danwalk

Perhaps a centrifuge would help. From the French Culinary Institute's Cooking Issues: According to the post, this is the first installment of a primer on centrifuges in the kitchen. Happy spinning!

Agreed, but I think what we have been seeing in this thread is that even people who agree with much of what she says are turned off by the way she says it. I would be in that camp. Promoting local, organic, and sustainable food should not be done while ignoring the reality in which the vast majority of the planet lives. Any true solution must wholeheartedly take into account that reality. Waters's discourse often floats far above reality, occasionally reaching heights of greatness and occasionally crashing down in a storm of condescension. I say this as an admirer of her many contributions to the culinary world.

I couldn't agree more. I too find the Eat Me piece much more interesting because it reflects this complexity. This concluding paragraph pretty much sums up my reading of the situation:

Laura Shapiro has a brief article on Gourmet.com on "The War on Alice Waters" with epigraphs from eGulleters Fat Guy and Rancho Gordo. It seems as though Shapiro has been reading this thread. A brief excerpt: Perhaps nothing new here but an interesting read nonetheless.

My wife and I spent a few days in Toledo two years ago and had a very good meal at La Abadía. Very good selection of reasonably priced regional cuisine with lots of game on the menu. If you are at all claustrophobic, do be careful about where you are seated. The very pretty cellar level with its low vaulted ceilings is quite tight. Have a wonderful trip. Dan

Well I guess one has to make a first eGullet post somewhere and for me it will be here. I am a somewhat serious (very serious, according to my friends; not very serious compared to many here) home cook who has been lurking for quite some time, in particular as I read and reread slkinsey's wonderful Understanding Stovetop Cookware course and the Q&A thread it has generated. I am in the process of slowly replacing a set of Calphalon Commercial cookware that I purchased on sale at Amazon a bunch of years back when I really didn't know any better. All in all, it was a relatively good purchase and I have used the pieces quite a lot over the years, until now, when they are starting to show bare aluminum. In reading the course, I have been convinced that different cooking tasks require different kinds of materials and deployment of those materials. In sum, one size (or one 9-piece All-Clad stainless set) does not necessarily fit all. As I started to replace my Calphalon one piece at a time with a mixture of Sitram Catering (1 sauce pan and sauté pan in the mail) from JB Prince, All-Clad practically stolen on eBay (1 fry pan), and perhaps a lovely 1.5 qt. Falk "try me" copper sauciére, it was very healthy to really think about what I need (and not what I want) in order to cook the way I want to cook. Of course I REALLY NEED the Falk sauciére. So, in keeping some pieces (my Calphalon Commercial 4 qt. chef's pan that holds a special place in my heart, my 5.5 qt. Le Creuset Dutch [oops, I mean French] oven, my slightly under 1 qt. made in China stainless All-Clad trial-piece sauce pan that is perfect for reheating soup), and buying some others, I will have assembled a perfect set--for me. After coming to these fascinating, nay earth-shattering (ok, maybe I'm exaggerating a bit), revelations, I wake up and find a mention of this on another forum. From Cook's Illustrated: While I appreciate the fact that All-Clad wasn't recommended in every case, I am dumbfounded by the arrogance of the introduction: "seven core pieces that every kitchen should have." Certainly this is not the worst list ever written, but a 10-inch nonstick sauté pan??? Needless to say, while I have had some great success with Cook's Illustrated recipes in the past, this latest attempt by a magazine to tell me what I absolutely must have in my kitchen proves to me once and for all that only I know what I actually need. Of course, such lists sell magazines. I prefer to read more nuanced ideas here. Thank you, everyone, especially slkinsey. I look forward to much more time here. Dan