Toliver

Ah, now I understand what you mean by "foils"....sheets of the dough. I have never heard that term before. You mentioned you cooked food to serve in front of your home during your village festival. What was that festival and do many villagers open a small outdoor restaurant during the festival like you did? And are there any other festivals that your village celebrates?

My local Wal-Mart has a clearance rack near the checkout stands. I bought a cool-to-the-touch toaster for under ten bucks off that rack. It works like a charm. I priced Wide slot toasters and for some odd reason they always seem to run about four or five times what I paid for my simple toaster.

I agree. We usually end up there for either cocktails or perhaps dessert and enjoy the view that way. It's easier on the wallet.

Sorry to say that Fio's is now closed. I was sad to see it go.

I thought this was an interesting point. I think that's what drives a lot of us to this site and elsewhere. Just think about the poor souls who will never know that there is good stuff to be had out there. Thanks for contributing!

Thanks for the response! That is exactly what I have at home. beans, it sounds like you use this sauce while it's still in liquid form. If you refrigerate it, do you let it come to room temperature when you use it again, or will it be easily speadable when cold? edit to pester beans with yet more questions

Boris, By celery, do you mean what is also called "celery root"? Here is a picture of it: Click This is what is sold as celery here in the U.S.

Reading Owen's recent discussion about family backgrounds reminded me of this thread so I thought I would bump it back up for the new members.

A great idea. PM the forum host to see if they can edit it for you. And thanks for posting your recipes and ideas! This is a great discussion.

Is this the same as boullion?

Wow! tanabutler, I just looked up your camera. You've got an incredible piece of digital magic there!. It even has the FlexiZone AF/AE where you can move the Auto Focus' point of focus. Very cool. I've got digital camera envy! The picture you posted is gorgeous. You are so right about the colors. Also, since it can output RAW format, you've got the flexibility you'll need for post-processing in Photoshop. Good luck with the restaurant gig!

Boris, As you requested, Pumpkin Lover posted some fresh slang for you, some of which I have never heard before so it's new to me, as well. The blogs are a good place to learn about more than food! I love a good gruyere. You've mentioned wine & cheese...now all we need is bread and we'll be ready to dine! I am looking forward to hearing more about your cuisine. What is your town's altitude?

Uhm...er...I noticed this, too. Is the fact that the new blogger hasn't started yet so disconcerting because we've grown addicted to the Blog? "The eGullet Food Blog...the New Crack!" Maybe this would be a good time to suggest to the "eGPowers That Be" at they should shift the Blog hand-over date to the middle of the week or Thursday night instead of the weekend. A lot of people just aren't home on the weekend, aren't home to answer tagging emails or to surf eGullet (from what I understand, most people surf eGullet during the weekdays...like me ). Just a thought...[as he quickly ducks out the door]

Regarding the wine, if it's been open too long without doing the ice cube trick, you can always use it to make your own vinegar. There's a vinegar-making discussion around here somewhere. As for the loose meat burgers, what fat content is your beef? If your hamburger is too lean to start off with, it can fall apart on you when cooking/eating. The fat in the meat act as a sort of binder as it cooks. You can also add an egg to the meat as a binder, too.

Thanks for posting the mustard recipe. Now how about the recipe for the Sun-Dried Tomato Catsup? Pretty please?

Good points, Lucy. I agree with the "too much 'head room' " in the pineapple picture. Cropping would make the picture better....focusing more on the point of the image. As for your snapshots, you obviously have an eye for photography. Even when you "just take a picture", your pictures are usually framed very well, meaning you're able to make a point/tell a story with your photos. The viewer takes one look and understands what you are trying to convey. Some people have the "eye" inately, some develop it over time and some will never "get it". I think that digital photography will become an important learning tool for anyone who wants to develop their "eye". Afterall, you don't have to waste money printing out photos. You can just call it up on the computer and then delete it after you've learned all you can from the photo then go on and shoot a lot more pictures to learn from.

Hmmm...sounds like it would make a great eGCI class, dontcha think?

Hmmm...perhaps someone should suggest a "Make Your Own Vinegar at Home" eGCI class.

Welcome Rachel! You're in good company so post away. And don't "Pooh-pooh" the pantry stuff. It has its time and place, especially when you when you get home late from work and don't have time to make something from scratch. Ain't nothin' wrong with it.

Garrett Oliver has also written a short article in the latest "Barbecue Issue" of Bon Appetit magazine recommending some craft beers with your "Q".

The only thing that goes down mine are egg shells. Better safe than sorry, I always say. I had a very bad incident one time with some pasta that just clogged it right up. Who knew? So now what does go down there are the incidentals....from rinsing off plates, bowls, pots & pans. Everything else (peels, parings, coffee grounds, trimmings, etc) I put in the garbage can. I also do the "let the water run" trick during and after to help keep the pipes flushed.

I noticed yesterday that my local Trader Joe's carried small bottles of "Heavy Cream". Does anyone know if this is real "heavy cream" or just something they are calling "heavy cream"? Would this be what AlainV is talking about? edited to make pertinent

Google is your friend: Diana Kennedy's Pineapple Vinegar (on Epicurious.com) Food Network's Pineapple Vinegar: This recipe is very different from Diana's version. I found this recipe on another site that attributed it to the "Too Hot Tamales" show when it was on the Food Network (why they would remove the credit is a mystery ). Here was a previous eGullet discussion of an endless bottle of vinegar

You can see the effect of a Back Light in the egg picture. The Key Light in this picture is at such an angle behind the egg that it is acting almost like a Back Light. Note the whitish arc along the top edge of the egg which makes the egg "pop" from the background. This is what a backlight (usually placed up above the subject) will achieve. I noticed another thing "wrong" with the Egg picture. Take a look at it and ask yourself where is the center of focus? Not in a composition sense but in a technical sense. If you look at the mat that the egg is on, it looks like the very front of the foreground is in focus. As you move your eye to the back you can see about where the egg cup is that the focus is not as sharp. If the intention of the photo is to show the texture of the egg, then this wouldn't be a good photo to illustrate that. If it's to show the texture of the mat, then it's a succeful image.

Brooks, Thanks for posting the recipe. It sounds delicious. I need some clarification on the green onions, though. They're not listed in the ingredients section but suddeny appear in the instruction section. Are we talking about a couple green onions? Or a fair amount (1/2 cup or more)?