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i mean the US chocolates cant compare to the UK ones ! sorry!

I would suggest one thing only: delivery.

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Icing with way too much sugar. I'm usually the one scraping icing off of cake at parties.
Banana bread or cooked bananas (plantains don't count). I love bananas though.
Most corporate baked goods; you can taste the lack of love and care in them, and I can't remember ever reaching for carrageenan or sodium benzoate when baking.
Sugar-free anything. Sugar substitutes taste nasty.
Most fruitcakes. I'm bored with them.
Adult-sized slices of chocolate cake. I usually find it too rich to eat in large quantities. I love chocolate, I just prefer it in small doses.
Most donuts, except for cake donuts.
Crunchy cookies. Just not a fan of the texture.

Desserts that make me go meh:
Red velvet cake? I mean, it usually tastes OK (vaguely reminiscent of malted milk, like Wendy's frosties), but I always feel odd eating so much food coloring.
Sock-it-to-me/7-up/insert soda here cake. Common in Southern cooking, and almost always too sweet.

Re: buttercream icing: unless you had it on a homemade cake or cake from a wedding party, it probably wasn't made with real butter. 'Buttercream' icing made from vegetable shortening is pretty disgusting.

I'm surprised so many people here don't like tiramisu, but I've had my share of bad tiramisu. I'll second the cannoli though. Highly overrated and just not that tasty.

At home, I'm a little clean obsessed, but I am indeed a very messy cook. I consider messy and dirty two totally different issues. Now if you leave the mess sit and don't clean it up in a timely manner, it then becomes filth, in my estimation.

We dine out alot, so at some point I force myself to become oblivious to small things or I would be dining at home much more frequently. My first observation at the table is generally that of the silverware. If they are not immaculate, I ask for new. Next is the glassware, which is very obvious if not spotless and free of any gunk. It has always been my contention that the mark of a good restaurant is the cleanliness and tidiness of the restrooms. If they don't care that there is a layer of fuzzy fur on their plastic flowers and wet paper towels are overflowing onto the floor then they are not apt to pay attention to detail elsewhere either. It never occurred to me to accidentally walk into the kitchen, but that is a great idea.

This thread brings to memory very bad experiences at TGI McFunster's. Repeated, heinous experiences. I used to live fairly close to one, and it was one of the more "upscale" restaurants in the area. haha... Nonetheless, dining companions were constantly insisting on the place for convenience. One time, I found a plastic wheel from some sort of kitchen implement in my spring roll. When I complained, to their credit, they did ask if I would prefer some cottage cheese or applesauce. Then another time I ordered a BLT and the B was raw, never having seen the inside of a skillet. This is the biggie - another time I ordered a shrimp cocktail and pulled a piece of raw chicken out of the bowl. When I complained, they offered to bring me another app, so while I was waiting, (watching my companions enjoy their food and the servers go in and out of the kitchen), I could see the servers sitting on the food prep counters in the kitchen. Three of them SITTING on the counters!!! Why don't people notice that the food there tastes like a_ _?

Yeah, it's worth the risk. I've gotten sick once or twice, but that is bound to happen. One time it was from a local pizzeria that I've frequented for years, and another time it was from chicken teriyaki prepared at home by a relative. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I believe regardless of how careful I am, food poisoning is just something that happens from time to time.

Of course, if I see something that doesn't look or smell right, you can be sure I won't be putting it in my mouth.

I seriously don't remember life without Serious Eats... Happy Birthday!

Hey, Serious Eaters. Thanks for all your good wishes. I feel like all of you have become part of the Serious Eats extended family. You all make it fun to come to work every day.

Happy birthday!

I used the recipe from Julia Child and it was delicious. We sat outside on a chilly Hallowe'en, shelling out goodies to the little ones, and eating oeufs en cocotte a la sauce de cari, with toasted baguette. A neighbour blasting Vincent Price reading Edgar Allen Poe into the trees. Another neighbour sharing her becherovka across the hedge. It was a Hallowe'en to remember.

Is a bain marie on stovetop preferable or baking in the oven? If using 1 regular large egg per ramekin is the 5 to 7 minutes appropriate? I have followed James Peterson's recipe several times (which is spendid) and quite often the yolks come out overcooked. I guess I just need to keep trying until timing is perfected. The ingredient combinations are endless, aren't they? The ultimate in elegant comfort food.
Thank you so much for responding Phoebe. I can't wait until my husband is done digesting your book so I can get my hands on it. We had such a divine evening at Per Se last Spring I hope to relive it through your memoir. Apparently we had just missed Thomas, who had been there most of the day. We were a little disappointed; he seems like a fascinating man. The food was magical (oysters and pearls!) and of course the service was stellar. Thanks again for your input.

I've found that the "boiled then baked" requirement is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for a great bagel. I've seen waaaaaaay too many places that claim they boil and bake their bagels that still can't put a good crunch on them.

Also, texture is only half the battle and I think it gets over emphasized because it's easier to discern for most people than flavor. Even in NYC the bagels can be rather flat, even among the oft-recommended luminaries like Ess A Bagel, H&H, and Kossar's.

We hooked up with a amateur Jewish bread baker here in Portland who had been making bagels, rye, challah, and pumperknickel and selling them at the Portland Farmer's Market. He uses a starter and a lot of malt in his recipe which gives it this great aroma and a nice tangy-sweet balance. They're smaller, denser, and crunchier than most of what you get in NY. And honestly, I think their texture is best after a rest of a few hours. They don't lose their crunch even after a day's rest in a paper bag. Oh, and they're all hand-rolled, boiled in malted water, and baked.

We've now got our down-stairs baking and prep kitchen done, so now it's just a matter of seeing if we can translate his old school, artisan technique into a 100 dozen a day.

Ed, email me in a couple weeks and I'll FedEx you a dozen.

It's true what annien says about it being a shondeh re: discussing this topic when the objects of desire are out of reach due to the holidays! I'm pretty sure my LI bagel haunt (Bagel Boss in Plainview) is closed till after Yom Kippur. While I agree with Ed, I have my own bagel ritual. I like a sesame or sourdough bagel (haven't found any good organic bagels...yet...and have no kitchen at the moment to bake my own though I have done non-organic in the past), cut in half, toasted, buttered (organic), schmear of cream cheese (organic) on each half, shredded nova on each side, chopped scallions or onions (organic & local when possible) on each side, and I'm a very happy camper. But I will say...buying warm good bagels late at night & not being able to wait...I'll rip pieces off one of them & scoop into a container of scallion or veg cream cheese purchased at the bagel store. It's all good! My boyfriend thinks I'm nuts but then again, he's a big honkin' wad of cream cheese kinda guy who'd be happy with sushi sized pieces of lox if he'd have the chutzpah (and cash) to ask for it at the counter :) .