NeroW

Cheese

Thanks, loufood. I have had black rice but apparently not Forbidden Rice. I plan to scope out the Moto building this weekend. eG Chicago: shall we save our pennies and try to arrange an evening?

Not food books, but earlier this week I finished Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand (what a story!) and now I am reading Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder. This is a fantastic book if you have not read it, I highly recommend it.

You can't have any. I'm going to get some! If it's forbidden, then by God, I wants it!

Did the old standby grab-the-hot-pan-handle today. Twice. And the old standby steam-burn-your-hand-while-checking-the-braise.

My roommate has one called "Dinner Doctor" by that lady who wrote "Cake Mix Doctor." It's pretty silly--canned tuna and pasta, etc., the "why would you need a recipe for that?" kind of recipes. She also has one called "Cooking For the Lord," which made me laugh the first time I saw it, but it actually has some really good recipes in it for grain dishes, and breads.

Congratulations, Hobbes and Inventolux! What's forbidden rice?

Puppy drum? OK, I give up. What is a puppy drum?

Park it on a bar stool as soon as humanly possible.

Well, Mr. Bourdain "whets my appetite" all right, but I won't be joining that shite.

Loaves and fishes?

This has me puzzled. One of my chefs at school insists that they have Sichuan peppercorns here in storage . . . and that they can order more. I will talk to him again tomorrow.

my first day on my first job as a bonafied chef I had to make a batch of baking powder biscuits. I will never forget those damn biscuits as long as I live. I always check and recheck and double check the powder jar for the soda jar. That was a bad day. I did that last semester. I was studend-teaching a Baking 101 class. While preparing the Chef's Devil's Food Cake demo, I accidentally measured out baking powder instead of baking soda. She used me as an example.

I love sample day. At any store. I have a few friends who make a total habit of WF sample day. That's what they eat, all day. I usually don't dip. But I love it when they have olives out!

Torakris-- I've made this recipe also--last year at around this time. It was sort of a farewell dinner for a boy I'd been dating briefly (while on an mainly amicable, mainly mutual hiatus from my longtime boyfriend). By the time the dinner was over, the vinegar in the food was not the only vinegar in the room, if you know what I'm saying. But I liked the chicken very much.

Crocks of french onion soup with Gruyere croutons floating on top. I was patient when I caramelized the onions the day before, so the soup had a very mellow, sweet taste. An hour later, some lovely filet mignons seared in clarified butter, then finished to a rosy-rare in the oven. Thick-cut fries with minced raw garlic and parsley. A very tarragon-y, very vinegar-y, very shallot-y bearnaise sauce--the way I like it. On my fork, I assembled bites of fry, a small piece of steak, and a dip of sauce. My favorite . Creme brulee for dessert. I'd forgotten any vanilla in the recipe but I had infused the cream with orange peel, so they turned out to have a nice flavor.

I love soup. I have a big pot of French Onion going right now--not one of my favorites, but it's for my dad's girlfriend, she loves it. I do a soup that's basically a puree of apple and parsnip, dressed up with heavy whipped cream and a touch of Calvados (in the cream). I throw it under the salamander to brown the cream just a bit before serving. I think soup is one of the most satisfying things to cook. Especially in January.

Dude, that is an awesome picture. Thanks for posting it.

This morning, at 6 AM, I was thinking of this thread, and I stopped at McD's ( ) and had a hash brown, an orange juice, and a bacon egg and cheese bagel sandwich. I needed it.

Five Pabst Blue Ribbon's. And a banana.

How could you saute in water? It would evaporate, or your pan is not hot enough.

I thought that too, I even considered turning it in for a grade, bits and all, then realized that was just . . . shitty.

Aaah! I just realized . . . I've done that too! More than once. And one time I did it, and staggered backwards choking from the stove, and bumped into a dude behind me who was carrying a cutting board loaded with dirty mixing bowls, tongs, his French knife, etc. Luckily no one was hurt.

That sucks! I did that once, only I wasn't confused, just stupid. I melted it into my creme anglaise or pastry cream or something. There were lots of little plastic bits. The Chef took off 10 points for something called "Sanitation." I have since purchased a Le Creuset spatula that is supposed to conduct heat up to like 1,000 degrees or something.

I first did a double take when I read "pineapple". Now it all sounds interesting and I'm beginning to salivate thinking of the taste combinations in that dish. As for the anchovies, how much? The first time I made it, I used 2 fillets. The second time I used 4 small ones.