pennylane

Note to self : the next time a French cheesemonger warns me that a cheese is really strong, it may actually be too strong.

It's a veggie burger! I'd eat it, I think...

Banana? Some kind of chestnut paste?

I've often thought that splitting the bill over here seems somewhat more awkward than it does in America or England, where it usually goes without saying. And people here do seem more likely to offer to pay for a round of aperitifs or something, whereas in America or England we often dispense with that round altogether, heh. So definitely it wouldn't surprise me at all to know that the French are less likely to split the bill than others. Another funny thing I've noticed is that many people here seem to leave no tip. I mean, I know we're supposed to tip less here than in America, but I thought it was still customary to leave some small change or something. And yet I've never seen anyone do that in all the years I've lived here.

I never soak chickpeas, and they take only an hour or so to cook. Don't know if there's some other reason to pre-soak...

Yeah, thanks, I had no idea either (knew it was around this time of the year but not when exactly). I can't make my favourite sarrasin crepes (apparently they can also be called crepes and in fact I read that that's what they're more commonly called in some parts of Brittany) because I've taken a vow not to stock up on any food items (like sarrasin) until I've depleted my existing ingredient hoards. But maybe I should make the fast food version with mushrooms and cheese and eggs (no ham 'cause I'm vegetarian) and then banana and chocolate for dessert. Apple caramel might be nice too.

I did it, and am still very happily married, though it's only been three years so far! You can always get someone else to help you, then if you're not sure how people will take it you can always say that you made it with this other person or even that it was principally the other person who made it but with a little help from you. That's what I did!

I have that same problem. And it's become worse since I joined this site. Before that, I used to think I was a pretty good cook. All my friends and family, everyone who knows me, used to tell me what a great cook I am. But now I see the pictures posted here and they're just mind-boggling! I feel so worthless in comparison. But you know, just keep cooking for the fun of it. Don't worry so much about learning complicated techniques and methods. Just make what you like, how you like it!

Thanks, Dave! I understand these are just your personal preferences, but it's exactly what I was looking for and will be printed out and henceforth serve as my cheese-tasting Bible! Thanks also for this suggestion, MarketStEl - it's something I have long wanted to try but was afraid it was just too crazy. But I'll definitely give it a try now - maye even tonight if I can root out some cheddar lurking in the back of the refrigerator!

jumanggy you are an artist!

Hey, when you guys post about different types of cheese, would you mind also mentioning the best way to enjoy them? That is something I have trouble with sometimes - knowing which cheeses are better on their own, which are better with crackers or bread, and which are better melted or cooked!

Also, I am not familiar with the place you mentioned, but I do know that even if portion sizes in France do begin to approach those in America, one certainly can't say the same thing about prices. For instance most of my co-workers can't afford to go out to eat more than once in a blue moon. When they do they tend to seek out places known for large servings at relatively low cost, like Pasta Papa and the like. And in those places I can assure you that portion sizes are shrinking, not expanding.

It's only a matter of time...

I don't understand this comment. The technique described in this thread was suggested as a means to produce an inferior loaf of bread, in a shorter period of time. What are you saying, that no-one should ever bake bread unless they have at least 24 hours to spare? I do normally use the long fermentation method, and while I didn't do a side-by-side comparison I didn't find the results of the rapid-rise technique to be markedly lacking in flavour. Now I'm probably just not a very good baker or maybe my taste-buds just aren't as refined as yours but surely there are others like me who like to bake their own bread and just aren't good enough at planning ahead to make sure the freezer's always stocked with dough in various stages of fermentation just waiting to be popped into the oven...

Thank you guys! This is what I suspected, but I just needed to hear it from people who actually own bread machines. Now I can put the bread machine question to rest once and for all (until I move away from France, that is!). Thanks again for your help! You guys rock!

I'm sure others are more qualified to answer this than I am, but I would say hors d'oeuvres are not at all just the French translation for American appetiser. To answer your questions I would say hors d'oeuvres tend to be finger food while appetisers comprise a "first course" that requires a plate and silverware, and as such are what's known as the "entrée" in France.

Just tried this method, but ended up making it even faster by inadvertently forgetting the first 3-3-3-6 step. So my rolls took about 45 minutes from start to finish, hehe. And when I say "finish" I mean exactly that - there's no trace of them left! They were actually some of the best rolls I've ever made. Very nicely risen, with a beautiful crumb and surprisingly good flavour, even though I used just flour, salt, water, a hint of cinnamon and a few raisins. I would have taken a picture but the tops (although nice and crusty) weren't as nicely browned as Fat Guy's. How do you get your crust such a nice colour?

Oh, okay, haha! You had mentioned the shape of the corks and the storage conditions so I thought you were referring to possible spoilage. This is kind of a revelation to me nonetheless - I had always assumed that wine just got better with age! Maybe I should break out some of those bottles on New Year's Eve (one of the rare holidays not associated with food, which thus usually passes unnoticed by me)...

Okay, thanks! I will try this in a small pan too, with one layer of fries.

Okay, I must try this. Am I right in assuming that you can only have one layer of fries in the pan and that the pan must be uncovered? (Sorry if that's a stupid question.)

Okay, I did actually kind of ask this in a couple of other threads, and got no reply, but how about red palm nut oil? From what I've read, it apparently goes rancid pretty quickly, but then it should smell rancid, right? Mine doesn't smell rancid - it just looks a little weird, like it's semi-solidified and has little white specks in it. But then I think it kind of looked like that when I bought it. Which was over a year ago.

I do that same thing, because I hate to waste food, and yeah, there are some cheeses which can't be cut, generally the ones that come in their own little boxes, or some that come already in smaller sizes. Then, over here at least, there are some which the sellers are willing to cut into halves or quarters but no smaller. I've found that generally the softer the cheese, the less willing they are to cut it. But today I got a small piece of Epoisses and an even smaller piece of Mont d'Or. They were already cut in the store so I didn't have to ask. I did ask them to cut some Brillat Savarin but they wouldn't give me less than half a round of it, so since I had already bought three different types of cheese and had two others at home, I decided to wait until the next time for that one.

What?! You mean wine actually goes bad? I had no idea. Should I be drinking all the wine and champagne in my kitchen cabinets before it goes bad??

Why do you have to choose? ← Well I do really want to go to the Maison de la Lozere, but I'd have to drag my husband along or find someone else to go with me, and that could be weird because I'm vegetarian, so I'd have to try to get away with ordering just appetisers and stuff. Obviously I'm used to this kind of situation by now but it'd be kind of embarrassing to be the one insisting to go to a place and then not even be able to eat anything there...

Guys, please help me. I am having a huge dilemma. I've already done a few searches of past threads/messages but there are so many conflicting opinions. I need the straight dope. People at work are telling me to buy a bread machine. Their daily raving about the smell of freshly-baked bread in the morning is driving me crazy. But here's my dilemma. It seems their main two reasons for advocating the bread machine are the following : - it works out cheaper in the long run than buying bread, and - it's easy to use. The thing is, I don't really give a damn about either of these factors (especially the first one, which frankly I find hard to believe). What I want to know is whether the bread machine can make bread that's better than bakery bread. I already make my own bread all the time, but I find that at best, it's only as good as the bread I buy at the bakery, and usually rather amateur in appearance. As a result, I rarely feel confident enough to compete with the local bakery and tend to confine my bread-making activities to things like pizza and calzone dough, pastries, hamburger rolls, etc. Because I like working with yeast, kneading, etc. and I wouldn't get that with a bread machine. For me, the attraction of the bread machine would be the ability to produce bread to match what I can get at the bakery, with a consistency that I can't get on my own. However when I asked my co-workers whether their bread machine bread is actually better than bakery bread, they said, "Once you get used to it." What does that mean? Why should it take getting used to? Now I think that they probably never baked bread at home before they got their bread machines, so perhaps they're just bowled over by the smell of freshly-baked bread, etc. and don't really have any other basis for their preference. Any thoughts? I would really appreciate it.