Has anyone eaten at the Dragon Fly Cafe? I just heard about it and was wondering....

Roro,
This just hit the shelves up here in the north country, I thought it was new to market all together. Must be they were testing it in markets elswhere. Glad we have it now, I just wish it came in a larger size, that is my only complaint, but it probably does somewhere else

What are your thoughts on the new tabasco habanero sauce.

I operate a USDA inspected facility and am a classicaly trained Chef and as part of our GMP's we require everyone in the food production area to wear hairnets, beard nets are worn as needed.
When I am outside the production area the first thing I remove is my hairnet, we used to just wear ballcaps but they get filthy from dirty hands and cooking grease etc etc. Single use hairnets are the most effective way to restrain hair. That being said I would never wear one in a formal dining room. It is always funny to see a new employee leave the building still wearing his or her hairnet and get in their car to go home still wearing the hairnet. Its the little things in life......

I get the same way if I don't get my nuggets!

Caralien,
It depends how far north you want to go. Up here where I live in the county that makes the most maple syrup in the US there is a large festival in April. There are all sorts of activities that weekend. Look for the St Albans Maple Festival in St Albans Vermont

the only smokey syrup I have ever had is the stuff I made when I was 8 or 10 over an open fire pit, the stuff had all kinds of ash and junk in it, my mother put on the table and ate it with a smile.
alisium
Same thing here in Vermont with the price. This must be what they refer to as "sticky pricing" ha ha, once the price limit is pushed up you tend to see it stay up even though the reasons it went up have reversed. I have to say though you just have to have the real stuff. the fake stuff just makes me cringe. We have our annual maple festival in April, as I live in the county that produces the mosts maple syrup in the US, but pales in comparison to our friends north of the border.

Soop, I do like it golden brown, and have even been know to toss the whole pan under the salamander to melt the cheese. I know now that part of the admissions test was also to see how the potential student reacts to the stress of trying to make a perfect omelette with a beat up old pan.

The way I was taught by an old school French Chef was never to flip it, even though I do now. Chef Michel would always have an advance placement student make him an omelette as part of the admissions test. He would not accept any color on the egg, it had to be yellow and smooth "like a baby's bottom" he would yell in his heavy french accent. oh yeah and this was before everyone used teflon pans, you would have to use a black steel pan that was properly seasoned.

It would be under Chef de Parti, a Tournant would eventualy aspire to move up and run a station, or be Chef de Parti

In American kitchen this person would be know as a rounds cook or roundsman
meaning he would cover any station or shift in the kitichen, grill, saute, fish, but not usually pastry.

Don't forget the the important positon of "plunge" or dishwasher in the classic french brigade, if this guy does not show things go downhill quickly

Plume, You should sear the meat before you vaccum it, this will enhance flavor build. 130 f is a good temp to cook at but it will take a long time, but that is not a bad thing. I have been working on cooking a chuck tender and trying to find the perfect water temp and have found 58-59 celsius works well. I have been cooking the 1.5# roast for 48 hours to make it tender. The meat is has a pink, medium doneness look but is fork tender. Check out a paper by Douglas Baldwin called "A practical guide to Sous-Vide Cooking. If you google it you will find it. Loads of good info and pick up a copy of Thomas Keller's book Under Pressure, very good info. Good Luck.

Scoop, try wrapping the the fish in your thin sliced potato, then searing the the packet in a saute pan with a little olive oil. the high heat will brown up the potato nicely then stick the whole saute pan in a 450 oven to cook the fish through. I used to prepare fish like this back in my restaurant days.

Since I am not a cake lover my wife learned to make the best pie crust from scratch from her mother, now for my birthday instead of a cake I always get a rhubarb and raspberry pie using our own rhubarb and raspberries. For savory I love the traditional French Canadian meat pie using ground beef and ground pork and potatoes, the seasoning is heavy on sage with a touch of clove and cinnamon. We always eat this on Christmas eve.

Most of the fish that you find in the supermarket is picked up at the docks by a secondary seller. The fillets are either cut on the boats or at the dock and them packed to go to market. I have been to the fish stalls at the docks and watched the fillet process, once the fillets are cut they get passed over a strong light to find the worms which are then removed using needle nose pliers, this happens all day long. Some of the parasitic creatures are bound to be missed and end up on the pile of ice at your local market. These were cod/scrod processing lines by the way. I have never seen worms in farmed salmon.

I also buy BB tuna at Costco, and have always been happpy with it. I grew up on BB but it has to be the solid in water and always felt it was the premium tuna, I can't even eat starkist. Oh and not to start another thread but you have to use hellmans when making tuna salad, nothing else except maybe adding some pretzel sticks. for crunch.

As someone from the packaged food industry and a Chef, I feel that a small percentage of a sweetner can enhance a good breakfast sausage. I prefer to use real maple syrup. A friend of mine from the prepared food industry always told me "sugar sells" . You would be shocked to know how much sugar is in fast food hamburger buns and many other chain/multi-unit operations. Food processors have wrecked so many good things by adding unneeded ingredients to foods today, that coupled with our sedentary lifestyle is causing the surge in obesity and diabetes

We raised our own turkeys growing up and I learned to kill and dress the birds. I also learned that the neck was my favorite part. Mom always saved it for me. She also made the best crunchy stuffing using Arnolds bread and dribbling the turkey juice over, then baking it till it was crunchy and bursting with flavor, I miss her holiday meals.

Headed south bound it would be Exit 7 if Montpelier is Exit 8

Nader,
You should try the Wayside in Berlin VT the exit right after Montpelier, I can't remember the exit # off I-89. It is about 5 min from 89 and is easy to get off and get back on. The wayside is a local insitiution for home cooking. They make all of their own desserts, rolls and other baked goods. The place is always busy but the wait is usually only 10 minutes or so but I think it is worth it. Whenver we are in the area we stop for lunch or dinner. I love it because I can get bread pudding with real whipped cream for $1.75 for dessert. Oh yeah the prices are very reasonable.

You are bound to find sand in scallops from time to time, they are harvested from the bottom of the ocean. The amount of sand can vary greatly due to weather conditions, in stormy weather when the sea is choppy there is more sand suspended in the the water that the scallop is drawing in and pushing back out to survive. The scallops are shucked on the boats and washed well and are further washed at the dock processing plants as they are sorted.but finding sand in a scallops is going to be hit or miss. WFM can only go back to their buyers and suppliers and pass on the comment.

My mother always wondered where the little foil wrapped bullion cubes went.
And I love cold pickle juice right out of the jar. Salt and vinegar chips.
David's sunflower seeds on my 90 minute one way commute
anything with soy sauce

I just don't belive any of last three can pull off a real show on their own. It will just be another unwrapped/how'd that get on my plate/ or another informative based show like Ted's. Do we really want to know if bubble gum stays in your intestine for seven years? This seems to be the overall direction of food network. Thank god for Jeffrey Steingarten, he needs his own show about anything he wants.

About the only thing I have never made is real southern style fried chicken. My wife asked me to make it for a crowd for her fathers birthday and must deliver.

granite counters that open to the dining area so the counter can double as a buffet service. undermount sinks are a must for me, I hate the gunk that happens with drop in sinks. a nice braun rangemaster hood to pull the smoke and it has the heat lamp and drop down shelves to hold or rest foods

sound like you could use it to make a ham gravy. It may be too strong for a soup with all the holiday spice but I would go for it, it is split pea soup with ham season where I live. Just made a batch with the ham bone from Thanksgiving ham that we had to supplement the turkey.

My kids love Moe's and would rather eat there than Mcd's. They have a kid menu, a taco, soft or hard shell, a drink and a large cookie for 2.99. It has to be somewhat better for you than a burger and fries, and I don't feel as bad stopping there. When you walk in the door the workers yell Welcome to Moe's!!!! The place is always packed with college kids and families. From Burlington VT

I picked up my bird last night down at the farm, it was slaughterd on Sun. The bird tipped the scales at 27#. My friend that raised the birds had a 41#er and a monster 48#. I could not belive the knuckle on the drum stick it was a big as a baby's fist, largest turkey I have ever seen and I used to raise them when I was a kid.

We always had two types of stuffing. The mushy stuff from the inside of the bird and a pan of crunchy stuffing that Mom would drizzle turkey drippings over in a hot oven. I love both.