Alex

For the Heartland Gathering in Chicago, in 2008, I made watermelon-tomato-mint soup. Dead simple. In a blender (or, even better, a Vita-Mix or Blendtec), puree seeded watermelon "meat," peeled and seeded in-season tomatoes, and fresh mint leaves. Proportions can vary according to taste. Serve at room temp or slightly cooled. Finish with just a bit of fleur de sel or similar.

tammylc, who coordinated the Ann Arbor-based gatherings, would be a good resource about this. I'll send you a PM with her contact info. I wasn't at the Cleveland or KC gatherings, but you can get the coordinators' names from the forums.

Getting an early start this past weekend, I made a small batch of DL's Goat Cheese Ice Cream (locally produced cheese from Dancing Goat Creamery), then folded in chopped 70% chocolate and fresh Michigan sweet cherries that were pitted, quartered, and macerated in northern Michigan's Black Star Farms Spirit of Cherry (a.k.a. kirsch).

My psychopathy scale on the MMPI is relatively high, which reflects, in part, my tendency to not feel guilty about much of anything at all. And the behaviors I would indeed feel guilty about are either felonious or highly immoral, so I generally try to avoid them. That said, my (minimally) guilty pleasure is canned tuna (formerly Bumble Bee, now Kirkland) eaten straight with just a generous squeeze of lemon. (And sorry, weinoo, but a teaspoon or so--after all, we're humans and are capable of restraint from time to time--of Nutella straight out of the jar is way too good to be a guilt- or shame-inducer. In fact, it's often saved me from eating a way more caloric after-dinner treat. A spoonful of Nutella is satisfying; a spoonful of Häagen-Dazs doesn't quite make it.)

But the dates of the gathering are 8/9-8/12, no? Sorry, my brain freeze. The rates are indeed for checking in on the 9th and out on the 12th.

This evening, Hotwire has what appears to be the Holiday Inn - Historic District, which looks to be about three blocks from the Sheraton Society Hill, for $95 + tax per night, checking in on 8/2 and out on 8/6. It also has what appears to be either the Sheraton City Center (formerly the Wyndham) or the further-away and less-recommended (but near trolley and subway stops) Sheraton University City for $92/night. Of course, you don't get the hotel's name until after you book (non-refundable), but my online source usually is accurate about such things.

I like that -- a butter² sandwich.

Okay, now I'm gonna puke. Well, as I wrote, it's only Ms. Alex and me at home, and she doesn't eat my pb or the toppings I use, so no big deal for us. I do use a separate implement for the Nutella, as she does eat that on occasion. (I also sometimes drink directly from the San Pelligrino bottle, as does she.) But if you ever visit, I'll use separate knives and brand new pb and topping containers (and a glass for the San P).

1. Depends on my mood and inspiration at the moment. Could be Nutella. Could be cherry preserves (my favorite jam/jelly/etc., although I usually keep at least five or six in stock). Could be half a banana, sliced the long way. Could be tomato or tomato + bacon. PB is always homemade from Planter's unsalted. Except for the occasional pumpernickel bagel, it's almost always bread, toasted, from these folks. 2. Always one spreader, but I do lick most of the pb residue from the knife before proceeding. Ms. Alex, for reasons almost beyond my comprehension, still prefers Jif and hardly ever uses a topping, so there's no "eww" factor in our house. At least not for that.

On the surface, it sounds like they've had some bad experiences with last-minute cancellations by "foreigners." However, I'm wondering whether this also has to do with the attitude--which I've personally experienced--that gaijin are not equipped to truly appreciate Japanese food, especially the nuances of first-class sushi. For a great example of this superiority/condescension--including the memorable quote, "I've always believed that we Japanese have the best tastebuds in the world"--check out the last part of the Iron Chef episode with Ron Siegel as the challenger. I saw the movie last weekend in Chicago. I'm glad I went, but it felt stretched out. It would have worked better, imho, as a 52-minute PBS special.

It's like a Fathead for your fridge! I see on their home page that they use a non-U.S. system for the date (day.month.year). Does anyone know where they're based?

Earthy Delights here in Michigan is a reliable, if occasionally expensive, source. They're selling fresh West Coast morels now for $49-54/pound. I get my dried (and sometimes fresh) morels from a very reliable guy "up north." Send me a PM and I'll reply with his contact info.

I've used these (four of them) for a while, albeit with the pita lids. One slides on and off very easily, one is passable, two are pains. I put up with them because they do a great job of keeping freezer odor away from the cubes. Straight out of a zero-degree freezer, it does take a bit of a twist to dislodge the cubes. I guess it depends on how bad Roberta's arthritis is. I imagine, though, that a brief dip in hot water would allow the cubes to slide right out.

There's the classic Brandy Alexander (note my screen name): equal parts Cognac or brandy, dark c de c, and half-and-half or cream, shaken with ice, garnished with a bit of grated nutmeg. My dad used to make a variation for my mom and her friends when they visited. He used ice cream--coffee, I believe--as the dairy, and give it a quick whirl in the blender instead. It went down *real* easy, providing my dad and me some amusement as we watched them get tipsy.

Great question. My omelette request: Please don't brown it or turn it into a Frisbee®-like substance. Years (decades?) ago, when I regularly visited Toronto, I discovered this wonderful civilized restaurant that specialized in omelettes. (Does anyone remember its name?) The waiter actually knew the term baveuse. Sigh.

Are you talking about Oakland on the Southside? If so, that's quite a distance between there and Lincoln Park, so it would help if you narrowed things down: driving or public transportation? food and cost preferences? how casual (or not)? Etc...

Yeah, West Michigan is always a decade or two behind NYC.

For at least the past couple of years, in both West Michigan (where Ms. Alex and live) and Chicagoland (where we visit regularly), and even in North Carolina (where Ms. Alex goes to visit her mom), we've noticed that our server's departing comment after delivering our food has usually been, "Enjoy!" We've been eating out for decades, and this is the first time we've noticed this trend. We're now mildly amused by it--probably because each instance confirms our observation--but it's certainly not an inappropriate thing to say, and far preferable to the usually-pretentious (imho) "Bon appétit!" However, we were wondering if others have noticed this trend elsewhere in the country/continent/world. And if so, how long has it been going on by you (are we just late to the party?) and do you have any clue how it started?

Actually, it's been mentioned in five posts (#s 20, 47, 52, 54, 55). Ctrl-F (assuming a PC) also is your friend. I second the banana bread toast w/Nutella (or, as I mentioned earlier, pb + Nutella).

Well, I haven't had any distinguished guests in a long time and, when I did, it was because of my husband's job, and not because we were all chummy with them. Maggie - this is my number one "I can't stand it any more diet be damned I have to have something decadent right now" dish. I've seen lots of similar versions, but usually come back to this one: Chocolate Mousse 1 6-oz pkg good quality 100% chocolate semi-sweet chips 1 egg 1 tsp vanilla 1 T Creme de Cacao, Khalua, Xanath, Creme of Tequila, Bailey's, or other favorite liqueur dash salt 1 C heavy whipping cream Put everything into a blender EXCEPT for the cream. Fasten the top onto the blender, minus that little plastic thing in the middle. Heat the cream to scalding. Just before the boil, turn on the blender and slowly pour the hot cream through the hole in the blender lid while the blender is running. Continue blending until the mixture is smooth. Pour the hot mousse into individual ramekins. Put them into the fridge to cool. They're like chocolate pots de creme - very rich. When cold, serve them with a dollop of whipped cream on top. You can dust it with a little powdered instant coffee, or cinnamon, or nutmeg. I liked to serve them with one of those Pepperidge Farm rolled cookies alongside. Maggie - obviously the idea is for them to chill. But when I just have to have what I have to have, I don't wait for them to completely chill and congeal. I just happily slurp away. Oh, and KayB - I never told those distinguished guests how I made that delightful cobbler. Wanted them to think I'd really gone to a lot of trouble just for them. And I also never told them that I had made this mousse from chocolate chips in the blender before I served it in tiny elegant demitasse cups, complete with demitasse spoons, doilies in the saucers, and little embroidered napkins pulled through the cup handles. As I said, it was "Competitive Entertaining." For better or worse, that's how it was. Careers hung in the balance. Wow, I've been making this for decades now. Good to see it here on eG. It's indeed exactly like a traditional pôts de crème and very rich, easily serving 4 as a meal-ending dessert. I've changed the proportions a bit over the years, now using an 85 or 100g bar of good 70% chocolate, 3/4 cup of cream, and occasionally 1 T of very strong espresso instead of a liqueur (Cointreau is my favorite here), or sometimes no liquid at all. The only drawback, as Jaymes mentioned, is that it takes a while to set up properly--usually at least eight hours for me--and so I've never gone the slurping route.

Congrats, Alex, I've enjoyed every one of them. I've never really liked peanut butter but I agree that with a Nutella chaser I might be persuaded. Thank you so much. I'm a lifelong pb fan. I graduated from Skippy Crunchy to bulk food store fresh ground to my own food processor-ground Planters unsalted. Just made some more today, in fact. Sometimes a piece of toast with pb and Nutella (or American Spoon Foods or Food for Thought preserves) will be dessert. Oh--I almost forgot--a spoonful of homemade dulce de leche can be a dessert, as it was about a minute ago. This thread is such a conditioned stimulus.

I'm with Beebs. A spoonful of Nutella, even if I'm not desperate. If I'm feeling particularly energetic, I'll take another spoonful of homemade peanut butter. Nutella. PB. Rinse (with milk). Repeat. EDA: This is my 2,000th post!

If you haven't decided yet, W-S has free shipping on everything until 11:59 p.m. PST tonight. If you can't decide tonight and you're leaning toward a cutting board, they have free shipping until the 26th on Boos end-grain cherry boards. I'd be glad to send you the free shipping code they sent me for that offer.

Lula Cafe

My main question is: What would you do with the under-stovetop space? If it's a specialty storage cabinet that you'd love to have but won't be able to put anywhere else, then get the stovetop. If it's general storage, then get the range and use the oven for storage, as you said. It would help the place's resale-ability (assuming the unit is still working then), and the oven would be there just in case you need it (which you said you occasionally do). I'd also get the under-counter microwave, again just in case (and for the convenience). IMHO, the "hood" feature is pretty much useless unless it vents to the outside, but no matter. You might want to consider upgrading to the full-sized Breville "Smart Oven" (eG thread here).