Alex

Yes. If you click here, you can see what's covered. You also can scroll down that page and click on "Monthly Cost Comparison Calculator" to get an actual cost.

"Grandma's Meat Loaf? Hardly" I used to think about this issue a lot, before I decided I was never, ever going to live in a "retirement community," much less a nursing home. (I'd make an exception for a rehab facility, so long as it was for a limited time and I could return home afterwards.) All other issues aside, what about the food? I certainly couldn't count on someone like CaliPoutine cooking for me. How would I deal with the usual crap dining room fare? (Answer: I wouldn't. I'd probably become like this guy.) So, now we have CIA chefs at nursing homes. Well, good. The drawback? Could Ms. Alex and I afford that $5000/month after we're both retired? Possibly (although a $1 mil condo would be way, way out of our reach). Would we want to? Doubtful. So, discuss...

Last year Paula Wolfert, a well known cookbook author and food writer (and eGullet member "Wolfert"), was diagnosed with Benson's Syndrome, a relative of Alzheimer's Disorder. Full article from which the above quote was taken. Another article, including a PBS video.

Wow, you must make some seriously strong coffee, to have eaten through your dripper like that. Is that a vanilla bean I spy?

Based on my experience and research, the bag will say "dry packed" or something like that if the scallops haven't been soaked. If it doesn't say that, they're probably "wet." Also, wet scallops will be pure white; dry scallops generally vary in color from off-white to pinkish to almost beige. Here's a good picture illustrating the difference.

Both Junior's and The Joy of Cheesecake use cornstarch in their recipes. NY style is dense, but also a bit cakey.

A sour cream topping is acceptable but unnecessary (imho), as there's sour cream in the batter. Dana Bovbjerg and Jeremy Iggers, in The Joy of Cheesecake, don't use a topping. The batter goes into a 9" springform pan for 45 minutes at 400°F, then cools in the oven, with the door propped open, for three hours before going into the fridge. They also recommend a basic crumb crust, but using matzo instead of graham crackers. I couldn't tell you one way or the other about what color the top should be, but iirc (it's been a while), the top is indeed brown. (TMI: I made our wedding cake--a three-tiered dark chocolate cheesecake--from that cookbook, and decorated it with edible Hawaiian orchids. It's baked at 275°F for 75 minutes, then cooled in the oven.)

Yes, what they said. We have a large Whirlpool frost-free upright (let's hear it for Craigslist!) and are entirely happy with it. Hassouni, I know of no auto-defrost in that size. The smallest I could locate was 13.7 cu ft, either a GE or a Frigidare.

Minimum $75 purchase pre-coupon, expires Monday, August 25.

Thanks for resurrecting this thread, Porthos; I didn't notice it the first time through. I usually don't bring much in the way of food items on a typical hotel-based (or bnb-based) trip. I usually bring a bunch of Zone Perfect bars. Sometimes I'll take along a travel-sized Vinturi wine aerator. If I'm at a bnb with a drip coffee maker that I can use, and the owner doesn't use good coffee (or supply it at all), I'll grind and bring my own. If I'm at a hotel with a pod-based system, I might take some Starbucks Via instant coffee tubes. I'll often bring some Earl Grey or herbal tea bags.

The first recipe I ever used was "Peking Hot and Sour Soup" from the Joyce Chen Cookbook, and I've found no reason to use any other. The only modifications I've made are to use much less cornstarch, for the same reason Lizhou mentioned upthread, and Chinese rice wine instead of dry sherry for velveting the pork (when she wrote the book, in 1962, rice wine wasn't as easily available).

The LVSC website now says "2016." However, I suspect Rosemary's Café -- or at least the name -- is very much in doubt, because Michael Jordan is now an Instructor at Seattle Culinary Academy at Seattle Central College. Wendy Jordan is now the Catering Manager at Shorewood Culinary Arts at Shorewood High School, north of Seattle, and an adjunct instructor at Seattle Culinary Academy.

A couple of years ago, Cook's Illustrated tested vegetable peelers. They preferred this inexpensive Kuhn Rikon for a Y-shaped peeler and this Messermeister for a straight peeler. I use the latter and like it very much. Before that, I used an OXO straight peeler, which I also liked. The handle is a little larger than the Messermeister, so it might fit your hand better.

Here's the full story.

Here's a 2009 article/video about getting rid of fruit flies that I just discovered.

Thanks for the heads-up. This coupon seems to show up once or twice a year. I remember using it several years ago on a clearance set of really nice silverware that was priced *per piece*! (BB&B is good at honoring supposedly expired "one item" coupons, so I hoard them for the day I want/need to buy several items and don't have an "entire purchase" coupon.)

A very good friend, possessor of a reasonably good palate, who regularly visits his daughter, son-in-law, and grandkids in Wichita, recommended YaYa's EuroBistro (also mentioned by Shelby).

We use the aforementioned Rubbermaid trays for freezing end-of-season basil pesto. For ice, we have four of an earlier version of this Oxo tray. We don't use them all that much, so the cover prevents any nasty odors from seeping into the cubes.

I second the cherries in brandy.

Many years (and pounds) ago I often made a simple bundt cake with chocolate chips (or chunks, depending on what I had around), walnuts, and cherries. The cherries were canned (i.e., pie filling), but I suspect fresh would work just as well, if not better--perhaps just add a bit of honey to the batter. I still have the age-yellowed recipe--probably from the Detroit Free Press some time in the early to mid-70s--but it's available online here.

Ooh. Which means a blueberry-rhubarb cobbler might be on my agenda.

FSR Magazine named their top 20 culinary schools in the U.S. The Secchia Institute for Culinary Education, at Grand Rapids Community College -- my local CC -- made the list! -- as well it should have. Ms. Alex and I have gotten to know a few of the instructors over the years, we've eaten at the college's restaurant many, many times, and I've cooked in their outstanding kitchens several times. Also making the list were Kendall College, in Chicago; Indian Hills CC, in Iowa; Columbus State CC, in Ohio; and Sullivan University, in Kentucky (an honorary Heartland member).

Interesting article in FSR Magazine online. See my shout-out to Grand Rapids Community College, my local school, in the Heartland forum.

Excuse me? You agreed to an interview--two days hence!--without first checking whether you could get the time off? Seriously? You then asked to r/s the interview, and the owner was nice enough to oblige. Then--despite the owner's mis-specifying the days of the week--you didn't check and look at a calendar first, as you most certainly should have, and then you asked to r/s again? Pretty cheeky, if you ask me (which you did), to complain about the owner's lack of professionalism (and calendar error--obviously he was looking at June instead of July) and take little, if any, responsibility for your own. And what makes you think he should have to adapt his schedule to yours--especially after his having rescheduled the interview once already? That said, I see three possibilities here: 1) the owner did indeed act unprofessionally by not replying reasonably promptly (within a few days) to your last message, no matter what his response or your behavior, and/or; 2) given your behavior, the owner either wanted to test you or wasn't willing to bend any more, and/or; 3) something else happened to delay his reply (illness, restaurant crisis, family matters, etc.). And that said, perhaps you're still sensitive from your experience at the country club, but I also think you might have overreacted by generalizing from one behavior--not a "pattern of behavior"--to his overall business "dealings."

A request from someone who bought this book today: Could you tell me how to develop sufficient self-control to keep from eating most (or all) of the roasted cauliflower before it's dressed?