mrsadm

Quite a few years ago I was on eastern Long Island, eating dinner with friends of a friend. The hostess (if you could call her that) bragged about how the vegetables we were eating, were stolen from a local farm stand. Now, my grandparents were farmers and I've worked on a farm and I can tell you how much hard backbreaking work it is and how unpredictable each year's crops can be. I have felt terrible for that farmer ever since this incident.

I think I'll puke. Every cooking show on TV, every cookbook, lectures me on using the freshest possible ingredients. OK already! I GET IT. Do they think they are saying something original? On the other hand, especially on the net, I come across a lot of recipes calling for stuff like garlic powder and onion powder; recipes that start with a can of soup; "taco seasoning" (what the heck is in that?) and other stuff that makes me shudder a bit. I mean how hard is it to peel and chop some garlic - and it's available year-round. I was wondering if anyone here in this esteemed community would ever admit to using those "fake" products.

My grandmother believed that if you dropped a knife on the floor, a man would soon come to visit. Never did find out who would visit if you dropped a spoon or fork!

I brought this up in another thread somewhere...but I think people forget the handicapped when they marvel at cut up foods. "Why don't people do that themselves?" is an easy thing to say when one's hands are not crippled with arthritis or carpal tunnel...as my 85 year old Auntie's are. Pounding chicken breasts?? Not only can't she do it because of her hands, she won't do it. She's afraid her counters will collapse (I know...but she's elderly...so I pound them for her in her garage on a table...or she buys the pre-pounded ones). I sometimes opt for convenience myself. And one PAYS for convenience. Someone else has done the work for you. You want that you should have it free? Excellent point about the elderly or handicapped. I was just surprised at more than twice the original price for pounded chicken. It's not like cleaning crabs, which is really labor intensive! Like your Mrs. Slocombe quote!

Now, I know there is a price to be paid for convenience, HOWEVER here are two outrageous things I saw at my local Wegman's supermarket. A full head of caulflower was $2.00. A few aisles over, were caulflower florets in a small plastic bag, at $2.99/pound! At that price I could throw away half the full head. In the meat department, boneless skinless chicken breasts were $2.49 a pound. Next to the shish kabobs and other prepared meats, were pounded chicken breasts at $5.49 a pound! They were just plain ol' pounded chicken breasts! I was kind of amazed people don't know how to flatten chicken! Has anyone else seen crazy price differentials for convenience? mrsadm

Cauliflower for me! I grew up with fresh cauliflower every fall and it was served at Thanksgiving too. But my husband HATES it. He can't even tolerate the smell of cooking it. I finally found a way to cook it that he likes (the recipe is on this site somewhere) and that is to chop it up, toss with olive oil, and back in the oven. James Peterson admitted to not liking cauliflower in his "Vegetables" cookbook. And I was hoping he'd have some more recipes for me to try!

If you don't drink tea yourself, I wouldn't invest in too many types as they will sit on the shelf and just age. If I didn't know my guests' taste, I would go with some very cautious popular varieties, such as Darjeeling, Ceylon, and Earl Gray. Lapsong Souchong has a very smokey flavor, not to everyone's liking (including my own). I also keep some decaf tea on hand for those who want it. I have been buying my tea at Fortnum and Mason whenever in London but have not traveled there lately, so I will try some of the links for suppliers that were posted here. Thanks folks!

ludja, thank you for the great suggestions!

Oh yes I will drive to Santa Fe as well. I was there about 7 years ago and really enjoyed it.

I live in upstate New York, which isn't a great place to find Southwest style foods and ingredients for Mexican cooking, which my husband loves. I have an upcoming trip to Albuquerque and would love to bring back some local ingredients. Can anyone suggest good sources there? Perhaps there is a weekly or daily market? Any shops that have more than just basic chili powder? Thanks!

Thanks every one. How exactly does one render fat? I have tried looking this up and cannot find instructions. I'm basically not sure what it means.

I have a lot left over from the Christmas duck dinner. What are the possible uses for it? Can it be frozen?

Your writing is the only thing that gets me happily through a long haul airline flight. Please write more! Perhaps Vogue could put your articles on the web?

This year I tried a recipe from Saveur Cooks holiday magazine - a cornbread and sausage stuffing. Everyone at my house found it very delicious. The recipe is here: http://www.saveur.com/article.jsp?ID=15826&typeID=120

This topic is hilarious! We had the same problem. We live in a rural area where mice are very plentiful. And we have a LOT of cats. One day I walked into the kitchen and saw my cat Moonlight sitting on the kitchen counter. She (and I) saw a mouse come out from behind the toaster oven. To my great disappointment, she casually watched the mouse go s-l-o-w-l-e-y right past her little feline nose and back into the stove! We have one cat who is a ferocious mouser - catches 2-3 a day - but only outdoors, where he leaves them as little presents for us on the back deck. We tried traps to get rid of the stove mouse, but then always more mice showed up. The problem was only finally solved when we got a new stove with closed gas burners.

It was the Frontera Foundation, right? sorry if this has already been posted (I have not read all 33 pages of this thread!) Here is what is posted on the Frontera Kitchens web site (http://www.fronterakitchens.com/rickbayless/whatsupwbk/): What's Up With That Burger King Ad? Dear friends, colleagues and co-workers: Many of you have asked me why I chose to do that ad for Burger King. It was very seriously thought-through, and here is my reasoning in a nutshell: I decided that it’s time for those of us in the healthy food/sustainable food movement to applaud any positive steps we see in the behemoth quick-service restaurant chains. Seventy-five percent of our fellow Americans nourish themselves in their restaurants at least once a week (an even more serious statistic is that almost 20 percent eat fast food three or more time a week). I can no longer ignore these statistics, and I ask you not to either. I can’t take responsibility for feeding all those fast food customers in my restaurant. Besides, most of them couldn’t even afford my restaurant. And since our culture has made a wrong turn, several generations now haven’t even learned to cook. So my (or other’s) cooking shows and cookbooks don’t hit their radar screens. These are people who know little beyond processed food flavors. Helping them take steps toward honest, seasonal, natural flavors, means starting with them (accepting them) where they are. These folks aren’t going to change over night. And the fast food franchises aren’t going to go away. But if my BK ad encourages a few hundred thousand people to experience a tasty, less-processed sandwich of crusty bread with grilled chicken, a sauce made from roasted tomatoes and poblano chiles, plus a topping of grilled fresh bell peppers and onions—that’s huge. What realistic justification could one have for NOT promoting that? So I choose to work on both ends of the spectrum. At Frontera/Topolobampo, we’ve developed an amazing team of talented chefs a who purchased just under half-million dollars from local, sustainable family farms last year. This year our Frontera Farmer Foundation has raised nearly $300,000 to distribute to small family farms in the form of capital improvement grants. Clearly, we’re committed to promoting local, seasonal, sustainably raised products in the hand-crafted dishes at our fine-dining restaurants. But I refuse to limit myself to just this small-but-fast-growing segment, dismissing millions of Americans who are light-years from knowing the wonders of local organic produce. I want to help them along, too. Starting right where they are. I know this bridging of categories makes some people uncomfortable. But that’s honestly who I am. I’m both eco-chef and fast-food supporter, if I’m given a voice for positive change in both those camps. And I’m ethnic chef, bringing respect to a little-appreciated cuisine through restaurants, books and television shows. I’m co-author with my teenage daughter of a book out next fall exploring how cooking with folks in other countries develops a unique language of friendship and family. I’m a health writer, encouraging people to embrace the realistic role of fabulous food in healthy living. For me it is unconscionable to limit myself to one camp, since food touches our lives in so many ways. Most people think I did the BK ad for the money. Well, that’s not me—never has been. Besides, all the money is going to our Foundation to support small, sustainable family farms around Chicago. The Frontera Farmer Foundation is going to have a much bigger impact. And, I also believe, these new offerings at Burger King are, too. Sincerely, Rick Bayless

I wonder if anyone here remembers the BBC show "Chef" starring Lenny Henry (very funny show). There was one episode where he was going into business with partners for his restaurant and one of them proposed he endorse some boil-in-the-bag food products. "The markup will be a disgrace! We'll make a packet" he said.

I fell in love with that ad! Isn't it a wonderrful kitchen? I'm looking around my kitchen for where to put more shelves! I have about 85 cookbooks, getting more later today. Linda

what are the round disc things you refer to?

The web site is a terrible design. First it starts with a flash intro - saying, "Please wait for a special introduction from Dolly Parton". On a dialup connection you see 32%.....41%....43%.....45%.... Whenever a web site does this to me I leave. But being curious, I clicked on the "Skip the Introduction" link and up comes a HUGE picture (also bad web design) of Dolly in front of an American flag (why does country music think they own America?) with large ugly buttons. I tried clicking on "Christmas" link, and up comes the flash load again, "Please wait for a special introduction from Dolly Parton", this time with no "skip" link. I was outta there!

I have to say that Fox News isn't the best source of unbiased news out there - whether about New York or anything else! The rudest service I ever got was in London - a waiter thought the tip I left was too small and handed it back to me. This was after he spilled my drink on the table. Having lived in Manhattan for several years, I have to say that on whole they are much more polite than those in the UK.

OK, so what is a good book for a "beginner", or maybe someone who can cook a lot of basic stuff - knows how to saute, braise, roast and basic techniques -- how does a person like that (e.g. me) go beyond the basics? Last year I heard an interview on NPR with Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg. After they married, her husband bought a copy of "Escoffier" and taught himself to cook, and was considered very good at it. So do I get a copy of Escoffier? Is that "better" than the Culinary Institute Book? I have been using Julia Child's "The Way to Cook" and find it a little boring, frankly. I also have a lot of cookbooks with recipes, but I don't seem to be able really improve my ability by cooking from them. I bought Jacques Pepin's video set on Cooking Techniques where he shows how to chop up a rabbit. Like I'm going to even find a whole rabbit in my grocery store! This is all very frustrating. Any ideas? ... thank you.

I'd love to hear about your most interesting or funny experience that you had in your profession.