Jane Die

In my small town of Longmont Colorado, we have the most wonderful small store, La Fromagerie, which is actually a warehouse and the local distributor of cheeses from around the world. Their storefront affords an amazing selection of cheese, olives, pottery from France and Italy, fresh bread, imported olive oils and vinegars and other things you just don't expect to find in a small town in middle earth. I can order black truffles or white truffles from them too. But cheese is their reason for being. Edited to add this link: La Fromagerie!

Oooh lookie: McRib Deconstructed! Sorry, I know I'm a killjoy. I mean, it's no worse than a hot dog, right? Or IS it?

I think a bit of research might yield some information on the actual production of said faux rib product. I say, take one home and break it down BEFORE you eat it. I'm interested in knowing the percentage of pork to mystery substance ratio. I won't eat it. Maybe if I was stranded somewhere or kidnapped and held for ransom and this is all that was available, maybe then I'd have a bite.

I watched this again last night and I did hear Symon make reference to three cities when he was presenting his dishes. Because his venison was Moroccan spiced (or curry spiced?), if my memory serves, I got the impression that he meant visiting three cities as a culinary reference relating to his dishes. I'll have to watch again. I keep wondering if the judging is heavily influenced by the judges' proclivity, albeit an unconscious one, to favor one chef over another. Clearly, Knowlton had it in for Sanchez early on. So my question is would the results be different if this were a blind tasting? I think so. And still, I can't quite get over the fact that the fumes of rubber, axle grease and jet fuel might have slightly tainted the taste buds of the judges, if not the food itself. Edit: By blind tasting I don't mean blind-folded, just not knowing which chef did what.

Meh. Airplane hangers. I've been in a few and I would not want to have lunch in one, especially a lunch involving subtle seasonings and flavors. I'd like to see the remaining contestants battle it out in Kitchen Stadium with a full compliment of ingredients and equipment, since that's basically what they're competing for. I know, it's not as interesting as having a jet or the Eiffel Tower looming in the background. Whatever.

*snap* The answer, for me, would be NO to gray meat with "grill marks" and YES to crispy crusty meat exterior.

I fall into the cavewoman camp. A 1-1/2 inch thick NY Strip cooked over ripping hot hardwood charcoal really fast until the center is no longer blue and not quite medium rare, but somewhere in that narrowly sublime warm and juicy red place. It comes off the grill sizzling with a nice brown crust, but not charred. I loosely cover it with tin foil and let it rest for 5 minutes. Edit: I just push on the meat to test for doneness. I don't like sticking thermometers in the meat because then you really will lose all that beautiful juicyness.

Whoa!! Don't go dragging vanilla into the argument. Vanilla is good shit! You are right. And I meant "vanilla" in a good way. I love vanilla. Maybe Love tastes like chicken? I heart love, but lust has more flavor. On a more serious note, love tempers as to make things more palatable for both parties, doesn't it? Love overcomes?

Do what now? Medicinal purposes you say? Very carefully, take some egg roll wrappers, put ANYTHING in it and roll them up. and deep fry until GB and delicious. Might be cheese and broccoli, might be sausage, peppers, onions and mozarella, might be anything. Try to not use a fake accent while consuming. Enjoy. Repeat.

I have Henckels Pro S 8-, 10- and 12-inch chef's knives, along with the utility, boning and paring knives. Also several Forschner chef's knives in 8 and 10 inch. I don't like using dull knives, so when the Henckels go out for sharpening, I use the Forschner knives. But I'm not a professional, just a home cook. And I love sharp steel blades. Edited to add that I have several knives because sometimes several cooks are in the kitchen.

I dated that person, too! OMG! Yes, it DID get old. Another very annoying habit he had was to take on the accent of whatever cuisine he was eating at the time, be it Italian, French or whatever. Was not long after that revelation that I finally had to say, "adios" and just walk away.

My experience with picky eaters is that their attitude about food spills over into other areas. But love is blind, yes? And it apparently tastes like vanilla.

Bwahahaha! I didn't have anything else to add but that did make me laugh and I do agree.

Will you be my new best friend? Yes! I'm always up for a new best friend! You do like onions, don't you???!?!

My mother was and still is a horrible cook. I love her, but she always approached cooking as a chore that she really didn't want to do but had to get done for Dad and the kids. Some nights, we were treated to hot dogs, split lengthwise, fried in a cast iron skillet (perhaps in bacon grease?), instant mashed potatoes and canned creamed corn. This would be delivered to us in front of the tv while we watched a night of premium television (Batman, The Monkeys, The Green Hornet, etc.) Other quality meals included Salsbury Steak with Onion Gravy (hamburger patty with browned onions on top of instant mashed potatoes and a can of green beans). pork chops with instant mashed potatoes and some canned veg. I could go on and on but you get the picture. My grandmothers, on the other hand, were excellent cooks and introduced me to all manner of perfectly prepared meats and vegetables. One grandmother saved up some box-top proof of purchase seals and sent away for a Gold Medal Flour "My First Cookbook", which she presented to me one rainy day. We made several things from that little recipe book, including a nifty tuna casserole in cupcake cups, topped with potato chips. But in fairness, I think my mother's horrible cooking was the single greatest influence on my appreciation of fresh food prepared well. Also in fairness, she made wonderful potato salad and amazing fried chicken. My first "dish", however, was when my mother was really ill and I had to prepare dinner. I was about eight years old. She talked me through it: Brown hamburger in a skillet, boil spaghetti in a pot, open a package of McCormick's Spaghetti mix and add a can of tomato sauce and a cup of water and mix all that up with the hamburger. I overcooked the spaghetti by about thirty minutes. It was all pretty horrible, but at the time I didn't realize it.

Was it just me, or did Ramsay look silly riding in on the bike? A little pretense goes a very long way. Yeah, chuckle factor is about the only reason I tune in to watch. Frankly, I find some of Ramsay's antagonistic behavior a bit embarrassing. As much as I like him and respect his talent, I am beginning to lose some respect for the man. Kitchen Nightmares is becoming a bit of a nightmare to watch. Beh! What I'd much rather see is Gordon Ramsay visiting his own restaurant kitchens, watch the chefs and staff during a real service, etc. And actually SEE SOME FOOD BEING PREPARED.

Food allergies are something I take seriously, so I usually make it clear what is sitting on a party buffet table, including whether something was cooked in peanut oil. Little signs are helpful that way. When sending an invitation, I will ask if there are dietary concerns, though I tend to provide choices anyway. But I can't really handle the grown man or woman who won't eat fresh English peas because they "feel squishy" in his mouth, or someone who won't eat avacado because it reminds them of "the Exorcist". Or won't eat cucumbers. Or tomatoes, "because they're icky." These are not children, they're adults. I can't cope with that. Those people are usually culled from the guest list. Sometimes, relatives pull that "it tastes icky" crap. That's when I go the extra mile to make certain that foods they dislike are about all that is available. Because I'm just mean that way. Edited to spell "allergies" correctly.

TarteTatin, I think the Floyd in the Med shows are from 2001. But the Bittman shows are new, or relatively new.

Ditto. Can't watch the Deen family (+ Mr. Michael Deen) at all. Whilst channel surfing a while back, I caught a glimps of the happy couple in bed sharing breakfast. I did not need to see that. No. But I do like Bittman's program. I like his approach to reworking dishes so that they can be easily done at home. I also am watching Floyd Does the Med on the Travel Channel, but that's another thread, I guess. Bittman is interesting, though I'm not sure I'm seeing him in the same light as Dianabanana. Maybe I need to adjust my set or something.

To reach the nearest Popeye's, which is nearly 30 miles away from my home, I will pass more than a dozen KFC's without hesitation. Maybe once a year I'll make the drive if I'm asked. KFC sells the nastiest chicken product I've ever tasted. I can't imagine that is the way the Colonel intended it. Perhaps he's spinning in his grave? KFC chicken leaves a disgusting aftertaste in the mouth. I just won't eat it, original or extra crispy or supergreasy or whatever. I recall the last time it was purchased, I had to finish cooking it in the oven because it was pretty rare in spots. And what's with the size of those chickens? A fryer chicken should be just around 3 to 3-1/2 pounds. KFC chickens are freakishly GIGANTIC.

Someone mentioned "authentic", I think maybe it was Fat Guy. I can see how this might be overused, but I do admit to searching for recipes or ingredients that are as close to authentic (perhaps "traditional" is a better word?) as I can find, especially when attempting to recreate an old recipe. So I'm keeping "authentic" in my repertoire of acceptable words to use. The McRib : Authentic Down Home Smokehouse Flavor or Fake Industrial Food?

Bravo!