Lisa1349

So, do we know how to make reservations? Do we call the restaurant or email someone in particular?

alright, I guess I can wait another week. Hope to see you then!

I'm there! Will bring some cronies from work as well. I know it's short but please, please can it be may 3rd??

Thank you, David, for joining for my appeasement and welcome! I figured they were not comparable and was happy with my vodka decision. Maybe an investment into a bottle of Pernod or something similar is not out of the question.

I was browsing the depressing state store looking for Pernod to make bouillabase with when I saw Sambucca on a shelf nearby. Lightbulb! Both are anise, I own Sambucca... without the expense of a side by side taste test, how do they match up? Pernod is more expensive. I ended up steeping the saffron in a vodka/cointreau mix that went wonderfully with the poached fishies. Any info appreciated. Thank you.

I like pancetta, but I LOVE guanciale! The guanciale we sell (and I use all the time) is from Niman Ranch. It's not smoked but cured with rosemary, coriander and salt. It's a bit salty, so I rarely add salt to the dish I'm making. My favorite so far has been a salad started by sauteeing the guanciale, removing it from the pan, sauteeing mushrooms and onions in the fat, adding sherry vinegar and mustard, pouring hot vinaigrette over spinach and crumbling some blue d'auvergne with the crispy bits on top. This salad is packed with flavor, fat, and low in carbs!

That sounds like it would also make a great float in some guiness. ::golf clap:: to you!

Of course, thanks to Rich and a few others, beer was a big hit of the Book and the Cook. Drink Notice they mention the sloshed vans.... LOL

Brunch at Moshulu was spectacular! We started with littleneck clams in garlic/shallot broth, seasoned perfectly, not overcooked at all. I had the grilled Louisiana spiced shrimp salad with asparagus, sweet chili sauce and cayenne candied almonds. Beau had lobster eggs benedict with good amount of claw meat on top, great presentations all around. Service was attentive, not intrusive, and graceful. We were going to be late for our reservation so I called ahead and was genuinely thanked for the courtesy. Even though the weather was overcast, the views were great and the mood perfect. I could tell the bloody mary had fresh tomato juice, and freshly grated horseradish. Frankly, sometimes I expect the kitchen to be slighly asleep during a quiet Sunday brunch. I'm sure the higher ups had the day off, but the mice were serious about their job. And, oh yeah, the cheese was great! Emilio Mignucci selected some great newcomers to the domestic artisanal cheese market including Bayley Hazen Blue from Jasper Hill Farm in Vermont paired with a most divine truffle honey. The tried and true classic Vermont Shepherd was there as well. I'm working with my digi cam software to show you the panoramic view of the waterfront. The trip to the flower show was less successful. We discovered street parking is restricted to get you to park in the $20 flat rate lots, along with the DROVES of people walking in, I thought it wouldn't be pleasant to be pushed past some week old flowers. Tried to get to London Grill, Ms. Wolfert, but traffic with the parade and regatta on the river made for a highly detoured trip home to the 'burbs. How're the tours going, Rich?

I'll be going to brunch this Sunday at Moshulu for the Domestic artisan cheesemaker thingy. Any must haves on the brunch menu? Heading to the flower show after. My nose will have a busy day!

"Nobody listens to techno!" - Eminem LOL

A few years ago Starbucks made some changes so people won't camp out all day. Like, no longer offering free papers. now they are for sale only. They also used to have open games of Cranium for people to play as well. Maybe lack of cushioning is to get us to sit less than 3 hours. I've also noticed an overhaul in the refrigerated cases, they now offer more lunch options. This is where large corporations are bad. At La Colombe, you could easily discuss an issue like this with an owner. When you discuss situations like this with your SB Barista, all they can say is, "This is what they tell us to do." I am a Venti Triple Sugar Free vanilla breve latte girl. SB should also have more sugar free syrup flavors other than vanilla. ALthough, they did upgrade to Splenda last week!

I watched her make beef bourgignon (sp?) the other day that I wouldn't feed to my dog. She needs a few eGCI classes. When she cooked the beef in bacon fat (nice touch) she didn't let it get brown. She crowded the pan and the beef was nasty gray. She added the wine AFTER the stock. A culinary no-no as it's besst to cook off the alcohol of the wine first before adding more liquid. Last, she thickened it with buerre manie at the end which could have been avoided and been more flavorful had she made a roux with her tasty bacon fat. At the end when they show her eating the meal with friends, have you noticed how she becomes Hitler at the table? Dictating how everything is to be eaten and the whole comcept behind it all, as if her guests, or viewers, are total idiots. Rachel Ray knows how to caramelize. I take her over Ina any day. Big surprise Food Network had Giada De Laurentiis host the Valentine Chocolate special. The had her licking her fingers and being playmate-ish the whole time. She's toothpick thin, she's got the Ally McBeal syndrome.

I loved the chocoalte cake article. Where were the pictures of the kitchen remodeling diary? Half the intererest was in all the unusual touches she thought of, no pics!

Hi Everybody, A few weeks ago a friend asked me to make pizzelles for him. Being that I bought the iron 4 years ago and used it just as many times, I was excited. In the beginning, I used the recipe that came with the Salton Pizzelle Master that I was using. I since lost the paper, i used Classic recipe #1. The first time I made them incorrectly accoring to the recipe and added the butter last. They were wonderful, however,very flaky and crisp with high butter flavor. The second time I followed the redipe exactly, and added the butter before the flour. There were much firmer and solid, not flaky-crisp. I hypothesize that the first time, I was coating the flour with fat creating enjoyable crispness and the second time, the flour absorbed all the moisture and I made little fried breads. So, what techniques do the rest of the eGulleters employ, and to what successes? Thanks

Our own Rich Pawlak is hosting a Philly beer tour as well. Info

I, too love humboldt fog. And although it is ripened, it is not a blue. It has a layer of vegetable ash in the center, no mold. I use Blue d' Auvergne in salads, and for blue cheese butter that is a must on steaks. Carles roquefort is a favorite as well, but, due to the weak dollar vs. euro, very expensive. Saga melts great on burgers with carmelized onions. Colston basset is the best producer of stilton. Please do not ever eat Domestic Gorgonzola. Putrid.

Was this one of those new, long, olive dishes meant for an hors d'eouvre spread? Strange.

So just what's all this rush to get out of this city?? Is this a hypothetical?

Not so extraordinary but when I make Chipotle Beef Chili with lime crema I always indulge in a chili dog. Calzones are great for dumping leftovers into. The restaurant secret is ravioli. Just about any meat or if there isn't enough meat, add cheese and stuff it in dough. Charge $23 for that on the menu!! When I have leftover pork (seems like we all do!) I make lo mein. The noodles are less expensive than pasta! I get some cabbage, mushrooms and always have a collection of Asian sauces around. Roasted chicken is turned into a salad or pot pie and leftover fish (rarely any of that) becomes quick fish cakes. I make killer pot pie after Thanksgiving. Leftover cheese is the all purpose 'duct tape' of the kitchen. Put it in an omelette, make fondue, stuff it inside a pork loin, make cheese crisps by cooking it along in a pan till it's slighlty brown. Put it on potatoes, on a burger, bread and fry it. Cook it down with wine, add puff paste and make gougeres. Add it to soup.

I recently has Stash Lemon Ginger. It was great! It was as if I went thru the drama of making it myself and tweaking porportions of lemon to ginger.

The recipe I made used red onions, as the thorough testing by CI said they worked best. Louisiana Real and Rustic is the one book I own by Emeril. I make his chicken with braised onions in there once in awhile. The STRONG onion idea makes sense, the longer an onion is around, more sugar, similar to a ripening banana. Speaking of cooking school duties, I will have to get around to making chicken with 40 cloves of garlic, a culinary school staple. I will add cream to the small leftovers and use it as a sauce for roast beef tomorrow night if I'm not snowed in. Thanks for sharing this tasty day with me!

Forgive my French spelling up there, I was looking for a nice description. Being that I love French Onion, and order it almost everytime I see it on a menu, and used to be a pro cook, I decided it was time for me to make my very own. I hunted down a recipe I thought grand, the one from Jan/Feb '99 Cooks Illustrated. I tweaked it as usual... added 2 beef shanks to make up for not having homemade beef stock, added more red wine than called for and started it with some pork fat in addition to the butter. The cheese topping was comprised of leftover residents in my fridge, which given my profession, I have lots of. The shredded mix was piave vecchio, prima donna, mahon and parmesean. I didn't use croutons to make it more carb friendly. I was highly pleased with the results and wishing I had a digital camera to share the results with you all. Now, tell me your secrets of le onion!

1. I haven't tried it yet, but been thinking about using the new low carb breads (mostly from Arnold) to make seasoned breadcrumbs, and been eyeing Atkins pancake mix to use in an Amstel light beer batter for shrimp or the such. The ingredients are right with leaveners. 2. Bacon makes everything taste better. 3. I make fritattas (basically crust-less quiches) while I do the dinner dishes for the next morning. Even cold, a grab and go fritatta beats a scone with my sugar free vanilla breve latte from Starbucks. I wish Starbucks had other sugar free syrup besides vanilla!

Hello again, I didn't make it to the beer dinner, had an emergency doc visit instead However, I did have Victory Weizen Bock last night on tap at the Moody Monkey in Jeffersonville, PA. Many of the drinks there have some sort of banana in it and I thought I got a dirty glass, but I was wrong. It tastes like banana puree. I wasn't thrilled by it. Anyone else had it? Ick.