cocoagirl

We are staying at the Tides in South Beach. 3 ladies in late forties on a girls weekend. I don't knwo South beach at all. I find there are not as many resources to follow for dining as say new york, so for help so I am relying on my fellow chow hounds. Thursday night (we want casual, fun fine food): Michaels Genuine: Is this close to South Beach or an expensive cab ride? Friday Lunch (we are going out later that night so we want a 2p.m. or so fun, festive lunch with either people watching or water view) : Bistro One in the Ritz Carlton or Il Dido in the same (this seems weak, so a better idea would be appreciated) Fri Eve Clubbing: Setai bar or the Shore Club Saturday Dinner: Vix Sunday Dinner: a casual Cuban place: please name a good one Monday lunch: Joe's Crab Stone House How am I doing. Thanks to all.

Loved it. Loved Mostly Martha too. Does not have to be an either or sort of thing.

thanks all for your help. I in the end did get a fairly firm and tasty caramel. Now to try a chocolate caramel. I do think the above is true- slow cook, less stirring and emptying the bowl. Thanks for the advice and encouragement. Will keeping them in the fridge affect the texture if they are individually wrapped and then in a plastic sealed container.

thank you- they are beautiful... and the picture really helps me see what they should be like ....I will re-attempt tonight to achieve that

I could cut them into squares- but they were still pliable- hm...maybe I need to go to a chocolatier and buy a caramel- maybe I am expecting them to be something they are not- more solid like a kraft caramel- is that the texture - or are they supposed to be more unctious (sp.) still I do believe you maybe right the fat may have separated out.

I made Alain Ducasse's salty caramels- I had to re-cook them to 255- but although they firmed up - they were greasy. The Epicurious recipe calls for slightly different ingredients Could someone please point me to the best recipe-they should not be oily should they?

I cooked to almost 255 - they hardend some- however they were oily- should they be oily?

Thanks- I had planned to check my thermometer last week and then forgot- and then I just went ahead and made the caramels. I will check tonight. At sea level.

me too with the to soft caramels... I reheated to 250...still to soft. I am going to try again..should I do 255 or 260 to be sure? The come out of the pan to re-heat pretty well. Luckily my cookies for our swap today did come out pretty well- it was a pecan recipe from Martha Stewarts Every Day Food Cookie Book. However, I needed 36 cookies..and I was able to eke out 36 cookies of nice uniform size... but I spent all weekend wishing I had been able to get at least 37- I wanted to eat one so bad.

I am sorry if this question has already been discussed. I am making Alain Ducasse's salty caramels- at 248 I poured and cooled. To sticky. I re-melted to 250. Cooled and still to sticky to form into caramels. Is their any point to re-melting to 255 or 260. Or has all the chemistry happened already and the caramel won't change texture at this point. This was a practice run.

for those with Ilan crushes- he claims in his MySpace page to love the women...however I have never been on MySpace- this was a quote from the Televisonwithoutpity website.

As my girlfriend said last night, "I'd do Ilan, but I'm not sure he swings my way." While it's relatively easy to come up with cool ideas, executing them for the first time, without outside help or research, for a group of highly discerning judges can be intimidating. I know I wouldn't be able to come up with a recipe for sweet potato madelines off the top of my head, and terrines are so prone to failure if you're not confident in your technique. Still, I agree the food was disappointing. ←

I re-did my kitchen in my condo with Ikea cabinets 7 years ago. They are beautiful and sturdy with great hardware. The guy who did my kitchen said they were a piece of work to put together though.

I just spent some time in mid Maine. This is an area where there are many tiny towns hooked together by a somewhat larger town. In one case the town was about 1/2 hour away from a skiing area. What I found that while there seemed to be some fairly decent breakfasts (hearty), lunch and especially dinner were poor. And yet this is where the locals eat and they are used to. So ask a local and........I adjusted accordingly

And for your next trip, I recommend this book: Traveling New England with a dog. ← Great. Thanks for the link. I may head to the book store on the way home.

We are on a road trip with our dog, Oscar, on Saturday, except we are heading from DC to Central Maine. We may spend the night in Massachusetts if we are tired of driving and I hope to find some good carry out. Unfortunately as wonderful of a dog as Oscar is, he cries uncontrollably when you even leave the car for a minute and there is no chance we can leave him in the hotel room. The above ideas are very helpful.

I will have to read more but I am not impressed with his writing style.

Wonderful blog- taking me to a place I might else never see. Since I started reading these blogs (current and starting with earliest and making my way through- long way to go) - I have been to Africa, Japan, France, Israel, Amsterdam, Canada, plus lots of towns and cities in the USA, etc. I have done my share of travel and yet this deskchair (government job, lots of free time) travel has let me into the lives of people and seen sites that I could not imagine. Thanks to all the wonderful bloggers and thanks e-gullet.

The staff at our local Baskin-Robbins looked at me like I was nuts when I asked about this, so I'll try you... did they once have a sherbet flavor that was something like mandarin orange and chocolate? I remember this from when I was a kid, but so far I seem to be the only person who does. ← I don't remember the name but do I remember the flavor - very popluar with adults I believe

Thaks for the help- I think I will try the Negroni and/or the Bitter Lemon Cocktail- and by clear I meant simple tasting, fresh- but in the case of a drink not a good modifier.

I have my half sours in a large glass mason jar- size that industrial food stuffs come in- lid is not on tight- will the pickles be okay??? I don't want them to explode?

Unfortunately, none of these names or designations has much to do with the actual taste of the item. They are selling the "sizzle" not the "steak." In fact, the vast majority of the tomatoes labeled "heirloom" that I have sampled are pretty bland and often tasteless. A tomato's genes seem to have less to do with flavor than the ripeness. Most every tomato I have eaten in California for eg--regardless of its heritage--was much better than any tomato I have had here in New York. (maybe a year round growing season has something to do with it). I have had myriad "branded" meats and poultry that are more provenance than flavor. Organic vs non organic? Nothing conclusive here either. Grass fed beef?--IMOP corn fed beef is generally more flavorful--simple. We are being sold on the romance and supposed health benefits not the flavor. What has happened is--we are losing sight of flavor and quality in favor of the "story" behind the food. Just as we have become label crazy in other areas--now its food labels. I am tiring of the "romance" of the local farmer we are sold constantly. A crappy tomato is a crappy tomato no matter where it is grown or who grows it or how it is grown. In a perfect world the "heirloom" tomato grown next door by an "organic" farmer using "biodynamic sustainable" farming techniques, plays Mozart in his fields, who attends church every Sunday and supports the local little league and is socially aware--would taste just heavenly. Unfortunately, it aint a perfect world!!!! ← here here- I have bent to several "wonderful" farmer's market in the DC area- their tomatoes are no better than my local groecery store in taste- IMO- at least this year!

normally with the appetizer at a small dinner party I would make my quests a martini with maytag olives - but it is summer and I want a clear, crisp but more summery drink to serve before dinner and before wine- I have seen descriptions for a Pegu Cocktail that sounds promising or a cocktail with cucumber - also I would like to make a small pitchure for ease of serving if possible. TIA- not an expert on making cocktails, just drinking them

This has long been the burr under my saddle, so to speak, as well. Afterall, we're subscribers and we want the magazine...then why don't we get the magazine before the rest of the public? Grrrrrr. ← I agree and it is the case with most of the magazines I subscribe to- it used to be as a subscriber you got the magazine first. For some reason this is no more.

I would love to visit certain areas of the country when they are having their big food festivals, events. I am thinking of high quality events like the Sante Fe Chili Festival, Taste of Chicago (at least it was so 10 years ago) etc. I am not looking for something like the Washington DC Barbeque Battle which is more about advertising then anything else. Food, music, quality. Where can I find a listing of these events- since for many of the top notch ones they require advance planning. If this thread has been addressed- please point me in the right direction. TIA!