I received an email from someone who had a "great idea" for microwave couscous. She had never tried it for fear that it might not turn out well. But was wondering if I would try it out for her, since she didn't want to waste a box of couscous.

Sheesh...besides the annoyance of her expecting you to waste couscous, exactly how much easier does cooking couscous have to get?

Painting Kit and Related Method Patent



It gets better - a drawing.

I think she could have tested her brilliant idea in the amount of time it took her to write me the email. I just don't understand cooking questions like that. I always think, "WELL! Just try it!"

"You and I" for a campaign song? Sung by a Canadian? Lame-o.

This in the news here in Canada:

RCMP bust cocaine in frozen mango purée plot

Oh please, Celine's been living in the U.S. for yonks, can't you just take her, please, pretty please?

I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!

The cover is this week's New Yorker is behind the times, depicting a married couple trailing tin cans behind a yellow cab.

I have already seen marriage parties doing this in those splendid rickshaws which now grace our streets. I am sure they're not called rickshaws - what is the correct name?


Edit: Bicycle taxis, apparently. How dull.

We saw this menu and decided not to eat there. (Restaurant in Grenoble chateau.)

Does any dish sound appetizing?
Also, I don't know what's supposed to be from Latin America.

**************

Hors d'Oeuvre

Tunny tartare with avocado mousse, grapefruit and vanilla sorbet

Pressed beef knuckle with foie gras and Espelette pepper,
stuffed filet of quail, vegetables preserve

Sesame seeds lace biscuits with smoked Foie Gras, Jurançon Granita

Anglerfish carpaccio, marinated vegetables with passion vinaigrette, lobster mousse

Warm escalope of foie gras, Szechwan pepper’s sauce, glass of fresh fruits with mild spices lemon verbena sorbet

Pan-sautéed scallops on a skewer, aromatic vegetables in a shallot and white wine broth, “Maniguette opaline” and sesame caramel


Fish

Fillet of mackerel with fresh ratatouille, olives oil sauce with lemon and tomatoes

Thin fillets of sole with aubergine caviar and thin sliced potatoes,
dill emulsion sauce

Fillet of John Dory with Dublin bay prawns, glazed minivegetables, carrots and cumin sauce



Meats

Fillet of pork with Wok cooked vegetables, sauce with grenadine seeds

Lamb shop, saddle of lamb, artichokes stuffed with lamb sweetbreads, Pressed goat’s cheese with Provencal vegetables

Fillet of beef covered with olives, thin cake of shredded potatoes and pleurote mushrooms, Seasonal vegetables with herbs vinaigrette

Pigeon from Mr BONTHOUX with gingerbread French toast,
warm escallop of Foie gras, crystallized kumquats

(*) Latin America origin

Desserts

Macaroons with milk mousse and fresh red fruits

Soft coco cake, caramelized custard cream with vanilla, lime mousse with passion sorbet

Chocolate mousse flavoured with lavender, blood orange sorbet

Quit bellyaching. We can't take it in two languages!

Ah, the good old days.

"Organic Dry Cleaners"????????

Clearly it means they contain carbon.

Your loss.

Thank you!

I've never seen anything like it.

It's not just the little errors, and there are a few. But the combinations seem fey. And the words tend to pair unfortunately.

Pressed beef knuckle or anglerfish carpaccio might be wonderful but somehow neither makes my heart skip a beat at first read. I spent way too much time puzzling over aubergine caviar. Pleurote mushrooms sound like something that needs to be cleared up with a course of antibiotic. Maybe "Maniguette opaline" would change my life, but I would hate to have to ask the server for a description of this. And just how might that go with sesame caramel?

If they are pan-sautéed scallops, why are they on a skewer?

Mr BONTHOUX might be a perfectly nice man, but I am not convinced about his pigeon, with or without the gingerbread French toast.

It is something when even the desserts lack appeal. Milk mousse indeed.

But I kind of wish that you had eaten there.

I know what you mean, Deb. It might've been so hideous that it might have been worth it.

It sort of freaks me out that this icon used around the site looks so much like my avatar:

Needs a scarf though.

Were there any outstanding meals or dishes you could tell us about?

Oh yes. Troisgros was out of this world. G is supposed to be writing that one up.
I'm a bit behind, but I have notes in my head and will post on some others.

All my friends look just like you!

Looks like a Higglytown Hero to me. Brave and true.

Anyone in SoCal get to hear the space shuttle land? Always used to come over here and we could tune in to the pilot telling us what town the picked for a "flyby." Really LOVED to hear the two sonic booms. But lately the few times they've been forced to land at Edwards, they have made it from a different approach and we don't hear the booms. Sigh.

Too true.

A couple weeks ago for my co-workers birthday, I gave her a copy of Omnivore's Dilemma, which she had talked about wanting to read but had not got around to yet. Like any book I give as a gift, I inscribed it.

Last Sunday night I grabbed a cab home from work, after waving away several cabs who were not headed in my direction (I always try to get one going in the right direction). On the backseat of the cab was a book.

The book was Omnivore's Dilemma, and when I opened it, it was the same copy I had given to my co-worker. Inscription and everything. It also had a couple birthday cards stuck in it and a piece of her mail.

Let me tell you, it really creeped me out.

did you check the trunk?

Finding myself in the strange position of worrying about our cities' crows after an article in the paper today ... (to predict this summer's West Nile Virus). I have 2 lovebird crows in my neighborhood (which I would normally NOT be enamored with), and I'm rooting for them (and for us).

Mad judge loses $54 million pants claim.

An absolute nut.

There's something surreal about Five Foot Penguins.

That addictive song "My Umbrella"? I just realized what it means.

Yes, me, too. We've had five cases in my neighborhood and the idiot next door has just built a "water feature" and set up a birdbath. Maybe I should take this personally. Oh, and speaking of surreal, please explain your avatar change. Can't figure out what is in the left of it. And you are much prettier!

Against my better judgment, what song is that?

aww, thank you Rebecca. . I got the avatar from Yahoo avatars and I'm using "Mountain Cabin Dining Room Background". It's a wood stove (I think) on the left.

Good point about the bird bath... hope they are changing the water everyday, or maybe leave him a note. 5 cases in your neighborhood is truly worrisome.

I think you're too artsy-fartsy for it so I won't pollute you.

54 million dollar lawsuit over pants

Yesterday's NY Times had a piece about how there are a glut of houses to be found on the summer rental market and they quote a bunch of owners being affected. One of the woman quoted is the mother of a guy I dated in college.

I had lunch with my mother and it turns out she's tatoo'ed eyebrows on herself! They look not unlike Divine's version but Mater swears they'll fade to a soft brown by next week. Totally surreal.

The other day a young woman covered in tats got on my elevator. The one that caught my eye was the big heart on her arm that said "Franz Kafka" across it.

Maybe if they weren't so affected, people would be more willing to rent from them.

groan...

It's really a shame this new version of Invision doesn't have sound effects such as the rim shot.

This one has to be way up there in surreality.

I took the kid to a five year old classmate's birthday party yesterday. This was held in sweltering heat in a local park (Travel Town). Anyway, turns out the birthday girl is this tremendous Spiderman fan. So the party is everything Spiderman: Spiderman tablecloths, Spiderman plates, a Spiderman cake, a Spiderman pinata (which proved damn near impossible to crack after numerous kid swings), a pin the mask on Spiderman game, etc. (Spiderman merchandizers, take a bow). Finally, after far too long in the heat (and no beer), Spiderman himself arrives. Only problem, the birthday girl freaks and runs into the restroom and won't come out till Spiderman eventually leaves a half hour later. All the other kids dug it, just not the b/d girl. Go figure.

I have enough experience with my 8 year olds friends to know who's parents plan parties with the comfort of guests in mind and which ones just want warm bodies for their kids parties. I've been to lots of fun birthday parties for kids and some really ridiculous ones that were just uncomfortable for everyone.



I'm not looking forward to repeating the weeding process when my 4 year old enters pre-K. I've been lucky with his nursery school so far, because all the children just have their parties at school.

You have been lucky. Good for you.

The good thing about my kid's own birthday parties is that cold beer is guaranteed.

Message just received, via Blackberry, from a friend traveling in Spain, "I'm in Empuries, in El Meson del Conde. Pigeon carpaccio served with mushrooms and risotto!! "

I guess that carpaccio was really good.

When Drew was at El Bulli last summer, he sent me pix of several courses from his phone.