Running out of cookbook space myself, I ordered a copy of Mozza for my sister-in-law. It was only $10 or so on The Good Cook, and I just couldn't pass it up. I'm hoping to cultivate an appreciation of cookbooks in my SIL, who enjoys cooking, but 'sees no point in cookbooks,' since she just Googles "lasagna" and pretty much cooks from whatever recipe happens to come up.

Some books get backordered, but I've had a few books in my grubby hands before Amazon even makes them available. "Milk and Cookies", "EatingWell Fast & Flavorful Meatless Meals" are a couple that I remember having ahead of the Amazon release. Since I'm so reliant upon books that are indexed by Eat Your Books, having the book early just means I have to wait longer for them to be indexed, though.

I ordered it (for $11.99!) from The Good Cook. They seem to have some books before Amazon. I think because they're owned by a book publisher?

Ruhlman's "Twenty" just arrived in my mailbox today. I've read only the first two chapters so far, but am finding it very informative. I've only been cooking seriously for about two years, though, so maybe a more experienced cook would find fewer revelations.

I grew tired of every recipe starting with cooking spray, but this Cincinnati Turkey Chili recipe is in regular rotation at my house: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/cinci...

I'm riding my bike to the SaMo Farmers' Market to pick up some pork belly and a whole duck. And then, I'm figuring out how I'm going to prepare pork belly and a whole duck.

My CSA box was overflowing with summer produce this week, and after a few days munching on a piece of fruit here, and a piece of fruit there, I realized that I had to act before everything started to go bad. So, last night, I baked a peach upsidedown cake, a cinnamon-sugar plum cake, and a batch of zucchini carrot muffins. I'm freezing half of the muffins for future consumption (I hope; haven't tried it before).

Well obviously you're perceived as an adult. It would be a waste to pay for advertising to children who can't vote.

Does his Pulitzer qualify as "achieving something"?

D'oh! Would "excretions" include dairy as well? There has to be a delicate way of discerning between milk and ejaculate.

My general rule is that if I see somebody else eating and enjoying something, and if they claim it's good, I'll give it a try. If it's just somebody handing me a bowl of lamb eyeballs, daring me to eat it, no thanks. I want to see somebody else demonstrate that it is edible and tastes good.

Exceptions to this rule: insects; bodily fluids (from any animal); endangered, threatened or protected species (which should eliminate pachyderms, wolves, gorillas and other large primates as well as pandas).

"Meat should never, EVER be spreadable"? I guess this dude hasn't heard of pate. I admit that if I were all alone, in a dark room, I would not be above spreading some of that weird Spam spread on a cracker with some of the tube cheese.

The tuna souffle sounded like a fun retro dish, until I looked at the ingredients. Did everything in the 50s have shortening and pimiento?

What are some current food products that future generations will scoff at? I nominate those pre-made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the frozen food section.

Sounds like C and O Trattoria in Venice. My husband and I had our first date there. The table cloth wasn't red and white, though. I remember it being butcher paper. When you helped yourself to the house chianti, you would put a mark on the 'tablecloth' to indicate that you had a glass of wine. Without a doubt, the staff passed out the lyrics to "That's Amore."

I guess I like pasta salad as a contrast to other food. In some circumstances, I like having something cold and vinegar-y on my plate.

Jarred ginger is a life saver! Especially since I hate buying a whole 'nub' when all I need is a teaspoon of ginger.

Do you want to wear "snob" as a badge of honor? Go for it. There seems to be a trend of people touting themselves as "snobs" when really they mean selective or discerning.

I bought some at the Wine House in West Los Angeles.

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Wine House
2311 Cotner Ave, Los Angeles, CA

Oh, the memories. When we hit the road, my mother used to pack an electric skillet. She would use it to make Chef Boyardee spaghetti and meatballs or Dinty Moore stew while we were staying in motels.

Not exactly bargain priced, but I get my California olive oil from these guys: http://www.globalgardensonline.com/pr...

As a Southern Californian who lives within easy walking distance of three different farmers markets; and whose membership in produce and meat CSAs, along with Santa Ynez olive oil and wine clubs, means that large portion of my diet comes from a 200 mile radius, eating locally takes hardly any effort at all. I had to make the decision to do things this way, rather than heading to Ralphs or Trader Joe's. But choosing to eat locally has meant more than better quality food. I also spend less time in the lines and cart-choked aisles of grocery stores. Win-Win.

He was describing last night which Italian cities/villages his parents were from, so I would assume both sets of grandparents are Italian was well.

You never hear anybody describing a cuisine as "indifferent to ingredients." That said, I think the "simple ingredients" catchphrase is really code for "not French" and "not requiring refined technique."

But then, what was Trey ousted for, if not lack of technique? Nevermind. It's all B.S.

The colorful photography and graphics are impressive at first, but I ended up cancelling my subscription. I didn't find any inspiring recipes among the dump-and-stir offerings. I don't need instructions on how to use store-bought shortcakes, how to make an open-face sandwich, or how to jazz-up mashed potatoes with ranch dressing.

In addition to the great advice you've already received, I'd offer encouragement to use your lunch hour to grocery shop. Obviously, not everybody has grocery stores near their office, so this might not work. But I've found that I can use that time to pick up that night's dinner materials, or even ingredients for the rest of the week. If the ingredients are refrigerated, you might be able to use your office's fridge/freezer until you leave for the day.

I caught that accusation too, and I think it may have merit. Wasn't Dale shown strolling around the kitchen aimlessly, spit-polishing his shoes while everybody else was scrambling?

As somebody who can reach the fridge, sink and dishwasher from her stove, I have to say that these are not tiny kitchens. Julia Child's kitchen in Paris? Now that's more like it.

Since Tom isn't a contestant, any "advantage" is a moot point. My point was that the comparison between what he was able to do and what the actual contestants had to do isn't very meaningful.

As somebody who lives within 300 yards of three sushi restaurants, and eats sushi a minimum of once per week, I can vouch for the facts that both raw food and sushi are incredibly common, bordering on mundane.

A $5.99 oven thermometer. I had no idea my oven was running 50 degrees hot. No wonder all of my baked goods came out with burnt edges!

So true about the yuppie mothers. I had a co-worker give me a "recipe" for orange chicken once, that consisted of TJ's frozen orange chicken re-heated and mixed with their frozen, bagged rice. I know another woman who brags that she doesn't eat processed foods, and yet boasts about "outsourcing" her cooking to Trader Joe's. Methinks she doesn't understand what "processed" really means.

What a relief! I thought it was some kind of insect extract. Ha!