JFLinLA

Do you need the pumpkin in chunks? Yes, it is a PITA to peel. If you don't need chunks, cut the pumpin in half, scrape seeds, cook, cool and then scrape out flesh. Much easier.

Okay. Next year ask earlier when there's time to send it. (I once decided to start from fresh pumpkin and decided it wasn't worth the effort. However, I have easy access to canned.) Please take a look at the Julia Child recipe I mentioned. I think it should satisfy your need for something more gourmet as well as keep the traditionalists happy.

I personally love the recipe in Julia Child's The Way to Cook. Jack -- PM me and I'll send you a can of pumpkin . . . or more if you like. That's the least I can do in exchange for the sourdough starter.

The Guittard folks can tell you where you can find them in your area. They are the ones who told me that Trader Joe's had discontinued them and referred me to California Candy. Now, if someone would tell me how I can get my paws on them at a lesser price than California Candy, that would be great. Maybe the folks at KAF will start carrying this to replace the earlier product.

Michael: 1. In the traditional "kiss" shape like other chips. 2. As long as you don't stir when warm, it should hold its shape. I've never had a problem before. I would take the term "meltier" as referring to how it feels in your mouth. Enjoy.

I personally am a huge fan of the Guittard Super Cookie Chip. I have no idea how many per pound but they are much larger than the average chip and the chocolate is great too. I think they came out #1 at an America's Test Kitchen tasting but I just know I like them. I used to be able to buy them at Trader Joe's during the holiday season but they stopped carrying them. You can buy them at CaliforniaCandy.com. Not the cheapest, especially when you add shipping but I think you will be pleased.

LA Times Food Section -- November 5, 2003 Special Restaurant Issue Brief summaries and links to individual articles are provided below. The LA Times posts their restaurant reviews, and other Food Section articles, in the Calendar section on-line even though they appear in the Food section of the print edition. Further, one is required to register separately to access the Calendar section and pay a fee if you don't already subscribe to the paper. S. Irene Virbila says "the restaurant drought is over" in her Critic's Notebook Taking the Town by Storm. "L.A.'s restaurant scene is sparkling with an effervescence we haven't seen since the mid '80s when Citrus, Spago, Michael's, Max au Triangle, St. Estephe, City Restaurant and Trumps were showing the rest of the country how it's done." Be sure to check out the Addresses of the Moment so you don't miss out. In Matters of Taste, David Shaw says, "Part of the reason we're seeing more adventurous menus is because we're finally willing to try something different." The man behind the look of all those new, hip restaurants is Dodd Mitchell. Read about the hottest restaurant designer in town. Another way to hang out at a great restaurant is to take a cooking class. Leslee Komaiko talks about it in Teachings of the masters. "At restaurants around town, chefs are informally holding court with cooking lessons, connecting with fans -- and having a lot of fun." Recipes for Spanish paella from Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger's Ciudad, Norsk salmon burgers from Michael Shafer at the Depot restaurant, and Chocolate Cookies from Brook Williamson at Amuse Cafe. We may have invented a lot of food trends in California but did you know that The cafeteria (is) an L. A. original started in downtown LA in 1905 . . . and they were good. And then there were three profiles the 3 remaining old grand cafeterias. Here is the timeline of cafeteria history. Did you know there is a direct link between Clifton's Cafeteria and why the City of Los Angeles couldn't just fire Police Chief Darrell Gates after the Rodney King riots? It's not in the article but let's see who really knows their LA history. Leslie Brenner says interesting wine lists are turning up where you'd least expect them in You won't believe what's pouring. Here are the Secrets of the wine sleuth. The Wine of the Week is 1999 Zerbina 'Torre di Ceparano' Sangiovese di Romagna. Linda Burum gushes about Massimo's Gelato, the old-fashioned, artisanal gelateria in Venice -- California, not Italy. S. Irene Virbila gives 1 1/2 stars to Zen Grill & Sake Lounge in Westwood and recommends the Rock shrimp and calamari tempura, chicken satay, kalbi (short ribs), crispy calamari salad, pan-fried tofu steak, Mongolian lamb, grilled rib-eye steak with long beans, and coconut creme brulee.

Flo Braker -- already mentioned. Maida Heatter Anything by Julia -- even if it's "technically" someone else's recipes those books are always well done.

Let's be clear, most cookbooks are designed to sell which does not always translate into usable recipes. Many people buy the "beautiful" cookbooks as if they were coffee table books. I buy cook books for a different purpose. Before I do spend money, I will flip through it to see if I think it will be useful. Further, when I get a new one, the first thing I do is read it cover to cover, literally. This may take several days as I sit in bed late in the evening perusing the foreword/introduction, other discussion, along with the recipes. In terms of which books I use and what I think about them, it depends what I'm going for. Julia Child has never failed me yet and she always does an excellent job of explaining technique. I love many recipes from my old, stained Silver Palate books however sometimes the results didn't "wow" me or weren't worth the effort. Fannie Farmer and Joy of Cooking are always within arms reach as they can easily explain basic technique. In that regard, the Cake Bible also serves as great reference material. I need to poke my nose back into Peter Reinhart and Nancy Silverton to check out some bread stuff but I haven't been focusing there for a while. I love Joan Nathan's Jewish Cooking in America for it's stories and history but have only ever cooked 1 or 2 things from it. I could go on. I guess I tend to "cherry pick" from the books I have, find what works for me, combine ideas from different sources including books, handed down recipes, online sources, etc.

Okay, okay so it's not the weekly digest but on Sunday, in the Opinion section of all places, the LA Times had a wonderful piece about Phillipe the Originalby Merril Shindler (our former restaurant reviewer -- before Irene and before Ruth). Phillipe's, for those that don't know, is a classic LA eaterie where, legend has it, the french dip sandwich was invented and you can still get a 25 cent cup of coffee. Read the article here. Talk about it here. I'll be back mid-week with the regular digest.

Though the union pulled the picketers from Ralph's to focus on Vons and Pavilions, I have not gone back to my local Ralphs store (though with a family of 4 and full time job, 1-stop shopping is easier). The issue of rising health care (and worker's comp) costs effects us all as I said earlier in this thread. We all pay for it. My problem is that following the employee walk-out at Von's, Ralphs employees were locked-out by their management. The union pulled back this weekend but management retained its lock-out. If you want to work, you should be able to. If the union pulls back and management will let their employees come back to work, then I'll be back at Ralphs.

I was curious how our folks in the food industry were feeling the effects of the transit strike. Are service workers showing up? How are they getting there? What about customers in transit-oriented areas? Tourists in Hollywood for instance?

LA Times Food Section -- October 29, 2003 It seems the LA Times has taken down it's PDF link allowing viewers to see the LA Times Food Section as it appears in print. Brief summaries and links to individual articles are provided below. The LA Times posts their restaurant reviews in the Calendar section on-line even though they appear in the Food section of the print edition. Further, one is required to register separately to access the Calendar section and pay a fee if you don't already subscribe to the paper. Summer's gone but not quite. It's fall but not quite. Russ Parsons' California Cook joyously brings us through the seasonal transition. Recipes for Pomegranate-glazed lamb chops with rosemary applesauce and Crostini with roasted tomatoes and goat cheese. He may be a feared attorney who reduced Michael Eisner to a bumbling mess on the witness stand, but Bert Fields is a known as a warm host. Go spy on lives of the rich and famous with Corie Brown in Cristal and fajitas - so sue him. Recipes for Ensalada playa los gatos and fajitas. Millionaires! Showgirls! Truffles! is David Shaw's column about how culinary high rollers go head to head over a really big fungus in Vegas, baby. From the wild, wild East is Regina Schrambling's Cookbook Watch column about The Breakaway Japanese Kitchen by Eric Gower. Recipes for Japanese coleslaw, Edamame, mint pesto pasta, and Beet salad with ginger, smoked trout and walnuts. Culinary SOS brings a recipe for Free-range chicken breast with a citrus and rum glaze from the Barefoot Bar & Grill at the Paradise Point Resort & Spa in San Diego. It must be Halloween. The drink this stuff? by Valli Herman-Cohen is about black vodka. Really! Recipes for October screwdriver, Blacker dahlia, Black mystique, and Black plague. The Wine of the Week is 2001 Scott Paul Chardonnay 'Kent Ritchie Vineyard'. The Hotlist is the list of best selling cook books in Southern California. He's rocking their world is S. Irene Virbila's review of Maple Drive in Beverly Hills. New chef Eric Klein "has created a thrilling menu." She gives the restaurant 3 stars and recommends the Chilled shrimp soup, potato and Swiss chard soup, crispy calamari, Maryland blue crab cake, black bass with raisin-caper sauce, whole rotisseried poussin, prime veal rib chop, veal Milanese, lemon grass rice pudding, peach Melba, pear upside-down cake. In Restaurant Journal, Leslee Komaiko says restaurants are "taking the kitsch out of the kitchen — and sending it to your table."

Very cool idea. The younger one's Bat Mitzvah is over a year and a half off but I'll be consulting you, Blov, as it gets closer and I start dealing with the details. I'll probably be consulting with the whole e-Gullet community. Actually, I know what her Hebrew name translates into and it may not be and object. Maybe the Parasha or something else.

Serious reform Jew piping in** Our "party favors" were torah shaped sugar cookies, rather large, decorated with a "Kof", the Hebrew letter from his Torah portion (Korach). Other popular favors I've seen are a box of 4 Krispy Kreme's handed out on the way home, with or without a copy of the Sunday New York Times. ** Reform -- don't keep Kosher, not "Shomer Shabbas" but observe all major and many minor holidays, light candles on many Friday nights even if all I can manage it take out pizza on the table though usually succeed with more, attend temple way more than 2x/year, etc.

Welcome to eGullet EllenC. Thanks for your post. Looking forward to your recipe in my mailbox. If you can email it, even better. My email is chef@suvir.com. Otherwise, PM is just fine. Thanks. PM me as well please and explain a little more about the "freezer" method for the fancier ones in mini-muffin pans and how you remove them. I think that's what I'm interested in. Thanks in advance. Jody

For the sundae bar at my son's Bar Mitzvah, the caterer had some wait staff scooping the ice cream (I think there were about 3 flavors to choose from) and keeping an eye on the assortment of toppings. The dessert bar was on the other side of the room but there was lot's of "cross pollination" which was just fine. This was the big hit -- a cappucino cart. Both the adults and kids lined up for this one as she made both hot and ice-blended drinks. My daughter has already requested this for her Bat Mitzvah.

Suvir -- Would love to benefit from your efforts on this so please do share your results and findings and recommendations for making individual cheesecakes. I'd love to be able to make bite-sized ones in mini-muffin pans. What do you think?

The caterer provided the ice cream sundae bar and I provided the dessert bar at my son's Bar Mitzvah. It contained items both kid and adult friendly though many adults chose the brownies, chocolate chip cookies and sundae's over or along with the other items. I like the "brownie sundae" idea a lot. The 13 year olds will love it.

Read the September 3rd entry here.

I sense an eGCA class coming on.

LA Times Food Section -- October 22, 2003 If you missed out, be sure to check out last week's terrific Q&A with LA Times Food section writer and former editor Russ Parsons. Click here. To view the LA Times Food Section as it appears in print, click here for the PDF version. This will allow you to see all the articles. Brief summaries and links to individual articles are provided below. However, the LA Times is now posting their restaurant reviews in the Calendar section on-line even though they appear in the Food section of the print edition. Further, one is required to register separately to access the Calendar section and pay a fee if you don't already subscribe to the paper. Pumpkins, they're not just for pie or jack-o-lanterns. That's what Regina Schrambling says in Out of their shell, and the rest of world seems to know this. Looks like the recipes provided are really great including Pumpkin tarte tatin, Pumpkin ragout with chorizo and shiitake mushrooms, Pumpkin lasagna, and Arugula and roasted pumpkin salad with blue cheese and pecans. Joachim Splichal -- the myth, the legend, the empire, the truth. Corie Brown's The man behind Patina's curtain is a wonderful profile of Splichal and the history of the Patina empire. A few weeks back, he also wrote about the impending move to the new Disney Concert Hall. Click here. Beer, it's not just for pizza, burgers and BBQ (do I detect a theme?). Read James Ricci's Beer gets invited to serious tables and find out who is doing what with great brews. Find out about the ultimate beer dinner designed by Hans Rockenwagner, Sang Yoon and Dahlia Solomon. Recipes provided for Miso and beer marinated black cod, Oatmeal, stout-braised prok daube, Ginger cakes with dried fruit and beer compote, and Adult espresso night-cap. In Matters of Taste, David Shaw tells how "Restaurants are ceremoniously pairing drinks (vintage juice, flavored milk) with kids' meals." This actually looks like a lot of fun. Wake up and smell the pancetta, by Susan LaTempa, is about 3 chefs that are doing great things with breakfast. Recipes for Lemon dill omelet, Butternut squash with pancetta hash, and Soufflé pancakes with blackberry compote. You gotta love a place that serves pizza by the yard and 'da bomb.' Well, S. Irene Virbila does in Deliciously offbeat, her review of Cheebo on Sunset Boulevard. It gets 2 stars and she recommends the Sausage and fennel pizza, Cheebo chop, ribollita, ravioli, cedar-planked wild salmon, brisket, PorkWich, "da bomb." In Counter Intelligence, Charles Perry rides a gravy train to longevity at Bill's original taco house. In business since 1949, located on MLK, recommended dishes are Silva burrito with chili gravy, taco, beef tamale. This is not health food.

We had a lovely meal at Joe's over the summer on one of those rare occasions when there were no kids. I wrote it up here at the time. I had the tomato menu which, being the heart of summer, was perfect. Though I did opt for a non-tomato dessert. In addition to the food, I very much enjoyed the atmosphere and service which were lovely and relaxed, and without any "hipper-than-thou" attitude.

Gawd, I remember my daughter, then probably 3 years old, popping a slice of fresh horseradish in her mouth before I could warn her. She still eats almost anything.

No refrigeration? Really?