mrsadm

I made this for Christmas and it was wonderful. The recipe is from Cordon Bleu http://www.ibiblio.org/expo/restaurant/menu17/magrets.html Magrets de Canard aux Poires

Yes ... I read recently that after she starting using this knife on her show, that sales of it went through the roof.

Wrap well and fed-ex over night to my address Any Mexican wrapped dish will be delicious with this leftover. Don't chop it though, shred it - I don't know why but it's much better that way. Gorditas would be wonderful.

I bet no one got the same gift that I did! It's a TEA-BOY! You place a tea bag on the lever and turn the dial. The lever lowers the tea bag into the cup. Then, you set the minutes you desire to steep the tea. The timer clicks away until done and then it lifts the tea bag out and sounds an alarm! How did I EVER live without this? Thanks to my DH for this clever gift.

Here is my erudite opinion: yuck, yuck, yuck, yuck.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/19/fashion/19FEST.html The NY Times says Festivus is being increasingly celebrated.... Are you doing anything for Festivus this year?

The recipe is "Magrets de Canard aux Poires" (duck breast with pears) and it calls for 8 oz. of veal stock. The recipe is here: http://www.ibiblio.org/expo/restaurant/menu17/magrets.html What I have in my freezer is a frozen veal demi-glace that I bought at Wegmans. "CulinArte Bonewerks Demi-Glace de Veau". The label on that one says to dilute 4 to 1. I also have "Aromont Roasted Veal Demiglace" which comes in a jar. No directions on that one for reducing. Has anyone else used Aromont? I looked at the store for "better than bullion" but they did not have a veal version. Thanks much!

My recipe calls for veal stock - can I dilute veal demi-glace and use that? What proportions? Thanks so much

Oh boy, pizza rolls! Wow I haven't had them in nearly a year. Other favorites: Utz kettle classic potato chips and most embarassingly ... Jax cheese doodles. The cheesy powder rubs off on your hands and you have to lick your fingers. I will be going off my diet at Christmas and will have a few of these for the occasion.

* CARBQUIK BAKING MIX* I have just started experimenting with this baking mix, a low-carb version of the old Bisquick. The manufacturer claims a proprietary method of making the flour low carb. From their web site: "Carbalose™ is as close to real flour as you can get without being real flour. How is Carbalose ™ made? Carbalose™ is made through a unique process and contains Enzyme-Modified Wheat, as well as Plant fiber, Wheat protein and some unique conditioners, enzymes and emulsifiers. Carbalose™ does not contain any soy protein, sugar-alcohols, dairy, animal-originated, trans-fatty, or saturated fat products. Also, it is Kosher Parve certified by OU. Upon request, it is also available soy-free." I made a Foccocia bread and while the dough was very sticky and required additional "flour" it came out quite nice and delicious. I also made the cranberry muffin recipe from the Ocean Spray web site, substituting Carbquik for the flour and Splenda for the sugar, and they came out beautifully. YUM YUM YUM! I think this product may be a bit like Dreamfields pasta, where they claim a low net carb amount for the product, but one still has to be careful and not indulge too much in this food. However, for an occasional treat of bread, muffins, cakes, or whatever, it is a wonder product. A lot of folks on lowcarbfriends.com are experimenting with this product and posting their results (both failures and successes). There is a company representative who monitors the forum and answers questions about the product. Here's a link if you are interesting in reading more: http://www.lowcarbfriends.com/bbs/showthre...threadid=255923 And here's the carbalose link: http://www.tovaindustries.com/Carbalose/page1.html P.S. I have no connection to this product, just wanted to make folks here aware of it. I plan to use it for more baking around the upcoming holidays and will report my experiences if anyone is interested.

Sorry maybe this is a newbie question, but if you don't hold a chef's knife by the handle, how do you hold it? From Marsha (zilla369) Lynch's excellent eGCI course on basic knife skills are these two pictures of a "pinch grip" on a chef's knife: ← Is this pretty much a universally accepted way to hold a chef's knife? Or are there variations? Just curious...

This is a fascinating topic. I have personally never been to a really high end restaurant (well, Le Bec Fin in Philadelphia was the one time). So when I do go, will I sense anything special? I wonder. Is one's palette a natural thing you are born with? Or do you develop it? I was in a music class with a very well known Renaissance music teacher and someone was playing the recorder very badly; he pointed out the flaws. The student couldn't hear what he was trying to explain, but the teacher said "to me it is a wide as the side of a barn". If our musical ears have to be developed, maybe also our taste buds. So until I get that education, I think I'll stick to Applebee's

Sorry maybe this is a newbie question, but if you don't hold a chef's knife by the handle, how do you hold it?

A search for her cookbook on amazon.com: Book search results: we found no results that closely match your search for: cooking with joree

Very nice article, I enjoyed reading it. I clicked through to Chowhound as I'd never been there before. Interestingly, they distinguish between "chowhounds" and dislike "foodies". Hmmmm..... but that's probably another topic for another thread....

In Philly you go to the Mummers parade on New Years day. Everyone in the area thinks the Mummers are world famous, but they are not. Only Phillies know about them. But they are a local big deal. P.S. I lived just outside Philadelphia for 5 years while I worked at the best job I've had in my life. Commuted into the city every day. But the local culture can be wierd. Too much old money and horsey snobs (IMHO).

Yes you can freeze yeast. But as with unfrozen yeast, once in a while you get a goner.

It is a similar knife but not quite the same. Your link goes to a 7 inch Santoku type knife; the one I am considering is an 8 inch chef's knife. I am not sure what a Santoku knife is good for, can anyone explain? I can see how a chef's knife can be used for "rocking" type cuts and the shape of the Santoku doesn't seem to accomodate them.

I really like the look of this knife: http://www.cutleryandmore.com/details.asp?SKU=6089 Does anyone here have experience using a hollow edge knife? How does it compare to a standard chef's knife? How do you possibly sharpen one of these?

Last year I bought a potato brush (at bed bath beyond) whose handle looks exactly like a spud. Very cute and it works well!

I just received this book in the mail yesterday, and what a kick it is! Could not put it down once I started reading it .... even before my morning caffeine. I love the photo of him in the kitchen with a pan and bottle of wine. Based on comments here, I will first try the onion soup. I want to compare it to my favorite recipe from Julia Child. Maybe a side-by-side tasting is in order.

I have not seen the show but did read in his autobiography that some years ago he had a very serious car accident. Could be those aches and pains are showing up now.

The cadillac of blue cheeses is Maytag Blue which I love but it's pretty expensive. Another blue cheese that is fabulous is Monterey Blue (from CA) - look for that one!

Interesting you should say this, because I have read recently that these upscale fast food places are the up and coming trend in restaurants. They are supposed to provide better quality food than McD's with fast service. These chains seem to be where the investment money in chain restaurants is going. I haven't been to one of these places yet but with all that "self-service" it reminds me of a cafeteria!

I personally like the Culinary Institute of America's Book of Soups. Very nice photo's and detailed recipes.