Porthos

Santa brought me an Apex last December and I have been very happy with it. If you can swing it, go for it.

Susan, have you been able to get up to the cabin lately?

I've never had an interest in TNFNS but the other night my wife turned it on. I wasn't impressed at all. The fact that Nipa was kept when she created her 2-ingredient product was a big clue as to what to expect. My wife turned it on again last night. I stayed awake for the ridiculas first challenge. I then went to sleep. Sleep was definitely more interesting. KF, I am in hearty agreement that the show is not worth watching. I don't do oysters, have never touched an oyster shell let alone tried to open one. To judge my (amateur) cooking skills by handing me something I never touch like an oyster you would never know that there are things that I do well. You would only see me botch opening an oyster. Good Eats, Aces of Cakes, Everyday Italian and occasionally Dinner Impossible are all that's left for me on The Food Network.

My sweet wife sent me a link to an online article on this whole mess. I just finished reading Mission: Cook two nights ago. I'm more surprized that a publisher didn't do it's fact-checking. I must ashamedly admit that I didn't question of word of it - I guess because it made for good reading. Fraud or not, I do enjoy most episodes of Dinner: Impossible just because I'm a food-prep junkie. I still also plan on trying some of the recipes in the book because IMHO he still has something to offer in his actual cooking skills.

I've noticed something, or at least I think I have. It seems that cheaper knives with softer metal in the blades can't be charpened to the same level as my good knives. I've experineced this twice so far. I put a completely new 17 degree edge on a cheap knife I bought specifically for learning to sharpen. I couldn't get anything near to sharp compared to my Henckels or my Forschner 10: chef's knife. Last night I tried working on a less expensive 3 1'2 inch paring knife and no matter what I did it was only so-so. Is it me, or is it the softer metals? Outside of wondering about this I am loving having this machine and can't believe I turned my nose up to it a year ago.

I love my silicone mitts. I don't do any pastry baking to speak of so that is an area I have no clue about. However, for hefting a hot 16 quart stock pot filled with just-off-the-boil liquid and walking to the other end of the kitchen my mitts rock. The other people I do my volunteer cooking with also like them. We even nicknamed them the lobster claws (mine are bright red). I just had to have some silicone muffin pans when I first saw them. Bought them 3 or 4 years ago and still have not used them nor has my sweet wife. We do use silicone spatulas and don't bother purchasing any other kind anymore.

This has been my standard recipe since I got the book way back when.

Hook: Peter Pan (Banning) having his first meal with the lost boys going from "Ghandi ate more than this" to the whimsical food the boys got to eat.

I have a reaction to a chemical used in commercial tomato growing. In 2 to 4 hours after eating a "bad" tomato my tongue swells, not enough to close down swallowing, but enough that the sides of my tongue get abraded from constant contact with my molars and I can end up speaking unclearly because the pain in my tongue while forming some sounds. This lasts from 2 to 4 days. I can eat home-grown tomatoes safely. Since my reaction to the unknown chemical is consistent I have always figured it was an allergy. Whatever you want to call it, as much as I LOVE tomatoes, I order my food without tomatoes. Interesting topic...

More Good Eats on the way? Yay!!!! I watched the sausage episode last night for the upteenth time. My 26 y/o grossed out when he showed the viewers what was origiinally used for casings.

1) A 12" wooden bowl for salads. 2) An EdgePro Acme Knife sharpener.

I'm drooling on my keyboard... what a great pot.

I did email EdgePro and got a response that he assembles each unit himself. I experiemented and found that you can install the vertical rod with the stone-holding rod in the correct and incorrect positions. The instructions in the manual are correct for how to insert it but they assume you already know the nomenclature of the parts of the sharpener. I think if I were to pursue this further with EdgePro I would recommend an oveheard illustration showing the pivot shaft (the vertical piece) inserted into the base so that you can see that the stone arm is to the left of the pivot arm. This is a relatively minor issue, though. I watched the video again today and took a cheap paring knife bought on a camping trip years ago and following the instructions I put a new angle on the blade. I also touched up two of my travelling knives. I'm having way too much fun.

Chris, The bar was installed upside down on the unit I received for Christmas. It seemed wrong to me so I looked at the picture and saw that it was shipped to me assembled incorrectly. I reversed it immeadiatetly. I think I need to send an email to Edge Pro since this may not be an isolated problem. Porthos

Mrs. Santa did not dissapoint me. Things that I was concerned with before getting it: Set-up: Let's see, about 2 minutes to get it out of it's case, fill the water bottle and such. So not an issue to have worried about. Learning Curve: The training video, while not a high-tech production, was very clear on usage. I worked on 3 different knives after watching the video and had success. Tear-down/clean up (related to set-up above): simple straightforward design and their custom case make it as simple to put away as to get out. So on to my first experience. I started with the F.Dick 10" chef's knive that I had been working on by hand previously. Made a little progress but this knife must be made with some steel that was tempered in the flames of hell. So I moved on. I had a cheap 7" slicing knife that I put a better edge on in about 10 minutes. Note that is really is a cheap knife - something I picked up for my volunteer cooking and won't care if it gets lost or stolen. I moved on to my trusty 10" Chicago Cutlery chef's knife that I've had for over 20 years. In less than 15 minutes I had an edge that was a significant improvement over the hand-sharpening I had done earlier in the year. Conclusion: With some practice I think I will be able to keep my knives sharper than I would have ever guessed. I'm happy with this sharpening system and can echo the endorsement that those who have gone before have offered. It's good stuff. ED for spelling even after I re-read it.

I've done a 180 this fall. I enjoy being able to sharpen my knives free-hand but "have seen the light" concerning really repeatable results. I've asked Mrs. Santa for the Edge Pro Acme to be under the tree come the 25th. I put other things on my wish list also so she asked me what on the list I most wanted. It was hands-down the Edge Pro. I've got a 10" F.Dick chef's knife that will be the Edge Pro's trial-by-fire should Mrs. Santa bring me my grown up's new toy.

Poultry gravy with a flour/water slurry - 13, from my mother. White Sauce - 16, from a book. Turkey gravy using a nice tan-coloered roux - 51, from Food Network. I love sauces and gravies way too much.

My apologies for not being more specific. I don't have a problem with her accent. The sound of her voice means "Her show is on" and since I personally very much do not like her style of cooking and her style of interacting with guests and the audience I don't want to have to even hear the sound of the show being on. Alton Brown is based somewhere in or near Atlanta and I am a big fan of his.

Emeril tells the story that on the very first cooking show he did they would tape for several episodes at a crack which meant very long days in the studio. During a taping he noticed a production person getting glassy-eyed or nodding off and yelled "BAM" out of nowhere to startle the crew back into alertness. That was the birth of BAM.

Making lists has already been mentioned. We print out a copy of the menu and put it on the refridgerator and use it. Without the list things just get missed. By the way, I use lists for everything. I can't go to the store to pick up 3 things without a list. My sweet wife began having grand mahl seizures 8 years ago. They are under control with medication but the seizuers affected her short-term memory permanently. We can have a conversation, make a decision about something, then 2 days later she asks me if we are going to do such-and-such or not, having no memory of the converstation. Shopping lists are now VERY important for her.

My brother and his wife normally split their entree. My s.i.l had surgery which greatly reduces the amount of food she can eat. When I've been out with them and the server has told them there is a charge for splitting the plate they have never complained. It's better to pay a small charge for the extra effort and extra plate that splitting costs than to order more for than they can consume and pay for food that can go to waste when they are travelling. Most often they just ask for a second plate to be brought to the table and some places even charge just for bringing an empty plate to the table. I'm with you that not informing you when ordering that there was a charge associated with something as trivial as hot water instead of cold was wrong on the part of the restaurant. I'm interested in why they are ingnoring your written communication with them. That's just plain bad form for any business.

That idea should have at least some appeal to them - airing episodes that they've already paid for. $$$ makes the world go 'round. Maybe, just maybe, I would become a viewer again if they did that. I'm sick to death of their lame "Holiday" shows, let alone their daily fare of intellectually half-cooked nonsense (road shows being the worst).

G*d, why am I not surprised by either cleavage or the sexual discrimination issues. But, gosh, she was just so darn normal and knowledgable. ← I enjoy Everyday Italian - so if cleavage is the issue then Giada should be around for awhile. However... Paula D. has neither cleavage or age on her side. She also doesn't have a healthy diet in mind with the dishes I have seen her prepare. The mere sound of her voice can drive me from the room. I'll take Sara's knowledge and teaching any day. fixed a typo

Thank you one and all.

In another topic Snowangel mentioned buying parchment paper that is already pre-cut to a half-sheet size. I went to my local (Anaheim, CA) restaurant supply store asking for it and they didn't have it. I called another store that I frequent and they said they had a thicker re-usable parchment paper but it doesn't sound like what I am looking for. Can anyone tell me where I (the general public - not a restaurant professional) can find this in Orange County, the eastern end of LA county or the inland empire. Holiday cookie baking is upon us and I'd much rather have pre-cut flat sheets than to keep cutting off pieces of parchment from a roll since they don't like to lay flat.