maggiethecat

What kinda peeler we talkin' here Steven, the harp style or the basic swivel? I use only the harp style and they peel everything better than the basic swivel: asparagus, carrots, potatoes and if I might project, cucumbers. Two bucks at Ikea and you could remove, very neatly, your epidermis. Janet, I'm lucky that I don't need to buy waxed cukes, with all the ethnic supermarkets around frequented by people who want plain cukes. And c.: I understand about the Asain salad thing, but I truly believe they would profit by using unwaxed, unpeeled cucumbers.

Here's the 6 oz. gorilla in the room: why have you peeled 30 cukes recently? I confess to being underwhelmed by cucumbers, and like the peel best. I leave it on, but score it lengthwise with a tiny French goudge bought years ago meant to be a mushroon fluter or lemon zester. (The slices look like little flowers.) Should I ever feel the need to peel the green peter, I'll do a head-to-head swivel peeler/knife competition, I promise. But I really want to know when cucumbers should be peeled.

I loved it. Peeping in my undies drawer for my blindfold, so I'll be appropriately attired if someone's nuts enough to take me there. And in fact, I'd leap at the chance.

I'm pretty sure Bourdain could do a dinner party.

If Paula D. has a mag, I can see no reason why Bourdain wouldn't want to emulate her, Oprah and Martha and launch his own. You'd buy it, right? I would. KC was written before Bourdain became a food media idol: can we not accept that his life has changed, his career has changed and he's older? He's published a cookbook and a compilation in the last couple of years -- I liked them both but it's hackish work. And that's OK! He's entitled to his middle-aged fame. And easy money. He hasn't yet sold out like his friend Batali and the Nascar lettuce, but if he could I hope he'd grab it. All those years working the line, he's knowledgeable and deserving. But VdF, he's never pretended to be pure. Please don't imagine that he is. Are any of us?

Susan: The One of Each is as pretty as I remember it, and go for it, Girl , with your splashes of lime. I'm tickled the kids liked it, even though you skipped one of the one of each --the celery. Without celery it can't truly be called Potage a la Mode de Kalamazoo because I remember that the Zoo is the celery capital of the country or the universe or something. But enough about soup: your epi is truly to die for.

Oh, get over it! Bourdain has mentioned, on this site, I believe, the concept of "Fame Maintenance." There is nothing, and I mean nothing, like a page in O Magazine to ensure Fame Maintenance. St. Anthony of Manhattan absolutely has that genuine voice, but he has to make a liviing. O Mag is read by others than hausfraus, and I object mightily to the dissing of hausfraus. And Bourdain (whom I've met in his charming real life self) is allowed to make a buck.

Whee! I wish I could see the cooking with flowers thing. Congrats, Chef Bowles

Snowy Dear, I'm guessing One of Each Soup is up for tomorrow, or in its fancyypants name: Potage a la mode de Kalamazoo.(Fancypants name given by me. I like it.) No clue about the Little Shop, but I know that the brighter of us will get the connection.

The short answer is that I (and many others here) enjoy reading thrillers in restaurant settings. This is part of the new Saturday Night Special, where we will occasionally present something just a little different.

Lamb chops, peas and mint sauce. A cherry tree in bloom is always a nice addition.

Lord love a duck, Pam, it's colder in the Peg than it is in Whitehorse! Looking at Environment Canada's map, Winnipeg is the coldest place in North America with a town name. I truly hope you have nowhere to go tomorrow. It makes the rest of us look like wimps, and it's cold enough here to do damage to monkey testicles and witch's bosoms! If Paul isn't in bed yet, and you're really worried about your battery, Susan, spread some newspaper somewhere and have Paul remove it from the car and bring it inside for the night. (It's gotta be larb for tomorrow, right?) Apple and rutaba soup -- Yum! I'll definitely be checking out that recipe, being both an apple and a rutabaga fan. Lovey, I don't make noodles nearly often enough, and with the KA pasta attachment I have no excuse. I am in awe of your hand-rolled, hand cut noodles -- Batali would give you big props.

Ah, Pam, plugging in your car, something every Canadian knows about. In my time we had parking meters that were plug-ins. Ladies, never could the elements have conspired better with the theme of your blog. Thank's for giving us flash-frozen prairie folk a blog that radiates real-life warmth. This blog is like a giant hearth. We had chicken pot pie tonight, classic winter comfort food! But we did poach chicken for the veloute -- that counts as soup making, right? I agree with lovey about undesirabilty of chicken breast for stock, but with chix breast at 88 cents a pound... I used the Jacques Pepin/Scott Peacock method for poached chicken that produces lovely chicken consomme and tender meat: bring the water, chicken, aromatics etc. to a boil, cover and turn off the heat for an hour. Works every time, especially for les poitrines de poulet.

I'm not a knife stud. I know perfectly well that two great (larger) knives are all any self-respecting cook needs. But me, I use a paring knife -- a sharp one! -- all the time. I love these little French guys with bright wooden handles. They are sharp. They are cheap. They're made by the same French company that makes my beloved Main Couronne pocket knife. Did I mention they were sharp? Here's a link to the Williams-Sonoma site, but Crate and Barrel and Sur la Table carry them too. They are 6-7 bucks, sharpen well and are very very pretty. these mauvais enfants

Thank you , Rachel -- that's very kind of you. I'd like to laud the efforts of phlox, our peerless proofreader and a young woman of great style and taste.

Butter. It needs to be butter. ← Pam, I agree in principle, but what the hey? Let's give Crisco a chance at least once.

U E: Cool news! BTW, Chicago is in the midwest for sher, but I don't think it merits all your question marks. Chicago is a foodie destination and I'm not surprised Joel figures he can find his market here.

Yes, shout, Susan! That bread is gorgeous, as are your son and your tea towels. In my experience bread that good is never really as good the next day, but I've found that a brown paper bag is the best protection. Pam, I'm glad that you confirmed my stock suspicions: you don't have to buy a whole chicken to get great stock -- old poultry odds and sods do the job just as well. Lovey: Take care of that cold -- I'm coming down with one myself.

Bless you! And I am in your camp, banana wise: don't like them much, and hate them speckled. But, as I said, you won't think "'Nanas!" when you taste the soup.

I do say! C'mon c'mon c'mon. (I was a doubter too.) You may say that you can't place the banana flavour... I don't know Maggie. ←

Soup, beautiful soup. What a fabulous thread for us Northerners. As it happens, we're having black bean soup from the freezer tonight topped with some leftover salsa from Taco Night on Saturday. In lieu of your gorgeous bread, I'm thawing some leftover pigs-in-blankies we made awhile back. My nomination for Recipe Gullet soup recipe is NeroW's One of Each Soup. It is mysterious and astonishing and the ingredients are easy. C'mon, you've never used a banana in soup before, have you? (You can't place the banana flavor, by the way. As I said, it's mysterious.) For you warm-weather folks, it's wonderful cold .

I think that one of his points was worth a half hour of reading: we should eat food our great-great grandmothers would recognize. True, my gggms wouldn't know a kiwi or a tuna steak, but I'm sure they'd recognize that they were fruit and fish. (They would also have had a box of Cheez Its in the pantry for good great-great grandchildren.)

I like the pricier blocks, like Black Diamond or Cabot Cheddar. Deli-sliced Swiss ain't Gruyere or Emmenthaler but it's fabulous on a lunchtime ham and cheese.

Diyee: Wow -- thanks for the links. I'm going to read them and try to figure out if they apply to the recipes my cookbook Authoress cited.

Briney plump oysters. Lemon, maybe. A grind of pepper, you bet . Crystal crackers for sure. Brown bread and butter. I will happily eat raw oysters with any of the sauces or twists you've mentioned -- in fact I'll whack your wrist while I reach for another. But I really prefer them dead plain: oysters have a distinctive sexy sea taste on the tongue that I relish, whether they're the smaller briny Canadian Maritime oysters or their mild, plump voluptuous Gulf sisters. They just taste different, and feel different. I love that.