maggiethecat

artisan02: Welcome to eGullet, and we're honored that you made your debut on this thread. Yours is indeed a unique situation, and I honor your resolve in dragging those 150 cookbooks with you from move to move. I understanf it too -- if you must make a home for yourself in a new place on a regular basis, pack what counts, what you love, what makes it home. As you said, your "comfort and joy." Yes! I am scratching myself right now, as a matter of fact. It's like shoes: many a woman knows she doesn't actually need that cute new sandal when she already has thirteen pairs, but it doesn't prevent her from wanting, or buying those cute little jobbies with the ankle straps and the Louis heels. But a new cookbook can open a new world, and I've never owned a pair of shoes that powerful!63,893.

Amazing, but we're so glad you all are here. Welcome. 62, 893. 11.91 miles. (Another twenty and I'll be at Trio!)

62,323. Welcome to the thread, folks.

Indeed she does! I received "The Good Cookie" just in time for last December's holiday baking. Thanks again, Maggie! De rien, chere GG.

Good question, sharp-eyed reader (and writer!) In a perfect world, third place is announced on Monday, second on Wednesday and first of Friday. Occasionally the folks who can actually drive the content to the front page of TDG are -- gasp! -- busy taking care of their lives away from eGullet, so a joint announcement is posted in the interests of saving time. I think we're back in three- announcements - the suspense-is-unbearable mode. Now everyone get their smartypants selves over to Round Twenty, and deck the halls with boughs of pretzels! (It's not just for the glory of the thing, you know. I mail the Big Winner a pretty decent prize!)

Don't miss it. A great, great Vietnamese place -- every strip mall in America should have a restaurant this good.

Welcome, iguana, and send us updates. 61,761.

Exorcise her cooking tendencies, but never of course, your Mom. God, hippy food was awful! Weed helped---it made Kraft Mac and Cheese orgasmic, but it never, ever did a thing for brown rice. Shudder. (There is a Fried Chicken thread out there. Really, soak in buttermilk, toss in seasoned flour, etc. Bob's your uncle.)

Dear Susan, when I saw this thread drift to the top again, I felt as if I were opening my very own cabin --I was excited. Thanks for giving all of us a little piece of Minnesota heaven. And this from a woman whose idea of a summer vacation is a sidewalk and an aperitif in a cafe in an Old City ! I might yet learn to clean my own trout. Or walleye. If Diana can, I can.

61.665.

61,661. Welcome indeed, Shannon_Elise. I'm with Alex.Seth, rant on, my friend. As a matter of fact, I agree with you on several points. But I found at least four really, really excellent recipes in this book, and that made it worth the thirty-five bucks.

61585, SWAGing Brad's booksleves. (Seth, why are you regretting Bread Bible? I don't like her pizza dough recipe, but some others are simply amazing. Try the foccaccia -- the dough is improbably loose and runny, buy oh my! the results.)

I was going to suggest this, but you beat me to it! Click here for the recipe. It's from the inimitable Jaymes, and it's a wonder. (Makes a huge quantity, too.)

Why the hell do I lived where I do when I could be living and cooking in France? The cheese, the bread -- I was already seething with jealousy. But when I saw those fraises I almost wept. This qualifies as porn, Lucy. Um, don't stop! (You don't have to adopt me. I'm perfectly willing to sleep with the cat and wash your dishes. And my French is pretty good, albeit with a Quebecoise accent.)

The joy of having real live eGullet buddies, who will eat anything, talk about the food, and teach me about stuff I'm unfamiliar with! Before that, I was in the wilderness. A girlfriend who hates cheese (No allergy or anything, but that pear and gorgonzola salad sure fell flat!) Brother and SIL (Caterers!) who will only eat two legged animals. And the charge of foisting "Weird Food" on an unsuspecting populace -- Geez, how weird are pierogi or artichokes?

60,975. Good gracious, fellow addicts, you have been busy indeed. And welcome to the thread, new eGullet members. Now I'm going to go back and carefully read every post. I saw at least ten titles I really, really have the hots for. Hmmm. I've been a Good Girl for waaay too long.

Would Diana care to hold a master class in gutting and scaling? I'd pay money for that.

OK, in honor of National Pecan Day, I've set the table with cunning little placecard holders involving pecans in the shell and a three hours with an Xacto knife. (Martha and I still talk.) The guests are drunk enough to make rude remarks involving the word "nuts" and are flipping forkfuls of whipped cream at each other. Purists! They prefer their pecan pie plain. I'm afraid to ask these folks to dinner on the 16th --Eggs Benedict Day. On the other hand, I bet Hollandaise is a great hair conditioner. Wiping whipped cream from my decolletage, I urge you to party on here.

Pizza Margherita, if you have some tomatoes and mozzarella lolling about in the fridge.

You'd darn well better!

Food writing and dustjackets need a healthy jolt of frivolity! If Hesser was writing for anyone but the Times I doubt that most readers would be anything but charmed.

This occurred to me an hour or so ago; when I came back to post , I found that you'd beaten me to it. I'm not sure at all that I'd enjoy the Mr. Latte pieces as a collection, and your objections make much more sense to me from that perspective. For example, I adored "Ab/Fab" when I watched a half-hour episode once every seven days. This winter I took out a video compilation to cheer me up on a gloomy February Saturday, and found that it was, yes, overload -- Patsy and Eddie began to grate. (Oh, I am so with you about Laurie Anderson!)

Terrific, thought-provoking post, mags. I haven't read The Cook and the Gardener, nor the collected Mr. Latte pieces, but I'll help write the dissenting opinion with Ruth. I thoroughly enjoyed the Tad and Amanda pieces when they ran in the Times mag, I thought the drawings were sweet and yes, winsome, and I cared not a whit that the writer hung out all her insecurities to dry on a great big clothesline. So Amanda isn't yet up there with St. Laurie and St. Mary Frances as a confessional food writer, or just plain writer -- she's young yet. (Note: I too, in a tiny way, know what it's like to get hammered by people who don't like your writing because they think you're weird, sick or silly. Oh dear, the emails I got from absolute strangers after the Breastfeeding piece ran on TDG. )

While I agree that the question is often posed harmlessly, or even helpfully, it still catches me by surprise. I think that the waitron should wait for the customer to say:"Keep the change," rather than ask if it's his.

I know this is eGullet blasphemy -- but... for Easter, (and maybe anytime) the delicate flavour of good lamb shouldn't be interfered with by anything more sultry and smoky than, oh, rosemary or mint. Smoke, while a wonderful thing, overpowers lamb. (I'll stand in the corner.)