Shel_B

Right now, even though they are pretty expensive, I'll give Beauty's a try when I next go out bagel hunting. Not as expensive as one of the SF based bagel places, though - $2.50 a bagel! Gimme a break .... I'll pass on Manhattan as they are part of the group that owns Noah's, and I'm not too interested in supporting a Colorado-based company for what I feel should be a local product.

I know it's not a great board, but I already have a couple of end grain boards, and this board is perfect wrt size and price for the task I want to use it for. I cannot afford a Boardsmith in this size for its intended purpose.

A 12 x 18 board is too small for the task for which I'm considering the board. I've thought about the heaviness associated with a board of this size, and it does concern me somewhat. I have found a company that will ,make a lighter-weight plastic-or-some-such board that they'll cut to my specs, so that's an option.

The description of a cutting board I'm considering says the board is electronically bonded. What is electronic bonding, and how might it be better than boding done with glues and adhesives? Thanks!

This is the one that interests me http://www.webstaurantstore.com/18-x-24-wood-cutting-board/40711824.html and I was wondering if anyone has done business with the store, or have had experience with this cutting board - durability is paramount for me and I've read of other cutting boards coming apart.

I've been on a bagel quest lately ... it comes over me every 18-months or so. Even though I have a favorite place for bagels in Berkeley, they're not the best I've had in the area. My favorite place closed some years ago and moved to Palo Alto <sigh>. So, does anyone have a recommendation for a good, NYC-style bagel in the bay area. That's a chewy bagel, with a subtly crunchy crust, not large and pillowy (like white bread with holes). Places like Noah's and The Posh Bagel are examples of bagels that don't cut it.

Thanks ... Toots has one that's similar, and I've used it a few times. I could never figure out how the up-and-down motion worked with stirring and mixing curd. Toots uses her whisk a lot, so maybe I should get a lesson from her ...

Where? Define good - price range? Type of food? Décor (neighborhood joint, upscale, Star-rated) ... a little more info would be helpful.

Glad to see some suggestions for tea kettles as I'm now in the market for one. A 2-quart capacity will suffice, although 3-quart is acceptable, and a large opening for filling is important, as is a lid that won't leak. The kettle has to be easily carryable from stove to table, i.e., no dainty handles. It must be of good quality stainless steel, and, finally, have some system for making noise when the water begins to boil. The kettle will be used on an electric range, should that matter. Price should be under $100.00, although around $50.00 would make me VERY happy. Quality is important.

Thanks for the ideas and comments.

This afternoon I tried something different being inspired by Thai or Asian ingredients to make salmon croquettes. This was a first batch, first try kind of thing, so the final recipe still needs work. However, the concept has promise. I used fresh lime juice, lime zest, finely diced jalapeño, finely chopped green onion, Red Boat fish sauce, some Sriracha sauce, fresh ground black pepper, and a pinch of cayenne, and would have used some cilantro and lemon grass but I didn't have any handy. Mixed those ingredients into the salmon with beaten eggs and some panko bread crumbs. First tastes were pretty good, but I feel I left out some key ingredient(s). Any thoughts on additional or other ingredients for this concoction?

I use this one it breaks up the clumps and give a smooth result without introducing air - as happens with a regular wire whisk. I've used it in a pan with a flat bottom (double boiler) a round glass bowl over simmering water in a pot for larger batches and it gets into the "corners" of a regular pan and follows the contours of any bowl. That's the strangest looking whisk I've ever seen ... you do have some interesting things ... Thanks for the suggestion!

For the same reason you're keeping the useless silicone whisk that flings sauces all over the kitchen when you try to use it? Why keep either?

A worthwhile thought. We'll see how the experiment goes. OTOH, I often prefer subtle flavors. Having my taste buds clobbered bite after bite with intense flavor is, to me, somewhat overwhelming and can become tiring.

And I'm even sorrier - somehow I missed that one even ...

What is an "automated sms reply?"

Now that harks back to some earlier recipes for panna cotta when it was made using the gelatin from rendered fish bones. Have you ever tried making panna cotta using egg whites instead of gelatin?

Thought I'd bump this up. I'd like to get a whisk for mixing lemon curd, mainly because someone told me I could get smoother results using a whisk rather than stirring with just a spoon. Any suggestions for so specific a task?

Infusion has essentially been the plan from the beginning. The recipe I first saw, and which introduced me to the mushrooms and the idea of a Candy Cap panna cotta, uses just that technique. There is an interesting fillip which is to take the finely ground mushrooms and sprinkle the powder over the panna cotta, which might be an option to enhance or increase flavor, but that's not my intention at this point. Still, to throw a 'shroom into the grinder and reserve some Candy Cap dust might be a good idea should more flavor be desired. I don't yet know enough about the properties of the mushrooms to have a good idea of what the result will be - it's an interesting experiment, but one that I have high hopes for. Years ago I discovered Parmigiano ice cream, and lots of people thought I was nuts, yet I later discovered it had been a common dish in Parma going back a couple of hundred years. I thought Cat Cora had lost her mind when she suggested a black-pepper vanilla ice cream for dessert one night, but that was because I wasn't familiar with it. I tried it, loved it, recommended it, and learned that, while new and strange to me, it was not that unusual. Josephine Araldo's pairing of fruit with vegetables came as a surprise - who'd have thought these unusual (to me and others) would have been so wonderful. Many people who have commented on doing this another way, i.e., not making panna cotta with the mushrooms, have never tried these 'shrooms, and never tried making a panna cotta, or any dessert, with them. I cannot help myself to explore the possibilities, and to perhaps put on my table for my guests something new and usual for them to enjoy.

Living in the backyard of Waters and Keller, I can easily see how they influenced people other than chefs and restaurateurs. Alice, for example, influenced how our food was grown and produced, at one time even buying produce from local Berkeley residents. She influenced the way food is prepared and served in schools, including establishing school gardens in some instances. She was influential in getting fast food and junk food places removed from close proximity to school yards. People in our community looked at what she did with food, and in the social-political realm, and took their cue from her, following her lead, going off in new culinary directions, and even changing their shopping habits and how they packed a lunch for their school-age kids. She, Peet's, and the Cheese Board formed the backbone of the Gourmet Ghetto, which spawned bakeries, cafes, quality coffee shops, and so on. Likewise, in addition to helping places like Monterey Market, Berkeley Bowl, Monterey Fish and Tokyo Fish Market grow and reach out to new customers, their influence affected how people across the country ate and shopped. Likewise, but perhaps to a lesser degree, Keller has had his influence, but not so much in community relations as in how people aspired to increase their skills wrt cooking and food preparation and how and what they chose to eat. I think Waters has the greater influence on "the rest of us," but Keller's contribution, while, IMO, smaller, is nonetheless important.

I'll tell you a little story about the best dinner I ever had. It was 1997, and I was about to head to Peru. I had been taking Spanish lessons from a young Peruvian woman, and was invited to have dinner at her small, student apartment before heading south. She had little money, and we sat at her Formica table in her cramped kitchen. She pulled out some Saltine crackers, a tin of sardines, a bottle of Coke, and some very good Pisco, from her home town, which was Pisco. We used paper napkins and plastic forks. That night I learned much more about her history, she introduced me to Susana Rinaldi http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susana_Rinaldi who, she said, gave her "goose bumps," and improved my understanding of life in South America, including Peru and Argentina. I left her home that night a more educated, better rounded, and happier person than when I showed up. As far as I'm concerned, it ain't the table setting, it's not the food, nor is it the décor ... it's the company you keep, the conversations you have, and the feelings you share.

Yes and no - yes, in that a "true" panna cotta is traditionally just cooked cream, BUT cream in Italy and some other European countries is different than much of the cream found here, so a simple "cooked cream" using American ingredients may not give quite the same results. The best I've been able to do - compared to a real Italian panna cotta - has been with the use of what we sometimes call manufacturing cream. I've not had the opportunity to use other European-style creams as yet. No in the sense that this is the US, and we often put our own spins on what may be considered traditional cuisines and dishes from other places. So while my favorite Meyer lemon panna cotta may not be traditional, or even acceptable, in parts of Italy, it goes over quite well here, likewise the blood orange panna cotta I make for Toots every now and then. I don't care for it very much, but she loves it, as do others. Maybe they've never had the panna cotta of which you speak, but I have, and I see them as completely different dishes, each bringing something special to the table.

I am going to make the panna cotta because the idea interests me, if only because it's so different and I'm curious. I do like the other ideas presented for using the candy caps, so thanks for that.

This morning I discovered a recipe for a mushroom panna cotta using candy cap mushrooms (http://www.bayareamushrooms.org/mushroommonth/candy_cap.html). This is something I want to try. Has anyone used these 'shrooms, or made a 'shroom panna cotta? Any input would be helpful and appreciated. Thanks!

Aren't all holidays "made up?" What can be sillier than Christmas, where we celebrate consumerism, spending money, and engage in lots of stressful behavior and activities. Personally, I much prefer National Pretzel Day ... April 26th - mark your calendar.