SarahW

I'm giving up on New York Fage - it's not the Fage I knew. I have standing order with my grocer for two cases a week, I practically live on the stuff. It was true love since the day I found it. Until this spring, when the NY yogurt made it to my grocer. The cases from Greece continue to be the same high quality. I've had bad cases from New York consistently. Today I cancelled that standing order, as I got two cases from New York this week and both were "off". The texture is smoother than the ricotta cheesy stuff that was my introduction to NY fage. But it is "off". It's got lots of air bubbles, and an aftertaste like spoiling or souring product. I can't say they lost me as a customer completely. I love Fage from Greece and am always delighted by it. From now on, though, I will only buy off the shelf those containers with "GR" in the manufacturing plant code, and steer clear of the American-made stuff. It would be nice to have an explanation, but that's not going to happen. I complained and was offered some complimentary yogurt, I declined. I don't want to eat that NY stuff until I know they've fixed their quality control failures.

I buy two cases of Fage Yogurt a week, or rather, did. The "GR" coded yogurt is still the same great old stuff. The NY yogurt is a horror show. I got my first cases of NY yogurt about a month or two ago. The GR coded case from the week before was fine. The NY (0%) was shockingly wierd. It was wet, and grainy (flocculated) like Ricotta cheese, and was unpalatable. I threw it out, both cases. I complained and was sent a free case. That free case was delicious, so I though, ok, Fluke. Nope. Every week since where my shipment included a NY case of yogurt, whether 0% or 2%, I have been disappointed with nasty yogurt. The "GR" cases continue to be of the old excellent quality. The NY cases are not always horrible in the same way. Lately they have had an "off" taste, as though they are on the verge of spoiling, or made from bad milk. The texture is off, too. I have not had the same trouble with clumply flocculation or curds in the yogurt, but instead strange little air holes or pockets throughout. I liked Fage so much I guess I just kept wishing and hoping there was some other explanation besides quality control failures at the NY plant. I have one more shipment in my standing order to arrive in a few days. If there is any NY yogurt, and it's "off" yet again, I will return it to the store and never purchase any fage that isn't from a "GR" coded plant again. Then when trader Joes hits town, try some other brand or brands. There is a problem in New York. I hope they figure out what that is and fix it.

That's a NO on the guess for #174. So here's another clue - The actor won't eat the banana, but does chew the scenery.

Guess for #179, (cracker sandwiches): The Terminal Tom Hanks, as Viktor, native of Krakozia (sp) who lives at the airport.

Nothing worse than waiting-for-the-check jail. No one should ever feel obligated to wave to get a waiters attention, the waiter should be attentively gauging the progress of his tables. But who hasn't been left to molder for a half hour or more after the end of a meal, waiting for someone to appear.

Ok, this one seems not to come up in a search: Raw corn, bananas, scenery

Yay! I guessed one! Now I have to bang my head on the "stupid board" because, looking at the list of guesses and hits, my guess-this-movie submission (#174) is a repeat of a recently guessed movie, Leon. A guess, BTW, listed as correct, right above my guess for Valmont in the round-up. Doh. If it were Snakes on a Plane, it would have bit me. In my (lame) defense, I knew the movie as The Professional, and not Leon. So "Two quarts of milk a day and a little lady" is off the table. Back with a mop and I hope a unique quess-this-movie clue, later

I'm going to get killed for this, but I think people with chronic medical conditions that cause disruptions, disturbances and disgust should eat in more private venues. That means, yes, if your cystic fibrosis is severe enough or your trach cleanable only with disgusting noises, you should not dine out unless absolutely necessary, and then in the most private area of the restaurant possible, i.e., call ahead and ask for accomodation. I have had confining illnesses and I didn't see any reason to make others suffer from it when it was avoidable.

Not part of the hypothetical BUT: If it were established that an employee of the restaurant took the item, and not an invitee, he restaurant is liable for the loss of the item. Conversion committed by an employee is an automatic "pay up".

Two quarts of milk a day, and a little lady.

Two macaron questions: Why do my macarons hate their feet? I've had a lovely post-cooling-rack batches, but but all too frequently experience a little let-down when batches that have gorgeous, high fluffy "oven feet" sink into a more flattened fringe, upon cooling. Mostly my macarons are tasty and presentable, and the real disaster batches have come from trying to tinker with the sugar. I was hoping to make a macaron with reduced sugar, but they don't cook right if there is any substitution in any part of the recipe - (meringue, TPT). Of course, I have only tried substituting a little of the sugar with splenda and aspartame or just reducing the regular sugar and not adding anything. Is it possible to make a low-sugar macaron?

# 148 - "Valmont." Poor Meg Tilley. Edited, on account of confused Madame de Tourvel's. I don't think Pfeiffer picked up any groceries.

The Herme recipe published in Art Culinaire in summer of 2005, included the dew-drop. It's just a drop of glucose. That you can pick up in specialty shops, online, or, at Wal-mart, craft stores like Michael's or other vendors that stock Wilton cake decorating supplies.

Having recently discovered macarons, with dumb beginners luck as encouragement, I have tried just about every permutation of macaron batter and technique that I could find, only to be frustrated by the usual "flops and monsters" syndromes complained of by others - and not having the experience or full grasp of macaron science to get more consistently consistent results. I am looking for a link to a "Here comes the macaron science" article or advice, anywhere. One flaw that I get on a fairly regular basis that just drives me nuts, is a thicker shell than usual accompanied by internal collapse of the meringue leaving a large void or pocket of air and damp, flattened, undercooked innards. Recipes with more acid in them seem to be less prone to this fault, so I am guessing that the stretchiness of the proteins has something to do with this.

Living in Richmond has its compensations ( I'm another Richmondite), and even some good food here and there, but it is a city that could use a real patisserie. Now I want to get on Jet Blue this weekend and have somebody else make me a Macaron!