chezcherie

i agree. seems to me they have several "richard looking pissed" clips that they use repeatedly for situations when he may not have actually looked pissed. definitely the persona they are using for blais, whether it's actually the case or not. so richard was pissed because carla's dish was "cut up oranges with some stuff on top." and richard's dish was--cut up hotdogs with stuff on top. please. with a snackbar challenge, there is no high road, so don't try to put yourself on it, richard. head down, put something on the plate, and hope for the best. that's all you can really do with that, in my opinion.

please do this. i have long held you in high esteem, fat guy. knowing that you traveled across the atlantic with raw eggs has lifted it to exalted heights. thinking that you might adopt an "eggs always" travel policy delights me beyond all reason. do it.

I brought eggs home from England AND France. We were at Harrod's (London) and they had an incredible selection of farm eggs. Each type of egg had a little photo album chained to the shelf under it, where you could look at photos of the happy chickens on Mrs. so-and-so's farm. I also purchased French eggs. I bought the minimum quantity of several kinds, discarded a bunch of eggs, and packed a mixed carton deep within my suitcase in layers of plastic, foil and socks. All eggs arrived intact in Newark. I fried them up with some NY supermarket eggs and eggs from Ronnybrook. The color differences were remarkable. The flavor differences were ambiguous. It's not that they all tasted exactly the same. It's that, tasted blind, it wasn't possible for me to say one was notably better than another. Maybe some of the fancy Euro-eggs had a little more flavor than the US supermarket eggs, but probably not. I'd have to repeat the experiment under better conditions with more samples and tasters. But everything I've read about other people's blind-tasting results confirms that there's no major flavor difference. What I'd really like to do is replace the eggs at Momofuku Ko, Arpege, et al. -- places where they have internationally acclaimed egg dishes -- with US supermarket eggs. Kind of like the old Folgers commercial. remarkable. i've brought (or contemplated bringing) some wild stuff home before but... i wonder if the lack of marked flavor difference in your side-by-side could have been due to (a) lack of freshness--after all, you must have had them several days if you brought eggs home from several countries and/or (b) jet lag. i can't help thinking that it affects taste in fruit that's shipped long distances...i know i'm not at MY best after a transatlantic flight, and i wonder if eggs might fare the same fate? still, a remarkable effort! bravo.

wait. i think an important point is being overlooked here. you brought eggs back from england? i want to know so much more about that!? as my avatar indicates, i'm a fan of backyard chickens and fresh eggs. that being said, when i don't have a good supply, i buy brown eggs from trader joe's and find them to be surprisingly fresh. thick white, high yolk, etc. (brown eggs are aesthetically pleasing to me--that's why i buy them. i rarely buy white eggs, so now i wonder if those are as fresh as the brown ones i get? might have to do a side-by-side...)

yes. i couldn't stop thinking this, as they gathered and chopped and cooked. "nothing has been washed!" and all the target team members who stocked the shelves must have known that....yum!

i use a model similar to the one fat guy mentioned-- perfect beaker-- for liquids and the Williams Sonoma ones Mjx mentioned for dry ingredients. i've had the same set for at least 15 yrs-- they are really sturdy and indestructible. a glass salter scale, and a set of measuring spoons with long, narrow bowls (so that even the tablespoon will fit into a spice jar) complete my measuring batterie de cuisine.

isn't delicious australian?

kneading dough also for me. (always wondered what the point of "no knead" bread was---the kneading is the theraputic point of the exercise!) also, watching for the moment when the caramel goes from amber to very-nearly burnt sugar--that perfect cognac color that results in perfect, taken to the edge caramel flavor.

andiesenji, you never disappoint!

you're correct, rickster. i should have been more clear. she's touring ireland, and is hoping to take a class or two at ballymaloe in southern ireland. she's looking to find a place to take classes in northern ireland, as well. sorry for the confusion! your suggestion looks great, and i'll pass it along. thanks!

well, i'm not a betting man (or even a man at all, actually) but my money is on andiesenji knowing, loving and owning one, or perhaps an assortment. that woman's collection is awe-inspiring! i await her report. also, WANT!

thank you, john! sounds great.

"Better than Sex _______"

a french restaurant in america or in france? "oui, chef"

marvelous--thanks! any other suggestions out there?

(wasn't clear to me whether to post here or in the dining forum, so i did both. mods, please forgive my confusion, and remove dupe post if appropriate.) i have a dear friend/cooking student who is fulfilling a dream with a trip to ireland in june. she would love to take some cooking classes during her visit. ballymaloe's schedule is not yet available for that period, but she hopes to attend a class there. where else should i suggest to her? thanks in advance for your help.

i have a dear friend/cooking student who is fulfilling a dream with a trip to ireland in june. she would love to take some cooking classes during her visit. ballymaloe's schedule is not yet available for that period, but she hopes to attend a class there. where else should i suggest to her? thanks in advance for your help.

i really have enjoyed casey on her seasons. i have NOT enjoyed jamie. sorry to see casey go, especially while jamie is still standing. i started and stopped the tivo several times while watching this episode, to attend various tasks. doing so revealed several things i might not have noticed if i'd watched it straight through. at one point during the "quick fire demo" (which i agree was not a true demonstration of tom c's skills, as clearly he had all his equipment, ingredients, etc. gathered for him ahead of time, and the dish conceptualized ahead), there is a shot of most of the cheftestants gathered around watching, and jamie is off to the side, seemingly with her back turned to the demo. almost looks like she was in "time out"--what's up with that?? also, i believe i noticed bandages and fingercots on both angelo and dale...but no mention of any injuries...in light of jamie's two-stitch drama, i'd think they would either show the injuries, and the chefs waving off the medics, or something.i'm just sayin'. eta: one thing i did notice about casey's dish. i DID think it was a gutsy move, and could have paid off it it was successful. also, i think she should have been given a nod for stepping up and offering to take on FOH duties. BUT, when she went down to the kitchen to check on the progress of her dish, and antonia was deepfrying the feet, casey said they should be finished in a wok. in his commentary, susur lee mentioned the reasons why the feet should be finished by deepfrying. so that was on casey, not antonia (who was in the weeds on her own dish, and not apparently hustling that much, despite her mumblings about having any sense of urgency in the kitchen. )

take the train to champagne. if i recall correctly, takes about 1 1/2 hours to epernay or reims. in epernay there is a boulevard of champagne houses. good tour at moet et chandon and others.

of course, it's not as good as fresh...but you knew that. i find that freezing bigger swaths, rather than finely grated or microplaned zest works best. i think it's a surface area thing, but i'm not so good in the science department. i've had good luck (when i've had a glut of meyer lemons) with pulsing the frozen swaths of zest with sugar to make meyer lemon sugar.

thanks, fuzzychef! gonna go pour a glass of red wine and dig into your blog posts! cheers! (btw, what is the toasting word in german? skoal?)

cmling--thanks. darling daughter says there's snow now, but no worries if it's not white fir christmas. (in fact, for this life-long southern californian, probably better if it isn't....brrr! i have no clothes for that!) will still be merry and bright, and hopefully there will be wonderful food!

thanks to our darling daughter, who is studying abroad this year, the family is going to salzburg for christmas. pretty excited, as i've never experienced a white christmas, and the christmas markets have been a dream of mune for years! but where to eat? would like recs for christmas dinner, and for other dining as well. there will be six of us, and we'll be there a week. thanks in advance!

mashed. with chevre and chipotle puree. a tiny touch of honey, maybe. so, so good. also makes a great soup, thinned with chix or veg stock. yes.

aha! i know it's a gimmick, but i still know several folks who would enjoy the gimmick! wine glass with "aeration crease"