Margaret Pilgrim

Ahaaa....and CORN!

Any of the "Better-than-Sex Cake" abominations.

Ah, yes. I remember them well. One that ran through our family was raspberry jello and sour cream. Or lime with cottage cheese. In the '70s, Jello made a fruit flavored product that once whipped for 5 minutes, separated into 3 layers: clear, mousse and fluff. Kids loved it.

Grilled veggies: zucchini, eggplant, red potatoes, red onions, asparagus, radicchio or romaine lettuce... Grilled fruits: halved peaches and apricots, cantaloupe ETA: friends of ours biked from Portland, Oregon to Portland, Maine, sleeping in town parks, mostly eating in small town cafes. They reported good facilities in these parks, picnic areas with barbeques and good bathrooms.

Ersatz ratatouille: Eggplant, onion, garlic, roasted and peeled red peppers, cubed boiling potatoes, garbanzo beans, tomatoes, lots of fresh basil, good but not grassy olive oil. NO zucchini, per my husband's request. Best the next day and throughout the following week. I use it for bruschetta, mixed with pasta and baked under shower of cheese, a base for oeufs cocotte, off a spoon standing in front of the refrigerator.

Doesn't that question really ask "Is the fish previously frozen?"

Why am I reminded of the first class flight attendant who recently plopped down a messy plate in front of my husband, telling him, "Sorry it's sloshed. Eats the same."

Patricia Wells' Vegetable Harvest is pretty good. Some new material but also includes vegetable-centric recipes from her previous books. Good for soft-core vegs. eta: http://patriciawells.com/books/vegetable-harvest-by-patricia-wells

I've never seen a fresh passionfruit in the US, sadly. I make sure to eat my fill whenever I travel outside of the US. CalMart in San Francisco has them from time to time, but they are $3.98 a piece. Ouch.

Many years ago we used to go to dinner at the home of a friend whose grandmother came from the Dordogne. The house specialty was brandade and I watched and even helped him make it many times. It was simply mashed potatoes into which we whipped shredded poached salt cod, raw eggs, minced garlic and olive oil. Forgotten for decades, I have tried to resurrect the process, but somehow my proportions or process are not as I remember. Does anyone recognize this version of brandade and have more precise instruction than I seem to have retained?

I keep a perpetual cornichon crock in the fridge. It's been there for some dozen years, never completely emptied before I tip a new jar in. I just consider them "aged". I also bought a half-litre snap-lid jar of anchovy that took us at least 5 years to get through. They were fine; lost a little toothsomeness, perhaps, but fine.

It was a "must" in my husband's family for after-holiday turkey sandwiches. (I'm a mayo-only-on-turkey person, myself.)

If you use one of these "French working jars" and a conical wisk, mayonnaise is stupid-easy. Ease isn't the only question: certainly, it's easy. But I have yet to come up with a way of making two tablespoons of mayo, so I wind up throwing away a good cup of the stuff every time I make it, because I just don't use that much. Except in the summer during tomato season, or when I go on a fried egg sandwich kick for a week, I just can't justify making the stuff, when Hellman's is almost as good. I would guess that the yolk is the qualifying factor. So, yes, it's hard to divide a yolk. But it you are willing to toss the excess, you should be able to make a small quantity. You will need a whipping vessel with a wisk that is a loose fit. Maybe a Kraft cheese jar and a mini-wisk? I'll give it a go this weekend.

If you use one of these "French working jars" and a conical wisk, mayonnaise is stupid-easy.

1:2 seems to works for brown basmati. I am still working on brown pearl. Would be happy to hear recommendations.

One could use it instead of mayo, i.e., as a spread, just as one could use mustard. It tastes nothing like mayo. It is a sandwich sauce that taste a lot like honey mustard salad dressing.

It's all about what you call store-bought mayonnaise. For me, it's Best Foods/Hellsmans. Kraft et al don't make it. Anything sweet is wrong to my taste. I need to buy a jar of Kewpie, which is preferred by many cooks and self-proclaimed foodies. Made in Japan. i wonder if these same people realize it contains MSG.

Works for me! We usually use dill weed and sometimes, for DH, chopped sweet pickles, i.e., Bubbie's bread and butter slices. You could also add chopped apple or pineapple. Or.....

Jaymes' recipe is very similar to sweet potato salad that my M-i-L used to make decades ago. We always used fresh just because they were easy and cheap. Essentially, just substitute boiled or steamed, skinned or not, sweet potatoes for white potatoes in your favorite potato salad. Good stuff and healthful as a bonus. I always use Best Foods or Hellman's. FWIW, homemade mayo is superb but it does create a totally different dish than BF or H. I use homemade more often in delicate preps where mayo is the prominent ingredient. In potato salad, I try to keep the mayo to a minimum, often subbing creme fraiche for part in a recipe.

Indeed. That is why I am startled/saddened by other reports. I think it may be a function of portion expectation. I, personally, very much enjoy the meal size at Rino, for instance, while others find it meager. Leaving a restaurant unfulfilled puts a damper on the entire experience.

To the best of my knowledge, most of the restaurants recommended above are closed in August, Your choices are definitely going to be limited. You can start making contact with your target rooms now, but many do not set their closures until June. Open in August, sadly, are the brasseries which are "can miss" venues. Verjus, by the way, is getting mixed reviews, mostly as being overpriced for quality and quantity and for being underwhelming. Also, 100% English speaking diners and staff. FWIW...

I can't remember being so seduced by Spam and Tater Tots. Many thanks, Chef Crash and Chris, er, I think...

Of the houses you list, L'Ami Louis is probably the best, a whole bird served for 2 which makes it less pricey than it seems. However, on other boards and blogs, the consensus seems to be that few restaurants really do a great roast chicken, and that a simple rotisserie chicken, ordered not too well done as is often the case, may be a good substitute. This latter works if you have an apartment or want to put together a superb and sensual picnic. Enjoy!

I smile as I remember taking a California Zin to our winemaking hosts in France. Our host, in fact, had some years previously been named "best sommelier in France" during his work with Bocuse. So, we presented our wine. He hefted the bottle. "The bottle is too heavy." He reads the label. "17%. Ooof. Too much alcohol." Then he opens it. Does the whole tasting ritual. "It's powerful but very well made. It's delicious!" The wine was poured around the table and emptied immediately. The wine was a Lodi Van Ruiten Explozin.

This certainly sheds no light to origin.