phlawless

Numbers breed Competition, we just need MORE of what we already have. Southeastern Fusion is a brilliant concept. Cheese Grits souffles, fried softshell crabs, NIMAN ranch pork(sweet tea brine), my favorites(Thanks Ben!!!) ShabuShabu is cool. There are numerous joints i haven't had the time or duckets to eat at. Were getting there. just to nitpick: Ben didn't come up with the sweet tea brine; it came from the old chef at Blackberry farm in Tennessee...not that Ben doesn't do it exceptionally well!

My congratulations to the family...though I am quite envious cause I'm still huge and miserable!! I've kept up with the thread so I can further prepare my partner with what to pack: his list is getting a little ridiculous. Congrats again!!

Anyone have any suggestions of foods that might progress my labor? I've heard tequilla shots, a gigantic rib-eye, or anything spicy...what else???

I used to do a 'candied' bacon that was a component of a canteloupe sorbet plate at Magnolia Grill in Durham, NC. Also have you checked out the latest issue of Saveur?

thanks for all the suggestions... has anyone done a salt cure? if so, how long will it keep?

I received about a 1 1/4#'s of grade A lobe, and I need some advice on what to do with it. Ideally, I would like to cure it or something of that nature so as to make it keep for as long as possible. (Believe it or not, I can't find enough friends who want to help me eat it now: I'm 38 weeks pregnant and I really can't imagine eating any of this now, much less over a pound!)

We redid our kitchen a few months back; we splurged in some areas and kept it tight in others. For example, i really wanted to go with true linoleum, but in order to afford my 36" DCS range, I used VCT tile: looks identicle, lasts forever, however the environmental considerations are lost. We also chose a flat front KA dishwasher that is so dreamy! The controls are hidden on the door and the thing is virtually silent.(The model I speak of is comparable to the Bosch.) We have very good things to say about Ikea cabinetry: my partner and I installed it in a week-end, as well as their wooden countertops. Granted, you can't used them to actually chop on, but I have two butcher blocks anyway, so this combined with the concrete counters my guy poured himself saved us loads!

I went a couple of weeks back, and I wasn't terribly impressed. It has a NOFO feel to it: lots of overpriced ethnic goods and gifts displayed in 'vintage', i.e. shop 'n go, refrigerated equipment. Honestly, I did not sample any of their prepared food, but it did have that stale steam table look to it. If I'm not mistaken it was opened by the Catering Works folks, who have a reputation for mediocre fare for massive crowds. I don't think they are trying to compete with the Fresh Market, they seem to want to appeal to the ladies who lunch and shop crowd (NOFO).

i recently made some baked custards that curdled well before they usually do...my employer explained that barometric pressure can shorten the bake time on these things...is this true?

I read the book a few months ago not knowing it was being made into a film, and I have to say, I was anything but impressed. Even with all the wine talk it was a let down...unless this is one of those rare occasions when a film outshines the book it was adapted from, I plan on skipping it.

If you want really good biscuits, substitute lard for some of the butter. A good technique is to mix your dry ingredients, cut in your butter with a food processor, then freeze the mix till ready to bake (10 min) This helps to avoid overworking your butter Always use buttermilk: especially full fat! White Lily rocks, but if you can't find it substitute a small amount of cake flour for all purpose and the results are nearly identical.

I've been to Millie's and Acacia, wasn't really impressed with either. Millie's was a bit too greasy and heavy, and Acacia didn't wow me. I know the city somewhat, and have spent considerable time there. I was just wondering if there was anything new that I hadn't heard about.

This may have been covered in the Richmond dining thread, but what about lunch? I'll be passing through on Monday and need some suggestions.

At Mag Grill in Durham we did a version of a red velvet using beets as the coloring. Not quite as electric as the red dye kind, but they added an incredible texture. And our coca cola cake just came off the menu last night: also very good, but I did it at home with cheerwine; even better!

This wasn't a mistake, but intentional: reading through the thread for some reason reminded me of this: When I was in 2nd grade my family moved to a new town, sometime in the early spring. My mom thought it would be a hoot if we pretended that my birthday was April 1, and that she would supply a birthday 'cake' and trimmings for a class party. So my mom and I wip up a very bland cornbread, and iced it with heavily salted frosting. She then made lemonade with vinegar...it was pretty cruel when I think about it: all those eight year olds with persed lips and dry tongues! The joke was a bomb; it took months before I had any friends (remember 8?)

I'm a fan of the Birkenstock rubber clog. I get about 3 years out of a pair, they have a great insole, and they are durable as hell.

I read the apprentice last summer during my beach week and made every recipe in it: those eggs ( i can't remember the name, the ones he credits his wife) were fantastic! I also had the divine pleasure of meeting Mr. Pepin at the Beard Awards last May. There was a party the night before the gala at some ridiculous six floor club in mid-town that was a meet and greet for the nominees and presenters. I had already imbibed more cocktails and wine that night than I can remember, and was surprised to see this absolutely adorable little man standing next to the bar, alone. I had gone to the awards with my employer, who was nominated, if she had ever met him, turns out no...I was on my own. So I just walked up, drunk and nervous as hell and introduced myself. He took my hand in both of his, and was so warm and gracious, I could have nearly cried. Actually, during a drunken 3 a.m. call to my SO, I did. 'Don't you get it...(sniffle)...I met Jacques Pepin...THE Jacques Pepin!'

Am I one of the few who thinks grits do have flavor on their own? Are you all using white or yellow? I never use white, cause they are incredibly bland. But the yellow stone ground are fantastic with just chicken stock, salt and butter. For a dessert idea you can do a souffle, or even fritters with a blueberry compote and a drizzle of sorghum- yummy! Or I've even done crepes substituting for some of the flour.

there's Saigon in G'boro: a couple of years ago it made Saveur's top 100 issue. Unfortunately, everytime I go it's been closed, so I haven't sampled myself, but have heard many good things.

I've had my 4 1/2 qt KA for almost 10 years with the enameled paddle and have had no wear whatsoever...although I also have had a 6 qt as well for the past 2 years (I do wedding cakes) and it came with the all aluminum one. One thing I do try to be consistent with is not using any type of abrasive scrubbing pad on the coated paddle. Maybe there is a problem with your 'planetary action'. Hey...I kinda like that phrase...'planetary action'

I feel quite pedestrian with my choices: Tom Petty Chuck D Frances McDormand Jonathon Franzen the next night: Bill Murray Stockard Channing Bill Clinton Robert Plant

if you check harold mcgee... 00 flour 7-10% all purpose 9-11% bread 10.5-12% high gluten 12-14% whole wheat 11.5-14% cake 8.5-10% pastry 6.5-9%

my two cents: like someone mentioned earlier, semolina based and ap based pastas are two different animals. semolina based seem to work better if allowing to dry, and has a better texture for certain condiments. ap flour pasta I feel should be frozen immediately after rolling and cutting and then cooked max 2 minutes, even for ravioli. one thing that I'm a stickler for is kneading the dough by hand, which will always produce a superior dough than using a mixer. C'mon, it's ten minutes out of your day: it's the only way to really see the transformation of the dough from gloppy sticky mass to smooth supple dough. Which means it's the only way you'll really learn to make it well. If you want to be a purist, don't salt your dough, but salt the water so it "tastes like the ocean".

I think a six quart kitchen aid is the way to go, yes you spend 300 bucks, but it's a work horse you'll always need it, even if your volume increases and you get a big hobart eventually, you'll still want something to do small batches it. I had some experience with a DeLonghi model: STAY AWAY! I attempted an italian meringue buttercream and it overheated and cut off before my whites were cool. This actually happened twice, I traded it in for the KA and have been very satisfied since.

I think salmon is absolutely disgusting.