NVNVGirl

Or even colored concrete! Dont' get marble! We've got marble counters and shower in our master bath and it's just a giant pain. And it's not even used that much, but EVERYTHING mars it; even water. If you want to continuously be spending money on having it restored, get marble; otherwise do something more practical. We've got a dark granite which goes with our kitchen, but there are literally thousands of different granites out there with different characteristics. Go to a tile and granite "store" and have them take you out to look at slabs of granite instead of just tiles of it. I love granite and it's great for rolling out pastry and is virtually indestructible. Try putting a hot just from the oven or stovetop pan onto marble someday. That'll change your mind. Good luck; your kitchen sounds like it will be lovely when it's done.

The weather is finally cooling off for us in the desert areas of S. CA! Last nite we had: Chili Cornbread muffins Tossed green salad with jicama and spiced pinenuts Lemon Chiffon Pie with Cranberry Glaze Tonite we are having: Baked Salmon with Cranberry-Thyme Crust Shredded, sauteed brussels sprouts with maple pecans Lemon Orzo Pilaf

We've had a subzero wine unit for the last 3+ years and have never had a problem with it. As far as I'm concerned, it's a good unit. Never heard there was a maintenance problem. Dont' expect to have one either.

Uhhh....did you find Penfold's Grange for $7 a bottle? Where do you shop? I'll buy a plane ticket there

It's on Fine Living Thanks RWG...no wonder I missed it..we dont' get that channel here

Nana (Rose Evangalisti, aka Rose Pistola) told me when I make her breadcrumbs that I had to freeze them b/c of the cheese in it. I would imagine the same would hold true for pesto?

Hmmmmm...very interesting. I can't imagine actually choosing a Mondavi wine, but then if you are on television, you have to appeal to a diverse group of people and if they are watching a show on wine, a lot of the viewers would be trying to learn about wine and I suppose Mondavi and Gallo are an OK place to start? Personally, if that's where I started, I'd probably not be drinking wine any longer But like you said, those two are readily available, and maybe she's starting out slow and trying to make it accessible. As time goes on, I'm sure it will become clear whether she's being "bought". BTW, what channel is her show on?

Yahhhh....I used to say the same thing and I didn't have the pregancy thing either....YOU JUST WAIT, LOL It catches up with all of us sooner or later Mine is carbs carbs carbs...no sweets or chocolate; just bread and pasta...oh and FAT..butter, cream anything....I'm all over it!

YUM! I'm gonna have to try that right away! A big thing here in the desert also is sweet potato fries instead of the usual. They're pretty good too, altho I doubt any better for you

Ten people around the dining room table is discreet? Your sex life must be, um, distinctive. You have no idea

Oh wow....Mark Power one of the sons is a friend of mine...I didnt' realize they were completely tearing it down....that really did used to be a great place to eat....it deteriorated as the years went by, but I sure have some great memories of that place!

I grew up with a mom who loved to cook and had a big family to cook for. But I really learned to cook and love cooking from my grandma; a Kansas girl, for whom cooking was a labor of love for the family and extended family and friends. She taught me to love everything about food....from growing it to canning it for future use; to entertaining and menu planning. The best way to fry chicken and how to make Parker House rolls for Sunday dinners. I love the color and the texture of food and the way it smells when it's raw. I love to see the transformation over and over again in so many incarnations of the most common ingredients. And I love to see the way it makes other people feel. I never am offended if someone doesn't like what I"ve cooked ...I might be a little disappointed because the reason I cook is really to bring pleasure to other people, but it's not an ego thing for me. I love people who love to cook too because I think it brings people together in a sensual way that is more discreet than sex and sometimes more satisfying (I didn't say ALL the time ). It's a way to share with friends and a way to hand something from one generation to another. I only wish I had paid better attention when I was younger ~ to me, cooking is a sensual, fulfilling delight and always entertaining.It's all about the love. Fast food is so boring to me.

Hallelujah for Fall! I love sweet potatoes and I have 3 favorite dishes using them. I do eat yams on occasion throughout the year, but it's so hot where I live most of the year that I usually don't really feel like eating either yams or sweet potatoes until it's a little cooler. Here's my favorites: Two Tone Potatoes Anna 1 1/2 lb yams or sweet potatoes 1 1/2 lb. russet potatoes 10 Tbsp. melted butter 1/2 cup grated Parmesan 2 Tbsp (approx) fresh chopped rosemary Salt and pepper to taste 1. Peel yams and russets. Slice into uniformly thick 1/16" slices. As cut, immerse russet slices in water to prevent browning. 2. Put 2 Tbsp butter into 10" ovenproof nonstick skillet and spread to cover bottom of pan. 3. Drain russets and pat slices dry. Neatly overlap 1/4 of the russet slices to cover pan bottom. Drizzle with 1 Tbsp. butter and sprinkle 1 Tbsp. Parmesan and 1/4 of the rosemary. Neatly overlap 1/4 of the sweet potato slices over the russets; drizzel with 1 Tbsp butter, 1 tsp of cheese and 1/4 of the rosemary. Repeat layers, alternating russet slices with sweet potato slices, until all the vegetables are in the pan. Drizzle with any remaining butter. Cover pan tightly with foil. 4. Bake on the lowest rack in a 425 deg. F. oven for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until vegetables are very tender when pierced and edges are brown and crisp, about 35-45 minutes later. Let stand 5-10 minutes. 5. Using a pan lid to hold potatoes in place, drain off any excess butter and save for other uses. Run a knife between pan's sides and potatoes. Invcert a platter over pan; holding together, invert both to release vegetables. Remove pan. Cut into wedges and serve. Add salt and pepper to taste. APPLE, LEEK AND SWEET POTATO GRATIN 1 1/4 cups heavy cream 2 large leeks, washed and thinly sliced 2 Tbsp. chopped frsh thyme, or 2 tsp dried Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste A grating of fresh nutmeg 2 large sweet potatoes (~ 1 Lb.), peeled and thinly sliced 2 cups grated cheddar cheese 1 large apple, cored and thinly sliced Combine the cream, leeks, thyme, salt, pepper and nutmeg in a saucepan and bring to a boil over moderate heat, stirring occasionally. Add the sweet potatoes and simmer covered 10 minutes. Layer half the sweet potato mixture in a buttered baking dish. Top with the sliced apple. Repeat with sweet potato mixture and cheese. Bake uncovered in a preheated 375 deg F. (190 deg. C) for about 45 minutes, until bubbling and golden brown. Serves 6-8 SWEET POTATOES WITH TEQUILA AND LIME 2 large (~ 1 lb each) sweet potatoes, peeled and grated 2 Tbsp. Tequila (or more to taste) 2 Tbsp. sugar 1 Tbsp fresh lime juice (or more to taste) 1/2 stick of butter (4Tbsp.) Peel and grate potatoes. Melt butter in a skillet. Add sweet potatoes and sugar, mix well and cook, covered over moderate heat. Use spatula to turn mix over every few minutes. In about 15 minutes it should look caramelized. Add tequila and lime juice, stir well, cook a few more minutes till all is heated through.

No kidding, cmv! Our friends have a gorgeous home at the country club there on a really lovely golf course and I don't think they paid over $250K for it. It was looking sort of enticing to me until I realized that I'd have to live in Bakersfield....NO THANK YOU!

Sorry, just checked out Hollywood's link...the deli I am pretty sure is the Brookside and I'm sure it was on Coffee Rd. Also, the Italian restaurant isn't Mama Gina's ...it's Mama Toscas and I just remembered that the Tahoe Joes is in that same shopping center(The Marketplace). It's a very pretty place and I was shocked that it was in Bakersfield. Also, there's some GREAT clothing stores in there. Sorry you have to be there for so long.we were just there for a couple of days

C'mon you all! Bakersfield isn't all that bad! Well, maybe I shoulda stopped at "isn't all that" . But there's a shopping center I believe off Ming Ave (which is like a main exit off the highway) called The Marketplace. There are several places to eat in there, one being called I THINK Mama Gina's. We had a couple of great meals there and it's a pretty nice place. They've also got a little place that's some sort of diner type thing...it might be Johnny Rocket's that's just next to the theater in there. There is also a little gas station place somewhere in that area that has a little store associated with it and they make the best prime rib sandwiches. Sorry I can't think of the name of it, but if you were to go into the Marketplace and ask someone they'd probably know..the place is family owned and has a little gift shop inside it too. We have friends who live at some country club down the street there; I will call them and find out the name of the place and the street it's on.

Robert is beaming with that NVNVGirl! He is, without a doubt, a peach. (sorry so corny Robert!) Aren't little technological toys grand? I have a little bartender service (literally what it is called -- the little bartender ) on my cell phone! There are a couple of obvious little typo boo boos, but nothing major and a coverage of most of the basic classics. Webtender can also be located via cellular and Pål has a lovely and comprehensive, drinkie database. Oh my gosh, beans! I had no idea that Robert was REALLY DrinkBoy! How exciting for me! I LOVE his program (Robert, I LOVE your DrinkBoy!); it's started more conversations than I can remember ( well, they WERE in a bar after all ) and it comes in handy at home too. But on the other issue....I ADORE technology..where'd you find the little bartender? Wonder if it's available for the OS format? How cool is that? I feel like a walking encyclopedia when the bartenders ask me for obscure drink recipes and sports stats Robert ~ how do you decide which drinks will be on your Palm Edition? Is there capability to put more on it or are you maxed out with what can be included? It's so great, congrats on such a fabulous product!

What kind of tuna do you use, what ingredients do you add? What type of bread does it go on and is it toasted or not? I'm just curious.

Castelli's in Palm Desert, CA Murph's Gaslight restaurant in Bermuda Dunes, CA Bash's in Palm Desert, CA Sullivan's Steakhouse in Palm Desert, CA The Sandbar in La Quinta, CA Lord Fletcher's in Rancho Mirage CA (or maybe they're in Palm Desert...its right on the border) Shame on the Moon in Rancho Mirage, CA

Al ~ come on down here to the desert! Everywhere we go, our drinks are already sitting on the bar by the time we get there. The bartenders here are just phenomenal here and they've been that way since the day we first came here. We were back and forth between N. CA and the desert while our house was being built and even tho we'd be gone for a couple of months at a time, when we came back, the bartenders remembered our names, where we lived and what we drink....And these guys are the young ones too! You'd love it here...altho, it is a little far from VA

Beans, I've had fun with some of our local bartenders and my Palm Pilot that I keep a lot of favorite drinks on plus the DrinkBoy program. Sometimes people will order something they've never heard of and if I"m there, I just look it up for them (we live in an area heavily populated by "seniors" so a lot of the bartenders are pretty used to the Manhattans, martinis, and things like that), some of these newer "martinis" they just dont' make very often. And if I want something out of the ordinary (which Sour Apple Martinis were when I first moved here), I know how to make it so I don't have to make the bartender crazy trying to figure it out or look for a recipe when they are busy. Sometimes they've got the ingredients, sometimes they don't. But they've always got gin, so I can always make do I love bartenders; some of our best friends are bartenders and have been all their lives (but they're the GOOD bartenders ) I think my husbands' biggest problem with bartenders is that more often than not, they think they're doing him a favor by pouring heavy; he always tells them he likes his S & W "light" and "don't bury me", but a lot of times they just can't help themselves. He has no problem asking for more water tho;he's a veteran

I have to tell the bartender not to strain my drink with her hand? That's not something that any halfway competent bartender should know without being told? Silly me -- I didn't realize that it was my responsibility to ascertain what equipment a given bar has and then tailor my order; I didn't realize it was my responsibility to ask the bartender to keep her hands out of my drink. Next time I'll know. And I'm hardly smoldering with disdain here. I thought it was funny, in a sick sort of way, and figured it might be amusing to share related stories. I didn't realize that the profession of bartending was sacrosanct. Now I know. Really, what kind of bartender would strain a drink with their hands??? I hate to be inflammatory here, but I've been to a LOT of bars in my life and never once have I seen one do that. Any bar should certainly have the proper equipment and if they don't, because whatever utensil or tool has somehow disappeared, I would think that they could find something else that would suffice rather than their five digits. Or is that four? Whatever...it's reprehensible. For heaven's sake, someone who's handling money among other things shouldn't have to be told that you don't appreciate your drink being passed over their fingers. ICK, ICK, ICK

OMG, that's too funny beans!

I think the experience was jinx enough GMTA, right?

Our wine doesn't sit around long enough for it to age