NeroW

I love madelines! We use a recipe like loufood's but we brown the butter.

You drank it!

I always thought it was a time-saving thing.

It may just be a question of exposure. You're always hearing about how "much wine is marked up, blah blah blah, they mark up 400% at a restaurant," etc. But you don't really hear that much about how food is marked up. And hardly anyone ever thinks about the fact that the markup on the booze helps keep the menu prices reasonable. There are a few places in my hometown that have ridiculously-priced wine lists, and like nessa, I won't order wine from them . . . but, maybe unlike nessa, that pretty much brings my dining there to a screeching halt! Craig I would be interested to hear what you think about drinking wine without food, and also, what you drink.

And I am one of them.

Bet yer mixing 'em too much. Every time I've had pancakes that sucked – that were too thin and rubbery – it was because someone just couldn't resist mixing until the batter was perfectly smooth. Go light. Leave it lumpy. Maybe try letting the batter stand. EDIT: to say Flapjack beat me to it!

Yeah, right! We do the same thing, but we usually drink the whole bottle. In fact, I would venture to say that 80% of the time when I am buying a bottle of wine, it is meant to stand alone. This is because I don't often cook at home. Lately I've been splurging a bit on my wine purchases, i.e., spending more than $5.99, sometimes up to $20 which is a lot for me. We've had a few really good bottles lately--one was a Gewurtz and one was a Chateauneuf-du-Pape, both drank without food, both really enjoyed. I will try and track down more info about these bottles (i.e. go back to that store) and post them because I'm not yet in the habit of keeping close track. This pattern of purchasing--buying bottles not meant to "go" with foods and spending a little more money on them--has coincided with a shift in my wine-drinking preferences in general as far as which varietals I prefer and also as far as the level of "sweetness" or "dryness." I think my tastes are changing. I thank eG for showing me some light. I don't think you're a lazy drinker. That's a funny phrase! With me, I have to be honest and account for the half-bottle of wine or so I put away *while* I'm cooking at home. I'm interested in that La Vis Chardonnay--did you enjoy it?

In: Different fats: goose, duck, laaaaaard, even clarified butter Purees with chunks still in them, not just baby-food smoothness Old-school desserts like fruit and frangipane tarts, St. Honores, etc. Pairing beer with food Pork raised to be tasty and not "the other white meat" Classical sauces Rumaki Out: That light-green, tough lettuce that's like chewing on hair--I can't think of the name right now but it is often used to "top" a salad "Root vegetable medley" Plate presentation so intricate that you have to whirl your plate around in a few circles before you can figure out how to attack the food Broths and gastriques Squeeze bottle designs--the squeeze bottle is handy, but I'm tired of doing those squiggles Improper use of menu terminology: tagine, confit, pate vs. terrine, etc.

Excellent post.

Me too.

I SUCK at browning things that are crusted in cornmeal.

Word. I suck at phyllo dough, but even more than that, I SUCK at making puff pastry.

I will never bake bread from an untested recipe and not weigh the dough before I put it in the pans.

You know, it's possible this has nothing to do with anything, and it's also possible I've said this on this thread before, but: I love Bennigan's chicken strips. Love them.

I am really bad at making wontons and rolling spring rolls and anything like that.

Should have figured pie crust.

Anybody (besides me) have *that one thing* they just always screw up? Never happy with it? I do: macaroons.

What? Where can you get it?

eunny jang-- I find it easiest to cook the omelet about 3/4 of the way through and then finish it--unfilled--under a broiler. Then I fill it and invert it on to the plate, tipping and turning the pan to achieve the shape. Still not perfect, but getting better.

Huh? I suppose they thought it looked like something dinosaurs might eat. My aunt said they feel the same about artichokes.

Saturday: Bone-in leg of lamb, seared in bacon fat , then covered in compound butter (fennel seed and some other things I forget) and roasted, served with a red wine reduction that had some of the compound butter mounted in at the end--this is my new favorite way to prepare a leg of lamb Gratineed potatoes Julienned fennel bulb cooked "hobo style " (probably known as en papillote on these boards ) with more bacon fat, lardons, lemon zest, fennel seed, and juniper berries Baguette And steamed asparagus, for my cousins, who looked at the fennel bulbs and screamed "eeeew! That looks like dinosaur food!" For 12 EDIT: also, I forgot, the lemon curd and marscapone cake from the front of Bon Appetit. Was a nice, lemony cake. Will keep handy.

Aw shucks, what a beautiful kitchen.

I love blue-cheese-olive martinis but Katie, I would *hate* to be that sod in the kitchen piping cheese into the olives. beans: I have had a garbage-tini but asked them to 86 the twists. I do like the combo of olive and onion. You're right though--the oil is unsightly. But I get the feeling you care A LOT more about that kind of cocktail-thing than I do. Is the blue-cheese-olive truly a Midwestern thing? Has there been a previous thread on theme martinis? You know: the green ones made of Midori, with golf tees floating in them? Martini bars and such? Me, I'm vodka. Up. Olive. Repeat.

Thanks! In my International Cuisine class for our final project (regional American cuisines), my group is doing Hawaiian food, so I was damn happy to see this thread. I want it to be as authentic as possible (at least my component of it) and I drew the desserts and breads category. Let the research begin!

Food Zealot (or others)-- Haupia. Would you have a recipe?