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Apparently if you give a coin with the knife, it counteracts the bad luck! So I say good knives and a small coin.

A few months ago, my boss' wife & kids went away on holiday, and he had more eggs from their chickens, and produce from their garden than he could eat by himself, so he bought in fresh eggs, cucumbers and chillis for us all. YUM!
I repaid the favour by making Twice Baked Goat Cheese Soufflés for everyone for lunch the next day.

@ lambowner, YES I agree with Paula! You must greet all waiters, shop staff (even at the Supermarket) with a Bonjour Monsieur/Madame/Mademoiselle! Also when you leave (shops too) you must say "Merci. Au Revoir". It's just what is done. It's simply rude not to.

Luckily I speak enough French to get by here, and understand questions asked by waiters and shop staff, so I haven't encountered any problems. I would recommend that you learn how to say how you would like your steak done (bleu = really really rare, saignant = rare, a point = medium, bien cuit = well done). Follow this up with a s'il vous plait, and you're set! As there is no menu at l'Entrecote, it does simplify matters somewhat!

"Je prends....... s'il vous plait" is French for "I'll have........ please" and this is all you need to say to order in a restaurant.

Bon Voyage et Bon Appetit!

Merci Paula, I actually had Le Grand Vefour top of the list a while back, but I'm thinking about re-instating it now. I do so like to feel like royalty.

Sorry to hear you had a bad experience at Le Jules Verne.... paying all that money must leave a really nasty taste in one's mouth!

Stock, make stock! A good chicken stock, plenty of vegetables, simmered, blended with a dash of cream, a knob of butter and salt and pepper to taste is all you need. You can vary this endlessly depending on what veggies you have on hand.

Maybe it got mad at you because you spelled it wrong......Coeur, not couer. Sorry, self-appointed spelling nazi here. ;)

I second the cheesecloth/muslin for ultimate drainage. I'm thinking paper towel would just soak up the moisture and kind of "glug" at the bottom rather than drain.

Mmmmmm poached pears with vanilla and saffron. Need I say more?

Hi there. I'm Australian and we eat pumpkin as a savoury vegetable ALOT! Either roasted alongside the potatoes, or mashed with potatoes, and of course pumpkin soup.
I like to make mine by peeling and seeding the pumpkin, cutting it into large chunks and tossing it in a baking dish with some chunked peeled potatoes (probably even quantities of both). Drizzle with EVOO, season with salt & pepper and a teaspoon or so of ground cumin. I also toss in a head of garlic to roast alongside the vegies as well. Roast for about an hour until tender.
Then saute some diced onion in a soup pot, add the vegies and a few cloves of roasted garlic, cover generously with chicken stock (or water at a pinch), and simmer gently until the pumpkin and potatoes are literally falling apart. Then just blend the soup and serve with a swirl of cream or sour cream, some chopped parsley and toasted sourdough bread. YUM!

I swear that I once saw on a TV cooking show (can't remember which one, but it was a British show) a whole salmon poached in the kitchen sink.

The fish was placed in the (presumably spanking clean) sink with the plug in, and boiling water was poured over to cover, with a few dill fronds and lemon slices. The whole sink was covered in foil and just left for about 20 minutes or so. It came out looking PERFECT!!! Just cooked, lovely and pink and served with homemade aioli or maybe lemon mayo

Did I dream this? Has anyone else heard of this?

@ Cassaendra. Thanks for the info. Seriously though I don't think we have dough in a can (maybe I'm just not looking hard enough in the supermarket). Also I think I confused myself, because what I know as a biscuit, I think you call a cookie......
Fair call on the vegemite thing - although I'll have to stand my ground and defend to the death one of my country's "cultural icons" ; )

WOW! Reading this thread has certainly showed me a side of american cuisine which, to be frank, is a little scary!!!
Is that congealed salad (even the name makes me shudder a little in horror) for real? Jelly, mayo, pineapple, cottage cheese, walnuts ALL BLENDED TOGETHER?? Does it look the same coming back up as it does going in? ;)

The only Australian kitsch dish I can think of to contribute is my Grandmother's cold rice salad with capsicum and peas which she made every Christmas because she (quite wrongly) thought that we all loved it.

@BirdDoggie. Coconut cream & coconut milk aren't really the same thing. The difference is exactly like the difference between ordinary cream and milk. Sometimes when you open a can of coconut milk there is a thick cream sitting on the top (just like in a bottle of old fashioned milk). If you refrigerate the can, this seems to help the cream coagulate on the top. In Australia we can buy cans of coconut cream and coconut milk. Maybe a Thai grocer in the US would stock them? If you use milk instead of cream in this recipe I guess it will taste pretty much the same, but a bit less rich and a bit more liquid.