TrishCT

Tomorrow, August 15th, is Julia Child's birthday... It's easy for me to remember because... ummm...its ummm... well lets just say its easy for me to remember.... For all she has accomplished, she is amazing!

2. Soba, thanks for your kind words. and in answer to your query, I will interview anyone. If there is a paper or magazine that will print it, I'll do it. Hey TrishCT, How's about a telling little rant from Rocco's former wine steward, a guy who had high hopes for the restaurant and "The Restaurant" and who is utterly disillusioned and humiliated with the outcome of the latter? My email address is FirstSeLNF@aol.com

1. Hi Wesza, I recognize your writing from elsewhere... I think you're a hoot.. And I think it's RosEanne... not Ross... but carry on, you have a great approach to this whole thing! 2. Soba, thanks for your kind words. and in answer to your query, I will interview anyone. If there is a paper or magazine that will print it, I'll do it. Hope that narrows it down for ya.... Edited to add: A good JLo pic... Blood & Wine, also starring Jack Nicholson, and Michael Caine in an unusual role... definitely worth a looksee...

Thank you Tommy, JH, and Ronnie. I enjoyed speaking with Topher, he is an interesting man (and plucky).

for real? no wonder the place was moving like molasses. that must have taken a while! rocco hasn't cooked "italian" in a professional capacity, but i'm sure the guy has made some italian dishes in his day, no? i mean, i'm not even a chef and i have. thanks for the insight uzay.

In the opening episode for her interview she danced a samba... Two more episodes to go, maybe the series will get picked up by a cable channel for reruns... No not Food Network... I am thinking Court TV because what's going on here is criminal....

In one scene Rocco mutters that the Post said the food was cold. It almost made me laugh (emphasis on almost) Food..... cold......must......serve....hot......food.... Man, the insights you glean...

Soba, The waitress who left (I don't recall her name) is the same one who in last week's episode said she didn't care whether or not the tables had forks. She had been given a night off previously to adjust her attitude... Apparently the time off didn't help...

Topher said he has no regrets about the show. My own opinion is that this show is a big break for everyone on it...except Rocco.

What a nasty thing to say about someone, Nick. I had the opportunity to speak at length with Topher, and he seems like a nice guy and damned good waiter. He was honest with Rocco and walked out when he saw that the place wasn't working. And from most accounts to date, the place still isn't working...

My observation is that anytime anyone wants to post anything about the Food Network the thread gets hijacked.

JAZ, Because of your interesting article, I had my first Lemon Drop this weekend (at Artisanal in NYC). It was made with Absolut and tasted like pure vodka with a lemon twang. The rim of the martini glass was dipped in sugar...which helped... I don't really fancy strong drinks because I have a low threshold of drunkeness. Still--it was quite drinkable. Thank you for de-mystifying mixology.

Just a follow up on our recent dinner there. Food: The meek amongst us ate swiss cheese fondue, which was as mild as mother's milk. Next time the meek said they would venture for a bolder choice (perhaps the Stilton?) The gougeres (goozh air) were tasty little fried cream puff shells, with a flavor reminiscent of cheese nips. They went well with my cocktail. After reading the excellent EG article about mixology, I ordered the famous Lemon Drop. It tasted like straight vodka, and since I am not much of a drinker it put me in a very silly mood for the rest of the meal. Also as an app, we had the onion soup. This was just right! Three cheeses- gruyere, mozzarella and parmesan forming a luscious gooey crust on top with rich stock and properly cooked onions in the soup below. Well done. Since we were of varying levels of hunger, we shared the rest of our food. A 3-cheese plate arrived containing a bleu, an 80% cream something, and some sort of parmesan reggiano... but by this time I was now drinking a glass of Chat Grezan and my memory is a bit foggy... (they have a great number of wines by the glass) My daughter said the macaroni and cheese was the cheesiest she has ever had (I think that means it was good). The hanger steak and frites were perfect bistro food. The steak was tasty and tender, cooked a perfect medium rare with a nice brown onion sauce... The frites were thin and nicely hot but they must also be magical because they disappeared mysteriously from my plate when my sister shouted at me "Look, in the cheese cave I think that's Tony Bourdain..." sigh, it wasn't... The dessert chocolate fondue was good quality warmed chocolate with fun dippers like (homemade-like) marshamallows, fruit and very orangey mini madeleines. Kid stuff..but heck, we had the kids... We also shared profiteroles which would have been better covered in the same fondue sauce rather than the cold chocolate sauce that covered them.... So of course the profiteroles got dunked in the fondue pot as well.... yum... The cheese cave and take out counter were fascinating. Never saw so many different types of exotic cheese. It was difficult to know what to try... but the fromagier was helpful and doled out many samples. Definitely visit the counter before ordering your cheese. Service: It was good overall. Upon request, a fromagier and sommelier stopped by to answer our questions about cheese and wine pairings. If I return again with some bolder dining companions I would consider ordering one of the special cheese/wine pairings listed on the menu. We never lacked for bread or water, and we found the staff's demeanor pleasant. Artisanal was a very good dining experience, worth a return trip. By the way, we saw the Broadway show, The Play What I Wrote. It was extremely funny (our special mystery star was Eric McCormack of Will & Grace). We all need a good laugh now and again...I highly recommend it.

Although the food can be spotty.... I have always found the frites at Tout Va Bien to be formidable.

fresh mozzarella with escarole & beans red sauce, fresh mozz, prosciutto, sweet peas, carmelized onions broccoli rabe, sausage & peppers

...

I was so NOT going to post anything on this thread, having said what I needed to on previous threads.... HOWEVER.... CWS, I assume you are probably younger than me... I am forty 'friggin' four.... emphasis on friggin... which is like 305 or something in dog years, anyway... In my day, tv was black and white and Gypsy Rose Lee had her own talk show... those were the days... We also had an incredible tv chef/instructor named Julia who taught Americans that food is actually something good to eat.... Julia's success of course inspired tv spin offs...one notable one being Graham Kerr a/k/a The Galloping Gourmet.... Graham, in a word, was a fop. Cute, silly, handy with the double entendres and lascivious grins.... In my opinion, he did absolutely nothing to advance cuisine of any kind, and more often mangled his dishes with an overindulgence of clarified buttah. But his tv shows were popular with the ladies... and in his own way he encouraged homemakers "to kick it up a notch..." Years pass.... As Fukui san says... "Whose cuisine reigns supreme...?" We all know the answer... Julia is revered for her brilliance and Graham never amounted to much more than the Trotting Gourmet... or was that the gourmet with the trots... My take on Emeril, is that he is a decent chef with a very engaging personality, and he has great potential. In the Julia special on PBS he showed her how to make a darn good New England Clam Boil.... In those moments you saw Emeril the chef and food enthusiast, not the Man with the Bam... In drum lingo, pardon the pun, he's got the chops... I don't like the show Emeril Live, for reasons others have stated, but I think, like Oprah, he could clean up his act and have something special... I don't begrudge Emeril his fame and fortune, but it IS time to put the baloney away and bring out the prosciutto.

This is a great tip... never heard it before.... Thanx!

Running into some "technical difficulties" trying to insert a picture....

Going to see a show with my sister, newly-turned eighteen year old son, and fifteen year old daughter... so Tommy, it's not exactly a sit-at- the- bar- till- we- fall- off trip... but I'll keep that in mind next time I go.... Wonder if they will let me sing tunes from A Chorus Line.... nope, that's for another thread, another day.... We are a mixed bag here, but all love cheese.... Sis and I love wine...the other two had better not.... Thanks for the suggestions so far...keep 'em coming....

Going to theatre and early dinner at Artisanal on Saturday. Has anyone been recently...any recommendations? Thanks, Trish

Had a great day at my kids' Drum Corps competition yesterday, brought a Boston Cream Pie and the Party Cupcakes I mentioned in a previous post. Getting pictures developed today, and if I can figure out the scanner will send pix of the cakes in a future post In the meantime, here is my recipe for Boston Cream Pie. I use cake flour, which gives the cake a nice texture. For the filling, I use the double boiler, it never fails. For assembly, I put it all back in the springform pan, which holds it together nicely until serving time. This recipe makes a little more icing than you'll need...but I find if I leave the icing bowl by the dishes, I get help with clean-up. Enjoy! Boston Cream Pie Cake: 1/3 Cup Unsalted Butter, softened 2/3 Cup Sugar 2 Eggs, separated 1 3/4 Cups Soft As Silk Cake Flour 2 1/2 Teaspoons Baking Powder 1/8 Teaspoon Salt 1/2 Cup Milk 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract 1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease and flour one 10 inch springform pan. 2. Mix flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. 3. Whip egg whites to stiff peaks, set aside. 4. In mixing bowl with mixer, cream butter and sugar. 5. Add egg yolks, blend well. 6. Add flour mixture alternately with the milk and vanilla, starting and ending with the flour mixture. 7. Fold in by hand the whipped egg whites. 8. Pour in prepared pan and bake 25 minutes until lightly brown on top. Cool. Vanilla Cream Filling: 2/3 Cup Sugar 1/3 Cup Flour-all purpose 1/8 Teaspoon Salt 2 Cups hot, scalded Milk 2 Eggs, slightly beaten 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract or other flavoring 1. In top of double boiler, over boiling water, mix sugar, flour and salt. 2. Add hot milk. 3. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring with a whisk, until mixture thickens. 4. Add eggs and cook 2 more minutes. 5. Stir in vanilla. 6. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate till needed. Chocolate Icing (Ganache): 1 Cup Heavy Cream 1 Cup Ghirardelli Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips 1 Tablespoon Unsalted Butter 1. Put chips in a medium bowl. 2. Bring heavy cream to a boil, pour over chocolate. 3. Stir till soft and shiny, add butter, stir till blended. 4. Refrigerate till ready to use. To assemble cake: Split cooled cake layer in half. Place bottom half of cake in the springform pan. Add Cream filling. Cover with second layer. Top with ganache. Keep chilled in pan till ready to serve.

Boston Cream Pie Well, you can teach an old dog new tricks! This was my go-to Boston Cream Pie Recipe for years, but after testing White Cakes on the Pastry & Baking Forum, I now have a strong preference for the King Arthur Elegant White Cake as the base for this dessert. For now, I will leave it as the original recipe, but will edit it soon to reflect the new cake recipe. Cake 1/3 c Unsalted Butter, softened 2/3 c Sugar 2 Eggs, separated 1-3/4 c Soft As Silk Cake Flour 2-1/2 tsp Baking Powder 1/8 tsp Salt 1/2 c Milk 1 tsp Vanilla Extract Vanilla Cream Filling: 2/3 c Sugar 1/3 c Flour-all purpose 1/8 tsp Salt 2 c hot, scalded Milk 2 Eggs, slightly beaten 1 tsp Vanilla Extract or other flavoring Chocolate Icing (Ganache): 1 c Heavy Cream 1 c Semi Sweet Chocolate 1 T Unsalted Butter Cake: 1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease and flour one 10 inch springform pan. 2. Mix flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. 3. Whip egg whites to stiff peaks, set aside. 4. In mixing bowl with mixer, cream butter and sugar. 5. Add egg yolks, blend well. 6. Add flour mixture alternately with the milk and vanilla, starting and ending with the flour mixture. 7. Fold in by hand the whipped egg whites. 8. Pour in prepared pan and bake 25 minutes until lightly brown on top. Cool. Vanilla Cream Filling: 1. In top of double boiler, over boiling water, mix sugar, flour and salt. 2. Add hot milk. 3. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring with a whisk, until mixture thickens. 4. Add eggs and cook 2 more minutes. 5. Stir in vanilla. 6. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate till needed. Chocolate Icing (Ganache): 1. Put chocolate in a medium bowl. 2. Bring heavy cream to a boil, pour over chocolate. 3. Stir till soft and shiny, add butter, stir till blended. 4. Refrigerate till ready to use. ( RG464 )

Claire, Your Boston Cream Pie looks yummy... I can offer one more suggestion... Bake the layers in a springform pan. When cool, split a layer, put it back in the pan, fill it, put next layer on, etc...then chill it in the pan. It will help keep the filling from seeping. Well it's my son's birthday (number 18, heaven help me )... so that means it's Boston Cream Pie time for me now.... His birthday coincides with a Drum Corps. competition that he's in tomorrow, so I will make several large cakes in 9 x 13 pans to serve our corps. In addition, because the corps is family oriented and there a lot of real little ones who may prefer something else... I am also making... E-Z Party Cupcakes: 1. Make a batch of chocolate cupcakes. 2. With a paring knife, cut a piece in the the center out, going about halfway down. 3. Fill the hole with cool whip (yes, cool whip). 4. Put the little cut out piece of cake back on top. 5. Drizzle warmed jarred hot fudge sauce (like Mrs. Richardson's) on top. 6. Top with a maraschino cherry. Does anyone else make these??

Craig/Tommy: Have either of you ever tried Joseph Phelps Chardonnay (California/various years...)? I have had the pleasure to sample it a few times...and thought it was very good.