Porthos

I found that Julia's book My Life In France, part of which covers the building of the cottage, is a very good read.

Oatmeal maybe?

A bit jealous of that sink. When I brought up a farm sink my DW said no in a most definitive way. Enjoy yours.

A couple of weeks ago I was part of a large multiple-table group that went to the Hollister, CA Round Table Pizza on a Sunday evening. Part of that group was my daughter, SIL and their 19 M/O toddler. He was a tired cookie but had done well for quite a while. When he decided it was time to just cry I picked him up and headed for the door. He started to quiet down twice on the way so I stopped but within seconds he started up again. I did take him outside and have a seat in their outdoor dining area, which was otherwise unoccupied. My daughter came out willing to take over but I told her to go back in since I was done eating my pizza. I wanted to give her and my SIL a break. Had I not been there they would have taken him outside. I was just in a good position to help out. It is just common sense and curtesy to not let your children take away from other dinner's experiences, even if just for pizza. eta: If my daughter were on this forum she would tell you that that is how she was raised and she gets it as a mom.

huiray, thank you for posting that. I used to enjoy Panda Express but with the revamped menu, a smaller menu, I lost items I like. What really surprised me on my last visit, the first after a remodel and the rolling out of the new menu, was that the quality of the Orange Chicken was poor. We left feeling like we may never go back. For now Pick up Stix is getting our money. The corporate flagship restaurant of any chain is expected to be top flight. Regarding the Pasadena store and the one near me, maybe Panda Express needs to have more "mystery diners."

Early next month I will be seeing my friend who has access to Club 33 and will have been there twice in the last few months when I see her again. I will ask her if Club 33 has upped their game to match Carthay Circle. She is a very straight-forward person so I know I'll get an honest opnion.

Napa Rose - undeniably excellent, worth every penny. I've been twice. Unfortunately I have spent over 3 of the last 6 years unemployed and funds for another visit haven't been there.

To be fair I will state that I didn't look at the links but the existence of Club 33 is well known within my circle of friends and aquantances. I have had the opportunity to eat there once, before their recent major renovation. It was enjoyable, but not what I expected. Before the existence of Disney California Adventure it was the only place on the property where you could order alcoholic beverages and, besides being members-only, was part of its charm IMHO. Since I haven't eaten there since the renovation I can't comment on any new menus. I can tell you that the person with whom we dined there with considers the Carthay Circle restaurant superior to Club 33 and that merely takes admission to Disney California Adventure. Having eaten at the Carthay Circle I can say that I found the offerings superior to my one experience with Club 33. None of this is meant to damn or demean Club 33, just offer my perspective. I have heard many takes on the cost of membership but the last time I heard information that I would deem reliable the cost is less than $25,000. The real trick is getting on the waiting list since, again at my last knowledge of this, the membership is limited.

As someone who is a Type 2 diabetic I am much more focused on making choices of the types of foods and quantities I eat to not aggravate that condition. I know that the death rate for human beings is hovering right around the 100% mark. My choice is to take steps regarding the more imminent threats that could hasten my date with that mark by not ignoring my personal health issues. Beyond that I choose to not let every "what if" kill the enjoyment of my day-to-day life. edited to fix a wrong word tense.

Kerry, that is one beautiful bowl.

I had a chance to talk to my ren faire acquaintance who lives in Sliver City and he and his wife do eat at your restaurant occasionally. He was aware that you will be closing - he brought it up.

Thanks for sharing. I always enjoy "traveling by proxy" on your trips to the island.

The overall shot of the condo kitchen may show the mess but it really helps show the layout of your Island-TIme kitchen. I am reminded of a small poster I had in my office at another job: I'd rather have creative clutter than idle tidiness.

I was re-reading this thread because I couldn't remember the dimensons of the kitchen trailed and I knew they were in here. This upcoming weekend is the closing weekend of this faire. My, how time flies. I made my goal. Pots, pans, mixing bowls, several 2-1/2 inch 2-pans, and Rubbermaid storage tubs to store it all in, have been acquired. I now only have a few small items to haul back to southern California.

I am not looking for truly uniform - just somewhere in the ballpark. When I have tried using my food processor i have had every size from just chopped once to nut flour. The only time the processor has worked out for me is for my pecan bourbon balls. I need 4 cups of medium chopped pecans for the coating and 4 cups of pulverized pecans for the balls themselves. I process about a cup and a half at a time and then use a coarse-weave strainer to separate the over-chopped (heading toward pulverized) from everything else. Under-chopped pieces get pulled from the strainer, then the contents get dumped into a bowl. Repeat until the 8 cups of nuts have been processed. I will most likely get the chopper from Williams-Sonoma (yay birthday money). They have a brick-and-mortar store about 5 miles from my house. I buy many things from Amazon and other on-line sites but for something I may choose to return if I'm not satisfied I prefer brick-and-mortar stores. Living in southern California makes that choice rather easy. If I am satisfied with the chopper then I can start buying whole nuts from Costco.

Outside of Christmas cookies baking I don't use nuts much except for the brownies I bake for serving as part of dessert for ren faire feasts. My local market has an extensive bulk foods section and pecan pieces are one of the selections. So in the spring and in the fall I use those for the brownies with nuts. I have always dreaded when my DW wants me to hand-chop nuts and she has decided it's easier for her to do it herself than deal with my grumbling.

I enjoy doing knife work. I do less cooking and more managing and veggies prep in my ren faire kitchens these days. I enjoy keeping my knives sharpened. What I don't enjoy is chopping nuts by hand. I have tried my Cuisinart for chopping up nuts but getting anything remotely close to uniformly-sized pieces has never happened for me. When I chop nuts by hand I make a mess because of all the nut bits that go shooting off of the cutting board. So I don't chop nuts anymore. If I need chopped nuts for something I buy them already chopped. Anyone else out there who says nuts to chopping nuts?

Pumpkin Pie, Flan. Creme Brullie (sp), no, no, no. I do not care for custards at all. You may have my slice of Boston Cream Pie ... You want a berry or cherry pie, I"ll do it. You want plum pudding at Christmas - I'll borrow the mold from my FIL and m ake it; and I have a specific small heating vessel and spoon just to flame it. But, please, no custards.

My favorite memory of him is not of his cookbooks or his TV appearances. It is of him sitting on his scooter at the Winter Fancy Foods Show in SF cooking up samples for the attendees. He was a class act. RIP

That looks wonderful. I certainly hope you enjoy it.

Yup.

Yeah,, unbreakable. That's why my 18 M/O grandson has broken 4, yes 4, Corelle cereal bowls. (He now gets plastic) eta: check higher-up horizontal surfaces for shards. I have a friend who broke a plate on the floor and found shards on top of the refrigerator.

In my ren faire kitchens some of the veggies we serve are steamed, some are sauteed. We coin (make rondelles) zucchini and saute them. Most of our sauteed veggies get their salt at the end. When my daughter cooks the zucchini (in a 14" saute pan with olive oil over a 30 KBTU burner) she salts them at the beginning of cooking. Her explanation is simple: Salting at the beginning pulls moisture out of the zucchini and allows the exterior to crisp up. If she waits until the end she ends up with mush because of the high moisture content of the zucchini. My faire nephew who works in the kitchen and who is in culinary school has been giving my daughter (who is 10 years his senior) attitude for doing what she is doing. He may be getting the training to be a professional chef, but I'm thinking that her experience counts for something also. Thoughts?

What Shelby said. Edited to add: SnowAngel's long-running thread on trips to The Cabin was something that I enjoyed so much I re-read it once or twice a year. No need for a new spin.

Yes, indeed. I am looking forward to new installments.