zilla369

Bingo...i lerve me some puppies. Meanwhile, back at the ranch...did i finally pick a new thread topic that hasn't been covered recently?

meh, i don't really care how many someone mentions. Just trying to track the favorite-favorite.

That would probably be my next choice after BA. Seems like BA has a lot more recipe ideas for the buck...but the food styling is very nice in Saveur.

If you had to hold yourself to just one monthly food publication, which would it be? I started with Gourmet, but i got tired of leafing past travel/hotel advertising (not that that's not valid for Gourmet, just not what i wanted in my monthly food mag) So i switched to Bon Appetit, and i'm pretty happy with that. Any other indispensible monthlies i'm missing out on?

zilla, we're waiting . . . Hey, sometimes it translates into going forever and you eventually have to just agree to stop and get some sleep. Man, "agreeing to stop" is a waste of breath. Just fall asleep during. Next time, i'm going to try the sack of flour and leave the boy in the kitchen.

Recently we were on the way home from Cleveland and stopped in the Cincinnati suburbs to visit Jungle Jim's International Market. We asked the checkout clerk for a suggestion on a good place to eat, and she enthusiastically pointed out the Golden Corral up the street... "It's soooo good, and all you can eat," she said, foaming at the mouth.

at school: Wild Mushroom Risotto Lamb loin and mushroom duxelles and foie gras in puff pastry with red wine/veal glace/thme reduction sauce. Cream of leek and potato soup Penne pasta with a cream sauce of roasted red peppers, pesto and pine nuts

I had to get really good at tourne-ing for an ACF competition in 2002 (first place), and i coached our 2003 team (tied for first place). For me, it's easier to get the football shape first and then pare off the seven planes, rather than cut seven sides and try to even them up. Another tip, which is hard to explain in text without a visual aid, is to hold whatever you're cutting so that the curved plane you're carving is in silhouette, to the side, looking down on it. Of course you know, cut the ends flat very last thing - it really should be able to stand up on end. I do use a bird's beak knife - somehow it seems to glide better for me and still make that nice, arched plane - does that make sense? but other people i know that carve them very well swear by cheap, thin, flexible paring knives. I do tourne things occasionally, they look pretty on a plate. Turnips especially, since they hold their sharp angles well even after cooking. I ate a LOT of potato soup while training for that competition. Mushroom soup, too (fluted mushrooms). I also developed a weird little bulgy muscle on the top side of my forearm for a time. edited to add: and i do flip only once to check for uniformity and make adjustments. Flipping back and forth ends up in overkill and a skinny tourne.

Meh. Easier than wrangling a drunk boyfriend into bed. Let him sleep on the damned floor. Wrangling him into bed - nothing to do with sleeping

Meh. Easier than wrangling a drunk boyfriend into bed.

Maker's Mark on the rocks

Agreed. Mint is the kudzu of the herb world. When there's more than you can use for recipes and garnishes, the long stalks look and smell great in flower arrangements. All of which has nothing to to with oregano...apologies.

home kitchen: 10 x 22 work kitchen: 12 X 12, but a butler's pantry 6 x 12 adjacent

Fellow smokers, join me in Kentucky. Kentucky is the most tobacco-dependent state in the United States. Although North Carolina grows more tobacco than Kentucky, tobacco accounts for a larger percentage of Kentucky's agricultural income. Tobacco currently accounts for around 50% of Kentucky's crop receipts and 25% of Kentucky's total agricultural cash receipts, yet tobacco uses 1% of the farmland in Kentucky. The latest Census of Agriculture (1992) revealed that tobacco accounted for more than 40% of the net cash return from agricultural sales in Kentucky. We're hanging on to our smoking rights with yellowed teeth and fingernails Just off the top of my head, i'd say about 10% of the fine dining establishments in Louisville are smoke-free. I certainly don't refuse to patronize those (i can go through a whole meal without having to step outside), but believe me, when the meal is over, we retire to a bar, all of which, i believe, still allow smoking.

i made a lovely cranberry/white-cornmeal bread the other day for the B&B guests. Yummy, and not too sweet to keep them from ordering my wafles and/or bourbon french toast.

I can see by reading those older threads, this topic's been done and then some, but i wasn't around then! ...so i'll take this opportunity to profess my undying love for the Wusthof "Culinar" line...beautiful look, exquisite balance, and i love the way the metal handle gets warm in your hand while you use it - feels like just another part of your body. Although the metal handle is smooth, i've never had any problem with it "slipping", and i've never dropped it because my hands were wet. It's quite hefty, but that's good - the weight does a lot of the work for me.

Warm banana gingerbread.

I was gonna post "red, white and blue" but i see some others beat me to it. The other thing i was going to say is that i love Red Stripe; however, it tends to get skunky really quick, and once it's turned, it tastes horrible. Therefore i only buy it in the swanky part of town where it flies off the shelf pretty regular, instead of at my local convenience store where it's available, but dusty. Because i don't live in the swanky part of town. But i can drive there.

Welcome, haide. All your questions are familiar to me, since i was a mortgage loan officer at a bank when i decided to start attending culinary school nights and weekends at the age of 37. For most of the first two years, i continued to work full-time at the bank and attend school in my "free" time. I think i had an advantage in that i'm single and don't have any children, so my time was my own to schedule. Last fall, after eleven years at the same bank, i was finally forced to take the plunge when the bank decided to let me go after upper management became aware that i was planning on switching careers. At first i was scared to death, but i went out and immediately got two jobs, one with a catering service and another at a bed and breakfast, by virtue of my experience at school and on the culinary competition team. People who know me well say i'm a far more relaxed and happy person since making the switch. Money's tight, but then i have the extra money saved on parking downtown for years ($125 a month), eating out for lunch 20 days a month, and panty hose. I never realized how much money i was spending on panty hose...my god. If i never have to wear stockings again, i'll die content. At my school (National Center for Hospitality Studies at Sullivan University in Louisville), there's a lot of financial aid available. Of course, student loans have to be paid back eventually, but not until after you stop going to school. And there are tons of grants and scholarships available, too. The amazing truth is, here i am in my tenth quarter, and i haven't paid one penny out of pocket yet for tuition, books, lab fees, uniforms or standard knives. (Naturally i've spent money on "pet" knives and good clogs, but those things are, of course, optional). Finally, remember, you don't necessarily have to work the line to be a culinarian. I think i'm too old to stand in a hot restaurant kitchen for the next 20 years, but there are so many other facets of the industry to choose from - i find i really enjoy being a bed & breakfast chef, cooking for a controlled number of people for a few hours a day is a good introduction to the world of food service (for me, anyway). It's good to know French, but, frankly, it's probably more valuable to learn fluent Spanish in our industry. You'll absorb the French cooking terms as you go, but unless you're actually going to work in France, English and Spanish will stand you in good stead. My only regret about the whole thing is that i didn't do it sooner! Good luck!

Quoting Steve Martin in the "Dinner!" thread: I've never had them, but this sounds like a great preparation.

There's one at the top of the Hyatt here in Louisville. My story about your friend's drink is similar, but opposite. I didn't get up from my table, but i did put my purse down by my right foot next to the exterior wall as the meal began. Obviously, only the "platter" middle of the restaurant turns, not the outside edge, so, when it came time to settle the bill, i thought my purse had been stolen. Luckily, it was just on a short holiday under someone else's table by then...

Okay....here goes nothin' A knockout new restaurant reviewer Her tastebuds and visage both pure Was about in the town, and while making her rounds The heart of each chef she did skewer. A waiter ran into the walk-in And said “Chef, there’s no more time for talkin’! That reviewer is here, and she’s ordered a beer, And the whole wait-staff’s out there just gawkin’!” The Chef made his way to her table (Her melons were covered with sable!) He said “Madame critic, please have some Glenfiddich, And I’ll make the best meal that I’m able!” He sent out asparagus flan And a stunning free-range coq au vin He plied her with cider, and sat down beside her Presenting warm, crisp tarte tatin. She exclaimed, “What a wonderful dish!” And the Chef, so emboldened by this, Was so floored by her charms, he took her in his arms, And leaned in to pilfer a kiss. He’d prepared himself for a slap, But instead – felt a hand in his lap! What a glorious night! And with no end in sight, He dismissed his whole staff with a snap. He remarked on her miniscule waist And worshiped her radiant face; So fetching was she, he fell to one knee And proposed that they be wed post-haste. She slurred “Chef, I am flattered and all, And though I’m convinced you’re a doll, Many thanks for the thought, but alas I cannot - I’m afraid your cucumber’s too small!”

At school, made by others: Boneless pork loin chops stuffed with sauteed apples, walnuts, bacon, stilton cheese and french bread "Baked potato salad" French onion soup with brie Puff pastry jewel boxes filled with crimini, chicken, shallots and wilted spinach in a cream and white wine sauce Dessert, made by me: Lemon-ginger cake with lemon-ginger-mascarpone icing, served with fresh warm lemon curd

Anyone ever made vanilla extract out of anything besides clear liquor? I made some out of Maker's Mark Bourbon and it was heavenly, although it did have the added flavor of bourbon instead of just simple vanilla, so its uses were limited somewhat by that. On the other hand, that's no help in the "frugal" production of vanilla department, now, is it? Also, i'd agree with the idea that it's going to be a pretty weak vanilla if the insides are already gone from the beans, probably not potent enough for regular use.

and it makes a fantastic pastry drizzle if you loosen it up with some vegetable oil or karo! Yummy.