rdailey

Thanks! - I'll give it a try

I recently made a decent batch of cinnamon ice cream that was tasty, but seemed too hard once frozen and seemed to have a slightly grainy texture. The graininess did not seem as noticeable until a couple days in the freezer. Any suggestions? Specs - 2 cups milk, 2 cups heavy cream, 10 egg yolks, 3 oz sugar beat with the eggs, 3 oz sugar dissolved in the hot cream mixture. I chilled the custard overnight and ran through my machine for 20 minutes.

Ahh, someone got it....

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Hamburger Helper, without the hamburger, of course...

They are always more on the ball in that context: in liberal arts programs, it's great to have older, wiser students who are there to learn not just to do the bare minimum. But in vocational and professional programs the goals are different, and whether they're young or old the hobbyists are often a hindrance to the rest of the class. FG- Isn't it really the instructor's responsibilty to control this sort of problem and maintain the focus of the class? Do you think schools like LCB and CIA would tolerate students that hinder the curriculum? Lesley- It is my understanding that CIA Greystone and a few other culinary schools have continuing education for professionals that require the a student to have extensive work experience in the culinary field. It sort of like post-graduate work. I would assume that this sort of advanced training would not include amateurs. Is this the kind of thing you have in mind? I think otherwise, the government is not going rescue you from having to co-mingle with "housewives and debutantes" in your Skills class.

If I may be so bold as to pile on... Lesley, How on earth, do you think a government could provide a better culinary education than the elite private culinary schools mentioned in this thread? Those sizable tuitions go towards providing the best possible instructors, equipment, etc. In regards to the old French system of apprenticeship, read Pepins recent biography on the subject. He is now a dean at FCI and claims that it is far superior than the apprentissage system which he learned from.

Deviled eggs Frank & beans Fish sticks Although I think you have to go with Ambrosia as the best choice.

Its my understanding that the Venetian opened their conference center last week, but has yet to open the new 1000-room tower where Bouchon is expected to be. Although their website says June, I read other articles in April that said it may not be open until later this year.

I know its a little early, but for those of you that have had difficult times getting a reservation (who hasn't?), the day the staff comes back from hiatus/vacation at FL is one of the easiest days to get one. On Mar. 1 2004, they will be booking for the following two months starting that day. You still have to bang your redial for a long time, but when you finally get through, there should be many different reservations open. When I called on Jan 15 earlier this year, whenn they got back from a 2 week break, I actually had a choice of about 5 different nights.

I notice that I eat much more spicy food in the summer than the winter. Its all about the chile and fruit in the summer... cajun, mexican, thai, etc. In the winter I put the hot sauces away, and go for the braises, mashed potatoes, pie...

I remember Farrells. I was only about 6 years old when we would go there. The brass band treatment was also part of birthday celebrations. It made my little brother cry.

Northern California - Wine, water, and beer. The hard stuff is usually not seen at the table, unless its a margarita with Mexican.

Cookware & More is a factory outlet that gets seconds from All-Clad and sells them for tremendous discounts (almost 60% off in some cases). They are seconds because they have some minor blemish on them. I have ordered several pieces from them and they are great. The blemishes might be a slight scratch here or there, but its nothing I wouldn't manage to do myself after the first couple of uses. As well, you can return them, if the blemish bothers you too much. Its worth a look considering how expensive they are.

Does the Conundrum work with the cornichons??

Welcome Frye, Great post. I have always been fascinated with Cheesecake Factory's operation and how they manage to do so many types of dishes. The menu is huge.

I recently had a 4-year old gruyere that would be perfect with a nice 10 year tawny.

CSC is definately in CA now. They started sprouting up all over the place in the last year around the bay area. Must have worked through whatever health code problems they were having. I think the ice cream is made with some pretty low-qual ingredients. As well, the kid behind the counter usually doesn't do a great mixing job because they are so packed with customers. Its a novelty that wears out quick. The singing after the tips sucks too.

I think I'm really trying to understand why a restaurant would take on the liability of unpaid workers. Not only that, but it is a misdamenor which would open retaurants up to excessive fines. If the stages last only a week or two, why wouldn't a reputable restaurant at least pay minimum wage? I would think this would eliminate any liability. As well, if a stage was not going well, the restaurant could terminate the employee or the employee could leave and find another restaurant. Just saying that restaurants have their "own rules" or the notion that a prominent chef will say "you'll never work in this town again" does not exempt them from the law. Here is a example of a disgruntled former employee of Joachim Splichal, who is upset about time-shaving wants back pay and investigations. So it does happen... Splichal's labor issues

This issue was brought up on another thread, but I wanted to start a new one to find out what the deal is. Although I do not work in a professional kitchen, I hear all the time about young upstarts doing stages for high-end restaurants. Nearly always, the restaurant pays the worker in "experience" in lieu of actual compensation. I asked a good friend, who is an employment lawyer here in California, and he told me that according to state law it is a misdameanor to retain uncompensated "volunteers", unless they are students that are getting credit through a bona fide educational institution or volunteering for non-profit companies or religious groups. I would think that this would be a huge legal risk for restaurants that have non-students stage. How often do non-students stage for prestigious restaurants? Has anyone heard of restaurants being sued by someone that did a stage and they didn't get to stay on full-time or because they were disgruntled for some other reason? Just curious since I am guilty of breaking this law myself...

In addition to those mentioned above, there is a Bryan's Fine Foods in the shopping center called Town Center, which is just down the street in Corte Madera. It is small, but the quality of the meat/seafood is better than at Mollie Stones, IMHO. Its one of the few places that sells prime beef and top grade ahi. Also in that shopping center is AG Ferrari which is a small chain of high-end/high-priced Italian delis, and Homechef which has an excellent selection of kitchen supplies and offers cooking classes. On Wednesdays they have a very small farmers market with a few stands with fresh produce. On the north side of San Rafael is the Civic Center (weird looking building designed by Wright), that has, according to critics, one of the best farmers markets in the country on Thurdays and Sundays from 8am-1pm.

I definately think that favorite wines are the ones that elicit fond memories, as most of the posts in this thread share. I had the rare pleasure of tasting 89 Gaja Barolo Sperss with Angelo Gaja himself at a tasting in Southern Cal. As my friend and I relished one of the most luxurious and monsterous wines our young pallets had come across, he approached and asked for our opinion. We were dumbstruck, but we managed a reply, "Incredible!". To this day I don't think I've a had a more thrilling glass of wine... well maybe that first taste of 88 d'Yquem.

I'm no litarary critic, but I recently finished The Fourth Star and thoroughly enjoyed such an amazing account of what went goes on backstage at a restaurant of that caliber. At times, I felt that the description of the action was a bit repetitive. There is a lot of chef-lingo quoted("Fire three halibuts, two beef and a veal. Where's the pumpkin soup?"), but then I realized from what Bourdain wrote in KC and what Brenner writes here, that kitchen work is very repetitive and to do it with such high quality as Boulud does is incredible. I think that is well presented. I applaud both authors for such, seemingly, honest insight to a world I will never get to experience. The Fourth Star was a great vicarious rush!