Text 9653, 71 rader
Skriven 2011-04-16 11:25:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av JIM WELLER
Ärende: snooze fraud 217
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 JW> At Super 8, the rack rate is $150.
 ML> Interesting in that the rack doesn't appear grossly inflated.
 JW> The best discount is $30 off for government, corporate and
 JW> affiliation deals and seniors.

Is this policy similar down closer to the border? The Super 8
should cost about half that these days, so it would make some
kind of sense if the maximum discount were about $15 in Ottawa
or Toronto or Glens Falls. I bet it isn't, though.

 ML> I've been staying in rooms where the rack is $300 to 1200,
 ML> when I've paid $89-129.
 JW> Which makes the rack rate stupid.

Rack rate as a concept is stupid. Routinely charging at 25% of
rack makes it meaningless as well. The thing is, do you even
begin to imagine that I pay full fare to fly around in first
class and stay in bigger cleaner hotel rooms? No. Who pays
these rates? I recently got a first-class ticket using miles
(a lot of miles, 50,000 of them), and the Website had a popup
before I purchased saying "Why not save your miles? Buy this
ticket for $1846! or an economy ticket for $849 (taxes and fees
not included)." At list price including taxes and fees, my
miles would be thus valued at 4.1c each in first or at 3.7c in
coach (coach costs half the miles of first class but wasn't
available). As I got the 50,000 miles by spending about $2000
(and actually going places), the smarmy underbelly of this
little economy shows right flipped over.

 ML> I make such things as spoonbread and corn pudding freehand.
 JW> I could now too, now that I've done it once.

Most things are okay to make freehand once you've done
it once. Exceptions for me are baked breads and pastries,
which I can sort of do but do much better using a recipe.

This for example I made freehand on the day the Bears
beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl, I think around 1984:

--mm
Rack of lamb Provencal
cat: main
serves: 9

9 center cut 2-bone lamb rack
- portions, 7-8 oz ea, trimmed
1/4 ts salt
pepper
2 oz olive oil
5 Tb Dijon mustard
1 oz melted butter
2 oz shallots minced
1/2 oz fresh parsley chopped
1/3 oz garlic minced
1/6 oz herbes de Provence*
4 oz fresh white breadcrumbs

* blend of thyme, rosemary, bay leaf, basil, savory

Season meat; brown quickly in oil, searing well on all sides.
Chill. Spread mustard on sides and top.

Mix remaining ingredients. Press this mixture over sides and
top of lamb racks. Roast at 400F to internal temp of 130F for
medium rare. Serve with caramelized pearl onion sauce.

:Jacques Pepin, Hemispheres Magazine 10-99

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