Where my fellow cooks at???

[tifosi77]

And in other news..... the CA ban on foie gras has been struck down by a federal appeals court.

[Shyster]

And in other news..... the CA ban on foie gras has been struck down by a federal appeals court.

Looked it up. It's not an appeals court, but rather Judge Stephen Wilson of the Central District of California. The basis for this decision is his conclusion that the federal Poultry Products Inspections Act in 21 U.S.C. 467e contains an express preemption of state law:

Requirements within the scope of this chapter with respect to premises, facilities and operations of any official establishment which are in addition to, or different than those made under this chapter may not be imposed by any State or Territory or the District of Columbia....

Interestingly, there is also a federal Egg Inspection Act, and it contains a preemption clause that is functionally identical to the one in the poultry act (see 21 U.S.C. 1052). If Judge Wilson's decision is upheld, then it could provide a clear path for invalidating enforcement of the new law banning the sale of eggs based on cage sizes.

[count2infinity]

I always find it interesting that England's eggs wouldn't be allowed in our supermarkets and our eggs wouldn't be allowed in theirs.

[OutofFoil]

I always find it interesting that England's eggs wouldn't be allowed in our supermarkets and our eggs wouldn't be allowed in theirs.

Funny you should mention that, I'm in Falmouth, Cornwall, UK presently and I went down for breakfast today and they had Cornish free range chicken eggs scrambled with clotted cream. I thought it looked gross and didn't touch it. My wife informed me I was an idiot for not trying it. On the other hand, the pork sausage they said is award winning was really good.

[tifosi77]

If Judge Wilson's decision is upheld, then it could provide a clear path for invalidating enforcement of the new law banning the sale of eggs based on cage sizes.

After 'woohoo!' this was the first thought I had. Will it just be a matter of the egg producers themselves (rather than the states) filing suit to overcome the standing issue?

I always find it interesting that England's eggs wouldn't be allowed in our supermarkets and our eggs wouldn't be allowed in theirs.

You can't get proper haggis in this country, either, because it is against federal law to sell lungs for human consumption. The FDA doesn't even regard lungs as a food product.

[canaan]

I mean, you can slaughter your own or know somebody that can chop those organs for you, so its not impossible.

[tifosi77]

The actual provision of law declares lungs as 'unfit for human consumption', so technically if you ate them I think you're breaking the law. Which is all kinds of stupid.

[Shyster]

After 'woohoo!' this was the first thought I had. Will it just be a matter of the egg producers themselves (rather than the states) filing suit to overcome the standing issue?

It would certainly help defuse any standing issues for a producer to be the plaintiff. Considering this decision is not based on a finding that California lacks the ability to impose more stringent requirements on poultry producers than those found in federal law, the plaintiff in the egg case could be a California producer.

California may have just crippled its own egg industry. That law went into effect on January 1, and presumably California egg companies just spent a lot of money upsizing their cages to comply. If the law is overturned, then outside companies wouldn't need to make those expensive upgrades. California could have just bankrupted a lot of its egg farmers.

[tifosi77]

The estimates are that a dozen eggs will cost anywhere between 10% and 30% more, year over year, because of the law's effect. Those estimates obviously did not account for producers in other states potentially not having the same costs as California producers.

Like I said earlier, it doesn't really effect me that much as I have been buying pasture-raised eggs from local producers for some time now, and they're already a good bit more expensive. However, the average working family probably cannot take a budget hit to a staple like that.

My main concern will not be price but availability. The CA law basically halves the amount of chickens you can house in the same space.

[tifosi77]

Top Chef

Spoiler:

The instant they said the foie gras was effectively raw, I said "He's gone." You don't eff up an ingredient that costs over $100 a pound and get to remain in the competition. You just don't. Especially when the technique for cooking it is so relatively simple. Why he wanted to do a whole lobe is beyond me. Btw, did you notice how much fat renders out of foie while it cooks? The lobe went into a dry pan to start, and after a few minutes you could see there was about 1/2 cup of liquid (fat) that he was using to baste.

When the cheftestants went to the stew room after the Quickfire and watched the video, I could sense what was going on. When Jacques Pepin walked into the room I said, "If I was there, I'd probably sh|t my pants." And then when they set out the challenge of making a dish in tribute to Julia Child that was going to be judged by Jacques Pepin, I said, "I probably would have sh|t my pants again." I am not joking when I say this might have been the most intimidating challenge I've ever seen on the show. The cheftestants sort of underscored that the next morning when several of them were talking about having nightmares about the challenge. Seriously, this was an outstanding test, and imo the fact that Mei crushed it instantly catapults her into the top five cheftestants of all time, regardless of the ultimate outcome.

[columbia]

Spoiler:

Those shriveled up short ribs did not look appealing.

[tifosi77]

Spoiler:

Those shriveled up short ribs did not look appealing.

Spoiler:

Doug ruined $300 worth of an artisinal product that's the closest thing to handmade that an animal's organ can get. Not only does he deserve elimination, he should seriously consider punching himself in the junk for two straight hours.

[columbia]

Spoiler:

Oh, deserved what he got...just saying that others wilted a bit under the pressure, too.

[tifosi77]

Spoiler:

If you went to a restaurant and were served a $60 order of foie gras that you effectively couldn't eat or a $30 plate of short ribs that were overcaramelized but edible..... which would you be more upset about?

[the wicked child]

Spoiler:

It's funny how often you can kind of figure out who is going to be toast by their comments. Doug had been on such a run that it was kind of shocking to see him crap out like that. He went down in flames.

Also, I don't think columbia is denying the heinousness of Doug's treatment of the foie gras, or that someone else should have been sent home... He's just pointing out that Melissa deserves a bit of shame as well. Less, obviously.

LCK:

Spoiler:

Not surprised at all to see Katsuji go. Dude was always a mess, but occasionally made something work somehow. I'm personally hoping that Doug comes out of LCK and we get a final 3 of Gregory, Mei and him... that would be the best since The Voltaggio season, imho.

[count2infinity]

thank you all for the spoiler tags. as someone that has been largely behind on top chef, I appreciate them.

[columbia]

Spoiler:

You're welcome.

[tifosi77]

LCK:

Spoiler:

Not surprised at all to see Katsuji go. Dude was always a mess, but occasionally made something work somehow. I'm personally hoping that Doug comes out of LCK and we get a final 3 of Gregory, Mei and him... that would be the best since The Voltaggio season, imho.

I agree, but those three are still very far behind the Volts and Jen Carroll (who was the last eliminated chef before the finale). They could go ten more seasons and not have a group like that again.

Spoiler:

That said, it is cool that Mei is a protege of Mike Voltaggio. She is the only TC cheftestant whose cooking I've had before they were on the show.

[the wicked child]

LCK:

Spoiler:

Not surprised at all to see Katsuji go. Dude was always a mess, but occasionally made something work somehow. I'm personally hoping that Doug comes out of LCK and we get a final 3 of Gregory, Mei and him... that would be the best since The Voltaggio season, imho.

I agree, but those three are still very far behind the Volts and Jen Carroll (who was the last eliminated chef before the finale). They could go ten more seasons and not have a group like that again.

Spoiler:

That said, it is cool that Mei is a protege of Mike Voltaggio. She is the only TC cheftestant whose cooking I've had before they were on the show.

Spoiler:

Oh, I agree. I said best since... not gonna say they are as good. That was just ridiculous.

[columbia]

I'm making some veal shoulder chop chili for tonight. I have no idea how that will turn.

tif will probably want to lower my credit score for calling it "chili", mind you.

[count2infinity]

I had some chili the other day that had lentils instead of beans. I normally do not like chili with beans in it, but I really liked the lentils.

Tonight is jambalaya night. Haven't made jambalaya in a long time, so I'm excited to make it. The liquid is simmering on the stove as we speak. Let it cook until this evening and add the rest.

[tifosi77]

I'm making some veal shoulder chop chili for tonight. I have no idea how that will turn.

tif will probably want to lower my credit score for calling it "chili", mind you.

Only if you put beans in it.

[columbia]

I unfortunately just learned of Anne Burrell. She's like Guy Fieri in drag.

[tifosi77]

She used to be pretty fun, and she has serious cooking credibility: She was one of Mario Batali's sous chefs when Iron Chef America started, and she used to be executive chef at a couple NYC restaurants that got, you know, good reviews.

[shmenguin]

she shouldn't be on TV. or radio. what i'm saying is that she's unpleasant to watch and listen to.