PopsicleToze

Me, too. In the rare instances when I had to send something back, it was always my choice to opt for another entree or to just forget it.

I used to skip the 2nd run, too, for years and years -- just never thought it necessary, but it really does add to the stock. I just had to stock up on veal stock this weekend, and it did take a long time -- but it cooked itself while I played in the garden. You'll still have a great stock with 1 run, but once you start with the 2nd, you'll be glad you did.

I just made their lemon bars last night for about the upteenth time. They are so fantastic. I tried the raspberry bars, too, for the first time last night but they're for a lunch we're having today and I haven't tasted them yet. One recipe I've just started making this year is their blackberry jam cake. While not even in the same league as their lemon bars, the jam cake is very nice -- not too sweet -- and the perfect breakfast cake to take to the office. It's very enjoyable. Rhonda

I rarely if ever cut myself, but burns can be somewhat frequent. Just a few weeks ago I had placed a skillet in the oven to broil something to finish it off then grabbed it out forgetting an oven mitt. Now, that hurt. The good news is that due to the frequency I've developed asbestos hands and things don't hurt so much.

I'm not disagreeing with the Top Chef format, but in baseball, they don't play the bottom of the ninth if the home team is even a single run ahead. ← I agree. Carla giving Casey's ideas credence over her own ideas says more about Carla as a chef than it does Casey. In fact, I don't think it says anything bad about Casey. As top chef, Carla should have delegated and used Casey to assist in her efforts. Carla seemed to take the hit and know why she failed. I didn't hear say anything disrespectful toward Casey but soemthing sure rubbed her the wrong way.

Yes, he can. Assumming that the information would be correct, lets see what we have: -Owner bears cost to identify mystery customer -Owner bears cost to file in small claims court -Owner bears cost to serve named defendant to appear in court -Owner bears cost to supply defendant with all necesary paperwork, including how defendant's identity was discovered. Failure to do so, or the omission of any item may result in mistrial. A fact that many small claim defendant "regulars" take advantage of. Now we have to tally up monetary costs, as well time costs _____________________________________ Assuming a court date has been set within 6 mths and the defendant actually appears: ______________________________________ -Based on personal experience, as well as conversations with small claims clerks and Judges, it is highly probable that the owner will not be awarded 100% of the damages he seeks, most likely 75%. The owner did, after all process no less than 5 suspicious credit cards and still went ahead. Asuming that the owner is awarded compensation: __________________________________________ -The owner must bear any costs to retrieve his money. Now tally up the monetary costs and the time costs. The original bill was for under $2,000. ← You deserve that Esq behind your name, Mr. Atty You're right. Should have never filled the order and the cheapest thing to do would be to learn a lesson fron it.

In Baton Rouge there is a little restaurant on Perkins at Bluebonnet (off I-10/Bluebonnet Exit 162) called Louisiana Lagniappe. It's a great little place. They do not take reservations, but I've never had to wait very long and the food and service are terrific. Here's their site: http://www.louisianalagniapperestaurant.com/ Enjoy your trip! Rhonda

Real butchers are a rarity here. The only specialty meat shops in the area are geared toward Cajun meats (stuffed chickens, sausages, and the like). There are no butchers to speak of. Even for bones -- most markets you ask will try to sell you shank and not know what you're asking for, and they look at you with a blank face when you tell them you need to make stock. We can count on Whole Foods to have a great selection, but they are very high. Local markets carry the normal cuts and will order for us, however. Unfortunately, their skills are marginal. I ordered a crown roast of pork for something one year, and I even brought a picture of "This is what it should look like, and this is what it should not look like." And the end-product was what it should not have looked like.

Way too expensive, especially when you can fill up on $3-$4 worth of boiled shrimp rather than $20 worth of boiled crawfish. ← Yep. We're having a shrimp boil for Easter

Sounds like a great start to the trip. I know what you mean about the smoking booths -- I was happy to find one after flying all day -- but it was a bit strange. Looking forward to reading more about your adventure. How is the flood situation in Venice?

Baton Rouge, LA --Pomegranate molasses: I've never seen it --Sumac: Easily obtainable from Asian market --Aleppo pepper (Turkish-style red pepper): Never looked for it --creme fraiche: Easily available, although only in upscale markets --Mexican crema : Very common --Spanish smoked paprika: I've only ordered this -- but never looked for it locally. --miso paste: Asian markets --sherry vinegar: Common --duck (fresh or frozen): Common --duck fat: Never seen it --pancetta: Common --less common pig parts: trotters, unsmoked hocks, cheeks, slab bacon, skin: Common Good luck with your cookbook!

Crawfish $3.49/lb live $3.99/lb boiled Baton Rouge, LA

He can possibly identify the defendant via their email carrier. It's public information that can be obtained, probably with a fee.

Thank you!

I've recently seen the latest Le Creuset pots with the lid converted so that now it holds ice. It would seem like the ice would melt immediately and not do much. Do you think the new pot is worthwhile?

I like the ends & pieces, too, but 30#?? If you have the freezer room, go for it. Knowing that jar of bacon fat is in the fridge is a comfort. Saveur's Jan issue was the 100 greatest things -- and bacon fat was one of them! I love Saveur.

I missed how Fabio broke his finger. Anyone??

It seems to go very well in cheese sauces. I had it in a cheesy spinach dish – the béchamel sauce included the celery salt along white pepper and Worcestershire sauce. It was a winning combination.

I was just in San Francisco and saw small, small print at the bottom of the menu that the meal would include a mandatory 3% tax, which is used for uninsured restaurant's medical expenses (stated it was California law). So -- we had 18% tip plus a 3% surcharge -- 21% no matter if service was good/bad/indifferent/whatever.

The Baton Rouge news had a story this morning on crawfish telling us not to get our hopes up for an Easter crawfish boil (it's very common to have a crawfish boil on Easter weekend). The warm fall weather coupled with Hurricane Gustav wrecked havoc on our poor little crawfish. The ones you can get are very small and they’re not readily available. That’s for the bigger Spillway crawfish that depend on Mother Nature. I talked to a supplier near here, and he uses farmed crawfish because of the dependability. He says we will have crawfish (the farmed, not necessarily Spillway), but the big question this year will be price. Spillway crawfish are preferred. I called our normal supplier and he’s not taking any orders and he doesn’t have any live crawfish now. It’s not looking good.

Jamie's most damaging statement was after Eric Ripert had sampled all of the contestant's dishes and offered them insight and his opinion on how to make their dishes better. He didn’t sample Jamie’s, and after he had critiqued everyone else’s dishes, she said something to the effect, “Eric didn’t sample dish because I didn’t have time for him to sample it.” What the hell was that?!? She was being judged on how closely she could replicate one of the man’s own dishes and SHE doesn’t have time for HIM?!? That's just stupid.

I bought the veal shank (2 pieces, total weight just over 2# at $29, Whole Foods, Baton Rouge). I usually just wing osso buco and have the meat almost but not quite falling off the bone. However, I was just reading a really old cookbook from Julia and she specifically states that the meat should not be cooked until it is falling off the bone and she cooked it as part of a family menu. I guess that somewhat changed over the years since -- or has it always been this way and I've just been overcooking the dish ??

Tis a pity that a place has been around for almost 150 years and does a great job with its products, is avoided because some tourists consider it touristry. ← How true. Locals love the place. I don't have beignets any longer due to the waist-band issues, but I always have time for a cafe au lait when I'm there.

Favorite line -- again from Fabio -- was (something to the effect) that since he was FOH that they "could serve a monkey's ass in an empty clam shell and still win!" Re Radicah being judged as her skills as an owner, isn't the major prize something like $100K to start their own restaurant? Still, I would have booted Carla this time. ---- ETA: Oh, yeah, the Elvis comment ticked me off. Didn't his mama ever teach him not to speak ill of the dead?

Canned corn and LeSeur peas -- those are the 2 canned vegetables I keep on hand, too (well, and tomatoes). LeSeur peas are a bit mushy, but they're traditional around here and I like to make roux peas with them. (Saute a little minced onion in butter until softened but not browned; add flour to make a blonde roux; then add the peas from the can, liquid and all.)