Rachel Perlow

Thanks for the laughs, Judy! BTW - Since it wasn't too busy, I asked one of the snack bar ladies some questions. The veggie pizza is only available as a whole take away pie. By the slice is plain, pepperoni, or supreme, which is veggie plus pepperoni and sausage. So next time I want the pizza it's plain for me. She had no clue about the berry topping. I asked if it were just defrosted berries or if it had a lot of added sugar, and she said it just comes in a pail, with no ingredients label, but it she thinks it is a mix of berries. We didn't get the hot dog "off the broiler," that'll have to wait for next time.

You picture of peas shows you are playing with the microzoom feature. Jason LOVES that you can focus as close as 1 cm from object. Use it in good (even better now!) health.

Actually, there's no recipe for Arroz con Pollo in her book. The notes next to the paella recipe says to make the paella with just chicken and use chicken stock instead of clam juice. So, what I did was make the recipe for yellow rice, link above in my first post, with some extra alcaparrado (olive/caper/pimento mixed & chopped up) with chicken (browned first with achiote oil), removed, started rice, add browned chicken back in just before putting the lid on the pot. Reminder: use less than half the salt called for.

Cloying? It seems to just be defrosted frozen berries to me. And mostly blackberries too, mmm. See, Pam agrees. Exactly. We joined mostly for the eyeglasses. We have friends with memberships, so we'd frequently go with them and split the too large items. My mother especially didn't want us to get a membership, it was one of her ways to get us to visit! Let's go to Costco! I bought too many X, want some? Come down and get it. Etc. Anyway, the eyeglasses made the membership worth it. Costco accepts our vision plan, so our frames and prescriptions with all the bells and whistles cost a whopping $101.50 each! The last time we got glasses, Jason's were around $600 and mine were $400 -- no vision plan at a major chain eyewhere place. So cheap, we both also got prescription sunglasses, which the vision plan didn't offset, but they were still under $200 each. Wait, we're talking about snacking, right? OK, the point of the eyewear story is that it made us visit Costco several times at various hours. Over the course of a month (exam, ordering, various pick ups) we've gone at least 5 times. If you go on the weekend, it's a madhouse, there's lots of sampling, but good luck getting any with the crowds around each display. And, most of the stuff they are sampling is processed crap (taquittos anyone?). I did get a sample of some good ravioli once, but it just made me thirsty, and I hadn't gotten the drink at the beginning of the trip thing down yet, and the line for the drink that was being sampled was too long. So, we've pretty much decided to never go during the weekends anymore. Early or late on weekdays is good, the lines to check out aren't too bad (although still long because fewer checkout stations are open). Afternoons are horrible, 80% as bad as Saturday. During the day, you see the restaurant owners, not as many kids of obnoxious ages. Fortunately we both have flexible work schedules so we can do this, I feel sorry for those who have to go on Saturdays. What inspired this thread was that we stopped at Costco last night, just for the berry sundae (he had mentioned going to Carvel, I noted that Costco was closer to where we had our Thai food for dinner). And to see what other ice cream they offer. Pitiful selection by the way. Just Haagen Dazs vanilla and almond ice cream bars and massive tubs of Kirkland vanilla. I picked up one box of the ice cream bars -- but the lines were long (not horrible, just too long for buying one item, imo), I handed it to a cashier and said, "I don't want to wait on a long line to get one item, this is frozen, so you might want to send someone to put it back in the freezer, I wish there was an express lane." I went over to Jason (getting the berry sundaes), and a Costco employee with my ice cream bars in her hand said, "Ma'am, I can ring these up for you if you still want them" and proceeded to do so at the hearing aid station! No express lane? Make your own!

That reminds me of the new commercials for Wendy's dollar menu. Someone gets a traffic ticket... "80 Frosty's?!" someone buying something else, "wow you paid 99 burgers for that" etc. (I've been looking but I can't find a link to one of these commercials, and Wendy's has some other commercial on their website right now. Maybe it's not Wendy's? Anyone else seen these?)

Hmmmm, you beating yourself up again Snowy? Stop! It was a bad day, and you did well. Have another martini, and if you need a puff off Paul's smoke, have one. You are smoking way less than you did before, way less! And tomorrow is another day. ← How much does a carton of cigarettes cost? How many have you NOT bought since you quit? OK, you've bought a pack or bummed some cigs, but Maggie's right, you've all smoked A LOT LESS then if you hadn't quit. Add it up. I'd like to see how much money you've all saved by smoking less. Marlene was smoking two packs a day, that's got to add up. The extra you'll spend on the camera, snow, or Maggie's occasional treats, will pale in comparison to the amount you will have not spend on cigs after one year. I know money is not the main reason you or most people quit smoking, but it's got to be a great side benefit. Rather than throw it out, I think you should bury it by The Cabin. Have a silly graveside service with the kids, add some cigarettes and make it a time capsule of what was going on in your life when it died. I bet it'll make you feel better. Take a picture of the event with the new camera. Life goes on.

I wouldn't wait until tonight. If it is necessary to scrape it off, it will be easier when it is freshly frosted, won't it firm up by tonight? Call a neighbor and see if they can come over right away. It will also give you more time to remake and refrost the cake, and you will do a better job because you will be less stressed for time. I'm curious, did the recipe call for additional salt, and did you add that as well?

Who said you can't? I see the post just before this one says it's because of starches in the water. However, many restaurants use 1 large pot with strainers shaped like 1/4 pie wedges to cook pasta portions, using the same water over and over.I found a couple examples: link 1, expensive! (32 qt pot sold separately), link 2, reasonable price (set with 20 qt pot)

Ah, I see, that's for a built in cooktop. I did find a few single burner units at Target: http://www.target.com/gp/search.html/ref=s...Dtarget&x=0&y=0 Any opinions on these?

Unfortunately, a couple of places we used to go to when we lived in Morris County (Cedar Knolls) have since closed. There was a great take out place in the Mall where the Walmart is now, and something with Moon in the name (China Moon, Harvest Moon?) near the train station. Actually, Morris County is pretty big - what towns did you want to be in/near? So, opinions of the places I've been to that are still open and in Morris County: On Rt 10: Mr. Chu's, like Jason said, fancy Americanized Chinese, but very good food and service. Usually a wait at popular hours. Pretty restaurant, nice for a date. Bill and Harry's, we've only been to once since Harry (Chu) left. It was pretty much the same, I like the peach chicken they have there. But we felt more loyalty to Harry, so we stick to Mr. Chu's or Noodle Chu, for Hong Kong style dim sum and roast meats. Noodle Chu is on Rt 46 W in Parsippany, further west, but on Rt 46 E is Hunan Noodle House, which is excellent, although non-descript in decor. Try the basil beef, mmm, and hand cut noodle soups. I've been to China Chalet in Florham Park, but with my parents and not Jason. So we didn't order very adventurously. I would go again, but without the folks who don't want the house specialties. Most of this is probably too late for your date last night, though. Where did you end up going and how was it?

I've added your event to the What's Happening in NJ page: link

I did a lot of searching, but could not find a picture of the Stir Fried Shanghai Noodle dish. It is a very simple looking dish. Thick noodles, about the thickness of udon, in a brown sauce with a little spinach. That's about it, but is very delicious. Try it next time you're there. And, take a picture!

When searching for the picture of Shanghai Noodles* someone requested in the regular China 46 thread, I ran across some others of the dishes we had last week. I thought I'd repost them here so you can see what they looked like, even though the food itself was from other visits to the restaurant. The pictures not in quotes are by Jason, the other was enbedded in quotes to give credit to the appropriate poster. Exotic Greens with Pork Soup Ruby Pork Spicy Capsicum Noodles Jiaozi Sticky Rice Stuffed Chicken Tofu Skin Wrapped Flounder * I searched and searched but could not find a picture of the Stir Fried Shanghai Noodle!

Has anyone ever ordered two orders of the Kung Po chicken, one with Fresh Killed Chicken and one "regular"? I'm really curious if you could taste the difference when compared side by side, because we always order it with the fresh killed and it is very good (although I can't eat much of it, too spicy for me). But, it is so spicy, I'm wondering if you can really taste much of a difference, or is it a textural thing?

You may as well smoke the turkey breast, and serve it cold (sandwich fodder) - about time there was some cold turkey in this thread! For your dad, make sure there's veggies & a heart healthy dip, perhaps spinach dip made with low fat yogurt instead of sour cream, or tzatziki. Dumplings? Fried for the kids, steam a few for your dad. Just use a little meat, and lots of veg. Broil/bake the chicken wings instead of frying them. Set aside a few very well trimmed/skinless drumettes for your dad. Pizza? Home made or bought, cut it into bite sized hors d'oerves. One pizza can go very far cut this way, so you can have a variety of toppings, if you are keeping it to mostly finger food. This way it is not the main event, filling people up on mostly bread and cheese, as pizza can tend to do. When we have leftover pizza, I almost automatically cut it up, wrap well and freeze. 10 minutes in the toaster oven and there's a little snack that satisfies a pizza craving, but keeps the portion smaller than even 1 slice. Perhaps some bruscetta for the adults including dad. Make a couple of toppings, and do a make-your-own set up: tomato, garlic, evoo; white beans, garlic, evoo, wine vinegar; hummos and/or babaganous (you could make pita chips for these instead of bagette croutons).

I'm excited to go to Kinchley's on April 15th. What to do if they aren't in compliance, however, makes me nervous.

Above, someone mentioned being able to get one for $100, and someone else mentioned Sears. For $100, it seems reasonable to get a single burner unit, just to boil water and simmer stock. I can't find anything on Sears.com, and I'm pretty good at searches. Links please? These seem like a good idea for a college student who wants/needs to do some home cooking in a dorm. Hot plates are universally banned from dorm rooms, microwaves usually are too, even toasters/t. ovens are more of a fire hazard. Given the fire safe and low electrical consumption properties described, it sounds like an excellent option for a student.

OH, I know it's not about redesign, I was just curious, as long as there was such extensive work to be done, and all.

That Ta Loo Mein soup really hit the spot last week after getting the stiches out of my mouth (I had my wisdom teeth out a couple weeks ago). Really good 3 cup chicken casserole too. So, add us for a fourth rec for Lotus Cafe.

Anon - Captions have been added to the pictures. Kape - I ate exactly one small fry before Jason snapped the picture. They were pretty good fries, but it does seem like a small portion, right? The entrees come with your choice of any of their soups or salad (I had the soup of the day, mushroom), choice of potato (it doesn't say what type, mashed or baked I guess), rice or fries (aren't they a type of potato?), and veggies (of the day). So, it's not like I didn't have enough to eat - especially because I had an app of bacon wrapped scallops, but the portion of fries & veggies did seem a little skimpy. Anyway, I'm sure if I had said anything, more might have been offered, but it was enough for me last night.

Oooh, Cajun Guilt! (almost as compelling as Jewish/Italian/etc. Mother's Guilt )

If you've ever clicked the link for Picnic's Daily Specials, you'll notice that it's rather creatively written, with a fun conversational tone and sandwiches named for staff & friends. Today she's issued a challenge: So, if you don't live nearby you won't get a free lunch - has that ever stopped us? What should Chrissy's "sanich" be?

I think I read somewhere that you can make pate a choux, pipe it out, like for eclairs or cream puffs and IQF them raw, bake from frozen. That would certainly use up a lot of eggs, but I'd want confirmation from a baker who knows it would work before making a bunch of pate a choux. Something I know would work is making up quiche filling. Actually, make up the custard part, leave out the cheese and/or veggies. Freeze flat in baggies of an amount to fit your tart pan. (May as well make the crusts too, freeze them flat, individually wrapped, store in a pizza box in the freezer). Frozen flat, they defrost in no time. Put crust in tart pan, put leftover veggies, shredded/cubed cheese, etc. on top, pour in defrosted custard. Voila, easy lunch for post baby drop bys. You could also just freeze the eggs by themselves. First, scrambled, in amounts you might use to make breakfast for the two of you, say 4 eggs per baggie? And, whites and yolks separately - for making meringues or creme brulee. Just mark how many are in each baggie.

It's even more amazing if you shop there in person. I don't have any in front of me (I can go freezer diving in a bit), but I'm sure it's less than $4/lb at the store. So, if you ever get down to New Orleans, it's worth the trip. Pack a carton to bring home (buy a styrofoam cooler at a Walmart). Just bring extra packing tape to the airport in case security decides they need a look see.

The dining room is open and the food is great, but expect a wait if you arrive between 5:30 and 8 PM. Jason had a fabulous special tonight of Shrimp and Gnocci in a light tomato and mushroom sauce. I had some simply grilled halibut. Both were equally delicious. Those bacon wrapped scallops though... they rock!