IndyRob

Judith Griggs has finally done an interview. Not as probing as I would have liked, but it's something.

Is smoking an essential/traditional part of jerk? I was thinking maybe sous vide. Then again, I was thinking brining...Oh, I don't know. Thanks for the rice prompt though. I think that's making it in in some form.

My wife just came back from a cruise with her girlfriends in the carribean. Luckily, there were no engine fire issues and they didn't need to be towed into port (although the weather was not exactly great throughout). But, I got some stuff. She brought me some 'jerk spice' and some 'herb pepper blend' (which smells like oregano and black pepper). (To be frank, I suspect that we may have gotten some tourist spice, but I'm going to choose to be optimistic) There seems to be just enough of the jerk spice to rub down a turkey. It seems clear that we should do a Carribean themed Thanksgiving. But I don't have any experience with this jerk thing. Advice?

Insanity. I mean, while I agree that in theory one could use higher-quality ingredients and get a superior product, all the artisinal PB cups I've had sucked WAY worse than a Reese's. They are a thing unto themselves, and I think the bland, waxy milk chocolate Rees's use is part of their unique appeal. I concur with all points but the waxy part. I do have some waxy clones right now. Reese's chocolate seems on a par with most mass produced chocolate candy. My only complaint with them is in the portion size. It's easy to eat them in two bites. That would be cool for an amuse, but not for something in the candy bar space. But they do have some cup inspired bars that I do like. I've often thought about making my own. I'm pretty sure that brown sugar is an element in the peanut butter equation. Along with salt.

Marco Pierre White might have some free time. Might have to be on pay-per-view though.

The OP did say in a subsequent post that they had tried to deal with it that night and had not been successfull. This being the new Maître d'... "(who we mistook for a regular waiter as he acted in all ways just like a regular waiter) didn’t even wish her a happy birthday." Service was a problem and they identified the new Maître d' as a particular problem. So they complained to...the new Maître d'. But then there's the CRM (Client Relationship Management/computerized relationship mockup) thing. The Maître d' should have known about the wife's birthday. I've just had a birthday and was surprised by two letters from two restaurants (one I've been to, and one I have not) offering me free birthday entrees. My reaction was "WTF are you doing with my personal information?" I'll go way out on a limb here and suggest that perhaps the new Maître d' was accustomed to old school personal service. Wherein you build a personal relationship with people by talking to them. Not from notes posted in a computer. I suspect that I could be very well off base here, but I am feeling that this could have been handled far less publicly to better effect. Unless being public was the goal.

Wondering how prevalant this is, I've been doing some shallow investigation. I grab a unique looking sentance from deep within the one of the infringed articles and google it looking for exact matches. I found quite a few pretty quickly. Sometimes it does look like fair use. In other cases there is attribution but no indication that is is used with permission. But it seems like in around half the cases, it seemed a willful (or naive) infringement. In one case, a slideshow was converted to a static web page and used both the text and images. Interestingly, most blog posts on this site were in another language although this one was posted in English. It occurred to me that the devious thing to do would be to target non-english sites (say, the French goosto.fr) and do a google translation and clean up the grammar. I won't post examples since there could be cases where permission was granted but it isn't made known. But if anyone has a relevant blog and wants to follow the trail(s) to the end, it might be a useful way to contribute to the larger issue (and get some hits in the process). I'm reminded of a story I saw a few months ago (posted in the cocktail copyright thread I think). It was about a newspaper that had a standing relationship with a legal/IP firm. The latter would monitor the web for infringement of the newspaper's articles. When it found one, it would buy the rights to the article and then go sue the infringer (or probably in most cases, settle). At the time, this arrangement seemed a little bit chilling. But I'm sure they would bring up a case such as this in their defense. The newspaper avoids involvement in a lawsuit and is immediately compensated for the infringement. The legal firm does what it does. I must admit that I'm warming to the arrangement in this context. [ETA after reading the intervening posts]Although I found some recipes copied with some very specific instructions, notes, or other borderline content, I quickly eliminated these and focused on things like health advice articles. It was still pretty easy to find some.

I think it's already fully spun up. The stories seem to have become more about the reaction (internet justice) than the original offense. There's not much to write about on the latter if one side isn't talking. But one article I read (I can't find it now. It may have been the NPR one) tryed to imagine how all the effects could be possibly be undone if it were discovered that the facts were different than they seem. In a sense, I'd like to see what would happen if this turned out to be the case. But it doesn't seem likely. A good account of one blogger's investigation.

Exactly. I could add several paragraphs to support it, but they would just subtract from its direct eloquence.

This is what I find interesting in the general response. I've yet to find a comment supporting the magazine's position - despite going to sites where anti-copyright sentiment runs high. The 'doing it for profit' angle seems to completely nullify those sentiments. I don't think I've ever seen such a clear case of everyone - who understands what was infringed (many instances of the "recipes can't be copyrighted" arguments) - actually agreeing.

Cooks Source Magazine editor Judith Griggs apparently responded to a complaint of copyright infringement by claiming that everything on the web is in the public domain. It doesn't sound like a case of a recipe being lifted - for which there may be a defense - but an article. She was also apparently quite condescending in her response. [update] The reaction is threatening to become a bigger story. 'The crowd' is now using the Cook's Source Facebook page to finger other articles. These appear to include content from the Food Network, WebMD and NPR. But much of the reaction stretches to a dangerous extreme.

I wouldn't say that I was happy to see Heather go, but it did seem inevitable - especially once her team lost. Just being a home cook I've made good mousses and ganaches without a fail. Not all of my crusts have been been up there. That's the sort of thing that should make a good pastry chef shine. And she went her own way with it. The fact that it failed in not one, but two dishes means that, IMHO, this was one of the least controversial Top Chef eliminations ever.

I don't think the blog post was a troll. Actually, I don't think that the three poor reviews of our vet were trolls. I think they each genuinely felt that there were one or more issues. I do think that people who feel wronged are more likely to post. But I think my main problem is that, unlike word of mouth, a blog post is so much more permanent. It's also more of a standalone thing than a post at a review site. I don't think this means that a blogger is obligated to conform to some particular set of ideals, but I do think they should try to make sure that their posts have a purpose in the larger sense of things. An e-mail, or a post in an eG thread for the restaurant, seems like a more appropriate means of expression for a "went there tonight and they seemed off their game" sentiment. But I also understand that the level of financial commitment also takes this to a sort of different level. But that's all the more reason to try to rectify the problem within the system. I do agree that if Marcus just never presses that call button, none of this would be known to most of us. It was a BIG mistake. But there are becoming so many instances of, say, Facebook posts turning out badly (some even resulting in suicides), that I think we should be careful about how/what we're posting publicly and why.

I have a real concern here that arises out of an unrelated incident. We really love our veterinarian. I won't go into why, but trust me, he has proven his worth consistantly over the years. So one day I found a site where people rate and review businesses. So out of curiousity I looked up our vet. He had three glowing reviews (from long time clients) of the sort we would give him. But also three harsh criticisms from people who were there just once or twice. I feel that those could be chalked up to, say, a bad day, a misunderstanding, or even unrealistic expectations. But these reviews will be there forever and people looking at that page will get the impression that only 50% of his clients are satisfied. Having been there, as you say, six times previously, your expectations were well set and not met. But it appears that this is your third post in seven visits (plus, at least, this thread on eG). I, for one, would not like to be blogged about every other time a customer visited. Eventually, there's going to be a negative post. If the restaurant was truly going down the tube, I think that would be fair game. But a single experience does not demonstrate this. It appears that this was a night when the top people were not there. And perhaps because of this they may been having an even worse night than you were having. Ettiquete-wise, I think the thing to do would have been to send Marcus a note describing what was wrong with your experience so that he could work on it. If it was about money for value, perhaps he could have fixed that with a full or partial refund. If it was just a bad night, I don't see how anyone is served by posting this experience publicly. This latest post will probably attract more eyeballs than your previous positive posts combined. I don't agree with how Marcus handled this situation, but can understand his frustration.

Based on the posts here I think I'll give it another chance. But I agree - the franchise has been damaged by the Food Network as per usual. Michael Symon's 'Cook Like an Iron Chef' is a recipe show of nearly zero worth. And why is Kat Cora even involved? IMHO, The Food Network's cliquey nature is abundantly on display in The Next Food Network Star, but it's only thinly disguised in the Iron Chef America franchise.

I tend to deflect compliments, but I'm like that in general. I'm not one to crave being the center of attention and I think that's part of what caused me to choose cooking as a hobby. I can secure myself in the kitchen and let the product be the focus afterwards. But compliments can be tricky things sometimes. My wife will compliment anything that's not clearly botched (and even then she'll look for a silver lining). My son will let me have it straight. I appreciate that and am much more comfortable in my reaction with him. But beyond that inner circle, I'm not sure what level to ascribe any given compliment. So it's usually a generic "Thanks, I was worried that X might not've worked, but I wish Y had worked as I'd expected." Or, the more generic "Well I'm glad you liked it, thanks."

My only problem was that the judgement of black and white became entirely subjective in the end. As I was doing the play at home version in my head, I threw out a few things as 'not black enough'. Things that actually would've turned out to be acceptable. For the quickfire, I think cooking with a single pot is a valid challenge. I think that regardless of specialty, a cook should be able to come up with something good without all the gizmos. On 'Masters' I think Hubert Keller made good use of a dormroom bathtub. Having to cook in a deficient environment is certainly something that could be encountered in real life. It's great to be able to create great things when you have everything you want, but that rarely happens in real life. To me, it's far more impressive when someone can indeed make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

How about a chocolate flavored cultured cream (creme fraiche)? I've been thinking about mixing cocoa (or chocolate) and sugar with cream, adding a mesophillic culture (or some buttermilk). Like making cultured butter but stopping before the churning step. My thought was to pour a layer on top of a room-temperature-stable pie and let it set before serving or refrigerating. It seems to me that it could be done thicker and might be able to be heated (I imagine this would have to be done gently). My concern is whether the sugar or chocolate might prevent the bacteria from working - or worse, make them do something unwanted or even dangerous. I haven't been able to find anything on the interwebs about this.

From my comfort food file - Chicken a la King. My mom's version was instant rice - cooked and put on a plate in a pile - into which you make a well and dump a can of chicken a la king into and microwave. It was actually a good bachelor meal. But of course, you can take the time to do it properly and it's worth it. For maximum whiteness you could use oyster mushrooms and use small bits of roasted read pepper as a navigation aid on a white plate (but not so small that a piece might get stuck in the new pearly whites.)

I'm a pizza maker and a purist. But that thing is just so cleverly stupid that I just can't bring myself to hate it. Although, IMHO, it needs a Japanese style fan type mechanism on the bottom to adjust for varying slicing angles.

From searching, it appears that this show has been mentioned, but hasn't had its own thread. But this show is really growing on me. Each week, four amateur cooks from a city in the UK host a dinner party for each other over four days. and on each occasion, the three diners rate the host on a scale of 1-10 with the winner scoring 1,000 pounds. Haute cuisine? No. Just try not to be in the bottom three. Narrator Dave Lamb gives the snarky play by play of each unjustified sleight, boast, failure, or outright disaster. The comedy value is quite good. Especially in the episode we got to see last night where the cockiest host got the worst score ever (so far, I presume).

I assume the pumpkin purée mentioned is actually the cooked, mashed carrots?

Well, reading eGullet before breakfast, I decided to try to clear my preconceptions and try to give this toasted cheese concept a fair shot. Meh. Too dry, but I think it comes down to this equation... (?) + BUTTER = More betterer On the other end of the spectrum is the Nuked Cheese Sandwich. Kraft Singles between slices of bread and microwaved to 10 seconds or so. The gummy/gooey texture is hilarious if you're, like, 9 years old (or are in some sort of mind altered state approximating that age).

Bravo. I think what we have been shown is that Seth had a lot of stress coming into the competition. If you've always acted appropriately to every stressful situation in your life, please feel free to throw the first stone. I know I can't. But I can't agree with this. This was a quickfire. The sort of challenge that has previously been about convenience store food - or even vending machine food. Contestants, please do bitch about it (and I will along with you). But address the challenge. The show is not called Top Ice Cream. Your challenge is to take an ice cream and make it as good as it can be. I don't have a problem with that. And I'm back to agreeing with you. In fact I made an earlier post that perhaps presaged this, but I hope that the remaining chefs at some point will be challenged to cook for a Seth's Mom benefit. Seth will have known whether or not this happened, and if he does, I hope he won't respond due to the confidentiality thing. But I think it would be (/have been) a classy move for Bravo.

Ok, I'm an amateur home cook, so let me ask this... Is the typical Top Chef wacky curve ball formula simply not suited to a pastry competition? This week it seems like we had two people eliminated in different ways for the same basic reason; "These constraints suck, and are not fun, and they're not what I want to do. I want to execute my vision." Is the TC chaos (in which line cooks generally seem more comfortable) necessary for a pastry version of the show? Or will it kill it?