NeroW

Yeah, Taft. That's who I was going to say but I couldn't remember his name. Thanks. Now I can say "William H. Taft" instead of "that-one-dude-who-got-stuck-in-the-tub."

I have made pate a choux successfully in a stand mixer--I've never heard of having to add the eggs into a still-warm bowl (thus necessitating a hand mixer). When I make pate a choux I put the roux into a cold bowl, and then I let the stand mixer run to cool the roux further for a minute or two before I add the eggs. What is the reason to use a warm bowl when making a pate a choux or a choux-like pastry? Does it work better? On this topic, I like a hand mixer when I'm too lazy to haul out the Big Guns.

Can you imagine what kind of budget the White House's chef must have? Holy shit!

Gordon-- OK. I must know. Not about the Dom Perignon, as on this point I have (sadly) very little basis palate-wise for comparision/imagination, but-- Stilton Ice Cream in a Prosciutto cone? What'd you do? Haven't been cooking much outside of school lately. Last night we had the first of the asparagus, just steamed, with a big-ass side of salmon, grilled, all the while brushed with garlic-butter, and some lemon-y, garlic-y roasted potatoes. Made a rouille to eat with the fish, if we felt like it. At first I wanted to sear the fish on the rangetop so that I could eat the yummy skin, but my mom wasn't too crazy about the idea of me smoking up her house on a Sunday evening, or about the fish skin, to be honest. Dessert was Edy's chocolate-chip cookie-dough ice cream. Tonight will probably have pasta and sauce (canned )

Don't worry! I post to this thread when all I have is Cheerios and beer.

Argh! How could I have forgotten "Tastes like Buuuuurning?" And the carnival-food machine.

I had Mr. Beef on Monday. I have firmly placed myself on the sweet-and-hot side. Their fries still suck. But you gotta' love the atmosphere. A little off-topic: has anyone (i.e. Sweet Willie) ever eaten at a little joint on Chicago and Pulaski called Jimmy's? I schlepped down there the other day for a hot dog. I loved the way they did it--onions, relish, mustard--no ketchup! And all bundled up with a bunch of steaming hot and delicious fries. Heaven. Now--if I can just figure out why they were serving all their food in Burger King wrappers, I'd be happy.

Dude. I love PBR. In fact, it might be my PBR consumption alone that is responsible for this upswing in numbers.

And on the "Food Network Isn't that Bad" thread, you said you were "slightly interested" in the Chocolate show! Something is definitely wrong! I'm going to go outside and make sure the sun isn't being eclipsed.

I remember that one. What the hell was that thing made of? beans: there are so many good drinking references in the Simpsons they might even be un-listable! So let's list them, starting with the Classic: "Mmm. Beer." EDIT: to say that I have never seen the episode where Homer is a restaurant critic.

Jinmyo! You listed the Chocolate show as something you were "slightly interested" in! Are you feeling OK?

I never pay more than $5 for a cocktail, trademarked or no. I make other people buy the more-than-$5 cocktails for me. Hey, this seems as good a place as any to ask--isn't the Funky Cold Medina a trademarked cocktail? Or is it just a song? What's the story on that one?

Just wanted to dig this one up again.

Coffee (I went all out and ground my own beans and used filtered water AND used the French Press-- ) and I'm about to have some leftover pizza or corned beef from the fridge. Can't decide which.

We brought a beautiful coffee-table book of Ansel Adams landscape photographs as a hostess gift for a very refined French woman living in Brittany--we agonized over the gift, not certain what would be appropriate. The hostess laughed and proceeded to hand us a beautiful coffee-table book of black-and-white photographs of the French coastline. Then she said that she'd deliberated over our gift for hours and was terrified to give us the "wrong" thing. It completely broke the ice, and we were all able to relax a bit and enjoy her beautiful house and Champagne and petit fours and all manner of yummy little bites. I think it is touching that both cultures are so afraid of somehow offending the other by giving them the "wrong" gift. I hope that you find the "right" one and have a good visit!

I "corn" my own but it's not really corning per se. I just boil it for hours.

I'm afraid to eat most of the things I see.

torakris-- Could you elaborate a bit on the deep-fried-then-simmered technique?

Dude, I'll eat almost anything, anywhere. I eat boxed macaroni all the time. So maybe I shouldn't post to this thread. Oh wait. I won't eat fake butter products. I guess that's one.

When my boyfriend and I broke up (10 or so months later he came back, like they all do ), I used the sudden infusion of spare time as an excuse to cook my ass off. After the first few weeks of eating not much more than Xanax, wine, and tortilla chips, I got in the kitchen and stayed there. I worked on my pizzas, my pie crusts, my souffles, my sauces. I again started plodding my way through Julia Child. It was exhilarating to suddenly be able to indulge what I KNEW was my true love, with no thought to what my ex would have liked to eat, or what time I promised him I'd have dinner on the fucking table, know what I'm sayin'? It was MY game and MY rules. Even if no one ate what I was cooking, it didn't matter. What mattered was that I was cooking. Then, a few months after the break-up, I enrolled in culinary school. I'd wanted to do it for so long, but didn't see how I could and still keep up a relationship with him. And I kept on going--picking one item and cranking it out ad nauseum. It wasn't so that I could eat, it was so that I could stay away from the phone, the computer, the bars I knew he would be at. Plus, there were plenty of single men (and women) around town who were more than happy to share in the fruits of my kitchen labor. Looking back on this mostly very dark time, I know it was the fevered cooking and following my put-off dream that got me through it. It wasn't so much that I was eating, but that I was producing, and producing without him.

Friday: Vodka martini. Then half of an excellent bottle of Chateauneuf-du-Pape that I forgot to make note of. Hey, there were 3 olives in the martini. Saturday: Some things that my boyfriend had in his house: A couple rib-eyes (quite good, started on the stove and finished in the oven like everything I've cooked lately), some frozen curly fries , some baby 'bella caps cooked in the beef fat and then broiled with butter, parsley and garlic, a salad (he had salad greens ) with feta crumbles and a vinaigrette. I think he brought home a Malbec. Sunday: Tuna, seared, served over a bed of fresh angel hair pasta in a cream sauce with ginger, cilantro, and shiitakes, which I think was ripped off from Bon Appetit a few years back and has undergone many tweakings since. The sauce is fabulous. And a Cadbury Egg for dessert.

Mmm. Fudgy Bourbon Brownies. Must make them now.

I had this happen to me but I am positive that it was one because I took a good look. I bit down onto it while enjoying a delicious fruit tart at a favorite NYC café. You are a better person than me. I would have demanded to know from whence it came. Come to think of it, how would a tooth get in someone's food? Don't adults stop losing their teeth at some point? I wonder about that to this day. So do I.

A big-ass pork chop

Yeah. He's cute. EYE CANDY DINNER: David Bowie Bruce Lee Jude Law Sting Sumner SERIOUS DISCUSSION DINNER: David Byrne Charles Darwin C.S. Lewis Thomas Merton SIT-AROUND-AT-THE-TABLE-DRINKING-WHISKY-AFTER-DINNER-DINNER Clint Eastwood Frank Zappa Bob Dylan Julia Child (does she drink whisky?)