mrsadm

slkinsey, I am so glad you are back posting here! I have learned SO MUCH from your egullet class and from all the questions and answers here. I printed out the class and the entire 10 pages of posts and I am reading them for the 2nd time, using yellow highlighter for certain important points. I have a ton of cookware and never knew really what to buy except that it should be heavy. Thus, I have a lot of the original Calphalon, which oddly, has not warped for me. In my most-used pans, the anodized aluminum surface has warn off and I need to replace a few pieces. I went to look at the latest Calphalon line and was disappointed that the weight is light and they all look to be some kind of non-stick, which I don't like, except in my omellete pan. My cast iron skillet originally belonged to my husband's grandmother. I hear she used to clean it by sticking it for a while in the flames in the wood burning stove. I bet that wore off the seasoning! But we keep it well seasoned and it will last for a few more generations, I am sure. I am rambling and don't have any specific questions. I just wanted to thank you for all the education.

I have to admit I can't stand watching Rachel Ray. She is sooooo painfully cheerful I just want to punch her lights out. It's like she's talking to five-year olds. So I have not paid attention to anything she actually cooks. Grimes' article is very entertaining; I wish I could write so well. Often "fast" and "economical" do not go well together. Stews and soups are not difficult to make, but they take some time, and are great for the pocketbook. But for my lifestyle they are weekend only meals.

Hurray for this thread! Thank you for starting it. I have been hoping egullet would encourage low-carbers who like good food to get together. I have been hanging out (on occasion) at lowcarbfriends.com. They have a very active bulletin board and a huge collection of recipes. There are some members who are very knowledgable about low-carbing, both through technical knowledge and through experience. It is also a very positive crowd that really encourages and helps each other out, like an online support group. Their cooking, however, is ...... not too sophisticated. But I have found their recipes useful in learning how to use substitute ingredients, such as ground nuts instead of breading; guar gum to thicken sauces, and so on. Some recipes have really surprised me and I've learned to use food in new ways. There is also a Food Network TV show called "Low Carb and Lovin It" where chef George Stella offers some delicious looking dishes. The recipes are on the food web site; the show is on 12 noon ET on Sunday and repeats twice during the week. I hope we all remain active in this thread and post favorite recipes, food discoveries, low-carb cookbook reviews (I'll do a few of those!) and much more.

Thanks everyone for the great ideas! I'm getting my map out now to plan routes to these places.

I will be visiting the Anaheim Convention Center next week and, since I live in a rural area in the northeast, I am interested in finding a good shop for cookware. I can find Sur La Table or Williams Sonoma over the net, but I wonder if there is a place that those of you who live in the area could recommend? Is there anyplace that carries interesting stuff like a Mexican molcajete? thanks!

When you say "leave it in the oven" should it be on the lowest rack on on the actual bottom of the oven?

Thanks everyone for your very interesting comments. I didn't get a good feeling about Mastercook for two reasons. First, my search on Amazon brought up a version called the "Betty Crocker Suite" - oooh. Then I read a review on Amazon that was very critical of the company that sells it - apparently it was originally produced by Sierra, who sold it to "Valuesoft" which does not have a good reputation for supporting its software, nor coming out with updated and bug-fixed versions. I found something called "Living Cookbook" which looks intriguing and I may download the trial version and give it a whirl. I'd also like to try Cookn' and the suggested Star Chef. I'll report back here on whatever I find.

thanks, irodguy .... I thought I posted this question before but I could not find the thread!

Does anyone have experience with PC software for recipe management and meal planning/shopping lists? I have heard of Mastercook but don't know anyone who has used it. There are others on the market too. If you have any experience with a program or like one of them, I'd love to know!

Anybody can get any available url on the net. A couple of years ago I noticed there was no "juliachild.com" and I thought about requesting it myself and then contacting her staff, because it really should have belong to her and not be available to just anyone. Here is the "whois" registered information for the url: ____________________________________________________________ Whois Server Version 1.3 Domain names in the .com and .net domains can now be registered with many different competing registrars. Go to http://www.internic.net for detailed information. Domain Name: JULIACHILD.COM Registrar: IHOLDINGS.COM, INC. D/B/A DOTREGISTRAR.COM Whois Server: whois.dotregistrar.com Referral URL: http://www.dotregistrar.com Name Server: PENDULUM.MAXIM.NET Name Server: NS.NNW.NET Status: ACTIVE Updated Date: 08-aug-2004 Creation Date: 07-aug-2002 Expiration Date: 07-aug-2005 ______________________________________________________________ Iholdings.com and Dotregistrar.com are internet web services providers so it doesn't tell us who really owns the web site. Of course, her estate could sue to get back the url ... that's the way it's done.

I just had to post here and share my feelings with all of you. I heard the news this morning - I was driving to town and turned on the radio - NPR - where the speaker was in the middle of talking about Julia. Then he said "she was so unpretentious" and I thought, "was"? "WAS"? Then I felt like crying (still do). I admired Julia for so much more than her cooking and teaching ability. She was utterly unpretentious when she could have been a total snob. She greatly supported public television. She never wanted to endorse cookware or restaurants or anything commercial. Now that's class. She donated her house to our shared Alma Mater, Smith College. She donated her cookbooks to Harvard. And she donated her kitchen to the Smithsonian. She gave me the courage to try to cook. I figured if someone as talented as Julia could goof up in the kitchen, maybe I'd be OK too! Most importantly she was gracious to everyone. I absolutely hate Martha Stewart who I hear is a very rude snob (she refered recently to her public as "the little people" - can anyone imagine Julia saying that?) ... but Julia was gracious enough to have her on her show. Now that's real class. I would highly recommend her biography, "Appetite for Life", I read it a few years ago, wonderful book. Julia, how sorely I will miss you, but what you stood for lives on in my heart.

I would like to find some good meal planning software (for home use). I have heard of Mastercook but don't know anything about it. I have purchased the CD version of Mark Bittman's "How to cook everything" and it has a rudimentary meal planning feature but it is quite awkward to use. Can anyone here make a recommendation?

When I don't know someone well, or don't know what they already have in their house, I try to give a gift that they might like even if they have one of them already! So a teapot doesn't quite fit the bill, but food or drink gifts certainly do. Things like towels and placemats are out because they would need to fit the decor. A pretty basket with fresh fruit and some cheeses might be nice. (Most people don't grow those at home!)

There is a weight watchers cookbook that has the Culinary Institute of America name on the front cover. I bought it a few years ago and never used it. But you might look for it. Mine is in the garage as I've been doing low-carb and have lost much more weight than I ever did on low fat eating.

In thickening sauces... are the proportions of flour or arrowroot to water the same? Is the quality of the resulting sauce just as good as with flour? What are the pro's and con's (aside from cost)? Thanks for any advice.

I ended up making leek and bacon quiche and my husband loved it. That warm salad recipe sounds wonderful! Thanks for everyone's suggestions.

I was at the farmer's market this morning and found some beautiful leeks. Any suggestions for what to make from them (other than leek and potato soup)? Thanks for any ideas!

Harold McGee debunked this years ago. Wow and I keep seeing this everywhere in recipes and cookbooks!

Absolutely I agree. However, if I am on a 5-hour flight and I have been rushing through the airport with no time to buy some food, and the only thing in coach is a crummy salad for $8.00, they are ripping me off. I recently flew US Air across country and paid $8 for a Wolfgang Puck branded meal. It was suppposed to be chicken on a bed of greens. When I opened it up the chicken was missing and so all I had was a small bunch of dry cole slaw. At least the flight attendent returned my money. I was starving by the time I got to San Francisco! I think that especially on longer flights, if they are going to charge you, they better provide something decent. And bring some crackers in your purse, just in case! Oh, and on Air France I have had fabulous food.

That irks me too! I often say "I don't give out my telephone number" or I make up a number. On the loyalty card question, I don't mind if my local supermarket keeps a file on me because I feel they will have better information on what products to stock that I will like. What I *don't* like is every darn shop asking me to carry their card. Hallmark, Crabtree & Evelyn - forget that!!!

That's the one, Arctium lappa. Growing all over the place here. Considered a major pain-in-the-neck weed. The burrs get into my horse's mane and tail if I don't comb the pasture every spring and get rid of them. I checked on google and found out that it grows almost everywhere in the US except the deep south. I suspect if you take a country drive and if you can recognize the plant, you'll find many of them along roadsides. Right now the plant is flowering and the flowers look a little bit like purple thistles. Here is a link to a site with several pictures to help you recognize the plant: http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/Plants.Folder/Burdock.html Good luck finding it!

I have burdock plants growing all over my property in upstate NY. Is it the same thing you are looking for? What is the scientific name of what is used in Japan?

Hamburger Pie (it's not all that bad!): 1. Make some mashed potatoes 2. Brown some hamburger and onions in a skillet. 3. Open a can of green beans and mix them up with the meat. 4. Open a small can of tomato sauce and add it to the meat mixture. 5. Put the meat mixture in the middle of a shallow casserole dish. 6. Put the mashed potatoes around the perimeter of the dish. 7. Bake in the oven until done; the mashed potatoes should have a nice crisp slightly browned top.

Very good point, I think you are right on that one. Oh I hope I am not turning into that dreaded species, the Food Snob. I grew up on eastern Long Island among farms that had wonderful fresh food, and nearly everyone fished and went clamming. My mother would take me along to farm stands and she'd insist on corn that was picked *that morning*. Uncles would bring over fresh fish nearly every weekend in the summer. I guess I take for granted this upbringing that taught me to appreciate how wonderful fresh food is. In fact, I think the whole Alice-Waters-invented-freshness thing is just ridiculous. On the other hand, my husband, who grew up in Wyoming, had a mother who subscribed to the convenience-in-a-can way of cooking that was so popular in the 1950's. He still cooks Hamburger Pie now and then!

When I was a kid I liked Spaghetti-O's...