Alex

As others have mentioned, I'd have an appetizer of deviled eggs (with caviar, of course) and a dessert of devil's food cake (with a shot of Hot Damn schnapps on the side). My entree? Lobster fra diavolo, of course. As you might guess, come August I'll be headed for the nether world, specifically the sixth circle of Hell. (Heresy trumps gluttony.) You can test yourself here. If I were having a non-themed meal, I'd want three perfect sandwiches of bacon, goat cheese, and heirloom tomato on sourdough toast, followed by two cups of coffee with cream, followed by a large bowl of peach ice cream with sliced peaches. All ingredients would be made, raised, or roasted in West Michigan.

Dimensions?

Does "an apple for the teacher" mean anything in Israel? If there's something like that by you (maybe "an orange for the teacher?"), you could shape and color (and texture?) the cake accordingly.

I often keep a supply of Clif bars in my office as an occasional lunch option, usually washed down with a milk/chocolate soy milk mixture I bring from home. As you mentioned, they're great for flights and road trips. I lucked into a bunch of the cool mint chocolate at Big Lots a couple of months ago, so I perfectly understand its appeal. I'll have to check out the Powerbar that mgaretz mentioned, though.

Based on the free e-newsletters I used to receive, I wouldn't do it. YMMV, but for me there wasn't much useful information in them. Are they offering a sample copy of the paid version?

tim, I think your post and mine clarified things sufficiently. I believe Jcolvin's post was well intentioned but wasn't quite clear and specific enough. In further news on the mushroom front, two pounds of fresh black morels arrived yesterday from my supplier in Northern Michigan. (My yard is morel-less, alas.) Last night: mixed green salad with fresh mozzarella followed by boneless chicken breast with sauteed morels in a marsala cream sauce (and half a bottle of wine). Tonight: slowly scrambled eggs with morels, tarragon, and chives, accompanied by roasted redskins and pan-cooked asparagus with shallots and bacon (and a glass of wine). Everything except the marsala, shallots, and wine (and possibly the redskins) are Michigan products. Tomorrow: ?

A Viking cruise, eh? Sort of like this? Kidding aside, I'm looking forward to hearing about this terrific-sounding trip.

The sauté pan flippy thing.

Yes, Jaleo is good. Ms. Alex and I ate an early dinner there this past Dec. 31. We had a plane to catch, so unfortunately we couldn't be there for the unlimited-tapas New Year's Eve party. BTW, Jaleo is two blocks from Teaism. I recommend picking up a Chocolate Salty Oat Cookie (yes, I know it sounds like something from South Park) and stashing it away for a midnight snack.

What everyone else said. Use enough sage. Use a good cheese (of course). To paint the lily, make it with pumpkin- or similar squash-filled ravioli. For a simpler, sort-of-deconstructed version, I brown small butternut squash cubes in some olive oil, then mix them with farfalle, the butter-sage sauce, and parm-reg.

Please be accurate when you post such information. The linked web site says, "don’t consume any alcohol with your very first ingestion of morels, especially black morels" and "Abstain or restrain in consuming any kind of alcohol in conjunction with eating mushrooms" [emphasis mine]. The reason is, "if you are allergic, this can seriously worsen the reaction." For how much to consume, it says, "Be moderate," but doesn't specify how much is meant by "moderate." For those of us who are not allergic or sensitive to morels, this is not an issue. I know I'm just an N of 1, but I've eaten probably 6 oz. of (cooked) morels and half a bottle of Pinot Noir at a meal, with no subsequent discomfort.

Yes, it certainly should be able to handle a pie crust. When you return this one, I'd ask BBB for a KitchenAid instead. It's a better unit, imho.

A while back I read an article about a thorough testing of this notion (Cook's Illustrated?), which thoroughly debunked it. Ever since then I've added salt before cooking, with no untoward effects.

For Sunday breakfast, how about meeting them in Arlington at Bayou Bakery, near the Courthouse Metro stop. By "Gallery" I assume you mean the National Gallery of Art. Unfortunately, Central Michel Richard isn't open for lunch on Saturdays, as is true for most of the good places near there. However, if you don't mind spending a bit (but not an outrageous amount), I suspect the Dim Sum Brunch at Wolfgang Puck's The Source would be excellent. (I've been there only for dinner.) They're right across Pennsylvania Avenue from the museum. Beautiful space, too. The entrance is a bit tricky to find; despite the Penn Ave address, it's actually on 6th St. I was disappointed with my last two dinners at Cafe Atlantico. The food wasn't bad, just uninspired. Mitsitam Cafe, in the Museum of the American Indian, is a fascinating place, but it won't be a relaxing lunch.

Fish in one hand, lemon wedge in the other. Alternate.

Exactly. If I ever find myself working in a high-end restaurant kitchen, I'll call it mise. If I'm home, it's just prep.

I have a few things like that in the kitchen but I'm considering a bigger, dedicated clock that doesn't require focusing on a small, incidental digital readout on an appliance. We have a nice wood clock on the wall above the sink. It's far more useful than the digital clocks on the stove and microwave. We had a great ceramic "art" clock with coffee, fried eggs, toast, and bacon-strip hands, but alas, a housekeeper broke it several years ago.

Obviously I'm not in charge of making such an executive decision, but if I were, I would never, ever, exclude children from any of the events unless it clearly would be inappropriate for them to be there, e.g., The Violet Hour in Chicago. At our first Gathering, in Grand Rapids in 2003, we had an impeccably behaved preschooler in attendance. If the thought of even a small possibility of being around a potentially "screamy"-aged child causes you such dread, and you don't trust your fellow attendees to exercise good judgement in such matters, then you're probably much better off not making the trip.

Dried banana peels. Oh, wait. Different kind of smoking. Sorry. Actually, I'm eager to hear about your pineapple smoking results, apropos the interesting pineapple core forum.

Traverse City: Yes, Amical is very good. The Cook's House, also on Front, is a great little place. This wouldn't affect you, but I think their tacit BYOW policy has been rescinded. (Don't get me started on stupid Michigan wine laws.) I think that the excellent Patisserie Amie, which also serves dinner, is now called something else. Trattoria Stella, in a development housed in a former state psychiatric hospital, has a good rep, but I haven't been there recently. Ditto Red Ginger. In Maple City, by your side of Glen Lake, is La Becasse, a restaurant modeled after a French country inn (and with an actual French chef!). I'd be perfectly content with their duck & pistachio pate, French gravlax w/a shot of Aquavit, and profiteroles ($28 total). Oh, and a bottle of M. Lawrence Brut from Larry Mawby's nearby winery (also $28). I agree with abadoozy that Rowe Inn is very good -- not the equal of what was Tapawingo, but then, it wasn't meant to be. It's in Ellsworth, so obviously it's a longer drive than TC. Petoskey is an even longer drive. I haven't been to Petoskey in a while except to quickly pass through, so I can't speak to the restaurants there. Except for American Spoon Foods, which has a store there with free samples, a small restaurant, and gelato. Michigan wines aren't world-class, but there are indeed some very good ones. Old Mission Peninsula is just beautiful, and Two Lads Winery sits on one of the most beautiful parts of the peninsula. Not to mention their outrageous new building and that their wines are quite good. Other stuff to do: I'm sure you'll get lots of advice from your fellow workers. You're right by the spectacular Sleeping Bear Dunes. The Dennos Museum Center,, on the campus of North Central Michigan College in TC, shouldn't be missed.

I used to. I highly recommend a window fan. Try an amazon.com search.

How do you find the Friday Sale? I never seem to be able to find it on the site. Is it where it says "Today's Deals?" http://www.amazon.com/ Yes. There used to be a drop-down list when you hovered over the link, but now you have to click on it; the Friday Sale link is on the next page. The Friday Sale has been into chocolate lately. Two weeks ago I scored some 72% Vivani Organic Chocolate Bars (from Germany).

Friday Sale (ends tonight): Not a gizmo, but a great deal on Scharffen Berger 62% or 82% chocolate, 24 3-oz bars for $41.91 shipped.

My impression -- and a quick Google search confirmed this -- is that deep-fried items other than potatoes are not uncommonly called "French fried," but only those of a similar shape, such as green beans or julienned carrots. Then, of course, there's French's French Fried Onions, but that's a different animal, er, vegetable.

What do you do if the ovens are in use for something else? That was my problem and the reason I use a warming tray. The top of my Breville (click for pic) is suitable for plate warming. It's not quite wide enough for two dinner plates, so I usually stack them, covered with a baking pan. The bottom one gets hotter than the rest, so I'll pull it a minute or two before plating.