hosinmigs

Ah, just fantastic. God, I can practically taste it now. I'm definitely going to try this some time. Beer with dessert. Jesus, this is a great life.

De-LISH. or how about EVOO? Or not

Yes. You need 1/2C no-sugar-added applesauce, and two apples, IIRC. ← I believe it's actually only one apple.

I finally got some time to try something from the book. I went apple picking this weekend and got a bunch of fresh granny smiths and pink ladies. So, I made the apple spice bars. WOW I absolutely love them. I left out the raisins and nuts (not a big fan) and still found them to be fantastic. The glaze....yum. My girlfriend, her mom, my coworkers, and everyone else loves them. A keeper for sure. And I think the best part is th color. The dark, rich earthtones are perfect for apples and fall. Beautiful.

Wow. No kidding. That's an interesting perspective. I think what I like most was coffee/milk combo. I like cap, but sometimes I want a more smooth, rich coffee flavor. In my mind, it's the milk that does that. So, maybe the stovetop espresso device is the way to go...

So sorry to generalize, but I'm assuming all of France is like this. I know every place in Paris was. To a certain extent, the coffee (non-laced version) in Amsterdam was the same, but not as good. How do they brew in France? It was like heaven for me. I use a French Press in the morning, but it doesn't do it justice. It's something they do with the milk...I don't know. Needless to say, I can't recreate it. And it's not espresso (I don't think) or anything like that. I loved it and I can't make it? Why? ....

Well, thanks to everyone's comments here I decided to go out and buy the book at Costco yesterday. WOW. I love it! The problem is deciding what to make first. I think it just might have to be the biscuits. I love biscuits. yum.

I think my worst was recently when I was in search of something drinkable. I ride a motorcycle to work at times and didn't bring coffee from home. As the only coffee in the building is literally from a 12 cup drip machine that they only add two level scoops of folgers, I decided to improvise. I got hot water from the instant hot tap. In that I brewed the grounds I brought from home. Sort of like the first step in a french press. Then I decided to rubber band a filter to the top of a mug and pour the coffee through it. Well, let's just say the rubber band didn't hold and the filter, all the grounds, and all the water went all over my desk. Maybe half made it in the mug. Now, I like strong coffee, but I generally draw the line at cowboy coffee. However, I was so desperate for something other than piss water that I went for it. It's only grounds after all.

OK. Good. I didn't want to offend your friend. I must say that Adam looks EXACTLY like I thought he would. It was a toss up in my mind between the actual Adam and some tall, tan, blond, surfer/stoner type. Good job AB on the description. And Grill Bitch...is quite a good looking woman. I guess with a name like that I was thinking Margaret Thatcher meets Janet Reno, but I'm impressed.

Wait? Is that Adam and Grill Bitch in the one pic or Kerry and some woman?

This is an interesting thread and a discussion that I'm sure has been taken up before. Who knows more about what we like? Ourselves or the cook? Personally, I hate meat past medium. But, who's to say that the guy who likes it well done is wrong? I mean, if that's someone's preference, who are we to tell them it's wrong? This I've never understood. It's sort of the old, who do we cook for? Ourselves or the customers?? Anyway, I think my favorite is seasonal without the autumn. I would hope that's a joke. Sounds like something my step dad would say. Because seriously, what would you do? And the 12 grain without the oats? hmmm....holy bread anyone? Good stuff...

Ah, I bet the overbeating is it. I'm still an amateur, so sometimes these things aren't obvious. I was using a KA stand mixer an probably beat the eggs for 30 seconds or so on medium speed after adding the final one. I'll try just to the point of making sure they're incorporated next time.

Sure. cream cheese mascarpone sugar vanilla eggs bittersweet chocolate white chocolate That's pretty much it. Obviously there's more for the crust, but that is the bulk of the recipe.

Sorry for the probable repost: I'm having cheesecake woes. It's a standard recipe. Batter, chocolate, bake. The recipe calls for an hour in the oven at 325, followed by an hour in the oven with it turned off to cool, then cooling it to room temp, followed by overnight in the fridge. After taking it out of the oven. Beautiful. High. Airy. After cooling it overnight. Puny. Dense. Ugly. What's going on? My first thought is that maybe I'm not allowing it to fully cool before putting it in the fridge. But that wasn't the problem because it was definitely room temp. Then I thought maybe I undercooked it and it just pancaked. Possible, but who knows? What am I missing that's obvious? I know this recipe works because I've had it turn out beautifully before. Why is it taunting me? Thanks.

Yeah to Sweet Maria's!!!!! I love that place. Great info, GREAT customer service, and good beans

New question. And a basic bread one at that... Every time I make bread...I mean EVERY time, I don't get enough rise. I've changed recipes, proofing times, proofing methods, yeast, and eveything else I can think of. But still, a dense, tiny, pitiful loaf. I have two thoughts. One is the proof. I have a relatively cold house (70ish) and I go by what the recipe says - to proof for an hour and a half. But, still, no vertical development. So, this weekend I threw it in the oven and turned the oven to 150 and then shut if off. Sort of a dual purpose proofing box. But, still no vertical development. I've been using instant yeast that I keep in the freezer and don't activate (don't need to, right?). I thin I've had it for like two years, so I suppose age is a possibility. But two years shouldn't be too long in the freezer, right? So, now I've come down to believing it's my kneading. I think I'm not developing enough gluten because I'm not kneeding enough. This weekend I used my KA stand mixer and needed it on low to medium for about 8 minutes. The dough felt light and elastic. But no....no vertical development. It's killing me. Anything obvious?

Yeah, I guess this has been addressed, but the question is one discussed in Journo 101. Actually, there are a few questions. But the immediate one is should quotes be consored or not? Typically, they are. Often people will clean language for the purpose of a piece. And I'm not talking only about profanity. If you interview someone and they say..."Hell man, shit. We ain't got no business being in that there place," would you edit it? Typically, yes. Imagine if all quotes were exact reproductions of what is said. It would be impossible to read. However, it's technically libel to edit them at all. If you want the essence of something, don't quote, paraphrase. This particluar case depends on the subject and the reader's expectations. Do readers regularly read profanity in your publication? If not, you can expect that people are going to be upset. Also, was it necessary? Was it central to establishing the character of the chef. I'd argue it wasn't. I'm sure you could have paraphrased to the same effect, or used other descriptive language to give the reader the image you were looking for. I personally feel that important profanity should be quoted. Example, Cheney on the floor of the Senate telling....can't remember who to fuck off. A great quote and one that I'm happy the Washington Post printed. However, chefs say fuck like it's going out of style, so why was this particular use so poignant? What was the quote, by the way?

Yeah, it's like the definition of a sell out. I don't know his background, but I like that he has an easy-going, instructional-type style. But that Applebee's thing just blows it.

Wow. Some fantastic thoughts and observations on here.... Favs: Alton. I started watching him when I was about 21 on break from college with my mom. The way he obssessed over the ingredents and the process was just magical to me. I love his quirky sense of humor. He's the reason I cook now. When you're young and know nothing about food, he is a great place to start. It's like a culinary class you don't have to pay for. Mario - passionate about his food. Oliver - love of life and passion about food. Always seems to be having fun. Giada - beautiful and great looking food. Dislike: Rachel Ray - what can one say? She's just annoying and I hate what a lousy tipper she is. But...contrary to what some have said, she is not a sell out. In fact, I read an interview where she told the food network that she can't really cook and has no knife skills, etc. So, I think she's alway been honest about who she is. Needless to say, there is a huge market for her, and I think that's fine. If it gets people to sit down and have dinner with their family, instead of having McDonald's, so be it. Flay - cocky. Annoying. Food looks average. Emeril - respect his sucess. Come to think of it, I almost hate him for the mere fact that people love him. Is that jealousy? If people didn't watch him or care for his food, I might be able to tolerate him.

Thanks everyone. Now I'm going to have to eat while I ponder all this....yum.....doooouuugghhnuut

If you have 548 @$@#$ dollars to spend on what amounts to a home toaster, more power to you.

I think in my relatively small city of 60,000, we have three Starbucks and 4 independant coffee shops. But the indies have done a good job of offering an alternative. One is an old mill-type building that has tons of room to sit and play games, read, etc. Others cater to the art crowd, and one has free live music every night. So, I think if they offer something different, people will come. Incidentally, and I'm no Starbucks cheerleader, the others stink. The coffee tastes like folgers. I think their roasters suck.

I'll give it this - it's easy. When you're feeling truly lazy and don't want to wash any more dishes than you have to, it's a good substitute. Plus, when you're seriously poor and can't afford the "real" stuff, it's not a bad alternative. I liken it to fresh v. dried spices.

Hum...maybe it was an off night, but I found Bistro Francais to be rather lousy. I can't even remember what I had...bad sign.

hummm...when I read the topic, I thought, "sure, my girlfriend and I throw bread at each other in restaurants some times." yes, we're one of those. And yes, she starts it. But hey, it keeps us young!