snowangel

This model has been discontinued, and the new models look crappy and cheap. Although I prefer the french press or melita, on a weekday morning, as I scramble to get husband and three kids out the door, with lunch bags, backpacks with homework, everyone dutifully coated/hatte/mittened and kisses, an automatic fills the bill. So two days ago, our ancient automatic just died. So, like a good girl, I research on e-gullet, and note Dave's recommendation. So, off to Target I trot, only to find out that the new Phillips are substandard, do not mention wattage, and look like they will not make it a year. The manager is nearby, and suggests I go to the clearance area; she mentions that they are getting ready for a major remodelling, and they have tons of stuff from the storeroom deeply discounted. There, sitting on a shelf, are two of the old model Phillips, one with glass carafe, one with thermal. They are marked down to -- get this -- $8.97. Needless to say, I bought both. Must have been a reward for cleaning out the deep freeze. And, they are definitely a much higher performer than our old automatic.

Get the Pepin. Get the Pepin. Get the Pepin. Trust me. Get the Pepin. When my mother-in-law asked Diana what she wanted for Christmas, she said "a cooking book. But not a recipe book." She received the Pepin, and it is wonderful. I received Culinary Artistry. Another keeper.

As we drive back from our cabin in the summer on Sunday afternoons, we tune into KAXE (a fabulous PBS station based out of Grand Rapids, MN), and listen to The Splendid Table. For quite a while, the host and I believe Al Schierman did a thing with a call-in based on this idea. There was an assumption that the caller had some basics (garlic, onions, EVOO, etc.), plus a few odd things in the fridge. They would concoct a meal out of said off things. We (especially Diana) loved this segment. Sadly, they no longer have this segment, so we tune into the blues station from Univ. Mn Duluth (equally outstanding).

I thought this was a college requirement! That or using the table Paul had -- he and his buddies had stolen manhole covers, welded legs on them, spraypainted them, and voila! tables (or bottle openers). Problem with the latter was that after one had opened a few too many, there was too much broken glass and beer on the floor. My sister and I shared a car (1970 orange bug) during college, and we always made sure we had a "church key" in the glove box, along with limes and salt. When my dad asked about the salt (a disposable Mortons shaker), she lamely said "in case it is icy."

Have you given any consideration to a place in your yard to put your feet up and enjoy your garden, have a drink, eat a meal? A few years ago, a wicked storm knocked over the big tree in our back yard. Planting another tree was out of the question because of power lines, and had we chosen another site in our backyard (we are inner city; back yard not large), it would have provided a ton of shade for our neighbors and my sunny perennial bed. So, we opted to build a pergola and patio. Not a deck. My pergola is absolutely wonderful. THe patio is absolutely wonderful. Most wonderful of all is the wisteria I planted 3-4 years ago, and which should completely cover the top of the pergola this year, providing a nice amount of shade. I have hung lights (believe it or not, icicle lights look wonderful dancing in and amongst the wisteria). We have a table, a glider/love seat thingie. It is a focal point, and has garnered much attention from my neighbors. I keep it swept of snow early in winter, and many mornings (provided temps are in the teens) will find me bundled up with cup of coffee in hand, enjoying my space. And, I can't begin to recount the number of meals we've eaten under our pergola (bugs permitting), nor the time spent just watching stuff grow (main activity). Plus, my kids are pretty pleased that they are the only kids they know that know what a pergola is.

What cut of meat do you use for your burgers? How do you chop/grind it?

You neglected to write how long you have been married...

A bazillion years ago, a friend and I took a candy making class. They told us that they use cane, not beet, sugar to make candy because when you cook (boil) beet sugar, it boils up much higher in the pan than cane sugar. More likely to boil over. Why is this? Is this even true?

When I mentioned to Paul last night that the freezer was today's project, his words were "remember, it's not a safety deposit box."

No long lost treasures (at least none like the top of our wedding cake; click on link in one of the posts I made on this thread earlier as it is a good story) because we'd had to make room in freezer for frozen stuff during kitchen remodel. But, I did uncover a few more unrecognizables. The trash bin is full. If it weren't below zero, my trash would be a wretching experience, I'm sure. Why do we save some of the crap we do? For that matter, why do we buy some of the crap we do?

I'm feeling virtuous. I took advantage of the sub-zero temps here today and hauled everything out of the freezer, onto the back stoop and defrosted. It is clean and tidy, with everything well organized (we'll see how long that lasts).

Perhaps we're just less energetic, and chaos has less appeal.

Ditto. Diana (age 12) actually asked the question; your reply has been printed and added to her cooking notebook. She and I really appreciate the detailed, yet simple, explainations.

You'd be right at home in my kitchen!

Why do some recipes for baked goods call for adding dry and liquid ingredients alternately (like 1/3 the dry, then 1/3 the liquid, repeat, repeat) and some call for all liquids at once and then all drys?

Diana (age 12) and I cook and clean up. Paul keeps Peter (7) and Heidi (8) out of our way. It's a great time for Diana and I to create together, and I've noticed that all sorts of "stuff comes out" from her (about what's going on with school, her head, etc.). It's wonderful, because she can be so creative in the kitchen, and a good worker, to boot...not to mention spending time together AND getting something done! We work like a well-oiled machine. On the occasion that she cooks solo, I clean up as thanks. Paul (husband) does awesome breakfasts (ably assisted by Peter, a masterful sausage link and bacon turner), but they leave the kitchen a disaster. It's an exercise in how much crap can we leave on the counter and how many more dishes can we use than is necessary.

Could you please give us a little bit of your background -- how you came to be a concierge, what makes you a great concierge, how you establish yourself as a concierge, as (as Cabby also asked) how you keep track of details, just what a day at work involves, how often you are called when you are not on duty, on the basis what information do you make recommendations (for restaurants, activities, places to see, theatre, etc.) to guests?

Late night snack last night: bacon, romaine and hummus sandwich on toasted levain from Acme.

I am reminded of a lunch we would have once a year when I was growing up in Thailand. On our annual New Year's trip to Phuket for scuba diving, we spent one night in Hua Hin. We always ate at the same place...a little hole in the wall (actually on a corner), that had a very limited menu. We always had crab fried rice. The crabs were jumping in the basket. Fresh, fresh, fresh. The ingredients (I watched them cook): leftover rice, crab (chunks at least as big as your thumb), scallions, eggs, Tiparo fish sauce. Garnishes: cilantro (whole leaves) and lime wedges. One dish, complex but without confusion. The memory of that meal far eclipses that of the lunch we had at French Laundry last year. I don't know how much the later cost, but the former used to be 10 baht ($.50) per plate. And, with the former, memorable without taking home a menu or writing down exactly what you had. Yes, sometimes, and for some of us, less is more.

The only decent prepared salsa is Herdez. Period. Jaymes would heartily agree with me.

Without question, green beans. I love going to the farmer's market in the summer and buying them from the Hmong ladies -- they seem to pick them a little earlier than the American's, or else they are growing a different variety. When I had a veg garden, I grew tons of pole beans and would just stand and pick and eat. My kids current fav prepration is to steam, add lemon juice and kosher salt. We can eat two pounds like this, and if there are any leftovers, they are wonderful cold, eaten while standing in front of the fridge with the door open. Tomatoes (home-grown, in August) are a close second. Oh, but maybe it's fresh sweet corn (again in August). My ideal meal in August is sweet corn, tomatoes and green beans. Steak is merely a garnish to a meal like this.

Yes. DOn't know where the recipe came from; it's been on a card in my recipe box for eons. Yes, Thomas does a good job, but the kids really like making them. And no, it is not spring like here today. But it was yesterday -- 55 degrees, so I took the opportunity to put screw hooks in my pergola and hang new lights. It looks wonderful. We want and need snow. None so far this season.

English muffins, to be slathered with that really, really good butter from Hope, MN, and homemade apricot jam. While the muffins are raising, brownies or cookies. Keep that oven going!

I knew there was a reason I have always done the cornstarch in marinade thing for Chinese food (yes, my answer, in retrospect was rather silly; what I meant is that I have always done it that way because that's how I was taught by a little old Chinese lady who spoke no English). I quote from Barbara Tropp's Modern Art of Chinese Cooking: "Used in the right measure, it performs at least three important jobs in a Chinese kitchen. One, it binds the liquid ingredients of a marinade to each other and to the meat, poultry, or fish being marinated. Two, it protects fragile food against the heat of the pan or the oil, often creating a crispy coating around it. Third (and lease used in my own kitchen), cornstarch thickens a sauce so that it clings lightly to the food, a feat it can achieve agreeably enough if it us used in moderate amounts."

Why the cornstarch?