joler

I confess. The depth of my passion was intimidated by the size of your ego.

Sorry to hear that. No wonder I've been seeing the "annuals" on the clearance racks at Border's and TJ Maxx. Thanks Hop, for clarifying what I could not. In my previous reference to "culinary wasteland", Food and Wine was merely printing a letter from a reader regarding a restaurant here that they termed "An oasis in a culinary wasteland" - Bistro Sofia in Greensboro, NC. "Bistro" has been in business for 5 years and is, in my opinion, one of the finest restaurants in the state, but even a letter from a reader was not enough to prompt a visit from any of the major food editors. When was the last time you saw an article on "Fearrington House"? Supposedly the only 5-star restaurant in the state of NC? The point is that there are plenty of great eateries out there. I know there's no way they could all be covered, but it would be nice if more often you would see an article in a national magazine about some out of the way place in a small town.

Do not waste your money at the Melting Pot. I don't know how they manage to stay in business.

Your point is well taken, I was merely responding to the original post. Since I am unfortunate enough to be currently residing in what was recently referred to in "Food and Wine" as "A culinary wasteland" I am happy to read about the culinary scene in ANY city. I think the point was that while NYC seems to be the focus, innovative and exciting things are happening elsewhere. That's the beauty of this forum, that we can make each other aware of what's happening in other parts of the country/world.

I own several of these and they are beautiful. Great reading prior to taking a trip. I haven't had any problem with the recipes either. I'm not all that impressed with Ina Garten's recipes, but the photography is well done.

oh yea, what about "Taste" (Williams-Sonoma's magazine). Nice photography/food styling.

I will pursue that Food Arts subscription again. Have you seen La Cucina Italiana? Every once in a while I'll pick up a copy at the airport - it's a really nice magazine. The website is www.italiancookingandliving.com

I'm surprised no one has mentioned "Eating Well" the organic foods magazine. Thoughts??

Food Arts is great if you can ever get them to start your subscription. I received a confirmation number months ago, but have yet to receive a magazine. What about Eating Well? I like that magazine, they have a lot of really interesting articles on Organics and Herbology, etc. They also have some nice travel articles. They published one on Oaxaca in the October issue that was written by Susanna Trilling. I've been on one of her culinary tours and they are quite educational... but more on that another time. I sympathize that there is not really a good source for articles about mid-west restaurants. Nothing of the sort really exists for the South either, and while we may be behind the times in some aspects, we do have our culinary hot-spots (i.e. Charleston, Atlanta, Charlotte). Southern Living is the pitts unless you like cooking with canned cream of mushroom soup. That said, you can stone me now when I say that I really enjoy Cooking Light. It has great articles on health and fitness and they try to keep up with current food trends. It is a real blessing for those of us who are trying to slim down and works well with the weight watchers plan too. I've had some mixed experiences with the recipes from Saveur, although the last one I tried turned out well. Bon Appetit has become too ad-heavy, although I still subscribe. I meant to drop it and start getting Gourmet this year but I must have had a senior moment on that one.

I like the concept also. And I loved the idea of cheddar cheese soup swirled with a little Texas Pete and garnished with popcorn. Sounds great, but the actual product left a lot to be desired. It did inspire me to start putting Texas Pete on my popcorn now though.

I also ate at Buckhead Diner while I was there. It got so much hype on the Internet I thought it was going to be something special, but I was very disappointed. As soon as I walked in the door I noticed something just didn't smell right - that stayed with me during my entire visit. The food was very mediocre in my opinion.

How would I describe? Hmm. It is certainly not a place I would expect to find outside of a shopping mall. The concept is I guess not really what you would call "fine dining", but definitely upscale, primarily seafood, with sushi. The seafood preparations vary and are not by any means strictly Asian influenced. The first night I was there, I dined with a companion in the dining room. It was nice that I could order a sushi appetizer to accompany my meal. I remember the dessert was really nice too - a lemon napolean accompanied by a raspberry sorbet. On my second visit, I sat at the sushi bar which is positioned in front of a very large fountain - a veritable "wall of water", behind which you can see the open kitchen. Great atmosphere, and it is always fun to make conversation with the sushi chefs. I do recall that I was not too impressed with the wine they were pushing that night. I think it was Anapamu or something like that at $8 a glass, seemed a bit ridiculous.

Does this restaurant group also own "Goldfish" (in Perimeter Mall)? I was in Atlanta on business recently and ate dinner there twice, it was very enjoyable. The sushi bar is lovely and the perfect spot for dining solo.

Just received as a gift "Jeramiah Tower Cooks", only had a chance to glance through it so far, but am looking forward to really delving in. A great novel that is "food oriented" is "The Five Quarters of the Orange" by Joanne Harris. I noticed a previous post someone is reading Chocolat (I haven't read that). Also have "A Cooks Tour" on the shelf and am hoping it is less vulgar and more informative than "Kitchen Confidential". (I have a feeling that comment won't make me too popular on this site).

Ok, have a little extra time this evening, so here is the recipe from Wildwood (I hope the author won't mind). Like I said before, it really is worth your while to purchase this book. 1 Tbsp. olive oil 6 ounces fresh white or morel mushrooms, chopped OR 2 ounces of dried mushrooms, rehydrated 1 1/2 tsp salt 1 1/2 tsp black pepper 2 c. 1/2 and 1/2 4 lg eggs 2 Tbsp Roasted garlic puree* 1 Tbsp lemon zest 1/2 tsp fresh thyme leaves 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg 2 cups 1-inch cubed stale brioche or egg bread 1 c. shredded white or yellow cheddar 1/4 c. chopped green onions Heat oil over med-hi heat in 10 inch skillet. Add mushrooms, 1/2 tsp of salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Cook 8-10 min., stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are soft and juices are reduced by half. Remove from pan and let cool. In a blender or food processor, combine the half and half, eggs, garlic puree, lemon zest, thyme, nutmet and repaining salt and pepper; blend until smooth and set aside. Preheat oven to 350. Butter a 81/2 x 41/2 inch loaf pan. In large bowl, toss together bread cubes, cheese, mushrooms, and green onions. Pour mixture into the pan. Pour the cream mixture over the bread and press lightly on the bread to submerge. Cover with parchment or waxed paper, then foil. Place loaf pan in a baking pan and add hot water to the baking pan to reach halfway up the sides of the loaf pan. Bake 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 20 minutes, or until the pudding is golden brown, the custard is set and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes prior to serving. * for Roasted Garlic Puree - preheat oven to 3350, take 4 - 5 garlic bulbs and press down on them with your hand to loosen the cloves from the stem. Put the unpeeled cloves in a small pan. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with a little olive oil. Toss to coat the garlic cloves. Add 1/4 inch wter to the bottom of the pan and cover pan with foil. Bake 45 min. or until cloves are soft. Remove cloves from oven and force through a food mil or large-hold sieve using a firm rubber spatula or wooden spoon.. Store in refrigerator for up to 4 days. Bon Appetit! Or as we say down here, that's some mighty fine eatin'!

Any chance you can get your hands on a copy of "Wildwood: Cooking from the Source in the Pacific Northwest" by Corey Schreiber? It has a great recipe for Mushroom Bread Pudding with white cheddar cheese. mmm If not, and if you are not in a hurry, I can post it for you within the next couple of days. It is worth looking into getting that book though, it has some great recipes for mushrooms, among other things.

I did follow the recipe exactly. The frosting was very sweet, but I really piled it on. I confess, all of the cake was gone and I finished off the crumbs (sans frosting) and it was great without it - the cake is extremely moist. Also, I didn't have any coconut extract so I just used half vanilla and half almond.

Sounds like there was a lot of Asian cooking going on this weekend in celebration of the New Year. I know my Asian market was filled with people on Friday and they had a really nice selection of produce, and a very interesting New Years cake made with sticky rice and red bean paste - wrapped in banana leaves. I am ready for a "new season" and celebrated Groundhogs Day with a brunch for several friends. "Think Spring" was sort of the mantra of the day. We started out with a selection of appetizers including: Vegetarian summer rolls with smoked tofu (recipe can be found on Foodtv.com) accompanied by a ginger-peanut sauce; Whole Brie that was split horizontally and layered with dried cherries and cranberries macerated in red wine with cinnamon and star anise, and toasted almonds and pecans, served with thinly sliced french bread; Edamame Hummus (Cooking Light) with toasted pita chips. Brunch was simply a spinach-ricotta pie with artichoke hearts and roasted red peppers, spring mix salad with creamy dijon dressing and oven roasted potatoes. For dessert, a delicious Hummingbird Cake with cream cheese icing (from the January issue of Saveur Magazine). To drink, I served mimosas and vodka-cranberry juice. Everyone had a great time and went home with a packet of herb seeds to start planting. I placed a floral "sticker" on the bottom of one plate and the person who chose that plate went home with the centerpiece, which was a flowerpot filled with seeds, gardening gloves, a trowel, and some artificial flowers in spanish moss - very cute. It is 70 here in NC today, so it feels like maybe all of that "thinking spring" did the trick! But in reality, I think maybe Mother Nature is just playing games and the groundhog is right - 6 more weeks of winter.

The Wildwood Cookbook by Corey Schreiber has some wonderful mushroom recipes. The mushroom bread pudding is to die for.

I have the Atlas pasta maker and it works fine, however...I'm sorry I did not go to the local Restaurant Supply store instead of the local "Gourmet Shop" to purchase it. A friend of mine went to the restaurant supply and got a professional pasta machine with a ravioli maker for about $90. As for recipes, I've never made pasta with all-purpose flour - I always use Semolina.

I am hooked on Texas Pete and I have been even before I knew it was manufactured right here in my home state of good ol' NC. It's not as hot as some of the hot sauces, but it has more body than Tabasco and there's a saltiness to it. I put it on just about anything - popcorn, grits, hard boiled eggs. mmmmm

My video store didn't have Dinner Rush last time I looked, but I'll try again, maybe Saturday if I get all the prep work for my Groundhogs day brunch done in time. Have you seen Vatel? I loved that movie. It was such a great story and if you are a true foodie you will love seeing all the garde manger work that he does. The carved vegetable flowers, salt sculpture, ice carvings. Really magnificent.