Stone

I apologize in advance for only reading the first post: jin, I think you're mistaking American "peasant" food for cuisine. i don't mean for that to sound as terribly offensive and judgmental as it does. But jello salad (something I love and grew up with) is not a cuisine. It's a cheap easy way to make a sweet generally enjoyed side dish. Miracle Whip? Same Same. I'm not sure why you don't like white gravies, but that's a question of taste. Is ham with soda pop much different from the worldwide pairing of pork with sweet fruits? (Apples, raisons, etc.) Although if I recall, you and I agree that sweets and meats should not go together.

Dreyers Dreamery makes a very good malt ice cream.

I too can say that I have now mastered this art. Thanks to all those who helped. I have also determined that Bic is now my lighter of choice. I bought some cheapo lighter, and not only does it not give a decent flame -- even when I can see that it's still half full of fluid, but the bottom cracks too easily. Now if only I can make a decent hollandaise. (Just kidding, I can.)

I once worked with a guy who loved snapple. When we were ordering in dinner, he would first ask for a Snapple Iced Tea. If they didn't have that, a Snapple Lemonade. Then a Snapple Peach Something. If that was out, a Snapple Fruit Shit. Or a Snapple Anything. "Those are all completely different drinks," I'd point out. "Do you not care what you drink, as long as it's made by Snapple?" Pretty much. Seemed very odd to me. I had a similar experience when waiting tables. Someone ordered a Coors Light, then a Coors Extra Gold, than a Coors Silver Bullet. "So you don't really care what it tastes like," I commented, "as long as it's made by Coors?"

Yeah, I should have poured off the fat from the turkey drippings. I wasnt' paying attention. I started with some corn oil and flour for the roux, added some diced onion, then poured in the turkey drippings. Very basic, it's always worked fine. I wasn't paying much attention, but I think there was probably a 1/2 cup of fat from the turkey that I poured in.

I got a glop of whitish flourly stuff sitting beneath a pool of fat. I think that I put in too much fat from the drippings after I made my roux. Tried to add more flour, but it didn't help. Oh wel..

I spent a week at the Club Med there. Kind of gross, but $50 to play the golf course, which was beautiful. Can we turn this discussion back to "Night Caught Parrot Fish and Day Boat Scallops" please?

Sounds like the next special at Trio or El Bulli.

It's really not that hard. The first time I roasted a chicken, I bought a Perdue Oven-Stuffer-Roaster with a pop-out timer and put it in the oven until the timer popped out. It was fine. Not as good as a chicken could be of course, but it was moist and tasty and no one complained. Just remember to take all the icky parts out of the cavity first. And yes, we are all great. At least I am.

Well, duh. But are they suggesting that parrot fish caught at night is better than parrot fish caught during the day? Should we expect to see menu touting "Wednesday slaughtered April 19th dusk killed lamb paired with an early-morning dew covered left-hand picked counter-clockwise peeled apple chutney"?

Brine it. Dry it very well. Season with salt. Stick some herbs maybe half an orange in the cavity. some dabs of butter on top. Stick in a hot 400 degree oven. Baste every once in a while.

La Toque is La Expensive. Seems to be $100 for a 5 course tasting menu (6 for the cheese supplement). That's the same $$$ than French Laundry. Is it that good?

Yup. That's what's on the menu. "Night Caught." Can someone explain this? I'm surprised the "night caught" fish wasn't paired with "day boat" scallops.

Press your palm firmly against the pan and hold it for 5 seconds. If you get an even 3rd degree burn over the surface, the pan is hot enough.

If you want real cheap chow, you can go to Tu Lan for excellent Vietnamese food. 6th & Market. Just remember to stay low and keep moving.

I think one of the best SF eating experiences is Zuni Cafe, on Market St. (near Gough). The oysters are the best in the city and they make an amazing roast chicken over bread salad. Other stuff I've had there can be less than spectacular, but always very good. And I love the atmosphere. It's not cheap, but it's very reasonable. Funny, I'm trying to think of less-expensive places for "California" cuisine in the city, and I'm drawing a blank.

I spent a week in Croatia back in '98. It was terrific. Zagreb, Dubrovnik, Korcula & Split. Zagreb (only one day) was a large "Austrian" cosmopolitan city. I remember sitting in the main square looking at crowds of teenagers in the street. They looked and acted just like crowds of NY teenagers. This was not some war-torn strife filled country. In fact, one of the things that really amazed me about Croatia was how everyone dressed so well. People on the streets, at the cafes, restaurants, everywhere. The food was also amazing. In Zagreb it's similar to what I would expect in Austria. Down the coast, it's what I would expect in Greece. (I haven't been to either place.) I had great meals of fresh fish, mussels, clams, olives, cheese. I also bought a big bottle of homemade rakia and olive oil. The oo was perhaps the best, most flavorful I'd ever had. As for the rakia, the guy promised that if I drank a shot a day, I'd never get sick. Alas, I ran out too quickly. There is also an amazing history in this part of the world that was completely omitted from my education. There's a vivid history of kings and princes from the Baltic area. Also, from what I recall, Dubrovnik (as beautiful as you can imagine) was the last Christian city in the fight against the Muslim expansion coming north. The strength of Dubrovnik kept the Muslims (I'm not sure if it was the Ottomans at that point) from capturing Vienna. Imagine. Also, Dubrovnik at one time rivalled Venice for domination of trade in the Adriatic. I believe that they were weakened by the Muslim wars, permitting the ascendancy of Venice and the renaissance. (I'm not sure all the timing works on these historical events. Someone here will educate us. And if anyone knows of any books on the pre-1700 history of this region, I'd love to hear about them. I've got "The Balkans" on my list, but it's more modern)

I love this. Question -- I think that the best onion rings are batter fried. And I tend to avoid those places who use cornmeal in their breading. Too harsh on the tongue.

My world has been rocked.

I used to work across the street from Nicks. I went a lot for lunch. The service is terrible and slow. Whenever I ordered, and usually I just got a gyro plate, I always told them that I was in a rush. How long does it take to slice some meat from the spit?

I wouldn't go that far. In this case, they're not formal at all. I'm trying to give them that experience. I'm surprised at all the iffy reviews of Tra Vigne and CIA. I've always heard such great things about them.

Did you think that Don Giovanni was in the same dining category as Tra Vigne/CIA? It seemed much more casual/neighborhoody. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I didn't get the idea that jackets were required or even requested.

I've been to Bistro Don Giovanni. I thought the food was very good, but it had a fairly casual atmosphere. More so with Cafe Lucy. Zuzu is tapas, and my family doesn't go for tapas.

You decide. Mom's birthday. I think they'll love the building/atmosphere/food at CIA. But I've never been to Tra Vigne, and I hear it's all that.

That's a great idea for Saturday lunch. We can eat on the grounds of the B&B.