Toliver

Welcome to eGullet, oggi! Great first post!

She has one show currently running, "Sara's Secrets". The bad news was that in an interview from a couple months ago she stated that her show wasn't the kind of show that the powers-that-be of the FN want on their air anymore. I believe she also said her show would not be renewed. Too bad...her other show "Cooking Live" was an extraordinarily well done show. It was one of my favorite FN shows.

Look at the artistry of that carrot rose! It's a dying art. These days people just don't give a darn about such detailed garnishes. I once ordered Peking Duck from a local chinese restaurant (you had to call a day in advance to order it) and when it was served to us it had the most amazing carved carrot in the shape of a fish leaping upward out of the center of the serving platter. It was amazing...and it was "just" a garnish.

My hunch is to blame Madison Avenue. They probably truncated the word to save on typesetting costs.

Bon Appétit Magazine Digest – August 2005 – “Best of Summer” Beautiful yet simple cover photo of some ears of corn. It’s a thin issue, folks so you'd that be less ads to leaf through, and it is...though there seems to be lot more of those inserted subscription cards in this issue. Contributors in this issue: Cookbook author Jamie Purviance, Chef Anna Pump, New Zealand’s Sunday Star Times restaurant critic Geraldine Johns, writer Henry Alford and Iron Chef America winner Chef Cat Cora. First, rip out the thick Jenn-Air ad insert. In the Letter from the Editor section, there’s a recipe for “Bauder’s Peppermint Ice Cream Bars”. Starters – “Quick bites from the World of Bon Appétit” by Hugh Garvey “Iced Coffee Starts Here” – A plug for Melitta’s “One:One” single serving coffee maker in cool colors like Mango or Kiwi (www.melitta.com) with a few tips on giving iced coffee a different flavor twist. “Hooray for Half-Bottles” – Wineries are now selling 375-ml size bottles. Hugh suggests Clos Du Val Carneros Pinot Noir ($12) and Chardonnay ($11), Terrablanca Campaccio ($20) and from France, Domaine des Vieux Pruniers Sancerre ($9). “The Essence of Summer” – A brief tip on how to make your own tomato water, corn water, etc, at home. “Point and Shoot and Eat” – The new 5-megapixel Olympus Stylus 500 digital camera actually has a “cuisine Mode” for those who like to take pictures of their food. *cough* eGullet *cough* It supposedly softens the flash and accentuates the warm tones of the food. (www.olympusamerica.com) “A Perfect Day in Nantucket” – Some suggestions on what to eat and where to go when you find yourself visiting Nantucket. “Beer Can Chicken Goes Upscale” – Three suggestions on how to elevate the trailer park dish to new levels: Japanese, Italian and Napa Wine Country. R.S.V.P. - Readers’ Favorite Restaurant Recipes Recipes: “Fresh Peach-Vanilla Cobbler” (Vista Verde Guest Ranch – north of Steam Boat Springs, Colorado); “Mango Bajito” (Ajili Mojili – Puerto Rico); “Chicken, Dried Cherry and Walnut Salad Sandwiches” (Beggar’s Banquet – East Lansing, Michigan); “Blue Corn Madeleine’s” (Sonora Café – Los Angeles) – An info box has two sources for blue cornmeal; “Grilled Spiced Lamb Chops” (Ayung Terrace – Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan); “Smoky Tomato-Basil Soup” (Little Texas Bistro – Buda, Texas); “Three-Berry Pie” (60th Street Desserts – Seattle, WA). Entertaining – “Party Improv” by Lena Cederham Birnbaum It’s a summer party inspired by the best of the Farmers’ Market that takes little effort to throw together. Recipes: “Sautéed Black Cod with Shallot-Lemon Vinaigrette and Fresh Herb Salad”; “Summer Fruit with Praline Fondue”. A side bar has suggestions for a timeline and for accompaniments. At the Market – “Watermelon” by Cat Cora Chef Cora has whipped up some new recipes featuring summer’s juiciest treat – watermelon. Recipes: “Frozen Watermelon Daiquiris”; “Watermelon and Cucumber Gazpacho”; “Watermelon, Ricotta Salata, Basil and Pine Nut Salad”. A side bar offers tips on how to select a watermelon at the market. Another side bar offers more ways to use watermelon in your recipes. “America’s New Beer Frontier” by Carolynn Carreño It’s a look at American craft brewers making beers that defy categorization. A side bar suggests “Five to Try”: Allagash Curieux Dogfish Head Craft Brewery Midas Touch Lagunitas Brewing Co. IPA Maximus Sam Adams Utopias Stone Brewing Co. Arrogant Bastard Ale Wine & Spirits – “Drinks, Etc.” by Andrew Knowlton “Our Desert Island Drink” – Cocktail recipe: “Ginger & Mary Ann” by Patrick Newsome at Wildwood Restaurant (Portland, Oregon) “Grape Notes” – Four suggestions for winery concerts this summer. Tasting Panel Report – “Gin: That’s the Spirit” Reval Dry Gin (Estonia) $14 Boodles British Gin (England) $20 Hendrick’s Gin (cotland) $30 Zuidam Genever Gin (Netherlands) $30 Magellan Gin (France) $32 Martin Miller’s Westbourne Strength (England) $32 “Cool Pastas” by Jeanne Thiel Kelley Jeanne offers some simple pasta dinners for dinner in an instant. Recipes: “Seafood Pasta with Lemon-Saffron Herb Dressing”; “Orrecchiette with Garbanzos, Tomatoes, Feta and Mint”; “Linguine with Pecorino, Tomatoes and Arugula”; “Ziti with Roasted Peppers, Green Olives and Spicy Salami”. Restaurants – Hot Seat: McPerkins Cove (Ogunquit, Maine) Top Tables – The Restaurant Reporter – Special Edition: Southeast Asia Vietnam: Ho Chi Minh City- Mandarin; Nam Phan. Hanoi- Restaurant Bobby Chinn; Vine Wine Boutique Bar & Café; La Beaulieu. Thailand: Bangkok- V9 Wine Bar & Restaurant. Chiang Mai- The House. Cambodia: Siem Reap- Mouhot’s Dream; Café Indochine. Going Out – “Eyes on Auckland” by Geraldine Johns Geraldine takes a look at the cuisine scene in New Zealand’s largest city: Soul Bar and Bistro; Euro; O’Connell Street Bistro; The Grove; Dine by Peter Gordon; Cibo; SPQR. Bon Vivant – “What’s New. What’s Hot. What’s Good.” By Laurie Glenn Buckle A sundress with scenes of food shopping in Paris by Melissa Masse. A Villeroy & Boch square plate with an 18th century blue and white pattern on a bold, round yellow plate – www.villeroy-boch.com “Tiramani” jasmine and blood orange scented perfume(!) – www.caswellmassey.com Retro Anodized-aluminum tumblers in bold colors – www.urbanoutfitters.com Cath Kidston’s summery wicker basket with a sailboat-themed oilcloth lining – www.cathkidston.com Faux-reptile skin serving trays from Habitat International. A Missoni red & cream colored coffee cup and saucer with lid by Richard Ginori. “Zero Minus Plus” wood and glass hurricane lamps from Fred Segal Santa Monica. “Dinner in the Garden” by Chef Jim Bradley Jim plans a menu for 8 with this get-away garden dinner featuring the best of summer produce. Recipes: “Chilled Corn Soup with Smoked Trout and Serrano Chile Oil”; “Baby Spinach, Red Onion, Pancetta and Peach Salad”; “Mustard-Crusted Bass with Garden Tomatoes and Lemon Oil”; “Sautéed Zucchini with Almonds and Olives”; “Raspberry-Topped Rice Pudding Brûlée”. “The Best of Summer” by Molly Stevens with gorgeous photos by Tina Rupp Wondering what to do with that bumper crop of summer’s best produce? Molly has some suggestions. Recipes: “Salad of Fresh Herbs and Greens with Fried Eggplant”; “Corn on the Cob with Lime-Chive Butter” (COVER RECIPE); “Chicken Paillards with Tomato, Basil and Roasted Corn Relish”; “Over-Dried Tomato Tart with Goat Cheese and Black Olives”; “Grilled Zucchini and Eggplant Pizza with Tapenade and Fontina”; “Grilled Panzanella Salad with Bell Peppers, Summer Squash and Tomatoes”. “Chic-Kebabs” by Anna Pump It’s a “make it/buy it” easy summer party. You buy the appetizers and dessert which leaves just the main course. Recipes: “Surf ‘n’ Turf Kebabs with Cilantro-Lime Sauce”; “Couscous with Golden Raisins, Pine Nuts and Green Onions”. The “buy it” side bar suggests goat cheese, pre-made hummus, pita bread triangles, slices of cucumber, sun-dried tomatoes and thinly sliced soppressata (a mild cured Italian salami). For dessert, it’s a Sandra Lee-ish Raspberry and Chocolate Cake “Napoleans”. “Good to Go” by Jamie Purviance with great photos by Mark Thomas How to pack it up in style for that perfect summer picnic. Recipes: “Grilled Steak Sandwiches with Brie, Roasted Peppers and Watercress”; “Summer Garden Salad with Chili-Garlic Shrimp”; “Fennel-Crusted Ahi Tuna with Lemon Aioli Over Couscous”; “Buttermilk Fried Chicken with Spinach and Tomato Salad”; “Grilled Game Hens with Basmati, Dried Currant and Almond Salad”. A side bar suggests some summer white wines to go with your picnic. “Natural Beauties” by Kimberley Boyce with great photos by Sang An Kim says summer fruits make sublime August desserts with very little prep. Recipes: “White Peach, Cassis and Champagne Floats”; “Summer Melon with Basil-Mint Granita”; “Mixed Berries with Lemon Verbena Cream”; “Honey-Roasted Plums with Thyme and Crème Fraîche”. “Croatia: The New Riviera” by Henry Alford Henry travels through Croatia and discovers a cultural and culinary wonderland. Recipe: “Lobster Brodetto”. Fast. Easy. Fresh. - “Quick Dishes for Every-Night Cooking” Recipes: “Spiced Nectarine Cake”; “Grilled Fish Tostadas with Pineapple-Jicama Salsa”; “Curried Quinoa Salad with Mango”; “Grilled Hoisin-Soy Steaks with Shiitake and Bok Choy”; “Strawberry and Peach Sangria”; “Coffee, Chocolate and Marshmallow Sundaes”; “Grilled Pork Chops with Chunky Andouille Barbecue Sauce”. Readers’ Timesaving Recipes – From reader Marielle Ainsworth of Roswell, NM: “Bell Pepper, Red Onion and Goat Cheese Pizza”; “Healthy Blueberry and Banana Muffins”. From reader Doris Jackson of Anaheim, CA: “Double-Lemon Bars”; “Classic Caponata”. End page Q & A with Sophia Loren (she’s coming out with her own line of pasta sauces called “Sophia’s Cucina”). Interesting ads: There’s a beautiful “Art Deco-ish” full page ad for Redwood Creek winery. There’s a full page ad for Chef Guy Savoy’s new restaurant opening in Fall 2005 in Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas.

If you're interested, there's a book that sort of explores that idea..."Mom's Secret Recipe File ".

I always assumed the Belgian Waffles had deeper, larger impressions in them, the better to hold butter, fruit, whipped cream, etc. "Normal" waffles are much flatter in comparison.

Funny you should mention this...One of eGullet's food bloggers, jwagnerdsm, sort of did what you're proposing: "Food Blog: jwagnerdsm, Eating Iowa" For one year he and his family would consume only that which was grown, made or reared in Iowa (not sure how large a state Iowa is...whether 100 miles is too constricting). He found it extremely difficult, at first. I give the guy (and his family) kudos for even attempting it. He wanted to bring about an awareness of what is available locally and to support his local ag community. It makes for interesting reading. Unfortunately, the website he has in his signature is no longer working.

Word. Or should that be "Word to your mother"? I love my mom's chicken fried steak and I swear that, if given the chance, I could eat it all in one sitting.

A friend of mine made a "honeybaked"-style ham for Easter this year using her torch. She found a knock-off recipe for the sugar coating on the internet and used her torch to carmelize it around the ham. She said it even fooled some of her family into thinking it was the real McCoy.

Do the Dew. A masterful example of Madison Avenue marketing that is now defining an entire sub-culture. The Mountain Dew brand of soda pop is now almost synonymous with the Xgames/Extreme Sports crowd. It's culture identification and being defined by what we consume. The "In crowd" of that extreme sports culture drinks it so if we drink it, too, we associate ourselves with them, become part of them. Association by consumption. Are the Foam Eaters any different?

Last night I had a Rib Eye steak and pasta with pesto but the star of the night was a tomato salad. It was made with the last of the home-grown tomatoes my mom sent back with me when my vacation ended. I tossed them with thin slices of the last of my Vidalia onions, a chiffonade of fresh basil, diced garlic, some smashed kalamata olives all mixed with a wee bit of kosher salt (not too much since the olives were salty), fresh ground pepper, evoo and basalmic vinegar. Heavenly!

Dry them. They'll store quite well and can be revived with hot water when needed. My brother uses a Mr. Coffee food dehydrator to dry his crop of chile peppers. Once dried, he keeps them labeled in Ziploc bags. He will also use a coffee/spice grinder to make homemade fiery hot pepper flakes (snip off the stems before grinding!), bottles of which he gives out as Christmas gifts every year. If you don't have a dehydrator, you can lay them in a single layer on a flat cookie sheet (with rim, preferrably) and leave them in the sun to dry. The only problem with this is that they are exposed to the elements. Also, you will need to turn them every once in a while since moisture is not a good thing and can lead to moldy peppers. Enjoy the bounty!

Something new: Kit Kat Candy Bar - Limited edition - Extra Creamy Reese's Peanut Butter Cups - Limited Edition - Extra Smooth and Creamy The Kit Kat bar was...unusual. The crunch was the same but I guess their idea of creamy means chewier. The chocolate covering almost came off as a complete sheet as I bit into it. Fun to try once but once was enough. As for the Reese's LE...It was a total absence of texture. The peanut butter filling, which normally has some dry texture to it, was completely smooth and creamy. The chocolate coating was, like the LE creamy Kit Kat Bar, chewy. The familiar firm, almost crisp but not quite, chocolate covering was gone. As advertised, it was completely smooth and creamy. It was a completely different peanut butter cup experience. I prefer the original version but this LE was quite interesting.

Don't have a picture of it but I made Alton Brown's "Serious Vanilla Ice Cream" for the 4th of July. It was served with some "Texas Brownies" that my mom made and was a match made in heaven. My brother was a little too impatient for the ice cream to be "done" and so we had soft serve ice cream with the brownies.

Thanks for posting a follow-up on your time down there! I was also in San Diego the week before July 4th and can attest that the weather was absolutely superb. I hated having to leave town. I also ate my way through the Del Mar Fair and will post pix in one of the appropriate "Fair Food" threads elsewhere. Thanks again.

Something new offered by Dreyer's/Edy's: "Dibs - Bite-sized Ice Cream Snacks" By any other name, you'd call them ice cream bon-bons. Anyone try them, yet?

Sorry for the back-to-back post but I've now tried it and give it a HUGE thumbs up. Though it still doesn't taste exactly like regular Coca Cola, it's much closer to that flavor than Diet Coke, which has always been a peeve of mine. To me, Diet Coke does not taste like a diet version of Coca Cola (whereas Diet Pepsi does taste almost exactly like regular Pepsi). Coca Cola Zero has seriously narrowed that flavor gap and I would favor purchasing it without hesitation over Diet Coke any day.

It was genius in its simplicity. Taco Bell taco meat piled on a bun. Also known to some as a "Sloppy Joe" or "loose meat sandwich". Taco Bell probably dropped it so they wouldn't have to go through the extra expense of buying buns anymore. Who else makes a fast-food Sloppy Joe? I've mentioned this before in another discussion but I miss Jack-in-the-Box's Frings. It was a french fry container half-filled with french fries and half-filled with onion rings. I've gotten so tired of fast food french fries that I can't look another one in the "eye".

Be aware that the trolley stops to the south of the Gaslamp District. I mention this because though the Gaslamp District is only along a couple of downtown streets (4th through 6th?), they are quite large city blocks. It can be a long walk from the trolley stop up to Dakota's, for example.

I think it's a matter of the plate designer having never made deviled eggs before. Tupperware also made a devil egg carrier that only held something like 16 egg halves. What were they thinking when the natural inclination for the home cook is to boil up a dozen eggs at a time (empty out the carton)? So you ended up cramming the "extra" stuffed egg halfs into the empty spaces between the other eggs resting in their proper slots. It made for poor presentation but at least you could carry the entire dozen off to the picnic or potluck without incident. By the way, Tupperware has finally corrected this oversight and now makes a 24-egg slot carrier.

When I was a kid we used to always drink sun tea during the summer. The problem was occasionally you'd get a "bad" batch. The tea would taste "fermented". Every once in a while my mom would brew a "starter" on the stove (a small pan of water with tea bags in it) and then dilute it in a large pitcher of water. Today I use the 3-quart Mr. Coffee Ice Tea Maker. You pour in a quart of water into the machine, put the tea bags in the basket and then fill the pitcher with ice. When the hot tea hits the ice it melts enough to give you 3-quarts of iced tea. My mom has the 2-quart Mr. Coffee Iced Tea Maker and uses a combination of Lipton orange pekoe tea bags with orange blossom herbal tea to make a refreshing beverage. edited to add I prefer iced green tea.

I agree with Ruth...that's a great idea. The only problem I can think of is that you never know if you've got "the best" until the discussion has reached a couple pages and people have had time to experiment (and taste!). As for mixes vs. scratch, I was raised on mixes. My mom got married in the '50's and was a product of the well-marketed "save time...use a box mix or a can of something" generation. Bisquick, condensed soup, canned bread crumbs...that was what we ate and all we knew. Today, I don't eat that way very often but don't look my way and expect me to disparage it. I think it's a valid cuisine and I have no problem with people who cook and bake that way. I will even admit to being the proud owner of a copy of the "Cake Mix Doctor" which I will recommend to anyone who won't walk away from me when I start blathering on about how good the recipes are in it. It's fine to draw the line and say "I have never used a mix and never will" but where are the shades of gray? I have a good friend who was raised by her grandmother and has always made everything from scratch using her grandmother's recipe book. But even she will use a mix if she doesn't have the time to make something from scratch inbetween taking her kids to school, doing the laundry, paying the bills, etc. If you have the time to make it from scratch, good for you. But there's no shame in using a mix.

I almost passed it up in the grocery store due to not recognizing what it was. The bottle is very...white. The store was selling selling two of the mini bottles for a buck so I picked up two. I haven't tried it yet.

I do the same with baked potatoes but I also add avocado. Here I've been guilding the lily all this time and I didn't even know it. Oh, Saint Mario! ← People are forever telling me it should be one OR the other, not both. I usually just look at them like they've lost their minds. ← Control freaks is what they are. And I suppose they want us to only color inside the lines, too, and the trees can only be green.