violetfox

I've actually got the Jack Lalanne juicer and love it. I have made juice with grapes and other fruit, and as I recall, it worked fine. It's worth the price for apple/carrot/ginger juice - my favorite.

You could also go the route of Julia Child's kitchen (the one currently installed in the Smithsonian). Once she was happy with the placement of the various utensils and pots and pans, her husband Paul outlined them with a marker so it was always evident where the item belonged. As I recall, it is simply plain pegboard. Thank you, snowangel! That is where I got the idea, but I need to go and see it for myself, I think. The pegboard in my local building supply shop is brown and pretty unattractive. It's inexpensive - so I may just get a sheet and mess around with it a bit, try painting it as is, sanding it, see what works.

Thanks, Melissa. The salesperson made it sound quite easy. The idea of a tap block is probably going to save me a lot of trial and error!

I've ordered 'Confections of a Closet Master Baker" by Gesine Bullock Prado and should be getting it any moment now. Her "Golden Eggs" are almost literally to die for. I've also recently gotten Ad Hoc and John Besh's book, and am going to start cooking from both this weekend.

I rarely use recipes online, and only if I must - a reciped that I can't find in another cookbook, or that's only in a book that I don't want to buy. I am a book person, and I love everything about a good cookbook. I just got my third copy of MAFC and love its heft, typeface, drawings, the whole thing. I buy cookbooks that are appealing in some particular way, and I love pictures. I also tend to buy books that have a recipe that I really want to make on almost any page. Resisting cookbooks is tremendously hard, and very rarely based on cost!

32 that I've used more than once in the last year out of 87 total. There are at least another 30 of that 87 that I should use much more. Some of the remaining ones are very specific to some occasions and needs, but there are probably at least 15 that should be culled, and most of those were well-meaning gifts. Interestingly, some of the ones that I used to use often now just seem somehow too dated. For example, I like some stuff in the Graham Kerr cookbook that I inherited, but mostly it seems weird today.

Thanks, Melissa. I've heard lots of good things about it in remodeling mags etc, and like the looks of it, but it's great to hear from an actual person who has it. May I ask if you installed it yourself? If so, was it reasonably easy?

"Leftover macaroni and cheese"? Anyway, I have a recipe that I really like from our church cookbook. Heat oven to 350. Butter a casserole dish - I use a Fire King lasagna pan. I package of elbow macaroni, cooked (Prince casserole elbows if I can find them), mixed with some butter, a bit of salt and pepper so that the macaroni tastes good on its own in the pot, mix in: 3 packages of grated SHARP cheddar (I like Cabot Hunters') or equivalent of fresh-grated depending on time available 1/2 finely diced medium red onion 2 Tbsp. flour 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce Tabasco or other hot sauce to taste You'll need 1 quart of whole milk. As you mix, add some of the milk to make the mixture pourable. Pour into the prepared pan, add the remaining milk. Spinkle top with about 1/2 cup of dry bread crumbs. Cover loosely with aluminum foil, bake 30 minutes with the foil, then remove and bake another 30 minutes until browned.

I've just started remodeling the 1950's kitchen in my 1790 home. I like the 50's character and want to retain it as much as possible while having a functional room. I've got a (now) fully operational Clarion woodstove, and I can't wait to play with it. I have a few questions, likely many more as I proceed. I'm planning to install a couple of walls of pegboard - anybody know about how to paint it? Hardware store didn't seem too sure about this. I love the looks of the Elmira enameled stoves, but wonder if anyone has used them, or heard much about them? Does anyone have Marmoleum in your kitchen? Do you like it? Thanks in advance for all replies!

I'm planning to install a couple of walls of pegboard in my kitchen - anybody know about how to paint it? Hardware store didn't seem too sure about this. Thanks in advance. [edit: sorry, wrong forum, but replies still welcome]

I've bought my last Conde Nast magazine. Seriously.

Damn! Does this mean that I have to give up my addiction to Vosges bacon chocolate bar?

At the moment, I'm working on a rosolio with rose petals and vanilla (recipe from Libation by Deirdre Heekin, which I enthusisatically recommend) as well as a blackberry, orange and cinnamon ratafia. Will be digging out my "Fancy Pantry" soon for more ideas -a great book. I am NOT making dilly beans - that's my sister's job! Also, a near-total lack of tomatoes here has crimped my style severely. Not the best year for gardens in the sodden Northeast.

Any particular reason NOT to consider Mastering the Art of French Cuisine?

Great idea for a topic - too bad that weather up here in steamy New England is not very conducive to time spent over a hot stove! I have, however, hauled all of my many Julia cookbooks and am working on anything cool. Earlier this week, I made the classic Salade Nicoise from MAFC I. What a perfect supper for a hot night! After that, vichysoisse with my new food mill. I like the texture it produces so much better than a blender or a food processor. Again, utterly perfect for a day that was 92 degrees with about 90% humidity. I've been thinking that I haven't made a Bavarois in decades, and I love that. That's probably next. Wonderful to see what others are doing, and the pictures are fabulous! Thanks!

Hee hee. I also bought the overpriced bottle of water so that I could get a cup with some ice, but I had a wee flask of St Germain. I liked the movie very much - Meryl Streep was even better than I expected. I'm still not entriely sure how I feel about the whole Julie project. It's an interesting idea and literary construction, but somehow I keep finding it a bit creepy. I would definitely say that I'm kind of baffled by anyone who has trouble following Julia's recipes - you couldn't possibly ask for better, more clear instruction. I also wished hard for more of Julia and Paul and their life in France. [edited to add] It's pretty wonderful to recall that one extraordinary person with a huge creative dream could change the world - Julia made our world a far better, more delicious, more joyful place. Many of us here, I suspect, are here at eGullet because of her influence.

Good advice, nevertheless. Still, I'm wondering if anyone out there has any advice on food writing specifically. Thoughts on how to start? Subjects to avoid? How do you communicate your love and in-depth knowledge of food to an audience without boring or alienating them? ← Adjectives are not your friends. Start by writing. A lot. All the time. Show your work only to those who are trustworthy for this sort of thing - not well-meaning but clueless relatives, friends, bloggers... After you've written something, put it away. Go back later, read it, edit it. No jargon, ever. Assume the general intelligence of your audience - I like the idea of writing for a well-informed but not expert audience. Most advice on food writing, I imagine, is also good advice on writing, period. That said, a lot of the best nonfiction writing that I see happens to be food writing. I'm fascinated by this and have no idea why it's true. Great topic, thank you!

"Yummo" would have to take the "prize." Still waiting for someone to use "yucko!" - perhaps on a food "reality" show. "Free-range" "microgreens" or worse "micro-cress" etc. anything said by Sandra Lee in any context

A True Fish Story - Portland Press herald 7.1.09 - A Maine tradition for over 100 years. Interestingly, the area chefs are working this theme hard and coming up with some terrific menus. *Earl Morse of Eve's at The Portland Harbor Hotel (formerly at White Barn Inn in K'Port) plans a nifty micro-plate of Atlantic salmon nestled on baby spinach with Maine pea puree and turned buttered potatoes. *Chef Larry Matthews Jr. at Back Bay Grill in Portland is serving Scottish salmon, hand-rolled fettucine, chanterelles, English peas and pea puree. *Joel Frantzman of Sullivan Harbor Farm in Hancock Village does a hot-smoked salmon toast on bitter greens with chilled pea soup. Mere mortals poach a whole fish and serve with a bernaise or white sauce with dill & mustard, serve with fresh flash-boiled peas and new potatoes, then cap it off with a strawberry shortcake. What's happening in your neck of the woods this weekend? ← All sound great, but I actually really like salmon with old-fashioned white sauce with chopped egg! New potatoes and peas are delicious and traditional, but given the weather which is best suited to ark-building as of the last three weeks, I don't see any new potatoes and peas arriving for the foreseeable future. (I'm in Franklin County, BTW.) ANYWAY...we're going camping (don't laugh) and planning on fresh-caught trout au bleu, boiled "not new, or new from away" potatoes, and some kind of greens, possibly sauteed pea shoots. Definitely strawberry shortcake with fire-baked shortcakes and local strawberries. Did I happen to mention beer?

If it were just myself and a friend, I'd do backpacking, but our group has a member with medical issues that make backpacking impossible. I happen to like car camping, anyway.

Wow! Yes, please!!!

Thanks, that's exactly what I was seeking!

Foil works great but I am a little leery of aluminum. I figure that I can use leaves (cabbage), husks, maybe parchment paper - but other bright ideas about foil alternatives? Thanks.

I did search for camping recipes, but no luck. If they're around, please point me in their direction - thanks! Anyway, I'm off for my annual 10-day trip next week. PRAYING that the weather will improve! We're car camping, and there are between 5 and 12 of us over the course of the trip. We're well equipped with ktichen equipment, and pretty expert firebuilders. We have two Dutch ovens that we LOVE and are just beginning to use. I'm looking for ANY great camping recipes, and especially recipes for the Dutch oven. Things that have worked well for all recently include: BBQ of all persuasions and cultures chicken enchiladas chili roasts in the Dutch oven foods cooked in pit, ashes, embers, etc Any good reference books would be appreciated, too. What do you love to eat / cook when you're camping? Thanks in advance!

Definitely in the overbowling camp, except for a few things like onion soup where the food matching the bowl size is critical. I've always been an overbowler and overplater, but have gotten much worse with my new, huge black Barre bowls from Simon Pearce pottery. I like the way overbowling (what a great word!) looks, and the avoidance of spillage.