NeroW

What are we arguing about again?

Who was it that said: "My doctor tells me I must stop having meals for four. Unless there are three other people."

slkinsey, good call(s). I don't think I have thought enough about the different bits and pieces of this thread to be able to respond as intelligently as I'd like to. I'll leave intelligent response to the rest of you, and I look forward to it. I'm out.

At my best girlfriend's house for some sunning, toenail-painting, and talk. Cooked up about 2 lbs. of tasty bacon that her boyfriend brought home from Up North. Grilled a few thick slices of challah. As-good-as-you-can-get-them-here-now tomatoes. Lettuce. Homemade mayo. = B.L.T. And Bells Oberon. Naturally.

Well, I was just really excited to find the following in the house: a couple scrapes of Chavrie some nonfat cottage cheese and some baked Lays After about 5 Bells Oberon, this oughta do me just fine.

That, right there, is my kind of shit.

I certainly agree with mcdowell's entire post, but not necessarily with FG on this point. Most of the "hobbyists" in my classes dropped after the first two weeks. This was done with no stern warning from the Chefs or from the Suits. They couldn't cut it, and were intelligent enough to know that. The remaining few "hobbyists" in my class, those who don't have the fire under their asses (skipping lab, not taking notes during demos, and acting in general like jack-offs), are ostracized by the other students at their tables and scowled at when they say things like "dude, let me borrow your bench scraper for a second." I believe they will either shape up, or ship out. However, I do NOT believe, for one second, that it is up to the institution--be it the Cordon Bleu or any other--to weed these jackasses out. It is up to the jackass. Weed yourself, fool. And Lesley C, I mean no disrespect, but to say that an aspiring food writer would be ill-served by attending a professional cooking school . . .

I LOVE Chupa-Chups.

nerissa-- For one? I love those dinners for one. EDIT: do you buy your mache at Whole Foods?

Yes. You remember correctly. If I remember correctly, she was also the only woman in her class. In my class, I am one of two. Both of us amateurs, and neither of us with professional chef aspirations.

Miller Lite. In a can.

Today: the Brown, also known as coffee. Yesterday, for myself, and my Ex: 9 eggs, scrambled, with onion, tomato, poblanos, garlic, cheese--you know the drill. Hot tortillas. English muffins with my aunt's fantastic (fantastic) grape jam. Mimosas. Strawberries.

Our Chef at school recommended this book, but I haven't picked it up yet.

Paul, Excellent post.

I'm glad to see so many reading Nero Wolfe novels. Have laid aside "Backlash" and left the Bible book in Chicago. In serious vacation mode now, I am reading Ludlum's "The Bourne Identity," and today while stretching out in the sun with a V&O, I shall start James Beard's "Theory and Practice of Good Cooking."

I knew who he was. I was just . . . checking.

Clifton Chenier?

Excellent post. I love that: "a great opportunity to see what it won't be like when you get your first job." Last week, we figured out (on a 10-minute break) that it costs us $140 a day to go to school. As far as the subject of this thread, I still believe that amateurs have as much right to a culinary education, at LCB if they so choose, as anyone else. However, I am an amateur, myself.

Jinmyo, yes, I've eaten the white-trash potatoes that Fritz and I spoke of.

My old boss kept a fifth of Crown Royal in his desk drawer. When I worked, I kept condiment packets (ketchup and the like), root beer barrels, Altoids, and usually Oreo cookies and some sort of trail mix in mine.

Damn! Fritz beat me to the white trash potato recipe! They're great. I think they also have a can of cream of chicken soup in there.

A brilliant idea.

Oh, Adam. FritzBrenner just told us your mouse story as we sat on the terrace and drank wine, and I had to log on and read for myself. What a trip. As for us: Gazpacho with basil-oil croutons Grilled shrimp (v. simple--just lemon, EVOO, you all know the drill) Grilled baguettes with chevre And wine! Plonk. Plonk. Plonk. Good to cook at home again. And: good to drink wine while cooking.

Le Cordon Bleu is a for-profit institution. That's why.

Someone said something like this in one of my classes the other day, and it really pissed me off. Something along the lines of "oh, there should be a separate program for the people who don't want to be chefs, because they're just slow and they just take up space." If you are going to make that argument about "housewives and debutantes", then aren't the "food writers" and "food stylists" and "food scientists" (and all the other possible professions) taking up the space and energy of the school when professional chefs truly need that space completely? I turned right around and told that kid I wanted to be a food writer, not a chef, but that my knife skills were as good as anyone else's, and if he had a problem with ME taking up space in HIS kitchen, he could kiss my slow, non-professional-chef ass.