jeniac42

Alas, my baking plans fell through because my friend's sisters were in town (she forgot) and she would've been cross with me had I made a BCP without her, so I have nothing to report. I seem to remember seeing BCP on menus but now that I think about it, I couldn't tell you where, so it's maybe a figment of my imagination. They always sell them at the grocery store, though, and one year I had one as a birthday cake. I generally find them to be far too sweet and was hoping to remedy that in my own preparation.

I believe I can take my dog (I have an acquaintance who took hers with her some years ago, and I was reading the web page which basically just states pets need to go through quarantine). Of course, I don't know that I'd actually do that to her. Perhaps I should just wait until I've got some restaurant experience here, try to make some connections and whatnot and move then.

Answers: 1: Alas, no. I have European great-grandparents (Germany), though I think that's one too far removed. 2: Yes. My fluency has decreased greatly but I studied French for 7 years; when I was in Paris for a week it started to come back to me. 3: Sure, why not? This is all theoretical anyway; in real life I own a house that will be difficult to sell and a dog who'd have to go through quarantine, and also a husband who may or may not want to move to France (England, sure).

Oh, yes; je suis americaine.

As of two weeks from last Friday, I will be a laid off type for the second time in a year. My husband was also laid off in December. As I've said before, I really want to work in restaurants. It's probably not practicable (we own a house that'll be impossible to sell), but I've been wondering how one goes about moving to, say, France and working in a restaurant there. I'm equally curious about the UK (and will perhaps start a separate thread over there). I couldn't find anything using the search engine, but I know I've read about some eGulleteers who have done this. So: how?

Does anyone have a good recipe for Boston cream pie? I've never made one and figure it's just a yellow sponge cake with a custard filling and chocolate glaze. I've got a friend coming over tomorrow to bake and figured I'd just assemble the components based on recipes from the Cake Bible. Any pitfalls I should know about?

Well, I went to the bookstore and ended up buying neither because today was one of those oh-I'm-so-depressed days and I just couldn't make a decision. So. Perhaps tomorrow I will pick up HSSS and then, well, my birthday's coming up in a few weeks so I should be able to justify a few more books

One time I was waiting on a table a fair distance from the kitchen. I'm trying to explain their entrees to them, and then I (and everyone else in the place) heard one of the waiters in the back yell "Nice snatch!" Are we allowed to say that on eGullet?

Yeah. Uh, the only problem with the library is that I put some books in my trunk and forgot to return them. For three months. Whoops. And I have some B&N store credit at the moment, so I can get one book by shelling out a few dollars versus the giant library fine I have.

I should add that I can only get one book if I want to have money left over to buy actual food with which to cook.

I know these books have been mentioned to death here, but I cannot divine the answer to my question from previous threads. I wish to learn to prepare Thai food at home. There are some nice restaurants in Columbus, but none of them near enough to where I live, so there you have it. I know there's a place called Bangkok Grocery, so it seems like I should be able to buy any necessary ingredients. I know HSSS doesn't focus exclusively on Thai food. Which one of these two books should I get (or is there another one entirely that would be better than either)? Also: Darn you people and your larb thread. I don't have a car at work and therefore will be unable to obtain any sort of Thai food until at least seven hours from now.

...good Lord, have you smelled it? How could you NOT love cilantro? (I used to think it tasted like soap, but now I eat it like it's going out of style.)

I am also "on" Weight Watchers and got into the habit of eating breakfast that way. Now I have to eat something soon after waking up or I feel like hell the rest of the day. Alas, when I have to wake up early that frequently ends up being a PowerBar or some such nonsense. Not really great or even good food, although at least it has some nutrients. Generally by the time I get out of bed I have approximately five seconds to brush my teeth, get dressed, and get out the door, so it's all I can do to grab one from the bookcase by the door. Of course, any suggestions of better things to eat that require no prep, no refrigeration, and are edible in the car are welcome. I confess, I also enjoy a Sausage, Egg, & Cheese McGriddle from time to time. Oh, the ignominy. Of course, I blame eGullet for my being stuck around 185 for the past two months.

I think Scharffen Berger makes their chocolate from beans, or is that not what you meant?

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So here's my question: I have buckets for some things already, but how do you figure out the required storage container size for something short of testing it out? Like, 5lb of sugar takes up less room than 5lb of flour (duh) so the container size is different - any good strategies for mapping this out ahead of time?

For reasons I have not yet discerned, you can find crab cakes on nearly every menu here in Columbus.

Yep, and my local restaurant supply has them for about half the list price shown on the Cambro webpage. I love them so much I want to go buy some rightnow, but I need to do like mamster (whose articles I always love, by the by, so witty) and make a spreadsheet of stuff I need containers for. The ones I have are good for sugar, flour, and I've got a couple extras for brining meats and prep storage, etc.

I also really, really like the square Cambro (restaurant supply store) buckets for storage. Right now my cupboards are disorganized but! tonight I am buying some pantry shelving and I'm going to get them under control. And I know Cambro will be what I use, because it's heavy duty, the lids are sold separately, and I like the way it looks.

I love growing habaneros. In Ohio they keep producing until they're coated in a layer of ice. Gardening is not my forte, no matter how hard I try, so agreeable plants are A-OK by me. The problem is that lately spicy foods have been causing me, well, problems. I never used to have this issue, and I'm pretty cross about having it now. Maybe I'll just have to eat them more often and see if I just got un-used to them.

Yeah, that's actually what I intended to buy but they didn't have any (?!) and I really didn't feel like driving to another store. I'll know better next time. That page is great. I'll examine it more closely when I have more time. Wouldn't pounding the meat into thin steaks make it more difficult to keep it on the rare side?

OK, so I bought something labeled "Sirloin Tip Roast Center Cut" to make boeuf bourguignon yesterday (which turned out OK; I think I needed to brown everything more to give it more flavor). My question, and I've been unable to find the answer via google: If I cut this into steaks, will I have sirloin tip center steaks, or are those from a different section of the same area? Also, any really good books on meat fabrication? And any suggestions on what to do with a 10oz remnant of this roast are welcome, although I think I'll either cut it into steaks or just roast it with an herb crust.

I don't think I have any actual food allergies, although I think I may have intolerances to a number of things. Of course, I seem to have more problems when I drink colas so I wonder if it's not some preservative or soemthing therein. I do have severe allergies to other things (put me in a room with a cat for five minutes and my eyes swell to ten times their normal size and I'll be covered in hives, yay!) but so far no food. The thing that's always puzzled me is that foods that make me sick (and I don't need to give details, right?) always make me sick within an hour at most of eating them. From what little I know, that doesn't seem like it's enough time for the body to process them, so I do wonder if it might be somehow an allergic reaction. I'm not interested in going to a doctor, though, and being told I shouldn't eat shellfish. By the way, I have seen many advice columns written for people on a diet, or advice for ordering in a restaurant, and they frequently say it's easier and a better guarantee of getting what you want to claim a food allergy instead of just saying you don't like something, so this could be part of the issue. I'll see if I can dig one up. I always thought that was disingenuous at best.

Yes, let's all support Students for an Orwellian Society. Actually, the only foodstuffs I've ever brought into the country have been fully legal, to my knowledge. Cornichons and chocolates. How does one go about sneaking something in, and what happens if one is caught?

I'd like to join in. It would be great if we could keep the wine costs under $40 or so. Amazingly, I can get Keen's or Montgomery Cheddar here (indeed, I have some at home right now), along with good Epoisses and Roquefort. Last night I had the rather unfortunate (to my tastebuds) combination of the Montgomery Cheddar and a $9 Primitivo whose maker eludes me. The Parmigiano-Reggiano was much better in terms of matching. I also have a very, very mild French blue (again, I've forgotten the name) that I think wasn't properly aged, or something. It only started blueing once it was cut in the shop. Mostly it's buttery like a butterkase (which, to be honest, I know not a lot about) with a little bit of blue mold. But that's really neither here nor there, is it? It was OK with the wine.