chezcherie

one o f my culinary instructors insisted that each of the students in that class find a unique color of paint and dip the end of each knife, melon baller, peeler and what-have-you in that color, so tools could be identified at 50 paces....I didn't wanna, but my teal knife handles are like a beacon across a crowded kitchen to me still! maybe a stipe down the back of the sheet pans?

i HAD forgotten about them, and they were on my list from last year! thanks for the reminder.

thanks, susan. i just heard back from someone from katrina krewe, but they do not have clean ups scheduled for the period we'll be in town. any other suggestions as to how to lend a hand for a few hours would be appreciated. we are definitely going to either taxi or somehow get out to see for ourselves what's left behind, what's to be done, and how to help on our end of the world. i really appreciate all your pms and encouragement to go and do that...i think i'm over the looky-loo nerves. saturnbar, thanks for the spot check on gulfstream. we'll pass on that, and get the buddy out to a more new orleanian dining experience. cross fingers that upperline will be able to accomodate us on sunday--i didn't get a chance to call on the weekend (soooo much mother's day..) and they are closed until wednesday. i had an absolutely stellar experience all by myself last year, and i so want to share that with the lads.

don't submerge them in water. i take them out of the plastic (if any) and put them in a bowl, covered with a damp paper towel. they should be okay in the fridge overnight that way. mmm, mussels are my favorite!

thanks for that---i thought i had seen it on the list of reopenings, but i'm certain that you are correct. (stanley's a stella! spin off, no?) and thanks even more for i completely agree with your suggestions that my sons would/will benefit from the experience of seeing the aftermath. would you suggest doing so on one of these tours? or renting a car to take ourselves out there--bearing in mind that we are unfamiliar with the territory, and also that we don't want to be driving down unfamiliar streets and be perceived as gawkers...appreciate any insight from someone who's living it.

i'm so excited to be coming back...and bringing my darling sons with me for a wild weekend in new orleans. the 19 yr old is (sigh) a frat boy (but a sweet, relatively mild mannered one), and the 21 yr old is a dreadlocked, tattooed cook. we are an interesting group! ;->) both love to eat, and both are excited to see new orleans (even with mom!). so...i need a plan. as a mother, i realize that it will be tentative and fluid at best...but my two requirements of them are (a) that i WILL have a dining companion every evening (lunch optional) and (b) that at no point will i feel the need to take any member of the group to an AA meeting in the quarter... so, we arrive about 7 on friday...home base is just off the quarter. here's my first stab at a dining itinerary: Friday dinner: Acme? Nice and close to the hotel, both boys do oysters...then I can retire for the evening, and they can...explore. Saturday breakfast--I won't even expect to see them...so I might try Camelia on my own? Sat lunch--Le Petit Grocery? are they open for lunch? is this a good choice for us? haven't been there myself, and wanted to try it (gotta fit a new place into the trip!) Sat Dinner Jacques Imo? i've been, i think they'll love it... Sunday--Brunch? Galatoire's? Is this too much for them? I don't want them to feel all twitchy and stiff-collared...suggestions? (i'm considering it for personal reasons--i have never been there, and we do have a sunday brunch time slot in this trip, so i'm tempted to seize the moment. but i don't want to "punish" them with anything too formal---i have their dad, and another trip, for that!) Sunday Dinner Upperline, because of a stellar experience I had when I visited last year, when uglesich's closed (oooh, to take the boys to uglesich's...) Monday--See one boy off to the airport early, need a lunch spot, then we'll grab some muffalettas to take home, and fly out in the afternoon again, all our plans are fluid at this planning stage, and will remain pretty fluid during the weekend...thoughts? suggestions? what should we not miss? one of the boys college pals is working at gulfstream..should we dine there, or take her elsewhere? (she's a tulane girl, and hasn't had that much time to dine out in the city, so we may be taking her along on some of our adventures). also, any recommendations about a cooking class? i've done the new orleans school of cooking thing, and don't need to do that again...anybody know about "cookin' cajun"? i'd LOVE to take the class on sat night at savvy gourmet with leah chase and poppy tooker.....(i have a cooking school, so i'd love to see this) but it's sat night, and i really want to spend the meal time with the boys...they will be on their own the rest of the trip....am i nuts, and should i just let them have sat night? or am i nuts to do THAT? (taking the class will also cut out an opportunity to dine somewhere new, so i'm on the fence..the class subject matter is game, which is not something we have a chance to do much of in southern californai...but i can always learn something at a cooking class, especially with these ladies involved!) and one more thing---our local travel section just ran a blurb on "disaster tours"... i'm torn. we will not have a car, so this is probably our (or my) opportunity to experience some of the lasting physical effects of K. i have no interest in a voyeristic gawk at other people's pain. on the other hand, part of the reason i'm going is to fill friends and students in on the current state of things, and people will want to know. i want to possibly plan a "field trip" for students to go spend some money in the city, as that's what we keep hearing is needed....thoughts on whether this type of tour is a good idea, or just stupid? oooh, i am counting the hours. thanks, people! edited for bad typing---have to set an example here. one boy is a food guy, and might actually read this!

I watched for this on a rerun and couldn't even see the label. Product placement must not have been at work. ← it was cristal. first from glasses, and then from the bottle. stephen, stephen, stephen....

if you do that, please share the reply. i have a culinary event coming up with some australian trade reps, and would love to hear the input. thanks!

thank you, thank you. going with my teen and twenty something sons next week, and i will savor your experience as an appetizer for our trip. can NOT wait!

i ordered it, also from the author, and it is residing by my bed. ironically, the first time i will get a chance to more than glance at it, will be on the plane, to NEW ORLEANS! just booked a trip for next week, with my two sons, neither of whom has ever been. laissez le bon temps roulez, kids...within reason!

a ramekin lined with pirouttes (cut to fit, or sticking up a bit) is a great vessel for mousse--chocolate, berry or ?--or for mascarpone mixed with lemon curd, raspberry puree, or ? quick, pretty, and tasty, especially for a piroutter!

let me revise that--i think the matte, porous enamel staub interior does a better browning job than that smooth, apparently nonporous enamel. from the staub website: Our black matte enamel is highly indestructible and provides better cooking results; over time your Staub pot will slowly season itself as oils used when cooking will penetrate the pores of the black matte enamel. The black matte enamel will also brown, braise and reduce better! all i know is that if i want to sear, then braise, i use the staub. the smooth surface of the le crueset just doesn't perform that funtion as well.

i think the staub interior does a better browning job than enamel.

stephen's blog disppeared for a few days after he was voted off the island, but is back up now, so perhaps lee anns will make a come-back. i'm very sad to see her go, as she was one of my faves, and tiffani is not.

according to their awful and embarrassing website, both women have degrees, one in creative writing and one in english and journalism. oh, the humanity....!

somwhere this very week, i just read about avocado fries....cut into "fingers", dredge in egg and flour and fry....i'm on the fence about whether this would be great or awful...you try it!

as far as culinary value, there are some cheeses (morbier and humboldt fog, for example) that have a layer of ashes in the center--for morbier, i heard that the layer separates the morning milk form the evening milk...don't know if that's strictly true, but it is charming.. will be interested to hear about the leek ashes--what dish do they appear in at your new place?

melissa's packages both the cane and the swizzles. if you don't have a grocery store near you that carries them, you can order over the net: melissa's sugar cane clickety they are kinda shrinkwrapped, and will last quite a while, so you might want to order a summer's worth, if you can't find them locally. i love to use these for shrimp "pops"--make a paste with chopped raw shrimp, chiles, garlic, etc., and form into little lollipops on the sugarcane stick and grill or broil. now, those would be nice with a mojito!

the only thing is, it wasn't until after leeann's menu was selected that they were told that they had 16 hours to execute it....it's one thing it you know you have to do the impossible, and quite another if you are trying to design a nice menu for the scotts and then the other shoe drops....

would it be jessica's biscuit? love them! fast delivery, great selection and sometimes, free coffee beans!

miele does:miele clickety and gaggenau does, too.gaggeneau clickety

ditto. hope you are coping well. saw this book at the bookstore yesterday, and the title reminded me of your posts, in several ways.one armed cook

i like a little heat with my sweet potatoes--try chile flakes, chipotle powder or tabasco with chipotle.

i bought the profisserie set mentioned in this thread around the first of the year. i am trying to love the pans, but find that i seem to build up quite a bit of carbonized gook on the sides of the pan as i saute. not fond---it's just kinda burn-y blackness that has to be scrubbed and scrubbed (even with barkeepers friend and dawn power dissolver.) so far, i like my all clad a lot better. am i doing something wrong?

i had the best omelette this morning with braised pork inside. it wasn't confit, but it woulda been killah if it was. (it was killah anyway, but would have achieved an advanced state of killah if it had been pork confit!)