Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

We need to demand that Congress define "a bagel", and frozen cannot be included. Neither can anything purchased at a grocery or coffee shop. It must be purchased from a bagel bakery.

Oy gevalt this is repulsive. Next they'll do it with the "lox" already on it!

Morbier.

Kelly,

Unless you are looking for an expensive decoration, why copper. Yes, it's a great conductor of heat, but even with the stainless interior it's a bitch to maintain. If you want to drop bucks go All-Clad or any other high end stainless ware.

As for me, I buy at TJ Maxx/Marshalls or at Restaurant Supply stores and use the savings on the food. YMMV

I had worked in restaurants while growing up, but never really learned how to cook. My first attempt to cook a dinner (to impress a red haired nursing student at Bowling Green) was, if not a disaster, a disappointment. I didn't really read a soup recipe, and knew nothing about stocks, so the soup had about a half inch of fat floating on top. I also knew nothing about degreasing. I called it Yoda's swamp soup and served it anyway.

While it would be fair to say that I didn't follow the recipe properly, what I really discovered is that I had no idea what it means to cook. I had no understanding of the fundamental knowledge of what cooking is.

I am much better today!

There is no question: It is my daughter Alison. Her nickname is Beezil, short for Beelzebub aka the Devil. I adore cooking with her, but she has this uncanny knack of being behind you without notice. In the kitchen, this can be messy

Let chime in and add that I personally know several CIA trained cooks who are working for 15/hour at backwater restaurants, and several non-schooled cooks who are locally famous. I didn't go to Culinary School, and I have to admit that my views of the big ticket ones echo Michael Ruhlman's article in the March issue of Food Arts. There are a lot of great and famous cooks out there who learned in the trenches, but I would never gainsay any education. The community college option locally is quite good - one of the instructors at ECC is the best cook in the area.

That said, I did have large student loans to pay off on the wages of a restaurant cook. It's just that mine were from Law School!