moreace01

First meal we made together was, sadly, spaghetti. Pasta, jarred sauce, some sauteed onions and garlic. And I believe there was garlic bread involved. We went shopping together and I asked him to get some parmesan and he came back with the little green can... Despite the powdered parm, we managed to stay together for 10 years and are getting married next Tuesday.

I swear America's Test Kitchen has a recipe with cheese in the piecrust. Probably in their "Best Recipes" if I am recalling correctly (I always thought it sounded awesome - just never got around to making it).

Once a month, I must have cake (flavor does not matter). Nothing but actual cake will do. Sadly, my boyfriend made the connection before I did... That was TMI, wasn't it? Other than that, my regular junkfood cravings are for Kopps burgers (Milwaukee) or El Rey flautas and beans (also Milwaukee).

I do not understand why people buy jarred salsa (Pace, etc). That's just gross. I can think of no applications where jarred salsa is preferable to fresh (well, perhaps that velveeta + salsa concoction on Super Bowl Sunday - but that's about it).

McDonald's hashbrowns and McDonald's Coke. I don't know what they put in their coke, but it's different. Only time I ever drink the non-diet variety is when I'm at McDonald's. Best hangover food. Perhaps throw in McGriddle if I'm feeling really bad and then it's back to bed for me!

shoot, i forgot about that one. guilty.

The 100 degree+ part worries me - could items containing animal products go bad? Even if they are vacuum-packed?

um, didn't there used to be frosted rice krispies or something?

I, too, have used pre-made pizza dough (Trader Joe's - I mean, really, for a buck something, it's nice to have on-hand when I'm too lazy to make my own). I've added garlic and a little lemon to pre-made mayo and called it aioli. Again, this came out of laziness. And I don't really think using pre-made curry/chili pastes/sauces is cheating. It's too many ingredients that I never, ever have on-hand. The one time I made my own peanut sauce, the boyfriend begged me never, ever to do it again. lol! (for the record, I blame the recipe) Ok, one more: I've made my own chicken stock exactly once and won't do it again for the amount of stock I go through in a week.

I use these cute little melamine bowls from Crate and Barrel. I honestly don't know what their intended purpose is (dipping sauces? who knows), but they work great for prep. And when I run out or need larger bowls (onions), I move on to the cereal bowls.

Hello - I am looking for a great brunch/lunch spot in Wailea. It will be on Thansgiving day and will be for a "day after wedding" festivity (btw - wedding/reception is at Seawatch - otherwise I would probably go there). I am looking for good food and good ambiance. Potentially looking at Duo at Four Seasons, but would like to know thoughts as well as other ideas. Thanks!

I have the same problem in a nonstick pan that, to be honest, is only used for eggs or grilled cheese. So it's really not high heat cooking (except when I'm not paying attention). But I do have a tendency to let it sit around without cleaning it right away. I'll try to be more diligent about washing it immediatly and see what happens. Every once in awhile, the "oil slick" doesn't seem to span as much surface as it used to. I'm really not sure what I'm doing to make it go away though.

Things seem to get lost in my freezer, but I should maybe give it a try! Anyway - here's the thread on wine and cooking that I alluded to above.

Definately read the olive oil thread. I use Goya EV-OO (as do many, many others on this board) for every day - cheap as it comes. Balsamic - I've tried reducing supermarket brands and it seems to help a little - of course, not the same as $$$ aged balsamic (but then, I don't expect it to be). Right now, I'm using 365 brand from Whole Foods. As for wine, I think there was a thread awhile back discussing this issue (which I cannot find right now). Basically, the whole "only cook with wine that you would drink" goes back to when people used grocery store "cooking wine" in place of regular table wine. So cooking with wine that you would drink really means - don't use "cooking wine". Anyway, I second the two-buck Chuck (really, i think it's closer to $4 now, but still cheap). Since no one in our house really drinks wine, I actually use those little mini-bottles with the screw tops. That way, I have a variety of wines on hand to choose from. I also have tried Vermouth in place of whites - ala Julia Child (and again, her recommendation of Vermouth I believe goes back to getting people away from cooking with "cooking wine"). Good luck! I also need to work on bringing out food budget down - my problems are veggies that go bad.

Another Goya EV user. Doesn't Sendiks - or even Pick 'N Save - carry higher end oils? I would think so. Oh how I miss Pick N Save metro market. It's sad when you miss a chain grocery store (if you've ever been to a Chicagoland Jewel, you would understand).

Not sure if this is what you are looking for, but awhile back, I used to make protein shakes for breakfast. Best brand I could find was Spirutein. I seem to recall their chocolate peanut butter and cookies and cream being rather tasty. They come in a ton of flavors and you can usually get them at health food stores (definately GNC) - maybe even whole foods.

fill the individual serving bowl to the line with hot water from the office coffee maker. work gives out free oatmeal. and free soda. both are becoming a bad habit that i need to kick!!!

Not necessarily strange, but amusing: Saucepans and the Single Girl - think Sex and the City guide to entertaining friends/men circa 1965. Apparently there was a reissue of it last year. It's cute (hey, it was a different time) and the recipes seem pretty reasonable (haven't ever tried them though). It's male counterpart, I forget the title but something about loves and meatloaf, isn't nearly as endearing. I've also got a copy of the Vincent Price book. Love the padded copper cover and gold edged pages.

The reference books (Joy of Cooking, Mark Bittman, etc) are destroyed - broken spines, stained, pages stuck together. But the ones with beautiful photographs are pristine!

a restaurant close to me makes Nutella crepes. Yum! Garnish with some powdered sugar, a few berries and some mint and it's a little more elegant than bread slathered with Nutella (which is so wonderful in it's own right).

I had the same problem with too many holds when I lived in Milwaukee - I could put stuff on-hold ONLINE and then go pick them up when they came in at the library's DRIVE-THRU. It was heaven! Oh how I miss that. I live in Chicago now and the library system isn't quite as high-tech as Milwaukee's was. I actually have to either GO to the library or call someone to put things on-hold. I'd prefer to cut out the middleman. Plus, cannot renew online - must renew in person. I have certainly racked up my share of fines here. I consider it a donation (albeit non-tax deductible). Still, I do love going there to browse and see what I can find on the shelves that I've never gotten around to reading (picked up Barbara Kafka's Roasting this weekend and a few weeks back picked up an ancient copy of Lobel's All About Meat).

definately red pepper flakes. I always end up using it when I'm out of fresh chiles and I need to add a bit of heat. I go through the pepper flakes pretty fast. To be honest, I often use it to make homemade salsa as I almost always have fresh tomatoes, garlic, cilantro, limes and onion around but fresh jalepenos? Not so much. Past that, my dried herbs/spices sit around in the cupboard way past their prime. That's why I like the little containers from Penzey's so much. Problem is, Penzey's is not as close as Jewel. Fresh herbs/spices - ginger, cilantro, flat leaf parsley and basil.

I think that was me. I qualify meat ragu as strong (heavy might be a better term) - which is what I typically seem to use. I did try ricotta gnocchi in brown butter with chanterelles and sweet corn following suzanne goin's recipe. while the sauce was awesome, the gnocchi were extremely "leaden" (I think that is an accurate description). They just weren't light, fluffy clouds. I noticed that when I was working with the dough that it seemed heavy/dense - it wasn't light and sticky like Batali's recipe. Next time i make that sauce, I'll follow Mario Batali's recipe for the gnocchi.

I FINALLY broke down and bought a unicorn magnum and some tellicherry peppercorns - from sur la table (cause having things delivered to my house is more trouble than it's worth). I have never been a pepper person in the past. I rarely peppered my food. Probably because I didn't think it had anything to offer. But...I GET IT NOW! And to think, just having a good peppermill and good pepper made all the difference. Thanks, everyone, for your recommendations.

I also recently picked up the bacon bar (was totally unaware there was a new flavor). I sampled it at the store and at first didn't like it at all. Thought I would give it another shot though and bought the bar. Still wasn't sure I liked it after the first square. But now...it's pretty addicting. I mean, it's real bacon (the package has an expiration date) - nice and crunchy and salty. When I was at the store I got to sample a truffle for the first time too. Wanted the Taleggio, but they were out so had the balsamic. Certainly tasted like balsamic without being too overpowering. It was good, but I think i'll stick to the bars (although, i'm intrigued by the cocoas - maybe when the weather gets colder).