Melissa

Had a wonderful meal with my daughters at La V a couple of weeks ago. Fantastic pate and cheese plates to start. Next time I go I am just having those two dishes as my meal. Great cocktail (some sort of West Indian Sour) and a great glass of white wine. Escargot was... escargot, with a dusting of curry seasoning. Mains were good but not knock outs. Dessert was fantastic (Profiteroles with Earl Grey Ice Cream). Service was very good and the atmosphere elegant and chic. Will be back.

It appears the best chef may have won. It was the one I was rooting for, so I'm happy :-)

I have been watching it. Avery seems pretty good but Nookie might swindle her out of a win. Not the worst cooking show I've seen recently, but it could be better.

I second the recommendation for The Monterey. I was there a week ago and had several excellent off menu specials. Il Sogna is also very good. However, if you can't find good food in Austin you may not be happy with anything in San Antonio.

My favorite.. “If your guests are afraid of butter, just use cream.” ― Julia Child

Top Chef Masters Naomi Pomeroy's Celery Velouté with Salsa Verde is awesome. You can find the recipe on the Bravo website.

I've made two recipes out of this book, the red beans and rice and BBQ shrimp (which aren't really BBQ'd). I would defined make both again. Sorry but no pictures Can't wait to try more..

mkayahara I am with you as well. I am resisting getting on a tangent about the bottles designed with a big "footprint". Don't they realize there are limitations to our booze storage capacity?

I didn't realize Pastis was so close to Absinthe. I have that on hand and will just use that instead. Thanks

My daughters and a family friend finally made it to Luke San Antonio Friday night. Luke San Antonio is Chef John Besh's first restaurant outside of Louisiana. Cliff Notes: I loved it. I can't wait to go back. Details: I made a reservation on Open Table fairly late Friday afternoon. San Antonio was packed over Spring Break and I was concerned we wouldn't get a table but it was no problem. In hindsight given the food scene in San Antonio this shouldn't have been surprising. We arrived just after 6pm. The greeting by the hostess was so-so and she proceeded to seat us right in next to the elevator (Luke is attached to the Embassy Suites hotel and the restaurant has an elevator that takes guests down to the riverwalk lower level). My youngest daughter, who is 9, spied an empty table for 4 overlooking the river, so we inquired if that table was available. After a quick check the hostess accommodated us there. The tables are small, reminiscent of a Parisian bistro, though I explained to my daughter that in Paris they would have had double, if not triple the tables crammed in the same space. The waiter was friendly and attentive, checking in on us frequently. He picked up on my queues that we weren't there to get in and out as quickly as possible and he adjusted accordingly. He volunteered some children's entrees not on the menu for my youngest daughter, as well as yummy St.Arnold's root beer for the youngsters. The food: The first thing that arrived was french bread wrapped in a white towel (these same towels also serve as napkins). It had a thin crackly crust and is probably best for sopping up sauce. My daughter and friend started with the shrimp and sausage gumbo.. it was excellent. I had the "shrimp in a cup" with is tempura battered shrimp with a spicy mayonnaise served in a paper lined silver cup. The level of flavor and spiciness was great - the shrimp wasn't as crisp as I would have liked, probably partially because they were stacked in the cup on top of each other. My daughter and I shared the 12oz ribeye with fries and Bearnaise sauce. Given she's a simple eater I got double the Bearnaise sauce all to myself. I was in heaven.. it was excellent. The steak was good and the fries were divine.. they rivaled Thomas Keller's fries at Bouchon as the best I've had. My oldest daughter had the Luke Burger, which was two kinds of beef ground in house daily (Brisket and, I think, Top Sirloin) served with bacon and caramelized onions. It was also excellent. My friend had the shrimp creole. It was good but not as spicy as either of us expected. The not so good: My wine glass wasn't clean. It had leftover lipstick on it. The wine glasses are very cheap restaurant grade. Not up to par with the rest of the decor or quality. Dessert: Creme Brulee was not up to my standards. It was somewhat grainy and I suspect it may have had some flour in it. Didn't have that smooth, silky texture. The top was not "bruleed" prior to serving, but at some point earlier in the day. No "tink tink" sound when tapped with a spoon. I would definitely pass on this in the future. The bread pudding was OK... the top was dense and crusty.. the middle and bottom had a softer texture which appealed more to me. The sauce, which I can't remember the details of, maybe Bourbon caramel, was very good. All in all, a few little misses, but overall, very good and I will return.

Absinthe. Not sure what brand, but the local Specs wanted $60 for a 750ml bottle. I want it for making Corpse Reviver #2, but I only need a small amount. On the hunt for a smaller bottle, if such an animal exists.

I shop at Central Market (Austin's upscale chain) and I would describe my experience Sunday with some arugula the checker rang up wrong just as you did.

I just ran across this review today and was curious if anyone has been?

Kim, I wouldn't want you to maim anyone. I am more than happy to share what I did. I followed the Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cake with Cream Cheese and Butterfinger Frosting recipe at Epicurious I made the following changes: For the filling I substituted Milk Chocolate (instead of the dark) No changes to the cake layers For the frosting, I didn't use that recipe, and instead used Ina Garten's Peanut Butter Icing I assemble the cake one day before serving.. it seemed to get better for an additional few days (at least). Served at near room temperature. Garnished with Peanut Butter Cups rather than butterfingers. Enjoy!

This is going to happen if your eggs are too fresh. For Easter, I get eggs at least three weeks in advance and have them at room temp for 24 hours before cooking and I turn the cartons on first one side for a few hours and then on the other side, to center the yolk. My hard-boiled eggs turn out perfect "almost" every time, unless I fail to follow this routine. Thanks. I can't seem to figure out how to keep eggs in the house long enough for them to get old.

Peeling hard boiled eggs.. you know the batch that it seems almost impossible to separate the shell from the cooked white? They look like the surface of the moon or worse, when finished.

I made a peanut butter cake for a small Valentine's party we had. The layers were made with peanut butter batter. The filling was milk chocolate peanut butter. The frosting also peanut butter. It turned out wonderfully moist and nutty. I would make it again.

Order a fried or poached egg? They can't powder those.. can they?

Its the sauce and pasta cooked together... not just the sauce.

Slow Cooker Spaghetti I have to admit I've never tried it. It just sounds terrible.

I think I've got that exact same set... the name inside is the same too Loved that series! I haven't read the series since I was a child but crisp pig tail and maple syrup candy come to mind.

I'm in the plain white camp as well.

Thanks so much for posting this. EatYourBooks sounds fantastic - exactly what I've been looking for! I'll also check out MacGourmet. Have you ever found any cookbooks you own are not in the EatYourBooks database?

I have a mixture of online prints of recipes, recipes friends and family have given me (in paper form) and ones I've cut out of magazines. I don't keep the entire magazines anymore (with the exception of Fine Cooking). I have them organized into binders, by category, using sheet protectors. I am up to 4 binders now. I've thought about moving them online but I am not ready to invest the time into scanning them (at least the ones from friends and family).. yet. That day is coming. I have moved all my hand written French Culinary school recipes/notes online. I scanned them and store the files locally and have a backup in the cloud. These are my most cherished recipes and I'd be devastated if I lost them.

I just tried a Brandy Alexander for the first time. I tend to steer clear of cocktails with heavy cream. I really enjoyed it and can't believe I didn't try it before today!