Aurora

Welcome to the fold, my friend. Once you start, you'll never stop.

Chamomile is also very nice -- not as tart as hibuscus; not as floral as jasmine -- mild sweetness. Great for colds and relaxation.

Don't kill the crock pot, it's only the messenger, and thank you all for your generous support.

Overnight, at a temperature close to the boil, canned beans (already cooked beans)? He also added cans of green beans and peas. After 2 hours of this my wife asked why I was still watching it. I said it was the same reason you slow down to see the car wreck on the side of the road . We also get Lawrence Welk. He'll be on next weekend with Suze Orman and some self-help guru. Putting Lawrence Welk after America's Home Cooking was a masterful stroke of programming! Perhaps that was the point. It seems like they nailed that demographic for a solid four hours. I forgot about the peas and the green beans. Did you catch the comment about every scout having their own tent?

The company was great, and so was the food, but it wasn't that great! Perhaps if we had been a little more patient with the hot course...

I hear you, but wait a minute. Hold on. Not everything PBS produces in the cooking realm is like America's Home Cooking. In fact, most of the shows are good, whether you like the chef that stands in front of the camera or not. I, for one, love Mollie Katzen's books, but can't really handle watching her on television. Others have expressed similar sentiments with regard to particular chefs, but the quality of the programming, in terms of content, is usually good. America's Home Cooking is a bit of a departure for PBS. It is internally produced programming with no outside sponsors and no big bucks. From what I could learn it is also not produced by one of the PBS major markets, which means even less bucks. It is rare to see programming specifically produced for pledge time with the breaks and the segues already built in. I can't comment on public television programming in other markets, but typically they have run the best of the best programming during pledge time in Chicago. America's Home Cooking seems to be something new that is a cost-cutting measure. They ran America's Home Cooking again around 2 AM. I woke in the middle of the night to re-live Chocolate Mess, but damn if I didn't miss Boy Scout Beans. That is fast becomming my favorite. In case anyone is up and reading this right now, Your Chicago Kitchen just came back on (11:19 P.M. CST). The guy host's name is Richard Steele. Here they go, from the top, with Grandma's California Maki. It looked good, but they used too much rice, and they didn't cut the cucumber to a more managable size. The maki came out too big. There's no way the end result could be handled with chopsticks. Guajolote - If you call in, I'll bet you can get an apron. edit: to minimal correction to fix 1 stand-out comma error and the atrocious misspelling of "segues." The only way to truly appreciate this type of programming is with a cold one! I love it -- goofy crock pot recipes and all!

Overnight, at a temperature close to the boil, canned beans (already cooked beans)? Yes, tis true. It seems unlikely, but that was the claim. According to the guest who claimed Boy Scout Beans as his signature dish, the pot was 'a simmerin' as far back as midnight. I dunno. I just watched.

To my recollection, none of Lidia Bastianich's PBS shows have ever been aired by the local station. So, if I read you correctly, your saying that I should just shoot for additional Julia Child stuff of the Jacques Pepin pledge package.

There were a few that made me wonder why a crock pot was essential. For example, the cook that introduced Boy Scout Beans, mentioned that he started cooking the dish in his crock pot at midnight. The show was not live (nor was it produced at WTTW), but I was led to believe that the recipe had been simmering for a considerable amount of time. To my surprise, the example of the finished dish looked exactly like the beginning mixture.

That really isn't the point. The point is that the programming costs money, and pledge money is the biggest source of that support. Most times, the programming that is offered during pledge time is excellent. This time, it wasn't. Subsequent pledge drives will yield better things. I have no worries, Bayless and Trotter have gone to the mat for the local PBS station more than once during pledge time. I'm sure they an others will again. My membership is good for another eight months. They should be back on target by then. Perhaps I can get a few Lidia Bastianich books out of the deal.

For the first six months of my pregnancy, I literally ate next to nothing. My morning sickness was very intense. I couldn't even stand to watch people eating on television. McDonald's commercials made me kick into high waddle to escape the room. I could not stand the smell of raw onions or coffee. My husband and the Krups were sent to the back porch. He had to brush his teeth, because I could smell coffee on his breath from amazing distances. After the six-month mark, things changed. My morning sickness went away, and my appetite returned. There's a restaurant in the Old Town neighborhood called Jerusalem. They make these special, crunchy, golden fried onions as an accompanyment to a lentil dish. The lentil dish was good -- but those onions sprinkled over a pita sandwich slathered with hummus -- that was it for me. I would throw the lentils in, too, but I had to have the fried onions. As it turns out the onions were a dish that the restaurant made specifically for catered orders. I first encountered them at a party that Jerusalem catered several years earlier. My husband talked to the restaurant's manager, and managed to have the onions prepared for me every time we called.

I'm tuned in expecting my weekly dose of Bayless and Pepin. Slight change of plans. Surprise! It's pledge drive time! It's funny how the regular lineup of Chicago cooking shows is always the first to be swept aside. When I tuned in, here's what I discovered on America's Home Cooking: Crockpots: Cheesy Spinach Velveeta Dip: As I understand it, this is a side dish that contains about one stick of butter (one quarter-cup for rubbing down the inside of the crock pot; one quarter-cup cubed and added to the dish), frozen spinach that has been thawed and drained, cottage cheese, Velveeta, and three eggs that have been slightly beaten. This all goes into the pot and is ready for consumption after 90 minutes on "HI". Boy Scout Beans: A concoction of spicy sausage, onion, garlic, Kraft bbq sauce, brown sugar and 11 different kinds of canned beans and their water set to simmer in a crock pot over night with no additional seasoning. Now, a woman is preparing something that she calls: Chocolate Mess: 'Nuff said. After the chocolate chips and the marshmallow cream, I stopped watching to write. This is also prepared in a crock pot. They describe the dish as a "British-like" pudding. I don't mean to sound snobbish. I love my crock pot, and Mark Bittman gives me more reasons to love it all the time, but this PBS cooking presentation is...well, it isn't what I expected. After each recipe, the host of the segment brings a sample of the dish over to the wide-eyed talker whose job it is to extoll the long-term benefits of pledging to PBS. Based on my impression of the amount of effort she exerts to maintain her enthusiasm , I'm guessing that some of the recipes may be falling short. I recall PBS cooking show pledge programming that was better than this. It presented recipes that made you want to head to the kitchen, and it dangled the books that contained those recipes in your face until you relented. Five of my Julia Child cookbooks came to me by way of a single PBS pledge drive. The programming that I'm talking about had folks hitting redial until they got through to pledge those member dollars! America's Home Cooking is not exactly what I'm talking about. I'm not running to the phone, and the chances are good that I won't be pledging my $60 to obtain a copy of the companion cookbook. In fact, I'm quickly running over to Manny's for a Ruben. Then again, not so fast...it appears that one woman's sausage in brioche is another woman's pigs in blankets. It does make me happy to see people cooking even if what they are cooking doesn't appeal to me. Their efforts in the kitchen come from a place of love, and each cook clearly enjoys what they are doing. Their creations are resonating with someone somewhere, and that's really what food and cooking are all about when you get right down to it. So, I will get over the recipes where every ingredient comes from a can, and I will look past the lack of technique. Ultimately, what each cook has conveyed is a love for food and being in the kitchen. As I watch them spoon garlic from a jar, their apparent love for the activity will sustain me and keep me watching. That makes us kindred spirits in the kitchen, and that is everything.

Has anyone ever tried their coffee. I can't stand the smell of roasting coffee so it turns me off, but if the coffee is good, it's worth a try.

Diane -- WELCOME! Costco can make anyone fell better. Laughter has a similar effect. I'm glad you are feeling better.

I count about 103 here in my apartment. That's all my kitchen can hold without additional shelving. There's another 53 in boxes at home base in Milwaukee. 5 on order (including the De Groot -- thanks John Whiting!). Grand total: 161

There's a thousand tequila stories to tell in the big city...

There is something a bit AbFab about it, isn't there, Sweetie?

Thanks, but me really don't know everything. You just haven't caught me in one of many blithering idiot goofball moments. Don't be discouraged. Your opportunity is coming...soon. We've yet to drink the gin, but given the topic, let's make it tequila. Cuervo Gold or Pepe Lopez? Aurora: You choose. I trust you implicitly. Alrighty, then! Cuervo Gold Especial Kosher Salt Limes - I don't care what kind as long as they are of good quality and plentiful. Would the folks at Nuevo Leon take to kindly to us going on a tequila bender in their humble establishment? I tend to go easy with tequila. One sip over the line and suddenly I have an almost magical understanding of William S. Burroughs and the irrepressible need to thank you repeatedly for being my very good friend. I will say the better brands are smoother. They give flow to the hallucinations and make them a touch more--plausible. You know, things don't get quite as wavy--you see three of one person when you might normally see four--that kind of stuff. When we get together for this, remind me to tell you about the time when some friends and I got together with a six-pack of Squirt and a bottle of Pepe. Wait a minute...are we talkin' brunch or dinner? I feel an unofficial eGullet chow-down comin' on. Nuevo Leon. BYOB. Tequila optional. Who's up for it?

Thanks, but me really don't know everything. You just haven't caught me in one of many blithering idiot goofball moments. Don't be discouraged. Your opportunity is coming...soon. We've yet to drink the gin, but given the topic, let's make it tequila. Cuervo Gold or Pepe Lopez?

Great post! I am so glad you went there. It always bothers me that Pilsen is overlooked as one of the best places to go for authentic Mexican cooking. Nuevo Leon always makes me happy. That is good food! Next time, get flour and corn tortillas. Also, try the chilaquiles. Nuevo Leon would be a great eGullet outing--sponsored or un-sponsored. Bomboncito and Bombon are owned by Chef Laura Cid-Pfeiffer who began as a pastry chef at Frontera Grill. She is currenty the pastry chef at La Platiyo. I like Check Please, but it's a rare episode when there isn't at least on boob on the panel. What the two boobs on the panel who dissed Nuevo Leon missed was the fact that Nuevo Leon is about the cooking and the food. There really isn't much peoplewatching. You can look up when your plate is clean. If the Art Institue sent their employees to the Mexican Fine Arts Center for niceness training, would the Mexican Fine Arts Center be required to reciprocate and send their employees the the Art Institute for snotty ignorance training? Edit--Chef Laura Cid-Pfeiffer is mentiond in an article in the current (January/February 2003) Local Palate. You can pick them up at Whole Foods, and I've seen them at Sur La Table. They're free.

The Culinaria for Europe is quite lovely. I also like Desserts by Pierre Hermé for the visuals.

Hmmm our own mag? You mean build a better mousetrap? Hop, that's a great idea! I think it's worth a shot! All Chicago food great, small and everything in between. We don't sound like Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland, do we?

You and I have never agreed on this point; which I actually like, by the way. So much so, that I find it difficult to believe that we actually read the same papers (the Sun-Times is great for food when I'm cleaning out my refrigerator). I find that the local papers are not nearly as aggressive or as thorough as they should be given the quality and variety of all things culinary in this town. There are things going on constantly that they seem to either find out about late, under report, or miss all together, and it happens all the time. The food sections carry more "one-dish" recipes, ads and mimicry of "Dining In/Out" than I would like to see. To me, that is not food writing. When we do have the good fortune to see articles about local chefs, they don't go into any real depth. Just this week, the Trib's "Good Eating" section leads with a story by Andrea Vayda on savory dishes that incorporate chocolate. The article quotes Carrie Nahabedian, Eric Aubriot, Anselmo Ruiz and Tracy Vowell--good, fantastic chefs all from several wonderful places in town--great, but wait a minute. Show me the chefs. At the very least, show me some of the dishes and ideas that they are talking about. Even when the chefs quotes about the dishes seem to gloss over what they are talking about. The article reads like an elongated snippet. At the very least, give me even a test kitchen version of the recipies that the chefs are talking about. Nope, sorry. I just find it disappointing. I didn't miss it, the article missed the mark, and that is more of the rule than it is the exeption, and not just in the Chicago Tribune. Some events and happenings have passed so quietly that we've used posts to inquire if a member of the press took any intrest at all. For the writers in town that are really good at what they do, not enough of their writing is being published. I think our food writers should be taking more chances and saying more--much more. William Rice, Phil Vettel, and Kristin Eddy can only be spread so far. There's certainly enough to warrant a Chicago-based magazine. One consistent exception is a free bi-monthly called The Local Palate. It is co-edited by Alice VanHousen. It seems to pick up the slack in the areas that I mention, and it covers a broad base. It covers Chicago heavily, but it tries to go thoroughout the Midwest. It doesn't just stick to the big names. The publication explores many areas of town to find culinary gems and actually write about them along with the occasional recipe and review.

Hopleaf - I hear what you are saying, but I would argue that with one or two acceptions, or own food media doesn't do a very good, consistent job of championing it's own. I cannot count the number of times I have gone to the food sections of our local papers to see articles taken from news wires about restaurants and chefs from somewhere far from Chicago. I have frequently found out more about things happening in Chicago from the glossy mags than I have from our own local food media, who at times seem to be taking their signals from the glossy mags as to what is important to write about. Sometimes, it feels as if local food writers must have validation from the big name publications about subjects that are new, good and innovative. It shouldn't be that way. There are certainly exceptions, but not many, and the general cautiousness of our food media bolsters Steve's point.

Thanks. Hands (mine) sampling Suvir's tomato chutney at Awbrig's house. Photo: Awbrig Wrist adornment: Amanda Larsen Puck