maggiethecat

Suzanne: TC Boyle did write at least one food story...I heard it on"Stories on Stage" on NPR a couple fo years ago. A brilliant, funny, tender piece about a chef and a food critic. I would be grateful if anyone could tell me the title. And I am with you about Trillin. Funny, but never forced.

The Rev. Sydney Smith (Ralph Fiennes as backup!)

Can anyone come up with a name for the Writing Award? The Cooker Prize is the best I can come up with right now, and I know that it's Seriously Lame. I will spring for the prize myself. Knock yourselves out. Thank you all for your entries. It should come as a surprise to no one at eGullet that many of you seem to be channeling William Burroughs or Hunter Thompson. Or Shelley. And I'm a softie about deadlines. So, if you're moved, I'll adjust midnight to the furthest time zone. Write. I am serious about wanting your ideas for future writing assignments, sacred and profane. Shoot me a PM. It's National Poetry Month (April, being the cruelest of course, all that memory and desire...and Shakespeare's birthday falls within) I just realized that my topic line is the title of a great poem by Henry Reed. Check it out if you don't know it. Or just write a limerick...first line ends with artichoke? Poussin? Otto? Tourist?

Likewise the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, But I would never run. I'd just ask for extra ketchup!

"Zuleika Dobson", Max Beerbohm "Maigret Goes Home", Simenon "What's a Girl Gotta Do?" Sparkle Hayter "Spring Essence" Ho Xuan Huong

At breakfast and lunch too. Cloth napkins are like pretty underwear: a luxury so simple it's silly to go without.

heyjude: You get the credit. Emphasis on *why not.* Restrain not. 26,213

I agree. My very non-U Lancashire Granny frowned seriously on serviette. Didn't the Divine Miss. M. also forbid "mirror" ("glass" preferred) and stationery (letter paper?)

26,207. Of course the preschool cookbook counts! I'm still making cheese straws from the Ladies Guild of St. James, Trois-Rivieres cookbook, lo these many years later!

26,205 4.96 miles. I can see the El Taco Loco sign winking in the distance!

26, 112. Thanks, Arch. 4.94 miles.

26,108

Thanks for this, Craig. I'm way better armed when I head to the "Italy" section of Binny's.

I agree that I don't see any necessity for a non-stick surface on an angel food cake pan. And I would be a little worried that the crust might get too brown on a non-stick. BTW: I have never been to a resale shop -ever-t hat did not have like- new AF cake pans for fifty cents to a dollar.

Mamster: This resonated. Particularly that crushed up flour bag with just a leetle bit left after you'd emptied the rest into the canister. King Arthur sells good, big, cheap flour buckets.

Welcome, fireweed!. Sorry...no bonus points. Or we could all present our signed first editions! (I have one. But it is Tony Bourdain) We are at 26, 065

Kris, be careful about making promises you know you can't keep! That would be 26, 004.

Because I've had a few PMs on the subject, and because I know that there's nothing like that adrenaline rush to get inspiration flowing, here's the : DEADLINE: Midnight, Friday, April 11th. We won't be fussy if it's a couple of hours late.

The Daily Gullet Literary Competition Your opportunity to be Bud Trillin. Or M.F.K. Fisher. Or even just Steven Shaw Q: Where can you find more talented writers than at the Iowa Writer's Workshop, and more egos than at a celebrity chef cook-off? A: On eGullet.com, of course. I'm here to announce, on behalf of the site, the kickoff of yet another success-destined enterprise to ensure that The Daily Gullet is the first click in the morning for every gourmet, gourmand, connoisseur, epicure, and wannabe on the Web. So come one, come all: we hereby invite every eGullet member who has the writer's itch to dazzle us with brilliant writing on a topic determined by us. The three best entries will be featured in The Daily Gullet. The rest will be placed in a public archive on the message boards, unless they're really terrible, in which case they won't be published at all -- unless they're really, really terrible, in which case they might win. Think of the rewards: - An audience of millions. Think of it . . . millions! - Your stuff might catch the eyes of an agent, either literary or FBI Special. Hope is like poussin, a thing with feathers. - You'll get the opportunity to send the link to your piece to everyone who thought you'd never amount to much. And they'll think they were right. But we'll know they were wrong. - The glaze on this sticky bun? Our fearless leader, founder, and Big Guy, Jason Perlow, will provide an eGullet tee shirt to the first prize winner -- ideal attire for that Beard House dinner, at which you'll pick up your next award. I shall be the contest administrator-in-chief, and shall chair the three-person panel of judges. Janet Zimmerman (aka JAZ) and Dave Scantland (aka Dave the Cook) will round it out. The composition of the panel may shift occasionally. Steven Shaw (aka Fat Guy) will serve as the panel's spiritual leader and management consultant. The decision of the judges is very final -- so final there is no English word for this degree of finality. The top three entries will be published on a Monday, Wednesday, and Friday in ascending order of brilliance. We hope to make this a frequent feature, but we're leaving the timeframe fluid until we find out how many entries we can expect, and the amount of time that Janet, Dave and I need to anoint the next Tony Bourdain. Contest topics will vary from the sublime to the seriously silly. I will give a hint as to length, but the subject itself should easily provide its own guideline. So, fire up your Powerbook, or grab a pencil. Prepare to channel Ron Popeil. Our first topic is an amuse-gueule: Write a late-night TV ad for the not-yet-available-in-any-stores kitchen gadget of your dreams. Brief example: (Courtesy of Jinmyo)Talk fast. Four paragraphs should provide plenty of time to sell your gizmo to every insomniac eGulleteer. At the low, low price $29.95 (US) each, you'll be dining at El Bulli by May Day. How to do this? Just post your contest entry on this here thread, as a reply to this message. Your entry will go into a queue and be reviewed by the judges. To encourage originality and suspense, your entries will not be visible to any other users for the duration of the contest. At the end, we will release the queue into a publicly viewable archive and we'll publish the winners in The Daily Gullet. The fine print: - Make me your first contact for questions, comments, gripes, and brilliant ideas. Please do not post questions or comments about the competition here. This thread is exclusively for submissions. PM me with your questions. - Please send me your own tasting menu of possible contest topics. You'll get credit. - If your name appears in color on the Active Members list, it is honor enough. Finish that piece you promised Fat Guy last month. Colorized users may submit entries, for fun, and they will be added to the public archive -- but they can't win.

Welcome, Socrates...more please. You are the lucky spouse of Madame X. Straighten up and fly right!

Dear Briggie: The check is in the mail, Thank you, bro. I mean it. And using capital letters isn't hard. I'll show 'ya.

Sisyphus And I don't think there is a downside to freezing butter. Buy on sale. Freeze it.

Thanks, Britcook. Part of my reason for writing this was to get more information about The Man. Thanks for telling me about those BBC tapes. The erotic subtext is absent in the book. But it could certainly apply to...well...everyday life. And thanks for verifying that the stuff works.

Yes I have, many of them. But Sandra's points are valid. The philosophy and the method...the parsley and the violets...are what makes this book sing. There are many, many menus you can make using modern (and superior) substitutes that the poor Docteur would have fallen on like the scientist he was. He would use them, if he were alive. A real meal, a French meal, in ten minutes. It can be done better and more easily now than when de Pomiane wrote this book. But the majority of the recipes are French Classics, and they taste as good as they sound. Simple, attainable, worth adding to the repertiore.

My daughter used to live around the corner from Red Hen...nice little luxury to grab a loaf or two when we visited. It's been a couple of years, but I remember outstanding product and very nice people. Aurora: Thanks for the tip about Breadsmith.