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Posts posted by inny
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So . . . here it is, the larger question: Not whether Tony can be saved (from danger) - but Tony can be saved from . . . well . . . Tony? (!!)
(I hope not!)
I agree with everything Claudia Greco posted above, but the quote I pulled just nails it. That, right there, is the charm of the show. Sure, the producers may have their grubby little mitts on some of the set-ups, but the experience is pure Bourdain. That's what makes it watchable. That's what makes it fun.
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I'd love to know whether the quality of students has improved since the "celebrity chef" bonanza hit. It seems to me that Ramsay might be doing the industry a favor by showing what can happen in a professional kitchen. If a student doesn't think they could handle it, they move on to something else. That might bite the schools in the bottom line, but I'd think they'd benefit from having a higher caliber of student.
For me, every time I get the itch to go to culinary school, I just pick up Kitchen Confidentialuntil it passes. Then I cook something...
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I was a pretty mean kid too! I remember there was like, a month, when my parent kept buying Chinese napa cabbage. We ate as a side dish every night at dinner. Naturally, I got sick of it, and I was really annoyed that my little brother enjoyed it so much (that was probably one of the reasons why my parents kept buying it!) Anyway, napa cabbage is pronounced "siew choy" in Cantonese. One day, my brother and I were alone in the kitchen, eating instant noodles with Chinese sausage and napa cabbage. My brother asked me, "Why does siew choy look yellowish?" And I responded, "Well, 'siew choy' is not the real name of the vegetable. The secret is that it's really called 'liew choy' ('liew' in Cantonese means 'urine'!
) but farmers had to change the name because no one would want to buy it if they knew how it was grown!" And then I made up some story about how farmers...err...fertilize this vegetable everyday in the field, hence the yellowish colour.My brother spat out the vegetable and I got in trouble when he repeated the story to my parents at the dinner table.
Priceless... and damn our siblings and our parents for remembering....
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Ditto....thanks!OMG . . . The Windex fish had me laughing out loud.
You're welcome. I hadn't thought about those stories in ages. Yet another reason I adore eG.
Mom remembers the story to this day (some 30 years later). Whenever we eat fish together, she puts a bottle of windex on the table as a condiment.
ETA: to also thank fifi
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Oh my... oh my dear.... You did this on purpose? What did the poor poor food ever do to you?
What is it? I'm having trouble identifying anything. Is that celery? Okra?
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I could care less what he does or says. Just as long as he keeps that tongue out of any newspaper I have to look at.
Someone should have really posted a warning with that link. It scared me... and I like Ramsay.
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I wasn't a picky eater as a child, but for some reason I did not like chicken or fish. Something about the texture, I suspect. Anyhoo, my mother and grandmother had to convince me to eat the chicken by telling me it was 'bubblegum-flavored chicken.' My precocious 5 year old self fell for it... once. It most definitely did not taste like bubblegum. However, given that my mother is a well-meaning but horrid cook, it definitely chewed like gum.
I got my revenge several years later... Mom had made fish and I absolutely refused to eat it. We argued as only an exasperated mother and an 8 year old can - to the point where I was not allowed to leave the table until I finished my fish. She left the room so I could contemplate my situation and that foul-smelling fish. I defiantly went over to the pantry, pulled out the bottle of windex, and poisoned the entire pan of fish. Then I tattled on myself. I was grounded for a week, but I didn't have to eat that damn fish.
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I guess I should be offended, but I'm not. Not one bit. I am a bit older than his target demographic in the article, but I've been making the same argument about my generation since the 80s. (Before the days of Food Network).
I'd played with cooking as a kid, but it was really college where necessity won out over hobby. I either had to eat pizza for the rest of my life or teach myself how to cook. Out of my circle of friends, I was the only one who could cook. Anything. They lived on pre-packaged foods, take-out, dorm food... some of my friends probably didn't have a veg their entire time in college.
Over time, I did meet other cooking enthusiasts, but we were a rare breed (always popular at the office/lab potlucks). I'd argue that FN had a lot to do with popularizing home cooking in the 90s. At the very least, it brought some of us out of the closet.
Of course, it appears that we're backsliding now. A little grocery store reconnaissance demonstrates this easily. Most grocery carts I see are full of pre-packaged "heat-n-eat" crap, canned veggies, and (horror!) pre-cooked processed meats. And most of those carts are pushed around by women 25-45 who are at least 40lbs. overweight. Many have small kids in tow.
So, yep. I have to agree with GR based on my own unscientific observations over the last 20 years. Sad, isn't it.
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We've seen the funny hat, and now dancing... 2 down, karaoke to go...
Great installment overall - good mix of history and culture, great looking food, and lots of fun. Two instances of Tony-torture? Good tv.
Ruhlman may be the perfect tv foil for Bourdain, but Zamir seems to be the perfect partner in crime. Impishly wicked sense of humor.
The crunching added (I assume) to the underground torture chamber footage was quite effective.Indeed. It looked painful enough, but the sound editors really came through.
The previews for the NZ show? Ouch! I'd read about the rollover in a Q&A somewhere, but wow. And ouch.
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I can't believe I'm telling you guys this...
I had a craving for freshly baked bread. Unfortunately, I didn't know how to bake bread at the time. Easy - I have cookbooks... no problem!
Problem. I read 3 or 4 recipes to get the gist of the process, gathered my ingredients, and made 2 lovely perfectly risen loaves of bread dough. I prepped the pans while waiting for the oven to pre-heat to 425 degrees. I recalled that the recipe instructed me to 'butter the pan', so I buttered the pans with... butter!
10 minutes after I popped those babies into the oven, the smoke alarm started howling and smoke was pouring out of the kitchen. My beautiful loaves of bread were reduced to ashy hocky pucks with a doughy center.
Not my finest hour.
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I was wondering which one was Fear and which one was Loathing... now we know.
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really... must I be the first to make a head joke?
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To be honest, there's not much in my neck of the woods. But, I'm flirting with the idea of starting one. Granted, Tulsa isn't exactly a bubbling metropolis, but all there is to do here is shop and eat. And the shopping ain't that great
Once you get away from the chains, there are some great eats here. I thought about blogging it, but maybe a free broadsheet to start isn't a bad idea.
Thoughts? Suggestions?
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Finally caught this episode...
Not my favorite of the bunch, but you can't beat Bourdain and Ruhlman doing Thompson (unless they're bitch-slapping each other in a thread here). Vegas has never been a destination for me, so I probably over-identified with Bourdain's perspective. Seeing Washington Square in mini form was heartbreaking. I hugged my NYU t-shirt and wept.
Maybe it's just me, but I found this more painful than the pig-killing in Malaysia. Interestingly enough, I'd lay odds that Bourdain did too.
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I took your advice...
I started the bonfire (which sucks when it's 90 degrees outside), danced around the apartment (to the Clash), and drank a nice bottle of wine, then took the damn day off and read the Les Halles cookbook cover to cover.
I'm in a much better mood, and I knocked out an entire chapter in a single day. Life is good. Thank you both.
Carrot Top noted;
And I see my two children each day - two vastly different personality types - with two vastly differing urges for types of foods - and two vastly different physical/emotional responses to foods that they do eat.If not too personal, could you elaborate on this? I'm looking for anecdotal examples for the damn book, and I'm starting to think I want to bring this issue into it. This would be useful, if you care to share.
I could make something up, but that might take too much thinking on my part. And more wine
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Sandra Lee's devotees would like a word with you. (Hint: To distract them, simply toss a shiny object down the hall. A bottle of booze would probably do nicely.)
PB&J Supreme
by Sandra Lee
Makes 1 serving
Ingredients:
Two slices Wonder® bread
Peanut butter
Jelly, grape or some other type
Sprig of mint
Equipment: Countertop, butter knife, table for tablescape
Place first slice of bread on countertop. Using a butter knife, spread some peanut butter on top of first slice. Spread some jelly on top of the peanut butter. Place second slice on top of jelly. Decorate second slice (the top!) with sprig of mint, or parsley if you don't have any mint, or a cut-out picture of some mint. Now I want you to spend 2-4 hours shopping for tablescape items and setting them up. Place PB&J's in the middle.
N.B.: For a lovely dessert that all my girlfriends love, substitute half a can of chocolate frosting for the peanut butter. I like to call it F&J Supreme!
Please tell me that you hang out in the semi-ho TWoP forum.
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Eh. Here's more on the subject - not anywhere near as amusing as the story you linked to , inny, but we may as well add to the pile of information and lists of reports, no?
(What I would like to see is a study of how it is all media outlets seem to start talking about the same exact thing -that is not tied to any formal external event - in such a very close time frame. It seems to happen so often!)
Clickey: Food and Mood
Unless! It could be the reason these stories are coming out now, of course, is that everyone is thinking of preparing each other emotionally for the holiday season.
And it *would* no doubt be good for conversation round the dinner table where the family was gathered:
"Two servings of potatoes? Now I KNOW you've been living alone too long!! When are you going to get married?!"
"Shhh. Look at Marie. That big bowl of ice-cream. Must be depressed over the extra weight she's put on."
"That's the second turkey leg Phil has eaten down to the bone. I KNEW he was cheating on Alexa!!! There's the proof!!!!"
Meow.
Great link. I think this synopsis really lays out the state of the science as I understand it (it's not my field at all). The effects of nutrients on the brain are so difficult to measure, and mood is equally as difficult - but for very different reasons. I could design the perfect experiment, but it would involve things similar to A Clockwork Orange, so I don't think I'd get many volunteers
The family Thanksgiving conversation...? Hilarious! And familiar. I don't remember you being at the table last year.
I wonder what it says about my mood when, after writing for 10 straight hours today (after writing 14 hours yesterday), all I wanted to do was make lamb kabobs over rice, eat both with my bare hands, then drive the skewers through my brain...
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Edited to add: Note that googling Debra Racicot produces almost nothing. However, it appears that either clever obfuscation or a lazy reporter/editor is involved: Her name is actually Deborah Racicot.
Given this...
Strawberry ShortcakeIngredients
2 pints fresh local strawberries or bag of frozen strawberries
1 Sara Lee brand frozen pound cake
1 box wafer cookies
whipped cream in a tub and in a canister
... I'd change my name too. But I think I'd do a better job
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PMS?
If true, that would be a neat trick on my part. I'd like to take this opportunity to opt out of any study.
Damn. I was already designing an experiment and hatching a plot
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[...]
The study, which uses data from the case notes of more than 500 people, is thought to be the first to detail what foods are linked with what states of mind. The results suggest restaurateurs — and diners — may subtly be able to alter mood by changing what is eaten.
I don't see how one can use this to even suggest a conclusion that one may be able to change mood by changing what is eaten. Even if what one eats does reflect one's mood, it certainly does not necessarily follow that what one eats effects one's mood. It may, but one cannot draw that conclusion from this.
Absolutely - this was one of my 'major quibbles'. From what I can tell from the limited info in the article, they have correlational data, at best. If you can measure 2 things, you can calculate a correlation between them. No causality can be implied. The math simply does not allow for causality. The claim that 'mood reflects food' may be spruious on correlational grounds, to claim that 'food may alter mood' is outta left field.
But, I'll still give the researchers some slack. This issue may be a function of a newspaper reporter using a common vernacular that a scientist would never use.
End of statistics lesson
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At first, I thought, "Is it kosher to backform a study out of case notes when you didn't know you were going to do the study later and weren't really collecting data for it?"
This is actually done quite a bit, particularly in the clinical/therapy fields. The key is that case notes should be the beginning for more rigorous experiments, not the end-all from which to draw conclusions. The article does note that the conclusions about food and mood are part of a larger study on addiction, so who knows. I'll cut the researchers some slack - I've even had textbook authors misinterpret my research, so I don't expect a newspaper to do better.
But leaving behind my bothersome critical and cynical mind, this list makes me wonder just what in the hell was going on with me a couple weeks ago when I braised sirloin tips low and slow with onions, mushrooms, and garlic for five hours, and had them over buttered egg noodles with a a hunk of baguette, followed by coffee (with half-and-half and raw [!] sugar) and a slice of bourbon cane syrup pecan pie topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Jumpin' Jiminy Cricket.PMS?
I like to eat these hard crunchy foods in bed to announce "not having a good time here, ya know??"Those who were sexually frustrated enjoyed foods high in carbohydrates, particularly crackers, pretzels and bread,
That's when I break out the seduction food, but that's another thread...GG - glad you enjoyed it. Food and psychology don't cross paths often enough.
ETA:
Hungover Nachos -
I ran across this in The Sunday Times Online (UK) and thought we could chew on this until the next juicy bit of gossip rolled around.
Choice of food can reveal your moodYOU really are what you eat. Psychologists have found that personality and mood can be betrayed by the choice of food on a person’s plate.
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The study, which uses data from the case notes of more than 500 people, is thought to be the first to detail what foods are linked with what states of mind. The results suggest restaurateurs — and diners — may subtly be able to alter mood by changing what is eaten.
Here's the meat;
FOOD MOODS - What your food says about how you feelAngry Meat
Sad Sugary food, caffeine
In need of comfort Custard, ice cream
Lonely Rice, pasta
Stressed or ambitious Crisps, soy sauce, onions
Sexually frustrated Biscuits, bread
Jealous Pile the plate with anything
As a research psychologist, I have a few major quibbles with the methodology used in this study. But newspaper accounts of science are notorious for describing experiments badly, so I'll hold my quibbles until I can read the study.
What do you guys think? Does it fit with your personal and/or professional experience? How are you feeling today?
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<hands her Freudian Food Award to Bill>
You win, man. I can't compete with that. I didn't think they actually turned blue. I stand corrected
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Let me get this straight... to make a New York Style cheesecake, I need to buy a New York Style cheesecake? I would have never thought of that.
MHarney - when you become FDA Potentate, can you add the following to the list of directives?
1. 'Thick and rick and delicious' can never be used in the same sentence when describing any food product, particularly a sweet one. (A Sandra Lee-ism that makes my head explode)
2. One is not allowed to pass off store-bought processed food as real food.
3. One is prohibited from adding "No cholesterol" (or fat or sugar or whatever the food fad of the week is) if the original product never possessed it in the first place.
Megan - save some for me! And don't bogart that whipped cream
"Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares"
in Food Media & Arts
Posted
I'm curious... Is this a batch of actual new shows or is this more in the spirit of Series 2, where 90% was re-running the first series and tacking on a re-visit?
Not that that won't stop me from watching...