Gordon Ramsay
Just read a piece in Salon.com, "In Memory of Gordon Ramsay." [http://www.salon.com/mwt/food/eat_drink/2008/04/01/gordon_ramsay/]
Some insightful words on the chef's Fox-ification, no?
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The Ten Most Recent Posts By baboo
Amish Friendship Bread?
Today the local paper features an article about Amish Friendship Bread. If you compliment the baker after sampling this stuff, s/he is obliged to gift you with a bagful of starter that requires 10 days of labor-intensive cultivation, along with stern instructions to pass along three portions of starter after you've baked your bread. For me, that would put the end back in friendship...but maybe that's just me. Have any of you encountered this wacky ritual?
Five ripe pears. Now what?
In my refrigerator are five very large ripe pears, part of a holiday gift I received. I probably won't eat them. I'm the only human in the household, and I won't be home much over the next few days. What I'd like to do is use them in a recipe I can bake and then freeze. Any ideas?
Server scandal
Here in the glorious Berkshires, a headline-grabbing lawsuit caught many by surprise. A group of servers have brought action against Canyon Ranch, the super-pricey holistic spa, claiming that management has been pocketing their gratuities. Canyon Ranch has long had great PR up here as a good, community-friendly neighbor. From what I understand, the servers' claims may well be justified.
Within a day or so the employees of the Cranwell Resort (neither as posh nor as large as Canyon Ranch, but they do a good business hosting conferences and weddings) following suit...so to speak.
Any thoughts?
Do you belong to a food co-op?
Soon I'll be single again (yay!), and I'm so ready to do all those things I yearned to do but he didn't. However, I will be moving (with a couple of four-legged friends) into a small house, I don't have children, I live in a rural area, and I will have a limited budget. Does it make sense for me to join a food co-op?
Are alfalfa sprouts still verboten?
Years ago we were strongly advised against eating packaged alfalfa sprouts because of the stratospheric numbers of bacteria found in them. At the time I lived in NYC; I remember the stuff disappearing from the shelves. Now I live in the mountains, about 200 miles north. I hesitated to buy a container recently, when I suddenly realized I've been eating alfalfa sprouts in local restaurants for almost a decade. Comments?
Remember the Nut Lady?
One great thing about watching Johnny Carson: The food collectors. I have such fond memories of the Potato Chip Lady and the Nut Lady.
I got to thinking of "Nut Lady" Elizabeth Tashjian after reading a comic strip (Zippy the Pinhead) this morning. Did a bit of research, and I'm sorry to report that the founder of the Nut Museum in Old Lyme, CT died just this past January.
But you can still listen to Ms. Tashjian's rendition of her song, "Nuts Are Beautiful"
Quesadilla dilemma!
I'd heard the Salton Santa Fe Quesadilla Maker was a snap to use, and I couldn't wait to play with my new toy. But after three soggy failures, each leaving a yucky mess in its wake, I banished it to the back of the counter.
Anybody have one of these? Any advice?
"I'd hate to take a bite out of you...
...you're a cookie full of arsenic." J.J. Hunsecker (Burt Lancaster) to Sidney Falco (Tony Curtis) in the 1957 film "Sweet Smell of Success." Killer line, in a movie full of them. Anybody have other food metaphors (or references) from the Silver Screen?
Rijstaffel
One of my most glorious meals ever, ever was the feast I had in Amsterdam in the '80s. I invited a woman from my hotel to join me. The fabulous rijstaffel turned out to be so much more than dinner. Even the acquaintance who joined me, this pleasant woman from my hotel with whom I'd nothing in common except gender (I was a 30ish arty NY type recovering from an affair; she, a 40ish blonde Southern CA babe recovering from an eye job), evolved into a boon companion. That long narrow table, the big bowls of rice surrounded by the myriad of little bowls bearing vegetables hot and sweet, beef satay, peanuts, and more....and gales of laughter, and lovely bottles of Heineken. (I'd never much cared for beer before.)
A friend found a little Indonesian place in the Turtle Bay area (on either 2nd or 3rd Ave. in the East 40s) shortly after I returned home, but the ambience was lousy, and the food just wasn't up to snuff. Does anybody know of an Indonesian restaurant in NY? In the US?
Has anybody made rijstaffel at home?
The Ten Most Recent Comments By baboo
John McCain Is Older Than Chocolate-Chip Cookies
I certainly will NOT vote for McCain, but his age is irrelevant to me. I do not like his politics. C'mon, people. Is ageism any more acceptable than sexism or racism?
A Lesson for Omnivores: Vegetarian Myths, Debunked
What a great article. Thanks so much for posting this. I've been a vegetarian for most of my adult life. The aggressive distain of some meat-eaters frustrates and saddens me, but no more so than the presumption of moral superiority of some vegetarians. I'm with you, fascfoo.
What childhood food do you wish they still made?
I remember Wink, and the commercial jingle as well:
Wink
the sassy one
from Canada Dry...
What is the best meal you have ever had?
Rijstaffel. Described it here last year: http://www.seriouseats.com/talk/2007/03/rijstaffel.html
One Trick Pony Restaurants
Flashback to my Long Island childhood: a newspaper ad trumpeting the grand opening of Mickey Rooney's Wiener World, featuring an extensive menu of "international" hot dogs, including the Mexican Wiener (topped with chili), the German Wiener (sauerkraut), and dozens more. Hot dogs. Just hot dogs. Really.
What childhood food do you wish they still made?
@RichardCrystal: I remember Fizzies! I shudder to recall that I enjoyed putting the tablets directly on my tongue. Don't know if they're still the same, but you can purchase Fizzies for considerably more than our mommies used to here http://www.nostalgiccandy.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=342
Gordon Ramsay
My own exposure to Ramsey was almost identical to jonfoxx's. Really disliked him on Hell's Kitchen, found him engaging on Fox's Kitchen Nightmares, and then I discovered the BBC shows. Ramsey really shines on The "F" Word and Kitchen Nightmares on BBC. So I, too, will watch the premiere of Hell's Kitchen on Fox, but would love to see some new Ramsey on BBC.
Responses to Comments by baboo
John McCain Is Older Than Chocolate-Chip Cookies
I wouldn't vote for him, but I am disturbed that ageism remains one of the last bastions of acceptable bigotry.
John McCain Is Older Than Chocolate-Chip Cookies
I agree, anado. It should look like this:
Chocolate chip cookie > spam > [this space left intentionally blank] > McCainold's
John McCain Is Older Than Chocolate-Chip Cookies
And being the old man that he is, he'd surely scold you for your atrocious grammar. "Here's"? Come, now.
John McCain Is Older Than Chocolate-Chip Cookies
am I the only one that is bothered by the fact that the > symbol means "greater than," as in McCain is greater than a chocolate chip cookie (and mcdonalds and spam)?
cause let me tell you I'd rather have a chocolate chip cookie over McCain any day :)
John McCain Is Older Than Chocolate-Chip Cookies
And Oblahma is younger than a hemlock cocktail, but will have the same affect on the country. Cheers and drink up (nice substitute for the usual kool-aid).
Peanut Butter and Jelly: A Serious Eats Special Report
I keep tellin you guys...Jif, Hellman's, Romaine lettuce on rye. Someone once dared me to try it and I've never been the same.
Peanut Butter and Jelly: A Serious Eats Special Report
I miss Fluffernutters! It was a college staple of mine.
Peanut Butter and Jelly: A Serious Eats Special Report
Crunchy PB (preferably all-natural with no hydrogenated oils), sliced banana and honey between slices of seven-grain or whole wheat bread.
Has anyone ever tried/made/know where to purchase peanut butter-banana ice cream?
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