chezcherie

there is a new kitson scheduled to open this month at the new americana shopping center on brand blvd in glendale. glendale has tons of good persian places--carousel and mandaloun come to mind. also on brand in glendale is one of my current favorite restaurants, palate it is octavio becerra's new place--he was with joachim splichal's patina group for years, and this place is bomb! have fun!

the construct of the challenges this season (and last) seems to have been taken from the worst of the worst from top chef, and then worked to death in a production meeting. i mean, please, fish and fruit loops? marshmallow creme? grape jelly? white chocolate? (yes, i know that batali supposedly once crafted a sauce for foie out of starburst, but seriously. SERIOUSLY...) i can't reconcile the ridiculous challenges, paired with the earnest food network "star" coaching the flustered contestant that they must come across as expert (like they don't do six walkthroughs and a tutorial before they touch an unfamiliar product...) paired with the pseudo-sympathetic execs who nearly hug the squirming, sobbing contestants, and then smilingly eviscerate one per week....it's barely fun to watch anymore. shark jumping has reached a new level.

perhaps one of the heads of state is a non-adventurous eater. and non drinker. maybe.

my suggestion is to really chill it--i hesitate to suggest freezing, until you can grate it. flavor is still there, but goes farther.

i too was pleased to see stephanie take it. but richard is def a class act, and this will only help his career. i think my fav moment of all the seasons was the one where richard was playing with the liquid nitro, and ripert and barber were crowding around like schoolboys with the chemistry set. that was richard's win, right there. as tired as he looked, he was showing the big guns how it's done,and they were his enthralled students. that's big. that's huge.

so far, cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, tomatoes on the vine and homegrown are still in the clear (according to the cdc). i had a caprese with both vined toms and pretty little "heirloom" cherries. tomato goodness.

weren't we teased with a shot of ms. prada falling to the train floor last week? unless i fell asleep (entirely possible), that was not featured this week. i hate to admit it, but that was the main reason i watched at all.

← Sounds harsh, but ultimately I blame Stephanie for the pork screw-up. If it was my future on the line I'd have done a walk-through before time was called just to be sure that everything was where it should've been. Esp the meat. High pressure situations breed errors and the only response is to be vigilant. You have to plan not to screw-up. ← i agree, tho, the time pressures they put on these challenges don't always allow for much vigilance. it was ultimately on stephanie, and she was gracious, quick-thinking and professional about the (potentially catastrophic) mistake....but dale left the meat out. and, it wasn't his future on the line anymore.

wow. dale, intentionally or not, left stephanie's raw pork out of the reefer all night. whether he's duplicitous enough to have done it on purpose, i dunno. he seemed genuinely apologetic...maybe. in any case, in my eyes, he proved why he should be gone already...not only did he screw up, big time, he could have screwed up FOR stephanie, if she weren't (a) a thinker, and (b) a class act!

several renowned chefs are said to use a 1 to 1 ratio of butter and potato, passed through a food mill or ricer. that should get you close to your goal--not fluffy, and certainly buttery!

← page 4 second paragraph.

Where was this quote from? Sounds like a fun site. ← that was season one, i believe. said in reference to stephen, by the young culinary student/model, right before he told her she would "fail. horribly." on the season wrap-up show, they showed the unedited diatribe, and it rolled for about 12 minutes. it's gotta be on youtube, but i don't know how to youtube...worth finding, if you like that kind of thing---there were some good jibes flung about.

i would so have loved to see lisa do the FOH!!!! i am giggling with evil glee, just picturing that. i feel certain that someone woulda had laksa intentionally spilled on them for some perceived snark to her.

i've been raffled off (or silent auctioned) to cook an upscale dinner for 8 (or 10, or whatever) and it's brought in good money several times. works especially well if (a) you have a good reputation as a home cook, or get a cooking school or restaurant to provide a chef, (b) if you have a great venue to hold the dinner---historic home, someone's tricked out kitchen, or the like, and © if you can wrangle a wine donation from another party. good luck!

Not in Hawaii yet... Was it featured on an endcap, or was it in the regular spice aisle? I keep checking! ← It was in the regular spice aisle, on the very bottom of the shelf--not really being showcased or promoted at all. I paid $25 for a 5g jar. Is that good or bad? Anyway, I haven't broken the seal yet, but it looks lovely and red-gold. ← I was just at a Costco here in Southern California this afternoon, and didn't find the saffron on the spice aisle. The guy at the front looked it up and said they had a large quantity up to the other day, but then it was pulled and returned to the vendor, system-wide. There wasn't any information where he was looking as to why. Might want to find out the reason before using it, in case it's something about the saffron itself. Although if it was potentially hazardous there would probably be some kind of recall news, I suppose. ← Thanks for the update--I'll check before using it. If I learn something, I'll post it here. ← i bought some yesterday, also in So CA...will be interested to hear...I was going to use it in class tonight...I guess I'll use the Trader Joe's until I hear what's up.... ← follow up: it was still on the shelf at my so ca costco yesterday, and i saw nothing about a recall on their site, so i'm going to go ahead and open that saffron. it looks gorgeous, btw. anyone actually used it yet?

Not in Hawaii yet... Was it featured on an endcap, or was it in the regular spice aisle? I keep checking! ← It was in the regular spice aisle, on the very bottom of the shelf--not really being showcased or promoted at all. I paid $25 for a 5g jar. Is that good or bad? Anyway, I haven't broken the seal yet, but it looks lovely and red-gold. ← I was just at a Costco here in Southern California this afternoon, and didn't find the saffron on the spice aisle. The guy at the front looked it up and said they had a large quantity up to the other day, but then it was pulled and returned to the vendor, system-wide. There wasn't any information where he was looking as to why. Might want to find out the reason before using it, in case it's something about the saffron itself. Although if it was potentially hazardous there would probably be some kind of recall news, I suppose. ← Thanks for the update--I'll check before using it. If I learn something, I'll post it here. ← i bought some yesterday, also in So CA...will be interested to hear...I was going to use it in class tonight...I guess I'll use the Trader Joe's until I hear what's up....

i have the opposite problem. those bags hold a lot, and if i don't watch, or do it myself, i end up with 50 lbs of stuff in one bag. yeah, it can hold it, but i can't easily carry it. i think there is definitely a learning curve to the bagging procedure, as there are so many shapes and sizes.

this was mentioned upthread, but bears repeating. do refrigerate it. i brought some home from a wonderful vermont trip, and when i saw mold on the surface, i wanted to cry. i would have thought the high sugar content would prevent that, but no. it would be a shame to have to pour out the fruits of your b-i-l's labor! and use some on greek yogurt...mmmm. even the non fat is great with maple syrup. (and i NEVER go for the nonfat!)

i listen to my sugar syrup or caramel as it simmers..when the "bloops" get low and slow, it's close. i toss an onion shard into the pan to hear when the oil is ready to start the saute. i heed the slapping sound bread dough makes when i use the dough hook and the kitchenaid. i love the singing crackle of baguettes when they come out of the hot oven.

oh, i just like this so much. i would like to form a band named this...

if i understand correctly, rconnelly is saying that on the first taste of the olive oil, there was a peppery flavor that was not present in subsequent tastes of oil from that same bottle. which is weird. i'm looking forward to hearing the possible reasons for this!

yeah, when someone is trying that hard to sell you a used car....

okay, i have two. the first was in new orleans. i had planned to come with a friend for a last lunch before uglesich's closed, and the friend couldn't make it. so i came by myself. worth doing. that evening, i didn't want to sit in the hotel room alone in such a fabulous food city nor did i relish the idea of dining alone. (i have dined alone frequently--in fact, i sometimes prefer to--but not in such a social town. geez, i'm not a pariah..) but i had wanted to try upperline for some time. so off i went. the greeting at the door was so warm and genuine, by this lovely southern lady with the silvered upsweep, and once i was seated, i knew i would have no need for the book i'd tucked into my purse in case i needed to become invisible. joanne clevenger (she of the greeting, and the upsweep) came to the table several times to check on me, warmly, but not at all intrusively. she brought over a sheet of her favorite restaurants in the city (what other restauranteur would be so generous?) and generally made me feel as though i were a cosseted regular. the food was amazing. but the evening was theatre. i went from a twinge of dread at the prospect, to having a completely un-recreate-able experience--one i would probably not have had, if i had not been by myself. i felt like i was levitating as i left to wait for my cab, just transported by the meal, the evening, the serendipity. as i stood on the dark street, an imposing figure emerged from the shadows behind the restaurant. it was the chef, ken smith, who had heard from miss joanne that i had a cooking school, and confided that he'd always had an interest in doing that himself. by the time my cab arrived, he's told me a dozen things i needed to do, see and eat before i left the city...which would be in a matter of hours. i don't remember the cabride back to the hotel. i do remember not wanting to brush my teeth before bed, because i wanted the remoulade to linger! it was a truly unforgettable evening... and the amazing timing of this topic being posted? today, while at iacp in new orleans, i had the pleasure of telling the story to joanne clevenger, her-own-self, as she was a workshop panelist on "how to build a business out of your passion", which she most clearly has. my second (am i allowed two?) was last year, with my 16 year old daughter, at le jules verne. it was her first trip to paris, and uncle dave was paying for the meal. (thanks, uncle dave!) ducasse had recently taken over, and we had a seine-side table. the wait staff took a shine to her, and pointed out their favorite views and vistas for her approval. she'd bought a little black dress at the outdoor market that morning, which she wore, along with a necklace she'd not been allowed to wear before (gift from uncle dave--thanks uncle dave!). as evening fell, and the shimmer of that beautiful city twinkled in her sweet eyes, in one of those completely out of time and place moments, i caught a glimpse of what she'll be, all grown up. (i hate to be this corny, but my eyes are shimmering with tears at the memory of that). it was beyond the food (which was lovely), the time or place. it was being with my nearly-grown-up youngest child, on the cusp of everything, and on the cusp of the tour eiffel at the same moment. and, it was also the fact that she was enjoying being there with me--parents of teenaged girls, or people who were formerly teenaged girls will possibly relate to this! wow...writing this post has made me feel like a most fortunate woman.

please be careful. career education corporation tactics 60 minutes did a story on this company a few years back. they own lots of vocational schools all over the country, and there have been numerous complaints and lawsuits over their practices. the fact that your contact is apparently pooh-poohing scholarships with one hand, and sliding loan papers into your hand is very worrisome. le cordon bleu used to have a sterling rep, but in years past, they have sold their name, to their detriment (in my opinion, and i attended a culinary school that is now lcb). the things you describe with your contact at the school are classic. don't sign anything you have not read over three or four times, had a trusted friend or legal advisor look over. and please don't buy the stories of job placement and starting salaries, either. i believe the school i attend now costs around 50k for 14 months. that's a lot of cash to qualify you for little more than an entry level position. i'm not saying don't go to culinary school---i'm really glad i did--but don't think for a minute that the experience or expense will qualify you as a chef when you graduate. they really push this, especially on kids just out of high school (and their parents), and nothing could be further from the truth. good luck!

after watching this a second time, i really wonder about this, too. dale said he knows and loves caviar, and yet he missed that one. on closer inspection, the caviars they used were in the neighborhood of $3 and $17 an ounce....something along the lines of "bad and badder", perhaps?