfort.

I've always done it after the initial rise/fermentation. After dividing into individual pizza sizes, I put the excess dough into small sip top plastic bags and toss them into the freezer. Pizza dough freezes very nicely in my experiences. Doesn't take long to thaw, either.

So many good reviews! It's really nice to see that it really does live up to it's storied name, even after all these years. One of these days, I'll have to actuall go there. Big trick is talking some of my local friends into doing it (especially doing the tasting menu)

This thread isn't what I thought it was going to be about.

I thought the first episode was pretty good. Better than most food travel shows

you might want to read this article. http://www.epicurious.com/drinking/nonalcoholic/mocktail It's pretty interesting. It actually presents some rather intriguing ideas. I'm not a "wine guy", but I do enjoy wine and when doing fine dining, will usually elect for wine pairings with tasting menus if that is an option, or have someone suggest something for me. However, I'm very aware that not everyone drinks and that even people who DO drink may not be able to (or want to) consume a lot of wine during the course of a meal. I've actually turned down complimentary wine before (after already enjoying two glasses) at a nice place because I had to drive home after dinner. Anyway, I think this is a great idea. Hopefully, this will catch on.

Thanks. I was thinking of looking into some books as well. Something really basic to start. Like a "Wine for Dummies" (I'm sure they have that actual title in that collection, though it doesn't have to be that one). I'm thinking of heading down to Best Cellars this weekend to check it out. I like that area, and this could be yet another store on Knox where I can part with my money. There is also a place up in McKinney that caught my eye. (althought that's a bit of a drive for me). finding a reputable, turstworthy merchant is something I'm interested in. But i'll certainly report my findings.

NO I never did figure out who it was...somebody really cheap,stingy and mean. Who steals someones much desired and awaited chinese food? MEANIES! ← at least they sent over another order and "supersized" it. I don't really have any stories to share. I've actually NEVER ordered delivery to my apartment. Out here in suburbia, there really isn't much except pizza and some random Chinese places. Who knows if they are any good. Also, I always worry about them getting in the complex (the security gate calling system is very flaky), finding my place, etc. I fiugre if I want pizza and don't want to make it myself, I'll just go pick it up. There is good local place very close by. Out in the office in L.A., there is a group of co-workers that would sometimes order in some Chinese for lunch. Always a crap shoot. They forget the drinks, bring the wrong type of soup, can't find the place (even after having delivered to us the previous day) etc. etc. I'm just not much into delivery, I guess. But am enjoying the stories so far.

Thanks for the suggesting this site. Looks pretty good. I did see the class that you mention, but it actually appears to be a full blown course towards actual certification as a sommelier. It appears to run for 6 months and costs $1500. A bit more than what I was looking for, though. Still, I DO appreciate the link. I'm checking it out now.

I admire what they do and enjoy reading/watching how they get to their destination but I have to say none of the food looks all the great. I've only seen the show a handful of times but I wasn't moved to cook after viewing. Their chili looked like a leaden disaster to me. I think it's very Yankee-style cooking, which is interesting but it doesn't seem very passionate. There's a couple of "designers'" on HGTV who do room makeovers and they have the worst track-home taste but they can justify it in a pedantic way that makes you question your sanity ("Now the grey from the porcelain kitty's head picks up the grout in the tile-work and creates a lovely backdrop for our chintz toilet paper cozy!") Really? I don't' see that at all. She's just opening cans and dumping stuff into a frying pan as far as I can tell. I dont want to reopen old wounds, but I don't think you learn anything by watching her. You get a list of ingredients. ← The ATK stuff is very much "home cooking" and it certainly does have that Yankee bent to it. But that's the kind of food I like to cook at home for my self, or stuff I like to take someplace else. I don't do any fancy entertaining, so there is little need for me to make fussy restuarant style food. (when I want that, I go out for it) It's generally pretty damn solid, especially their desserts and baked items. The ethnic stuff may usually be far from authentic, though. For flat out basic cooking foods, they present really solid techniques that yield simple, tasty things like a beef stew or a soup, etc. For Rachael.. Are you confusing her with Sandra Lee? Rachael's stuff has a good amount of knife work, fresh vegetables, fresh herbs, etc. Sure, there are canned stocks, some dried spices, maybe canned beans... But I don't think there is anythign bad with that. Remember, that the 30 minute part is what the show revolves around.

No - but I have wondered why he buys them some kitchen gadget that gets used right out of the box or bag without washing it first. I have learned a lot from people like Sarah and Jacques - and I think it's wonderful that teaching is a large part of their shows. But, they aren't on FTV (any longer). I think FTV is more interested in the entertainment aspect than the teaching aspect. If the hosts are able to throw in some technique lessons, great - but I don't think it's required of them. PBS seems to do this sort of thing better - perhaps they have more time to teach, not having to fit in commercials. ← A 30 minute show on PBS has about the same amount of actual show time as a 30 minute show on FoodTV. There are "commericals" at the start of shows like America's Test Kitchen. Also, the show ends a few minutes before the half hour is up, and the local station fills it up with promotions for other shows. It's really about commerical TV vs. non-commercial TV (and my commerical TV, I don't mean actual commercials). They aren't exactly the same. PBS still needs to have some element of enterainment. If the show is boring, people won't watch, and the PBS stations won't pick up the shows. There are lots and lots of cooking shows airing on PBS stations. Some stations have a lot, some have just a small number. And not everyone sees the same shows. There are multiple reasons for this.

when is the next NEW episode scheduled to air?

I FINALLY found some of this. Granted, I had not been looking for it very hard. Just seeing if it was avaiable at the places I normally shop at. But last week, I was at SuperTarget and saw it. Only in a 4 pack, so I bought the whole thing. Can't recall the price, but it's pretty damn expensive for a coca-cola product. Anyway, I was not overly thrilled with it. I did drink all of the first bottle I opened. The remaining three still sit in the fridge. I'll eventually drink them all, but I don't think I'll be buying this ever again.

That's crazy! Someone stole your food? Did you ever figure out who it was? I assume it's someone who lives in the building.

[Moderator's Note: This post has been split off as a new topic from the discussion topic on Premier Wines of Plano.] I'm interested in taking some sort of basic wine class some place in the Dallas area. May not be at Premier or Tonys, but I jsut don't know what's available. Do you have any suggestions? Or maybe you can direct me to a thread that does have some suggestions? Thanks.

Two good choices. Jacques Pepin is one of my all time favorites. He's great. He's "old school", and I mean that in the best possible way. You can learn a lot from him. I'm a big Alton Brown fan too.

you know, there is more than one way to read this question. No matter what, I'll just suggest that you go to breakfast at Bouchon.

If you buy whole carrots and turn them yourself, you'll save enough to buy a free range bird. ← Heh.... But I don't have time to do that on a Wednesday night when I get home from work at 7:00 PM. My time is worth something! I'll have to check prices on those cut baby carrots. I don't think a pound of them costs a whole lot more than a pound of normal carrots. ← Silly goose! Those are baby carrots like you're a baby human. They're "adult" carrots cut and ground to little pieces. REAL baby carrots are sweeter, more intense, and--get this--SHAPED LIKE CARROTS. ← Oh, I know how cut baby carrots are made. But someone had suggested (in a joking way of course) that I could turn normal carrots into the little ones by hand if I wanted carrots of that size. I COULD, if I had time. And if I actually knew HOW to do it (I really don't know how)

I haven't seen any of it yet, actually. They always promote these shows way in advance before the guide data for it shows up in my TiVo. Then, before you know it they are on the air and I have forgotten to set the season pass. I need to set one up for this, plus the new Alton Brown show. But thanks for clearing up the format of Flay's new show. Based on the desription in the first post, I was getting the impression they were trying to "fool" the lucky "contestant". But thankfully, that appears to NOT be the case.

Was that the first time you ever actually watched 30 Minute Meals? I know it's almost of a sport around here to bag on Rachael, but I used to actually TiVo her show and managed to watch many episodes. She's always been pretty solid. She may not be at a French Laundry sous chef level, but for a home cook type, cranking out a decent meal in 30 minutes, she's good. Probably much, much beter than the typical home cook her show caters too. Emeril is the same way on "Emeril Live". I know people hate his schtick and the way he gets across the techniques (holding up the knob to the stove, the "I don't know where you get your <blank> but mine doesn't come salted" line, etc. etc.), but he gets is across, I think. Who else is good on technique on TV? The "America's Test Kitchen" folks. Really, really good. A great deal of their recipe research and development revolves around technique. (although some of it may be unusual or even against traditional wisdom) It's not just about having the best and fanciest ingredients.

Order some more wings.

Hmmm.. The format of this show isn't exactly what i was expecting based on the promotions I saw on Food Network. I kind of got the idea that all the people Bobby was going to go "battle" with were viewers who wrote in and said "I can out cook you". But it appears not to be the case based on this description of the first episode.

I wish I knew this was going to be on. I would have TiVo'ed it. Any idea if/when it will re-air?