Carolyn Tillie

Where do you live? My brother-in-law went to a Bartender School in Southern California because it touted prominant job placement. A year after the school, he was only able to get one referral to one job and that was in catering (sketchy gigs, at best). Be aware.

First off, welcome to the Board and secondly, Congrats on the Bouchon Internship! Very cool, indeed... I've never driven the Phoenix to Napa route, but I have driven the Phoenix to L.A. route (haven lived in L.A. for a number of years) and I now live in Napa. As opposed to an extended road trip, you might benefit from heading straight to Napa and simply eating in and around the area to learn what the locals are accostomed to and get your feel of the area. Also, the time immediately before and after New Years is a great time of year to visit the wineries -- tourism is oddly high and the energy in the valley is exciting. The wineries are beautifully decorated and everyone is relaxed and more friendly than the hectic summer months. I'm shutting our winery down until January 5th, but would be happy to give you a private tour that week (only the Vineyard Manager and myself are manning the place). PM me and I'll give you the info. We'll look forward to meeting you at some point during your stay! Best of luck!

I'm waiting for the Truffle Log... (complete with Pig!).

Same thought. Par-boil them so they are essentially cooked through and then the oven cooking of the puff will brown the pastry and the sausage.

Thanks, ooodles! My SO didn't attend either and every night I would drive home, desperately wishing I could have snuck home a taste or two. In writing the article, I googled Culalibre and discovered it is nothing other than Rum & Coke! I didn't know it at the time, I just reveled in the creaminess of the dish. I've eaten a lot of foie gras in my time, but NOTHING has ever compared to that dish - and I think preparing it in those plastic bowls which gave it the flowered shape was brilliant! I doubt it - for some odd reason, I was painfully shy and felt somewhat out of my element. I felt like an amateur amongst these people and had a hard time striking conversations with anyone... I should've posted up front to see who else might be attending and you could've come up to the winery where I work (on Howell Mountain, just minutes from the CIA).

I've never done it with Shiitake but I was given an Oyster Log several years ago. They are very, very cool but incredibly high maintenance. It was when I lived in Southern California and had a spare guest bathroom with an enclosed shower that was never used. The log had to be spray-misted two or three times a week to keep it moist. Once going, it was fabulous to step into my guest bathroom for fresh Oyster mushrooms. I highly recommend them, if you are up to the challenge! Funny you mention this in the same thread as I bought one of these for Shawn for Christmas a few years ago (when they were offered through the Signals catalogue). We went through quite a headache as it arrived with several broken parts. It tooks months to finally get a complete unit and it looked so alchemical, sitting on a bookshelf. He never got around to trying it out, though! He wanted to wait until he could buy a miniature oak barrel to make lots eau de vie that would become brandy...

That link didn't work - but thanks for the name! Maybe this one will... Manka's Lodge Now I want to go!

Some additional photos... These were the chefs behind the Culalibre Foie Gras (Personally, I think this offering was better than the spun-sugar enrobbed FG!) This is Musa, my hero, and my sole reason for wanting to travel to Turkey! This is what it was like, gathering around a cooking station for the Iron Chef-like presentations... And one of the many tables during the lunch presentation in the kitchens. The Marrakesh-like room, in back. Pear and Champagne Gelée (there were four or five of these platters). And a close-up of Musa's offerings during his smaller presentation. The plate on the bottom right is the Crow's Brains (which we all LOVED) and the one on the immediate left of that is the Topik. Thanks, Steven, for letting me expand on this!

Simply amazing. Fat-Guy has helped out and is letting me post more pictures of the conference here. This is the chef, literally flinging the pine-nuts at the foie gras. (which was cold, btw). The table before him had quite a piling of the bits of pinenuts that didn't make it, but you can see the dish in front of him has the supply. (I tried a few times to get a picture of him in mid-fling!) edited for spelling.

Marie-Louise, someone just told me about a Russian restaurant in the area that is a must - are you familiar with it? Sorry, I don't know the name... I was told this of year is great for game meat...

At this point, I'm thinking of only giving it a single day -- I can't see driving into the city, dealing with traffic, parking, and eating for more than a single trip (I'm about an hour east of the city, in Napa). I have to agree about the disappointment - when we went to the L.A. version, I think I saw all I needed to see in less than six hours so doing four days of the show is hardly worth it. But I will look for that 'extra special' new product...

I put down that I was a Food Writer!!!! and now I am!

Thanks for keeping me honest - it was awfully hard to keep track of everyone! (you were there, I take it?)

Aw shucks... Thanks for the compliment (I'm kinda proud - My First Piece!) The badges are pretty easy to come by - for $35.00 (you have to have some form of affiliation). If you don't pre-buy your badge, day-of registration is $60.00 You can pre-register here: Fancy Foods Show Shawn and I attended the one in Los Angeles two or three years ago but he opted out this year (it isn't worth thirty-five bucks for someone who is just a cursory bystander of the food industry...)

Out of curiosity, is there anyone else attending the Fancy Foods Show next month in San Francisco? I've got my badge and am wondering if we should start planning a get-together of some sort... If I'm the only one attending, I'll certainly offer a report, but if there are several of us, perhaps a group effort will make for fabulous eGullet coverage!

That's okay - I'm feeling especially pathetic today as my lunch is coming from a box in my freezer! Oh god... I've got to fix this and darn quick.

Oh, it is the Torani stuff! I thought it was from the Pomegranate people... (I've got a POM pen). I didn't realize Torani made a Pomegranate syrup and going to their website, I now see how many different flavors they have! For you, I'm thinking a pomegranate version of Kir Royale...

You mean you haven't used/drunk it yet????

Rat Bastard! Okay, I guess I shouldn't complain - I DID get this huge bag-o-stuff after all... (but the Pomegranate people only gave us a PEN in the bag, which I use every day!)

Praise indeed from She Who Inspires me. It couldn't have happened without you...

When I was in cooking school, one of our dishes was a sauce thickened with FG - we used a Trader Joe's-purchased pâté and it was fabulous. When trying it at home, I had some fresh FG and used that. I liked the pâté better...

Gosh, now that I think about it, I believe I was walking on clouds for these three days so my feet didn't hurt a bit!

In your brilliantly-written response to Robert Brown's query about Conde-Nasty, you made a comment about the Restaurants of San Diego. I lived in San Diego for twelve years and always looked forward to weekend trips to Los Angeles, just because I knew I would be getting an exceptional meal. I believe San Diego is an otherwise stunning city with decent-enough museums, an okay symphony and opera, fabulous beaches, and a number of enclaves that would lend themselves to haute cuisine, yet nothing of note. It is interesting to note that 25+ years ago, George and Piret Munger had a small chain of restaurants in and around the city, including their ahead-of-time cooking school in Encinitas (I remember seeing Jacques Pepin teach a class when I was a teenager). They seemed so cutting edge back then and I saw their efforts mirrored in Los Angeles a decade later. I'm curious why you think such a city lacks any high quality restaurants or why there are no chefs of mention making any attempts down there?

That's cuz you rock... (sorry I missed that post).

What Suzanne and Jaz said, EXCEPT: When you DO give them a basic outline of the recipe, LEAVE OUT ONE IMPORTANT INGREDIENT!!! Nasty, I know... but when they make it, you will look all that much more impressive because you've created something incredible that they couldn't recreate. "Gosh, mine didn't taste as good as your's...." Ain't I a stinker?