MissAmy

! Miss Amy, you must watch tv the same time that I do! Every day I can manage it, I sit down at 5:30 eastern to shout at Sandra and hoot with laughter and then race to the remote at 6pm to turn off Rachel before she can start the semaphore-ing ! I don't know why I find Sandra hysterically funny and Rachel nails-on-a-chalkboard irritating, but I do! ← Yeah, I like to sit around and yell at both of them. I can't take more than about five minutes of Sandra, though. I tend to switch to something else as soon as commercials come on. It's fun to switch back at the end of the show to make fun of the "tablescape," though. I mean, who DOES that?? Who takes more time setting the table than preparing the meal? It's just so absurdly funny. Another phrase that had me all in a dither: I heard a chef on TV say he was going to "Knock something up for dinner." Ummm... last I checked the phrase "knock up" meant something entirely different. I laughed and laughed...

With this I heartedly agree. I have had to teach many a friend and family member about the importance of salt.

Ha! Maybe it's not so much of a superstition after all.

YUM-O! Tablescape!

I'd say > 90%. I'd foolishly tried to sear foie once. As soon as it hit the pan, it started melting. I left some pieces in the hot pan and they melted completely in a minute or so. I mopped up the drippings with bread -- it's all good! ← That's really easy to do. I found what works for me is to have the pan smoking hot, and sear for litterally seconds on each side. You're still going to get a bit of meltage but it won't completely disolve. Fat Guy had a really good point as well. It is difficult (not to mention tedious) to remove all the veins if you don't know what you're doing. An expensive lobe could easily be ruined pretty quickly if you're not careful.

Half-price small plates, and wine specials Tuesday-Thursday. I went with my aunt one day, we had several small plates, two glasses of wine each, and the bill only came to about $20 per person. For what we had, it was a really good bargain. However, this was a few months ago. I hope they are still doing it.

The only duck eggs I have ever seen in Austin were the salted and cured variety found in Chinese supermarkets. While tastey, they are not what you are looking for. I used to work with a woman who had a couple of ducks as pets and she brought me duck eggs a few times. I wish I were still in contact with her, so I could direct you to her. Dang. Sorry I couldn't be of more help. If you find fresh ones in a market, please let us know.

Foie has a very buttery texture. In fact, the first thing that came to mind the first time I ever tried it was, "Butter." It is creamy and rich and smooth. You shouldn't get a lot of that traditional liver flavor. It's much more subdued than that. I would recommend, like others have, finding a restaurant or a friend that does foie really well, and letting them educate you.

You know, I understand not wanting to be snobbish. I understand that everyone is different, has had different experiences and educations, etc. etc. However, it really burns me, as a struggling food writer, to see idiotic stuff like this in a major newspaper. It makes me want to stamp my feet and cry and shout, "IT'S NOT FAIRRRRRR!"

I love that place! I went with a friend last week, and got some frozen jiaozi for a quick dinner. They were excellent and the best I have found in Texas, outside of other people's homes of course. Also took advantage of the great deal on frech lychees, and took some camping with me. I converted a friend who had never tried them before. We got sick from too many! They were great.

Yes, nearly a year ago. I'll have to go back to take some photos. They have a pretty good happy hour deal. I believe Fino is also doing a pseudo-tapas thing by offering "small plates". I had meant to revisit Malaga last week but one person in our person was not of age and so we went across the street to 219 West, which serves "American tapas", basically just tapas-sized portions of all kinds of cuisines. That was, um, interesting. Not sure if I'd go back. ← I liked Malaga when I went, and I LOVE their extensive selection of wine, but as I don't know a lot about tapas, I was curious as to what you thought of it. Fino is great for the small plate happy hour deals. You can eat really well for not a lot of money.

Has anyone here tried those Wine Cellar Sorbets? They look incredible...

Have you been to Malaga?

Milto's isn't bad. It's a quick jaunt across the highway from where I live, so I often frequent it for a quick salad when I don't feel like cooking. Decent place.

I found it to be horrendous in the extreme. Couldn't palate it at all. Then again, I tend to really hate fake chemical "flavors."

Saw the show night before last. If you had told me a year ago that Anthony Bourdain would make me cry, I would not have believed it. That was a profoundly moving bit of television. Well done.

Yes, they rock! They are also highly useful for storing little bits of mise en place at work.

Yes! La Croix is fabulous! I love that it gives you that feeling of "soda satisfaction" but with none of the chemicals, corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, or calories. It's wonderful.

I think they are fine, as long as you won't be serving anything on vintage or classic china. Oftentimes, I see these super-modern flatware designs, and I think they look really cool, but then I realize they'd never work with my vintage 1950's china with the starburst pattern or the old Fiesta ware.

This is an awesome thread. Re: the sausage thing - it's not just central Texas. My mother's family is originally from West Texas, out by Lubbock and Abilene, and they have their own kind of barbeque and their own kind of sausage.

My favorite for a while has been procuitto, roasted red pepper, basil, fresh mozzarella, and balsamic viniagrette on chibbata bread. So. Good.

Really slow service pisses me off. On the other side of the token, really pushy, fast service also pisses me off. There's this Vietnamese place here that is horrible about that - they're perfectly friendly and nice, but as soon as your ass hits the seat, the waiter is right there wanting to take your order. I mean, DUDE. I haven't even opened the menu yet, and I can't fortell the future! Back off! I once took a friend there who had never tried Vietnamese food before. She wanted to pursue the menu and read all the descriptions and really figure out what she wanted. But the damn waiter made it virtually impossible. We'd tell him to give us a few minutes, and he'd be back in half a second. It's really irritating, and for that reason I don't like to go there anymore.

I'm really happy for him. His site has entertained me for a little over a year now, and if any blogger deserves the book deal, it's him. I am a little curious as to how his stories will translate into a book, however. It is going to be a collection of essays or a memoir or what?

I defintely use my mandolin, food processor, and immersion blender. In fact, I love all three of these items and don't see how life is accomplished without them. However, one thing I have never, and will never use is the garlic press. I just don't see the point. Who can't chop garlic? And besides, when you use those presses, you lose about halve the clove in the process, anyway. What's the point?

The only time I ever have a problem is with overly lactose-rich things, like heavy doses of ice cream or pizza. However, this has not deterred me in the slightest. Typically, I have a pretty darn cast iron stomach. Lucky me.