s'kat

I couldn't agree more! Also, your roommate is a bit of a funny freak. edited to fix pre-coffee spelling error.

The cooking phase of my confit experimentation has officially drawn to a close. I took just over half of the caramelised onions that had been produced, and made them into French onion soup. A damned fine batch. Thanks for the springboard, Marlene. My husband had two bowls, and I was seen creeping back for a bit more crouton, myself. The remainder of the caramelised onions were reduced on stovetop until approaching the right colour.... the consistency, unfortunately, was still not quite 'marmalade', but pretty close. They have a fantastic flavour, and the futher reduction scented the house nicely, above and beyond the soup. hillvalley, I know not why you are not stinking of slowly-cooked onions at this juncture! I am planning on using these throughout the week, with great abandon. My husband isn't quite of the same mind. In fact, on the original day of reduction, he was getting a little disconcerted by the scent; that morning, he couldn't stand it one bit. ['I just don't like tasting onions with my coffee!'- not that I can blame him, as I work at an office, and his office is in-home...] These rock. Did someone mention burgers...?

Those are some great looking pictures folks! I, alas, still have yet to try my confit. In fact, I never got to pop home at lunch, so my husband took care of turning it off, cooling, and storing it. Yesterday evening, I was whisked off to a wine tasting, then dinner, so it was 9PM before I could finally take a peek at the confit. I was too full to even try a little taste of it, but the house sure smelled good. It wasn't as dark as I would have hoped, and doesn't look to have that marmalade-like consistency. It should have gone a little bit longer: It's chilly and windy today, so I'm thinking of following Marlene's lead, and making a nice little batch of French onion soup tonight.

That is the only bacon acceptable for onion confit use in my book. Surprising results, fifi. You would think that the onion-bacon pairing would be natural on any level. Thanks for taking a hit for the troops.

I'm just getting ready to go to bed, with the enchanting scent of softening onions in my crockpot. They've been going for about five hours now, and I anticipate turning down the temp when one of my beautiful felines does her usual nightly- wakely-routine at about two-ish. I actually dreamed of making confit a couple of nights ago. Ridiculous, but I can't wait!

Marlene, had there been a perfection of the confit technique? I'd like to try this myself this weekend...

Marlene, you are an organized kitchen goddess, and I aspire to be as tidy and neat as you, one day. Not to mention the fact that you kitchen is incredibly beautiful!! And, ah- bananas in coffee and milk? I think I need another cuppa...

Not at all difficult, just time-consuming. I did all of my prep work the two weeks before the meal, then just assembled it that day. And yes, there was a gasp when I brought it to the table.

I've never liked tuna salad sandwiches (can't seem to get over my mayo aversion), but LOVE tuna sandwiches. They are my staple weekend lunch over the summer. Canned tuna (tried the pouches once- ick); thinly sliced red onions marinated in red wine vinegar, olive oil, s&P, sometimes a pinch of garlic or cheese; tomatoes, lettuce, and capers or olives. Sometimes both.

I'm sure there is a tale of two hidden away in, "I Will Never Again...".

No, but I've seen smoked salmon labled "Low Carb"! My husband brought home some cheddar the other night labelled, "For your carb-free lifestyle!".

I purchased a flurry of these for the holidays, and had forgotten that I'd actually tucked away a couple for myself, until this weekend. I brought them into work today, and just finished making close to a dozen grilled cheese sandwiches for myself and my co-workers. Talk about winning 'cool points'! Obviously, we have the el-cheapo toaster too, as it worked like a charm. Hot, toasty sandwiches at work... it's like a whole new world has opened! Did anyone ever get to play with the wraps?

I apologise Rachel, as that is just what I tried to do. I began to make the link directly to Amazon, then remembered that you could support eGullet by making the appropriate links. I searched around without finding that info, and finally clicked on the banner ad on the eGullet homepage, thinking that would do it. Sorry... I'm all about supporting eGullet! (the original link has now been fixed)

Ondine, I really feel for you! I go through a series of stages after bad break-ups... a good week or two of not eating, sobbing uncontrollably, and being a huge PITA to be around for more than a few minutes. Then, I rediscover the joys of wine, cheese, and crackers, and spend many hours over all of these reading through Exorcising Your Ex, still prone though to having intermittent bouts of uncontrollable sobbing. Then comes the need for exercise, which naturally necesitates the need for more food, so everything just naturally falls back into line. One of my exes absolutely hated anything 'oriental'. I lived on Thai take-out for several weeks after that one. Best to you!

I first discovered it in a Mario Batali cookbook, where he references it to the movie, Big Night. More timpano information here. This one in particular was pasta dough, besciamella sauce, ziti, neapolitan ragu, ziti, meatballs, ziti, parmesan... did I mention that there was some ziti in it, too.

A very large number of my co-workers are doing Atkins or the South Beach. I feel that it's my civic duty to bring in as many: quick breads baguettes cinnamon rolls pizzas and even the occasional leftover timpano ...as possible. Heck, maybe I enjoy tormenting them a little too much! Silly peoples!! I love the staff of life! As an interesting aside, at least one of my co-workers has been on a diet since I started working here, 5 years ago. She even had the gastric bypass surgery. She lost some weight, but has been levelled off at her current weight for the past 3 years. She moans about bread every single day.

Thanks for the insightful article, Andy. As a current photography student, it's very interesting to see how the pros 'make the magic happen'.

We need more on this. Mm-kay. Don't use sugar cubes, in your afternoon tea, that you have discovered wrapped tightly in tinfoil in the freezer. Not because you were searching. Because you were out of sugar, and your prankster roomie thought he would point those out to you when he saw the bag was empty. Not funny.

I respectfully disagree. You don't get a full-on dose of pot kicking you in the tastebuds, but it's definately there. The way the flavours intermingle is quite nice, chocolate, with a distinct and inviting herbacious edge. The first time I made pot brownies, I thought one tasted great. Two was better. Three was just to die for. I don't remember if I ate a fourth. I was very confused when I woke up the next morning, wondering just how and when I had gotten myself into bed. The pot-brownie hangover is a ferocious beast, indeed. Katie: Al Dente: I lived in Holland for three years. Between the pannekoeken (sp?), the frites, and the shawarma, I couldn't have been happier. Personal note: Cereal, cold or hot, was my all-time favourite munchie food.

During the work week, my lunches are very boring: salad, or soup. One or two Fridays a month, I meet up with my husband at the local Italian joint, where we share a little pizza and each have a glass of bad Chianti. Today I had some yum talay from the new Thai place, a cuisine that my husband absolutely cannot tolerate. Saturdays I am at school all day, so I usually bring another boring little salad, and some cheese and crackers. Sunday, recently, has been all about using my new panini maker. I try to keep my lunches on the small side, so I can enjoy a good meal in the evening.

gsquared, your talent and passion are inspiring. The meal looked incredible, and very beautiful!

I spent many sad, forsaken, misguided years disliking cheese. I could eat it on pizza, but always had them put it on 'very, very lightly'. In my early years, I would eat a grilled cheese, but only with the minimal amount of cheese required to make the sandwich stick together. Grilled cheese became entirely out of the question when I became a teenager. I moved to Holland, and lived there for three years, all the while still despising cheese. In fact, I didn't begin to like cheese until about three years ago, when I first met my husband. On one of our first dates, he set out a tray of crackers and cheese. Brie and crottin. I didn't want to be impolite, so I steeled myself to suffer through a cracker. Oh sweet, sweet crottin. Beautiful, creamy brie. The only cheese I'd ever had previously were the big, tasteless orange blocks that my parents used to buy. I thought all cheese tasted that way. I am so glad to be proved wrong!! I'm still a bit embarrassed, though, about all those years wasted in the Netherlands.

I'm wincing just imagining this one!

I will never again walk away, even for just 'a second', from a pot of boiling maple candy. Duh. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go buy my husband another 6-quart saucepot.

You should invest in a couple of orkas- very easy to maneuver hot pizza stones while wearing these.