violetfox

Hey, Peter, do you know if mackeral take flies readily? I am a fly fisher, and it would be really fun to try to catch some on flies. Thanks!

I had poutine rapée on the coast not too far from Moncton and really liked it. I am surprised it is not better known outside NB. ← I'm highly intrigued by any version of poutine - might I ask for an explanation of poutine rapee? Thanks.

bumping somewhat enthusiastically I am, I confess, conflicted about this subject. For me, it's not so much about being slim - I don't have a slim body type, and that's OK - but about being healthy. Like most of us, I suspect, when I was 20, I'd put away a one-pound+ slab of prime rib and its delicious fat without blinking an eye. Now...not so much. It seems like 95% of what I read about weight management talks about "emotional eating." If I do "emotional eating" it might be three times in a given decade. I just love food. I love vegetables, fruit, healthy food. I almost never eat fast food - the qualifier "almost" is probably important, hmmm. I also love duck, duck fat, foie gras, poutine, etc. Finances and distance curtail my participation in the joys of foie gras to some extent. I have Melissa Clark's book and "French Women Don't Get Fat" and the Japanese equivalent. I have the South Beach diet, which isn't so bad. I also am surrounded by non-foodies who are HORRIFIED by the notion of poutine ("with BACON???"), and by people who don't get the whole idea of sheer delight in food. The answer, I suspect, is "RUN AWAY!" I could do that, too, and am considering it - to a place that actually has A (single) decent restaurant within 30 miles, but that's another story. The friends I have who DO adore good food stay slim by exercising like FIENDS. I love some of the answers given in this thread, but it seems to me that this may be a good thread to keep active. Dunno, just my opinion. What works for me? South Beach for as long as it takes walking hiking smoothies for breakfast Jack LaLanne's juicer - especially apple/ginger/carrot juice - YUM! but I don't use it nearly enough bring my own big salad to work for lunch, and fruit for a snack What works for you? Thanks in advance.

Looks and sounds delicious, Kim! Six days left on my lease, so I'm cleaning out the fridge ad pantry. Tandoori duck breasts with fresh maple-rhubarb chutney, buttered Texmati rice, green beans with almonds.

Thank you, Dougal, that's very helpful. Expensive, but helpful! Now I feel like I REALLY want the induction range for however long I'm in this kitchen. Considering that it's the most important single feature of the room, this is probably a good place to splurge. How's that for rationalization? Thanks again.

I agree about his recipes, and loved his show from the garden. I will watch. I'm sure it will be less juvenile than his Twitter messages, and that would be a good thing. I hope that it will focus on tasty food.

Wow, I was within days of going out and putting a glass cooktop in my house! I'm REALLY glad I looked here! Anyway, I am remodeling my house and getting ready to sell it in a few years. I want to replace the godawful OLD electric coil cooktop that has been there forever - and yes, I do have another very nice gas stove which I use almost exclusively. My mom lives with me and is 86. She's in good shape and independent - that's grand, and I'm very grateful. She cooks for herself when I'm away. Her vision is a little less than it used to be, and her idea of cleaning the stove and mine vary, shall we say. I'm not all that enthusisatic about glass cooktops, but it would be easy to clean, which would make home life a good deal more pleasant. I'm looking for one that will not detract from the resale value of the house, one that doesn't cost too much since this is a temporary fix. Thanks in advance for any advice!

I should elaborate. Deirdre Heekin is co-owner of the restaurant Pane e Salute in Woodstcok VT. This is a book about wine and bitters, life and travel. It's extremely well-writtn and worth reading. One of those few books that I really wanted to read straight through and resented having to stop mid-read, and at the same time, didn't want it to end.

I was "following" Jamie Oliver until the last update. Good grief. Please don't ask - if you need to check it out for yourself, feel free to do so. Love his cookbooks, love his food, but sometimes...is it grade 6 all over again?

Libation:A Bitter Alchemy by Deirdre Heekin

This is a great reason to do away with the whole business, as far as I'm concerned. It's a restaurant. My mouth is likely to be full a good percentage of the time, and it really isn't pleasant for anyone to feel compelled to make some sort of garbled response or gesture. I'd much rather be the one to ask for something if necessary. If I'm not eating, between courses or whatever, I certainly don't mind being asked if everything is OK.

HUH? Who is asking you to? This would be, e.g., the implication that one should forego $100 shoes in favor of $100 worth of organic food from the farmer's market. ← I'd say that there are plenty of reasons to think that buying $100 of organic food at a farmer's market is better - yes, there, I said it - BETTER - than spending $100 for a pair of shoes. I'd say that the $100 spent at the farmer's market is good for you, good for the local economy, good for the planet. Can you seriously say the same for a $100 pair of shoes?

I would certainly add Ming Tsai's Blue Ginger. When it opened, who was doing anything remotely like it? I still think that it is remarkable and very particular, very effective, fun and delicious. I think you're absolutely right about Norman van Aken and Tom Douglas, too.

Don't you just want to say "I'll sign the waiver, dammit, bring me a medium rare burger already!" Absurd!

I am so envious! That sounds absolutely crazy. Lobster poutine + lobster roll. Wow. The shrimp app last week was incredible. Lovely fresh, raw shrimp with microgreens and spicy sauces. Seafood appetizers are always amazing. Of course, the cromesquis were as divine as ever, and duck in a can is just wacky and wonderful. I made my first real sortie into the wine list with Denis' wise guidance, a glorious Sang des Cailloux. I need to start buying lottery tickets to prepare for my next visit! WAY too much fun!

We'll definitely check out the Rossmount. I've been a big fan of Beausoleils for quite a while. I enjoyed some wonderful Raspberry Points last week at Maestro SVP. Wow - I am really looking forward to this trip!

I have enjoyed their greens and their breakfast but, like Maggie, I no longer go because of their very unacceptable employment practices. I wonder if they realize that quite a few people who would otherwise enjoy some of their food absolutely won't darken their door because of their business practices? I wonder if they'd care?

I know it's not that egregious on the face of it - not an entirely unreasonable question - but I profoundly dislike "how's everything tasting?" Maybe it's just the construction...then again, maybe not.

Wonderful topic - thank you! Food from fiction that I'd like to sample: If we can count cinema (and it is from a book, after all) - full menu from Babette's Feast Everything in "Like Water for Chocolate" A fictional meal I would like to have attended: "Big Night" (with Tony Shaloub and Stanley Tucci, please!) A memorable work of fiction set in a restaurant or a café: I need to think about this. Food you've tried that didn't live up to the expectations raised by a fictional account: If it sounded dubious, I haven't tried it. Food from fiction that I couldn't help but want to try even though you knew you would hate it: Same answer as for the previous question An unappetizing food description from fiction: almost anything from Shakespeare anything in Edith Wharton - did she actually eat? A recipe you've tried or a meal I've recreated from fiction: Proust's inspiration about madeleines, and yes, they are wonderful. I'm addicted. Food I associate with reading: See above. also - red wine rice craker mix (only the better-quality stuff, though) crunchy - sweet - savory (preferably at the same time!) whatever's around and sound tasty at the moment My favourite food-focussed book/writer: J.R.R.Tolkien - not totally food-focused, but the hobbits' delight in food is very resonant for me. It doesn't fit with the catgories listed, but I need to at least see "The Redwall Cookbook" by Brain Jacques, as I'm a big fan of these books. The recipes sound...hobbitish.

I'm afraid I don't understand why being married to Salman Rushdie would imply that one has bad taste. Is he known for having especially bad taste? At any rate, I think it's a great commercial. Makes me hungry for a good burger with bacon and gooey stuff all over it. ← Thank you for your comment about Rushdie. I wondered if I was the only one who found that comment baffling in the extreme. Yes, I would like to know whether Rushdie is famed for bad taste in burgers or if the "bad taste" comment refers to something else entirely. ← I've heard several people comment that Rushdie was not (physically) attractive enough to be married to her and immediately thought the poster was referring to that, IOW that she has poor taste in men and hence in burgers. It's a silly idea, though-- everyone knows couples where one person is better looking than the other. ← Thank you. Silly indeed, and at best. I guess we won't know from Florida. And here we are...still talking about Ms Lakshmi, and not really about food. I'll stop now.

I couldn't agree more about "How to Eat Supper." It's a fine cookbook, and lately my most frequent source for an answer to the "OMG what's for dinner after work?" dilemma - but the appearance is truly dreadful. "As many typefaces onto a page as possible" is likely the dumbest idea I've EVER seen in publishing of any sort.

The Maine show was great - we have seen it several times. I'm surprised to see few people on eGullet who like Zimmern's show. We watched most of the "marathon" yesterday and enjoyed i thoroughly. His trip to an Indian spice farm was fascinating. I am NOT especially a fan of bizarre foods - would eat an insect only if truly desperate - but I like the show and AZ very much.

Are we watching the same Top Chef? The one I'm watching features such challenges as making meals out of convenience-store food. They have also developed dishes for TGI Friday's or one of those places. Anyway if she was really presenting herself as a "gourmand" in my understanding of the word, a thick greasy burger would be perfect. ← Yes, the true irony of this thread for me is that: 1) One of the reasons I enjoy Top Chef so much is the over-the-top shameless commercialism. I find it amusing. I can't say the words "Top Chef" without thinking of the phrase "Glad family of products" 2) Until this thread I didn't know anything about Padma beyond that she is on Top Chef. I was unaware she was married to Salmon Rushdie (which helps explain the bad taste when it comes to Hardee's), that she had authored any cookbooks, or had any other food shows. Doesn't mean I don't think she's a sellout. I do. But I recognize the fact everyone's got to pay the bills. I will also say this thread encouraged me to cure my own bacon (smoked it this morning) and I will be making a true bacon cheeseburger for dinner. Who knows, maybe I'll even eat it with my tits hanging out. ← This is the post to which I was referring- I believe that the other person who commented also referred to this. I find it interesting that Florida has chosen not to explain what she feels that Rushdie has to do with this discussion.

No, the post said that her "bad taste" was further evidenced by the fact that she is married to Rushdie.

I'm afraid I don't understand why being married to Salman Rushdie would imply that one has bad taste. Is he known for having especially bad taste? At any rate, I think it's a great commercial. Makes me hungry for a good burger with bacon and gooey stuff all over it. ← Thank you for your comment about Rushdie. I wondered if I was the only one who found that comment baffling in the extreme. Yes, I would like to know whether Rushdie is famed for bad taste in burgers or if the "bad taste" comment refers to something else entirely.