MattJohnson

Theres some great stuff in the French Laundry Cookbook. I loved the little salmon tartar cones.

I got the cheapo cuisinart so i'm not much help, sorry. I've just stuck mainly with vanilla with so-so results. I think more testing is in order!

I don't generally make cocktails at home. But I often have boubon on hand and usually drink it neat. I've made manhattans sans bitters occasionally. Because of this forum/thread I went out and bought some angostura bitters and vermouth (M&R was the only thing they had, going to do a taste test when I get to a better store) and have been having a blast the last couple of days trying different ratios. I just finished my bottle of woodsford reserve and I'm onto knob creek. I'm a big fan of eagle rare, but my grocery store stopped carrying it. I'm finding I like them a bit heavier on the bitters. Just a thanks from a convert.

I'll echo the go slow comments. One thing I didn't see on your list was a set of metal mixing bowls. I'd also echo the advice about going to restaurant supplies stores (online or brick ones). You will save a ton of money. Buy a good chef knife. It doesn't have to be the most expensive. There are several threads in this forum that have numerous recommendations.

Ah, thanks for the clarification - I'll have to pay more attention next time.

Don't know if its relevant, but watching Alchemist working, I'd have to say he shakes the hell out of it. Like tear-your-rotator-cuff-shaking. I'd imagine it makes a difference.

I like your final menu. I think spicing it up a bit is a great idea. The walleye sounds really interesting. If you get a chance, snap a pic. I'd love to see it. Too bad about the wine, but I think having some great beer is a great idea. Lastly, be careful serving cleanser. Most of it is toxic - I don't advocate drinking Lysol.

I haven't watched the clip (don't speak French) but if the expert was fooled, wouldn't it be more akin to using gasoline instead of aftershave and not being able to tell the difference? Not to say there isn't value to using real truffles for oil, but if you can't detect the difference and there isn't anything terrible or unhealthy about the extract, why not go for it.

The media got the story wrong. It was supposed to be about the urbane chickens in Chicago. Our avian residents are impeccably (or impeckably) polite and sophisticated, often telling stories and witty jokes. They are also extremely well-educated, thanks to their family members who reside at the main campus of the University of Illinois, and are called... ← Hilarious! I wouldn't mind if a neighbor had chickens...as long as I got some eggs. I could understand some limit though. It could be bad if someone tried to pack too many chickens into too small a place.

What about some kind of bread/biscuit?

On thing I've started doing with parsley is washing it, cut a bit off the stalks and then putting it in some water (ala cut flowers). Seems to last better than in the plastic baggy in the fridge. Actually, I think I read the trick in some thread here.

Hah! When I was in Japan, I once mixed up Shindeimasu and Sundeimas. Whoops!

I think its coming together nicely. Have you thought about something other than chicken breast? This would be a good time to try something new and show them something really interesting. I was bumming around studiokitchen and saw this http://studiokitchen.typepad.com/studiokit.../escabeche.html Maybe wouldn't fit into your menu, but it might spark some ideas of interesting ways to meet your chicken requirement. Edit: Thought about cheese course. You could something like at Zuni Cafe and just offer a single excellent cheese with a well made garnish. This might be a little less intimidating for your clients, and easier for you. Wine: The pinot would be a good choice I think. There no way they'd let you get away with just 2 wines? That would sure free you up some.

My family always has oyster stew at Christmas time. Not exactly sure why its called stew, but its basically fry oysters in butter until the edges start to curl, then add milk and cream with the oyster juice. Season with salt, pepper, and Worcestershire/hotsauce and serve. Always reminds me of Christmas Eve.

what about an old school ice cream maker? I suppose it still takes someone to crank it, but maybe it'd work out. I doubt other teams will do it and might set you apart. Could do some creative ice creams (bacon, avocado, olive oil, etc)

What I find interesting is the reasons for the chopstick rules. For instance, I recall someone telling me that sticking the hashi upright in food and the passing of food from hashi to hashi is taboo due to particular Buddhist worship/burial customs. Feel free to correct me if I'm incorrect.

As I was reading this thread, I had a lightbulb go off and wondered how great it would be to reconstitute dried mushrooms in stock. I was about to ask if anyones tried it! Hah!

Also, I don't think that slime cap indicates the vinegar is bad. I think its just a mother forming. I've been reading up on making one's own vinegar and remember reading that.

I think C. Trotters method is the way to go. Its a team effort, and its the best way to reflect that.

Just to add another name; I know them as Mikan from my time in Japan.

My wife and I just returned from SFO and in one bag we had 3 bottles of wine, 2 olive oils, and a balsamic vinegar (although we didn't have any fizzy wines). I think as long as you wrap them in clothes (or bubble wrap would be great) and have a hard or semi hard side bag, you'll be fine.

Try out Roots http://www.rootsmilwaukee.com/ Full disclosure, I've not been here (for anything more than drinks), but I like the idea of a Chez Panisse style place. They have a relationship with an organic farm in Cedarburg. Its on my short list. I wasn't very impressed with Coquette Cafe. I went there during our "dine out" week when area restaurants do a prix fixe meal. My salad had browned leaves in it and nothing popped for me. Maybe it had something to do with the dining out week, but I feel like that should be their time to make me want to come back regularly. The no smoking criteria kind of hurts you for some of the more colorful local places.

Thanks so much! I will definitely try to make it to your place on Sunday. Pasolivo looks interesting. I didn't even think of olive oil. I did an olive oil tasting once that was a real eye opener. Thanks for the tip.

Thanks for the recommendations, I'll check them out.

Hah, I had a section when I posted that said what we liked, but I nuked it because it basically described too much. We like to experiment when we travel. I guess I would like to drink wine that is representative of the region from where it came and/or of the people that made it. We like it when the person guiding us through the wine is excited about their product and willing to educate us about what makes their wines special. In my limited experience, the people who are most excited about their products tend to turn out good ones. Style wise, we don't discriminate much. We love trying new things. I look for balance. I enjoy old world dirt/herb/stone flavors, but also see the value of a delicious extracted fruit bomb sometimes. My wife loves very aromatic wines with floral/fruit/spice noses. A great nose will make up for many sins. I don't mind a sweaty sock or some barnyard. If I had to pin us down, I would say that our tastes lean towards new world styles of wines (just because thats what we have the most opportunity to drink regularly). One thing, we aren't high rollers, so its very unlikely that we will walk out of any winery with 2 cases of their $50/btl wine. That said, we like to take back a bottle or two that will remind us of a great experience we had at our visit. Does that help at all?