NeroW

This is more of a house plant question: I've got a monster aloe plant in my apartment. How do I get the juice out without hurting it?

Every day on the train, I see that billboard of the woman doing push-ups and staring at herself in the mirror. If I ever did push-ups, I'd be thinking about beer, too. P.S. Fritz: age before beauty, goat cheese.

Damn, those are some ugly sumb****es.

Word.

haide, I was in your position 9 months ago when I first seriously considered starting at a culinary school. I just started a month ago and I am very glad I did. It involved moving to a new city and completely altering my life and my worldview. The school I attend is the Cooking Hospitality Institute of Chicago, which has a Cordon Bleu cirriculum. It's a 2-year program, and after that many students go on to the Cordon Bleu in Paris or London (where I'm going). There is an emphasis also on the business side of it--purchasing, cost control, etc. loufood is right when she says there is abuse. Chefs aren't the type to mince words. You will know very quickly if you have what it takes to be hollered at and made fun of in front of your peers. I generally think it's funny, so I'm all set when it comes to that aspect of it. It's expensive. It's very physically demanding. It's time-consuming--once I was the proud owner of a flourishing social life, now I am in bed by 9 PM almost every night. Almost half of my class dropped out by the end of the second week. You have to be prepared to make it your life. That's really all the advice I can offer. If you don't think you're prepared to do that, I would run for the hills. Good luck.

Something that I buy at Pepe's across the street from my house. EDIT: good, I see Fritz has covered my ass, yet again. Carry on.

Illegal! No wait. I mean, controlled. What was the question?

Where the hell were guys like you when I was in high school?

Inappropriate! That's rich, coming from you. Then, in your opinion, what is appropriate? And just out of curiousity, since I'm the one who brought this dish up on this thread in the first place (if my memory serves me), what component of this dish do you find so objectionable? Is it the pine itself? Or the ingredients in combination?

Beautiful. Gotta love it. Last night: Ribeyes, set in a dish for a bit with some EVOO, creamed garlic, S & P, you know the drill Grilled the steaks, served them over beds of arugula Roasted red potatoes, of which I will never get enough This was all after closing time. I think we sat down to eat at 3:30 AM. Jinmyo, that crostini with the marrow sounds incredible. And Malawry! That birthday dinner is just about exactly how I'd eat every night, if I had my druthers.

Mmm. Semi-hydroponically.

What is? And explain its sucessful evolution from it's predecesor, and how that differs from the current movement in food. CWS-- Come on. Let's hear it. I, for one, would enjoy reading your response to Chef Achatz's post.

That happened to me on Saturday. I was reading an e-mail and drinking a 40-ounce of Old Style. I laughed and sprayed the beer all over the computer. My friend rushed in with the Windex, etc., to mop it up, while I continued to laugh.

Smell is most certainly essential to taste, I think we all have to agree on that. Smell is also most effective, for me, in conjuring memories. MatthewB, great post.

Well, I just tried to take pictures of it now, and I got yelled at to wait until the cleaning ladies come by again. Cleaning ladies? Sacre Bleu! I have one of those too. If by "cleaning lady" you mean "roommate."

OF course we met! But this thread was started in January..we were at awbrigs March 15 (the day after my birthday so I remember these kinds of things.) I think Hopleaf has Hacker Pschoor on tap--one of my favorites. Duh, thanks nerissa. guajolote, Quenchers is right. That place is great! I was reading about the Cubs pub crawl when I was last there, uh, yesterday. Will perhaps try it when my dad is in town for the games. Where exactly is Hopleaf?

What? You guys eat while browsing the Gullet? This strange phenomenon is beyond my experience.

Spencer: I believe it was in the same article discussed here, the reporter asked Chef Achatz what he likes to eat at home, and he said (most charmingly): "anything my girlfriend makes." Now. What have you got to fling at that?

I'm in Chicago. It DOES look lovely. What's a preservation order? Will it keep the landlord from her paving frenzy?

I'm a little slow on the uptake here. I inherited a garden from my apartment's prior inhabitant. It's taken me a while just to get the damn weeds under control (I hope). I just put my seeds in yesterday. Am I doomed? There's not enough sun for tomatoes. I planted: sugar snap and green arrow peas, kohlrabi, spinach, several kinds of lettuces, sweet corn, bush beans, jalapeno peppers, sweet basil, and dill. I will be getting some more herbs in the ground this week. It's a great city garden, with morning glories, mint bushes, and lavender. Also the tulips and daffodil-type plants, chrysanthemums, and wildflowers. My landlord wants to pave over it and make more parking spaces. We're going to riot over this, if it comes down to it. EDIT: we have apple and plum trees as well. When do they bear fruit?

Brunoise! Got to love it. Those little bits are so cute. This sounds like a delicious tuna salad. Last night a Cordon Bleu recipe for Basque-style chicken. Your basic, good cold-spring-day food. Browned a whole chicken, sauteed onion (julienne), red and green bell peppers (julienne), some garlic, and about a pound of quartered tomatoes in the chicken fat, white wine, etc. Let the chicken finish cooking in the veggies. Topped with fried proscuitto (batonnet) and its juices. Roasted taters. Much too much wine. And the company was fantastic

Uh, Maggie and Nerissa, you DID meet each other. Disco party. I love Delerium Tremens. What a fantastic name for a beer! Bell's Oberon is my favorite beer. The bar across the street from my apartment has it on tap. I haven't been to Hopleaf, but I will. I'm sure.

Convection burners.

I have the NewCity article taped to the wall above my stove. Was that the article where he talked about a dish meant to evoke being in a forest, with ramps, wild mushrooms, frog's legs, mushroom foam, and evergreen vapor? Holy cats, Batman.

No, can't top it, but last night for dinner we had: 1. A few bites leftover from 2 little cakes: chocolate tiramisu mousse and New York style cheesecake; 2. Chunks of Gruyere and white cheddar cheese with those butterfly crackers (from the Cracker Trio collection); 3. Yukon Gold Onion and Garlic chips, Yukon Gold Salt and Vinegar chips, and Kettle Chips Honey Dijon chips, dipped into Philadelphia Cream Cheese; 4. "Big Momma" Merlot; 5. Philadelphia Cream Cheese White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake bars; 6. Leftover chicken and basil curry with toasted coconut and basmati rice, eaten cold, straight from the Tupperware. We ate the chips course sitting on the kitchen floor. I have many, many more such as these.