mrsadm

I think you've pegged one critical reason, Wendy, and that is the expense. Another reason I believe Americans don't travel abroad much is that they are intimidated by all the strangeness. It may be old hat to many here to land at CDG and find our way around Paris, but that ain't the case for most Americans. My first trip to Paris was on business and I was scared to death. I bought books, I tried to get francs from a local bank, I studied maps. I think we tend to forget how scarey it can be going someplace REALLY FAR FAR away where most people don't speak English. After many years of travel experience I went on business to London with a young coworker. He was brave but uncomfortable on the trip. The first thing he wanted to do in London was eat at McDonald's. Fending off the strangeness was important to him. For dinner, our group went for pizza so he would feel comfortable and could still wear his jeans. I also think the self contained resorts like Cancun are successful in part because they insulate the guests from having to deal with the strange country.

Last week I dined at Topolobampo, Rick Bayless' upscale Chicago restaurant. The experience was fantastic. The food was superb and the atmosphere was very relaxed and quiet, and service was quite good. I acted like a totally crass tourist and took pictures of the food. I also asked our server if I could keep the menu as a souvenier and she offered to have Rick Bayless sign it. She also offered to see if he'd come out to meet us at our table - which he graciously did. A very nice experience all around! Me and my friend Ralph at the table: I had the Chef's tasting dinner with matched wines for each course. Sorry I forgot to photograph the first course but it was delicious. To start: Guacamole with cucumbers and jicama for dipping. First Course: "Corundas Rellenas" - classic Michoacan-style triangular tamales 2004 Cloudy Bay, Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, New Zealand Second Course: "Sopa de Flores" - creamy silky soup of local squash blossoms, serrano chiles and epazote, topped cappucchino-style with frothy milk; served with empanadas of squash blossoms and local artisanal chese. 2002 Belondrade y Lurton, Verdejo, Rueda, Spain Third Course: Langosta al Chilaca - Maine lobster in chilaca chile cream sauce 2001 Dom. Caillot, "Les Herbeux", Bourgogne, Mersault France Fourth Course: Carne en Mole Coloradito - adobo-marinated Coleman Natural beef in rich red-chile mole (ancho and guajillo) seasoned with sweet spices and thickened with sesame seeds; with crispy, queso anejo-flavored potatoes and braised greens. 2003 Isenhower, "Wild Alfalfa", syrah, Columbia Valley, Washington Fifth Course: Desert Sampler; 2003 Allendorf, "Winkeler Gutenberg" Eiswein, Rheingau, Germany My friend ordered an entree with Duck which he really enjoyed: Pato al Ajonjoli - sesame-crusted, pan roasted Gunthorp duck breast with sesame-thickened tomato-arbol sauce, Mexican greens (verdolages) and "lasagna" of tortillas, white beans and napales. I can't wait to return!

I have been cooking a bit in spite of the horrendous heat this year - generally only on the stove top or grill, however. I set up a fan to blow directly on me while I'm cooking - helps make it tolerable. Last night I made lamb chunks on skewers, marinated with rosemary and grilled. Another favorite summertime dish is ratatoule (sp?) with the very fresh tomatoes and eggplant, which I freeze for winter enjoyment. Can't wait until it rains though, we are in a drought here!

From the NY Times review: "It's as if the show's producers had forgotten that diets and A.A. and FitTV even exist." Here here! How utterly refreshing.

((( please don't throw any heavy objects ))) I know not everyone likes the "Cook's Illustrated" style of cooking magazine but I just bought their latest "Best Recipe". I admit I am a bit of a techie nerd and as such I do love reading and learning about the methods they went through to come up with their "best" recipes. I also just bought the braising book based on seeing so many compliments about it ... but won't use it until cooler fall weather.

I will be in Chicago the last week in August and very much wanted to have dinner at either Frontera or Topolobampo. (I'd love to go to Charlie Trotter's but I'm traveling with some beer and burger friends). Thanks for this thread so I have an up to date view of what to expect from Topolobampo. I have read some pretty horrible reviews on the net about Frontera so I will not try them.

Nullo, I think maybe you've been in the sun too long! As someone who grew up on eastern Long Island, with very fresh fish and vegetables, in the rural farm area, I think I can comment. When I grew up food was fantastic. All my uncles would go fishing, clamming and bring home some for us. Farm stands had vegetables and fruit picked that day. My aunt would go to a peach farm and get a bushel of bruised peaches to make that year's jam. My aunt knew how to hunt for wild mushrooms. We'd pick beach plums in the summer (on the beach of course). It was fantastic. Fast forward ... lived in Manhattan and California and Philadelphia ... and now I've realized my dream to live in a rural area again, complete with barn and horse. I'm in upstate New York among the dairy farms. The food choices are pretty poor here. The locals like to consider "spiedies" a local great food but it's just chicken or pork marinated with vinegar and spices. Good but nothing to write home about. With cows all around you'd think someone would try artisal cheeses but I haven't found anyone doing that yet (maybe me when I retire?). The other local speciality is venison in hunting season, which only home cooks have; I haven't seen any in the area restaurants. The onlly really good local cooking is in an old Italian neighborhood but they don't showcase any local ingredients. So I think generalizing about the cooking in a rural area is just not possible. And I've had some pretty atrocious food in some British pubs! Good luck with your dream, maybe you can find such a place!

I remember shopping a few years ago in one of the larger department stores (Galleries Lafayette? can't remember exactly) that had a large gourmet food department with foods from all over the world. They had a big display of El Paso products - canned beans, boxed taco shells, etc. I just had to laugh! If that's what Parisians think good Mexican food is, then no wonder they don't seek it out in restaurants.

Chris, will you be listing them on a web site, or somehow sharing them with others?

Question: for brand new copper pots, isn't it necessary to remove a coat of varnish that keeps the copper shiny? I just bought two new Mauviel pots and they came with no instructions as to what to do.

I agree with Mr. Parsons' point that the smell of the vines adds to that "tomato feeling". I love the smell, as it reminds me of "real" tomatoes (summertime).

One word: CHEESE. w/out the crackers for me. Even a small amount fills me up.

My favorite is "The Soprano's Cookbook".

So how does Rachel Ray prep greens? Sounds like I might want to do the same.

I always use pork shoulder for a southwestern style stew. The recipe comes from "The Feast of Santa Fe" which unfortunately is out of print now, but I love the book (maybe it's on ebay). Here's an approximation of the recipe: Cook 1 cup of black beans from scratch. Use a bit of the leftover bean cooking liquid in the food processor with a small amount of corn meal and as much dried red chile powder (hot or mild) as you like, to make a paste. Brown the pork chunks in some oil with onions and garlic. Add cinnamon, cumin and some honey to the pork, add the paste, cook a bit; then add the remaining bean cooking liquid with some water to cover the stew. Cook for 1/2 hour or so. Add the cooked beans and cook for another 1/2 hour or so. You'll need to degrease the stew unless you cut off a lot of the fat before cooking. This is so good my husband asks for it over and over.

I would like to invite any of you over my house this week to cook! I have had a rotten cold all this week so my cooking was pretty limited. Tuesday - Steak with frozen onion rings Wednesday - Hamburger with tater tots Thursday - Campbell's tomato soup Friday - Freezer meals to the rescue - Penne with Bolognese sauce This evening - Tomato soup again??? You get the picture (sniff, sniff) ....

Call a caterer, for Pete's sake! Or go to your local supermarket - many have fully prepared meals that can be picked up the day before. Order for 15-16 people and save the leftovers if needed. Have some hot dogs for the little kids. Call by tomorrow or you may be too late!

Vogue ... for Jeffrey Steingarten's columns.

It might be the real thing. Here in the US I found at a housewares outlet store, a copper skillet stamped "made in France". It was very heavy with a cast iron handle. It was stainless lined, thank goodness (I don't want to deal with tin). If the interior is shinier than stainless steel cookware, than they might be tin-lined. The price was about half going retail for French copper.

I have ordered from ethnicgrocer.com a few times and the products arrived promptly, no problems.

The photo reproduction in the compilation is not as good the original editions--the illustrations are photo-reduced from printed copies of the original books. ← The photo's in this book are HORRIBLE. I am sorry I spent money on this book. It is in my garage now.

Thanks to Mr. slkinsey, I am now an edchu-kated cookware person. Yesterday I went to a local housewares discount place where you never know what they'll have (closeout stuff I think). It is a guilty pleasure to drop in often and see what they have. If you don't know brands and prices, though, it could be a gamble. I found a Demeyere saucepan, about 3 quarts in size, with a glass lid. I have no idea what line it is or what material the bottom is. Checking various web sites of cookware sellers, the saucepans all have metal lids; although I did find a site that sold optional glass lids for these pans. And of course the staff in this place doesn't know anything about the merchandise. So I'm not sure what I have but it sure looks nice and I look forward to using it based on all the good things I've read about Demeyere. Best news, it was only $20! Thanks to e-gullet I could recognize the bargain and move away from the expensive sets of all-clad in all the catalogs.

aaaaaggggghhhh! You have stolen my "signature dish"! and on a public forum no less! ← Sorry GG, I didn't know you did Tater Tots first! Let's see. My second best specialty is either frozen pizza or Mrs. Smith's Onion Rings. Must decide.........

(sigh.......) whatever happened to the women's movement?

Tater Tots???