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MissAmy

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Posts posted by MissAmy

  1. I love:

    Anothy Bourdain (Well, who doesn't? Except maybe my mom. She's afraid of him. Hee.)

    Martha Stewart (I have to admire anyone who knows what they are good and and runs with it. She's one of my personal heros.)

    Alton Brown (Smart is sexy.)

    Paul Deen (What?! She reminds me of my Granny, and she makes the kind of food I grew up with. Plus, she seems really sweet.)

    Can take or leave:

    Gaida (Her constant grin is creepy and her food isn't that impressive, but at least she's not outwardly offensive.)

    Ina Garten (Booooorrring. An over-privaleged Hampton's housewife with her own show. Yawn. But she did once make a roasted duck that looked incredible. And I like her posse of gay best friends.)

    Bobby Flay (Not that bad in person. Food not all that, either. But he's interesting to watch from time to time, and he has some good ideas.)

    Emeril (Cool food, annoying shtick. I'd eat in one of his restaurants, though. In a heart-beat.)

    Loathe with the passion of a thousand burning suns:

    Rachel Ray (Don't get me started.)

    That Simi-Homemade Idiot (She's an idiot.)

  2. chuy's salsa sucks so bad.

    Yup, I call it "catchup with chunks". That's why I usually order the anti-salsa, a side of jalapeno ranch.

    I've been having trouble finding good salsa at any Mexican restaurant in this town, not just the chains. Either it is flavorless, too chunky, or just down-right store-bought. How can it be that a place like East Side Cafe has better salsa than most Mexican food places? So weird.

  3. I find italicization a little less intrusive.

    I agree. However, I don't see why there needs to be any emphasis at all. Putting "foie gras" or foie gras on a menu doesn't change the fact that the mere mention of foie gras will jump out at you, nor does it help anyone who might not know what foie gras is. It just seems a little silly, and a little too twee.

  4. Tupac, thank you for the absolutely lovely recap of your dinner. It was a delight!

    Alas, the use of quotation marks in the menu is really bothering me. As a former English major, when I see something in quotations, it seems to denote that the thing is not really what it is but rather an approximation. Therefore, when I see the use of something like "foie gras", it makes me think to myself, "Hmm... is it REALLY foie gras, or is Keller playing around with different ingredients that taste and seem like foie gras but aren't really?" It bothers me. Why not just say Foie Gras? Another example that annoyed me was "coulis." So was it a coulis or wasn't it?

    I know I'm the biggest nerd in the world. Please forgive me.

  5. I've never once used my French Laundry cookbook. It sits on the coffee table as porn. It's not that I don't think it could pull off the recipes - I'm almost 100% positive that I could - but it's mainly a time and money thing. I work. I work in a kitchen. I don't want to come home and spend all night cooking, or alternatively, spend my entire two days off making one single recipe. And money. I'm not rich. I can't afford truffles, foie gras, decent caviar, or morrels. I mean, I guess I could if I really wanted to spend half my paycheck on one meal. But if I'm going to do something like that, I rather just go out.

    Other books I've never used are cookbooks that people give me as gestures of kindness, but that really don't fit my needs. I mean, I don't really need to use a William's Sonoma simplified book on pasta sauces when I have Marcella Hazan. Someone also gave me a sushi cookbook that is very nice, but again: I can't really afford most of the ingredients. Then there are the chocolate and pastry books that I've been given - I'm not a pastry person, and don't have the patience, time, or inclination to make three-tiered chocolate monstrocities covered with sugar flowers. Not my thing.

    It can be kind of awkward when someone I haven't seen in a while says, "SO! Tell me about cakes you've made from the book I gave you!" I'm kind of like, "Umm... let's not talk about me! What have YOU made lately?" :raz:

    Edited to add: If I ever achieve my dream of being a pampered, spoiled, trust fund baby who doesn't work, I'm sure I'll make all sort of things out of French Laundry and Chocoalte Monstrosity.

  6. Yay! You got a basset hound!

    My mother has one, and while her nose is VERY strong, she's not all that disciplined. Maybe yours will be better. Then again, our basset is spoiled just horribly, and was never made to go to obedience school.

    But I hope you're successful! I love bassets! SO CUTE! :wub:

  7. I must urge you to not give money as I can tell you it will go right towards the next hit or bottle

    If you had their life, wouldn't you want to get high to escape it, too? I mean, I'm just saying...

    But anyway, I had an idea. What if you contacted the local highschool and asked if any kids would like to volunteer with you? I know that a lot of highschools now require some hours of community service in order to graduate and this might be something the would really enjoy doing. Particularly if a highschool in your area has a culinary program.

  8. Can someone offer an objective comparison of Hoover's vs. Threadgill's chicken fried steaks? 'Cause mine is not nice:

    Hoovers makes the best chicken fried steaks I have had. 1) they are always hot when you get them. They are flaky, but the batter has some substance. The steak is HUGE, yet flavorful and the texture is tender. The gravy is solid (though I am no gravy aficionado- just fried food)

    Threadgills: Both times, one on North Lamar, and once south of the river, they were very proud of their reputation, too proud to bother serving us anything like attentively. Cold, smallish, puck like steaks.

    Granted, I tend to react overly strongly when people sell themselves highly and then treat me execrably.

    Anyone been to Threadgills on a good day and gone back?

    I last ate a good meal at Threadgill's about, oh say, 20 years ago. I was nine. 'Nuff said. Avoid the place. If out-of-towners insist on going, go for a drink and eat someplace else. Hoover's is so far superior as to be ridiculous, and not just for chicken fried steak.

    Amateur hour begins Thursday afternoon and locks up the restaurant scene tight until Monday a.m. So chill, get a sunset cooler at Quack's, then march about Elisabet Ney's front yard 'till you feel better.

    HA! That's beautiful.

  9. Blue Bell ice cream is one of the great loves of my life. :wub:

    Favorite flavors are:

    Homemade Vanila

    Fresh Strawberries and Homemade Vanila

    Banana Split

    Strawberry

    God I love Blue Bell. I don't know what I'd do if I moved to a place where they didn't have it.

  10. I always rest meat under tinted foil because of my cat who as a preternatural affection for roasted meats, and a remarkable ability to leap tall counters with a single bound. But I guess I'm really just a moron.

  11. My aunt and I went to Fino a couple of times about a month ago. It was good, but I still say the Asti venture is better.

    I didn't know they even had a sommelier. Our wine order was taken by our knowlegeable server, but I would have like to know we could at least asked for a sommelier if we wanted.

    Also, another reason I haven't gone back lately is that I live in fear of being sat at one of those incredibly uncomfortable-looking tall tables in the bar section. I'm really short, so sitting at one of those would make me so uncomfortable I wouldn't have any fun. Sure, they look cool. But they also look REALLY annoying to have to eat a meal at.

    The food was good, but not exceptional. I remember my duck confit being rather bland. For the prices, I'd rather go to Asti.

  12. What you did is truly awe-inspiring! Especially as you seem to be dealing with debilitating health issues. I really admire you for this.

    One thing, though... please be careful. Does anyone accompany you on these ventures?

    Also, what about including a couple of those little bite-sized Hersey's candy bars? You could get one large pack of them really cheaply at a place like Sam's or Costco, and the people would love them!

    Again, I think this project is so cool. It is inspiring me to do something similar in my own community...

  13. There's not a lot I won't eat in summer, but I do tend to avoid hearty soups, stews, risottos, and braises. Just too heavy when it's 100 degrees with 80% humidity.

    And I know that curries are supposed to cool you down in summer, but I have a really hard time eating super-hot curry after about May or so. Mild curries are fine, particularly if they have a nice, sweet, coconut element, but ultra hot just won't do.

  14. Ditto on the bolognese. Mine is so much better than just about any restaurant's that I would feel like an idiot paying money for it.

    Also, I've lately become this way about shrimp as well. At home, I can have as many of the little buggers as I want, for a fraction of the price. In a restaurant, the portion is always stupidly small (FOUR shrimp on a salad for $12?! Thank you, but no) and you also run the risk they will be overcooked. At home, I can eat as much as I want, cook them the way I like them, and really enjoy them.

    I'm one of those few souls who will eat chicken and tuna salads outside the home, but I am very particular about where.

  15. one thing lately that really bugs me is ambient noise.

    If i can't hear my dining partners speak, or myself think i'm out of there before we even get seated.

    To add to this, PLEASE keep the music at conversation volume. I didn't come to listen to the house looped tape, I came to enjoy time with my dining companions. I have walked out of many a restaurant lately as soon as I entered because somehow it's become trendy to play music at deafening volume. Not. Cool.

  16. What I don't understand is why people have suddenly gotten SO PICKY about their damn table in a restaurant. It's a table. Where they bring you food. Why do people whine about it so much? What is a good table, anyway? And why are people so terrified of sitting next to others? You're in a restaurant. It's a -gasp- public place where there are -gasp- other people. If they want restaurant quality food in absolute privacy, they need to hire a personal chef.

    It has never once occurred to me to bitch about a table I was given, or about people that were sat next to me. If the people are insufferable (i.e. drunk, screaming children, etc) I ask to move and go on with my experience, but I can count on one hand the number of times that has happened. It's just not that big of a deal.

  17. Not like Citterio doesn't make any good charcuterie just that I'd like to be able to buy San Daniele, Zerto and Vismara products too.

    You should tell them. From what I understand, they want to become sort of the end-all-be-all in Italian purveyors in Austin. I'm sure they'd order some stuff if you suggested it.

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