mrsadm

Just a suggestion. If you can afford high end books, please consider a donation to egullet, where you are able to discuss high end books.

I am a plodding cook and a slow learner .... at least half of what I cook comes out merely OK. But I enjoy the time in the kitchen, using my hands and not much of my brain, to make meals. Times when the meal tastes wonderful keep me going, to try and achieve the same delight again.

I bought a mezzaluna about 5 years ago while browsing at Williams Sonoma. Thought it looked really cool. However, it is still brand new in the drawer; I've never used it. I use a chef's knife instead. Maybe I'll put it out when the holiday guests get here so they think I must be an accomplished cook because I have some cool stuff.

Nope. No way.

Sometimes there is quite a bit of overlap between the books. They're trying to maximize profits of course. So while I don't think there is any particular order, pick what you are interested in and check the contents for duplicate recipes, before purchasing.

I can understand a bit of scientific curiosity about the sous vide method of cooking - but frankly, I have enough trouble trying to cook delicious meals with the standard ol' stove and pots. Wonder if Alton Brown will venture into this?

what in the world is your point?

I've shopped at Wegman's in upstate NY for about 15 years now. They are a wonderful store, esp. for produce; they even carry local farmers' goods. Prepared foods, eh, they are OK. Very bland food for the most part. They've recently started to carry "big packs" to compete with the warehouse stores. The prices can be good. Other things they do drive me nuts. Like stocking only their store brand in certain categories, or putting other brands on the lowest shelf so they're easier to miss.

I dropped Gourmet years ago. I think it was when the article about how Argentinian cowboys cook their steaks struck me as totally irrelevant to my life. I also dropped Bon Appetit. I couldn't stand to see one more group of happy good looking people, smiling around the table. Now I get "Fine Cooking" which at least focuses on food, not lifestyle or travel. "Cook's Illustrated"? ... I caught them on TV recently, making the "best diner pie". I think their niche is the church supper crowd.

It was reported in Publishers Lunch that Knopf has had to order another 75,000 copies of MAFC because of the movie. Not bad for a book that's already been continuously in print for almost 50 years. ← If you head over to ebay the sales of MAFC are through the roof! Several booksellers have been savvy enough to save their first editions for this week.

Sadly, they didn't know that heat cooked food. Seriously. ← Well, when they need to get a job at Burger King, they'll find out. (at least I think so ...)

I thought the movie was incredible fun. Way better than that stupid book (sorry but I found the book to be boring and lame). Just enjoy it and don't take it too seriously!

I think that book counts, yes. It has Julia's and Jacques' versions of the same recipe, so just cook Julia's version!

What a wonderful idea! Since the 15th is on a Saturday, I won't be working all day and will have time to devote myself to this endeavor. Now to pick a recipe or two, what to do, what to do.....

That just totally made me laugh out loud!

In the Endicott NY area (home to many Italian immigrants) there is a white pizza with cheese and garlic, no tomato sauce at all. Sometimes it has broccoli added.

Wegman's has a lot of good things going for it, but I've become more and more disappointed in them recently. They have been carrying store brands more and more, and getting rid of many competing brands for the same items, or making them difficult to find (for example, on the bottom shelf behind a free-standing display). I've emailed them about this and their reply was basically tough. They have great produce and a great bakery and I see those as their strong points. On everything else, they are OK.

I like overbowling and overplating. Last week I had a large salad at a restaurant and the ingredients kept falling off the plate onto the table; made me feel like a slob. A larger plate would have been better. Great idea to invent new words!

I like your reasoning here. All good points. I'm actually thinking of getting a chef's jacket. Until I read this thread I was thinking it would be incredibly pretentious to wear one at home - because I'm a home cook only, not professional.

I think Jean Stapleton would have been fantastic. But still I can't wait to see it!

I am enjoying the show, although the pace is slow compared to Hell's Kitchen. Sometimes I think they pick hopeless contestants on purpose so the chef hero gets to display his ugly side for the entertainment of the audience. We love it because secretly we all have characters at work we'd love to chew out and call incompetent. I swear for Gordon Ramsey's show, the producers drive around town following the Sysco truck. When they find a place that gets most of its food out of the truck, that restaurant goes on the short list. Then they check out the menu; if it's complicated, viola, that's the restaurant!

I don't know what DVD format you have in Japan, but the DVD's are available directly from the Jamie Oliver web site in the format that is used in the UK. I could not find them in a format for the U.S. Hopefully sometime soon!

We received way too many cheese gifts this holiday and I'm wondering if I can freeze them. I would seal them first with my Food Saver. Mostly hard cheeses, other than 1 Brie. What do you think?

Salt your scrambled eggs AFTER cooking them. Makes a big difference in the flavor and the texture of the eggs. I forgot why, though !