Pan

This dough moves very slowly, being so rich, so I proved it overnight, until it triples. Its important to let the first dough fully develop, The second has proved all day, and I guess I will retard it overnight. What do "prove" and "retard" mean in regard to dough? Terrific blog, wonderful pictures!

I don't know when the new label started, but I was told when I toured Moet-Chandon California that the U.S. isn't a party to a treaty some (most, I think) wine-producing countries have signed, respecting the - hmm...what's the English term for denominazione controllata? Well, that Champagne comes only from the Champagne region, Asti only from the Asti region, etc. From what I recall, that treaty was signed during Prohibition in the U.S., and when Prohibition was repealed in the U.S., there was apparently no strong push for the U.S. to sign that treaty.

I'm surprised to hear that wine sales have been on the decline in the U.S. for some time, assuming that goes back to the Clinton boom years. What have people been doing with the money they haven't been spending on wine? Have beer sales skyrocketed?

Watch rec.humor.funny on USENET. I'll bet there's something up by next week.

Thanks. That response does put a different perspective on things. I think I'm not alone in reacting partly emotionally to BSE because the symptoms are so horrible. Obviously, the Ebola virus is a much bigger threat because of the degree of mortality, but the symptoms that hit people with terminal cases of either one are horrifying.

Steven, that strikes me as somewhat similar reasoning to defending the laughable airline security that allowed Al Qaeda hijackers onto planes, on the basis that hijackers had not yet successfully used an airplane as a missile. An attempt to crash an airliner into the Eiffel Tower had previously been foiled by French commandos and the CIA had known since 1996 that Al Qaeda had plans to use planes as missiles. With those warnings, the steps taken to deal with the threat in the case of Al Qaeda were proven grossly insufficient. Similarly, there has been plenty of warning that BSE was a threat, given that outbreaks have happened in many countries including Canada. We have to hope that the BSE was caught in time in the U.S., but if it was, it seems to me that it was due to luck more than good regulatory procedure.

Guess what? Investigators Trace Diseased Cow to Canada

Louisa, I sort of hope you don't feed your dog Pierre Gagnaire's cuisine. As I said before, I have to wonder whether a dog would prefer 3-star cuisine to a nice, juicy piece of raw meat - but honestly, I don't think dogs should get the chance to find out. Feeding dogs haute cuisine really rubs me the wrong way big time, but it is part of French culture, so when I'm in France, I accept it along with all of the things I love about France. And I think I'd better stop there for now. I'm sure if we started a thread on the place of customers' pets in restaurants (no place inside restaurants, as far as I'm concerned, though having well-behaved dogs in the outdoor parts of cafes doesn't bother me), we'd have a very vociferous argument on our hands.

I don't think that's the point, fresco.

Which NY Times 3 star have you eaten at? I hope you have a chance to eat in a Michelin-starred restaurant someday. I have no opinion on Susur, as I have yet to even visit Toronto! Interesting thread, though.

I'm happy to see that report that there are some good Thai places in Rochester now. When I tried out for Eastman for grad school in 1988, an ostensibly Thai place that people seemed to unanimously rave about and which was crowded served me one of the worst meals of my life. That and the reaction to snow in that city were two things that caused me not to want to live in Rochester at the time. The last time I was in Harrisburg, I ate at a terrific Indian restaurant that was the hotel restaurant of the Quality Inn Waterfront and wrote it up on the Pennsylvania forum. Considering how many hotels are owned by Indians of the Patel clan, are there some good hotel-connected Indian restaurants in upstate communities?

I see your points, now that you've explained the situation in more detail.

I sort of see what you mean, but basically, it amounts to you and your friend not caring enough to send it back. I don't see how asking that a bottle be taken away and tap water given to you would constitute "making a scene."

Definitely, if you have a good, really fine spice grinder.

What's the age that's generally considered to be acceptable at Ducasse?

Thanks. I'm learning a lot about ingredients by asking questions.

Why didn't you return the bottle immediately?! Diners have to choose to stick up for themselves. You drink it, you buy it. Complaining about something you did doesn't cut it for me. Yes, the establishment shouldn't be pushy, but you know why they are? Because people like you choose not to stand up for yourselves, so it works for them! Am I wrong?

My grandmother used to make a stuffed cabbage recipe with a tomato-based sauce and stuffing that included carrots, prunes, raisins, rice, chopped meat (beef), and - her secret ingredient - ginger snaps. I always loved in when she made it. We still have the recipe and my mother and I have made it, but it never seems to taste the same. I think it was special because my grandmother made it. [i still miss her some 17 years after she died.]

Mabelline, how can you tell? Yes, I do feel somewhat better today. So far.

Bux, my parents told me about a time when they went with my brother (then 5 years old) to a restaurant in France that was no high-end place or obviously fancy. They say that my brother behaved perfectly well from their American perspective and spoke in a normal conversational voice - and everyone stared at him, because in those days (this would be 1963 or '64), children were "seen and not heard," and none of the French children in the place said a word the entire time in that silent room. Needless to say, my brother really disliked the experience and my parents were uncomfortable but learned something about cultural differences. Clearly, things have changed since then, as I found during my trip to France in June of 2002 that talking in a normal voice and laughing in Michelin-starred restaurants was evidently quite acceptable. The French love affair with dogs is something that most anyone who's been to France has experienced - the way they feed excellent humans' food to their dog, who is sitting next to them, perhaps without a leash on. I have my doubts that dogs can appreciate haute cuisine better than a nice, juicy piece of raw meat, but who am I to tell people to stop anthropomorphising their pets?

Irwin, I hope you rephrased the method, too, in keeping with copyright restrictions (if any). Irwin, is there any part of the world you haven't been to?

What is caster sugar?

I finally figured out Marge is his dog! The pictures in that blog are amazing! I haven't been following it, but now I've decided to read and look through it in the near future.

Bux, I have to strongly disagree that a great performance of Les Troyens is inferior to a good dinner! Tarka, there are lots of places where you could hear live music. I remember going to a little bar on Rue Lepic not far from the Place de Clichy and hearing some nice jazz in the basement. It's too long ago for me to remember the name of the place, but that kind of thing would be a nice way to relax in the late evening. Another thing that occurs to me - entirely unrelated - is that Tunisian musicians were playing on the Place de Chaillot every Sunday afternoon (or was it Saturday?) some years ago when I was staying in a hotel near the Ecole Militaire and the Champs de Mars. I doubt they'll be out in cold weather, but it was a lot of fun to have a picnic and listen to that lively music. One of them let me try his oboe-like instrument once (I forget the name of the thing).

I think I was 8th grade when I saw the first opera I loved, The Magic Flute. I had been to La Boheme earlier, was bored by the act that was a long love scene, and left after that act so that my mother and her friend could enjoy the rest of the opera in peace. It's all about having an adequate attention span and being considerate. I don't think that Carnegie Hall is the same as the Metropolitan Opera, but we should probably drop this tangent.