chezcherie

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?

i bow deeply in maggiethecat's direction. THANK YOU (yeah, i'm shouting) for starting this thread, just when i needed some inspiration. i see a lot of recipe testing with pre-loaded payoffs in my weekend future!

i am really trying to institute a "byo" habit. i have found that if i put the bags in the back of my car, more than half the time, i forget them. now that i put them on the passenger floorboards, in my plain view, it's harder to forget them. my trader joe's (where i do a lot of my shopping) has a nice colorful sign over the shopping cart area, reminding me (and, i suppose, others...but i like to think it's there as my personal memory-jogger) to bring them. but the thing that has helped me most is this: if i forget them, and i remember while in line, i make myself get out of line (no "will you save my spot?") and go get 'em out of the car....this little self-imposed penance is paying off, because i'm getting much better at remembering them now. one other trick is that i pick up one or two pretty ones when i travel...they are useful for wrapping stuff to take home, and as laundry bags during a trip, and then, once home, they remind me fondly of my travels...i have quite the eclectic assortment of bags, and hope to add a new orleans one soon, when i go to iacp.

the "flavor shaker" has a heavy ceramic ball that fits inside the plastic housing. i saw one, but didn't buy it. that was before this show started airing. now i wish i had, if only in homage to jamie....a mortar and pestle will do the same thing, but i am so enjoying the episodes that i want to be "just like him"...

i'm reading this as well,but find it interesting and engaging. to each his own, i suppose.

i wonder how they would respond to the butter-soy treatment discussed on another thread? i think i saw these at my costco last week...might have to try it!

i wish this study would GO AWAY, or be disproven, because i really dislike it when the waitstaff touches me. and i definitely tip accordingly. please dodescribe the specials intelligently. please do bring my food in a timely manner. please do top up my wine. please don't touch me.

my goddess cleaning lady requested that i buy this: greased lightning when i took over a less-than-spotless kitchen. wow. i used it the other day, without gloves. the bottle says use gloves for sensitive skin, and i don't think of myself as having that...i am growing back my fingerprints, after most of the skin peeled off my hands! so, do use gloves, but the stuff is amazing. smart and final carries it, and apparently sam's club, as well.

on the "what's new" shelf this week--jo-jo's enrobed in dark chocolate. get behind me, satan!

i have been there, and would go again. it is pretty small, and the clerks seemed quite and shy when we first entered the store. but once they saw the three of us ooohing and ahhhing over some chorizos and cheeses, they began to offer us tastes of lots of different things. i don't go there a lot, but if you are combining the trip with someplace else (say, Penzey's in Torrance, which is no more than 10 minutes away), i'd say check it out. i have heard that they make a killer paella, but don't know if that's a special occasion event--there was no cooking happening when we were there.

jamie oliver has an italian book---if i recall correctly, the title is jamie in italy...his stuff is quite approachable, and i think that book might be just the thing for your son. (from another mom of cooks.)

if you froze it, quenelled it, then refrigerated it, might it hold? i feel like it might...

knife skills class at the cooking school always leaves us with loads of sliced veg to use creatively. i have about 6 lb of student-chopped onions caramelizing in the crock pot right now--the day i learned that this would work changed my life! (i finish them in a sautepan, as a lot of liquid remains, but the ease of cooking a large amount of onions, largely untended, is a boon.) in summer session, i like to use the sliced bells (red, yellow and orange) to make a great pepper relish, but i'm looking for something i haven't thought of, that's maybe more seasonal? i know i can stir-fry 'em, or use them in pasta, but i'm looking for something...i dunno.. different. i know there are good ideas out there. give 'em up! thanks--

a little coconut milk might be subtle, and taste great, without giving the visual cue that makes people think "coconut"...?

don't save your oyster binge for swan. binge twice. once at hog island, and once at swan. word. (and don't forget, as the lovely gentleman next to me on my last visit did, that swan is cash only.)

So, after 4 Valentine's classes, and 40 happy couples, we have a lot of trim left over from some nice tenderloins (which we wrapped, along with caramelized onions, in puff, and served with a dried cherry-port sauce). I know I can stir-fry it, but I'm looking for something else to do to use it up. Since the meat is so tender, braising seems unnecessary, and not the best use. All ideas happily considered. Thanks!

so, the hostess couldn"t count to three? apparently, since she seated you, and knew it was a party of four....yowza. and then she scolded you? wowza.

try putting the jar in a pan of hot water for a bit, like you might with honey that's crystallized. i think that will work.

ah...didn't notice that is an old thread, revived. i, too, have been seduced by these, at restaurant supply stores and surfas...so far, i have resisted, but they are gorgeous...do i really want to eat panini every day for the rest of my life in order to justify the purchase? maybe...

the link doesn't work for me...boo! i want to see the panini toaster that piqued andisenji's interest. (the link goes to napastyle, but no item shows, even with a search for panini...)

oh, my goodness, yes--judy (aka divina) is a tremendous resource. she was a great help and very generous with her time when we recently put together a food tour of tuscany. while we didn't get a chance to take her market tour on this trip, i'd definitely work that in next time. she's a dynamo! (i thought the op was looking for a written guide.)

why, yes.