Kouign Aman

I'm thinking you are more likely to cut yourself badly with a dull knife, due to the extra pressure (remove fingertips, and other such fun). But I sure know that anytime we sharpen the knives, I need to move the bandaids to the kitchen for a couple days til I get used to them again. (Hmmm - I suppose I could just keep them sharp.... doh!) The egg story and especially the hot sugar syrup story have me flinching. Lindacakes, you said you healed slowly. Has your dad ever recovered? Oh yeah, why I came to this thread: I will never again leave a fruit tart at room temp for 'just a couple days' 'til I eat it all. My planned breakfast went in the compost heap, taking its grey fuzzy spots with it.

I havent had Hain's safflower mayo for years, but I remember liking it a lot. I may have to pick up a jar again. We usually use Best Foods (aka Hellman's). I like the light version but the Mr doesnt. We were just shipped a jar of Duke's by a friend. The ingredient list is similar to BF, tho minus a few preservatives, and with more egg than water. Of the two, Duke's is much tangier, also a much stronger aftertaste from the oil (soybean for both brands). The ultimate test will be on the next round of tomato-bacon sandwiches. I love taste-tests!

Another possible source of material: Costco sells a quart of heavy cream for $1.99

Not Pretty Baby. Actual consumption was involved.

I was amazed I didnt figure it out once I started wondering what role the woodscrew played. I even typed out an early comment on that screw then decided not to post it. For that matter, I've actually used a woodscrew, with a pair of visegrips, to open a bottle of wine. Im in quiet awe of amapola for figuring it out. And stunned amazement at my blindness. And now I want to make one for my dad to use 'cause I think he'd get a kick out of it.

pennylane, what would you differently from how you were raised?

Parental modeling. Amen. Damn its hard! Good on your mom & dad, Torrilin! My husband is fat. Has been all his life. I am not (tho I wish I would shed those extra 15 I picked up when I got the desk job!). Life is harder for fat kids, so we want ours not to fight that battle. Our best moments of 'thank god' so far (re diet) have been when the munchkin pushes away from a partially consumed portion of dessert, due to fullness. I think kids are born knowing satiety, but its so easy to unlearn. 3 years down, a lifetime to go!

I'm thinking you are underestimating the power of hurt feelings. Think feuds, Balkanization, ostracization. Scorn is a powerful tool/weapon because we react so strongly to it. As you yourself demonstrate in your reaction to the big guy with the debit card and the attitude. Despite that, I find this thread hilarious. And I check all your addresses to be sure you arent my local wine merchant!

In the aillade recipe, do you skin the walnuts first ? That sauce sounds so good I can smell it.

Just thought of another one. Dinner consisted of nubile female.

pastry mold, use to open tough jar lids, set up on end (wood screw into table surface) and use as a target to send watermelon or grape pits thru, off-table "wine bucket" for room temp wine service, cookie cutter.

Birthdays

If you know what you want to cook, the internet has several good sources for Cuban recipes. Naturally, I cant remember right now what any of them are. :embarrassed:

Blanch lightly. Saute in olive oil with minced garlic. Season with lemon juice and pepper. Top with toasted pinenuts. Toasting the pinenuts ~ doubles the total time from start to finish. The little boogers burn fast.

That's a story I want to hear!

Oh that breakfast! It brings back excellent and hungry-making memories.

Costco's been selling Australian lamb. Are you near a Costco during the school year?

2 mammals : a mouse and some kinda seal. That cheese looks good too. How big are the pieces? (or in another way - is that a standard sized dinner plate the cheese is resting on?) Thanks for blogging!

PKU was first identified well before the introduction of aspartame to the market. There is no aspartame cause and effect leading to PKU. What happens there is that over time, the concentration of phenylalanine (a normal protein component) builds up to toxic levels, leading to the development of symptoms. If PKU is diagnosed immediately, the infant can be placed on a restricted diet, which limits intake of phenylalanine, and thus slows the buildup. Since aspartame consists of three amino acids, one of which is phenylalanine, it is obviously not wise for a phenylketonuriac to ingest it. Odd medical trivia - PKU was identified due to a persistent Swedish gramma who insisted to the pediatrican that her grandkid's diaper smelled funny. She persisted til the Dr did tests. Its my understanding autism tends to be diagnosed in 2-3 year olds. I havent encountered many kids who get direct exposure to aspartame, tho I'm sure they are out there. So you'd be proposing that parental exposure lead to autism. Its an interesting question. Personally, I don't avoid aspartame, but I was curious if others did. Andiesenji's information is interesting. It could be there's a high threshold level for these effects among a small segment of the population, or she could have a unique sensitivity. It seems to me that as a sugar substitute for diabetics it has redeeming qualities sufficient to justify its use.

I love those flavors, and that's going on next Halloween's menu. Just like that. Eyeballs and babyeyeballs. or eyeballs and tadpoles.

Frozen raisins

I hesitate to ask how you know

Yeah, its not pleasant. St Vitus' Dance is one name for the effect. The 'spasms' part should be a tip-off.

Chino's not in OC, but is it close enough for your purposes?